…into the future. Man, it sure does! I was foolish to think, once the school year started back up and DD went back to school, I would have more time. WRONG!! I did not even touch my computer or sewing this weekend. It’s difficult to make and sell things without using those key tools.
Even though it has been busy, I am loving every minute of this time of year. There is so much to do and I enjoy nearly everything FALL! In spring DD and I planted one sunflower in our garden. The sunflower is in it’s prime right now. The day that it bloomed was rainy and gloomy, but looking at that bright, beautiful sunflower brought us so much joy! We went out and snapped a few photos last week. Below is a picture of our prized sunflower!
Sunflower!!
Anyway, I am back to work on this very beautiful, fall-like Monday. Much to do and excited to do it! There’s a new Note-to-Self Mini in the Shop. Check it out!
Last weekend I packed up the giggleFritz and Co. booth, grabbed two sisters, and headed over to the Coffee Break Fest craft fair in Stoughton, WI. This is our fourth year participating in the craft fair. We had a great time and sold a lot of stuff!
giggleFritz and Co. Booth Stoughton Coffee Break Fest 2018New display that DH build for me: framed peg board bib display. Love it!Books!Sock Monkeys and Socktopus Guys: Rock Stars of the giggleFritz Show!giggleFritz in the flesh!
The day went by very quickly! We didn’t even head over to the car show this year. However, we did HEAR the car show. I don’t know how they judge the old cars, but there must be an “engine revving” category. Boy was that loud! One of these years I would love to attend this festival as a guest and look at all the old and new cars, tractors, and motorcycles.
We sampled some wonderful coffee! (I will add a pic of this years taste testing cup at a later time.) Autumn Pearl Beauty Boutique and Coffee Bar was the winner this year. They had amazing coffee! It’s difficult to pick which is the best.
It was another great year at this amazing coffee festival! This is a great community. The people working the festival, the other booth vendors, and the festival-goers are wonderful people. If you get a chance to visit, go. I guarantee you will feel at home and welcomed!
I am off to do important giggleFritz things. Have a wonderful day!
It’s here! Tomorrow is Coffee Break Fest in Stoughton, WI. The giggleFritz and Co. both will be in the craft fair again this year and we are so excited! Stop by the booth if you can, or stop back to find out how everything went.
Letter announcing my absence and whereabouts in my booth at The WB Merchantile in downtown West Bend, WI
Coffee Break Fest is calling and I must go! There’s still much to do today, so I am off!
I have been avoiding my garden lately. It has been too hot and humid for me to dig into the weed problem. However, today was one of the most beautiful days we will have all year. I didn’t waste it. I spent a good portion of the day weeding my garden. And my body is FEELING it!
Pumpkin Plants
I am super excited for these pumpkin plants! I love watching them grow as we approach fall and Halloween. I was worried they wouldn’t do well because they are kind of close to a Maple tree. I hear that is bad.
Pole Beans
This is the second year I have planted pole beans and I am loving them! Last year was the first time I tried them and they produced all summer. This year I did a better job with trellising them. I made two good-sized tee-pees for them to climb, thanks to a YouTube video I watched from The Farmer’s Almanac. Tee Pee for climbing Beans Video
Besides gardening, I also put the finishing touches on a Socktopus and started work on a new yellow and purple Socktopus. I will be listing a few new things shortly. I also have a loooooong list of things that need sewing for the upcoming craft fair at Coffee Break Fest in August. So, my aching gardening body is off to work on a few things before turning in for the night.
It’s that time of year again, when we are counting down the days until Coffee Break Fest in Stoughton, WI! On August 18 head over to Mandt Park and take a look at the car show, shop at the craft fair, sample some extraordinary coffee from the brew-off, get a bite to eat and more! Stop by the giggleFritz booth and say “Hi”!
One of the projects I started back in May was to make a better binder to hold all of our gardening and landscape info. I have been collecting notes and articles for years, but they have been tucked away with other misc. notes in a binder. I went ahead and pulled out leftover scrapbook making materials and prettied-up a binder I had on hand. Total cost of Gardening binder: $0.00ish!
Front Cover of New Gardening BinderHelpful gardening tips from our local paperMap of my Garden for crop rotation purposes
I just wanted to share a neat recipe I found a few weeks back. I found “Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole” in one of our area newspapers. We’ve eaten this twice now and it’s a keeper with my family.
The recipe calls for tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, yellow mustard, and salt to make the sloppy joe sauce. I made it faster and easier by just using a store bought can of sloppy joe sauce.
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole with Dill Pickle Topping
Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole – Serves 8
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 bag (32 oz) frozen tater tots
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 13×9″ (3 qt.) baking dish with cooking spray. Brown hamburger with onion. Drain grease. Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, yellow mustard, and salt (or can of sloppy joe mix). Cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently until bubbly. Line bottom of baking dish with half of bag of tater tots. Pour beef mixture on top of tots. Add 1 cup of cheese over the beef mixture. Add remaining tots and top off with last cup of cheese. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and tater tots are slightly browned. Top with chopped dill pickles.
Note: I don’t do all of the layers. I put the sloppy joe/meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish, add a layer of tater tots, and bake. After the casserole is baked I add the cheese and let it melt for 5 minutes, add chopped pickles, and serve.
This recipe works great for my family of three (two adults, one toddler). We eat half and then I freeze the other half for a meal later.
