Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

I try to create a culture of celebration in our home. For life, for the little things, for wonder and for whimsy. I try to find the beauty around us and teach my son Wyatt to find it, and appreciate it and love it as well. We are a homeschool family, and we love it. We love the freedom it gives us to explore a topic or idea more deeply, and I like that I can adjust our schedule around Wyatt’s other needs. Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and his week often has therapy, doctor’s appointments, naps peppered throughout which would make a traditional school schedule difficult. He is also an asynchronous learner, and I love that I can tailor learning to where Wyatt is at that moment. We have a house full of animals and will probably add more because we like a zoo. We have one cat, Miso, who is a rescue. She is 14 years old and my little floofy girl. We also have one leopard gecko, Luna, a pictus gecko named Harlow, a pacman frog named Freddy, and two crested geckos, Applejack and Oliver. We love all of our little friends! My husband Billy, Wyatt, and I are all curious, creative, stubborn humans which makes for some fun times around here. We love the outdoors, except we are not made for high temps so we retreat inside when the temps start to soar. We are nature lovers through and through. We are trying to downsize our lives too, to live more simply, to buy things that last and eat real food from small local farmers. (and of course Goldfish crackers) We live seasonally and are always up for adventure. We love books and reading, and can be found at the library at least once a week!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized22 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

We are home from our trip! It was wonderful and amazing and way too short! There is also this:

True words, my friends. And then when we got home, Billy left for a camping trip with the guys! So, not much reading happening for me, sadly. I told him he owes me a weekend away too; I am thinking a trip where I go off by myself (or with like minded people) to read all day and then have a good dinner, a glass of wine, and a fire in the evening. And take naps as needed too of course. That sounds like heaven just about now.

Read Last Week:

I read the first in this series the other week, and thought it was so enchanting that I had to get the next one! This one is also quite charming, and I have recommended them to just about all the parents I know as a read aloud.

Reading This Week:

The Gone-Away Lake books reminded me of this book that I read and loved years ago, The Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes. And now I want to read it all over again. I have a weird theme going, I know.

Posted Last Week:

My Top Ten Summer Movies

Sand Dunes, Shopping, and Petoskey Stones

Lighthouses, Lavender, and Ice Cream

A Bear, A Beer, and a Bit of a Scare

Watching:

We watched Murdoch Mysteries this past week – it’s our go to show when the days have been long and busy, which they were last week. Then this weekend I watched two old classics – Key Largo and Double Indemnity. I had watched Key Largo before and loved it, but it was my first time watching Double Indemnity. Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are suggesting old favorite classics to each other to watch this summer. Feel free to watch along with us! I am going to post more about this on Thursday.

Billy and I are hoping to finish Outer Range and start Stranger Things (whatever number this new season is). And then we have The Umbrella Academy to watch as well!

And that is it from my corner of the world!

My Top Ten Summer Movies

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn movies24 Comments

As of Tuesday, it is now officially summer! And while summer is full of fun outdoor activities, sometimes you just need an indoor day, or a relaxing movie in the evening. Also with the cost of pretty much everything right now, movies at home are an affordable treat! You could even stream them outside onto a portable screen or sheet or garage door for a drive in type experience.

There are a few movies out there that just scream summer to me, and I am hoping you will share a few that feel like summer to you as well!

First up – my all-time favorite… Jaws!!

I have to watch this movie every single fourth of July, and it is still so good! That scene with Quint where he is talking about the Indianapolis disaster is one of the best scenes in a movie, ever, hands down.

And then of course, there is Now and Then.

I also watch this every summer. And I might as well say it now, I watch just about all the movies I am going to list in this post once a summer. Now and Then is a fun, nostalgic, coming of age movie about friends then…and again, now. In case the name didn’t give that away. Lol.

Another nostalgic favorite of mine is The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills. I loved all the parts at summer camp (is this just a movie/book thing? Do kids really go to summer camp?) and then again in California.

For those who love love, there is The Love Letter. I love this movie and the effect one lost love letter has on a town, each thinking the letter is meant for them. I feel like not many people have seen it and it makes me sad – it’s just so good.

And of course, you can’t talk about summer love without Dirty Dancing! I feel like this movie doesn’t need an explanation, am I right?

I like romance, but I also like scary. And one of my old favorites from my youth is I Know What You Did Last Summer. I remember going to the theater and watching this with Billy when we were young and it scared me so much. One scene made me literally jump!

And if you go way back in my youth, there is Stand By Me. What a fantastic movie. Another coming of age, friendship movie, full of revelations for these friends. Plus I had a huge crush on River Phoenix. So, there you go.

While we are talking about going way back, let’s talk about The Way, Way Back.

This movie is phenomenal. I absolutely love and adore Sam Rockwell, and his character in this movie..chef’s kiss. It is so well acted by all the actors involved. And Steve Carell in this movie! Dang, what a jerk!

Let’s circle back around to nostalgic, happy, and fun, shall we?

This next movie came out the year I graduated, and I will always remember going to see it with my friends at the theater. It is has fantastic music, and really captures that feeling of freedom you have when you graduate. It is wild and crazy, and yes, dazed and confused. And it is Matthew McConaughey’s first movie!

And finally, what I consider to be the quintessential summer movie, The Great Outdoors.

I love this movie! It makes me think of all of our up north trips – except our family gets along! And the duo of John Candy and Dan Akroyd can’t be beat (unless it is Akroyd and Belushi in The Blues Brothers, which just narrowly missed this list..). It has lodges, family, bears, hi-jinks, young love, good music, snarky raccoons. I mean, does it get better than this for a summer movie?

How about you? What movies just mean summer to you?

Sand Dunes, Shopping, and Petoskey Stones

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family friendly, Michigan10 Comments

Day three! Vacations sure fly by don’t they? I think our plans for day three were the ones I was most looking forward to, and the day did not disappoint.

We had another nice slow start to the morning. Even though it was Father’s Day, Billy made the whole crew of us pancakes with strawberries from our garden on top, and Chrissy scrambled up fifteen eggs. It was cute to watch them cook at the stove together, with Rosie the dog at their feet.

We started out at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – the sand dunes and the view are something to behold! We were on Sleeping Bear itself, which has a descent down to Lake Michigan, but you are warned that the climb back up is arduous and to not attempt it if you are not sure you can make it the almost two miles back up. In sand. In fact, there is a huge sign, and a fine for rescue, to the tune of $3000. While we were there we saw a group of college age kids, in peak athletic shape and fitness, coming back up and they were exhausted. I have never attempted it. For me, I would have to plan on camping it or something and taking it a few steps a day. LOL.

I always panic at the top, like people are just going to topple over the edge – mainly my son and my mom. So I guided them as far away as I possibly could get them and then stood in front of my child who wanted to slide down, because, well, he is 7 and it was a lot of sand.

After hanging around the top, and apprehensively watching a family start to head down the dune, with a toddler and I am assuming the toddler’s grandmother in tow, we left the view behind and started in to town.

Before I go further, I want to mention something. Wyatt received a free lifetime membership pass to the National Parks due to having a permanent disability. When we drove up to the gate the nice ranger asked if we had anyone in the car that was 62 or over or had a permanent disability. We had both actually, but my mom declined and so we got Wyatt all set up. He has a nice membership card with his name on it that he can use forever! I definitely recommend looking into it if this is something that will benefit you or anyone that you know.

Our next stop was actually the Visitor’s Center in Empire. Mermaid Girl had become a Jr. Park Ranger last year and was very excited for Wyatt to do it as well. Which he did! He received a certificate, three badges, and a patch! I think I am going to do a whole post on this next week so I will talk more about it then.

And then with our new Jr. Ranger we all piled back in the cars for the super short drive to Glen Arbor for some shopping! We had a few must stops on our list..

Leelanau Coffee for Iced Miel Coffees, and then my very favorite bookstore in the world.

I wish I could just move up there and work here. I love it.

I always try to buy from the local author bookshelves when I see them on vacation and this time I picked a book called Words Like Thunder by Lois Beardslee.

Then we headed over to the Cherry Republic and hung out for a bit, eating french fries and ice cream and shopping.

It was starting to get late but we still had one last stop – Rocky Beach in Glen Haven. Glen Haven is a deserted little town with my family’s favorite beach of all. My stepmom took us there for the first time years and years ago and it is one of her favorite places in the world. Then it became my brother’s, and now you can add us to the list too.

My SIL Chrissy is a huge rockhound. She finds it super relaxing to sift through rocks, looking at them, and on beaches where you are allowed to collect them, she does that too. Rocky Beach is part of the Sleeping Bear so a no collecting beach but they had fun looking. And she got to indulge for as long as she wanted the next day at a different beach, finding several petoskey stones, including a pretty darn big one, the lucky duck!

By the time we left it was getting late and we were all full of sand and sunshine, and ready for dinner. So we made the drive back to our cottage, grilled up some hot dogs and veggie dogs, and that was that. We had a fire on the beach, some adult drinks, and went to bed, after a perfect day.

Lighthouses, Lavender, and Ice Cream

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized18 Comments

Saturday morning was chilly – and I love a chilly morning by the lake with coffee. I stole a few moments away by myself and went down to the deck to look out over the water, which is my favorite “up north” thing to do. I love listening to the birds singing around me, the gentle lap of the water, and the peace of the moment. After a bit, my brother and SIL wandered down as well, and we all spotted a mink swimming in the water in front of us! It was a really cool sighting, and less scary than the bear.

We had a slow morning getting ready, drinking coffee, having breakfast, and finally we all loaded up into our cars to head to Mission Point Peninsula and the lighthouse, our first stop.

The lighthouse lens was first lit in 1870 and kept ships safe until it was decommissioned in 1933. I always think about what a quiet existence lighthouse keepers lived in these remote areas, especially in the winter. Now you can pay to be a keeper at the Mission Point Lighthouse which might be fun just for the experience of living in a lighthouse. It was super crazy windy and kind of cold while we were there, and it is June – I can’t imagine January but it must be stunning to look out in winter at all the ice and snow.

We were freezing so we didn’t stick around too long before heading to our next stop, Brys Vineyards. This has become our family’s favorite winery on the Peninsula, and we love the Secret Garden best of all.

We of course had to do a “now and then” photo of the kids!

We played around in the garden for a bit before heading up hill to the winery. The kids and the guys stayed outside while the rest of us (Chrissy, Michelle, my mom, and I) went in to the tasting room. I was excited to see they had hard cider. They even had a lavender hard cider that all four of us tasted – and it was perfect! I picked up a four pack of the lavender cider and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. I will save it for some future summer evening when I want to remember our trip.

This time when we got back into the car, Wyatt picked our next destination – Moomer’s Ice Cream! This place is a much loved tourist spot, and one we have never done. Apparently in high summer the line can be wrapped around the parking lot! Thankfully it was not busy when we were there and we got our ice cream relatively quickly.

After finishing our ice cream, we all decided it was time to relax back at the house. Wyatt took a nap, everyone else just chilled out doing various things – sitting by the lake, on the deck, just enjoying the sun and relaxing. For dinner we went to Red Mesa Grill (if you go get the tacos!), and then that was it for day 2!

A Bear, A Beer, and a Bit of a Scare

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan17 Comments

Friday morning we loaded up the car, picked up my mom, and hit the road, heading north to Bellaire, MI. We were meeting my brother, SIL, niece, and SIL’s mother there for the start of our vacation! And after four hours, we did.

But first, we saw a bear. Like a real one, just standing by the road, looking all bear like and big. I was happy to be in the car! Then, just a whole ten minutes down the road we arrived at our first stop, Grass River Nature Preserve for a hike, and I was not as happy. That bear could be there too! Or another one. Or many others. And I am sure there were! When I went into the visitor’s center I mentioned it to the woman working and she was stunned that we saw one, which did not make me feel any better. She told me that it is really unusual to see one during the summer and that it was probably heading to town to eat from a bird feeder. She did ask me to let her know if we saw it on our hike.

Our plan was to just take a short walk, about a mile, then head to Short’s Brewing for lunch before heading on to our cottage. It was a great little walk – I love the scent of pine needles and pine trees and the minute we got out of the car we enveloped in it. Our walk was quick, with the Galloping Grannies leading the group at a grueling pace (not really but it was very fast paced lol). The rest of us were moseying, looking around, spotting wonders in the underbrush. Like the mushrooms Dead Man’s Fingers! They are well named and rather creepy. My niece also entertained us with stories of glowing pink wolves and giant foxes that lived in the woods there, and overall it was a great walk through nature. We didn’t have time to explore the whole preserve but I am planning on going back to do just that!

We then drove the few minutes into Bellaire for lunch at Short’s. My brother had been there before but it was our first time. And it won’t be the last! It was absolutely delicious. I had the Someday sandwich, which was like a club sandwich, while Billy had pulled pork and Wyatt had the kids pizza bites, which he devoured. For beverages, I tried the Gitchy Gitchy, which is a Kolsch with lemon and cucumber. It was fantastic and refreshing. Billy had the Prolonged Enjoyment, which is an IPA. We went into the take out order area, and ate across the street in the lot where they have tables set up for outside dining. And promptly divided up into two camps – the full sun people and the shade people, or as my brother said, the sun people and the moon people. Lol.

Guess which camp I was in?

After a very filling lunch, conversation over a beer, and some shopping for howlers and growlers to take to our cottage (we got a howler of Sandia Loca, my brother got the Empress Catherine) we were back on the road.

We pulled up to our home away from home after about half an hour or so, and were so ready to just settle in and relax.

But we also were excited to check out the lake..some of us more than others.

Billy, Wyatt, Chrissy, and Mermaid Girl headed down the hill to the lake while the rest of us were doing I have no idea what. Probably checking out the rental. After a few minutes though, the rest of us headed outside too.

My brother, mom, and I were standing about halfway down, chatting about the lake and how pretty and all that when I heard a splash. I immediately was on the alert, and saw Wyatt being held by Billy on the dock and Chrissy patting his back. And knew that my kid had somehow fallen in. Wyatt can’t swim yet although he loves the water, and apparently he was reaching down for the water, lost his balance and fell off the dock! (Billy was sitting right next to Wyatt on the dock and was halfway in the water before Wyatt even made it to the water. He was in the water a second or two before Billy hoisted him up. I still of course had a heart attack) However, he was with two extremely fast acting adults who love him and jumped into action, with both Billy and Chrissy jumping right in after him, no hesitation. The water was shallow and clear and he was up and out in seconds. By the time I got there, he was trying to slide back in, the little otter. And since he was wet and it was shallow, we let him, but with many close eyes on him. And of course once he was in, it was game over, Mermaid Girl was in as well.

The water was warm and the kids had a blast, before we all headed up, showered the kids, and all settled in for the night.

And that was the end of day 1!

Some Sort of Domestic Flurry

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized6 Comments

I had originally intended to keep going at school like we have been, regular school days, the works. But this week, with getting ready for vacation, I let it slide. And I may continue to let it slide, I think we both need a real break, but more on that in another post. Regardless, no school has happened this week nor will it. We have been busy though!

Getting ready for a trip is so much work! I have my list made of hopefully everything we need, and started assembling it all on our dining room table. I have to work systematically. I will load everything on to the table, then pack it all up once it is all together. This is just how I roll and function best. So as I have been accumulating and gathering, I have also been working on other little projects as well.

First, I made soap! Melt and pour, but it turned out so cute and it smells so good! I used this recipe with a few additions – Coconut Citrus Sorbet scent and Kermit Green Mica for color, both from Brambleberry. I picked up my other supplies from Amazon. I also told Billy I wish I could have taken that photo next to a pond in our yard, hint hint.

And since we are going away, I am trying to use up and give away vegetables and strawberries from the garden so they don’t go to waste. So far the garden is only producing romaine lettuce and the aforementioned strawberries, but with this heat the romaine will bolt and the strawberries – well I can’t leave them behind. They are seriously the best strawberries ever. Sweet with a hint of tart. Just perfection. So the other day Wyatt and I went out and harvested the ripe ones. Or I did, while Wyatt ate lettuce and played. This was our biggest haul so far and I had to keep fetching more bowls and containers!

We ate some fresh, and then added some to pancakes. And I made a strawberry bread that is delicious! I am not the best baker at times (and pretty messy too), but this one turned out pretty darn good. I actually just ate a slice for breakfast, and it was quite yummy with my coffee. I sat on the porch looking at the fog and listening to the birds while I ate it, and it was a nice peaceful moment.

I also made two loaves of sandwich bread. We are trying to find a good, quick recipe and this one wasn’t too bad. Although, my loaves are very unattractive. It tastes amazing though, so I think I will keep working on it! I simply can’t post photos of them, so I will post these garden photos instead. The very first bloom on my David Austin Munstead Woods rose that I treated myself to with Christmas money a year ago. Sigh. It was a good pick. And then a Peck’s Skipper sitting on a leaf.

Today, my plan is to catch up on blogs and paint with Wyatt and read some books and finish packing. Oh! That reminds me! I finished the kids book Gone-Away Lake and I absolutely loved it! I think I will definitely read it as a family read aloud this summer. It is super cute and enchanting and whimsical and quirky, and full of nature! It reminds me of a fun, wild and free, perfect summer for childhood, and I definitely recommend it! It is more of an elementary read but I could see a little bit older kids enjoying it as well. I actually enjoyed this book so much that I immediately requested the sequel, Return to Gone-Away Lake, from the library.

What have you all been up to lately?

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

This week is going to be chaotic, but at the end of it we will be in Traverse City with my family on a much needed trip. I can’t wait! When we get home though my summer goals are for a simple summer, full of books and bugs and picnics at the park.

Read Last Week:

I really enjoyed this one! I liked the animal focused chapters more than the others, but overall this was a fascinating read. And I want to know more about leopards and elephants now. I love when reading takes you down other roads!

Reading This Week:

I just love this cover of The Hacienda! I am excited to get started on it!! And I picked up Gone-Away Lake after seeing it on a list of forgotten kids books and was thinking about reading it with Wyatt this summer, but I opted to just read it myself. I am not sure if he would be interested in it quite yet. He is definitely in love with Charlotte’s Web; I hope he still is after we finish reading it!

Posted Last Week:

10 on the 10th – Vacations

Vintage, Whimsical, Creative YouTube Channels I Love

Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching:

We had been on pretty steady pace with Outer Range and then boom- Billy had to work late all week! So I watched Murdoch Mysteries instead. Hopefully we get to finish Outer Range this week.

And that is it for today, short and sweet this Sunday morning! What is going on in your world?

10 on the 10th – June

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized13 Comments

Hosted by Marsha and Lesley!

This month’s 10 on the 10th is all about vacations! This is very timely for me as we are actually going on vacation next week!

Let’s begin shall we?

1.  Are you planning to take a vacation anytime soon?  Please share!

We are!! We are leaving next week for a combined family trip with my brother, SIL, niece, mom, and my SIL’s mom. We all rented a house together in northern “up north” Michigan, and it has it’s own little private beach which the kids will love! We hope to make it an annual trip and create wonderful memories for the kids.

2.  Have you recently gone on vacation?  Tell us all about it!

Sadly, no. The last trip we took was last August.

3.  What is your favorite way to travel?

I don’t know if I have a favorite way. I don’t mind road trips because I like to take a lot of stuff with us now that we have Wyatt, but flying sometimes would be nice too. I’ve taken the train to Chicago a few times, and a longer trip would be really cool too. Billy and I daydream a lot about getting a camper and traveling that way, and while I hate boats, I would try a river cruise or a smaller cruise like that. I could never do an ocean voyage. They freak me out! Probably because in a past life I was a ship’s captain that went down with his ship, according to a street fortune teller in New Orleans.

4.  If money were no object, where would you go and why?

Oh man. This changes so frequently for me!! Hmmm. I would love to see Ireland, England, and Scotland and the places my grandparents came from. And Italy is a huge dream trip for me as well.

5.  Who would be your favorite person (living or dead) to take on vacation?

My family.

Me and My SIL Chrissy

6.  What do you absolutely have to pack when you go on vacation?

Other than absolute necessities for life (my meds and Wyatt’s meds) – journals and books. I always have special books and vacation journals, and my nerdy list of our itinerary, reservation details, etc.

7.  What are your memories of your all time favorite vacation?

Our trip to Shenandoah National Park with my brother and SIL is one of my favorite vacations I have taken as an adult. There was this night where we spent the evening in the pub attached to the lodge, drinking and singing. The pub had sing a longs every night that were so fun, and we stayed a good while. When we left it was dark, that in the mountains type of dark, the stars were shining out all around us, and we could look down over the valley from where we stood. It was just a wonderful night.

I don’t know if I have an all time favorite vacation! I have loved them all. From the trips up north with family, to Disney, to Niagara Falls Savannah and Chicago and California and New Orleans, Gettysburg, the East Coast and so many others.

8.  Where would you never ever go on vacation and why?

Probably a tropical island. I am not a beach person.

9.  What is the worst thing you ever experienced on vacation?

I guess my brother getting an eye ulcer once on a trip to New Orleans? I mean it was worse for him but he had to have eye drops around the clock for 24 hours starting at like 10 minutes apart or something like that. It was the week before Katrina, which was being talked about, and there was talk that if his eye didn’t respond to the eye drops he would have to have eye surgery – which would have resulted in us probably maybe being in NOLA during the hurricane.

10.  What is the best thing that ever happened to you on vacation?

Introducing Wyatt to new places and experiences!

What about you?

Vintage, Whimsical, Creative YouTube Channels I Love

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

So sometimes when I want to just sit and veg to recharge my batteries, I enjoy watching YouTube. I am an endlessly curious person (nosy) and I love reading blogs and watching YouTube and following people on Instagram because I am always interested in what other people are doing and how they are living. I don’t envy their lives but I do usually learn about new things from them and sometimes I am just plain entertained.

I watch booktubers, homesteaders, and then just people who defy a category in my mind. They share their whimsy, their creativity, their vintage style, and I love just putting my feet up for a minute or two, drinking some coffee or wine, and tuning out to them.

Let’s start with..hmm.. Rachel Maksy. I may have mentioned her here before, I don’t remember, but I love her videos and what she shares. She makes the coolest stuff, and isn’t afraid to try things – like a vintage Creature from the Black Lagoon lady costume. She describes her style as grandpa, she has great vintage hair styling videos, and she is quirky and talented. My favorite video – her recreation of Evie from The Mummy.

The next YouTube channel is one that I just started watching, Dainty Diaries. She just does the cutest little cottagey things, and I enjoy watching her gardening content, which is different than the gardening content I watch on the homestead channels. This one has an aesthetic to it, rather than planting food to eat, which is also something I am interested in. This is more…I’m growing things and doing it in a pretty way. I haven’t watched too many yet, but the one I have liked the most so far is her video about making a hedgehog door in her garden gate.

Sage Lilleyman is an Australian woman who posts uploads that are vintage living related – sewing, housewife stuff, etc. I used to watch this British show where a family would have their house turned into a different decade and they would live like that for a week, and it fascinated me. I will never get over the woman who had to get fully dressed up and scrub her front stairs. Anyway, Lilleyman’s YouTube reminds me of that show, just on a smaller scale.

With Love, Kristina is another vintage living type channel. She uploads about books, slow living, body positivity and vintage style. She is another newish one that I watch so I haven’t seen too many but I have enjoyed the ones I have watched. My favorite is her video on living the perfect hobbit day. I would love to have a hobbit day! (Hmmm… maybe we will….)

And finally, Darling Desi. She is a whimsical watch for sure. She is just always so happy and romanticizes everything, loves to read (particularly Jane Austen) and has such an enthusiasm for everything. I love to watch her seasonal videos and book reviews in particular. I can relate to the seasonal type stuff she does, as I like to live that way as well – although with less style and frolicking.

If you need an escape or just want to see some vintage styles, check these ladies out. I would never dress this way, too time consuming for me. A Get Ready With Me Post would be like ten minutes. I never wear makeup, have wash and go hair, and am super happy in my super casual clothes that I can get dirty in outside with my kid or while painting or whatever, but I still like to dream about some alternate universe me who maybe does do this.

Have you watched any of these? Do you have any suggestions? Let me know!

Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

It’s a rainy morning this morning, and the birds are quiet. I wasn’t awakened by the sound of our blue jay friends or the song sparrow today, but by the sound of the rain pattering against the window, one of my favorite sounds. (I feel like I am the last person on the planet to discover ASMR videos on YouTube and I never realized how much I enjoy listening to just sounds, like crackling fires and rustling leaves and coffee or tea being poured)

The past weekend we were big time homebodies. I think we needed it after our last few weeks of crazy! We played in the yard, where I planted a few new flowers in the ugly hole that pulling the cola plant left in the butterfly garden, and Billy and Wyatt munched on lettuce from the garden like a couple of bunnies. And speaking of rabbits..I discovered they are the critters who are nibbling on my strawberries! I guess they came to the right place since this gardener is such a fan of rabbits.

Our front garden is getting wild looking, and I love it. It’s like a ramble of raspberry, lavender, brunnera, yarrow, lupines, milkweed, and snap peas. And I love how the lupine leaves catch the dew like little cups of fairy water.

We did leave the house and yard one time – for ice cream at the park!

Trigger warning – this next section contains pictures of baby mantids so if you are not a fan of creepy crawlies, just keep scrolling! I understand not everyone enjoys them like our crazy family!

Our ootheca hatched! I did decide to bring it in. We used a giant water bottle with gauze over the hole to keep it in, and we have been checking on it a few times a day. And Sunday morning the container was alive and teeming with the newborns! We took them outside and let them go. They were sort of cute! ( I did take some video. It’s on my Instagram if you are curious)

And that is it from around here! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week!