Instagram Peeps, Where Y'at? (New Fun IG Stuff)

I have found a new project of sorts on Instagram...selling vintage/pre-loved/antique/awesome things I find while treasure hunting. Until a few months ago I didn't even know this existed. There are so many truly nice people on there who buy, sell, and trade great finds, so I thought I would give it a try, too. 

My IG seller account is annaliesefindsthings. As my short bio says, "Like Pippi Longstocking, I am a Thing-Finder. Come browse my treasures". If you don't know the reference, you should read the book! (Pippi is so cool.) 

I recently came upon a fairly large quantity of antique and vintage books. Some are from 1902! You can imagine my excitement. I felt like I had just found a buried treasure or something. 

Other than the Instagram fun, I am still working on things for my Etsy shop and taking care of my family (humans, felines, and birds), our home, and our outdoor paradise (or so I like to think of it) full time. We have some changes coming up for the kids in the way of schooling after this school year is over in a few weeks; changes that affect our whole family and that are big and awesome changes. I'll get into that later. =) 

I hope everyone has a chance to spend some time in the out-of-doors this week!

P.S. Oh! Husband and I started watching a documentary on the Celts...we had no idea that they were all across Europe and did not originate in Ireland. Minds --> blown. Why didn't we learn about this in school? 

P.P.S. Felix the Fox now lives in Australia! Bon voyage, Felix! I hope he's having a great time. ^_^ 

Spring has sprung!

Hello bloggy friends! I do apologize for my absence. I've still been hibernating as spring has been taking it's sweet time in arriving here on the western shores of Lake Michigan. But I dare say it's here now! 

This is our first spring in our little brick cape, and with spring comes the discovery of flowers! 

I have sweet little crocuses springing up alongside the house and hyacinth too! My mom was here visiting this past week and cut a few bouquets of hyacinth to put around my house. It is the best air freshener I've ever smelled. The scent is so sweet, I'm putting it right up there with lilacs as my favorite flower to smell. 

The baby has been picking me handfuls of flowers. He has the biggest sweetest smile handing them to me (that I haven't been able to catch on camera yet). 

We went kite flying when my mom was here. It was a perfect day! A picnic at the lighthouse followed by kite flying while the baby napped in the fresh, brisk wind. 

I have never seen blues and greens like the ones in this Great Lake of ours. 

The next couple weeks we are planning on taking some bird watching hikes at the nature center, building some garden boxes (that will hopefully be bunny-proof), setting up a tire swing for the boys, and I'm thinking some fresh paint in our bedroom and building some bookshelves in the living room will make the "to do" list too! 

Bawk Bawk, Chicken Lovers!

Well here is the big backyard surprise I mentioned in my last post...we got chickens! Three of them, actually: Gertrude, Francis Pistachio, and Muffin the Cheep Cheep. They are cute little weirdos and we rescued them from a place that was not keeping their animals very well. They have a much better life now, but we are having to treat them for some problems. =( People can really be awful.

Check out Muffin, cheeping for me to pick her up:

We think she looks like a giant little peep with feathers. ^_^

I hope everyone is enjoying their outdoor spaces, be it your backyard, a park, or balcony.

Oh! And don't forget to follow me over on Instagram! I've been selling a few things over there, plus you'll get to see snapshots of our family's life and you even might get some more chicken videos. Later!

Shop News from Annaliese's Emporium and Life Stuff from Annaliese!

Hey there!

I have a bunch of fun stuff going on with my shop right now! I have been adding new items, one of which are bow tie pasta hair bows, which are buy three get the fourth one free. You pick the color and I'll make 'em for you!

These are great for party favors! I'm actually going to be making some for Miss G's birthday party, which is coming up in the next couple of weeks!

How are my kids getting so old?? Eek! 

Here is a sneak peek at the new dolls that will be in my shop soon! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen these:

I love their cute little faces!

They will be in the shop very sooooonnnn!!!

I've been making a few fun Etsy treasuries you might check out, too.

And our family has been really working hard on our yards and garden, and spending as much time outside as possible in this nice spring weather. We have lots of little green sprouts coming up in our starter trays and containers inside and they should be ready to plant outside soon! We're also building a hugelkultur garden and we planted two apple trees! I'm hoping for a mini food forest at our house someday. ^_^

Not a burial mound. A hugel!

Even though we are in the middle of a city, I'm trying to make our backyard a bit of a lush oasis. The privacy fence helps. :) We should soon have some exciting news about our outdoor adventures! 

Lots of fun stuff going on around here. I hope everyone is getting some warmer weather, too!