What?!! No before pics?

I rarely go into an antique/vintage/thrift store looking for something to make over. I stop in these little stores to look for a treasure - something different and unique. I am also a little bit of a collector. I  love maps, colored glass vases, oval platters and serving dishes, and vintage pyrex. Useful, practical things. Many times I bring something home and think, I would like this so much better if it was yellow (or orange, or pink, or...).  My husband, always quick with the spray paint, gets it done for me. I don't always remember to take a before picture, so here is a few photos of the afters!

Ta Daaa!

My master bedroom is coming together.

My husband loves it.

It is fulfilling the purpose of a quiet, cozy getaway where we can sit, relax, read, watch a TV show all by ourselves. 

 Oh yeah, and get a good nights sleep.

Ahhhhhh..........

Yellow print bedding, pillows, lamps, chairs, and art above bed and on left wall - Home Goods.

 White comforter Macys, the chest at the foot of the bed was an antique store find.  And the headboard my husband painted, was thrifted

Consider this.....

Lemons

Our Lemon trees are working overtime!
Lemon Bars, Lemon Cake, Lemon Scones, Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, Lemon Drop Martinis,
Lemon Curd, Lemonade, Lemon Juice Ice Cubes...........hmmm what else?

A Few Finds

A new antique shop opened in my hometown, so I had to pop in and take a peek. It is a cute store in a tiny historic building, freshly painted and neatly organized. It didn't take long for me to find some unique items to load into the van.

Right inside the door I picked up the yellow book table,

then made a beeline for the little chair in the corner.

I love how the chair had a low back, and the seat was already covered.

Perfect in my daughters room.

I always look for kitchen items too. Mostly I love pyrex dishes with glass lids,

 from the 50's and 60's, in bright colors. Today I found these mini Ball mason jar

salt & pepper shakers, and got a great buy on some stainless.

Rodgers Stainless 32 pieces - $3.95, really $3.95!

Added one little bottle with an orange top, (I love orange), and I was done.

On the way home I drove by a shop that is only open at the owner's whim.
 The door was open so I stopped.

This shop has been around for a long time. It is full, I mean full. Things are crowded into any available floor space and piled on top of other things. You have to look under and behind to find the treasures. She carries all kinds of stuff, lamps, artwork, knick-knacks, books, clothing, china, jewelry, and much of it is genuine antiques. I found three things I couldn't leave without, and she took half off the total.

Must have been my lucky day.

This solid wood 4-panel screen is very sturdy and has nice moulding detail. I am not fond of

the crackle paint finish and the flower art, but my husband is always willing to sand and paint.

I love this chest! It has immaculate cedar on the inside, and the original finish. Even has the original

manufacturers sticker and warranty card on the inside of the lid. The finish is that light danish-modern sixties style. This I am not going to paint. I placed it by my bed for a quick photo, but it has a date

with some steel wool, TSP, and elbow grease to clean it. Then a new clear coat to freshen it up.

Lastly, I took home this globe. Just like the globes we had in school.

I love globes and maps of all kinds. This globe still has Chechoslovakia

and the USSR on it. Funny thing though, I was looking at it with my three youngest kids,

and I asked my 17yr old daughter who was recently accepted to several colleges,

to show the younger kids where Europe was and she didn't know! She has never

taken a geography class, not required. Funny, but a bit sad.



Grand total in shop #2, 3 items - $112

It was a good day.



Master Bedroom Update

You probably can't believe it, but we purchased our first king side bed

 after being married for 30 years!

And repainted our bedroom after 9 years living with the

(once popular) green paint.

College Bound

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. ~ John F. Kennedy


I love this qoute and it was meant for my 4th daughter, who has spent her school career pursuing leadership positions. She is so much looking forward to college in the fall. 
 

Isn't she cute?

Pretty

How would you interpret "pretty" in a photograph?

I thought the lighting  and reflections in this photo made the vases look especially pretty.

See what other photographers from all over the US and overseas saw as "pretty" here.

If only...

If only this was true! I just ordered 365 photos printed from Snapfish, covering most of 2010. So while I am waiting for them to come in the mail, I am wondering when I will find the time to put them in order and organize them into an artfully beautiful keepsake scrapbook that we can enjoy. I want to be ready when they come so they don't sit in a shoebox for years! Any ideas?

The Great Crepes Recipe

Years ago, my husband worked at a local winery with a young woman who had moved here from France. Catherine shared her family recipe for Crepes with us. Ever since then it has become a special event meal for our family, birthdays, holidays, company brunch. Delicious and easy, fill with fruit, jam, chocolate, ham, eggs whatever you like. Our favorite way is with a squeeze of fresh lemon, powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream.

The Great Crepes Recipe from The Great Catherine

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter softened
• 1 cup sugar

Beat butter and milk with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, sugar and salt, blend. Beat in flour a little at time and blend well so there are no lumps.

Put a small amount of oil in crepes pan over med-high heat. Add about 1/4 cup batter to pan and swirl aound until bottom of pan is coated. Cook until edges begin to brown, jiggle pan to loosen and flip over. Cook second side briefly until lightly golden. Enjoy.

Christmas wishes for 'millennial' parents

I read this column in my local paper this morning. As a mom of teen girls for the past 10 years thru the next 7 years, I couldn't agree more! 

By SUZY RYAN - For the North County Times North County Times - Californian
Posted: Monday, December 27, 2010 12:00 am

This holiday season, I'm sending a different kind of request to the North Pole. As a "millennial" mom, I need wisdom to help my children navigate through a changing culture. So, here was my Christmas list to Santa for all parents out there:
1. Help us be invisible "friends" on Facebook to our kids. No embarrassing posts or status updates without permission from our teenagers. And remind us to refrain from constant comments on every new photo of theirs. If the tables were turned, I can't imagine my mom writing on my "wall."

2. Help us mothers not dress to rival our teenage daughters. We are supposed to be mature, so no "Juicy" booty shorts. Please. Now, I'm not advocating Pilgrim chic, but some mothers show so much cleavage that they frighten the males in close proximity.

3. Help us age gracefully. Why compete with the younger version of ourselves? It's not all about us anymore! We enjoyed our day in the sunshine, but we should move from the starring role to a support player. Instead we push up, snip off and trim down, trying to recapture our glory days. With unlimited money, maybe it works for Demi Moore. But when will most of us learn that no amount of exercise, surgery or hair extensions will stop the aging process?

4. Help us be the parents who don't always attempt to please our offspring. This leads to confusion. Although kids may think they want a friend, deep down they really want someone who loves them enough to hold them accountable. When my generation grew up, parents didn't worry about pleasing their children. They expected their children to please them.

5. Help us not take everything personally. We need to "have the heart of the child, the brain of a scholar and skin like a rhino." Yes, it's easier said than done. After almost 20 years as a parent, I'm still struggling with this one.

6. Help us understand the college "panic" and assist with the never-ending selection process. Years ago, when we applied for school, the university gig was a simple report card, ACT and application. In today's world, students even secure themes by junior high with companion websites by high school to compete for coveted college spots.

Over the years, I've teased my "millennials" that I had it tougher than they do. I trudged uphill to school both ways ---- in a blizzard. In North County, we don't have snow, but the relentless pressure on our youth is enormous. This Christmas season, may Santa help my generation be parents whom their teenagers will not want to "unfriend" on Facebook.

Here it is! Fabulously easy Christmas Fudge recipe.

Twenty something years ago, when I was a young wife and mom with little funds for Christmas gifts, I found a cute card with a fudge recipe printed on it. I bought one box of cards and made fudge gifts for friends, neighbors and teachers. Every year I make this fudge. Sometimes for just family and friends, and sometimes for gifts. I have changed it up by using milk chocolate, white chocolate and even mint chocolate flavored chips. I have added nuts, peanut-butter chips, crushed candy canes and sprinkles to the top for decoration. It has been gifted in cute ways, stacked in a martini glass, a chinese take-out container, coffee mugs, and this year in these cute Santa bowls. I hope my co-workers enjoyed the fudge and love the little bowls as much as I did!

The last of the original cards. This year I color copied it, reduced size, and used it for a gift tag. Yummy treat and recipe in one.

Semi-sweet with walnuts and creamy milk chocolate fudge.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Thanksgiving is coming! My favorite holiday, family, friends and good food to share. This is my most requested holiday side dish, every year I have to make double so my kids can take some home as leftovers. It is light and fluffy, sweet with a crunchy topping. Very easy to make, everything goes in a big mixing bowl, into the souffle dish then bake. I usually make it the day before because it takes an hour or more to bake and my oven is full of turkey. When the turkey comes out on Thanksgiving, then just pop it in the hot oven to warm up.

Sweet Potato Souffle'





2 - 29oz cans of sweet potatoes


2 cups sugar


1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed


5 eggs


1 cup (2 sticks) butter


* * *


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter


3 cups corn flakes crushed


1 cup nuts




mix first 5 items with electric mixer in large mixing bowl


until well blended (will be slightly lumpy)




pour into round casserole dish with high sides, or souffle dish


bake at 350* for 60 - 90 minutes until center is set




combine last 3 items by hand and sprinkle over baked casserole


return to oven and bake until topping is bubbly (apx 15 min)

Years of Memories Album

A few years ago I made this Halloween Album. I put it out in October for all to look through. We love seeing the kids over the years and their costume choices at different ages. There are even some old pics of Mom & Dad in costume.

a Ninja and a dark Princess

Garden theme: beekeeper, baby bee, flower, ladybug

Creative carving

baseball player and a mouse, counting their candy!

fairy princess and scary skeleton

mean girls mouse, 50's carhop and Barbie!

My Little Ponies (remember them?) with dad and mom

ponies and the curious kitten

baby princesses

awesome scarecrow and pregnant bee

toy soldier and sad clown

Keep it simple. Use a few photos that show their costumes and personality. Maybe a shot of the jack-o-lanterns they carved, or your front door decorations. Easy cropping, add the year and a line or two about the night. No page protectors needed. 

Oh, say can you see

I LOVE this! The flags were so beautiful. Walking through the ailes of over 2000 flags was awesome and humbling. Each flag represents a loved one of someone in our community. The flags are placed in neat rows in Town Square Park to honor and remember our veterans.  There is also a cluster of permanent memorials there to visit. Thank you all.



Ready to Carve Pumpkins?

This weekend we are off to the pumpkin patch with the family, then to Mark & Peggy's to carve pumpkins at their annual carving party. Looking for inspiration for this years pumpkins, always a competition among all the siblings.

2009



2008

Fall = Orange

I'm not sure if it's the Fall season upon us, but I am noticing all things orange. I am loving orange! Such a fresh, happy color. I already have an orange kitchen, now I'm thinking of adding orange to the guest bedroom. Too much?

 My orange kitchen

Orange rug

Orange chest

Orange throw

Orange bedroom