Welcome to our world!

Please forgive me for posting so many times today!!!! My daughter, E, has now joined the wonderful world of blogging! I had always said no for privacy purposes (no to facebook, no to myspace, no to blogging) Well...I relented to the blogging one. With some rules in place, she is now ready to publish to the world! Yikes! Here she is, if you'd like to say hi!

Inspiration At It's BEST

The main reason I blog is to be inpired by others and, hopefully, inspire someone else along the way. This morning on my blog jog I found an inspiring post that I squealed in delight over. Here is the link...you will not be disappointed! The wonderful and talented Oh Merci! Be sure to watch the video, it is a breath of fresh air! Enjoy!

Big Step Number One!

HERE HE IS!Now an official first grader! I was so much more emotional than I thought I would be. For his sister, each milestone filled me with pride and anticipation. For this little guy, I want to just hold on to him as tight as possible. Is it because he is a boy? Is it because he is my baby? It is hard not to fast forward to high school graduation and college graduation and realize it all goes by in the blink of an eye. But for now...he will have the coolest first grade teacher in town! ME! (Only on Thursays though, the rest of the week he will have the second coolest first grade teacher in town) :)

The apple doesn't fall...

A while back I found this adorable bench at a second hand shop. Something about it told me I HAD to have it for my entry hall.

So I waited three weeks until it came down in price, then snatched it up. I still didn't know why it was instant love until I was at my moms and saw this...

Honestly, I never realized that they were the same motif. (a little hard to see in the top picture)

Benches are great for many things like:

• a vase of flowers
• a stack of books
• a comfy cushion and throw

But most of all, when guests drop in and I say, "Come on in and sit down" they never want to go into the living room or family room (maybe they think they are intruding ~ never) so we used to just stand in the entry hall. Now there is conventiently a cute bench to sit on!

Let's Go To CAMP!

I am PATHETIC! You would think I was under 12!

So...E loves The Jonas Brothers (of course)! Counting down to CAMP ROCK in our house was a major event! (mostly because The Disney Channel brainwashes all who sets eyes on it) Then E was invited to watch it with her gal pals. D and I had a "date" and we watched it together (told ya I was pathetic). It was fun to see how the movie inspired D to grab some pens as drum sticks and he did some hip hop moves that would've made the movie more fun! It was so hard not to see it with E, but I guess this is the first effect of her growing up and letting her fly from the nest.

So...what did I think? I won't say too much, except for the fact that Joe Jonas is DEFINATELY a cutie to look at (does that make me a sicko since he is a kid?) & in this day and age where questionable things are ALL OVER everywhere, I am SOOOO glad that my children have cool things to watch that have good role models.( Did you know that the JoBros wear wedding bands on their lieft ring fingers to show their purtiy until marriage?) Secretly, I really wanted Mitchie and Shane to kiss in the movie! I am such a dork!

If you could go to ANY summer camp (real or fake) what would you choose?

Check my comments for mine

Art in the Garden

Last evening I was lucky enough to have my house be the backdrop to a wonderful event, "Art in the Garden". A large group of women from church displayed many different types of artwork around my house and garden. Some things that were displayed were:

• paintings
• quilts
• sculpture
• flower arrangements
• card/paper crafts
• handmade clothes
• drawings
• violin solo
• poetry readings
• photography
• and much, much more!

It was so fun to pretend (don't you still pretend?) my home and garden was an art gallery. Everyone enjoyed mingling and chatting!
~I LOVE this picture. One of our dear "young at heart" with one of the young ones~ The amazing photography belongs to this talented friend~

~ This smiley friend was the one who put the amazing event together~
~ Women can always find something to talk about! Notice the yellow saltwaters of my stylish friend, so cute!~

If you want to gather some friends together but need an excuse, host your own "Art in the Garden". It will sure to be a hit!

Happy Friday!

Ahhh! I am glad to have a day off today! Hosting Father's Day and "Art In The Garden" was fun. Prepping for the last few days of school was exhausting. But today I have a bit of a break. My feet will be up for a few minutes. I hope yours are too!

If you are in Northern California and are looking for some fun, be sure to check out Gold Prospecting Adventures. I joined E on her fourth grade field trip and it was a blast. Any family would love this fun! We then went to Columbia State Park and the kids really enjoyed the historic town. I can't wait to take the rest of my family there!

E panning for gold in Jamestown.

Easy sewing project- outdoor slipcovers

Without being able to buy a new outdoor set this summer, I was determined to make mine a little more my taste. I knew I wanted to use soft sheets as for the slipcovers so that I could toss them into the washing machine and they would just get softer with wear. I found the perfect sheet set at Marshall's and I have plenty to cover pillows or make a small table runner.
Basically this is an edged rectangle. To jazz it up a bit I had saved ruffles tie backs from my voile curtains. I do not use the tie backs and knew there would be a project someday...this was the project! Can you believe the tie backs were the exact length???

I could not find the perfect color ribbons for the ties, but did find the perfect color in bias tape. Another cost cutting detail.

These are so easy that I could make another set in a different print. I hope you try it!

Salvage Day Finds

I had seen in a magazine a layout of a garden party where the centerpiece was an exquisite silver footed coffee pot with gorgeous flowers. I knew I wanted to begin collecting old silver. A good friend of mine, who did not even know of my new collection fantasy, emailed me and told me she found a website that reminded her of me! It is the Paris Hotel Boutique! One of the specialties is antique hotel silver, from many hotels I have stayed at! It is just gorgeous! They also have a wonderful selection of antique hotel china. Check it out!

My sweet mom knew of my new collection fantasy and picked up this coffee pot for me on a recent antique hunt. I polished it up a bit and my fantasy is coming to life! Thanks Mom, I love you!

At the Urban Ore I found this sterling silver ice bucket. Perfect!

This plate is the most gorgeous shade of aqua.

This is the most dainty sugar bowl.

No architectural pieces this time, but trust me...someday!

Salvage Saturday!

Hubby was so sweet and took the kids camping last night and all day today.

I got a complete 28 hours ALL to myself! Woohoo!

I began by going to a fun jewelry party (where I swore I would not buy one thing...I bought 3!)

Then I woke up at the crack of dawn and headed to my parents house. It was time to hit the salvage yards! I love scrounging and I love being with my parents, so this day was destined to be special!

Here is the current gate to my mom's gorgeous garden. She wants an English garden gate...so let the hunt begin!

First Stop: Urban Ore~ Berkeley, CA

This place is amazing! Huge wharehouse stocked with stuff! Then an enormous outside area stacked with windows, doors and lots of other goodies. You could spend an entire day here.

I found a few treasures which I will post later.

above- on the left, behind the "eyebrow" windows are the most amazing French blue barn doors!

above- claw foot tubs are in abundance here!

above & below- so many fabulous colors of everything!
above- two of my very favorites in one place! chocolate and chandeliers~ my adorable Dad said that I needed that sign and asked if it was for sale...sadly it was not.

Option #1 Gate- Perfect? Nope, too wide and Mom prefers black...keep looking...

Option #2 Gate- Perfect? Almost, just a bit too narrow for the wheelbarrow to get through. Mom reminded me that she is a gardener.

Next stop- Ohmega Salvage~ Berkeley, CA

Thank goodness for GPS! We just plugged each address in and we magically arrived. This place is not as rustic and cluttered as the first. But the prices are higher. The cool thing is...the salvage yard is on both sides of the street!
Option #3 Gate- PERFECT! BUT... my Dad says the gate HAS to be 5 feet tall since they have a pool.?. I am still researching to make sure this is, in fact, a law. My mom pushed and pushed for this gate but he would not budge!

Option #4 Gate- REALLY PERFECT! SOLD!...Unfortunately it is NOT FOR SALE! What? It is just covering up the windows as a grate! Ahhhh! No fair, it is the exact dimensions- perfect color- good scrolls- we all pushed and pushed but these guys were not at all interested in selling us this gate...patience...

below~ fabulous eye candy!

Above- I've dreamt of a mantel in my bedroom!
above- CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? It is a bit shabby, but the instrument part is in good condition, okay fair condition for $49. It is just perfect for my kids who have not yet learned but would like to try. Then, if they are successful, we could upgrade. I love, love, love the carved legs! Can't you just picture the most adorable Shabby Chic stool in front with a vintage piano book? Ugh! We could not get it home today! I really want it, I think I HAVE to have it!

Third Stop- This And That~San Pablo, CA

This final place mostly had building supplies.

Option #5 Gate- Could be perfect, but we would not let my Dad get to it. That vine was covered in thorns! He wanted to check it out so bad!

Okay, so no gate today! But it was so much fun! Every great scrounging day needs a great meal! Check out this awesome place that we ate! I love hanging out with mom and dad! I must bring my family back to this place!

The Dead Fish~ Crockett, CA

The story behind the unusual name is that the chef used to cook a lot with his Italian grandma when he was little. She always used the freshest ingredients, especially the fish. He would always ask, "Nonna, what fish is that?" She would never know what the name was so she replied, "A dead fish!" That is how he named this fabulous place! I had the most scrumptious crab enchiladas.

above- there are gorgeous dining rooms, but the patio with private bungalows are so romantic! They each have an overhead heater so the weather is never an issue!
above- the amazing view from "The Dead Fish". I'm told that at night, when the bridges are lit up it is breathtaking...I would love to see that!
Theater of Dreams in Port Costa, CA~ Sadly this store was closed. She has loads of antique silver goodies. My mom remembers seeing this store in Victoria Magazine.

Thank you for joining me on this fabulous day! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Thanks to hubby for taking the kids, especially on Father's Day weekend! You're the best!

Take Time To Smell The Roses

I have been a bit under the weather. :( It's not fun to have a fever in summer heat.

But I did get to indulge in a guilty pleasure, in which they are making into a movie.

~All the while my TO DO list is growing~

• help E finalize science project done
• buy gifts for parent volunteers
• finalize teacher gifts
• sew slipcovers for outdoor furniture modified- sewing machine problems
• complete and wrap coach gifts for baseball- done
• prepare sub plans
• put Father's Day cards in mail asap- done
• complete and wrap Father's Day gifts for hubby
• mop floor- done
• wash windows
• clean bathrooms (notice the fun stuff is at the top)- done

I bet your list looks similar to mine. Let's muddle through it together!

Have a wonderful week!

Cotswold in California?

A little while ago I had the great opportunity to travel with my mom and sister to England. This trip was perfect in every way. I came back with many, many treasures (one of the advantages of traveling without the Mr.shhhhh) When we traveled to the Cotswolds I picked up a few of these cards since they captured the fairy tale houses brilliantly~thought I'd throw that word in since it is soooo British~ After hanging onto them for years now I decided to hang them on the wall. Of course I never custom frame anything. I found inexpensive gold frames ( I personally think the art should be more important than the frame) and trimmed.
My parents were getting rid of half used rolls of wallpaper...No way! I use wallpaper for everything from gifts, backing shelves, decoupaging to matting pictures like this. This particular embossed wallpaper is on the ceiling of a bathroom in the house I grew up in.
As I walk through my home, I not only have great visions of places I love, but the snippets of wallpaper will keep childhood memories forever.
Yuck, sorry the coloring is so bad on this one.

On a completely different note...I have been fiddling around in the garden a lot. I was so inspired by the garden rooms here last month. This hoosier cabinet, below, is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. Unfortunately, we have many windows in our house and there is not one wall (believe me I've tried) that it works on. Sadly it sat in the garage and I even surveyed my friends if they wanted to buy it. The other day I moved it out to the back porch and I love it! Am I crazy to have this outside and this inside?

It is great storage for spur of the moment dining al fresco. I filled it with tablecloths, bbq supplies, dishes and other goodies. The best thing is that the enamel table pulls out to make for a great buffet and...get this...the bottom right drawer is metal (intended for potatoes) so lined with plastic and filled with ice it is an instant cooler for guests to grab a drink! I can't wait for our first outdoor dinner! Wanna come?