what i wore wednesday...

I did it again! Yay! Taking a picture of myself before I run out the door in the morning has become part of my morning routine. Plus, it makes me look in the mirror before I'm out the door - which can be an enlightening experience! Here we go...

#1: Target cami and cardigan, Ann Taylor Loft skirt, Payless flats.

#2: Target cardigan, babydoll shirt made by me from two t-shirts purchased at Target (should I do a tutorial?), Old Navy jeans, J Crew flip flops, flower pin by me (tutorial?).

#3: Target cardigan and tank, Levi's jeans (thrifted), J Crew flip flops. Also, with this outfit I wore the headband below.

#4: Target top and earrings, NY & Co pants (from Ross), Banana Republic wedges.

Last week I realized that I wear white pants a lot.
This week I realized that I wear a lot of blue and green.
I am OK with both.

{headband with flower made by me for my daughter who either 1) won't wear it or 2) wears it across her forehead like a weirdo. my skin does not look this orange/weird in person}

Meet me at The Pleated Poppy

thrifty Thursday...er, I mean, Tuesday...

I love finding glass containers at thrift stores.

For some reason, they're always among my favorite finds. Like this one here.

Here's the latest - $1.50 at Goodwill, and filled with corks that I've been saving to make a corkboard. Love it...

I think that for a change of pace I'll fill it with sea glass, or coffee beans or whatever!

Linking up here:

A Bowl Full of Lemons

All Thingz Related

Coastal Charm

Sugar Bee Crafts

Creating a House of Grace

Not Just a Housewife

craigslist fail...

Dresser - $30

Really?

All I'm gonna say is - is that a toilet?

first day of school...

The kids went back to school a couple of weeks ago. It was Little Miss P's first day of kindergarten - and T is in 4th grade. Where have the years gone? I guess it's because she's my baby, but this first seemed especially poignant to me. They'll start taking the bus soon, and I'm afraid I'll wind up in a wimpering heap by the side of the road the first time I put them both on the bus.

So I took the obligatory first-day-of-school-picture on the front porch. Thinking I would get them to stand still for a minute or two, and get a ton of pictures, here is shot #1:

And shot #2. That's it, we're done. Get in the car. Don't they understand that I need at least a dozen shots so that I can pick out exactly the perfect one????

Little Goofball:

And the Big Goofball - already hard at work.

I am so proud.

virtual travel...Amalfi Coast

Oh Italy. How I'd love to go. I remember seeing this Thomas McKnight painting a long time ago and thinking how much I'd love to be sitting on that lounge chair right now. And the Amalfi Coast has been calling to me ever since...

{that same view, in real life}



Wikipedia says...Amalfi is a town in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 meters, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of the maritime republic known as the Duchy of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Amalfi was a popular holiday destination for the British upper class and aristocracy.

Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named Costiera Amalfitana, and is today an important tourist destination together with other towns on the same coast, such as Positano, Ravello and others. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

{those twisting, side-of-the-mountain roads remind me of a James Bond movie}

At the top of a staircase, Saint Andrew's Cathedral (Duomo) overlooks the Piazza Duomo, the heart of Amalfi. The cathedral dates back to the 11th century; its interior is adorned in the late Baroque style with a nave and two aisles divided by 20 columns.

Villas are available for rent from websites like www.homebaseabroad.com...

{the private spa inside a rentable villa}

{yes, rentable}

So...where would you love to be today?

toybox to blanket chest re- re- re-purpose...

This is my childhood toybox (back when kids had just enough toys to fit into a box this size...what is the world coming to?)

It's an old typewriter box - remember typewriters? And this was no electric typewriter. This was the real deal - and probably weighed 50 pounds. Years and years ago, my great grandmother worked at the local newspaper. When one of the reporters got a new typewriter, she saved this cool box from the garbage (turns out it's a hereditary thing). Also years and years ago, she covered the lid of this box with a little padding and some fabric and made it into a little storage ottoman (how forward-thinking of her!) Over the years it's been re-covered several times - by my great Auntie Gin, by my Mom, and by me.

I say re-covered, but not un-covered. Because beneath the most recent fabric is the previous fabric...going all the way back to the fabric that my great grandmother used to cover it in the first place. And somewhere in those layers is a letter that my Auntie Gin wrote to the future telling her story of re-covering this box lid. As I recall, it begins something like this

{it's a hot and rainy afternoon, and baby Beverly is sleeping...} I made the most recent cover out of fabric squares. It's gotten pretty ratty over the last few years, so I decided to update it and move it into our living room.

I installed a special hinge that keeps the lid from slamming down on tiny fingers...

I recovered it in this lovely blue chevron canvas...

And now we're using it to store blankets in our living room...







I'm so happy that it's out where we can all see it now!

*********

Linking up here:

Coastal Charm
Miss Mustard Seed

The Creative Spark at Clean and Scentsible

DIY by Design
A Bowl Full of Lemons

House of Hepworths

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Somewhat Simple

Tales from Bloggeritaville

A Little Knick Knack

At the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoestring

Finding Fabulous

...but where do I plug my glue gun in?

As an end-of-summer-last-hurrah we took the kids camping. I haven't been camping since before P was born - more than 5 years ago. And I've never really enjoyed camping that much. But people always says how family camping trips are some of the best memories from their childhoods - so I thought I suck it up for the sake of the kids. And we all wound up having a great time!

Found an awesome campsite - a secluded mountain meadow. We only saw two other people all weekend...it was so quiet!

Setting up the tent...




Sunset the first night...

This was the view out my tent window in the morning...

Chef Dad making an awesome breakfast our first morning there...



Paige rockin' the campsite...

Yeah, I think she enjoyed the trip...



Fishing with the fam on day two...





Tanner catching raindrops on his tongue out the truck window...



The trip home. Yep, we saw The Thing, and no, I can't tell you what it is. Go see it for yourself. Only a buck per person - 75 cents for the kids. But see if you can get out of the gift shop or DQ without spending some money!

The best thing about all that free time without a glue gun? I got about halfway through The Help. So awesome! If you haven't read it yet, RUN out and get your copy now.