My Sunday-Monday Post

On March 19, 2023March 19, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized28 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

Hey all! Last week was very thankfully a slow week! We had one outing and the rest of the time we focused on things at home. We are also all on babywatch over here- my SIL is due any moment now and I can’t wait to meet my new niece!! She will be the fourth kiddo in our family with a March birthday!

UPDATE: Baby girl is here! Mom and baby are doing well!! Welcome to the world baby E!

Read Last Week:

I am still in the midst of Middle Grade March and finished two fun little books last week! The Grace of Wild Things was a fun, Anne of Green Gables inspired read. I hope to review it this week! And The Tea Dragon Society is so darn cute!! I want a tiny adorable tea dragon!! It is a graphic novel and the artwork is very Ghibli-esque.

Reading This Week:

Speaking of Ghibli, this book has big Ghibli vibes, specifically Kiki’s Delivery Service. It looks like it will be another fun little read for Middle Grade March.

Posted Last Week:

Homeschool Journey: Easing Back Into Our Routine

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Made in Ireland: A Few Irish Etsy Artists

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I have been watching a weird range of shows this week. Ted Lasso, Beyond Paradise (a Death in Paradise spin off), and Ghosts. Then Friday night we watched Wolfwalkers, which is part of an “Irish Folklore Trilogy”. I used to watch Song of the Sea with Wyatt when he was a baby all the time, and I still love it. This one was amazing as well, but I don’t really think it is for kids. Maybe older kids, like high school? The description:

Wolfwalkers follows the story of Robyn Goodfellowe, a young apprentice hunter who arrives in Ireland with her father during a time of superstition and magic to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to turn into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the Wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.

It was pretty intense actually, but also perfect for St. Patricks day. We still need to watch the first in the trilogy, The Secret of the Kells, but if it is as good as Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers I know I will love it.

As for listening, on Friday we listened to a lot Van Morrison, The Pogues, and The Irish Rovers. Naturally. Lol. I also started listening to a long form podcast (True Crime) called Black Hands about the Bain Family murders.

And that is about it from my corner of the internet! How are you all doing? What is happening in your neighborhood?

A Little Window Shopping Serotonin Boost – Garden Edition

On February 25, 2023February 25, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn garden11 Comments

It’s been a week all, with Wyatt’s surgery and recovery, an ice storm, a massive power outage, and I needed a bit of a serotonin boost. And rather than adopt a new reptile, go on a Target shopping spree, or make a dreadful error by cutting my own bangs, I opted to browse garden stuff on Etsy. Happy, joyful, hopeful, green, springtime garden things. So I guess this isn’t really a gift guide, but more of a brain dump of all the treasures I found and added to a wish list which is better than adding all to cart, right?

Gloves are pretty much mandatory for gardening in my world. I love those bee gloves, they are so adorable! I wonder how practical they are though? Maybe if I was do some light gardening or something they would work. The other gloves however look like absolute workhorses! I love them – I am forever scratching up my arms when gardening somehow, and these gloves with arm savers would be beneficial.

I ALWAYS wear a hat in the sun. I burn so easily and I have had family members with skin cancer so I try to go all in with sunscreen and hats. This hat is so cute, and I could see wearing it more places than just digging in the yard.

This shirt is also so perfect. I am all about this color right now, and I love the sentiment as well as the pun.

I have always said I wanted to add decorations to our garden. I don’t think I could choose between my beloved foxes and rabbits though. It would just be so fun to have a family of foxes or serious rabbit poking about.

So, I designed and uploaded this garden planner book to Amazon because it was what I wanted. Lol. However it is available for anyone to purchase.

If there is one thing I absolutely will buy off of this list eventually, it is this harvest apron. I have long huge baskets but they are not super practical for me. I just don’t know where to store them when I am not using them! This harvest apron would be perfect!

And these wind chimes are just so pretty and whimsical and happy. I find gentle wind chimes so peaceful.

And then these two just for fun, because they made me smile…

Is there anyone who wouldn’t want a hobbit hole in their yard? I mean it is cool for kids and all that, but I could totally read in there. And the little mushroom table and chairs…adorbs.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this burst of sunshine as much as I did. And thanks for helping keep me distracted!

A Cute Little Cottagecore Autumn Halloween

On October 13, 2022October 14, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review, autumn15 Comments

I love all of these new aesthetics -cottagecore, dark academia, green academia – to name a few of my favorites. I have to admit I feel like I was into the dark academia vibe before it was a thing, all the way back in the early 90s. All those books that fit that genre are books I loved as a youth. But, this is a cottagecore post – an aesthetic I really associate more with spring and summer – its all rural and pastoral and quaint and cute. However, it lends itself to Halloween and fall better than you might expect! I was browsing Etsy, as I am known to do, especially while Wyatt is in therapy and I am just sitting in the waiting room, well, waiting for him, and I found the cutest things! It is just so fun and happy to look at!

(links do contain Etsy affiliate links)

L-R: Orange Ghost and Flowers || Ghost and Roses || Collage of Cute Halloween Things That Make me Think of Doodling in my Notebooks

These mugs are so adorable! Those sweet little ghosts! I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried. Well, ok maybe. That middle one is calling my name. And we all know a good mug is absolutely essential to a proper fall for drinking all the tea and cocoa.

L-R : Fox Beret || Ghost sweatshirt || Black Cat Knitted Tea Cozy

I mentioned the other day I was considering a beret. I don’t think I could wear this everyday but maybe on Halloween, taking Wyatt trick or treating I could! Or if I chicken out, that sweatshirt is cute and appropriate for the season – and me! And that tea cozy is perfect for a Halloween poetry tea time, which I do with Wyatt every year.

L-R: Pumpkin Stickers || Glow in the Dark Mushrooms || Gloomy Bookshop Print

I think these pumpkin stickers are practically perfect in every way. We always get more pumpkins then we want to actually carve and these would be great to use instead of carving but still making them festive. And these glow in the dark ghost mushrooms!! Why oh why must they be so cute? I am also in love with the gloomy bookshop print – it would be so cute in an office or library or really anywhere.

But this – this is the big daddy of cute.

It is seriously the sweetest, most joyful ghost I have ever seen. I think Wyatt needs it. Or I do. One of us does.

Boo!

For the Love of Mushrooms

On September 8, 2021September 7, 2021 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review6 Comments

Fall is in the air my friends! And now that summer is starting to taper off into much cooler evenings, I am leaning in hard to autumn and all that comes with it. Including all things mushrooms (except the er, medicinal use sort) Then I learned yesterday that September is National Mushroom Month! Who knew mushrooms had a whole month of recognition? I didn’t, until my Alexa informed me yesterday. And seriously, mushrooms totally deserve recognition, let’s face it. I love mushrooms! They are so adorable, and I get so excited when I spot one in the wild. And they are so versatile, with a whole vintage and earth mother vibe, but also can get funky too, with the psychedelics and that woo-woo Alice in Wonderland stuff. And they are tasty in soup and on pizza.

I’ve always been a fan but I am happy to see them getting some recognition. Lately, I feel like their is a resurgence in mushroom decor that hasn’t been seen since the 1970s – and I’m not complaining! I went on Etsy the other day looking for some throw pillows for our bedroom, and found a bunch of neat things.

(Etsy product links are affiliate links)

First, those pillows that led me down the rabbit hole. Aren’t they adorable? We are doing our room with nature accents and I love all three! I don’t think our bed needs all three, but they are super cute. I could not tell you which is my favorite either, because I love snails, mushrooms, and moths. And then I stumbled into some t-shirts. I love the simplicity of the “be down to earth” embroidered t-shirt, as well as the message, but then the “Morels Are Calling” shirt is also really cool. Morel hunting in Michigan is on my bucket list too, so there is some truth to this shirt. I have heard that people literally fight over them in the woods though! I would probably go out with a guide and a group, as I know Northern Michigan has some guided hunts in the spring, I believe.

That toothbrush holder just makes me smile, which might be a good thing in the morning when I need a bit of a smile, as I am not a morning person. (unlike my child) Mushrooms are all cute, but the Amanita is the cutest. I have only spotted two while hiking before and I totally nerded out when I did. I also love the moody autumnal feel of the black and gold mug, while the mushroom tea cup is perfect for a cuppa while reading. I saw that they make mushroom coffee. Anyone ever try that? I would love to hear what you think of it if you did!

I also spotted these masks that are not only mushroom themed, but also bugs! Be still my little nature loving heart. I ordered Wyatt some science and nature themed masks from Piccolina and was so bummed they were sold out of the adult sizes, and when I saw these on Etsy I decided I will have to order them. They are just too cool. The pet tag caught my eye as well – first because I have a gecko named Luna ( who does not wear a collar of course) but I do have three cats. Hmm. But which cat to wear it?

I feel that I would be remiss to not mention some other mushroom favorites while I am at it! If you like podcasts, definitely listen to Alie Ward’s Mycology with Dr. Tom Volk pod on Ologies. And don’t miss Fantastic Fungi on Prime Video. I think it might also be on Netflix. It was sort of mind blowing and all the cinematography is amazing. And finally, one of my very favorite autumn soup, this Wild Rice and Mushroom soup from Gimme Some Oven. It is absolutely delicious, smells amazing when it is cooking, and is perfect for those chill fall evenings, especially if you have been outside all day. (or even an hour!)

So what about you? Mushrooms are so polarizing. People love them or hate them. Yay or nay?