This and That........and Giveaway Winners

This has been a good week. Lots of things going on around here, but all good. Gorgeous fall weather has swept through Chicago and I'm loving every minute of it. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, how about you?

This past weekend it was the perfect weather for us to go on our annual apple picking excursion. Our regular orchard wasn't open this season due to the unpredictable, crazy weather we had this last spring. But we decided to try a new one that turned out to be lots of fun.....

Gigi (Brett's mom) came along on our fun apple picking adventure.

Earlier this week, we made a giant apple pie from the apples we picked. I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to do a crumble or crust on top, but I ended up doing a crust since our apples were almost falling off the top of the pie. This was only four of the apples we picked....they were huge! And the pie was delish!

Instagram Photo 

(follow me @thecottagemama)

We also brought out all the fall decorations so our house looks nice and cozy. The girls had so much fun sipping hot chocolate and helping me decorate. We made this vintage yo-yo garland together and I think it turned out really cute.

These pretties arrived in the mail this week from Riley Blake Designs for my next Design Team Project. This is from the line "The Sweetest Thing" and the small little flower print is the new knit fabric they are carrying. I've already washed it and it came out beautifully. I can't wait to start creating my next project!

There has been A LOT of sewing going on this week as I prepare for our first styled book shoot this weekend! I'm so excited to meet all of the little models and work with my book photographer. Fun, fun!

We have had quite a few giveaways in the last couple weeks, so it's probably about time that announce the winners. Sorry to keep you hanging. Here they are.........

Jo Totes Camera Bag:

Simply Color Charm Packs and Jelly Roll:

Modes4U Japanese Fat Quarter Bundle and Washi Tape:

Congratulations to our winners! Please email me at thecottagemama[at]gmail[dot]com with your contact information and we will get you your prizes as soon as possible! Don't worry if you didn't win, just keep trying. We have more giveaways coming up and you just never know when the random number generator might pick you!

So that's what has been going on around here. Some of those pictures are from Instagram and if you want to check out our daily life around here, you can follow me @thecottagemama. I hope you all had a great week and are finally getting a little taste of this beautiful fall weather.

Happy Weekend!