You Would Have Too, Right?

Yesterday morning, on our routine drive to school, something out of the ordinary caught my eye.
There it was, in all its scrolly glory, poking out of someones garbage bin.
(GASP!) Can you believe it?

On our way back after dropping Sydney off, I did a real slow drive-by. I had to confirm what I'd seen - Yeah, I wasn't dreaming!
So many thoughts ran through my head...
I felt like I needed to save it from its ultimate demise yet, I've never dumpster dived. I didn't know if it was a good thing to do here since I drive by nearly everyday, (sheesh) someone I know might see me!
Well, I left the scene empty handed...
For 30 minutes back at home, I hemmed and hawed until I couldn't take it anymore.
I had my speech all prepared as I knocked on the homeowner's door, surely they wouldn't mind a stranger asking to dig through their trash. Wasn't I brave? Ha!
Alas, there was no answer at the door - hmph!
Completely bummed, nevertheless I convinced myself in the 3 second walk back to my car, that it was probably OK to steal rescue it from their trash bin.
SO I DID!

My only regret...
I didn't dive deeper. I bet all the crystal prisms were in there too.
I guess there's always a next time...

Working With Purples

The other day, I put my new vintage canning jars to use.

So many lilacs are blooming in our yard, I had to bring some inside to enjoy too.

Aahh, the scent is one of my favorites for sure!

I have the jars placed on our mantel. I'll keep 'em there for awhile filled with flowers from our yard - now, I can't wait for my roses to bloom!

I've been loving the color purple this week. Maybe it had something to do with creating this baby blanket....

It sure was fun playing with chenille again, it's been too long!

Meeting The Pioneer Woman

Saturday, at approximately 4:45 in the afternoon, I discovered Ree was in the PNW and would be signing her cookbook at 5:00 at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park.

In less than 10 minutes, I grabbed Sydney, my camera, my copy of her cookbook, and we were out the door - we weren't gonna miss an opportunity to meet P-Dub!

I've never been to a book signing, so I didn't know what to expect.

We arrived at the bookstore at 5:15, and were given a signing line ticket with these instructions. We were in group J which didn't seem too bad since at 5:20 they had already called group B.

By 7:00, we were beginning to wonder if our group would ever be called...

Thankfully, there's a nice area with a few restaurants adjacent to the bookstore. We enjoyed a yummy snack of sushi and gyoza. We even tried bubble tea for the first time and loved it!

As we continued waiting, we spent most of our time reading books in the kids section of the store. While in there, Ree's oldest daughter came and sat down near us.

Sydney was immediately "star struck".

It took a little coaxing, but I managed to convince Sydney to go over and ask for an autograph.

That was a huge highlight of the night for Sydney.

Around 8:30 we went and peeked at Ree signing. I was debating whether we should stay or go. We had already invested so much time waiting, I didn't want to give up, but things were moving so slowly...

Finally, around 10 p.m. group J was called - whoohoo!

At about 10:40ish after waiting almost 5 1/2 hours, we finally met The Pioneer Woman.

It was totally worth the wait!!!

She was extremely gracious, sweet, and funny. I appreciated her taking the time to talk with us a bit. She'd been signing for almost 6 hours straight at this point!

On the ride home, Sydney told me this was one of the best nights ever. Something she'll be sure to tell her grandkids about someday.

52 Hours Without Kids

I love traditions.

And one we have celebrated since 1989

is an all inclusive weekend in Portland, Oregon, hubby's birthday gift from my parents.

Not only is it an awesome gift to him, but I benefit too - gotta love that!

You see, the boys (hubby and my daddy) spend their time at the Portland swap meet, while us girls (mommy and I) shop til we drop - well, at least til Grandma drops, anyways. Ha!

This year we decided to go without the girls. So for exactly 52 hours (who's counting?) I did some serious kid free shopping.

First stop... Ikea.

We purchased almost all of the new flooring for our basement. The best part, no sales tax!

The next day, mom and I hit 5 antique malls and many stores at the Troutdale Outlet Mall.

I forgot to take pictures along the way, except for this one outside of Camas Antiques.

What a cute boutique style antique mall this was - loved it!

We spent Saturday, shopping a few thrift stores, oh, and Walmart too!
Here are a few souvenirs from the trip.
I purchased the petite funeral basket, rhinestone "S" pin, canning jars, and a cute hat stand (not pictured) at Camas Antiques.
The vintage tablecloths and hat pins were purchased at Monticello. And oh, was it busy there!
Friday, was the first day of their garden show. Everything looked beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't take pictures, I guess I was to caught up in the moment...
The vintage rhinestone purse came from the Stars and Splendid Antique mall.

While thrifting on Saturday, I picked up the pretty rose picture, and the wood cubby shelf thingie. I can't wait to put it in my new studio when that's completed!We had a great time. I'm happy to say Grandma kept up - I don't think the girls would have, they would have been done shopping after the first stop... ☺
Thanks to Shannon and Grandma and Grandpa S. for taking turns watching the girls - they had a great weekend too!!

Easter '10

Bunny Cookies

Today was stormy, lots of rain and howling wind. It was Sydney's first day off for Spring vacation. Because of the icky weather, it was a perfect day to stay inside to bake, and of course, decorate sugar cookies.

We were busy for a couple hours.

I lost count how many times I sent Daphne to wash her hands after she was caught licking her fingers while frosting...

We had fun decorating, and I think they turned out pretty cute too.

Daffodil Nut Cups For Easter

We're hosting Easter dinner Sunday, for my side of the family.
When setting the table, I like to include favors filled with candy for each of our guests. This year, I modelled the candy/nut cup after a daffodil flower.

Here's a little how to, on how I made them.
1. Gather supplies:

paper nut cup, crepe paper, white card stock cut into 6 petals, and pipe cleaner for handle
2. hot glue crepe paper around nut cup
3. arrange petals and hot glue in place
4. hot glue nut cup to center of petals.
5. punch holes on side of nut cup and add pipe cleaner handle

The fun part comes when embellishing the nut cup however your heart desires.

Now, I just need to fill 'em with candy.