puppies.

We have puppies. Six of them. All different sizes. Would you like to see them? I thought you would.

They're pretty adorable.

Happy Friday!

-haley

your questions answered.

First of all, thank you all for your great questions -- they were so much fun to read ;) Now I'm going to try to give you some answers. There will be a Q & A page coming soon!

What do you like about Kansas?

Well, I've never lived anywhere but Kansas. I guess I like that you can go to "big" cities, but there's also plenty of prairie and open area around too...good question :D

With what do you edit your photos?

I use Picnik free editing for my photos. On occasion I'll use Pixlr. They also have a retro-vintage editor, which I love. My dream photo editor program would be lightroom 3 ;)

How long have you been a blogger?

I have been blogging ever since May 19, 2011. Until this month, on September 5, 2011, it was a private blog, open to invited readers only. So I've been a blogger for around five months...wow it seems like it's been longer than that ;)

What do you like most about school?

Being homeschool is awesome. And one my favorite parts is getting to have my Mom and Dad as teachers and hanging out with Little sis all day :D My favorite subject is probably Spelling. 

What is your favorite thing to do?

Hmm...I can't say I have just one favorite thing to do, but among them are taking pictures, hanging out with my family, reading, blogging, helping out with Sunday School, crafting, and baking. 

What kind of dSLR do you want?

I would like the Canon Rebel XS.

                                               

What is your favorite thing to photograph?

I like to photograph people, landscape, animals, and random/abstract stuff. Really just whatever comes my way :D

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Job wise, it would be fun to be a professional photographer/blogger.

How did you make your blog header?

A combination of Polyvore's text and effects, Picnik, and the snipping tool.

If you could vacation anywhere in the world for one week, where would you spend it?

I'd probably pick somewhere like Paris, France...or maybe Hawaii.

Why did you choose the name 'chapter thirteen' for your blog?

Good question...the reason my blog's name is 'chapter thirteen' is because I'm thirteen years old, so in other words, this is the "thirteenth chapter of my life".

The end.

Thanks again everybody!

-haley

doily garland.

Feelin' crafty? This garland  is so super easy. I kinda feel silly posting instructions for it ;) 

Credit for this craft goes to Meg.

What you'll need:

watercolors >> doilies >> string >> scissors >> paint brush >> jar of water 

I got my string for 95 cents and my string for 45 cents at a thrift store, so that's a good place to check ;)

First get out your water colors and paint your doilies...

Then, set them out to dry...

After completely dried, pull string through the holes on the doilies, weaving through the bottom and up through the top on each one, so it's nice and sturdy.

please excuse my blue fingers, i'm a messy painter 

Take your scissors and trim your string...

Hang where you like...

Happy Monday!

-haley

p.s. thank you all for your questions! Q&A page coming soon! What do you think of the new tutorials page?

ask me something.

Would ya'll mind asking me some questions?

I'm going to try to put together a question & answer page,

and you can get to know me a little better.

You can send in your questions through comments...

or you can also send me an email via Kontactr (see sidebar, under 'contact').

Thanks!

Happy Friday!

-haley

short letters.

Dear cold weather,

I will not complain about you. I actually begged you to come. But now that you're here you're a little...um...cold?

Dear Elsie Dinsmore books,

I like your old-English a lot.

Dear yellow,
You are a lovely color.

Dear readers {new & old},

You are all fantastic.

Dear landscape,
You are great for pictures.

Dear Mom,
Exactly what seed did you plant in this flower pot?

Dear tom's,

I would like one of you in every color. Thank you.

Dear song,
I can't get over you.

Love, me.

P.S. this isn't an original idea; credit goes to hannah and carlotta.

brick wall.

(photo credit, mom)

Today's impromptu photo shoot...

Brick wall, old building, smiley faces, gingham, perfect lighting -- ya it turned out great.

(photo credit, mom)

Ever since we saw those smiley faces, we've been meaning to go take pictures by them. Today we did.

(photo credit, mom)

(photo credit, mom)

(photo credit, mom)

(photo credit, mom)

gingham top, gap >> jeans, gap >> shoes, old navy >> watch & earrings, target >> crazy hair, not sure

-haley

homemade pumpkin spice latte.

I promise you, I really do know how to follow a recipe -- you wouldn't know it from my recipe posts though. I had been really been wanting to try a pumpkin spice latte, so I tried one at Starbucks. Delicious. When trying to re-create one, I decided to go without an exact recipe (scary, right?). I did, however, take two recipes (here and here) and based off of them what I would need for ingredients and such.

So, would you like to try out my version of a pumpkin spice latte? It's really very good. And very simple. Here's a step-by-step recipe...

Mix together 1/2 cup coffee...

1 1/2 cup milk...

1/2 cup half and half -- or if you don't have any on hand, then you can just use 2 cups of milk, instead...

5 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin...

2 tablespoons of vanilla, about a tablespoon of brown sugar (this pretty much depends on how sweet you would like it to be) and a large dash of cinnamon in a sauce pan over medium/low heat

Whisk together until well combined and steaming.

Pour mixture into cup and top with Redi-Whip and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Yum.

<< Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte >>

ingredients:

1/2 c. coffee

1 1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. half and half

5 heaping tbsp canned pumpkin

 2 tbsp vanilla extract

brown sugar {to taste}

cinnamon {to taste}

directions:

whisk all ingredients together over medium/low heat,

until well combined and steaming.

pour mixture in cups.

top with Redi-Whip and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Happy cooking! 

-haley 

back-to-school dinner.

(Really, I'm doing this is in reverse order. See back-to-school photos here.)

Sunday evening, the day before school started, we had our back-to-school dinner with some of our grandparents. Mom made adorable place settings.

The menu:

individual meatloaves, cheesy potatoes (supplied by my Grandma), baked squash, and green beans. 

And I won't even tell you what we had for dessert...

Homemade, in the crock pot, molten chocolate lava cake. Yum.

After eating more than our fill and chatting among ourselves a little more, we went to see the puppies. They were sleepy.

Then, at sunset, we all took a walk.

I wore a red & white polka dot skirt.

Happy Thursday!

-haley

P.S. Hello to all my new readers! :D