I Love This Girl....And Free Happiness

This is in response to this lovely lady's request for a photo-a-day challenge.  Unlike her, I do have small children, but I am aiming for a photo-a-week.  :)  If I do more than that, great, if not, then at least I've done one, right?  So, this is my lovely Kennedy roller skating on free (yes...found on the side of the road, free!) old-school roller skates!  I love her energy, her enthusiasm for new things and most of all the memories it brought back for me about my roller skating days!  These are still a size big on her, but it didn't stop her!  She has been on them all week since we found them.  Now I'm keeping an eye out for some in my size...what are the chances on that I wonder?  :)  Maybe on one of my many thrifting excursions I'll get lucky.  (By the way...when is spell check going to get with the program and realize that "thrifting" is a real word!)  So without further ado...here she is and here they are...and yes, those are butterfly wings on the side of the skates!  Can you remember holding onto the wall at the roller skating rink when you were first getting the hang of it??  I sure can!

Magic Carpet Rides

Maybe it was just me, but when I was little I had quite the imagination.  I would sit in front of our humble townhouse with the only other girl in the neighborhood (on the days I wasn't playing legos or gi-joe with all the boys in the neighborhood) and we would sit our stuffed animals and whatever else on this rug with tassels on each end and pretend we were flying over the world.  It was quite a ride!  Well, the apple surely does not fall far from the tree as my precious, sweet 5 yr old comes into my room last week with this.

She had taken some fabric scraps (got a huge bag for FREE off of craigslist) and sewn them together on her own little sewing machine!  She proceeded to tell me that it was a little magic carpet for her baby bunny and she wanted me to display him on the tip top of my dresser mirror so that everyone (little does she realize nobody goes in our room except our own family) can see him flying through the air.  I LOVE   IT!!  Don't you??  I mean can it get any cuter than that?  And speaking of sewing...she's on a rampage.  She'll be way better than me by the end of the summer!  I had never told her about my magic carpet rides as a kid and she stood in amazement as I retold her something about my childhood.  Try it sometime...it never fails...kids love to hear about when you were a kid.  It's especially intriguing for them to hear about a time you got in trouble...not sure why. :)  Maybe they just like to know we all make mistakes at one time or another.  Anyways...this magic carpet will for sure be a handmade treasure of mine for years to come!  Maybe one day I can show it to my grandkids. :)  And yes....he's displayed at the tippy top of my dresser mirror....funny...my husband hasn't asked about it.  :)

                                       

I've missed this place

It's been a month!!!  I can't believe I stayed away for so long!  Here's what has been happening in a nut shell:

1.  went to visit my parents in South Carolina with the 2 little ones...so fun!!!

2.  husband went to kansas for flight refresher course for USMC...not fun

3.  I had over 30 sales in my etsy shop!!!  woo hoo!!!  (we desperately need the 2nd income...even if it's a little...i figure if I love it AND can make a bit extra then it's a win-win, right??) :)

4.  my daughter is doing "real" math in our home school curriculum!!

5.  my son used the potty more times than he ever has (he's 2 yrs 10mos old)

6.  I turned 32...yep...I'll still give out my age...probably only until I'm 35 though :)

7.  my husband actually made plans for my birthday!!  (got a babysitter, made reservations, AND took me to one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego's gas lamp district) he got major points for that!

8.  I finally own a Bunn coffee maker (if you love coffee and you don't like to wait, this coffee brewer is    AMAZING!!)

9.  I had coffee with an amazing lady from Etsy who lives in my neck of the woods!  (She is seriously the main reason I started having sales in my shop)

10.  We set off rockets with the kids (see pics) :)

I promise the next post will not be in list form!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!  Mine was just ok.  Husband is gone for training (military) and I will be flying to see my mom and dad on Thursday with the 2 little ones.  We will celebrate mother's day once I'm there.  I have to say flying from San Diego to South Carolina alone with my kids is not something I'm looking forward to, but it will all be worth it once we all get some of Nana and Papa's love. :)  Anyways...I thought I'd give you a peek at what I worked on this weekend while my kids were making messes all over the house and putting up with my intense urge to sew something and complete it with no pattern!!  Yep...I'm not a pattern girl at all.  I can't say I completely dislike them as I've only tried 2, but I'd rather just figure it out....at least for now.  And hey...it's not like I'm making something complicated...we're talking pajama pants, skirts, pillows, etc. - the EASY stuff!  Well, here's what I started and finished this weekend!  I'll take finished photos tomorrow and post them.  This was almost done. :)

One last thing...check out my special sale this week in my Etsy shop!  Buy whatever you fancy!

Friday thrifting goodies

Let me start off by saying that I read all these blogs and see all these other people's fun vintage finds and I swoon over them without realizing I have pretty good luck myself most of the time.  So, I think that I will document my finds from now on - if anything just to remind myself that I can find cool vintage stuff too. :)  Today was a little more difficult because I had the 2 kiddos with me, but I have to say bribery works every time! :)  They love 99 cent treasures and Starbucks chocolate milk! :)  The chocolate milk buys me about 10 extra minutes in each store if I promise it's the next place we go.  Anyways...I found some cool stuff and some of it is already listed in my Etsy shop.  Here's a glimpse of my goodies.  I think my favorite was the zippered pillow case covers (i love the retro floral pattern) and the yellow Tupperware alphabet lunch box.  I wish I had a whole warehouse to store this stuff!  It's just too fun...nevermind the people watching you can do while thrifting!  Have a great weekend wherever you are!

SALT GLITTER

We made salt glitter today!  So fun!!  Ok...here's the ingredients...are you ready???  It's really tricky (NOT...wait do people still say that??...hmmm...I'm totally dating myself right now)...anyways...here goes:

SALT (any kind..kosher or regular..plain..or iodized) :)
FOOD COLORING

That's it!!  Take 1/4 cup salt or adjust to however much you want and add a few drops of food coloring (at least 4 drops if it's 1/4 cup or more of salt).  Stir it up and put it on a plate to spread it out in a thinner layer and then pop it in the microwave for 1 minute.  Put a cup of water in the microwave with it to protect your microwave...not sure why, but my recipe said that so I'm repeating it here. :)  Then you can put it in empty spice containers or condiment shakers (which I found at the 99 cent store for 99 cents..duh!).  Then have your little ones go outside if you can't take a huge mess like me. :)  Give 'em some glue sticks and paper and have them sprinkle the salt glitter to their hearts content!  Make some pretty designs!

A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY

We had an amazing event in our living room tonight!  It was a live banjo concert from one of our dearest friends and our children didn't wait long to get in on the festivities!  I rarely show pics from our house because in the past I've been too embarrassed of how little our house might look and how bad I am at decorating, and what horrible picture taking skills I have (yes, I had to use a flash on the 2nd picture...it was too dark without it and I had to capture the moment), but forget it!  Due in large part to Beth Moore and her new book (yes, I attended the simulcast), I've been living my life much differently!  I have a home and we have lovely friends and I adore my children, so I'm gonna share more from my home. :)  An older couple that befriended us when we first moved to San Diego and have been mentors to us for over 5 years now came over for dinner.  First of all let me say that they didn't just come over for dinner...they brought all the food with them!!  It doesn't get much better than that!!  They really are like surrogate grandparents for my kids since my parents and my husband's parents live so far away.  Anyways, the man is a born musician...can literally pick up any instrument and not only play it, but play it extremely well and play anything by ear!!  I can play some instruments but only with music and because of many years of lessons.  Anyways...this past week someone gifted him with a banjo and although he claims he hadn't played one since college, it was like we had just entered backstage to a live banjo concert when he opened up the case tonight and started to play.  My daughter ran to her room to get her ukulele (more for decoration than it can really be played) and my son grabbed his plastic drum!  It was beautiful music in my living room and I do not believe there is anyone who can hear a banjo without smiling.  My heart sang for joy to listen and watch the live entertainment.  We are so blessed!  I'm so thankful to God tonight for amazing friends, yummy food, my children, and banjos!  :)  (Oh yes...and if anyone wants to know who made that bright and cheery dress my daughter is wearing...it's this girl!  Isn't she talented?!?!)