1. Keepers at Home: Thanks to Dawn I’ve been introduced to this cool program that combines Girl Scouts, 4-H & life skills for girls. I’m starting a group with the girls and we’re going to be learning cool new skills. I’m totally excited!

2. Food, Inc. This documentary is amazing. Thomas and I watched it last week and it has completely changed the way I’m looking at food. I picked up Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, too, and although we haven’t totally given up processed food (it’s only been a week!) we’re definitely reading labels more carefully and buying organic whenever possible. It’s going to be a long process but I’m excited about feeding my family better foods.

3. Girl Scout Cookies: Okay, this probably seems ridiculous after what I said above but if I cut out bad food everywhere else then I can eat Girl Scout cookies without too much guilt, right? Kai has been selling cookies this year and set a goal for herself of 500 boxes. That’s a lot of boxes for a 5-year-old. And that means selling Girl Scout Cookies has become my new job.

4. Savoring my offline time with the kids: I haven’t been blogging and Twittering as much lately because I’m just enjoying spending time with my kids in real time. If there was one thing I heard over and over from my girls lately it was, “Please don’t get on your computer.” or “You’re always on your computer!” The tipping point was when we were discussing a trip to Disney and Kai said, “But when we go there are no computers allowed.” I decided to finally start listening to what they were saying. And I’m trying to get online primarily when they’re asleep. It’s a change we’re all enjoying.

5. This cupcake icing smile. Really, what’s not to love?

With the holidays just around the corner I’ve been shopping Etsy again. ‘Cause, y’all, I love me some Etsy. Seriously, I’m becoming just slightly obsessed with the cool things I’m finding on there. Here are a few of my new favorites…

I love the look of this felt magnetic alphabet set from Etsy seller MiChiMa and I’m thinking it would be a really great addition to the homeschool room. Anytime I can avoid colored plastic and have something cute and educational I consider it a win.

I found this double-sided wool playmat from Etsy seller MuddyFeet when I was looking for some cool things for the girls for Christmas and I just had to share it. I think it is too adorable. I’m a sucker for woodland themed toys and gnomes and faeries so the look of this little set made me want to sit down and play with it.

Now, enough about the kids. It’s time for my favorite things for me. Thomas has kind of gotten me into the whole Steampunk aesthetic lately and so I’m loving this necklace by Etsy seller birdzNbeez. It’s so pretty, feminine and unique. I think it’s totally adorable.

It’s funny how much I love the jewelry on Etsy considering aside from my really simple wedding band there is almost no jewelry I wear. Ever. Mostly because I’m lucky to be able to take a shower most days let alone pull out my fun jewelry. But, still I love to look at jewelry. And I think this braille necklace from Etsy seller Celula is really fun and would be a really cool Christmas present for someone who likes unique and different things. You can have it personalized with your (or your friend/relative/favorite blogger’s) name in braille. So cool.

So, there you have it. My new favorite Etsy finds. Do you have any to share?

Whether you’re hosting a Thanksgiving Warm-up of your own or your hosting the “real” Turkey day at your house, here are a few cool Etsy finds for things to make your party special.

Eco-Friendly Tree Branch Holders & Place Cards by A Remark You Made.

“Be Thankful” Fabric Banner by Simple Whimsey.

Vintage Pilgrim Salt & Pepper Shakers from Ruth’s Attic.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving finds?

I’ve mentioned I love Halloween, right? One reason why is that there is seemingly no end to the cool crafts you can make on Halloween. Here are a few of my favorite Fall/Halloween kids’ crafts from the internets…

Pumpkin Patch Creatures (above) from Martha Stewart are such a fun alternative to pumpkin carving. We’ll definitely be trying these!

No Time for Flash Cards came up with the most adorable and easy spider cookies ever. The best part? There’s no baking involved.

The Crafty Crow featured these fun (edible) monsters on a stick from Little Nummies. I can’t wait to try these with the girls!

Motherhood Rising has a great Skull lacing craft that my kids are going to love.

And don’t miss this precious Halloween paper doll printable from Babalisme. It’s easy, free, and too cute for words!

Those are a few of my favorites this year. What are your favorite Halloween craft ideas?

I spend an obscene totally reasonable and healthy amount of time online during the week. So, I thought I’d take Fridays and share my favorite links from around the blogosphere.

Like the rest of the world I have developed quite an Etsy addiction. And I’m only joking a little when I say that I wish they would make it just a little bit harder to buy things on their site. Because a shopaholic like me doesn’t need it to be too easy for her to buy stuff.

So, this week I had to share my most recent favorite Etsy finds. These two things are hands-down my favorite geeky baby presents for the Star Wars fan in your life. In fact, we bought both for our friends Dewde & Dewdette who are expecting a little boy in December. Of course, I couldn’t resist picking them up for Traveler, too!

The first is a knitted Yoda hat for winter. Oh my gosh, I can’t even tell you how much I love this hat. Traveler has already worn his out on a cool & rainy day because I was looking for any excuse to put it on him. It was a huge hit in public and he looked adorable. In fact, he is totally going as Yoda for Halloween this year.

Adorable Yoda Hat from PrettyPeapod's Etsy store

And what budding Yoda would be complete without a baby-sized green light saber? When I stumbled upon this knitted light saber from Carbonscoring’s Etsy store I knew I’d struck gold. You’re guaranteed to be the only person at the baby shower with this gem! And the cool thing is they also offer other colors or the pattern itself in case you’re more of a DIY Star Wars knitting geek. So awesome.

Baby-sized knitted light saber from Carbonscoring's Etsy store