On the Calendar for Sunday: Lamborn Farm's Fall Festival

I simply can't believe it's almost October. Maybe it's because we are still experiencing more sweat-soaked days than breezy, cool ones. Or perhaps it's because I blinked and we almost missed apple-picking season. (We did manage to score 1/2 bushel at Cider Hill last weekend but they ran out of cider doughnuts and cider slushies so I still feel my autumn is somewhat incomplete.) Regardless, fall is right around the corner so let the festivities begin!

Although Oktoberfest at Merritt Lake kicks off the weekend tonight, the first official fall festival that I'm aware of, locally, is Lamborn Farm's Fall Festival this Sunday, September 27, from 11AM-6 PM. There are a couple of ways to get to Lamborn Farm:

1) Throw all caution to the wind and follow your GPS blindly down Metropolitan. Get increasingly frustrated that Metropolitan seems to be perpetually torn to pieces and you can't make a left until you get all the way down to 20th (all the while, your Google Maps has been chiming in every 3 seconds to make the next immediate left, starting at 10th Street) and then completely throw your hands up in despair when you realize you have to take 155th St. for about a mile. 155th Street is mostly gravel.

Or....

2) Take 4th Street all the way to Lansing (it will become Main Street) and turn right on 4-H Road, past Freddy's (c'mon, we ALL know where Freddy's is...I don't judge) and just past the Lansing Public Library. There are signs and the GPS should start acting right to bring you in the rest of the way. But the address is technically in Leavenworth. Three cheers for paved all the way!

I had the chance to chat with the farm's owner, Joseph Lamborn, about the festival on Sunday, as well as other events they host on their 138-year old farm. You may remember him from PAIR Day. He was set up in one of the tents right across from the Harney Gym bubble. If you don't remember much from PAIR Day, that's also understandable. I felt like it was my wedding, the birth of my child and all 4 PCS's squeezed into the same day. And I walked out with enough paper to reforest the Amazon. But one of them was his brochure about the farm's fall festival. I jotted down the date in my planner and then promptly forgot about it. Until this week.

You can read about the farm's interesting history and how it has evolved to meet changing agricultural needs here. It is still a working farmstead (offering grass-fed beef and free-range pork) and was just added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.  The barn, which hosts weddings, receptions, reunions and group parties, is over 100 years old and it was just restored in May 2012. The Lamborn Family continues to improve the festival and the farm, which seems to perfectly anticipate the needs and wants of the community.

Sunday's Fall Festival will include bounce houses for the kids (I feel utterly deprived that bounce houses were not a thing during my childhood in the 80's), local arts and craft vendors (*ahem* 90 days until Christmas), a concession stand (featuring taco salad, pulled pork sandwiches and root beer floats), a pumpkin patch (already picked, thank goodness, because I've had enough of my toddler wiping out repeatedly on pumpkin patch vines), entertainment, and MUCH more! It's basically a party on the farm and there's a reason they sing country songs about that. What a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I was able to visit Mr. Lamborn's farm this week and my first impression upon walking up was simply how homey it feels. It's not perfectly manicured lawns or shiny new barns that are open only for the month of October. It's not the commercialization of pumpkin patches (and the prices they charge) or individually ticketed activities for the kids that make the whole experience seem economically driven. It is the beauty of a working farm that has opened its doors to the community. It is a family who wants to share their land, their bounty and their vision with anyone who is up for a tiny taste of farm life.

Unexpected charm can be found around every corner.

 And so many ways to share in good ole fashioned farm fun with your kids.

(For the record, this is a goat. I truly thought it was a sheep. Don't sheep have horns? Anyway, Mr. Lamborn's goats are sheared regularly by a lady who knits sweaters from the goat hair. Jackie and I have made it our mission this year to own a goat hair sweater by the time we leave Kansas. For real.)

Mr. Lamborn and his daughter (because this truly is a family owned and operated farm) were unloading the newest addition to the inventory while I was there.

There are several of these face cut-out, farm-themed stand-ups (almost all painted by a local artist) and I love every single one of them. Although my toddler isn't quite as amused, some of my favorite pictures involve our faces behind plywood.

While you're there, take a peek inside the barn. The bottom level is the ideal spot to capture a canvas-worthy photo of your kids.

And the top level houses the reception area, complete with tables, chairs and the perfect amount of white Christmas lights.

This Kentucky girl thinks no gathering on the farm (or, uh, anywhere) is complete without at least one bourbon barrel. They have two.

If you are interested in getting married (or re-married now that there's Pinterest), I can't imagine a more idyllic setting than Lamborn Farm. Mr. Lamborn put a bid in on these pews from a Baptist church in Topeka and, to his surprise, won the bid. They sit on a gently sloping hill, nature's ampitheater seating. And holy cow, they are gorgeous...especially under the setting Kansas sun.

It's tempting to dig out that dress and do it all over again!

Lamborn Farm isn't just open for the festival or weddings, though. They are happy to host just about any event you can imagine. Previous autumn events have included group pumpkin carvings, build-a-scarecrow, campfires and wagon rides. Their annual Haunted Hay Ride (and more kid-friendly "spooky" hayride from 8-9 PM)  will be held October 16 & 17 and 23 & 24. But if you can dream it, they can probably do it! Personally, after perusing their Facebook page photos, I'm trying to assemble my own scarecrow building crew!

via Lamborn Farm Facebook page

And the farm is open for the season everyday, from September 26-October 31, if your Sunday is already booked. They are also available by reservation year-round for campfires, small animals, barrel train, chuck wagon meals and birthday parties.

The Important Stuff:

Address: 25761 151st Street, Leavenworth, KS

Phone number: 913-727-5666

Email address: lambornv@sbcglobal.net

Website: www.lambornfarm.com

Fall Festival: Sunday, September 27, 11 AM-6 PM  

Admission for Fall Festival: Ages 2-12: $3.00

                                                Ages 13-adult: $5.00

Haunted Hay Ride: October 16 & 17, 23 & 24 

Admission for Haunted Hay Ride: Children $5.00

                                                            Adults $7.50 

A special thank you to Mr. Lamborn for the chat (he is, as my Papa used to say, "quite a character" who loves to talk, show off cell phone pictures of the many beautiful weddings they've hosted, and crack jokes until the sun goes down) and to Jackie for letting me post photos of her 2 adorable children! 

I hope to see y'all on Sunday! My mouth is already watering for pulled pork and a root beer float.

Flutter By

Every year I feel some obligation to write this post and every year I make some half-assed attempt at being poetic and powerful. Every year I fail miserably because, if I'm being honest, I am still too raw. And what I'm writing is not deeply personal or even all that inspirational to other Angel Moms because I still haven't found enough distance to impart some great wisdom. Basically, I just don't want to talk about it. Or think about it. But all of that avoidance hasn't gained me any great comfort over the past 6 years. I still feel like we are living a lie, this family of 3.

How many children do you have?
One. Just the one. (No, two. I have two children. One runs, one flies....Man, that looks so much better stamped on a necklace than it sounds aloud to a complete stranger.)

So, I don't say it, of course. I say one. The nosier ones ask when we will have more. If you press me hard enough, I will tell you that we actually have two. And I will make you feel like horse poo for saying anything at all.

I'm clearly not in my happy place.

But I don't know if I will ever, on this earth, find my happy place. Last year, I heard of a couple who was in the process of adopting a newborn. Adoption is competitive so they created a book to show the birth mom how important adopting her baby was to them. In the book, they explained that their dining room table has 4 chairs but they are only a family of 3. They felt incomplete. It was proof to me that their family was serious about expanding and would endure any heartache if it meant they would, one day, be whole. They were able to adopt and complete their family shortly thereafter.

It's a beautiful story and speaks to the life-altering potential of adoption, but I feel like the opposite holds true for us. To me, our family is always incomplete and will only be whole again when the 4 of us are in Heaven (OK, I'm assuming we will all be in Heaven...I need this hope, even if everything goes sideways and we end up in Hell...or it turns out there is no Heaven or Hell just worms. But I've placed all my bets on Heaven). Having another child, biological or otherwise, will not change my feelings about our family. It will not complete us or make me feel less guilty about ignoring one member of our family every time I'm asked. It won't erase this date from my memory or make me wonder any less about what life could be like.

The whole thing just sucks. And that's as elegant as I can be today. Ask me tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will tell you about time healing open wounds and being a light to those in the darkness. I will tell you your angel is always near and that God has a plan. But tonight, the open wound and the darkness and the angel and the plan don't make any sense. And I don't want to be poetic or powerful. I don't want to be wise or inspire. I just want to hold my family of 4.

This afternoon, as Blue and I were leaving the house, headed for the nursery to buy our annual mums, he spotted a black and blue butterfly in the grass. "Look! Mommy! A butterfwy!" Blue has a keen eye for butterflies and can spend hours chasing them. I tend to let him because I've always felt butterflies were Shep's way of communicating with us. And when Blue takes off after one, it's just 2 brothers playing tag. Today, Shepherd, you're it.

Queen Supreme: The Candle Kitchen and Tunnel Tour with Leavenworth's Candle Queen

It began innocently enough with one of those Facebook fan page contests. Share and tag 2 friends who would like to do this and you could win a tour through the candle kitchen and tunnel! Jackie, my neighbor and frequent sidekick for adventures around here, tagged me and that's how it popped up in my newsfeed. I have no idea what a tunnel tour is, I thought, but it sounds like fun. However, I never win those things so that was the extent of my thoughts about it before moving on to something a little more guaranteed...like laundry.

A few days later, Jackie texted me. Hey, what are you doing Saturday afternoon? Want to tour the candle kitchen with me? I was more excited about winning something vicariously through her than the actual tour but sure, why not? I like candles. And tunnels. And because Candle Queen Candles didn't participate in the charm hunt this year, it was one of the downtown stores I had not yet visited. After a morning of perusing the post-wide yard sale (where I accepted my Mom of the Year award for scoring a boatload of Hot Wheels cars for only $2.50), Jackie and I headed down to the shop at 500 Shawnee Street in downtown Leavenworth.

We had no trouble finding free, on-street parking right across the street, as it's not quite on the main drag. The Candle Queen's curb appeal, with her sweet, pink ride and spray-painted invitation to sparkle & shine (but of course, is there any other way?) literally sets the tone for the entire experience. The Candle Queen (AKA Stacy McCowen) is everything that's wonderful about being a girl. Her sense of style, sense of humor and southern hospitality (I'm not sure if she's from the south but she would fit right in) create an oasis for all who enter, but especially for frazzled moms who are taking their own time-out (we call this Mommy Time in our house and it's as sacred as the Sabbath).

We arrived a few minutes early, so there was time to shop before the tour began. We may have planned it that way. The shop is stocked with beautiful clothing, hand-crafted jewelry, unique home decor and, of course, candles!

This shirt says "I may not be Wonderwoman, but I will do things that make you wonder." Fabulous. 

The "melters" are Stacy's hottest sellers and the focus of our kitchen tour. 

When we signed in at the counter for the tour, we were offered a free Candle Queen cup for "checking in" on the Facebook page. 

Done...

And done!

Stacy called the group together and lead us into the first room, behind the scenes and, quite literally, behind the curtain. She explained that this was her prepping and packaging area, where flats of Mason jars are opened and readied for candles and products are boxed with bows, ready to ship. This part is a family affair and her kids are paid 50 cents per box of Mason jars to open and prep them. I'm fairly certain my son would much prefer this task to many of the things I ask him to do around the house! 

The next room is usually for storage, Stacy explained, but it had been cleaned out and spruced up just for the kitchen tours that weekend (one on Saturday and one on Sunday). It was transformed into a tasting room, complete with dips from The Set Table (she was at the Spouse Super Sign-Up and her spices and dips can be found on Etsy with local pick-up) , as well as margaritas and fruit-infused water. Yes, I know...I had you at margaritas. Me too. Call me crazy but a little tequila makes everything better. But also...water. Because Kansas humidity is no joke. 

It was around this time when we realized that the cups change color when something cold is poured into them. This is the second time I've encountered color-changing cups in Kansas and it's far more entertaining to me than it probably should be. This is also the moment when we noticed there were more margaritas than people. So, as women who hate to see good cocktails go to waste, we drank those, too.

Then Stacy brought us into the main hub of the production, where the wax is cooled and huge sheets of melters are cut and packaged. Mason jars filled with various oils were scattered around and one labeled Fabulouso caught someone's eye.

"Is that..."
"YES!" Stacy confirmed. "The scent of Fabulouso!" 

OK, this is what I get for being all crunchy granola and cleaning with a spray bottle of distilled vinegar. My house smells like...well...distilled vinegar. Apparently, it could smell like a field of lavender. But I had never heard of Fabulouso, which is a cleaning product used almost exclusively by pretty much everyone in Mexico. It has, therefore, become the unofficial smell of Mexico and evokes sun-soaked memories for anyone who has vacationed on their shores. But chances are, even if you have simply eaten in a Mexican restaurant around closing time, you've smelled this stuff. I really need to eat more Mexican food. Stacy now has an oil that smells exactly like Fabulouso and she'll be incorporating it into candles and melts sometime soon. So now, as Jackie pointed out, your house can smell clean, even when it's not actually clean. I'm claiming this as a win for moms everywhere.

One of the highlights of the kitchen tour was Stacy's offer to take home a baggie of melts for free. She had 4 trays of melts to choose from and, not wanting to be greedy since we had already finished off the margaritas, we only took a couple of cubes from each tray. But Stacy invited us to fill the bags. She really is the hostess with the mostess.

I can tell you that the Vanilla Pumpkin melt knocked that Infantry Barracks smell right out of my kitchen. Built in 1903 but smells like a Pumpkin Spice Latte, all day everyday. Stacy's wax contains a higher concentration of scented oil than most store-bought candles and melts. I've never really understood how the melts work, although I've been using a burner instead of candles since the day our son started walking. The wax never goes away, but the oil burns off. With more oil in the wax, it takes longer which means each cube can be used for longer. However, as Stacy explained, when the oil has burned off completely, throw the wax out or it will begin to take on a stench of its own...not something you want, regardless of how many boys live in your house.

Stacy, a fellow Army Wife with 22 years of Army life under her rhinestone belt, retired to Leavenworth with her husband, who is her shop "project manager". She is Mom to 4 amazing kids, one of which is severely handicapped and that lead her to create a home-based business. She tells a brilliant story about her first craft fair and how she came to be the Candle Queen. You can read her story under the About Us tab on the website, but it's far more amusing to hear Stacy tell it!

With melts in our pockets and margaritas in our tummies, it was time to go underground.

There are Christmas lights and pastel-painted stairs. It can't be that scary, right? 

Um...yeah...OK. Never mind. There are bodies in the basement...

Or...at least margarita-loving mannequins. That Jackie, such a giver. 

Stacy has very limited history on the tunnel under her shop because, to be quite honest, there isn't much to be found about it. Originally built as a saloon in 1858, it has seen many changes over the years. And, to Stacy's credit, much of that history can still be found in the rooms that jut off to the left of the main walkway. A newspaper dating back to 1912 is still stapled to one wall and a few wood planks from the Chase Candy Company in St. Joseph, MO can be found in the main passageway. 

Stacy is always collecting memories about her shop from Leavenworth residents. These recollections from grandchildren and great-grandchildren have helped to expand her theories on the purpose for the tunnels...from a means for transporting illegal alcohol and cigars into Leavenworth to a stop on the Underground Railroad to an entire underground city that was built up to combat the constant flooding of the Missouri River. There is, so far, no historical proof but lots of interesting possibilities. Perhaps most intriguing is that tunnels like this one snaked out all over Leavenworth in the 1800's, but the city has filled in all except 2; Stacy's and the one beneath the State Farm office. Stacy's tunnel is the only one you can tour. And it is a little bit famous. It was featured on the nationally syndicated show, Plainspirits, which can be viewed here.

Ultimately, the question had to be asked...is your tunnel haunted? No, Stacy quickly answered. But...there's always a but. The Plainspirits film crew had brought 4 cameras with them. When they entered one of the rooms, all 4 camera batteries died simultaneously. According to the crew, that had never happened. OMG, which room? As Stacy showed us in, we heard the distinctive beep-beep of a cell phone dying. So, that can't be a coincidence, right? Whose cell phone dies at 2 PM?

And then there was the mannequin room. Stacy has had several people approach her about purchasing the mannequins but she refuses to part with them. I agree. When you start moving bodies, you just never know what you are going to find.

I know...creeeeepy. Not enough margaritas in the world to make this not creepy. 

We paused for one more picture with the gatekeeper before heading back up.

That lady's American flag t-shirt reads "United We Sip" and the stars are tiny wine glasses. I think that might be the best thing I've ever seen. 

Back up top, we said good-bye to Stacy and thanked her for her time and her hospitality. And then we shopped. 

Jackie got a deep whiff of Butt-Naked...

...and confessed that it actually smells AMAZING. 

I had to have this t-shirt because, really, when you move like we do, home is wherever you are at the moment.

And Jackie chose this rustic metal sign for her living room. Admittedly, I have sign envy. There's one more. It might be calling my name.

Stacy doesn't offer tours of the kitchen and tunnel very often simply because she is so busy working, but she has started doing more as she loves the interaction with the community. To encourage that interaction, she is in the planning stages of several events, including a Beauty Bar with Jessica Parish (a cosmetologist on staff at Candle Queen Candles and a graduate in the top of her class at the Paul Mitchell School). More details on this event to come soon, but if the kitchen tour is any indication, every detail will be perfect and you will get so much more than you expect!

Stacy also hosts the annual Candle Queen's Romp 5K in April, which benefits area charities chosen by Candle Queen Candles Facebook fans. In 2014, Candle Queen Candles presented a check for $10,000 to The Farmer's House in Weston. Tiaras, tutus, terrific cause!

And recently, Stacy began a Candle Queen Shopping Facebook group called Candle Queen Candles Shopping Queens! It's a group so you must request to join, but Stacy's cool and all are invited to the party! Since Facebook has changed its algorithm, Stacy uses the group to post everything new...clothes, events, candles...because you get a notification when she posts. This is the best place to stay-up-to-date on all things Candle Queen...AND win a kitchen/tunnel tour!

If you go:
*Plenty of on-street parking
*For shopping and the tour, Stacy is certainly a kid-friendly kind of gal, but you will have more fun if your child is a girl over the age of...8? Or it's Mommy Time with your girlfriends. I love my toddler but for 2 hours, I didn't miss him at all.
*Check-in on Facebook, get cool free cup.
*Ask Stacy about the leather shavings in the tunnel.
*Shop for a Pandora charm or 2 from their Pandora counter in the corner of the store.
*Take home some Butt-Naked. You won't be sorry.

Have you been to Candle Queen Candles? What did you think? Have you been on a kitchen/tunnel tour? Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments! I approve them daily. 

My Charming Little Town

Midwesterners are a quietly clever bunch of folks. All of my preconceived notions of life in Kansas now seem absurd and narrow-minded. We have spent very little time at home over the past couple of months. Although Neal has officially started school, Blue and I find ourselves on the road to KCMO (Kansas City, MO but pronounced "K-C-MO" - which is not particularly creative but crazy-fun to say) at least 2 or 3 days per week. But this weekend, there is a hometown treasure hunt right outside the gate!

The Leavenworth Charm Hunt is a scavenger hunt of sorts that takes you through many of the locally-owned businesses in the downtown area. Downtown Leavenworth is not especially large so as long as you have older kids or a stroller or a babysitter, you should be able to walk it and complete the hunt in about 2 hours. I had none of the above so I ended up carrying Blue about 1/2 mile total. I'm going to pay for that later.

Blue and I met our neighbors at Harbor Lights Coffeehouse on Shawnee St. for a quick snack around 9:30 this morning. We were not the only ones with that idea, but even as the cafe filled, the staff was welcoming and the mood was festive. Harbor Lights maintains an entire rack full of kids' toys for the younger ones so Blue spent most of his time on the floor, surrounded by "new friends" (we've been working on calling people by their names instead of "hey" or "new friend"...it's a never-ending struggle). When 10:00 rolled around, the cafe emptied and we strolled down a block to Queen's Pantry on Delaware Street to get a map of the participating stores (most of the shops on the hunt are displaying an orange star balloon outside but some did not so a map is rather essential. Also, the number of maps given out = the number of charms each shop has on hand. When the maps run out, so do the charms. This new method of tracking participation is in response to last year's complaints that some of the stores ran out of charms before people had completed the hunt).

The line at Queen's Pantry (the mandatory starting point and a precious little tea shop featuring British pantry items, tea sets, coffee mugs, aprons, serving trays and anything else that would help a Brit in Kansas feel right at home) stretched through the store and out the door as groups of 3 or 4 received their maps and instructions for completing the hunt. Although a toddler in a tea shop only spells disaster, Blue was able to "keep calm" and, thankfully, the line moved quickly.

It got a little warm in the shop and Blue always responds by turning bright red and going completely deaf to the sound of my voice...especially if the words coming out include "LOOK WITH YOUR EYES!!" 

With our maps and the first charm in hand (a sweet little tea cup and saucer to represent our first stop on the hunt), we carefully chose our route for the next 17 shops. We would visit all of the shops on Delaware first and then walk one block down to Cherokee. There were some stores on the periphery. We would decide what to do about those later. Because Blue couldn't care two squats about charms, I had been referring to the event as a "treasure hunt" and the orange star balloons became our clues that treasure was hidden inside. I didn't plan it that way but for a 3-year old, it couldn't have worked out better.

I will say that most of the participating stores are stroller friendly, with double doors leading in and wide aisles that even accommodated the double strollers we saw. There were a few exceptions, of course...like Queen's Pantry (with aisles of china on either side), The Book Barn (whose narrow aisles spilling over with stories for all ages is like falling down the rabbit hole of reading and wonder) and The Turquoise Fish (which has several steep stairs leading up to its only entrance). On the whole, though, it seemed like the moms were maneuvering the shops OK and other participants were patiently waiting while they got in, out and around. (I can't tell you what a game-changer it is to have people show a little empathy towards a mom with a stroller. For the love of all that is good and under the age of 5, please don't throw elbows, give the stink-eye or let a door shut on a mom with a stroller, even if it's roughly the same size as a city bus. Sometimes it's the only thing that allows us to get out of the house once in a blue moon and do something fun. If your child is a teenager and you've forgotten what it's like, at least teach him/her to hold the door for us and we will be immensely grateful now and pay it forward in 10 years.)

The premise of the charm hunt, which is now in its 12th year, is to introduce the 1500 or so families that descend upon Fort Leavenworth every summer to the downtown area. Although I'm sure these business owners understand that they are in stiff competition with KCMO shops just 30 minutes across the state line, it's their way of getting you in their store at least once during the year. It's brilliant because now that we've been in, we are sure to return...even if it's just to have Lulu fitted for a new kitty harness from Kansas Country Store or pick up a darling summer dress from Lavender Moon Clothing Company or take a sewing class at Meadows Quilting and Sewing. Most of the shops encourage browsing during the charm hunt by placing the charm pick up station near the back of the store. It's almost impossible to walk all the way to the back of these shops and not find something you love on the way. To entice you further, when you spend $20 in any of the participating shops, you get a free bracelet for all of your new charms. Otherwise, the bracelets are $5 each. Some stores also had charms from years past available for purchase. We picked up an extra horse charm from Kansas Country Store for $1.10. We browsed as much as we could, but as the morning turned to afternoon and Blue was grazing on apple sauce packets and fig bars stashed in my purse, I had to make more promises to return on a day when I was alone.

By the time we reached The Pot Rack (which, oh my cute kitchen), Blue was rubbing his eyes and begging to go home. We had 4 stops left and 2 of them were several blocks in opposite directions...which brings me to my suggested route for the 2015 charm hunt. We parked on the street, directly in front of Queen's Pantry and then worked our way down to one end of Delaware and then back up the other side. We then walked one block down to Cherokee and did the same. However, some of these shops on Delaware and Cherokee are waaaaaay at the end with not much in between. So, if I were to do it again, I would start at Queen's Pantry and do the following Delaware St. shops first (not necessarily in this order - refer to your map for exact street numbers):
1. Euro-Pottery (beautiful Polish pottery in all shapes and sizes)
2. Leavenworth Antique Mall (4 floors of antiquing. FOUR!)
3. The Party Store (due to their store layout, they are handing out charms at the cash register at the front, which causes a little bit of a bottleneck. Patience is not just a Guns n Roses song, y'all.)
4. Meadows Quilting & Sewing (Technically on 5th St. but it's on the corner of Delaware and 5th so it's still right there...and I wish I had bought my last batch of RV valance fabric there. So. Much. Cute. Fabric.)
5. Bisque-It (Bonus: you can sign up for painting or pottery classes while you're picking up your charm. I'll be celebrating part of my birthday weekend painting sunflowers with them!)
6. Nibbit Works (Besides being a new shop featuring beautiful blown glass and a coffee-table sized drum at the back of the store, they were also offering cookies from Sis' Sweets, which is currently ranked #1 restaurant in Leavenworth on Trip Advisor.)
7. The Book Barn (If you eat, sleep, breathe books like we do, this may be a good place to spend your $20.)
8. C.J. Gift Co. (Adorable home decor plus a floral umbrella opened and suspended upside down in the doorway. I call this bad luck but Blue calls it fascinating. Probably because he's my son and he's never seen an umbrella opened inside. This is also your one stop shop for all Rock Chalk Jayhawk gear...if that's your...thing. If UK loses to KU again this year, I'm going underground like it's a nuclear war.)
9. 3 Ladies Sewing Shoppe (One day with them ends in 3 finished projects. Gonna cross that "learn to embroider" task right off the 101 list this year!)

At this point, I would be tempted to move the car down to Cherokee St. I know there's one more shop on Delaware, but trust me, there's plenty of parking and it's a bit of a hike.

On Cherokee St. (again, not necessarily in this order)
1. First Taste Olive Oils and Vinegars (In addition to a tasting room, they also have a small cafe that serves lunch. If your children are hanging in there or you're charm hunting sans kids, this is a tasty lunch treat as it will be around 12ish if you started on Delaware at 10.)
2. The Pot Rack (Complimentary tea and coffee were served near the rear of the shop. This place reminds me of Paula Deen's gift shop next door to The Lady and Sons in Savannah, but without the sticker shock or kitschy southern crap that no respectable southern lady has in her house anyway.)
3. Kansas Country Store (Like Tractor & Supply, but way cooler.)
4. Lavender Moon Clothing Co. (A small store but big on artistic talent. The clothing is well-made and modern and the jewelry is handmade by an artist who works out of the back of the shop. They just moved so their new address is 700 Cherokee St.)

I would suggest perhaps driving to the last 4 shops.
1. dorMail Gallery (At the end of Delaware, closest to the tracks. They had some books and puzzles out for the kids, which was greatly appreciated. They will also be offering a paper marbling class this fall. I don't know what I'm going to do with marbled paper, but I'm sure I can find a way to use it for some project.)
2. Leavenworth Floral and Gifts (All the way at the OTHER end of Delaware. I'm not much of a cut-flower girl but they have these super cool ribbon flame candles that I would buy in a heartbeat if I wasn't so afraid of a toddler + open fire in the same house.)
3. The Turquoise Fish (All the way at the other end of Cherokee, going away from the railroad tracks. They are also handing out charms at the register but take a few minutes to walk around anyway. So many handcrafted goodies in one little spot. I've already added this to my Solo Saturday Shopping Trip.)
4. Sunflower Sister Vintage (This shop sits a few streets off of downtown, in a somewhat commercial section of Leavenworth. The outside looks a little questionable but inside, it's a vintage chick's paradise. Shabby chic with a splash of color, plus if you have any Pinterest projects that require a vintage suitcase, this is your place.)

And with that, you're all done! When the map is full of stamps, just leave it at the last shop you visit so you can be entered into a drawing for gift cards to the participating stores!

The charms are mostly packaged in small baggies with a jump ring included in the bag. I heard some people grumbling about receiving charms with jump rings unattached. People never cease to amaze me. Get yourself some pliers and follow this tutorial and you're good to go. Not only is this useful information post-charm hunt, but also good for minor repair of your jewelry in general. But if you are completely uninterested in creating your own bracelet, you can deliver your bag of charms to Bisque It and they will assemble it for $10. Now, the most important question...what do the charms look like? Here are the 18 charms for the 2015 Charm Hunt (+1 horse charm for this Kentucky girl):

Cute, right? My favorites are the muffin pan, the margarita glass and the paint brushes in a can but they are all precious. The bottom row includes a cracked marble bead, which I've seen on Pinterest and have been meaning to try but just haven't had time. At least now I know what it's supposed to look like. And the bunch of grapes at the top is so large that I think I'm going to string it onto a 1.0mm sterling silver bead chain all by itself!

Also, this wasn't in a Charm Hunt store but there are no words for how much I love this sign:

So, happy hunting...tomorrow and beyond!

Just Do It: The Wine Cork Ring Tutorial

You may have noticed that we've hit the ground running in Kansas. Whatever they say about tornadoes and cornfields and cowtipping for fun is just hogwash. These folks know how to keep a family busy. Last weekend, we attended a morning at the ranch on Friday and then a festival for new-comers on Saturday. I haven't had much time to work on my personal jewelry so I've been relying on a few staples to keep me accessorized...a koa wood beaded necklace from our vacation in Hawaii, a couple of Alex and Ani bangles and this wine cork ring I made last year. The "T" stands for Talon Vineyard, which is tucked away on Tates Creek Road in Lexington. Talon makes some of my favorite wines and the staff has always been warm and welcoming, whether we are there for a tasting or just want to enjoy a bottle of Bluegrass Blush on a picnic blanket in the vineyard. I chose this cork because the "T" makes it unique and it's a piece of Kentucky that travels with me all over the world.

To make your own wine cork ring, you will need the following supplies:

1. A 22mm wine cork. Believe it or not, size does matter and they aren't all the same. Champagne corks are too big and some red wine corks are too small (you may notice that the red wine cork in the above picture is slightly smaller than the white wine one. I pulled it out of my bag-o-corks to make a red wine cork ring but it's too small and leaves a lot of space between the cork and the ring. I'm looking into ways to fill that space but for now, it just looks weird).

2. A non-serrated knife for a clean cut.

3. The ring base, which can be purchased at Hobby Lobby:

Go to the jewelry supply aisle and look for the section with the green tags that say My Jewelry Shop. Make sure you purchase the ring bezel that has a 22 millimeter center. The actual ring is adjustable. As you can see here, they are normally $1.99 but if you buy them when My Jewelry Shop is 50% off, then this entire project will only cost you about $3.00, plus the cost of the wine which you were going to drink anyway.

4. E-6000 glue. This is specific craft glue that lasts fooorrrrreeeevvvveeeerrrr. I've used Super Glue for some jewelry projects before but repeated exposure to water and a variety of temperatures seem to weaken the bonding power of Super Glue. Since this is a ring and I wash my hands no less than 65 times a day, I needed something that could withstand repeated exposure to water. Interestingly, the water doesn't effect the cork, other than to give it a lovely aged crackle. E-6000 can be purchased at any craft store and at Hobby Lobby, it's in the same aisle as the jewelry supplies.

Putting your ring together:
1.Place your whole cork inside the ring to make sure it will fill the bezel enough. This was about the moment when I figured out that the diameter of my red wine cork wasn't wide enough. Dang. I will have to drink another bottle and hope that cork is bigger.

 

2. Use a pencil (or pen...we tend to hide the pencils in this house because Magic Eraser is awesome on pen, but we've had mixed results with toddler pencil art on the walls) to mark where you are going to cut with your knife. I usually just make a mark right at the top of the ring bezel.

 See the pencil mark? Right....THERE...(where's a pointy finger emoji when you really need one?)

3. Set the ring to the side and use the knife to slice off the end of the cork right above your pencil mark. This may be a good time to mention that the part you've just cut will be the bottom of the ring so make sure that the end of the cork you want to show on your ring is facing down into the bezel when you measure and mark. 

4. Spread the E-6000 inside the bezel (mostly on the flat bottom, not so much around the sides). I didn't get a picture of this part because E-6000 is a lot runnier than Super Glue and God only gave me 2 hands. A picture at this point would definitely have required 3.

5. Before you put the cork into its final spot, put the ring on whichever finger will wear it most. I tend to wear this ring on my right ring finger, so I turn the T a little more counter-clockwise than I would if I was going to wear it on my middle finger. This is more important when you are centering a letter or geometric pattern and you want it to sit straight on your hand while you're wearing it. It doesn't mean you can't switch fingers, it will just sit a hair crooked if you do.

6. Remove the ring and set it upright to dry. I use a ring mandrel, but I know not everyone has one of those so a Sharpie pen also works....or anything that is roughly the same size as your fingers. It takes about 12 hours to fully cure so make sure it's up and out of grabby-finger-reach.

Part of my fun in drinking a bottle of wine now is checking out the cork to see if it has any special markings. I found one in a bottle of 2006 white with the date stamped on the cork. That happens to be the year we got married so that's my next project!

A word about the ring bases: they are silver plated and not even sterling silver plated. If you have a nickel allergy, you would be better off searching Etsy for a 22mm bezel ring in sterling silver. They make them. They're out there. Order one of those to keep your hand from swelling up and falling off. I'm all for sacrificing for beauty but there are limits. If you don't have any metal sensitivities, this is a great ring base. I've been wearing my wine cork ring for about a year now and aside from the cork falling out (which is fully attributed to Super Glue + water + time), the ring base itself hasn't tarnished or worn much. It still looks pretty great, which is not always the case with base metals.

So, get thee to the liquor store. You have accessories to create!

Evolution

Last week, we celebrated Blue's 3rd birthday. THIRD. 0-3.

How in the hell did that happen?

Wasn't he just a few days old, sucking passionately on a pacifier and waking up every 3 hours on the dot? How did he become a strutting, singing, ball of energy? Did I blink and miss something?

Oh, no wait...I didn't miss a thing. I remember it all now...just like it was yesterday. Three years of self-doubt, anxiety, wonder, giggles, heartache, fear, laughter, tears, lack of self-confidence, hopes, power struggles, losing patience, finding patience at the bottom of an afternoon espresso, building confidence, tearing down stacks of blocks, regret, tender kisses on the cheek, first words, angry words, cuddles, new toys, old habits, finding my feet as a mother, trusting my husband to find his.

Three years of parenting, starting from scratch.

Throughout it all, the underlying thread of my time as a mother has been fear. Fear that I will drop his tiny 8 lb body during a hand-off in the hospital. Fear that he will choke on a Cheerio and die. Fear that the scratch on his leg is actually a brown recluse spider bite or that the fall he took off the couch will result in internal bleeding or that he's going to develop rickets because he's such a damn picky eater. Fear that I will have to say goodbye to another child. Tami, a friend and Gold Star Mother, said it best. She commented on her blog one day that the only time she didn't worry about her grown son was after he was killed in Afghanistan. I didn't get it then, but I live it everyday now. I am always aware that we've put all of our eggs into this Blue basket and even if he had a sibling, I would be just as anxious about his/her safety and well-being.

After Blue turned 1 week old, Mom and Anna went home. When he turned 3 weeks old, Neal went back to work. And I began my new job...one that I was completely unqualified for with no prior training or experience. I had taken 8 years to finish college. I had quit my career as a fitness professional. I had bailed on my career as a massage therapist. I was an incoherent disaster in the morning. Every morning. I had a tendency to cuss with the slightest provocation.

I was going to completely eff this up.

When Blue was about 6 months old, after I had accidentally dropped my iPhone on his head in the park and introduced avocados 3 months too early and watched helplessly from across the room as he rolled off the bed and onto the slightly padded hotel room floor, I messaged my friend. Her daughter was about 5 at the time. She must have some answers. I asked her when she felt comfortable as a mom. At what point did she feel like she had this? Her reply? About 6 months.

I was so screwed.

For the next 18 months, I felt frumpy, hormonally imbalanced, anxious, worried and utterly unfashionable. I wore my black yoga pants until they sprang a hole in a rather conspicuous spot. All of my clothes were snug, except for my sports bras, which stretched and sagged under the new weight. I refused to buy anything bigger because any day now, all of this extra baby weight I had picked up in the last 8 weeks of pregnancy was just going to drop right off as I jumped over a mud puddle or something. It had already over-stayed its welcome so annnny day now....

Was I depressed? Yes, somewhat. Was I overwhelmed and completely exhausted? Absolutely. Did I contemplate taking Blue with me into the river? No. Not for one single second. I was in complete awe of this tiny human we created and I woke up each day eager to see what he would do next. It was all a big adventure, albeit an anxious one fraught with danger and peril from the outside world. We waded in cautiously and congratulated ourselves heartily when we found we had survived another day. Sometimes, though, we didn't wait until Neal was walking in the door. Some days were bad and he found me pacing the driveway, ready for a hand-off and the keys to any car without an infant seat. Some days I understood how women could cross over to the darker side of motherhood.

If I could write a letter to Blue's Mommy of 3 years ago, I would tell her that:
1. At 1 day old, he's never going to leap from your arms to his death on the tiled hospital floor.
2. Ignore the voices and skip the articles that suggest you are abusing your child by giving him formula for the first year. He is in the 81st percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. Similac didn't kill him.
3. Let him be naked more. And if pedophiles freak you out that bad, just close the damn blinds.
4. Wear him more and get more done. Gazing lovingly upon an infant who's thrashing about on a play yard makes a great Johnson & Johnson commercial but it's not realistic. There are better ways to bond.
5. Ignore the co-sleeper critics. He will become an epic cuddler and it will give you immeasurable joy.
6. Play more, worry less. Neal will show you how.
7. Let others care for him, too. He will show you, eventually, that he thrives even when you aren't there to see it. He can be cared for by other adults and you need that space from time to time. Find a babysitter. Pay her well.
8. Read to him more. At 3, he only wants to sit still for books on his terms. Enjoy those times when you can still do things at your will.
9. Not every outfit has to match. Not every shirt has to have a collar.
10. Let him see you sweat. Even if it's Wii-Zumba in the living room. Make a little time each day to work out. And this is no time for Mom Guilt. Neal's got this. He will show you a thousand times over that he knows how to be a fantastic dad.
11. PBS has not ruined a child yet. Someone will comment on your lax TV rules, but there is much to learn from Daniel Tiger, Cat in the Hat and Curious George.
12. Juice is not the devil. Neither are hotdogs, s'mores, gummy snacks, popcorn, chocolate chip waffles nor cheese. He hates ice cream, cotton candy and pasta but loves almost every fruit you set in front of him. These are all small victories that you will learn to celebrate.
13. You don't need a house full of toys. You need a couple of worms, a frog or 2, a box of sand and some measuring cups. Save the thousands of dollars you'll give to V-Tech, Thomas the Train, Melissa & Doug and fly yourselves to somewhere exotic.
14. Trust in yourself. Know that when you are in the moment, you will find the right words to say or the right thing to do. And if you don't find them in that moment, you will find them in the next one. Others may criticize, pass judgment, question or even doubt what you are doing, but you are his Mommy. You will always do what you think is best for his well-being so everyone else can eat rocks.

I'm a little sad for the Ally of 3 years ago. I wish she had felt more empowered to raise up a child. I wish she had put on a pantyliner and gone for a run. Or maybe hired a babysitter and taken an art class. She was consumed to the point of burning. It was not sustainable.

Today, my walking, talking, skipping, jumping, singing, screaming, story-telling, loving, kind, silly three-nager said to me, "Mommy, we're a team." He has no idea what it means, but he couldn't be more accurate. Hand-in-hand, we cross roads, walk through doors, learn from one another and teach each other. We've both come a long way...to the moon and back, in just 3 years.