Happy Autumn

Happy Autumn!!! Okay, so what if here on the northeast coast of Florida, we are in that seasonal limbo where it feels a little like Summer and a little like Autumn in the course of one day. In my mind, it is Autumn and before I know it, the cool weather will be here. Yes, I know I have admitted that I am a Summer Girl at heart. But, even this Summer Girl can appreciate a change now and then. While driving home after picking up my daughter from school, she reminded me that today is the first day of Autumn. Don't you just love how kids can halt us in the mix of a busy day and remind us of a little detail that might have gone overlooked like TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Friday Song in My Heart

It's Friday!!! Nothing more, nothing less, just feeling the simple comfort and happiness in a Friday---that Birthday feeling or when your favorite song is on the radio or like a tank full of gas and the weekend ahead or like a good cleansing deep breath and a nice stretch....that feeling which only a Friday can bring. I woke up this Friday morning with this song playing on my mental Victrola--Calling All Angels by Train . I love this band and this song. Here is my Song for you. Scooch the coffee table over, roll up the rug, and let's dance and celebrate Friday!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Honey Honey

Local honey sold by the old farmer at Blackberry Hill Farm. Every year, when we go pick muscadine grapes, I buy a jar of honey from the ol' farmer. He sits  in his rocking chair in the shade just a bit away from the rows of grapevines and next to him is his grape weighing scale. On an old table next to him he has all his honey jars showcased. They shine like amber jewels in the sun. Seeing him there, summer after summer, I can't help but think of Norman Rockwell paintings. A while back, I read that a small spoonful of local honey a day will help build your resistance to local pollutants and pollens and improve allergies. Basically, the honey is suppose to contain the same pollens and allergens that make us sneezy. Make sense to me. But, I don't bother with all that. I just love it for all it's yummy goodness. Plus, in my household, we love honey, plain and simple. And I have to admit, I am a sucker for the classic canning jar, the way the sun shines through the glass, the simple nature of honey, and the fact that a bunch of cute fuzzy bumbling honey bees with pollen on their noses and feetzies made this from diving themselves into flowers and carrying the flower pollen back to their hive. <<<< (Wow, perhaps my longest run-on sentence ever) 

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

9 Good Things Right Now

9 Good Things Right Now:

1. Leftovers for dinner. (Why did I list food first? Ugh, I should kick myself.)

2. Wearing my totally comfy fuzzy orange socks with the polka dots.

3. My daughter's best friend across the street still manages to smile as sweetly as she ever did even though she has officially lost all her hair due to chemo. A strong 9 year old girl.

4. Positive friends near and far.

5. My husband's eye is healing well after surgery. I love his honey-colored eyes.

6. The excitement and comfort in knowing that it is one day closer to November 1st--I get to see Sarah and my two nephews. I can't wait!!!

7. Cranberry Juice.

8. NPR

9. Eye Cream.

{ The Help }

I cannot put this book down!  The Help by Kathryn Stockett is about a group of high society white women and the black women who work as their housekeepers and Nannies. The backdrop is deep south Mississippi during 1960 when racial tensions are boiling and change is in the wind. One white woman, Skeeter, pursues her writing ambitions by secretly interviewing the black women who work day in and day out as the housekeepers of some of the town's socialites. If she or the housekeepers get caught, it could be dire consequences. Stockett's, The Help, evolves beautifully and many times heartbreakingly. It takes the reader back to a time when women wore white gloves to church, enjoyed casseroles after a game of Bridge, and where last names of families either opened or closed doors. But, under the crisp clean exterior of the families, the housekeepers see what really goes on behind closed doors and share this with Skeeter along with their opinions and emotions on segregation and racial tensions. I find myself thinking about this book throughout the day and thinking about the characters. Each time I sit to pick up on the story where I last left off, I get lost in the world of 1960 Mississippi.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Candy Wii

In my opinion, drugstores still reign supreme when it comes to fun novelty candies. They may no longer carry some of the novelty candies I grew up with like Sugar Daddy caramel pops. But, they certainly carry fun candies that satisfy my daughter's generation. My sweetie pie saw this Wii candy dispenser on a quick trip to the drugstore and thought it was the coolest candy gadget ever. Then again, it doesn't take much to impress her when it comes to candy. She is just like her Daddy that way.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Fairy Resting Spot

While walking I saw this small fallen piece of log laying in the path. I noticed how super pretty it was. I was going to pick it up. But, instead, I left it there as it was. I pointed it out to my daughter and we both agreed it was a perfect spot for a fairy to take a rest.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Muscadine Grape Season

You'll find us on any given weekend at the end of the summer amongst the muscadine grape vines of Blackberry Hill in Middleburg, Florida. We have been coming here for the past four summers when Muscadines are in season. I absolutely love their sweet scent and the way their skins have an iridescent shine to them. The kindest old man runs the small farm/vineyard and he sits by his jars of honey and his scale waiting to weigh the muscadines we have picked. The first time we ever came here, my daughter said the sweetest thing which I will never forget, "Mommy, do you think this is what Heaven is like b/c it feels like we are in Heaven together?"

Anatomy of Eating a Grape

First, you pop the flesh out of the muscadine skin

Then you eat it.

And then you spit out the seeds.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Pretty Little Thingamagigs

My grandfather once bought me the teeniest tiniest little cast iron stove I had ever seen---and that is what started my obsession for extra-small prettiness. Little itty bitty thingamagigs always catch my fancy. Aren't these pretty?

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Key Lime Coconut Cake

Guess what I made?---Key Lime Coconut Cake. Doesn't that sound yummy? I had a bottle of Nellie and Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice , a bag of shredded sweetened coconut and a craving for something tropical.

So here is what I did.

I followed the directions on the back of a Duncan Hines yellow cake mix box. BUT, I substituted 1/2 of the water amount w/ Key Lime Juice. I used two cake mixes and made two round cakes. Between the two cake layers, I used Smuckers Pineapple Preserves as a nice spread. Smuckers also has a Mango Jam which I think I would like to try next time I make this cake.

After the cake cooled, I tinted frosting with a drop of green food coloring to add a pastel green look to the cake. I have discovered that my local grocery store, Publix, sells their  butter cream frosting from their bakery in various ounce tubs. I love this frosting b/c it has won awards, it is made fresh daily, and it isn't as sweet as other butter creams so it is very nice, mild, and smooth. They also have a super yummo chocolate frosting which they make daily and it has also won awards. But, they do not sell that one in individual tubs----they keep it under lock and key. haha.

I frosted the cake and then added the coconut around the cake and on top. It was VERY good. However, it was a lot of cake for just the 3 of us to eat which meant others were able to enjoy it too. If I had just made one layer, I might have been more stingy with it. haha.

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

Backpack-Backpack

from Pottery Barn and Justice for Girls

My daughter rolls her eyes now and plugs her ears when ever I sing the Backpack Song from Dora the Explorer. Yup, this 3rd grader of mine officially considers herself "too old" for the toddler-oriented cartoon. Sigh. While shopping for a new backpack to start the school year she also told me that she does not want the same type of backpacks we have bought in the past and then she glanced at me as if she knew she had just broken my heart. Another sigh. For the past 3 years I have always bought her a backpack from the designer, Agatha Ruiz del la Prada . I love her childrens line of clothes and gear. However, Saylor really wanted to change her style this year and chose a Roxy backpack . I must admit, it is really very pretty. But, I can't help but wonder if we have now entered the phase which will last an eternity where she wants to have more of a say in her style and where I will have to sometimes put my foot down and say no or bite my tongue and let her express herself. 

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

3rd Grade Dollies

A little bit of grocery shopping after school. She wanted to push the cart and have her "baby"

and her purse in the buggy just like a real Mommy.

No, you are not seeing double. There really are two dolls dressed in school uniforms. My American Girl and Saylor's American Girl. Is this too cute or what? I saw this matching uniform doll dress at the school uniform supply store and knew my little doll would love having it for her little doll. My 3rd grader loves her American Girl dolls and especially loves when they can dress the same. And, of course, no dolly is ready for school without a backpack or lunch kit of her own. I found this doll backpack/lunch kit set at Pottery Barn Kids. Saylor filled the lunch kit up with coffee beans for Daddy while on a grocery shopping trip. So now the lunch kit smells like Starbucks. haha. She has been having a grand time playing school with her dolls in the afternoons. She is the teacher, of course!

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.

1st day of 3rd Grade

The year of the pink tennis shoes

This is her, "Mom, I am tired of taking pictures" smile

entering the chapel with her classmates

Is it really the end of summer and time for another school year? I feel like the same collective broken record with other parents who are scratching their heads and asking, "Gosh, where did the time go? I can't believe my child is starting a new school year." Sigh. Saylor is in third grade this year. I still feel like I am licking the wounds from where the apron strings were torn when she started Kindergarten 4 yrs ago.

My comfort is knowing that she goes to a fabulous school where she gets to learn about God and His abundant love on a daily basis amongst her peers. The teachers are phenomenal and she has the most energetic wonderful 3rd grade teacher this Mom could ask for.

So with a bit of reluctance, I fall back into the swing of things like packing school lunches, signing papers, spelling word lists, and checking homework while secretly hoping I could keep her at this age and grade forever. Then again, I said that last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and the year.....

Sealed with a Kiss, Kirsten

S.W.A.K.