Apron-o-rama!!

Today my mom shared with me that she had some contraband. She was given some items that had belonged to her grandmother, Little Mama. That nickname was given to her a L O N G time ago by her grandson. She was small, but she could do anything. And she had. She and Granddaddy had survived the depression without too much strife. Farmed. Drove to California from Oklahoma in 1939 with her family in tow. Set up house with not too much. Just the basics. (Boy, could she cook!!!) They had five children: Edsel, Marjorie, Bobbie, Bill and Fadwa. Fadwa is my grandma (named after an Indian friend of the family). Bobbie died in a fire when she was around 16 years old. Little Mama and Granddaddy survived that, too. My aunt Margie is still alive (as is my grandma), but the boys have passed away many years ago now. They were so funny!! Jokesters deluxe. I really, really miss them.

There is so much more, but you get the idea.

Anyway, when my great grandparents passed away, there was a lot of 'stuff' left behind. That turns the most sane people into crazy people as far as I've seen. Everybody wants something and more often than not, they want it all. Certain things were sold off and given away, but there were more personal things that found homes...some things took longer than they should have to get there, but I guess that's par for the course. Sometimes.

So today, my mom opens up this huge suitcase full of china my great grandfather had bought for Little Mama and aprons. The cutest aprons I think I've ever seen. And she made them all. Well, all but one. These items were given to her a few years ago and nobody knew that she had them. I know it sounds awful, but it is what it is. And now it is MINE! ;)

I'm going to take pictures tomorrow. I can't wait to share them with you.....

Disney details

When we went to Disneyland for my son's birthday, he wanted us to be touristy. That meant dragging around the big camera and going on all the rides we could and doing all the things we always overlook.

I always have my little camera, but having my big Nikon...even if it meant one more thing to stow away on rides and it's weight adding to the neck strain already caused by my bag.

Anyway, here are some fun things we saw.....

This giant watermelon slice was part of a ride in California Adventure and it squirts out water that smells wonderfully like watermelon. Very cute.

This was a bloom on a tree (forgive me for not knowing what it is, if anyone knows, feel free to shout it out) and I thought it was so beautiful; the shade of pink was perfect, so I had to shoot it.

The lady wearing this hat sat in front of us on a ride and I loved that her hat had a smiley face.

Again, I had to get a picture. I was trying to be stealthy about it, so it's not quite as good as I would have wanted, I wanted the side without the pin, but it's still cute.

Also at California Adventure in the Bug's Life 'land'. They have quite a few water features and it's actually a wonderful thing on a hot day! Even the adults get into it. The sheer size of these features is awesome and it truly feels like being a bug. You look up and there are leaves of fake clover and other grass type 'structures'....very fun.

I can't be sure, but these yummies may have been my favorite things of the day. There's a little bakery in Disneyland way in the back where Winnie the Pooh hangs out (I love that willy nilly silly old bear!!) We always get a cupcake there, but maybe one day we'll get one of these beautifully decorated apples. It's a bit hard to see in this photo, but there's a tiny bee on the 'Hunny' pot....

The details put into Disney are amazing. We go often enough that it's a bit redundant at times, but on the days we really look, well, it's a feast for the eyes and could make a fun day even if you don't get on all the rides.

~I used Picnik for the polaroid frame, what a fun site!!

Summer is coming

And that always make me look around and want to change everything in our house! I want to go from warm colors to cool and bring out every seashell we've ever found, every bright colored anything we have, spruce up the bathrooms, make the living room like a magazine cover for almost any June issue you can think of and redo the kitchen entirely. Get rid of the red and green affects, clear off the counters and go light and beachy. I suppose these things are possible and can be done with minor pain, but usually once I do something like that, I want all the old stuff back immediately.

This is a great piece of plant life I found at the beach during spring break. I left it behind because they ask you not to take anything, but boy, I wanted it so badly!

Also, as much as I tell myself it won't cost anything, that is almost never true. Yes, I 'shop' at home first, but let's be realistic. We all want at least one new thing. Right? I take away one thing and all of a sudden there's an empty spot that needs something. That puts me in the car on my way to Homegoods, Target, thrifting, or anywhere I can find a little something to fill said space. Then, come next season, I have too much stuff and can't decide what to keep.

I'm sure this is normal and as much as I try to control my urges, it doesn't always work out. I'm sure in the next couple weeks, there will be major upheaval and deep cleaning going on and a bright, relaxing lightness to our house. And maybe a few new items that were added to the mix....

What do you do to change with the seasons at your house? Major things or just a few little tweaks?

FIRST COMMENT!!

I'm so excited! Here it is, 11:00 p.m. and I figured I'd post a quick something or other and low and behold....I have a comment! It was from Simone at Beach Vintage. Her blog is like a bit of a virtual vacation...beautiful pictures and great ideas. Check it out. I love it. I'd like to give a huge THANK YOU and a hug to her. Is that weird?? I hope not. :)

Being new to blogging, so often I feel like I'm writing to nobody, Goodnight Moon style; blogging to nobody. I'm always in awe of all the blogs I come across with so many followers and such. Now, I understand that one comment doesn't make me a contender for anything, but it feels good that somebody wrote something back, you know? Thank you, Simone!

I feel newly inspired to keep on blogging. If you blog it, they will read it.

Eventually. ;)

This little yarn heart was something I walked past for four days in Arizona. It was on the ground all by it's lonesome and as much as I wanted to pick it up, I couldn't disturb it in it's perfect little heart shape.

I obviously have no idea if it was intended to be a heart or what, but I like to think that it just fell that way. I love hearts and am always on the lookout for a heart shape in nature. My favorite find are shells, leaves and rocks that my son and I have found together.

What 'I wonder if that's on purpose' thing have you come across?

White on white

Ah, white. So clean and easy on the eyes. I took my red runner and dark centerpiece tablescape off in favor of this bright happy one.

I bought each piece in the last week:

*runner with eyelet and lovely flower embroidery: $3.00 at the Salvation Army

*plate with cute turned up lattice edges:

$5.00 at the Assistance League

*squarish design glass pitcher:

$4.50 at the Salvation Army

*cute set of birdy S & P shakers:

$3.00 at Pier One

Not bad when you add up the total. Nice and sunny for springtime. Oh, and the hydrangeas are from Home Depot and the most expensive part at roughly $7.00. ;)

The evil eye

Last summer we got the chance to travel to Toronto with our son's hockey team. We extended our stay and went on to Quebec and Montreal. All of it was so beautiful. During a walk by a church in Montreal this little guy came racing at us from behind a bush...as if he were a guard dog or something! It was a bit startling at first, but then we had a laugh.

*I'm pretty sure his eyes weren't really red. Almost....he was a bit scary!!* lol

So excited

I'm going to the Farm Chicks Show!! I'm flying into Seattle to meet my BFF Heather and then she and I are driving to Spokane to attend this fun soiree!! I can't wait....

I will also be checking out real estate in the area because we are really wanting to live somewhere else and this area (even northern Idaho) seems like something we're looking for.

Meet 'Curly'

A few years ago we got a Betta fish who lived happily with us for almost 6 years. I don't really know if that's a long time, but it felt like it to us. He was red and because of that our son named him Dale in honor of his favorite NASCAR driver Dale Jr. (his #8 car was red). Dale died and although we weren't totally distraught, it was sad. He was a funny fish with a personality.

A few weeks ago, our son decided he wanted another one and so off to PetCo we went. After searching through all the little cups (so sad to me sometimes, they look so forlorn) we carried two around while he picked out all the goodies for his new 'pet'. In the end, we put those two back and went home with this guy.

After about a week, he made a nest for his non-existent family-to-be. A good sign, we learned. It meant that he was doing well.

If you can't find him right away, look a little harder and you'll see that he blends perfectly with this little plant. It's a little bigger than this photo shows and sometimes he hides in there pretty well.

Here is the reason I call him Curly. See his top fin? It's shaped like a corkscrew. At first I thought it was going to straighten out, but it hasn't and I think it's kinda cute. My son agrees, but hasn't really given in to actually naming him Curly. I don't know why not...

He has a funny habit after eating a bite of food; he goes to the surface, bites the food, then darts around the bowl like crazy and then sort of hides out until the next piece is dropped in. He then attacks it and swims like crazy all over again. He does this until he's full.

Silly fish. Hopefully he sticks around as long or longer than Dale. And hopefully he gets a permanent name soon...

It's been a while

I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted!! It just seems like one of those times where everything sort of happens in slow motion, but in reality the days are flying by. You know what I mean, right?

These roses were given to me from my hubby and son for my 38th birthday which was March 19th. Talk about time flying! I now firmly believe age is nothing but a number, you're only as young as you feel, and all that! It's certainly a time to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. :) I have a list a mile long, but can't seem to find the time or motivation for some things. Maybe that will be my goal/inspiration for this year.

JUST DO IT! (thanks, Nike) ;)

In my family March, actually the week of my birthday, is a pretty big one. My (younger and only) brother's b-day is the 17th and my mom's is the 21st. My aunt and uncle's anniversary is the 18th; they actually came home from their honeymoon when I was born. I still hear about it to this day. ;) In addition to that, that same uncle's b-day is the 7th, his daughter's son was born the 29th and more recently, another cousin has had one daughter on the 7th and then twin girls on the 8th.

Hmmm, not what this post was going to be about, but that's o.k., right?