521 Lake Street

Pick a Set….any set!

2012-02-17T18:11:00.001-07:00

Going back to our love of Formica products…I found all of these on the web and thought we could dream…..

Which one suits your fancy?????

sorry so fuzzy,was a little photo…

There is no cute table out there than this gray and red….wow!

I just really like the ones with the cutouts in the tables….and I am sure we cannot get those remade…unless we are really rich! LOL

Here is a site that makes all of our dreams come true, they are in West Virginia and even make custom countertops….

Just click on the red dinette set….:)

Here is another…just click on the photo!

And another….

This was so much fun, finding all of these sites… It would be hard to pick for sure, but if I could I would like an older set, just because they were built so well back then. So, leave me a comment and let me know which one would fit in your kitchen! :)

A Very Nice Valentines Day

2012-02-15T15:33:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share the wonderful time I had with some of my best friends, their Mom and a neighbor yesterday. Everyone said you have to take photos of the table, so we did….with no one sitting at it! LOL

This was such a nice day for me, my hubby had to work until almost midnight so sharing the day with some of my favorite people was just perfect!

I made some goodies for them to take….

I made these banners out of Valentine doilies and printed off some of my vintage children’s cards…..added a few button and baubles, and used a twine that was pink, white and red.

I had goodies bags for when they left, filled with all kinds of stuff!

And I made little place card candy cups with their names on them….

And of course we had to have red heart straws for out drinks!

Here is a shot of the table…

I found vintage inspired paper plates and napkins at Hobby Lobby, and for some reason I needed to use red plastic utensils….and my Boopie Glass red goblets. The tablecloth came from Wal-Mart.

We had a menu of different sandwich fixings and side dishes that helped us think of our Mom’s or Grandmas…. we had deviled eggs, pasta salad, Lu-Lu Sauce with potato chips ( something I had never heard of and loved!), and crab salad.

I made a vintage frozen fruit salad that I put in these molds….

Here is what it came out like, and it was yummy!!!!!

It had cream cheese, sugar, cool whip, frozen strawberries, crushed pineapple and sliced bananas, it was a hit!

And of course red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for desert.

One of my guest was my dear friend Meri Wiley, of http://imagimeris.blogspot.com/.

she always comes with wonderful goodies anytime she comes by, and she had a belated birthday gift that I just adore!!!!!!

This sweet little cow ( I think) do cows have horns? LOL was made into an adorable pin cushion….

And of course all cows need to wear a bell, and mine has a sweet pink gingham ribbon and baubles! Only Meri could have seen this when she bought this sweet piece of vintage life.

And look at my handmade card!!!!!!

Perfection!!!!!! Thank you Meri for thinking of me!

Meri also brought sweet Valentines for all of us in her wonderful “Imagimeri “ style…..

Meri’s sister Linnie and I have been friend since our junior years in high school and she brought me a wonderful little box for Valentines day and a package of …..strawberry flavored peeps dipped in dark chocolate!

Lets just say that once we tried the peeps ( I am a Peep fanatic if you are new to my blog), we decided they need to quit being so inventive! LOL

All in all a great day with people I love and care for…..hope everyone had as good a day as I did….thanks for stopping by…..

Which one would you pick?

2012-02-13T12:34:00.001-07:00

I have been searching the web again, and found some great samples of Formica ….first I found this wonderful article on a blog called “Our Arts and Crafts Home”, her grandfather had passed ( he was almost 101 years of age) and they were cleaning out his home, and her father found these in the basement. Her grandfather like to collect odds and ends and this was probably one of them apparently.

Can you imagine how exciting this would have been???? She took them apart made these photos….

Oh so fifties…….

Lovely Boomerang….

Linen type

Solids

The brand is so well known today that people generally refer to all laminated countertops and furniture as “Formica” whether or not they were actually the manufacturer. The brochure pictured above shows the Sunrise collection designed by Raymond Loewy Associates for Formica in 1953.

My Countertop would have been Lipstick Red Linen with a Chrome strip…no doubt! Tell me if you have one here you would use…..

Next….on to the Dinettes!

Flowers and Cake and Presents….oh my!

2012-02-06T11:56:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday and Sunday was just as good! My son had a Super Bowl Party and invited a lot of his high school buddies and their families and it was a blast to see everyone again. My youngest had some of his friends over too, so I got to see a lot of my favorite kids!

I got to pick out my own gifts from my hubby, so it was a Cath Kidston birthday!

The flowers were from my youngest….and some cash towards my Silhouette Cameo machine.

I just fell in love with these vintage pastel colored chicks and rooster….

The two little eggs are from The Cracker Barrel…they are S&P for Easter….I had a gift card there too from Christmas.

I don’t know how she does it, but all of Cath Kidston’s items have such a vintage feel…..I could just go crazy if it wasn’t so expensive…..

This is an adorable frame that I can keep on my fridge, Bryan gave me a few photos of Abbey to put in it and rotate, I just love it! This photo was Abbey’s first day home…she looks so lost…:) I have been told there is one more item coming…wonder what it is????

Stunning flowers from Wayne…..

These lilies make my whole house smell wonderful!

And of course the cake……

It was a great weekend all the way around!

Oh and all of you New England Patriot’s people….SORRY….. LOL

Go Giants!

Discombobulated for sure!

2012-02-03T12:55:00.001-07:00

I wish I knew why I seem to be really scattered right now…..it is the weirdest thing…just can’t “seem to light” as my mother would say…..like a flighty bird!

Things on the homestead couldn’t be better, the weather is great, my kids are great….so what is up????? Wish I could tell you.

I spent some time on Flickr, sometimes just getting my mind calm helps….and I found a person who goes by the name of “salty cotton” that has done incredible research and scanned a ton of vintage advertisements for everything you can think of! Here are just a few of the at least hundred they have. You know me and my love of vintage graphics….:)

This is not for toy trucks, but real ones…look at the colors!

I want one of these carriers…..:)

I would have had a hard time picking a color back then…..

Metal kitchen cabinets….still not a favorite…..

OK….gingham Formica topped tables…in yellow and red???? I have never seen one of these! Hate the chairs, but the table??? Be still my heart!

I want all of these vintage ones please…..:) look at those tins and bottles!

Vintage Rubbermaid ad…..

These two flower packets are incredible!!!!!

Pretty enough to frame, don’t you think?????

And the last one??? Part of a painting company ad…..and yes, I will take this one please….

Now for some actual fun in this world…..

Just click on the photo to go to their site! I got some of the fabric toweling for placemats and a runner…..perfect for my Fiesta ware!

Oh and I almost forgot….tomorrow is…….

And yes, at times I feel the amount of candles is correct! LOL

Thanks for stoppin’ by…….

Viv’s Valentine Day Swap

2012-01-31T12:14:00.001-07:00

Hello!

I know I have been kind of MIA lately, but I have been busy…..I am doing a family tree for a birthday gift and so I am have been happily in the land of the past……:)

But I am back now and I wanted to share the lovely box of goodies I got from my swap partner Joyce ( Scrap for Joy). Joyce and I were lucky enough to get to meet here in Mesa, AZ a few years back and we hit it off immediately! We have been great friends ever since, so when I found out that Viv had paired us up for her Valentine Swap I was so happy!

Take a ganger at what Joyce sent….she knows me so well! lol

The note on the inside of the box….

Everything was wrapped in fun tissue and hearts…..and sooo me! I have been fortunate that my last few swaps, the people really knew me…. this was also a box of birthday goodies….I will be uh…..older on Saturday! So I got a double gift. :) Quite a few photos here as Joyce went a little crazy! :)

Great die for my genealogy fun……

I love anything to do with cupcakes!

Aren’t these just so cute?????

She sent me some fun Cherry chocolate M&Ms…they tried to make a break for freedom….

I got them all though….:)

Some wonderful sheets of graphics…..

And then onto the Valentine goodies…..

Joyce is a talented paper artist and she made me the most wonderful piece of art!

Each little square something wonderful…..

It is hanging in my craft room!

And a homemade Valentine and Birthday card…..

This just cracked me up!

More goodies still…..

And it all came in this wonderful red tin tub!

Thank you Viv for a wonderful fun Swap….we can always count on you for a fun time!!!!!! Click on Viv’s banner to see her fun items and “Scrap for Joy” to meet Joyce if you haven’t already….she is a sweetheart!

Also linking up with Sue’s Rednesday…..

More color!

2012-01-26T13:41:00.001-07:00

I am sure by now a lot of you have found Pinterest. It is such a fun place to go for vintage graphics! There are a ton of Vintage Valentines out there right now. I have noticed on quite a few of these cards the color is faded or just not quite what I want. I have a program that came with my Windows 7 called Windows Live Photo Gallery. It is a spot to do a little adjusting and such. If you have this program, it can make a faded card look better if that is what you want…

The original:

After auto adjust:

As you can see it is bright and sharper!

A few more images before and after:

Sometimes it is just subtle, you can also straighten the photo and many other things….if you haven’t used this before, give it a try!

It is a lot easier than PSE for quick fixes, for me anyhow….:)

Also the other new October Afternoon coming out soon!

Do you love Cath Kidston?

2012-01-20T12:00:00.001-07:00

Well, if you do look what she has new for you!

I absolutely love these items!!!!!!!!!!! How vintage the hens and roosters are! I just went to order and they have new US shipping fees. It was only $20.00 to ship!!!!! GRAB them quick!

Go ahead…if you dare….

http://www.cathkidstonusa.com

Also, you paper crafters…look at this line that October Afternoon is coming out with!!!!!!!!!!! I for one, cannot wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Good Way to Save a Bundle!

2012-01-17T12:50:00.001-07:00

Good Afternoon! I was recently blog hopping when I saw a post about how to save money on cartridges for your printer. I wish I could tell you where I was…:) The first thing she mentioned was remanufactured cartridges….and a link to a company that sells thru Amazon.com.

So I went and took a look….I was amazed! To buy a set of all of the cartridges I need for my printer at Wal-Mart, which I found to be the cheapest is 65.00! I love to paper craft and tag swaps and such and copying my vintage cards and what not can use a lot of ink.

This is what I found on Amazon….

This package was 12.47 !!!!! It has three black, and two of everything else. This would have been over 150.00 in the store!

This is how it arrived….

I will try to keep you informed of how long these last…..but this is the way to go if these are filled fully…..The link is below….they have all kinds of different cartridges….

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie=UTF8&sshmPath=at-a-glance&isAmazonFulfilled=&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&isCBA=&orderID=&asin=&seller=A2P5QXBDU51LJA&isPopup=

Let me know if you use them and how satisfied you are with the results!

A Junior Elf Book that is too cute!

2012-01-13T12:59:00.001-07:00

It is Friday again and so I am on my way over to Corey’s to join the fun!

I have a few of these Junior Elf Books and they are just so sweet…..really enjoy looking at them now….

Such simple sweet stories…..Please go over to Corey’s and see the other fun vintage children’s books. Have a great weekend!

I also just listed a really fine piece of vintage memorabilia on EBay….a great Mattel Talking Larry the Lion.

He has been with me since I was 8 years old….if you love Vintage toys, take a look!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280806723662?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

And So It Is Told….

2012-01-08T18:11:00.001-07:00

My great grandfather Jesse O Burgess

The Chosen

We are the chosen. In each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again. To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. Doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of our tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called, as it were, by our genes. Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood before and cried? I have lost count. Hoe many times have I told my ancestors, “You have a wonderful family; you would be proud of us”. How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there for me? I cannot say. It goes beyond documenting facts. It goes to who I am, and why I do the things I do. It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying – I can’t let this happen! The bones are bones of my bones and flesh of my flesh. It goes to doing something about it. It goes to our pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or up, their resoluteness to go on and build a life fort heir family. It goes to deep pride that the fathers fought and some died to make and keep us a nation. It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. It is of equal pride and love that our mothers struggled to give us birth, without them we could not exist, and so w love each one, as far back as we can reach. That we might be born who we are. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and take my place in the long line of family storytellers. That is why I do family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and restore memory or greet those who we had never known before…

by Della M. Cummings Wright; rewritten by her granddaughter Dell Jo Ann McGinnis Johnson; edited and reworded by Ton Dunn, 1943."

I saw this online and had to write it here…..this is exactly how my heart feels about this wonderful journey of discovery I am on.

A bit of this and that…..

2012-01-07T14:30:00.001-07:00

I have been busy looking at Pinterest and my favorite blogs and came up with some great ideas…..

first of all I want to show you some of the items I got at Michaels in the dollar bins….there has been quite a few posts about their recent stash….very Cath Kidston like and of course Mary E!

But I saw these stamps for just a dollar and I really like the graphics….

And the cupcake liners, which I just love to have, I haven’t made cupcakes in months and months…..

I was just at Kathy’s Cottage and look what she did with them…..

Here is another idea I like as it uses the old vintage jar look….

( Pinterest)

(Pinterest)

I just found out for the Valentine Swap I joined, my partner is a good friend of mine! Love it! Look out Joyce, you get to be my partner! LOL

Have a great weekend, what are you doing to get organized or de cluttered???? I am thinking about it! But that’s as far as I have gotten so far….LOL

UPDATE: These items were 1.50!!!! I think that is nuts! I wrote Michaels a letter explaining how they always seem to ruin a good thing! 50% increase??? I don’t think so! All of those dollar bins items are great money makers…..this is a shame, because it will change how I buy things there from now on…I think we all need to go to the Michaels site and complain.

Lil’ Vintage Storybooks

2012-01-06T11:24:00.001-07:00

This is my first post about some of the wonderful vintage children's books I have acquired thru the years. Carey had this wonderful Friday post where we get to share them! So come with us and see how wonderful children’s books can be!

This was a little 29 cent book …..

It is a Saalfield book made of a thick linen paper….

The colors!!!! And the artist made them so cute! Ethel Hays was known for her cherub like children…..

You are welcome to use these images, just let people know where they came from…:)

Click on Carey’s name and see the other wonderful books! Thanks for stopping by……

The Contents of the Box!

2012-01-02T11:03:00.001-07:00

OK….I finally got this all put together….here is what it looked like in pieces….

Yup….it is the dollhouse of my dreams!

Wayne and I put it together New Years Day, and it wasn’t even really hard. Just a little tricky, as it has been unassembled and the tabs were bent. This the called the “Marx Mansion” it is the biggest house they made. I joined a Marx dollhouse group on Yahoo and have learned so much already. I bought this on EBay from a person who had gotten it at an estate sale, they hoped it was all here. It was! And in near perfect shape!!!! No dents at all, and a few scratches.

Here are a few views of the rooms….such great graphics! I have a lot of Renwal Furniture that I have been holding onto and guess what? It fits perfect in this house! I am so happy to finally have one and feel blessed that I could but this for Christmas…

The kitchen, look at the walls and that red floor!

The bathroom….

The fireplace in the living room…

the garage…

the Master bedroom, it is pink ( Yuk) but I am using whatever I want for furniture! LOL

and the Nursery…

And the patio side….

With my Renwal Furniture:

Love this kitchen!

I will be building some shelves in my craft room to display this…..I did get a good amount of furniture with this house, but oddly it was the wrong scale, so it is on EBay as we speak! If you need 1/2” scale Mark furniture, so check out the seller Sanjos333…

It took me a couple of years to finally get a really nice one, but it was worth the wait…..red and white and all of those wonderful colors inside are right up my alley! I guess you could say I am in my second childhood, but I don’t think I ever stopped loving toys of my youth.

Thanks for stopping by…..

A Long Time Ago….

2012-01-01T16:02:00.001-07:00

My cousin was looking thru some old things of her mom’s and found this receipt from my great grand uncle. His name was William Reinhard.

He was a home decorator and contractor. This is a receipt from a home he remolded in 1922…

Can you imagine???? Working for 85 cents an hour????? Look at the phone number! Work was hard then just like it is now.

My Aunt Goldie, the woman who kept this never threw anything away, and I am so thankful that she didn’t! She also wanted future generations to know the connection and so she wrote this on the back…

Charles Reinhard was William’s brother and my great grandfather.

Charles and Amelia Reinhard

And she tried to put a little something like this on all of the items she kept. Thank you Aunt Goldie, for thinking of all of us!

I am going to see if the Knutsen family has descendants in Eau Claire or elsewhere so I can share it with them!

Changes are always good

2011-12-30T16:11:00.001-07:00

I am just going to change gears here for a moment. As most of you know that follow me, this has been a tumultuous year for me and my family.

A mountain of changes, and ones that were life altering.

A family member that has decided he no longer wants me in his life. I miss him, a lot…my family is very small and it was a huge loss for me.

The death of our dear friend Scott who was much too young, but through the process of Scott’s dying, we all learned lessons that are so important! About forgiveness, truly loving someone, knowing when enough is enough and being able to say good-bye and know that it was so right between the two of you at the end. All lessons learned from Scott and his leaving us. We miss you Scott more than words could ever say, but we know you are healthy and happy on that other side. We will all see you again, that is for sure!

A marriage that almost didn’t make it after 31 years. Talk about learning to let go of things and forgiveness….it is a daily lesson. I am grateful that we were able to survive and get strong again. We have better communication that we ever did before. Listening is so much more important than talking!

We also have had great joy and new gifts in our life. A wonderful grand pup that has taught me a lot about patience and acceptance. It is amazing what animals can teach us. It has been wonderful watching my son start and grow a relationship with this sweet dog and enjoy the happiness she brings him. Such a simple thing, and it is wonderful to see!

This year we have also gotten to enjoy the company of our youngest son Chris as he goes to a music engineering school on our side of town. Having him back under our roof has been a blast! He is going for his “dream job”….and we know sooner than later he will achieve it!

Manny, Chris and Oompa… aka “Fate of the Galaxies”

I have also started a closer relationship with Scott’s daughter, Rianna. What a difference it has made in my life! She is an incredibly strong young lady that has gone thru hard, hard times and came out on the other side a good strong woman! I enjoy my time with her and hope we can spend more of it together in 2012.

(Photo taken this last Father’s Day Scott and Riana)

10 months of unemployment and no ability to get the infusions I needed for my Rheumatoid Arthritis.

So again, changes….moving slower, not going as much, being home a lot and really learning to enjoy it! I hope I have turned this into a positive. The pain is worse, but again I have learned to slow down and “smell the roses” so to speak! :)

I have also gotten to know me a whole lot better. Taken a lot of time to discover who I really am, and I like myself! I am not to loving myself, yet….but I hope to learn that lesson soon…:)

I am very thankful for all of the ups an downs we had this year and realizing as we look back that everything happened for a reason! Everything! So as we start a New Year, my family is ready for what ever comes our way. God’s grace is incredible!

Happy 2012 to all of you and may the year be filled with the blessings you all deserve!

The Big Box

2011-12-30T12:28:00.001-07:00

I finally had a chance to open my big box…..and this is what was inside….

This person wrapped this SO well…..way too big of a box!

Any ideas??????

Here is a hint…..

I will be getting back to you soon…..I have to put this together! :)

After Christmas Rednesday

2011-12-28T14:23:00.001-07:00

Yup, it is the last Rednesday of 2011and I have a few things to share….I really love this time of year because of all of the red….but I am so ready for it to be put away! LOL

I bought this on Etsy, I LOVE vintage bright table runners!

He came after Christmas, I am starting to collect vintage Christmas blow molds….he is perfect! I need to find some next year locally.

Another new blow mold, I have looked at these for a long time. I found one in it’s original warp but 30.00 was just too much! This one was a lot cheaper. I got the boot at World Market this year, so so vintage! And anything with this much glitter is OK in my book!

S& P shakers from K-Mart…didn’t have any out this year. They were on sale for less than 2.00!

I bought this at Kirkland’s, I love farmhouses, and with a RED door….but look what it does…….

Yup! The tree and the windows light up! This is one of my very favorite items…..( sorry photos aren’t straight )

a couple new books to the collection….

A fun vintage red electric candle, I am pretty sure my Mom had one of these, or was it me??? LOL

And who can do Christmas without a wonderful red box of chocolates from See’s????

Please pop over to It’s Very Cherry World and see all of the red that others are sharing…..

And guess what this is?????

Bet you will never get it! More to come…..:)

Thanks for coming by…..

Our Hunter Girl

2011-12-27T01:16:00.002-07:00

Well, we found out what was wrong with the blog thanks to Karen Valentine, I had my counter go corrupt, so out it went!

I wanted to share some photos of Abbey we took on Christmas, this dog and my son have become quite the unit….they go out every weekend now and work on their communications and her ability to “point thru the flush” of the bird, retrieve the bird and give it to Bryan.

It is amazing to watch a 14 month old pup do this well. The trainer cannot wait to put here in some AKC trials this winter.

We have a lot of quail out in the back park here and so Abbey went “hunting”…..

These next shots were all taken in a row….

Perfect point, my Son told her “whoa” and she stopped dead….

Here he is about to touch her to “release” her so she can move forward slowly….

This shot just amazes me…he told her “whoa” again and she stopped with her hind leg in the air…didn’t move a muscle! I am so proud of her! Her abilities are incredible!

Again, she had been told to stop…..after Bryan "flushed the birds” she was allowed to run after them….she just didn’t get any. She didn’t care….we had a hard time getting her convinced to come inside for awhile….her instincts are really strong. I just know Bryan and Abbey are going to be a heck of a team in no time!

My grand puppy is all grown up, and a beautiful example of her breed.

Christmas was a wonderful day of just family and relaxing, it couldn’t have been better!

Thanks for stopping by…..

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T13:34:00.001-07:00

I am going to be baking and wrapping and running around the rest of this week, but I wanted to wish all of my blogging friends a wonderful Merry Christmas!!!!!

A Victorian Christmas

2011-12-17T20:48:00.001-07:00

I am going to take a bit of a detour on this blog….and do another genealogy post…..this is the only photo of have of anyone in my family in this time era at Christmas and I really wanted to share it! ( Thank you Joan)

I have no photos of my parents as children at Christmas, in fact I have no baby photos of my Mom at all….my grandparents were too poor to have any real photos of any of their children as babies. It makes me sad as the maternal grandparents were very well off….but such is life.

My Dad’s dad was a barber…enough said about their income….but I do own a few of him as a baby, just not at the holidays.

This is a photo of Severin “Socky” Westlund at Christmas in 1915. This was taken at my great grandparents house. ( we think) They were Zachrias and Mary Severson. Socky is just 7 years old…. I wish I could see more of these! Even the ceiling is wallpapered…I would love to have been able to see what the whole house was like. My grandmother tore this house down when her father passed. Her and my grandfather built a new home on the land.

I just love the walls and that photo on the wall….wonder where that ended up? His toys are behind him and he looks way too serious for a boy of 7. I love the popcorn strings on the tree too….I wish we could get a better look! :)

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to still have these great vintage toys? Look at that barn….and the wagon and horses, they sure look like they are iron. And what 7 year old wouldn’t have loved a drum?

I remember Socky very well and with a lot of love, he was a wonderful, kind, soft spoken man with a great sense of humor! And he loved talking about the history of our family. I just wish I had been interested in the family genealogy before he passed….again, if you have family members that you can talk to…do it!!!!! You only get that chance for those wonderful stories and tidbits while they are with us…

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight…as Santa would say…:)

A Surprise in the Mail

2011-12-16T14:09:00.001-07:00

I received a wonderful Christmas gift today from one of my favorite people!

Yes, Elizabeth sent me a set of the tags from the swap I was suppose to be in, but was just too ill to participate….isn’t she something????

Here are some close ups….

Such talent out there in Blog land…

And look at the sticker that was one one of the packages that held a tag…..

Sorry…couldn’t wait! Thank you E, this means a lot!

Also, I just love all of the vintage Cardboard cutouts that we used to hang every Christmas….

(Images from Google)

Well, last year I went to the 99cent Store and got these after Christmas…I know they are a bit different, but I just love them! I hung them on my pantry doors in my kitchen…..

The one above is my favorite….

They are three dimensional, and lots of glitter ( sorry you can’t see it)

I usually like to stick to the vintage versions, but they are in a box put away this year, and since I didn’t get out my usually stash, I just decided to use these…..aren’t they sweet? Kitschy for sure!!!!

Thanks for stopping by…..

My Secret Santa arrived!

2011-12-14T14:39:00.001-07:00

This swap has been so fun…..My gal and I have known each other for about a year and she knows me REALLY well…:)

Here are photos of my goodies…..

What a wonderful mix of vintage Christmas linens!

cute vintage record…..I remember these!

Peeps ???? Yes, she knows me well…LOL The ornament was made by a 90 year old woman…sweet vintage style.

I was just looking at this book online…I love it! And of course some vintage Christmas cards…right up my alley!

And a syrup dispenser to add to my collection, looks like it was from the 70’s with the colors…

A great big jar of…..

CANDY! LOL

One piece didn’t make it but I wanted to show you how well this person knows me….

Yup! RED Pyrex! The lid is good, I will find a bottom at an antique mall…I am sure…..

Thank you so much for all of these goodies, and I got some peppermint white chocolate bark…..now where did that go????? LOL

I will give you a clue…this person has a lot of little dogs with long bodies!!!! They are so darn cute!!!! Thank you again Secret Santa!!!!!

Remember this one?

2011-12-13T16:07:00.001-07:00

I recently was in Wal-Mart and saw this book out of the corner of my eye….I just had to buy it…

I don’t know about you, but I remember this book as a child, and reading it to my children when they were little…..I just love the graphics! The kids now are so missing out on the wonderful artist’s of the 40’s and 50’s…..

This is how the book looks now:

See what I mean???? I guess I am just a bit on the nostalgic side today…..so enjoy some of the pages with me. :)

I wonder if the new version ends with “Happy Christmas” like Clement C. Moore meant it to be…..

When my children were little guys and my husband read to them before bed, they would go over the back of these books and tell him who everyone was on the back cover…..this had to be done every time…..Such a nice memory. :)

Some Fun Christmas Finds

2011-12-10T10:42:00.001-07:00

I have gotten my package off and am in decorating mode I guess, I just am so behind the eight ball that I am not going to stress over it….the tree is up and I will decorate it this weekend…the rest will just not get put up this year….I have had a cold most of November and got another one two days ago…such is life….:)

I wanted to show you the adorable Screen saver that Serina from The Farm Chicks has made for us to use this December! I am still on the hunt for one of these barns….

I also won this on EBay…No one bid against me…I was amazed to get this for only $15.00! And it is mint! This is the box the book came in…..

Here are some shots of the book:

Wonderful graphics and not a mark on any page!!!!! Hard bound, not spiral like it also was made. I love this book! It is going in the living room!

These were also in the box……

This was a lucky child which ever Christmas this was from!

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to click on “The Farm Chicks” above…it will take you to the screensaver post!

Willow

2011-12-07T12:17:00.001-07:00

I just got back from Bryan’s house, I have been there since Sunday….I am sorry to say that Willow did not work out…so sadly we drove her back to Tucson and returned her to the rescue yesterday….

She was a sweet sweet dog, but the mix was not right…..plus she was not a Pointer Mix, but Bryan and I strongly believe she was Lab and Dalmatian…. she was at least 50 pounds and just a big puppy…she was housebroke, but no training of any kind and some poor habits…. and not near enough energy to keep up with Abbey. Poor Willow would get tired of playing the tugging game and just lay down and Abbey would pull her around the living room…..laying down!

Oddly, it was Abbey that was the issue not Willow….so please say a little prayer that Willow’s forever home comes soon and she has a loving family for the rest of her life!

Bryan and I were both devastated to have to take her back, but they said she would be adopted, they get their dogs from the pound, and NEVER take them back…..

Take care and remember what I whispered in your ear as we left you sweet Willow…….

I will be taking a short break, I have to get my Secret Santa gift out and get decorated for Christmas! Thanks for stoppin’ by…..

My next Grand puppy?????

2011-12-02T16:45:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! I am so excited! Bryan my son, Abbey’s owner decided awhile back that Abbey needed a partner, a playmate, someone who could keep up with her and help diffuse some of her boundless energy…..

We had many talks….he kept saying that he wanted a German Shorthair Pointer….like this:

They are beautiful beautiful dogs, just like Abbey….but again a purebred……I am a HUGE advocate of bringing a rescue dog into your life……the purebreds are wonderful, but rescue dogs need homes much worse! These poor cross breeds were not meant to be bred, or have people waiting to buy one when they are whelped…….

So, I suggested a pointer cross of some kind….there are a lot of those types in rescue associations everywhere. I tried to get him to go the the Humane Society or the pound…..no luck, he would go home devastated for all of the dogs and we would end up with 30 dogs! So, he asked me to start looking on line for rescues….and I went to Pet Finder and this is who popped up at Arizona Bird Dog Rescue down in Tucson……

This is Willow….she is about a year and a half English Pointer cross……we saw this photo and just had to find out about her……she has been kenneled as there were no Foster homes, God bless this rescue for paying for it!…..Bryan emailed them and they are so excited that he wants to see her. They think she is Pointer/Dalmatian as English Pointers do not have black in any of their color combos……

Last night they sent him these photos……

This is her other side, and look her ear is totally black, no spots at all…..:)

We got a little freaked out as she looks HUGE!!!!! So Bryan called them, and luckily the photos are deceiving, she only weighs about 45 pounds……Abbey weighs 43 pounds. Whew!

Really short head and nose , I am not sure that is Dalmatian, maybe some Pit? Whatever she is, she is cute as they come!

So they are bring her up to where Bryan lives at 4:00 PM this Sunday….and of course I will be there too! If Willow and Abbey hit it off, I will stay a couple of days to make sure all is good, and that they don’t have to be crated all day while Bryan is at work…..we are praying that they can stay in the house loose for good and not need to be crated, but Bryan does come home for lunch every day. Willow is spayed, housebroken, and chipped! PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that she is the one!!!!!! Bryan doesn’t think he could say no unless she went to hurt Abbey…….I will let you know! :)

I am on a roll now!!!!!

2011-11-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

OK ….are you ready?????????

TA-DAH!!!!!!!

And look….extra space even!!!!!!!

I have thrown away 6 bags of outdated food, and just plain junk! I have given to a food bank and a church 7 bags of goodies……this felt so good, I decide to take a whack at my 4 foot by 4 foot linen closet!

You thought I was kidding, didn’t you????? Remember, modular home….enough said…..men obviously figure out the storage in these things! LOL This spot will hold my Holiday Dishes…..much easier to get to…..

OK, real quick…..the kitchen table again…….

I have a lot of reproduction vintage linens, Moda loves me!!!!!!!

Beautiful hand made doilies…..

I went thru every one and I just wanted to show you a few that aren’t reproductions……

The needlework n these two just makes me smile……

I got this cute little item last year, just dropped it in the closet…..

Come to find out it is an adorable Christmas runner!!!! It will be on my little yellow and red table in the kitchen!

And this is what it looks like folded and ready to go to it’s new area in their new spot, my parents vintage dresser! Lot and lots of room there, once I clean it out! LOL

I have way too many too many photos to share with you today, but I do have a pile that I am not keeping!!!! They are going on Etsy, I will get Wayne to help me open them up and get really good photos…….

As an example……

Brand new, MODA repro tablecloth of the states of Oregon and Washington, The blue is kind of a grey-blue and you know me….not my color scheme!

Really cute already cute tablecloth out of oilcloth…….

Some others, are really nice vintage, almost perfect tablecloths, and a beautiful Easter green and white table runner, really nice and wide and long….again never used….so, I hope to get these on Etsy this week, so please keep your eyes open….I am pricing things to sell!

You noticed I didn’t show the top two doors open on the linen closet???? That is my candle storage……that’s next! Then CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!!!

Have a great day!!!!!!

P.S. My Etsy shop is not open at this time, I will get it up and going this next week! I took the button down as the shop was empty….thanks for all of the requests about it!

Why do I do this??????

2011-11-29T10:47:00.001-07:00

OK…..this post is going to be about a side of me that I really am crazy about…..I am close to being a hoarder of certain things…..if I decide I like something, I need as many as I can find! Sound familiar at all????? SO……these first photo are of the items I pulled from my kitchen pantry while rearranging it, not proud, nor happy about it….but what is….is…..

YUK !!!!!! How do I do this??????? Here are just a few of the things I see on blogs, or on Ebay or whatever ( thank you Pinterest!) and I think “I can do that! “ But the problem is I never do! Ever! Life long bad habit, for sure…….

Some examples……I saw on Diane’s Blog ( Saturday Finds) where she made these cute party favor baskets for the holidays……

Like these…..

and these……

I have gotten real far with that project, haven’t I?????

I love party picks, you know cupcake picks?????? Just how many do you need??????

I haven’t decided yet……

Oh, and then I found this bin……in the pantry….LOL

I have a thing about paper plates and napkins too, for all of those fun get togethers I am going to have…..NOT!

And you can never have too many lollipops to decorate with in each season either……

I wish I could tell you this is all of them, but I have two more bins in the guest room closet……I must have 75 of the little suckers! Do you know anyone who has lollipops in their guest room closet? No, I didn’t think so either, well now you do! LOL

One thing I will not part with is my Dixie Cup Collection……these are my babies…and this clear dispenser, brand ne win box….priceless at least to me! My Mom had one of these in our kitchen….

And these cute little things? What the heck are they for? I don’t know, but they are Dixie Cups! LOL

A couple of years ago after Christmas I picked up 8 of these……

They were $1.25 each and I thought it would be fun to have a “Make a Gingerbread House Party” with some of my friends, I couldn’t get them all together in one night to save my life so…..….now, three years later, I am keeping three, one for me, one for Scott’s grandson Anthony and one for his Mom, Rianna….we ARE going to make these this Christmas. The rest I will donate to a church, along with a lot of the extra other merchandise.

I wish I could tell you this is the only place in my house I do this……but I would be lying, my word for 2012 is going to be “REDUCE”…..I will have some fun stuff and some lovely pieces of glassware on Etsy in a few days….so keep your eyes peeled ( gosh, where did that saying ever come from?) :):) I will be showing you what this poor empty pantry will be looking like, hopefully soon! Oh, and I need to put the food away also…… jeesh!

Christmas decorating, did someone mention Christmas decorating????Not in this house for awhile….:):)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

2011-11-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day and has many new wonderful memories made with the people they love…..

Down and Out for the Count

2011-11-16T17:25:00.001-07:00

I am so sorry I haven’t been around……I have been sick for a little over two weeks….. I did this in early October like I have every fall, and I haven’t had the flu in years.

But I got on an airplane, and well you know the rest of this sentence….

We all with it could be as mild as this, and as “lady-like”

But this is more like what it really is……

I have finally stopped coughing, and so my family now can all sleep at night…..I went out with my son today to get a few things at Wal-Mart for Thanksgiving dinner and I swear I wanted to wear a mask!

Just an hour out and I am pooped, for lack of a better word…..

I feel like I have lost most of this month, and it has me a bit on the anxious side……but Thanksgiving will be here in a week, so I figure by then I should be human once more……

This was one bad virus…..and I have heard people say it can last up to 4 weeks! So I am happy mine was gone in a little over two….. still awfully tired and weak though….so take care of yourselves!!!!!!

My Wonderful Farmhouse

2011-11-04T11:51:00.001-07:00

Now we all know there is a house we have driven by that just hit us as the “perfect abode”……and every time we see it, we imagine living in that house, making it ours and of course having all of the money to do so!

My cousin Linda and I were driving down a road in the outskirts of Eau Claire and went by just such a house…..it yelled to me, not quietly but rather loudly….here I am!!!!!!

So I went back on a sunny bright day and got photos, and every photo I got a little bit closer, this is across the street…

Then I kept getting closer until I was in their driveway!

Look at the trim work….

This was a working farm…..it has a barn….right by the house….

and many newer little buildings, and the cutest garage that I didn’t photograph, my cousin is going to see if they decorate it for Christmas and send me photos…..right Linda????? :):)

A white Victorian farmhouse with a red roof and red trim…..need I say more???? Other than being right on a main road I would have knocked on the door and asked to buy it! I was still tempted to knock on the door and ask to see the inside…….this is definitely my farmhouse!!!!! It is lovingly maintained and taken care of in such a way I doubt anyone would want to sell it…..but you can always dream, right?????? :):)

My Very Own Quilt !

2011-11-01T18:47:00.001-07:00

On to Thanksgiving!!!!! I just love this look for fall, Karen Valentine does such an amazing job! Thanks Karen!

I have always wanted to have quilts in my home, but have not really been able to afford the real things, as I would love the old, soft handmade type that cost an arm and a leg! I saw on the web that there was a woman named Lori Holt, who has her own lines of fabric….I just fell in love with the colors and then I saw this quilt pattern:

Is this not the cutest quilt ever? You all know how much I love anything to do with “Grandma’s Aprons”…..I emailed Lori to ask for help getting the fabric I needed as the first run of it had sold out, and she was so kind to help me find it on Etsy and EBay, etc.…..

As you all know I do not sew, quilt, nothing! LOL But my sweet cousin Linda sews and her daughter Michele quilts, and Linda wanted to make this for me to thank me for all of the genealogy work I have done on our families. So I sent her the fabric and the pattern, they worked like crazy to get it done before I got there last month. It was a lot of weekends up at Michele’s place.

Measuring and cutting……

Sewing……

Linda hand embroidered the word’s “ I remember Grandma’s” in a sweet red thread.

Then Michele quilted the parts that needed it on her sewing machine…..aren’t those gloves neat? They had a rubber substance on the tips of the fingers, just for this task….

And this is the final project!!!!!!

And this is me the first time I saw it!!!!!

I was just amazed and so happy!!!!!! It will hang in my bedroom on the wall by my side of the bed, so every morning I wake to this wonderful work of love!

Thank you Linda and Michele…..this wonderful quilt means the world to me!

Have a great Halloween !

2011-10-29T19:23:00.001-07:00

Goodies from Eau Claire

2011-10-27T11:35:00.001-07:00

Here are the rest of the photos of the items I purchased at the craft fair and the thrift shops… I have my favorites that we go to every time I go home…..but there are getting to be less and less of them as they close one by one due to the economy….

Craft show finds……

I like these towels that you can snap over a drawer handle…..and these fall designs were perfect!

Brand new flour sack towels. The woman said her 89 years old mother made them for something to do…….I just love them!

I saw these and just had to laugh….they are panties for American girl dolls! Look at the detail!

I bought two pair but there were at least 50 to pick from. I saw a lot of handmade clothes for my doll also, but just couldn’t make up my mind……

Linda bought these guy for me at one of my favorite stops, the business is up for sale, so who knows if it will be there next time, he is all glittery!

I got this from the same shop, the graphics were just too perfect to walk away from…..

Garage sale finds and the milk bottle on the right is from a dairy that Mike used to work for! They were $3.00.!

A red enamel tin bowl that is going on an old vintage patio chair with geraniums this winter! Inside, a bunch of the old time cookie cutters that I want to make a garland with….and of course a few individual Jello molds! And scrubbies, I love scrubbies!

A whole bad of wood spools from thread….I can never find them here….these were $2.00! I see crafts all over different blogs that use these…..I am thinking they would be cute with the cookie cutter garland….painted of course!

New potholders and a recipe book from the church my folks were married at.

Old magazines, I don’t think they knew what they had, they gave them to me for .25 cents each!

The year my folks married…..

Loved the cover….is she happy or sad???? And yes…..

Woman’s Day magazine was 2 cents in 1942! I remember when I started buying them as a young bride they were 35 cents each!

I still have one item to show you…..it is a doozie! But that is for another post! Hope everyone had a great day!

I’m back, and happy to be here!

2011-10-25T10:52:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! It is so nice to see all of you again! :) I had a great time in Wisconsin, didn’t “do” much but spent quality time with my family……which is why I went in the first place.

Here is Linda and Mike…..

Linda is my cousin and Mike is her husband so he is my cousin too! Two of the most wonderful people ever! Linda and me spent much of the time working on in front of her computer with the new Family Tree Maker 2012, getting it loaded and splitting off her family into individual trees so my family tree doesn’t have over 20,000 people in it anymore! It took some time and had some real frustration but after a few calls to Ancestry.com we persevered! I knew there was a reason I never buy a program just as they come out…..too many bugs! LOL

I did get to go to a wonderful craft show…….just took a few photos, there were at least 75 crafters there, reminded me of all of the craft fairs that were here in Phoenix in the 1980’s….

cute bird feeder or bath….

adorable real mini pumpkin gourds

Horses that don’t eat or poop!

Many, many booths like this with homemade rugs, and towels and washcloths. I even got some handmade panties for my American Girl doll, Molly! It was a nice day! The time as usual went too quickly, and I am home trying to get back on my schedule, I have quite a few more photos to show you and the I will save the best for last….but I wanted to come and say hello!

EC Here I Come !!!!!!

2011-10-06T00:21:00.001-07:00

2 weeks of Nirvana!!!!! My cousin said the trees are just starting to turn….perfect timing!

Oh….and just a thought…..

I say Amen !!!!!! Have a great couple of weeks!

Rednesday at 521 Lake Street

2011-10-04T23:56:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since I have participated in Rednesday over at Sue’s place, but I finally have some new reds tuff! LOL

First of all some wonderful vintage cards I won on Ebay awhile back…I don’t know if I love the cards or the boxes they came in more!

I went to World Market the other day looking for a fun Christmas item I saw on Pinterest….more on him later :)

There was so much to look at! I know my friend Elizabeth of Creative Breathing loves this time of year because of Martha Stewarts fun holiday boxes and such, that you can but at Michael’s….I just adore them too, but couldn’t afford them last year. Then I saw these at World Market for half the price!!!!!

Cute cupcake boxes (4) for 4.99 and fun striped Parchment paper to put in them for 1.99…And of course my obsession with cupcake liners! They were 1.99 too! I know, they look like Christmas, but you could use these anytime!

Head on over to Sue’s Blog and see all of the wonderful red’s!

I have something new on my blog!

2011-09-29T23:13:00.001-07:00

I decided after seeing some of Keren’s great work from Free Pretty Things for you, I needed a blog button! I just love it, so please take one for your blog…I am going to redo my blog list with buttons, when I have an hour or two! Mine is located first item on the left side. Just copy the code into a new “HTML” gadget and save it and my button will magically appear!

Thank you so much Keren, it is exactly what I wanted!

Sue’s Autumn Tag Swap

2011-09-26T21:55:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful time participating in Sue of It’s A Very Cherry World’s Tag Swap!

My partner was a wonderful gal named Terry. Terry doesn’t have a blog yet, so I thought I would show you what she sent me and what I sent her…..it was so nice to meet her!

This is what I made for Terry…..

and a few goodies to go along with it….Terry sent me all of these wonderful items!!!!!

This being her first swap she really did incredible! All kinds of wonderful vintage items……and the cutest tag!

The texture and dimension on the front and back was just wonderful and so fun to receive! Thank you Terry for a fun fun swap! And thank you Sue for having it!

A little late to the party…..Cricut cartridge storage

2011-09-16T12:46:00.001-07:00

I recently decided one more time, I have too much of everything in my room. So one of the main problems was this…..

( Google)

Way too many little boxes….I do NOT have this many, but I do have over 20 and they take up a bunch of space. So I went to Ebay to see about “Cricut Cartridge Storage” and this is what came up:

(Ebay)

Each one of these little bins holds 20 cartridges and the larger ones hold 16 books and the matching rubber pad that goes on the machine.

You can build these to hold many many more…..

(Ebay)

It is a GREAT storage system and easy to use….

For cartridges

(Ebay)

For books and pads the number and color of loop on the tag matches the number on the cartridge holder. (Ebay)

Now….this is where “late to the party” comes in…I have since seen this system on a few blogs:

how-i-store-my-tools-4-cricut-cartridge.html

and other sellers different colors…..

(Ebay)

A little plastic canvas, a few Snapware containers ( these are approx. 9 x 7 inches base size) from Target, a bunch or two of colored pony tail holders from the Dollar Store and as many homemade Cricuit cut tags as you need to for the books…..The system I got is great….but as with all things, a little more research could have saved me a few dollars……. I also saw one made with a Snapware Christmas set in red and green that would make an ADORABLE Christmas gift for your Cricut buddy!!!!! So when I need more, and eventually I will I know where to go to get additional items! All of this is dirt cheap material wise…..

So I went from stacks of boxes to this….

And just for my comfort, I flattened the boxes ( plan on copy them later) and put them in a notebook so I know approx. what is on each cartridge.

So…..MUCH more space in that department!

I am getting there…I have a few boxes of items that are going to another scrapbook store garage sale….I still have a very large credit there from the last time I participated! LOL

Going digital for my “scrapbook” albums is definitely going to free up a ton of space….I will just need a few things to do my swaps and tags and such….I am already feeling more light!

9/11/2011

2011-09-11T12:58:00.001-07:00

My husband went out in our manufactured home park this morning to put up our flag. We were the only ones with one up on our street. I was astonished! There should be one on every house in this park! I am sure there are many flying through out the whole park as we have a wonderful community of people living here. No one that is an American will ever be the same person due to those horrific acts of cowardice 10 years ago…..As I said on a comment on Yahoo about 9-11….”God Bless this country, we need his blessings now more than ever ”…..

Getting ready for the cool weather, it is coming, right?

2011-09-10T13:09:00.001-07:00

It is still hot here, as always in September and usually half of October, but we had a storm move thru last night and it is a bit better……

My friend Cheri and me get together every September to decorate for “fall”. She takes a day off of work, and we just go crazy! I only have 4 or 5 bins now, so it only takes us a half a day…but we have such a good time! Her house, she has 10 bins or more…..and she loves doing the decorating more than anything! She tires me out in no time. But she is a trooper and gets up on my counters to do the high spots in my kitchen, and the ladder where necessary…isn’t she just the perfect friend????? :):)

One of her favorite items are these…..Dollar Tree had all new ones this year!

Fall clings…..we have been putting these up since the 1980’s…and she has some that I swear are still from that time! We used to but them from Current. I bought the new new ones, I was sick of the older models….they have to have a clear back round so they don’t look too fake…..now I know most of you get the real thing, so these kind of seem silly…but this is as close to the real thing as I get! LOL They go on my patio door and kitchen windows, my fridge and my dishwasher which are white. I have more than just these 4 sheets….:)

I love night lights, so this guy had to come home with me…..

( Kirkland's 5.99)

Some candles for the patio……

( Free with Kohl’s cash)

Some of my jars changed over to Halloween in my kitchen:

Pretty plain right now, but it is s start…..

I just loved this idea from Martha Stewart’s Halloween magazine…

Cello bags, fun twine and a great stamp……I had the bags and the twine, I found the stamp on Amazon…..

Great items to make cute things for fall swaps…..:):)

And the piece de resistance……

YUP! Dollar Tree still had some of the old ones! They are never going to have these flavors again, unless they get smart and realize the new ones “natural colors and flavors” are terrible, so I buy what I can find….they have a shelf life of….are you ready???? 10 years! LOL LOL

Don’t mess with me and my Necco’s! By the way, do you know what Necco’s stands for? New England Candy Company. Necco…….pretty neat, huh? They used to make Valentine conversation hearts out of the same mix as these wafers…..changed them too, and they are horrible! ”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Have a great weekend!!!!! I have a new mattress on it’s way to my house today! YEAH!

Happy Birthday Bryan!

2011-09-04T10:59:00.001-07:00

We are celebrating our son Bryan’s birthday today. Yesterday was his 31st birthday…..what???? I couldn’t be right there……but yes, it has been 31 years…..my Mom used to tell me in the short amount of time I had her after Bryan was born, “it will go too quickly”, enjoy all of it! How right she was…..

This is one of my most treasured photos…….I didn’t get many more before she left us…..

Here he is on his first birthday….

and his second…..( notice a pattern, yes I was into horses! ) LOL

My Dad took him to meet his favorite superhero in November of that same year….”Spidey” was going on break at the mall, Pop-Pop made sure it wasn’t before Bryan got to meet him! My Dad is on the far right….Dad passed a month later….

Here was my Mom’s favorite photo of him….I have to agree, it is priceless! He is 6 months old here, he was bruiser, walked at 9 months!

His love for dogs started early, this is Bry and Corkey, on their first day together, she was HIS dog, no doubt about it!

And of course with Abbey girl earlier this year….

His other love as a child….Pop Warner Football!

Bryan has grown up to be a man any parent would be proud to call their own! I know I have had help from above in guiding him to become the incredible, loving person he is!!!!! We love you son!

Mom and Dad

Reading the fine print…..

2011-09-03T08:46:00.001-07:00

Ladies, I wasn’t sure I was going to share this with you, but I just have to laugh about it now….you know that wonderful Yellow Expression that I got for 36.00?????

Well…I didn’t exactly read all of the description, and so when I opened it, I was shocked to see no cord. I had already talked with a fellow blogger to buy my Cricut Create, and so I thought…OK, no big deal, I will just buy another cord…..to make a long story short, the cord was almost as much as the machine was for me! So I had to ask my dear friend Jane if I could keep my Create as the cord was the same for the Expression. She was a doll, understood perfectly and let me off the hook…. So I know own two Cricuts, I think I will try to donate the Create to a place that has cords…LOL Here is the description that I failed to totally read…..

Product Comments:
This item it is used, we tested and works good, it comes in original box.
Power cord is missing on this auction.
Product Description
Cricut Expression Electronic Cutter, Canary The Cricut Expression Personal Electronic Cutter is the latest addition to the Cricut cutting system.
You can now cut characters from 0.25" up to an impressive 23.5" Six new modes and 4 functions offer greater customization of cuts, and new settings allow different units of measurement and languages.
Includes:
Cricut Expression Electronic Cutter
Cricut Lite Playtime cartridge
12" x 12" Cutting Matt
Quick Guide and Manual, it also came with a dull blade, didn’t cut well, so I had to exchange it. I think it was a demo piece. Everything else works like a charm!!!! I am going to have so much fun with this, right Joyce?????? :):)

I have buying and selling on EBay for years and years…..you think I would know better! Jane, thanks again for being such a good sport!

I am getting together with one of my dearest friends, met in high school…oh, a few years back (LOL), we are going to to of our favorite Scrapbook Stores, Mystic Paper and Scrapbooks ETC….bound to get in trouble! Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

A cute Red Mixer

2011-08-30T17:46:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not it is time for Rednesday again!

I have always used a hand mixer, I tried a stand one and just never got the hang of it, I am not I the kitchen much…..but my old white one had seen better days and so my husband and I went to of all places, K-Mart.

And we found this!

oops…sorry the Spanish side took a better view…:)

What I really like besides the red color of course is the nifty storage container that snaps to the bottom and holds the beaters and cord….

No more looking for a lost beater. LOL

These are the specs on it….

It really goes when you need it to and it came with a set of regular beater, dough hooks and a whip……all for less that 30.00.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the Rednesday fun!

Why I love Home Goods

2011-08-27T01:01:00.001-07:00

I am not a big Halloween decorator these days, but I have gotten to where I put a few things out since I have seem so many cute things on blogs…..these trees are so fun! and you can’t really tell but there is all kinds of fun colored glitter on them! Home Goods had a bunch of new Halloween items!

These are a gift for my best friend Cheri, I can put them on here because she never looks at my blog! LOL

We use the gems around candles, and I put some in the bowl of my little fountain out on my patio….I love the ones shaped like leaves.

Now, if you know anything about this store you had better hurry up if you want Halloween or Fall items…they go fast!!!!!

Oh by the way…we hit 117 degrees here today in Phoenix…broke a record. And people wonder why I talk about fall in August! LOL

Have a great day!

Who doesn’t remember a Dixie Cup?

2011-08-24T15:49:00.001-07:00

I am happy it is the middle of the week! That means it is Rednesday at Sue’s blog!

Today I am sharing some of my favorite items in my Dixie Cup Collection…..

Who doesn’t remember these fun little waxed primary cup colors?

And the bigger hot drink cups are just the most vivid colors!!!!

Look what the cups originally cost…

Is that not a hoot? I keep telling you I wish I had a time machine…LOL

Here are a few more photos just to enjoy these little gems that are very hard to find anymore….

Quite a while ago for sure…..60 cents???

Have a great day and if you click on Rednesday it will take you to Sue’s blog to see all of the other fun reds!

My grand puppy Abbey is awesome!

2011-08-21T13:32:00.001-07:00

I have written before about my sweet “Grand puppy” Abbey. I don’t know if I ever will get grandkids, but this pup is awesome!

If you have read my blog, you know Abbey was brought into our family by my son Bryan, he bought her at 6 weeks and she was the cutest pup! He bought her with a broken front leg though….so the $300.00 dog became a $600.00 dog in 72 hours! LOL

She has had her fair share of growing pains and being a pain…..but has become a beautiful dog, she is now almost 10 months.

If you haven’t heard of this breed ( English Pointer), they are like a ADHD kid on Mountain Dew!!!!! Talk about hard to train…..so he sent her to a trainer from New Mexico named Terry Chandler, his kennels are called Rugerheim Kennels in Las Cruces New Mexico. His wife Janet and Terry breed, show and compete with champion German Shorthair Pointers. Take a look at the beautiful dogs they have! He does a training camp up in the northern part of Arizona every summer. Abbey is up there now. They had to start late as we had all of those fires early this summer. It is so beautiful up there…..in the 70’s during the day and 60’s at night….

Since Abbey is just a pup she went for obedience training only, but then they got to working with her and Terry and his co trainer, Guy realized they had a gem…..a natural…..take a look! They asked my son if they could start her on birds…..

She is in her glory, to be sure……Guy has had to pick her up and move her back from the birds, she gets within 5 inches of them and “points right thru the flush”….usually they have to train them for that I guess, not out girl! She will be up here for until October 1st….my son Bryan is up visiting her now and he is so proud! The trainers said they could sell her right now for $2500.00 without batting an eye….of course we would never sell her……she is a member of the family!

When she gets back to the valley, Bryan will learn how to do trials with her……our little runt of the litter has become quite a bird dog!

I love this photo, it shows how she watched her trainer like a hawk….

They have a long line on her so she doesn’t go out too far, she will be a “short range” dog….You will notice the “shock” collar on her? Hasn’t had to be used once!!!! It also had a GPS on it…..She is in her element and it shows.

She has become a full grown dog while she has been gone….I am sure we will be shocked when she gets home…. ( Our first meeting)

You go Abbey girl !!!!!!

A Really Fun Deal !

2011-08-17T18:48:00.001-07:00

I own a Cricut Create, and I have had a good time with it, the few times I have used it, but I do miss being able to make images larger than 5 and 3/4 inches.

So I talked with friends, did some online research and decided if I could get an Expression for a decent price, I would try one of them, and wait on the Expression2 which is about 250.00 or better most places. I know it does a few more things than the Expression, but I am not using this all of the time, so thought I would start here.

So, I remembered that at one time Wal-Mart had them in fun colors, so I checked there first….they don’t carry them anymore.

So I went to EBay looking for a used one, I tried a couple of auctions and lost, so I thought OK….I won’t get one right now.

I tried one more time for a “canary” one and…..drum roll please….for 36.00 and S&H of 10.00 I got this one! Yes, it is used, but if it does not work, I get my money back. The auction stated it worked great. Did you know that if you buy something on EBay with PayPal and the seller doesn’t return your money if it doesn’t work, they have their own guarantee? Yup!

Yellow is my second favorite, Red of course was my first….but for this price I was happy with any color!

Considering this is what they went for new….

I was willing to try it!

So, I now have a lightly used ( I have used it less than a dozen times) Cricut Create for sale….

if anyone would like one, please email me at sanjos333@yahoo.com and we can talk price…..I am going to let it go cheap! :):)

Our family had grown by quite a few

2011-08-16T14:40:00.001-07:00

My husband Wayne and Scott spent a lot of hours talking about “when I go” this is what I would like from you……knowing it was years and years away. How wrong we were…..once more we learned that change is not only inevitable but absolute.

We went Sunday to help his daughter pack up his home, and we hated every minute…..she just stood there helpless while we took his things and gently placed them in boxes…..it brought back the time I had to take my parents house apart by myself, with the help of a dear friend at the time…..it feels so invasive, so wrong…..isn’t it amazing that feelings you have put deep deep inside safely tucked away spring forward just like that?????

My sons will help her find an apartment, she has a 5 year old son and he needs stability now more than ever that Grandpa is gone, and Mom is such a mess living in this place.

Another of Scott’s children, a youngest son came and got his tools and garage things, it was all he could do to get it done. He kept saying, I just know he is going to come around the corner and tell me to get away from his tools!” LOL I told him, “no, he is happy that they are going to the one son that will use always use them and think of him when you pull them out to do a job.”

His oldest son, is still not wanting to be in the house, but has had to realize this is the time…..you see the house is no longer Scott’s…..so in a way having to do this quickly is somewhat of a blessing. His daughter is living there and every morning she wakes up with her first thought being “Oh no, his is gone”…..

So….we are now a family of 5 children, and I even have grandkids!!! This rest of this year will be hard, but I know that this is what Scott asked for and we have loved these children who are now adults, for 20 years…..it is a blessing to continue to love them…..

I am sorry I seem to fluctuate between happy posts and posts such as this, but I know I can do this with you, my friends…..that is why you have come into my life…..this makes the pain more bearable….

Thank you for listening one more time…..

I have always loved these stores……

2011-08-12T11:56:00.001-07:00

I have always been happy that this store came to Arizona

I love that they have great coupons….

And all of the merchandise that goes on sale with their ads…..

Those of you that have these stores know what I mean……

But now I love them for a whole new reason….

Wayne works for them !

Thank you Hobby Lobby for giving a baby boomer a chance to prove they still have years and years of good work left in them!!!!

It has been an incredible struggle, but we have survived, and now are blessed to work for a good company, not an evil empire…….as so many corporations have become. Hobby Lobby is a Christian based company that has excellent standards and a work environment that this country needs to get back to! We have been blessed!!!!

Let’s all go out to dinner tonight to celebrate! :):)

In honor of Summer…..

2011-08-09T14:14:00.001-07:00

I have been saving these images just for the right time, and I think that this Rednesday is perfect! Right at the end of summer….

Dairy Queen was a big part of my youth, I remember going to these a lot….I loved the signs even as a kid….especially at night when the neon was lit up.

I guess my love of primary colors started early, I loved the Red, blue, yellow and green spoons with the swirls on the ends…..

And the banana split boats that came a bit later…..

This was from Etsy, I missed the chance to have them…..the pink ones were the first design….

We had a DQ just like this in Tempe down by AZ State University….we went there a lot in high school….

So if you have one near you, go have a chocolate dipped cone, they are still my favorite. Oh and if you want real French fries, this is the place to hit. They make them when you order them! Hot, Crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle….Yum!

All Images courtesy of Google

Thanks for stopping by! :):)

Today is a new day…….

2011-08-07T11:50:00.001-07:00

The memorial service is done, the food all put away, the last of the people gone. It is so quiet….way too quiet. And so from here, we all go on, it is for sure, what Scott would want. The service was incredible and we all left knowing that Scott is with his Lord. No cancer, no pain, no paralysis, healthy and whole again!! We saw friends we hadn’t seen in years and vowed we would stay in touch. No more meeting at these kinds of services, we want picnics and BBQ’s and just being together. I know Scott is smiling with that thought….

So…..I wanted to share some items I have found in the last couple of months or so that I just couldn’t seem to enjoy …..now I want to share them with you!

So my friends….enjoy! LOL

I have this teapot in blue, but when I saw the red, I went crazy!!!! This is so cute! I can’t wait to have both of them out….maybe one regular tea and one de-caffeinated. :)

I saw this while I was out looking for a shirt, and this is just so happy!!!!!!!

See my bee? :)

I got this at Ross……love that store!

And you can never have too many red trivets!

I am glad to be back amongst my friends and please know that you all mean so much to me! Have a great week!

Fair Winds and Following Seas my Friend…

2011-07-30T17:10:00.001-07:00

Warren Scott Aragon passed from this world at 2:35 PM July 28th with all of his family around him, loving him and urging him heavenward…..he was 51 years of age.

When my Mom passed over 30 years ago ( how can that be?), some kind soul sent this poem to me….it has always brought me comfort…..

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads
her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her
until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where
the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says: "There! She's gone."

Gone where? Gone from my sight--that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was
when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load
of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished
size is in me, not in her; and just at the moment when
someone at my side says, "There! She's gone,"there are
other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to
take up the glad shout, " Ahh, There she comes!"

We all spoke of what heaven will be for our beloved Scott……and decided it has to look something like this…..(with a pretty blond angel somewhere close…:) )

A better man, father, brother or friend there has never been…..his work is finally done here on this earth, this part of your journey is over Scott…..until we see your sweet face again….. be happy! We love you!

Sandy, Wayne, Bryan and Chris, Maya too.....

Today we bring Scott home

2011-07-26T12:14:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let those of you who have been so supportive that we are taking Scott home today via Hospice. About a week or so ago he was starting to throw clots everywhere in his poor pain racked body and so he was taken out of rehab and brought to the hospital. To make a long painful story short, they talked him into trying the chemo and three days later he is going home to die. We had truly thought we had a little more time, but the chemo just devastated his immune system. I pray we can get him home……thank you to everyone who reached out with each of their own stories and prayers…..right now all of the family is in “shock” mode and getting thru this…..please pray that God takes him home soon…..we will miss him so much!

Fiesta Dinnerware for Fall !

2011-07-25T11:43:00.001-07:00

A few months ago a friend of mine and me were at a Dillard's Dept. Store and saw this wonderful mixing bowl set in a color we had never seen before…..I have recently found it everywhere! The color, Marigold, was brought out to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Fiesta!!!!! Fiesta® Dinnerware was designed by Frederick Hurton Rhead in 1936 and is now among the most collected china products in the world. As originally designed, the line featured art deco styling and bold, bright colors. The product was discontinued in 1973 and reissued in 1986 with new contemporary colors to mark its 50th anniversary.

This color along with a few others they have had for awhile will make an incredible fall table!!!!!

First: Marigold

Here is the piece they made to will celebrate the anniversary:

at over $250.00 it is a bit pricy for me! But collectors will be grabbing these up soon!

Would these two colors go beautifully with the Marigold?

PAPRIKA

PLUM

It is starting to feel like fall fever is hitting…..I can hardly wait! Everything here at my home looks so burned and scorched…no matter how much we water….we did get a great storm last night, lost quite a few tree branches though…..New roof and gutters work great! :):)

Are you ready for Autumn yet??????

Alert! Fellow Crafters….we are all in trouble!

2011-07-17T22:24:00.001-07:00

I just saw a post about CHA show that is going on this week and I have to get a grip! So many wonderful papers and embellishments!!!! I am going to show you a few I am in love with…you can click on the name and go to their website to see more of their new collections….

CRATE PAPER

WEBSTER’S PAGES

OCTOBER AFTERNOON

OA usually comes out with their Holiday line a little later.

JENNI BOWLIN STUDIO

COSMO CRICKET

This is going to be a fun Fall and Holiday Season for sure!!!! I am sure there will be lots more new lines showing up now weekly! If you are like me, you are already figuring out how to save up the money…LOL

It is just about time to start thinking of those tag swaps…..:):)

PS…. Thanks Briana at Paper Lust for getting the word out!

Where Sandy Creates !

2011-07-14T16:04:00.001-07:00

I am participating in Karen Valentine’s “Where Blogger’s Create”

I have done and redone my room I blog and craft in numerous times, it is always a work in progress! I wanted to show you the three different stations I have set up in my 10x10 room. There is no closet, so most of my storage is under the tables and desk…therefore no floor shots! :)

But I will show you a shot of the floor right after it was put in…this photo I found on Google was my inspiration:

My room was ugly white with tan carpet, here is a shot right after they got it done, no polish yet, and I painted the walls a robin egg blue! I have a HUGE skylight that gives me lots of sunshine. Always a happy place!

I have double doors, but like I said no closet…..I bought a small dining room table at Goodwill for $20.00 and painted the legs red and added oil cloth to the top….really easy project!

I added shelves to the wall and this is what it looked like to begin with….

Sadly, it doesn’t look as neat now…….

This is a thrift store find, 2 Spice racks and bottles I am using for my glitter and beads, not quite done with the caps…..need something fun and colorful for the labels.

This is the other side of the room, where I do my paper crafting….look quick…it will be a mess before you know it! :)

A few cuties in the room:

And of course a few of my favorite collection….

The cabinets next to it hold a bunch of stuff!!!! :)

Here is the inspiration board up close….

my fun retro style lamp

and here is my computer desk…it is all in a “U” shape….

So this is my little corner of the world, thanks for stoppin’ by! If you click on Karen’s ad at the top of this post you can see hundred’s of fun filled spaces! Enjoy!

Christmas in July - let’s get busy!

2011-07-09T12:03:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe we are half way thru summer, but it is and the holidays will be here before we know it! I have just added 7 sets of wonderful vintage CHRISTMAS cards to my Etsy shop! I have all of my sets on sale right now for less than $3.00! I will be having to adjust the price soon…..so get them now at a great price! It is less than a dollar a card! And you can adjust the size of the image to anything you would like….so use your imagination!

Here is a set that would make great tags…and the jingle bell card can be made with real jingle bells, in any size you would like! Just add your own bells on top of the photo! Just hop on over via the link on my sidebar to Etsy…..I wish they had made Halloween cards as readily as Christmas back in that time, but they are harder to find. Can you imagine how fun they would have all been????

I will be adding more to list in a bit….this weekend is getting a bit crazy…hope everyone is enjoying their summers….ours is just plain HOT!!!!!!

Please check them out and enjoy your weekend! I know I am getting ready for it to be cooler…..it is 95 degrees here right now, we are expecting high 100’s……I live in an oven!!!! LOL

The Haboob that ate Phoenix!

2011-07-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard of a Haboob? It is a massive dust/sand storm, and we had one here in Phoenix just the other day….this is video I got off of You tube and it is pretty precise……we came out of a hospital here in the East Valley and were just amazed at what was coming out way! Oddly, we didn’t get much of it at our house, but it was still nasty, my friend Cheri had it hit at her house and she said it went from daylight to dark in seconds! We have had these before here, but this one was 55 miles wide and a mile high!!! Enjoy! This is time lapse photography…….

Happy Fourth of July !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-03T18:23:00.001-07:00

Update on Scott

2011-06-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

I have had so many emails and comments with wonderful thoughts and prayers sent our way, ….Sunday, Scott had a massive stroke and his whole left side is paralyzed. Cancer and a massive stroke? I can’t stop from asking why? Even though I know there is no answer. He is in Mayo Clinic . The team of doctors are wonderful and we feel blessed to have him there. So please keep us all in your prayers….we are just know coming out of the shock….I will be back in a few days but for now must take a break.

Prayers Please…….

2011-06-23T15:45:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like life is just beating the heck out of you? Of course you do, we all do….

I have been struggling with my faith and I am trying to understand why things happen the way they do….but in the end, none of us really know that answer. I guess that is why it is called “faith”. You cannot see it or touch it, but you just know it is there…. That God is there.

A very very dear man who has been my husband’s best friend and a great mentor to me and my children was just recently diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, that has already metastasized to his liver. If you haven’t been involved with anyone with this disease, it is one of the worst. So I ask for all of your prayers to hold Scott up as we start this journey. We are headed to Cancer Treatment Centers of America on Monday, to get him going with whatever their plan is for him….Scott has many people that love and care for him, and none of us are ready for him to leave this earth….not yet. He just turned 51.

So please, pray for Scott so that he can have the strength to go forward, one day at a time.

Perfection in the Equine World!

2011-06-17T15:29:00.001-07:00

I saw this man for the first time yesterday on TV, his name is Clinton Anderson and he is from Australia… he is coming to Arizona in December…. and yes, there is no bridle on this beautiful Quarter horse! This is just poetry in motion… talk about being in sync with your animal….WOW! For those of you in the horse world you know how many hundreds of hours, if not more to get a horse trained to this point! For most of us, this never is achieved. For those of you not into horses, this is still amazing to watch! Enjoy!

This is horse training at it’s best!

Fun “New” Vintage Embroidery Patterns

2011-06-14T12:45:00.001-07:00

Look what I found in cute online quilt store newsletter I get:

Are these not the cutest items to put on your new “vintage” tea towels and such?????? I am not good at embroidery, but I am willing to try the paint pens, I have had them forever they probably are all dried out! LOL

And this this cute one is headed down to a friend of mine who makes the cutest mini aprons….:):)

The site I got these from is a online quilting shop:

http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_item_details.asp?Store_Id=411&Page_id=23&item_id=22226%20

I am also linking up to Sue’s blog for Rednesday….http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Fun items, even when you don’t sew! Have a good day!