I got up way early this morning and thought I really should make something to give away for my belated 100th post celebration.
What celebration? I know. So far, I haven`t produced any “cupcakes” for you all– if you know what I mean.
So here come the cupcakes.
Anyways- so my day was really super crazy and busy but I fit it in wide open and the girls were still in bed, so I got out some scrap fabric, glue gun, needle and thread, stray beads, bobby pins and a scissors.
Honestly?
“It was Easy Peasy- Lemon Sqeeze-y!”
That is a quote from Lotta, on Charlie and Lola. I`m notthat cute.
*Hmm, apparently she really DOES watch that children`s program…*
I made 5 of them– 2 to give away (to you!) and one each for Laila, Elle and I.
What a fun little rendezvous.
When the girls got up, I thought it would be great to have someone model my new bobby pin flowers. Since I hadn`t showered yet, (I look “crazy” in the middle of a creating frenzy) I thought I`d go ahead and let the girls take it away.
This one had just woken up and was sitting on the love seat staring dead into The Nowhere.
She was pretty angry at me for trying to make her wear this stupid hat. I promised her a tootsie roll and it all seemed to work out after that.
Laila`s face says it all.
For some reason, she was harboring the same resentful attitude as sister.
You can pin these babies on to anything– a blouse, a book bag, a jacket, a low hair bun, use it like a brooch…
It really felt like I was “selling” it there, which really wasn`t necessary since this is after all a GIVE away.
Thought it gave a cute little kick to this Gap jacket of Laila`s.
Okay– since we all are going to be running around this holiday weekend– I`m going to leave this giveaway open until next Tuesday. September the 7th.
I will be picking 2 winners– each winning a tiny teeny, eensy weensy prize of a flower hairpin. Both pins are identical!
Exclamation mark unnecessary.
Both pins are identical.
You can enter up to 3 times, once for commenting and then 2 more times when you connect to any other social network.
blah, blah, blah.
But wait!
To enter, say anything you would like, on the subject of:
Labor Day.
What is it? Where will you be during it? Do you like it? Did you have to Wikipedia it?
There are no wrong answers.
Us? We are spending a long weekend with good old friends. Sitting around eating, I think the guys will golf. There will be lots of talking. We cannot wait.
If you ever have a great before and after you`d love to share– I`d love to show it off for ya. You can email pictures and details to Ilovegk@gmail.com.
No, it`s not Laila`s birthday, but I just felt like celebrating her today. She is my stinker pants.
In case you are wondering about the title of today`s post, everyone here affectionately calls her ‘Lolla’, and Elle, G and I are often heard saying,
“No, Lolla!”
or
“Oh…. LOLLA!”
Depends on whether she just did something cute or naughty.
I have always adored/loved her, but to me, she just got fun, if you know what I mean..
A little photo tour of her life so far.
Here she is a couple weeks old.
3 mo.
9 mo.
10 mo.
Here she is now at 1.5 years. An a feisty little firecracker she is. She can be very intense and supercute and funny!
There was a little girl who had a little…
barrette…
right in the middle of her forehead…
and when she was good, she was very very good…
and when she was bad, she was horrible…
Sorry, just made me think of that little song.
She is really enamored with textures and how things feel. Even when she was a lot littler, she would sit and play with a silky scarf rather than a toy. And just swirl it around her face and try to hide her head in it.
Now her “security spot’ is my arm pits. When I`m holding her she doesn`t feel relaxed until her sweet, little arms are tucked up as deep into my arm (yes, pits) as she can get them.
Oh, stop saying gross. I shower a-lot.
She also Lo-o-o-oves playing with the skin tag on the back of my neck.
And, (trying) to stick her finger up my nose– she thinks it`s a tunnel (she does it so FAST), and if I have any hair on my chin she will stroke it as I rock her to sleep, so peacefully. As if, ahhhh, everything is right with the world… because mommy has a chin hair.
Hell-o, it`s just runs in my family!
And okay. Be honest with yourself…
Now I think I haven`t convinced you so much that she likes textures, maybe just that she likes things that are gross on mommy.
Here she thinks she is really cool because she is in Elle`s princess play box and Elle isn`t yelling at her!!
That bracelet on her head is probably her equivalent of being dressed like a princess because she did it herself. She is proud and feels pretty.
“Hey princess, I see your underpants!”
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While we are on all things kid related. I came across this reading somewhere and have just fallen in love…
“Can we watch those cutelittlemovies? PLEEEASE, mom?”
They are a rainy day lifesaver. Or okay, on just a regular day too.
And Oh, my, I also have to share with you my new kid`s book/show crush
CHARLIE AND LOLA!!
They are so cute I want to cry. I think I like them more than Elle. I always make her watch them then I sneak in and sit with them and I`m the one saying,
“Just one more okay, we don`t have THAT much work to do kids.”
How sweet Charlie is to his little sister, Lola`s darling British accent, the funny dialogue, the artsy format (which takes a bit to get used to), Lola`s laugh, the subtle humor of the adult writer, how Lola walks bent over when she is sad, how they refer to things It`s a bit old fashioned…
Here are 2:
(Don`t miss the little boy who drops his basketball when he sees Lola in her old red shoes.
I do want to say, Charlie has a monster themed birthday party in this episode. I just don`t want anyone to be offended.
Well, the Stinkerpants that I wrote about earlier, is up. She is now at large. She is the same one that got me up in the night with her cold and made me sleep all night on the recliner with her.
Smoochy, smooch- I love her.
LIVE UPDATE: `Ope, nope, OHHHHH, she just flung her whole bowl of my favorite cereal out into the air, and now, CLUNK onto the floor. Honey Nut Chex were bombed EV-ER-Y-WHERE…!”
(To me it`s worse if the cereal they wasted was delicious.)
Since I am not feeling super inspired this week, (no idea why) I am just going to share a few over the top glorious images I was struck with this week.
Hopefully you will enjoy them too.
I wanted to say a huge Thank You too… to all you readers. I feel so undeserving of all the kindness you all show to me in the comments. I feel so touched and loved by you all, humbled mostly! I am not that cool in real life– under-ly ordinary actually. Ha
I hope I can bless you back occasionally.
(image called “sunny bedroom” that is all.)
Doesn`t this image make you want to cancel anything you had going on today and just READ in bed! How peaceful.
(source: Dreamy Whites)
What a party!
(image unknown)
Love the uniqueness here. The punchy colors and the letters on string…
OH. Yum.
(Source: House Beautiful)
The vintage bottles, the weathered floor, the cool texture of the C, brown wicker… de-lish.
(Heather Chadduck image)
My dream kitchen. Period a hundred times. Yes, the chalkboard takes me over the edge!
(image unknown)
Love the textures, here, the color scheme, the simplicity of the green A. This may be inspiration to add texture to my girl`s room. It is so gag compared to this room. Ah…
(Again, image unknown- I didn`t save where I found them from, when I saved them to my desktop. And some didn`t have credits to start with. So sorry!)
The cleanest, prettiest bathroom I have ever seen… Love the subtle punches of color…
(Source: One Simple Addition)
Ah. Perfection. So lovely. I love the gold tones with the lavendar. So not a me idea- love the out of the box-ness of it.
***********
If you`re going for more eye candy check these lovely links out:
BEFORE: taken a few months ago, before the new table and mirror were added.
Another “before” — yes, this room has been through so many transformations. I`m still learning what works.
One last “before” to tickle your fancy. If you have one of those.
____________________
[Finally after: Dining room now]
I am going to tell you something I do to combat stress, and then you will officially think I am weird, eccentric, need a life. Whatever.
Sometimes when I feel like I am just OVERWHELMED with all I have to do in life (today) — then yup, that is when I fart around–sew or take pictures, or paint. Now what an unproductive way to relieve stress, but that`s when I get my best creative work done.
This morning I thought I might die. I felt like I could turn in circles and just be dizzy. What part of this stupid To Do list do I even work on?
(Please pity me now– because I`m sure I`m the ONLY women who feels busy.)
I am host on Sunday. I was gone all day yesterday. The girl`s room hasn`t been really cleaned in pry a month (they get new bedding etc., but…), laundry was piling up, the girl`s wrote ALL over my slipcover with crayon, I haven`t weeded outside in, well… my garden has grown a life of it`s own… the girls pulled Dora yogurts out of the fridge all morning long. Drove me nuts– they thought they were toys because they had Dora on them and just wanted to keep opening them and take 1 bite, because it was fun? I don`t know.
Where did I start?
Duh. I stayed in denial mode…
…and sat down and sewed the very over-priced fabric I bought yesterday into a curtain for the dining room window.
Hmm.
Well, that was fun, and so I decided to go ahead and CLEAN the dining room since that room was actually a beacon of sanity in my life right then. Beacon of light brought on yes, by the new curtains.
Most of the clutter (toys) got pushed into the living room, but it worked okay.
Well, then this is where it gets weird.
I was wanting a little beauty in my life (I could have gotten that by applying a little make- up but nooo…)
So I set the table for fun.
For 2.
I thought that way when G got home from work it would make his day.
Here is a cheesy sign I made for him:
Menu
-Leftovers?
-Cereal?
-Whatever`s on sale?
-Whatever we order when you take me out to dinner.
It might have been a hit but G had about 5 min to gab a grilled cheese when he got home for supper, because he was between a hair cutting appt. and back to school for PTA.
Yeah, he never even saw it.
Miss Salt has a crush on Mr. Pepper.
Vintage postcards are so pretty to me right now. I love the stamps, the delicate handwriting, the fun fronts (they even had a sort`ve good sense of humor back then), and the stiff things they wrote to each other.
The other day I painted this mirror–
I know, YAWN, what else is new?
Another thing I am a bit “crazy in a sane way” for, is old silver.
Note to sisters: now you know what to get me for birthday.
(Half a year away)
Curtains look a bit elderly here. I think they are nice in real, although they were a bit of a toss up for me… The fact that it was originally $29.99 a yard didnt help…
(Never fear! I had a coupon!)
This is the white mirror above the mantel BEFORE. Just taped it down and then taped catalog pages all over it. Then sprayed `er down.
A date night somewhere in time…
To bad we won`t be home the next two nights… It`s still sitting there.
Don`t miss the World Market napkins. very chic-y.
I can say that because I didn`t make them, so it`s not vain.
Maybe G and I will call each-other Julia and Javier when we sit here. Sorry, I was trying to think of cool foreign names and all I could think of was Eat, Pray, Love and how much I want to see it.
Red box.
Setting.
Here is an example of the message on the back of this postcard dated 1910.
All written in the beautiful-est of handwriting:
To: Moses C. Yoder
Message:
“Birthday Greeting from David D. Yoder
Davidsville, Pa
(Somerset Co.)”
That`s all.
So many things to say.
1. Wow, if it was my birthday I`d most def just want a “birthday greeting”. Yup, that would be enough for me.
2. And it`s weird that his name is David and he also lives in Davidsville. Either he is living in a self absorbed dreamland or he is very influential in… well, Davidsville…
3. What man has calligraphy handwriting like this?
4. Hey, that`s cool! When you`re not sure what else to write to that hard-to-hard-to-show-affection-to-someone, just TELL THEM WHAT COUNTY YOU ARE FROM. I mean, you already gave them your city and state, but yeah, give `em your county info too. They should feel MU-CH better. And special on their birthday.
I`m sorry.
If this is your grandpa, it`s really nothing personal.
Can`t think of one thing to say about this picture.
I had this old memo board that i was going to give to one of my sisters.
Will somebody pour the drinks already?
I kind of “re-like” it now, so I will probably go ahead and keep it.
Oops.
It`s permanent home now.
Yes, this is the trashed living room that got the shaft as I doodled in the dining room.
Don`t miss the ironing board in the middle of the room, where I tried to iron a big stack of shirts for G today. Fail! Got one successfully ironed as of tonight.
A picture of Elle-Love just because I can. And am.
And there`s Laila-Stinker in her natural habitat.
**************
And here are just a couple pictures from the fun day out with my mom and sisters last week.
My oldest, my mother, my new niece, me.
Joy and Gracie. Sorry about the sun there, Gracie.
How darling is Sydney? Very?
Joy bells and new mommy Julana.
Yes, if I looked as good as her right after having a baby, maybe I`d have another one by now. She looks A-wesome.
This gold mirror (before) was posted a few posts ago and I thought I`d follow up with the afters.
The AFTERS– whatever that is. Sounds ominous.
After: Kinda cool how this one is focused on the view, not the frame.
…And this one is focused on the frame.
I wish I could say I tried that.
This gold, gilded frame was $8. Actually it was tagged $10, I casually offered $8. She seemed pumped. I tried to feign boredom– and not claw her as I lunged for the mirror.
It came from a little stand at Antiques in the Alley here in town. I was SO HAPPY with my find. I had been looking for something like this to balance out the other side of this room, and all the gold frames I was finding (with cool details like this) were still $35-40.
Obviously I`m not the only one that likes them. All I did was CAREFULLY take it apart, took the frame, and primed, then spray painted it. White, matte finish.
EASY.
First thing G said when he saw it was,
“It looks so (ugh) old, and the glass is not clear…”
(Me) Uh, HELLO? That`s what made it a FIND. I can find a clear mirror at WALMART.
See, how I don`t let him intimidate me. He tries.
He is really sweet too, in that he really does let me have full reign of what I do around the house here. He really does trust me. Which is huge, since it is his house too.
The other day he said to me, after we had a bit a tiff about some minor things,
“You know, even when I come home on those days when you have things all tore up and there are painting projects all over the table, and supper might not be ready, I am till so proud you`re my wife. Everything you do is so cool around here.”
To me, that`s love. It`s not perfect, but it understands and sees. I love feeling understood.
There White Mirror hangs guarding the left side of the playroom. The playroom is my favorite room in this house. It has tall walls and is comfy. It has pocket doors on the one side that close it off from the living room. Whenever G is gone in the evenings the girls and I play/sit in this room. I always say it`s impossible to feel scared in that room.
The little light blue chair there (foreground), was in the basement, used as my stand for spray painting things. The underside of it was a home for spider webs. Ugly old thing. Probably half the original electric blue paint was gone. It was splitting in half.
Elle had a chair, Laila did not. So I glued it back together with Gorilla glue, cleaned it and painted it light blue for her. Using the free paint samples I got from Glidden awhile back.
Thanks Aimee, for that tip off.
Little blue chair project: FREE
*****************
New subject: Criticism.
Lately I have been thinking,
As a follower of Jesus, is it ever and I mean EVER okay to be critical of another person? Any person– sinner or saint.
The definition of Critic is:
Someone who frequently finds fault or makes harsh and unfair judgments.
God is so convicting me of this in my life.
I am seeing that when I pass judgment on others, whether in big or little things, it always lifts up my own spirituality above theirs. It also reveals a lotof insecurity about the thinker of criticism. Even when it seems like a just judgment. Whatever that is.
It really stinks. And I know God hates it.
Thoughts like,
Nice skimpy outfit. Don`t you know people won`t respect you when you wear junk like that.
How pious. Don`t they know their brand of religion is reaching no one?
[My kind of religion is so much more balanced.]
Why does she talk like that? It`s so fake.
Does anyone really still do that? It`s so unnecessary.
Searching for love. Sad. It`s so obvious.
Get off that bandwagon. It`s so trendy and overused.
I just made these up, but yes, I`m sure I have had thoughts along these veins before. Haven`t you?
I am so ashamed. I want a heart that isn`t kind to people just because it`s nice to be nice.
Or because being nice makes me feel… nice.
I want a heart that sees what God sees.I want a love for people just wells up, and out of my heart. I want the scales on my eyescan be removed so that I can see more clearly what God`s plan for me is in an average day. That Me in my life, would fade and grow smaller and smaller.
I started asking myself whenever I felt judgmental of someone:Is there any root of jealousy in this? And when I said, no, I asked myself one. more. time, probing a little deeper and allowing a lit-tle more honesty….
As it turns out. Generally, jealousy is involved. That little…
In Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller says,
“I found myself trying to love the right things without God`s help, and it was impossible. I tried to go one week without a negative thought about another human being, and I couldn`t do it.
Before that experiment, I thought I was a nice person, but after trying it, I realized I thought bad things about people all day long, and that, like Tony says, my natural desire was to love darkness…”
Love that book, by the way.
John 13:34 NCV,
“I give you a new command: LOVE each other.You must love each other as I (Jesus) have loved you.
All people will know you are my followers if you love each other.“
I sat back down from cleaning up mayo and relish off the kitchen floor (Elle). Yes, this applies to children and husbands too.
Keep convicting me, God.
************
Target plant markers from the $1 section.
Wow. They really do say some tacky things.
Red One is pretty cute though. And so true for me. My thumb is not green, it`s well, whatever color is opposite of green.
They got painted and wrote on with perm markers.
It was supposed to be an herb garden. It was a complete failure.
All summer my husband has been scraping this old house.
He has progressed a LOT since this picture. It`s hard work. Not that I would know. When he comes in from scraping, usually even his pants are soaking wet.
SWEAT, people!!
Long way to go. It`s okay. I`m getting used to the constant mess (paint dust and chips everywhere) outside and I know one day it will be done.
When? Who knows.
********************
Does anyone else do this?
After weeks.
No. months.
Of blowing the dust out of this open cupboard and brushing out crumbs with my fingers… and in general, feeling sadness any time I thought of running all the dusty dishes up top through the dishwasher to again reveal that they were indeed, clear glass….
I finally did it! I cleaned it!
Now it`s my “shining success area” in my house and always makes me go
awwwww
when i see it.
Oh, course I had to snap a picture. Small thrills for small people.
*******************
Working on refinishing the top of my heirloom table.
Above, you can see the 3 stages going on.
Left, done.
Middle, 1 coat stain done.
Right, needs sanded.
I don`t finish with a gloss. I personally, hate glossy anything. I want it to look like it`s still old and unfancy.
After pictures later. I love that table so much it makes me feel funny inside. The combination of it`s special background [I bet 10 year old G sat there to eat a peach shake] and the fact that I re-did it myself.
Plus, it`s just so stinkin` gorgeous!
*****************
I LOVE my LOLLA (Laila).
Laila: I am just so in the mood to get into some good old fashioned trouble again…
Yup, some nights we plunk the pan on the table, straight from the stove. Not proud of it.
Aw, relief. When momma has the camera out, it always means she can`t be mad at me. I`m too cute, it seems.
Lovely Tracey from French Larkspur gave me permission to share some of the pictures from her post of a ravishing tablescape she did called~
A Friend For Lunch.
I have always been a muse of Tracey`s blogging space.
You know how some people leave you feeling only impressed? Well, she always makes me feel blessed too! Her sense of beauty and her ability to create is just jaw dropping, beautiful and so restful. It`s never cluttered, always tasteful, peaceful.
I love everything she puts together, and often go there just to relax. Thanks Tracey for letting me share a bit of you.
Bless you~
[This photo really "got" me!! I adore vintage maps, globes-- you name it. What a precious way to use something like this...]
They seem to be the rage and I am just besotted with the vibe they give off. I would have loved to find some with FRENCH words on them, NOT American. (The French are so trendy.)
But anyways– beggers can`t be chosers and so I was just thrilled to find this AMERICAN words pack at dear little Share and Care for…
Drum roll.
TeN cEnTs!!!
I told G I`d try to pick up another shift at work to cover the cost, and went ahead bought them!
You don`t have to say nice things about them. You can say that it`s weird that I like them– I will know where you are coming from.
Some things you like so much– it`s okay with you if you`re the only one that likes it.
(Husbands are a good illustration of this.)
I`d much prefer you don`t like G as much as I do.
(I can`t HELP the diiiiirty windows– my husband is scraping the paint off the house all summer and it`s on my windows very badly. Bless my husband`s heart– it` s mess outside right now. )
Just had to say that– for Pride`s sake.
Whatcha think?
Turdy or purty?
___________________________
BEFORE:
I was also looking for this certain kind of mirror to makeover. And Behold, I found one exactly like what I wanted on main street right here in town last Saturday, during Antiques in the Alley. Now how often does that happen?
Paid $8 for her. Happily.
AFTER picture coming as soon as I can get it loaded here…
_______________________________
Another subject entirely, but check out the darlingness of these Scrabble pillows here. I tried to load a picture of them, but it wouldn`t let me.
Doing my coupon run tomorrow and shopping for school clothes for G (maybe sneak in a little something pretty for me), the next day is a fun sisters/mom day, and then, this weekend camping with our church. I am so excited!
You know how everyone`s vacation pictures are always more interesting to them– than to anyone else?
I`m doing that.
Self awareness fixes everything. And allows me to continue on.
Here is just a few from a 1950s Diner we hit on the way to the beach.
I am over it a bit, but when I was a lot younger, I dreamed of being school-age-young, in the 1950s.
It seemed like such a clean, innocent, nostalgic era. I probably pictured my whole life sitting at the bar of a “50s diner” in most of the fantasy. Sipping a “malt” with a boy named “Donald” or maybe “Chester”. Other than the movie That Thing You Do, I didn`t know a whole lot about the 50s– just that after school they went the drugstore, wearing penny loafers (or on roller skates), for a drink from the soda fountain, while listening to Etta James, Patsy Cline or Young Elvis on vinyl records.
Isn`t it funny how we only get tiny snapshots of an era in our minds, and then we think we “know” that decade.
Plus, now I`m glad I wasn`t born and in school then, because that would make me 70.
But anyways, being here made me kinda happy.
And there is 1950s Elle– I mean Ethel.
She is so cute and tiny– I just want to pick her up and pinch her between my thumb and first finger. And then let her run and play with Thumbelina.
I had a grilled chicken sandwich– I know, I`m so healthy– it was pretty generic actually, but they had a couple “fixin` stands” set up with GREAT sauces that revved up my chicken sandwich to a raving 10.
And took it`s healthy rating back down to a 2.
Anyways–It was keen and swell.
G, what were you thinking? You know a ketchup row is not complete until you have 4 in a row.
I love this picture.
Isn`t it just so All American? All it needs is a piece of apple pie in it yet.
Oh, Sally, you know there`s no gas in your pump.
G is MONSTER PUMPED about this old muscle car.
He always tries to hide his emotions like that.
Just so you don`t miss G.
If you ever have trouble identifying him, he has a small scar behind his right ear.
Mom, how much am I getting paid to do this again?
If you ever think,
Aw we`re just going to the beach. Combing my hair will just be a huge bother…
RECANT! Because you will have so much regret later.
G said the least I could have done was comb the girls.
Hey! HEL-LO? What vacation?!
So if you were to look at these last 2 photos– and observing the 3 year old– would you say:
A) She isn`t photogenic.
B) She isn`t well trained.
C) She is mildly funny.
or
D) All of the above.
It would also be true to say that the 1 year old is easily diverted.
