September Doll Haul

Hi guys!  I hope everyone's having a good day today.  I have a case of the "I don't have enough time to get everything done" today,  but trying to remember not sweat the small stuff.  I am healthy, my kids are healthy.  Life is good! 

Here's a look at how our collection has grown throughout the month of September.  

I picked up a mix of used and new toys, both in store and online and for the most part all either under $10 or under $20 and on sale. I'm getting pretty good at finding sales!

Links are below for anything I purchased online. 

I hope you enjoy!  Did you guys add anything fun to your collection last month?

I'm trying to plan a give-away, but struggling to get myself organized.  I'll be checking out some of your blogs to see what your process has been!

LIST OF DOLLS: 
Monster High Abbey Bominable (1st wave-2nd hand) Ebay
Monster High Rochelle Goyle (1st wave-2nd hand) Ebay
Monster High Wydowna Spider I Love Fasion (new) http://goo.gl/I4qY2b

Monster High Fright-Mares (Bay Tide Chaser http://goo.gl/PIieoK and Pyxis Prepstockings http://goo.gl/goRKH6 ) 

Ever After High Darling Charming http://goo.gl/2ZnSDb
Ever After High Rosabella Beauty http://goo.gl/Ke1KrB

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Vinyls (Sweetie Bell http://goo.gl/Eh8LB4, Apple Bloom http://goo.gl/i5BMPh, Scootaloo http://goo.gl/PGVCYB, and Rarity http://goo.gl/UzRmfZ) 
My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Apple Fritter http://goo.gl/X2CpA7
My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Jonagold http://goo.gl/EacWo5

Our Generation Lori Mini Dolls (Tama and Cyarra) (Target in-store) 
Sparkle Girlz Mini Doll (Walmart in-store) 
LalaLoopsy Minis (Seed Sunburst http://goo.gl/caF7tL, June Seashore http://goo.gl/CBbi7D, Autumn Spice http://goo.gl/Gz7Ota and Sweater Snowstorm http://goo.gl/Gz7Ota) 

Blind Bags (Care Bears Series 1 Best Friend Bear, MLP Lyra Heartstrings, Firecracker Burst, Fluttershy, and Minty) Walmart or Target in-stores

Disclaimer:  I recently signed up for the Amazon Affiliates program.  If you would like to support this blog,  please consider using my Amazon link on the top left side bar for any happy Amazon shopping you might do (or click directly on the link to the specific product) and a teeny tiny commission would be generated for this blog to be used for doll reviews and upcoming giveaways.  It does not cost anything for you at all.
If you have your own Amazon Affiliates link, let me know and I will go through yours as well!  (I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, lol.)
Thank you so much! :) xoxo

Feel Good Friday- Hot Air Balloons :)

Happy Friday everyone!!
I love Friday nights SO MUCH.  I don't get done with work until 6, but once I do, it's like I exhale out all the stress of the week.  Ahhhhhh....

I haven't posted a Feel Good Friday video in ages, but my sister sent me this one on Facebook that I wanted to share.

I have been fortunate to have been able to take 2 hot air balloon rides in my life.  The first time was when one randomly landed in the field next to our house and the owner offered to take a few of us up on a quick (we were anchored down) ride.  I was about 8 years old and although I was very shy, I decided to try along with my 10 year old neighbor.  I was pretty nervous about the fire part and didn't really look over the edge, but it was pretty cool!

The second chance I had was when I was 22 years old during my 6 month stay in Australia when I was studying abroad in my last semester of college. My American friend and I stayed with this really nice family (they were actually from Tanzania) in Mareeba and they took us up in this beautiful ride over the Atherton Tablelands.  It was absolutely amazing!!  The view was stunning and the weather was perfect.  I can remember looking down and seeing kangaroos hopping.
Dream come true.

What about you guys...have you ever taken a hot air balloon ride before?
I hope you enjoy this beautiful video.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. xoxo 

Our Adirondack Vacation

Back in the end of July, the girls and I (hubby had to work!) went up to Long Lake, NY for our annual family reunion/vacation in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains.  This town is very special to my Mom's side of the family as my grandfather was born and grew up here so every year growing up they would spend at least 2 weeks in this amazing and scenic village.

Little Button :) 

My mom's side of the family is really big and we have a lot of cousins that make the trek from New Hampshire, Boston, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Georgia and Florida.  It's the one time of year where we can all visit and have fun together. 

We had such a great week this year.  I stayed in a cabin with my mom (her hubby-my step-dad-didn't make it up either as he gets too bored!) so it was really fun to have a good time with our family without having to worry about "the husbands."  ;)

Beautiful neighboring Lake Eaton.

The girls and me swimming...the water was so warm!! 

Ladies Night :) 

The weather was INCREDIBLE.  It was really hot and we only had 1 day where it rained for a few hours which is highly unusual for this area.
I made an effort to stay off of my iPad and phone and actually read a book.  Amazing!  It was so nice to have a "digital detox" for a week.

We loved it and can't wait to go back again next year!
I hope you enjoy the photos!
I just finished filming my "September Doll Haul video" so hopefully I'll have that up soon as well. :)

xoxo Farrah 

Our Newest AG Gal

This past spring, I had purchased our first American Girl doll to add to our collection.  She was a previously loved historical Elizabeth that I found for a great price on eBay.  Since then, we've been fortunate to add a few more to our collection, and I've been a little behind on getting them up on the blog.
Since then we've added BF Samantha, original historical Julie, BF Caroline and the Truly Me #59 I purchased from Jill's Deals and Steals.
After we received Elizabeth, I had an idea for a custom project I wanted to try (and by custom, I really just mean new wigs, lol) and I wanted to find two more Josefina molds with blue eyes.

This little cutie pie caught my eye on eBay for such a great price (probably because her hair was cut) and I scooped her right up!  Her owner was a teenage girl and she was very well taken care of.  She's another Historical Elizabeth and I found her little bob absolutely adorable.  I plan on changing her wig eventually, but for now she's a great AG doll that I can actually let the girls to play with.  Her hair is perfect for the slightly rougher play they give her.

She likes cats and we call her Lucy. :)

I can't really bring myself to change her wig yet, so Lucy will probably be sticking around for a while.
I hope you all have a great week and thank you all for always taking the time to leave such nice comments on my posts.  I know we all read a ton of different blogs and it can be tiring to keep up, but your comments and being able to "chit-chat" about all of our different dolls, toys and every day life here on blog land are part of what makes this experience so fun!  I love seeing everyone's collections and projects and it's so inspiring.

See you all soon.
Farrah xoxo

NOTE:  She is wearing American Girl Isabelle - Isabelle's Performance Set  (it's now retired from AG, but you can still find it on Amazon!)

Disclaimer:  I recently signed up for the Amazon Affiliates program.  If you would like to support this blog, please consider using my Amazon link on the top left side bar for any happy Amazon shopping you might do (or click directly on the link to the specific product) and a teeny tiny commission would be generated for this blog to be used for doll reviews and upcoming giveaways.  It does not cost anything for you at all.
If you have your own Amazon Affiliates link, let me know and I will go through yours as well!  (I do a lot of shopping on Amazon, lol.)
Thank you so much! :) xoxo

September

Wow, another one of these monthly round-ups...didn't I just do one??

You know I'm going to say it...September flew by! 

Seriously though, I really like doing these little monthly posts as it helps me keep up with my own photography and documentation of my family's shenanigans. :) 

So this month was pretty busy for us.  Pumpkin Pie started 1st grade and getting back into the early morning routine has meant going to bed earlier and less time for blogging.  It's something that I just have to accept and let go of.  I would totally blog all day if I could and I have to realize that it is what it is right now and it's all good. 

My mom and step-dad's orchard was busting with delicious (and organic...they didn't spray this year!) fruit.  We had a lot of fun going "apple picking" for free. 

It's so amazing to grow your own fruit and veggies and be able to pick a healthy snack whenever you can and I'm so thankful they give us access to this deliciousness.  We had a small garden this year with tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers, but the tomatoes didn't make it due to blight.  It was still fun to be able to pick a cucumber and pepper for my salad most days, though! 

Since it was fairly sunny and very warm for most of the month (it is technically still summer!) the girls and I continued to explore one of our favorite spots, the creek out back.

I love that we have access to so much nature and they can put their hands and feet in it, explore and discover.  It's not alway a perfect scenario (crying and whining, lol) but it makes me happy the we can all get outside and breathe fresh air so often.

Around the farm lots of birds have started clustering together in prep of heading south for warmer weather.

I was a little surprised by how late the leaves started to turn...it seemed earlier last year!  (Not complaining, haha.)

The corn has reached it's peak and harvesting began late in the month which kept my aunt and uncle really busy.

This is the view behind the house, past the creeks and  looking back towards the road.  

Amazing, right?? :) 

My favorite old apple tree (just have to include it in each monthly post.) :) 

We dog-sat a few times for my aunt and uncle so "after dinner walks" were really nice as the sun sets earlier and it looks pretty sweet from the field across the street! 

Amazing view from across the street looking back at the farm. (I wish I could build a house up here!)

Flower from Pumpkin Pie. :) 

                                                      The cows are back across the street!:)

                                             I love this morning view of them from the porch.  

We only had about 1-2 rainy days the entire month. There were times I actually craved the rain for the simple reason of having an excuse to stay inside and clean!  On this particular day, we just sat on the porch, did crafts, drank coffee and crochet.  Heck.  That's more fun than cleaning.

Yup, still working on these blankets...the never ending project! 

Slow and steady wins the race, right? 

We were able to get out on one hike mid-month to our favorite waterfalls.  The girls did really well!  Well, sort of, I guess.  As far as crying and whining, it was good.
Pumpkin Pie hiked the whole way by herself, but Little Button was carried quiet a bit. Her little legs just couldn't quite walk as far as they needed to.
 I have to admit, the only reason I am in shape is because I carry or give this kid a piggie back ride so often!

We made it to the lake! 

Little Button and I still enjoy our morning walks to drop her off at the babysitter before work (who conveniently lives down the street!)

As I say goodbye to September, I'm thankful for the sunshine, warm days and easy transition back to school life.  I'm excited for the upcoming holidays, comfort foods, chilly weather (forcing myself to write that lol), hot drinks, warm cozy clothes  and family time.
I hope you all had a nice time jumping into Autumn (or Spring if you're in the Southern Hemi!) and hope your October is even better. :)