Wednesday Thrift Finds

I never know what I'm going to find when I go thrifting. Sometimes I find what I'm looking for and sometimes I find things I love at first sight. My love at first sight is more often intrigue at first sight.

I was looking for a new nightstand for our bedroom and found this rustic, well-worn table. If it doesn't work for a nightstand, I will find a place for it. I love it.

And for a long time I'd been looking for a cute little stool or chair to put in Lucy's room as her nightstand. Voila. I love this color of vintage pink. The sheen of vintage paint, the worn look and the colors are impossible to duplicate.

I'd been eyeing this vintage quilt topper for several months and finally took the plunge. Isn't it great? I love the font of this edition of Robinson Crusoe. I wonder how many bedtime stories were read from this book.

Pulling Through

(This is Finn and one of his daily creations involving string, disposable paper goods, a favorite toy and the laws of physics. This happens to be a pulley for Buzz Lightyear).

So, what have we been up to lately?

• I got to sit in T. Schuller's dental chair for 4 hours yesterday while he fixed a cavity around a filling, took a burr to my old, cracking sealants, and placed brand new sealants on my teeth
• Lucy hit her face, right by her eye, and has two areas of black around her eye
• Miles has ooze draining out of his ear (he has tubes in, so this isn't a horrible thing), except it means he's been irritable and I haven't heard back from his Dr. yet about a prescription
• Travis has been gone for what seems like weeks now, his finals studying completely consuming his after-school life
• Finn said in his prayers tonight that he was thankful that, "I could do hips with Miss Patty" (she's the creative movement instructor at his school. It always cracks me and Travis up when he says he did "hips with Miss Patty").

I've been watching "Man Shops Globe," from the Sundance Channel, about the buyer-at-large for Anthropologie, and it is amazing. I was completely enthralled watching the France episode last night. Have you seen it yet?

Pizza Pies

Lucy explains how you make the pizzas.

Finn is fully engaged in making his pizza, topped with his favorite, pineapple.

The fussy (from tiredness) eater.

The coolest part was the 1-pound ball of dough, that fed the four of us, cost 33 cents at a local Italian grocery store (Alesci's, on Mayfield, for the locals). And it wasn't on sale either!

A Mommy in the Making

She even sleeps next to her tucked-in brood.

He Got, She Got

For studying so hard for finals, he got a homemade apple pie.

For handling kid issues (i.e. fighting, messes, dirty diapers, crying, spills, tantrums) she got a homemade purse to put inside her new "Mommy" purse.

I have to hand it to Megan who gave me permission to buy myself a new purse. My old one had a huge ink stain on the outside and was bulging with animal crackers and diaper wipes at church this Sunday. I knew I needed a new, bigger one, but it wasn't until she said something about needing a "Mommy purse" that I realized how bad the situation really was. Sometimes I need "permission" from someone else to do something for myself. Kind of pathetic, I know, but true. So, I decided to take better care of myself, starting with the new green-TJ-Maxx-find purse. Self-initiating myself into the ever-prepared Mommy-purse club, I now have a more-fully-stocked purse than ever before, including trial-sized hand sanitizer and Advil. This could be the start of a new revolution in self-preservation. Heck, I almost threw away my favorite khaki maternity skirt with a pencil-eraser-sized hole in it. But I didn't. Slowly, slowly. I have to give myself time for this change business to sink in.

A Blue Egg for my Blue-Eyed Boy

He brought his find into the house and whispered he would like some Kleenex to set it in. When I replied in my usual volume, he quickly reprimanded me, in a whisper, that I needed to be quiet or I would wake the baby bird inside the egg. He wanted to raise the little hatchling and keep it for a pet. But, about ten minutes later, he accidentally cracked it's shell and the bird will never see the outside world. Now Finn is on the hunt for another pet, whether bird egg or rabbit, whichever he can find or catch first.

Spring Church Dinner

Anthropologie provided about 95% of the inspiration for this party. I wanted to infuse Spring into everything.

A local grocery store, Zagara's, donated the Spring balloon bouquets. We just hung the paper on the stage that I sprayed the flowers on, giving it a little scallop edge first. We got the breadsticks from the same bakery that supplies Olive Garden with theirs. And besides tasting good, the lady at the bakery outlet let me pre-order them (usually they only sell them if they have extras), plus she sold them to me for 30 for 99 cents.

I saved the plastic bottles from a previous activity and then followed this tutorial to make them. The burlap came from the fathoms of the Activities closet, and the hoses were mostly treelawn finds.

It was so fun to put together. Spring is my favorite season so it wasn't hard getting excited about the decorations.

(Now, I just have to return the watering cans to the various stores I bought them from).

Almost "Go" Time

For the past several weeks I've been working on a dinner for our ward and today is the day it all happens. Everything, from the decorations to the menu to the signage has been my "baby," the outlet for all of my creative juices.

I just finished chopping 3 industrial-sized bags of frozen-then-cooked chicken and am now in the process of gathering my chicklets, my stuff and heading out to the scene of all the action. Pictures to come. Have a great weekend!

Be Still, My Heart

A couple Saturdays ago, desperate for a break from the daily grind, I went on an outing south of town to Hollo's, a family-owned, every-kind-of-paper-item-you-can-imagine store. I really had to tell myself a couple of times that it was real, that the rolls of paper and the "envelope room" were all there for purchase. It was so fun perusing the huge inventory. I love the vintage donut, french fry and hamburger bags. Wouldn't they make great party packaging? And those little ice-cream cups were 90 cents for a box of 50. I couldn't resist.

And, then on my thrift-store stop before heading home, I found the crib I'd envisioned for years but had never found.

I love these little blue and white balls.

It just seems to fit this room, tucked in the corner, waiting to hold a baby.

And, the pricetag? $5.95. I think it was meant for me.

Saturday Was the Best Day

The backyard became an extension of our indoor playroom. Lucy and Finn transformed the bumper of the van into a kitchen, complete with bowls, rocks, bricks and plastic cutlery.

I puttered around with some centerpieces I'm working on for a ward party (hint: think old garden hoses! Pictures forthcoming).

And Lucy fooled us all by going commando underneath her delicate blue princess skirt.

The classic confused face.

Getting "the Glow"

And though I may have a little prenancy glow, I attribute most of my rosy-cheeked glow to my new-found miracle make-up: Bare Escentuals. Have you heard of it or even tried it before?

My friend Megan introduced it to me this week and it has almost changed my life. It has at least changed my primping routine dramatically. It's all about the different brushes and the different powders. The foundation is a powder and it becomes creamier the more you swirl it in with your brush. It doesn't feel cakey or wash out all the warmth in my skin, like I felt with my other foundation (which I, honestly, had had for like 8 years!) You use the same powder for foundation and concealer, just different brushes. What I really love is the mineral veil powder, the finishing powder that really makes you feel like you're radiant! I don't wear make-up very often, but this week I have found every excuse to put it on, it's that fun.

What's been your experience with it? I would love to know.

Published Thrice

I published my third volume of "Life at the Chicken Coop" a couple weeks ago. Following my sister Whitney's lead, I had it "slurped" using Blog2Print and then had it printed by Best Value Copy.

It was much easier than using Blurb, like have in years past, and it was about half the price (although I didn't get a hardbound copy, it is still published).

Super Power Belts

See the brown shiny belt Miles is wearing? It's his new super-hero ultra-power belt. Not only does it give him special toddler powers, it keeps his diaper on him when he mischievously takes it off.

Red Robin had no idea how much free time they gifted me by giving my kids balloons. Along with some fighting, there was plenty of playing.

The after-bath-time ritual of jumping on Lucy's bed is guaranteed to entertain. I just get comfortable in the rocking chair and let them get out their last buzzes of energy before hitting the hay.

Easter 2010

In the baskets: candy, thrift store books, thrift store Barbie girls set, craft eyes for making chicks, 2 cent tags with names from here, Bob the Builder DVD.

The dinner? For starters: Ruth Wilson's butterhorn rolls with homemade strawberry jam.

The rest: Baked Brown Sugar Ham, homestyle scalloped potatoes, braised asparagus, sweet potato casserole, and 3-layer jello salad (a la Mennonite Fellowship Meals recipe).

And, to finish it off: strawberry pie a la mode (it looked alot better than it tasted, but oh well).

Hope your Easter gatherings were sweet!

Simple Serendipity Giveaway Winner!

The random number generator selected number 4, so the winner goes to Lfoxy who said, "I like the simple green mum earrings because I think they would look good with my skin and hair color. But I also think they would look good on any hair or skin color because they are just that pretty."

Thanks to Sara at Simple Serendipity for providing such a lovely prize for the giveaway! And, everyone can still be a winner because her prices are so good. Hop over to her shop and pick out something for yourself and maybe something cute for a Mother's Day gift.