Its The Great Pumpkin!

My first craft show is in three short weeks, so what should I be doing on a Saturday off from work?  Working on bulking up my inventory?  Nope. Going to the Pumpkin Patch, that's what!    The hubby and I decided to visit Roloff Farms, which you may have seen on TLC's "Little People, Big World".  They open their farm to the public during pumpkin season, and they're surprisingly located just seven miles from our house.  It blows my mind that they're so close, yet we're definitely in the city, and they're out in the peaceful countryside! 

Yay!  We're here!

I was born in Oregon, and lived there for 23 years before moving to Arizona, yet I had never visited this particular pumpkin patch.  I didn't become a fan of the show until I was living in Arizona. When we moved back and settled so close to them, I started counting down the days until we could go visit.  We got there 15 minutes after they had opened, and still had to wait in a 20-minute traffic line to get in!  It was neat to see how many other people were excited to spend the day there.  When we made it inside the farm, we immediately met Matt Roloff, who was so happy and kind. 

Matt thanked us for coming out to see them.

 We took one of their wagon tours around the property - seeing their stunning customized home, Molly's castle, and met Matt's parents in the old western town that Matt built out of recycled barn wood from all over the Northwest.   We saw all the kids except for Molly, who was at a volleyball tournament. Jeremy and Zach were driving two of the many tractors pulling the wagon tours, and Jacob was hosting a soccer-kicking contest in the patch.  They were all smiling and friendly, taking pictures with fans. Our wagon was driven by one of the twins' best friends.

This house is AMAZING!  Its customized for their height.

We also met Amy, who was incredibly nice and gracious.  She chatted with us for awhile and took a photo with us.  I love the Roloffs because they're such incredible ambassadors of the local area, even though they never set out to be in that role.  I told Amy that I'm so proud to live in the same community as such a wonderfully giving family, and thanked her for having such a positive presence in the community.  I even laughed and told her its nice to have a great reality family that's drama-free; she laughed and said their only drama is normal family stuff and thanked me for saying that. 

Posing with Amy - she was so cool!

We wandered through the many attractions - there's a petting zoo, an area with exotic rescued animals, and a fun house with all sorts of scenes with dressed up pumpkins.  Then it was time to find our pumpkins!!  We decided to just pick one larger one, and we'd both agree on the carving design.....until I found the section on the farm with the wee little pumpkins, and I just had to take a little five-pounder home.

We had such a fantastic day at Roloff Farms.  The weather was amazing!  Matt and Amy even took time out to raise awareness about the Kyron Horman investigation (in case you haven't heard, Kyron disappeared from his school in NW Portland back in June and hasn't been found).  Matt wore a shirt with Kyron's information on it, and they had a booth set up with Kyron's picture and resources for parents. Matt and Amy were interviewed by a local news station, and we even saw Kaine Horman (Kyron's father) at the farm.

These signs lined the road to the farm, and I loved them.

After picking our pumpkins, we left the farm with some fun souvenirs and huge smiles on our faces. I took home an adorable Roloff pumpkin shirt that I couldn't resist.  All in all, it was a very affordable day - they could easily take advantage of their fame and charge for all the photos and autographs or charge a huge fee for the tractor tour.  But they don't, which just speaks to how down-to-earth they are. Whether you're a fan of their show or not, you should definitely make a visit to Roloff Farms during pumpkin season.  But get there early, as traffic backs up for miles on the two-lane country road!  Thank you Roloff family for welcoming everybody into your farm for such a special day!

Giveaway Alert: If its free, its for me!

One of my many Halloween page creations!

Before I get to business, I have something very important to announce.  I think the Swiffer 360 Duster is amazing.  There, I said it.  I've never felt the need to spend money on those cleaning products that I thought were just invented to make money for cleaning product companies, but this is one that is *completely* worth it!  It doesn't just move the dust around, it really gives you instant gratification - a clean surface with little effort.  I'm in love.

Ok, now its down to business!  I wanted to let everybody know about this fantastic giveaway that I'm participating in over at Domesticated Delight.  I'm giving away a custom designed Halloween scrapbook page to one lucky winner - it could be YOU!  Before you dismiss this giveaway, consider this: scrapbook pages aren't just for scrapbookers.  You can pick up a very inexpensive scrapbook page frame at your local craft store, and you'll have instant personalized art.  Do you have family members who can't make it to see your little ones trick-or-treat this year?  Stick your snapshots onto the custom page for them, and it will be their favorite gift this year. 

Its very easy and there are several easy ways to gain entries, so click here to head on over to check out the feature that Johnna, the delight behind Domesticated Delight, wrote about me and the shop.  While you're there, check out her other postings - she's got fantastic recipes and info.  I heart her blog! 

I'm afraid I can't write anything further - I'm too blissed out in my clean house (thanks to my duster magic)  with my pumpkin spice candles and "Gilmore Girls" on TV :)   Have a fantastic Sunday!

My days as a 20-something are numbered!

I celebrated my 29th birthday this past weekend!  Even though my shop is all about celebrating, I haven't always been a fan of celebrating my own birthday.  I always prefer celebrating somebody else's birthday, giving somebody else a big party or event.  However, this was my last birthday being a 20-something, and I wanted to make it count!  I took the weekend off from crafting and this crazy craft show preparation to relax and have a good time.

About a month ago, I learned that the Official Twilight Tour was coming to town, and I immediately called my mom to see if she'd like to go with me.  I'm a a huge fan of the books and the movies, and I'm proud of it!  We went down there on the last day of the convention, the day before my birthday, and I took so many pictures, I felt like a crazed fan...oh yeah, because I am.  

Geeking it out on stage before the convention started



We saw Chaske Spencer (Sam from the Wolf Pack), Daniel Cudmore (Demitri of the Volturi), and Charlie Bewley (Felix from the Volutri).  Each star answered pre-submitted audience questions, and Charlie answered one of mine!  I asked how how he felt about the Twilight franchise before he was cast in it (he was annoyed at all the hype).  

Charlie answering MY QUESTION!

 There were vendors selling Twi-merchandise, an auction where my mom won a giant 6'x4' Official Convention Banner featuring Bella Swan for mere pennies, and panels from the Official Twilight Facebook Page, a set tour from Malicious Mandy, and a presentation on how Twilight is helping school kids find their love of reading with Novel Novice Twilight.



This is the only one of its kind in the WORLD - and its mine! Epic!



It was so much fun and my mom went above and beyond in her spoiling of her favorite birthday girl! It was the first birthday of mine that we've spent together since 2003, before I moved to Arizona, so it was definitely a special day for us. 

Gotta love it!

My actual birthday was the next day, October 4, and my husband surprised me with a trip to the zoo.  After stopping by Starbucks for my free birthday Pumpkin Spice Latte, we spent a beautiful day - and by beautiful I mean it was cloudy and a bit chilly - strolling through all the exhibits and habitats.  My favorites are always the zebras!  Of course, I left my camera's memory card in my computer at home, and only had my cell phone camera....fail.  When we got home, I had more surprises in store - a new book by my favorite author and the "I Love Cupcakes" shirt I've had my eye on at my favorite local cupcake shop.  He also spoiled me with delicious cupcakes!  



Striking a Top Model pose in my awesome new shirt from Bliss Bakery

Today marks the beginning of the end of my 20s, a year that I know will be fantastic and full of achievements. I definitely want to continue to grow my shop and my brand, but I also want to get back to running and making strides towards my goal weight.  I took a short break while my treadmill was in storage, but I can't wait to start back up again and add to those 50 pounds I lost.  It makes indulging in cupcakes a little more difficult, but there will always be room for cupcakes in my life! 

I feel very blessed to have such an amazing family who showed me such an amazing birthday weekend!  I feel relaxed and ready to get back to official PinkyCrafts business!