So in love.....

....with this website.

Thanks to bryn alexandra for tipping me off to this wonderful online store!
They are so reasonably priced for how great their clothes are, and they're eco-friendly!
Here are some looks I love:







If Santa were to put a gift certificate in my stocking, I would be a happy girl. : )

contentment

This is a personal post, so here we go.

I have REALLY been struggling with contentment lately.
I look around and see what other's have and how they probably have more money than we do.
And I get jealous.

I look at all the new things in stores and see pictures of other people's homes.
And I get jealous.

I see that other people are healthy and don't have to worry about the things that I do.
And I get jealous.

See a theme? I do too.

Guess what Mr. Free and I taught about in Children's Church on Sunday?

Jealousy.

Guess what we taught the kids to do when they get jealous?

To begin to thank God for what they do have.

Guess I need to listen to my own lesson.

Here are some things I am thankful for:
* Mr. Free- He is my rock, my best friend and my partner in crime. : )
* Our families- We are blessed beyond belief with loving, godly, supporting families.
* Our friends- We truly have the BEST friends that anyone can ever have. I truly consider them to be family. And they WILL be our children's 'aunts' and 'uncles'.
* Our pets- They really bring a smile to my face and love me when no one else can. Gotta love the ignorance of animals. : )
* Our church- They are like family to us and their support is amazing.
* My job- So many people are struggling to find employment, and I have a job that I love.
* Our home- It may not be the biggest, shiniest or cleanest, but I love it. It's our home.
* My insulin pump- We have a love/hate relationship, but truly, I love that it keeps me alive and let's my eat what I want, when I want.
* Our new heat pump/ central air- When you hadn't had central air in years, you realize what a blessing it is!
* Our dishwasher- See above
* My new yellow shoes- because they make me happy
* Fall- because it's my favorite time of the year. You already knew that....

Mr. Free and I are blessed beyond measure. We constantly cannot believe God's grace being bestowed on us. The biggest thing I am thankful for? My God and Savior Jesus Christ who despite all of my short-comings, loved me enough to sacrifice himself for me. That God has a plan for me, for ME! He has a reason for EVERYTHING I encounter.

God bless you if you read all of that. Go hug someone you love and realize how blessed YOU truly are too.

I.LOVE.FALL

If you don't know.....I LOVE Fall. Seriously. Every year I love it more and more. Lord knows how I'll feel about it when I'm in my 80's. yikes. Here are a few of my fall favorite things:

1. Pumpkins and pumpkin carving!


2. Hoodies


3. Hot chocolate


4. Beanie hats, preferably with my curly pigtails and a hoodie.


5. Hayrides


6. Tights


7. Apple Dumplings ***see recipe below!***


8. And MOST of all.....decorating for Fall!!!!


***Apple Dumpling Recipe***
Yields 2 servings
Ingredients:
* Ready made pie crust dough, or your own favorite recipe
* 1 apple
* Butter
* Brown Sugar
*Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut apple in half, core and peel. Divide pie crust dough in half. Place half of apple on half of dough. Fill center of apple with approx. 2 tbsp. butter, 1 tbsp. of brown sugar, and a few shakes of cinnamon. Wrap dough around apple, using a little water on your fingers to seal the edges. Sprinkle a little table sugar and cinnamon on outside. Place on baking sheet and bake approx. 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

HOMEMADE FUNNEL CAKE!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Free and I attended the local Oktoberfest this weekend, and I REALLY wanted a funnel cake. The budget is a little tight at the Free Household, so we are really trying to live up to our name. Mr. Free told me he'd make me one as soon as we got home. He'd never made one before, so I was a little skeptical.
OH.MY.GOSH. This man knew what he was doing. It was at LEAST as good as any local fair, and I would say MUCH BETTER even. Here is what Mr. Free did:

Ingredients:
* Instant Pancake Mix (the just-add-water kind)
*Milk
*Vanilla
* 1 egg
*Powdered sugar
*Any toppings of your choice

To make two medium sized funnel cakes, follow the measurements given.

*Heat a skillet or deep fryer with oil until 375 degrees.
* Mix 3/4 c. milk with 1 c. instant cake mix. Add in 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Mix all well.
*Pour into ziploc bag and got off one corner (or you can use a funnel....we didn't have any that didn't have oil in them...)
* Right at surface of oil, drizzle batter in circular motion into oil (be careful of the steam...)
* Cook about 1-2 min. per side, until lightly golden brown. Flip with tongs.
* Remove from oil and let sit on paper towels for a minute or two to absorb the grease.
* Top with powdered sugar or topping of your choice!

SOOOO easy! And SOOO much cheaper than the fair! Thanks to Mr. Free and his fair culinary skills!

My thoughts and updates

Thoughts:
* I can't believe it's going to be October this week! (My 2nd favorite month!)
* I am so blessed to have such an amazing, funny, caring, adventurous husband
* I love our home- and how that's such a great feeling!
* How proud I am of my husband and I and how hard we are working on our own education and what a great example that will be to our kids
* How much I love teaching what I do- and I love that I get to be a constant example to students for 7 years of their education.
* I feel better about myself when I try and look good- and when I try a more *bold* look


Updates:
* I FINALLY sold my chairs.
* I am taking on a new professional venture that I'm really excited about. More info on that to come.

That's all for now. Leave me some comments..... : )

House Tour

If you'd like a mini-tour of our home, here's the link to follow to my googlepages. Happy Viewing!!!

Click on 'Our Nest' below!

Leave some comments!!! Please.... : )

Our Nest

Project of the Week....

If you've ever seen or been in my kitchen, you'll know it's definitely NOT where people congregate. They may *want* to, but there just isn't room. Here's a little peak at what my kitchen looks like. Note: most of your closets are bigger than my kitchen.

Well....what I'd like to do is, on other side of the fridge put a bar height stool, so at least ONE person can sit and relax in the kitchen while I'm cooking. Or, I can sit and chop of veggies and things. 

I'd like to find an old stool (if anyone knows of one, let me know!) and then stencil an 'F' on the top, similar to how these look:

I went by one thrift today with no luck. Hopefully I'll be able to find what I need!

I LOVE TARGET

Thursdays after work, while Mr. Free is still at school, have turned into my 'Target Time'. I just wander around a look at all of the lovely things my local Target has to offer.

Well today, they had some AWESOME clearance!!

First off, I found this awesome, super comfy skirt for a mere $3.74! I snatched it up!

Then I found this nice lightly scented candle with sticks of bamboo in it.

The price for it????

Yup, just $1.74.

And those are 2 of the millions of reasons that I love Target.

For sale...

I have been wanting for awhile to start refinishing vintage furniture. Well, I have completed my first piece and now I am ready to part with it. I absolutely love these chairs, but really have no use for them myself.

They are vintage patio chairs that were pretty rough to start with.

Now, after some white paint and love, you can see how they look! I even thought about using them inside with a throw pillow on the back, but again....no spot for them. Our house is just too small.

If you're interested, I'm selling the set for $25 or each for $15. I have 2. You can email me if you are interested:

jennyfreeblog@gmail.com

Thanks for looking!!!!

It's raining...it's pouring.....

I'm a total weirdy, but I love days like this. I like to be all cuddled up at home in my sweats. Since the rain and the 200 kids I saw today have zapped my energy. One of these babies is calling my name....

The best part? It's FREE!!! Yup....like my name.

I got some majorly crummy service there a couple of weeks ago and was sent a couple free drink coupons. I happily took them up on it.

Tonight Mr. Free and I, along with some friends are heading down to First Fridays. If you are in the KC area, you MUST go at least once.

The first Friday of each month, the art galleries in the Crossroads district open up to the public for free. It makes for such a great, FREE evening. (There was definitely a reason my last name was destined to contain my favorite word in it....). Even if you are not into the 'art scene', it's a great event to people watch. You see all sorts of walks of life.

Have a great three day weekend!!

-J. Free

Dreaming....

......of finishing our basement. The upstairs of our home is *pretty much* finished. Which makes me sad. I love the process of decorating.

However, we still have the unfinished basement! 900 sq. ft. of endless possibilities...

As of right now, our basement has white paneled walls and a raw concrete floor. It contains storage, laundry, a pool table and Mr. Free's art studio.

In a couple of years, when we need more space, we plan to finish it. I love our hardwoods upstairs, but I miss carpet! That'll be the first thing we do. 

I really would like to do a black and white theme down there and have Mr. Free's artwork be the pops of color in the room.

I LOVE the houndstooth chairs in the bottom picture. I have a strange obsession with houndstooth....

Happy Thursday!

Fall fashion....JCrew style

I have never set foot in a J. Crew. I always thought they had boring clothes. Don't know why....guess I just assumed.

Well, I am wrong.

Their new fall stuff is amazing. But crazy expensive. : ( Here's a few looks that I love and hope to pull off WAY cheaper.

First post!!!

I decided to fully jump into the blogging world! I have had an on-again off-again relationship for a year or so, but decided to fully commit.

This blog will be a real picture of myself, my thoughts, and projects I am currently working on. I will feature inspiring home decor, entertaining ideas, and fashion talk.

A little about myself.... I am a 24 (almost 25.....ahhh!!!) wife of 2 years, married to the most amazing, fun, artistic, creative, godly man. I am a music teacher and am in my second year teaching as well. This summer I began my Master's degree in education and will finish next March! My husband is currently in school to become an art teacher. (Can you imagine our kids? They will be hopelessly creative...) I absolutely love my job and working with children. Another great passion of mine is interior design and fashion. As we currently live on a single teaching salary and both of us are in school, you can imagine the funds for such interests are incredibly limited. However, this enables me to use my creativity!

Mr. Free and I are the proud parents to two basset hounds (Carl, 6 and Harriet 4), as well as an orange tabby (Otis, 3). We are big animal lovers. Obviously....there are more animals in our home than humans!

Thanks for reading this and I hope that you can find a sliver of inspiration here. Either with your wardrobe, your home or your life.

God bless!!!

Here's a sneak peak at my new favorite color and an awesome coat I would love to rock for the fall!