Feature Friday--Khadija!

Hey everyone! So, I did a little brainstorming, and thought it would be kinda rad to do a Feature Friday every week with some pictures of my friends! We'll kick off the tradition with Khadija, my pal from Morocco!

She's very fashion-forward--I love her sense of style!

I'm excited to start something new! I hope I'll be able to keep it up, at least for a few weeks. You know how irregular my blogging can be! ;) Should I include more information about my friends? Or should I make a separate post later with a little bit about their story? A "What's the Scoop" Saturday? And who should I feature next week? I'm thinking Either Addy or Lilly, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Please do leave a comment with your input!

This has been Dani, showing off a fashionable friend. Over and out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm thankful for my family, and for all my friends! I'm thankful that I get to know so many different people from different times and places, and I'm thankful for all of you guys! Thank you so much for reading and commenting what I post--it means so much to me.

On Thanksgiving, we always dress up and take family photos for our Christmas cards.

I think this is my favorite holiday outfit so far! Plaid feels very festive.

I also really like the bows in my hair. I think I should wear it like that more often! 

I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving! December is only a few days away...where has 2015 gone?!? I'll definitely try to blog more next month! I know I've been kind of AWOL in November. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving! What're you thankful for? Are you excited for pie? I think that's the best part. 

This has been Dani, dabbling in festivities. Over and out!

Happy Halloween!

The big day is finally here!! Happy Halloween everyone!

Here I am in my Raggedy Ann costume! It was super easy--I just borrowed an outfit from Lilly. Having time traveling friends is so convenient sometimes!

All I really had left to do was make my wig! It was super easy and fun--I can post a tutorial sometime. Do you want to know how to make yarn wigs? :)

Molly joined me right before I left! After all, trick-or-treating is loads more fun with friends. 

Molly is a princess! She borrowed a dress from Lilly, too. She loves poofy frilly outfits! I think she looks just like a real princess.

We headed out just as the sun began to set. Look how pretty it is! 

Hand in hand, Molly and I started down the road, ready to claim our bounty of sweets.

How was your Halloween? Did you dress up? Did you go trick or treating, or stay at home and hand out candy? Let me know in the comments!
This has been Dani, dabbling in festivities on my favorite day of the year! Over and out!

Pumpkin Carving!

Hey guys! Next weekend is Halloween! I'm so excited. This weekend I thought it was high time I carve a pumpkin of my own. It's important to time the carving of your pumpkin just right--you want to have enough time to enjoy it, but you don't want it to get icky before Halloween night.

First things first, I had to slice off the top. 

This is one of my favorite steps in the carving process. It's exciting to see what the inside of the pumpkin looks like!

After the top is all the way off, I slice off the guts that are attached. I don't want them dangling down into the candle when I put the top back on.

This is also one of my favorite parts! I love sticking my hands into a pumpkin full of guts and seeds. 

I clasped my fingers around a big chunk and tried to wrench it out. Pumpkin guts are so slippery, though, it was hard to get a good grip. 

After some futile attempts with my fingers, I decided to resort to using the big spoon to scoop out the insides.

Finally, every seed and piece of squishy mush was out! And boy, was I glad--after a while, pumpkin makes my hands kind of itchy. I couldn't wait to rinse them off!

I rolled the pumpkin onto its side and prepared to sketch my design. I put the top back on so I could gauge the best place to draw the face.

I uncapped the Sharpie and held the pumpkin steady while I drew my design.

This is how it ended up! I messed up a little on the teeth (I didn't mean to color them in!) but I just made extra-sure to be careful and to cut around them instead of through them.

Carefully, I poked my knife through and began cutting the triangle.

One down, one to go!

Here's my completed pumpkin! I was able to rub off most of the Sharpie I accidentally put on the teeth.

I love to carve pumpkins. I always wish I had more than one! Some years I have, but I always forget how much work it is to do just one. I can't wait for Halloween! I'm a little panicked, though--I still can't decide what I want to be! Right now I'm thinking bag of jelly beans, tiger, or Raggedy Ann. I think I'm leaning towards Raggedy Ann, though! What do you think? Do you have any suggestions? What's your favorite part about Halloween? I'd love to know!

This has been Dani, dabbling in gutting pumpkins. Over and out!

Leaf Jumping!

Well, would ya look at that that!

Fall has really, truly arrived! The leaves are-a-changin, and fast!

So fast, in fact, that we started raking! I decided there was no better way to spend this crisp autumn afternoon than to jump in some leaf piles with friends. Laughing Spirit and her sister Singing Bird were more than willing to oblige! 

All three of us leapt in right away! 

After a few minutes of romping around, Laughing Spirit and I looked around, our gazes slowly meeting. Where was Singing Bird?

Finally, we both looked right in front of us. Sure enough, there were Singing Bird's legs sticking right up out of the leaves! 

In hysterics, Laughing Spirit and I both reached forward and grabbed a leg.

Singing Bird's little head popped up, covered in pine needles and scarlet foliage. 

We played around for a little while longer, but then headed inside when we started to get chilly. Things have really cooled down here! Last night it got down to 24ºF (-4.4ºC)! I'm sad summer is gone, but I'm so excited that fall is here! I love the cool weather, pumpkin spice, and colorful leafage! Stay tuned--next weekend, I'll be carving my pumpkin! 

This has been Dani, dabbling in a pile of leaves. Over and out!

(P.S.--I need help deciding what to be for Halloween!! If you have any suggestions or ideas, please leave a comment below!)

(P.P.S.--I'm on Instagram now! You should totally follow me, dabblingdani, and chances are I'll follow you back, too!)

Apple Picking!

Hey everyone! Last Saturday was beautiful, warm and sunny. A perfect time for apple picking! We went to our favorite orchard, Ricker Hill. 

The first kind we picked were macintoshes. At one point, I decided to climb into one of the trees to reach a really nice looking apple.

I had to make sure I was seated firmly on the branch, and be careful not to slip.

After I had picked some up high, I hopped down and walked around to check out other trees.

Finally I stumbled upon a tree where all the apples were a beautiful red color. I knew I had to pick some of these!

Once I had picked my fill, I wandered off to explore a little. Orchards are some of favorite places. They're so pretty, and they smell so good! 

What a great day to pick apples! We ended up with a little over 30 pounds! We'll probably eat a lot of those by themselves, but the majority will be turned into applesauce so we can freeze it and use it throughout the winter. I also started school on September 7th. I'm in 6th grade at the Midcoast MTTB (that's Maine Time Traveling Base, in case you forgot!), and I'm totally looking forward to this year. I love fall! Have you gone apple picking yet? Do you like fall?
This has been Dani, dabbling in apples. Over and out!

Unpacking!

Hello everyone! I got home from PEI a week ago, and figured it was about time I start unpacking. Unpacking always makes me feel a little sad, because my bags are still full of vacation when I'm already home. This time, though, I remembered some of my goodies from the island were still in my bag, so I guess that made it a little better. I also thought I'd take this opportunity to show you some of the cool new stuff in the room!

We got more bunk beds! And I have a loft  bed now! (Meanwhile, Saturn and Argos are very curious about where my bag has been.)

Saturn takes a good sniff of my hiking boot.

After being on the ground for years, my bed finally has a frame! And the best part is...

I can store stuff underneath it!!

Before I started taking my clothes out of my bag, I took out my souvenirs.

I got a couple of smooth rocks I picked off the beach, and this cool pin for my backpack!

It goes perfectly with my Mt. Washington pin! Maybe someday my whole bag will be covered with pins!

Finally, I got around to pulling out my clothes. My bag was so full, it practically exploded! I always tend to over pack. I wouldn't want to be unprepared!

I pulled out the two sets of drawers from under my bed and started to put my clothes away. 

Unpacking my bag made me wish I was back in PEI, but I suppose it's good to be back home, too.  How soon after a trip do you unpack? Does it make you miss your vacation spot?

This has been Dani, dabbling in the unpacking of bags and the slightest of room tours. Over and out!