Pizzeria Grand Opening

Hello Readers!

    I have some exciting news today! As some of you know, my family makes pizzas for a living. My Papa & Mama have been running a pizza business out of our home for quite some time now. But this year, we started construction on a full storefront on main street. I'm happy to announce that it is finally complete and ready to open! TODAY! 

    We held a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayors' this morning to celebrate the grand opening. I've never been to one before, but it was super exciting!  I was very happy that the whole town gathered to congratulate us and check out the Pizzeria. 

Papa started up the oven right away to prepare for the day while we got some important photos taken and greeted our friends. One of those friends here is Mr.Pickleweed, who will be running a pizza delivery service for our pizzeria!

He gets to ride a cool scooter!

We're offering quite a few different pizzas on our menu now that we have a bigger space. Our house special is cheese, tomato, shrimp, mushroom and basil! It is suuuuper delicious! We also offer margherita pizza, salmon pizza, olive pizza, cheese & spinach pizza, and green pepper & corn pizza! I'm getting hungry just talking about it!

    Mama & Papa make a great team. Papa is in charge of making the dough and adding the toppings on the pizza. Mama bakes them to perfection in the brick oven, as well as taking orders when my brother and I are in school. When we aren't at school, my brother and I will be taking care of the phone calls and orders, as well as waiting on anyone in the pizzeria! Baby Albert is in charge of "cleanup!" Sometimes pizzas can get made wrong or there's a mess on the table, Albert is the best at making sure the ingredients don't go to waste! We're all excited to help out in the family business.

If you call to order out a pizza, Mr. Pickleweed will load them up in his scooter when they're ready! Then he will safely drive them to your house (or wherever you order it within the village). I hope one day I can learn to deliver pizza too! It looks like a lot of fun.

We hope to see you soon in our new shop!

xoxo Shiloh

Happy Halloween!

 Hello Readers and Happy Halloween!

    Halloween in Sunnypatch Gardens is lots of fun! Everyone gathers in the town square to begin trick-or-treating at all the local shops on Main Street. Many of these shops are also giving out or selling awesome themed goodies. This spooky holiday season, the Thistlethorn Mice set up a Halloween stand outside their grocery store. I absolutely adore all the pumpkins!

        I was so busy this month that I didn't have a costume ready, but that's okay! Everyone in town is welcome to the Halloween celebrations, despite age or costume status. Franklin Sunnypatch, for example, doesn't enjoy wearing clothes other than his onesie; as they irritate his skin and make him grumpy. It would be a shame to deny him candy & activities just because he's more comfortable without a costume! Happiness is the main goal for all celebrations in Sunnypatch Gardens.

I headed out a bit early to document the day. Along with me are Amethyst, Peanut, and Franklin, to check out the new stand. 

Amethyst Hopscotch is dressed like a purple witch, isn't she so cute? & Peanut, which we met in our last article, decided to keep up with his ghost theme. 

Franklin was very fascinated with the spooky table. It was covered in potions, spell books, jars of mystery, and an unknown skull! I personally found it a bit creepy, but he loved it.
The Halloween stall was being run by Rosemary Thistlethorn, while her husband took the kids out to visit the other shops. She had so many cool things to choose from! Everyone gets to pick one thing for free and then pay for extras later in the evening.

   Mrs. Thistlethorn was so excited for her first customers. I did a brief interview, as I didn't want to hold her up too long in case others arrived early.
Me: Why did you decide to set up a stall this year instead of just passing out candy at the store?
Rosemary: I really wanted to go all out this year. Clovis, the kids, and I worked really hard during the summer building this stall together and coming up with a plan. I wanted to offer some extra fun items for everyone to enjoy during my favorite season. 
Me: Which is your favorite item from what you are offering today?
Rosemary: Definitely the potions. I had fun coming up with the menu and using the amazing ingredients we have to choose from at the store.

After the interview, I took a look at all the spooky items!

One of the items to choose from are these awesome Halloween treat bags!* I picked out a purple bag, isn't it so cute? It can hold so much candy! Peanut chose a book about Fairy Tales. He's been very interested in spooky tales about the supernatural and local lore, lately. Maybe he'll grow up to be like Mr. Hawthorne, the Paranormal Investigator!

Amethyst chose a potion soda for her and Franklin. Each one has a different flavor and "special potion effect!" That sounded too adventurous for me, but they seemed super excited about it. Amethyst got a lime flavor; it's special effect was that it made your lips pucker! Franklin got a lavender flavored potion, which relaxes and calms the drinker. They loved their drinks and offered me a sip from each. It was pretty good and not so scary!

Overall, we had an excellent time! We scored SO much candy and goodies. I hope your Halloween was a blast and safe as well!

xoxo Shiloh

*treat  bags, mini pumpkins, fortune table, and book are miniatures from Michaels Craft Store. The stall and potions were made by me & my husband - process & directions will be posted in my new craft tab.

The Haunting of Cozy Hill Manor

 Hey readers! Today we have a guest writer, Mr. Hickory Hawthorne. He has an amazing investigation to share with us!


Greetings Sunnypatch Gardens,

          My name is Hickory Hawthorne and I am Benicio Marshmallow's cousin. I was called to investigate a situation right here in your hometown. You see, I am a paranormal investigator. No, not like those tv shows, I am the real deal and I treat spirits with the utmost care. I discovered I could communicate with the dead when I was a small boy. I decided to put my skill to good use starting when I was a teen, and helped families learn to live with spirits or help troublesome ones find peace. I've been doing this for a long time and take great pride in my job. Now, the reason why I'm here...

Your very own Mrs. Sweetwater asked my cousin to give me a call. I didn't get much detail, but he assured me she wouldn't ask if she wasn't serious. I decided to take the job and headed on over to Cozy Hill Manor. The following is my investigation into the matter at hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Me: Hello Mrs.Sweetwater, what seems to be the issue here?
Mrs.Sweetwater: Oh my, it seems silly to say outloud..but I think we're being haunted. We just started fixing up this old manor to turn into a daycare and orphanage..I would feel terrible if all the children were always startled by whatever is happening here!

Me: What kind of things are going on? Can you show me the hot spots?
Mrs.S: I guess your usual...it's all quite spooky really. Let me show you inside. Please excuse the mess, we only started renovating a week ago.

We walked in and I was greeted by her son Henry.
Mrs. S: "Henry, show Mr. Hawthorne to the living room while I put on some tea. please."

Henry: Right over here Mr!
Me: Thank you very much. How do you like this manor, Henry?
Henry: Oh, it's scary! I don't even like going upstairs by myself!
Me: Oh my! That sounds very spooky.
Mrs. Sweetwater came out and sat down a tower of snacks and some tea. What a delightful host!
Me: Oh goodness, thank you so much. Can you tell me about this room? I said as I munched down on some macaroons. Mr. Sweetwater entered the room as I asked this question.

Mr: Sweetwater: Most days, this phone here will ring almost hourly. But no one is ever on the other end! I just hear breathing. We don't even have the phones fully hooked up yet!
Me: Oh my, are there any other phones in the house?
Mr. S: Yes, there is one in the kitchen. But we go to look and no one is using that phone either.
Me: hmm..very interesting. Can you show me some other areas?

Mrs. Sweetwater lead me upstairs to one of the kids' rooms.
Mrs.S: In here, we find toys strewn about. I know my Henry always cleans up after himself, and he swears he isn't the one doing it, I know he wouldn't lie about this.

We heard a knock on the wall in the room just then. We glanced around but didn't see anything.
Me: Does anything else happen in here?
Mrs. S: sometimes I find dirty dishes and leftover food crumbs in here too..like someone is bringing stuff from the kitchen sink up here! It's so weird. And those knocking noises too! But usually not any of it when someone stays the night in here.
Henry came in and confirmed the knocking sounds and everything else. Then he lead me to the bathroom.

Henry: Sometimes..the tub is filled to the brim! Even when I wasn't even having a bath prepared! Or when I do turn the water on..I'll leave and come back and there's bubbles! I don't even like bubbles in my bath! I think this is the scariest room. I hear the sink come on sometimes or the toilet flush when I'm in the next room. So spooky. eugh. *he shudders*.
Me: Oh dear...that's a lot. I'm sorry it's such a scary experience for you. I promise I'll figure this out Henry. 
He leads me back downstairs as he's just too spooked to even give me a further tour of the house.

Mrs. Sweetwater was downstairs making waffles.
Mrs. S: Sorry, I cook when I'm stressed! But also...the activity definitely picks up when I'm cooking. We'll hear rattling, moaning, a gurgling noise even! It's very strange.
As she send this, we heard a grumbling gurgle noise from the next room over. I looked but didn't see anyone.
Me: This was a lot of information...I'm going to head to Mr. Marshmallow's for the night and come back tomorrow after I review all my notes. I promise I'll get to the bottom of this for you all and hopefully resolve the situation.
I headed to my cousins house for the night. I had a strong suspicion what was up..but I just needed something special to bring with me tomorrow...


The Next Day

I arrived at the Cozy Hill Manor with a secret weapon....
PIZZA
from Mr. Marshmallow's Pizzeria.

The bears  looked at me in confusion.

Me: I promise this will all make sense in a moment. Please set the pizza out on the table.

We sat and waited for what seemed like ages..but then we heard that strange sound again!
Me: AHA! Look!
Everyone turned around and saw....

Henry: a G-G-G-GHOST!

everyone gasped!

Me: now just wait a moment...Excuse me..little ghost? Would you want some pizza? If so..I need you to be truthful with us. Who are you?

???: Y..y-yes please. I'm sorry. I'm not a ghost! I just was trying to play a game..but then I kept getting stuck in the house at night, too scared to head home in the dark..and I was hungry..and also having fun..I..I'm sorry! he began to wail.

Mrs. S: Oh you poor thing! Please come have some pizza!

We all sat down and enjoyed some delicious pizza together.

We learned that the little chipmunk is named Peanut and he is one of the Hazelnut's children. We called over there and Mrs.Hazelnut was so upset! Apparently all the children had been sleeping in their little treehouse to camp out this week but never noticed their brother missing during the night!

But with that, our haunting was solved!

Huzzah!

~Mr. Hawthorne, Lead Investigator

+if you missed it...go back and check some of the photos for some secret clues! 

So 'Mush' Adventures with Friends!

Greetings Readers!

I'm soooo excited because my favorite season has begun. AUTUMN! My best friend Haley Pickleweed and I adore exploring the woods during this time of year. Today, I invited my new friend Clover along to go mushroom sighting with us. I just know her and Haley will get along well.

We started our trek into the woods and soon found a grassy field where Haley and I have discovered many mushrooms before. We decided to let Clover lead the way, since this was her first time ever even seeing a mush out in the wild! Clover used to live in the city and didn't see much nature aside from some flower patches and well tended parks and farms. She started running when she spotted the first mushroom..

"Woah, it's as tall as me!!" she shrieked when we got up to it. That's the magic of Sunnypatch Gardens, things just grow wild here! I took their photo with it to commemorate Clover's first mushroom spotting. I think she was in shock! Then she spotted something else..

So many! Clover wanted to climb these ones because they were so tall and looked like trampolines. But Haley and I advised against it, as these one's weren't very sturdy. A few years back, Haley's brother tried bouncing on a flimsy mushroom and we had to call the medic! Clover didn't like the sound of that so we kept exploring.

 

We were mesmerized by this cutie! It looks like a table for tasty forest snacks! Our rumbly tummies agreed.."You do know we can eat mushrooms right? we're critters!" said Haley. I almost forgot! Part of why Haley and I visit the woods for mushrooms so much is so that we can take some back to our parents to cook with!* Haley marched forward to find us the perfect mush to bring back! Her expert skills didnt take long to find it. With a mighty tug she ripped a mushroom out of the ground before we even caught up to her!

Clover was so shocked! hehe

We decided this one was perfect to bring home. On our way back, we spotted some PERFECT mushies to bounce on!* Somehow we missed them on our way into the woods. We helped Clover up into one to pose. Doesn't she look adorable?

Then we all piled into an even bigger one!! "MOO!!" wait..what was that sound. Daisy?? When did you get here! What a silly baby! She must have seen us coming out of the woods and ran to catch up while we were busy climbing in.

We sat and talked about our favorite snacks, flowers, and so much more and giggled for quite some time while we hung out on the mushies. We remembered we had to get that mushy home before dark, so we hopped down and finished carrying it. Whew! What an adventure.

We were so tired! Clover plopped down into some clover that grows rampantly around here to take a rest after we got into town. I think this might be one of my favorite photos of her I've taken yet!

We laid in the clover until a bit after dark, continuing to giggle and learn things about each other. Haley wants to open an apothecary when she grows up and learn all about helpful herbs and plants. I want to be a professional blogger. & Clover wants to run a smoothie shop with all the delicious fruits her family will grow this year. We're an ambitious bunch. I'm so happy we all met.

Our mushroom adventure was an amazing day, I hope we have more soon!


**Please do not touch, cook, or eat mushrooms you aren't sure are safe. & always clean your critters well after playing with them outside or near mush! Mushrooms have spores that you cant see with the naked eye, and can leave that residue on your critters if you don't clean them!

Look who Moo'ved in!

 Hello Readers!

 I'm happy to be the one to announce that a new family has just settled in to Sunnypatch Gardens. If you remember from the last article, the Graham's mentioned that they sold their orchard and were expecting the buyers to arrive soon! Well here they are, meet the Buttercup Cows!

After a few days to settle in, I went over with the Sunnypatch's & Graham's to greet the new family. Peat and Blossom Buttercup were surprised by our welcome party as the kids scampered off to play with new friends! Mr. and Mrs. Sunnypatch introduced themselves, as the Co-Mayors of town, and let them know that if they needed any assistance, building permits, or tours, to contact them on Main Street. Mr. Peat Buttercup and Mr. Graham then starting talking crop business so I went to go see how the kids were doing.

I was introduced to Clover (sister), Fern (brother) and baby Daisy. Finn Sunnypatch was so excited to have new friends that he had to take a seat and relax before he hyperventilated (he gets overly excited, especially at mayoral events and welcome parties!). Clover and I learned that we had a lot in common, so I invited her to an outing with my best friend Haley Pickleweed tomorrow. They all were super nice and awesome, I'm very excited to learn more about them!

Mr. Graham and Mr. Buttercup bonded over their love of giant and nutritious crops, and seemed to have come to an agreement regarding the sale of the orchard. They will go over what was planted this year and make a game plan together for next. I am greatly looking forward to all the yummy fresh fruits in the market next year! I wonder if the Graham's now have a worthy opponent in the local fair contest for biggest crops?
I asked everyone if I could do a family photo of them and some individual portraits with their favorite finds on their new farm. We explored all over and found some lovely flowers still blooming despite the beginnings of chilly weather. I hope you enjoy them!

Buttercup Cow Family Portrait

Baby Daisy

Clover and Fern

Blossom and Peat


Until next time!
xoxoShiloh