Family Beach Time

Happiness is...

Tuesday family days at the beach.
 Daddy making impressive sandcastles, our little one getting sand all over his face as he knocks them down.
 
 Waving to whoever wants to say "Hi". 
Discovering crabs.
 

Splashing in the tide pools with daddy.

This mama could contently watch this pair play all day long.  There's so much love between the two of them.  We're so incredibly blessed.

Shaker pegs

 
We put these shaker pegs up in the dining room. Let me tell you, they're handy.  We hang things that we use often.  Drying rack with towels, serving basket, aprons, small broom, cutting boards...these useful things become art.  It's so easy to grab what we need.  It's nice when I mop too, as I hang the chairs on the pegs.  I highly recommend.  It cost us less than $20 to put them all up. 

Quilted Tote Bag

Just a simple, practical tote bag...made for one of my give-a-ways.  A special woman I know personally won this give-a-way. We used to sit together on the bus.  Now, years later, we find we have much in common.  How marvelous is that?! 

Five Bucks and Thrift Shop

A rocking horse and a few books.  

Cost:  $5




Five Bucks and a Thrift Shop?  What's this all about?

I am a big fan of thrift shopping.  It's not because I can't buy things new and I'm dragging myself to the thrift store out of necessity. Instead, it's for the find, the score, the excitement.  The "I can't believe I found this...and I
need this" moment. It's amazing the stuff you can find. It sort of gives you a high.  And then I come home and set up a little display for my husband to gawk at.  Okay, so "Yup, that's nice" isn't quite a gawk, but I'm sure his non-nonchalant, monotonous mannerism is a cover up.  Surely, he's silently just as enthusiastic and excited as me!  How could one not be?!  I mean, isn't this pile of treasures what you've always dreamed of having?  He must be secretly busting at the seams with excitement.  Okay, maybe not. But one can hope. 

What's with the five bucks?  Well, I saw some sort of article somewhere about a woman who goes to the drug stores with coupons and records what she can get for five bucks.  Five bucks is usually what I end up spending at a thrift store anyway. Instead of spending $5 on a coffee, might as well see what you can get elsewhere.


Won't you play along?  If you are a deal seeker, post a link with pictures or describe the awesome deal you got!  I promise I will be just as excited as you!  If no one posts, I'm going to assume no one cares about my treasures.  It will be simply heart breaking to think I'm the only one who gets outrageously giddy over a brand new set of navy plaid cloth napkins for only $0.50. For a set of six, none less!  Certainly, I must not be the only one, right?

Warm summer days....

Happiness is...

Just one mama and her little baby heading to the ocean around 3 pm on warm summer days to find just about all the tourists have left the beaches for locals.
Playing in the sand.
Discovering the intricacies of shells.
 Dirty faces.
 A colorful sarong blowing in the breeze and a little one chasing mama's shadow.
Long walks along the beach, with a little one snugly against mama's chest, soft waves cascading over bare feet.


Memories that make this mama smile.

A Tip

If you're like me, when your bar desserts come out of the oven, you want one immediately.  It is impossible to wait when your whole house smells of goodness. Seriously, how long could you really wait when there's ooey gooey chocolate staring at you (such as in the fudgy oat bars).

But then, if you're like me, you cut the bars and half of the bar sticks to your knife.  Well, there's a solution to that.  Keep a plastic knife in your drawer.  Plastic doesn't conduct heat like a metal knife.  Therefore, you can cut whatever you'd like and not have the chunks of bars sticking to the knife. 



Now you don't have to wait so long to consume those delicious calories.  Mmm.

Special Date Pillow

I made these as a gift for the last two weddings I went to.  I found something like it online (didn't save the link..oops) and gave it my own spin.   I created a grid with a permanent marker.  Added the month and numbers to make it a calendar.  Embroidered a heart.  Added borders and made it into a pillow.  I got to see one of my dear friends open it...and she loved it so much that it brought tears to her eyes.  I like giving a special wedding gift, made from the heart.

A messy kid!

Good days include...
Dirty faces, dirty hands, 
tub water that's so dirty, that another bath is needed, 
and a tired, squeaky clean baby who just wants to snuggle.

And yes, I'm that mama who lets my little one crawl in the garden, roll in the grass, paint with carrots, dump his smoothie and feed himself every messy food there is.  And I love every minute of it.

New skirt for mama, Round Two

I'm still in love with the last skirt I made.  I just had to make another one. I seriously could live in it, so comfy.  I got this fabric for $.50 at a yard sale.  The zipper I salvaged from a bag that ripped.  So, a whole skirt for $.50.  Can't beat that!  My sweet baby boy is sporting the hat his mama made him too. Love homemade.

Front

Back

Five Bucks and a Thrift Shop: Round 10

Now, I must warn you that I spent double what I usually spend. I just found just about everything that was brand new....complete with tags and/or wrapped up...that I couldn't pass up the deals.  Even though I spent double, it would likely cost 10x anywhere else other than a thrift shop.

Old Navy Shirt
2 preschool workbooks and two kids books
Leather wallet for my husband (which I've been in search of for the last 3 months)
J Crew Belt
Pampered Chef Ice Cream Sandwich Maker

Cost:  $10

Five Bucks and a Thrift Shop?  What's this all about?

I am a big fan of thrift shopping.  It's not because I can't buy things new and I'm dragging myself to the thrift store out of necessity. Instead, it's for the find, the score, the excitement.  The "I can't believe I found this...and I
need this" moment. It's amazing the stuff you can find. It sort of gives you a high.  And then I come home and set up a little display for my husband to gawk at.  Okay, so "Yup, that's nice" isn't quite a gawk, but I'm sure his non-nonchalant, monotonous mannerism is a cover up.  Surely, he's silently just as enthusiastic and excited as me!  How could one not be?!  I mean, isn't this pile of treasures what you've always dreamed of having?  He must be secretly busting at the seams with excitement.  Okay, maybe not. But one can hope. 

What's with the five bucks?  Well, I saw some sort of article somewhere about a woman who goes to the drug stores with coupons and records what she can get for five bucks.  Five bucks is usually what I end up spending at a thrift store anyway. Instead of spending $5 on a coffee, might as well see what you can get elsewhere.


Won't you play along?  If you are a deal seeker, post a link with pictures or describe the awesome deal you got!  I promise I will be just as excited as you!  If no one posts, I'm going to assume no one cares about my treasures.  It will be simply heart breaking to think I'm the only one who gets outrageously giddy over a brand new set of navy plaid cloth napkins for only $0.50. For a set of six, none less!  Certainly, I must not be the only one, right? 

Family Picnic at Nubble Light

Happiness is....

Giggles and belly laughs.  I just can't get enough of these.
 Appreciating the beauty, inhaling the smells of the sea and soaking in the sun.
Special moments with daddy.
 
 
Special moments with mama.


 Enjoying time just being a family.

Chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookies, who doesn't love them?  My husband could totally eat an entire batch.  You think I'm joking, I'm not.  When we were first married, I was SO annoyed that I would do all of that hard work making cookies and they'd be gone the next day.  You can notice how delighted he looks in the picture above, and my descending  "NOOO" coming in on him in the picture above.  I'd wake up in the middle of the night, there would be an empty spot next to me.  Yes, he would be in the kitchen at 2am getting a 'snack'.  I'd also come home from work, and there would be no cookies left.  I had the brilliant idea of hiding them.  I'd tuck a box of cookies in a place I was sure he wouldn't discover. But he's a detective.  He finds everything.  Behind the cereal boxes, mixed in with the pots and pans, in the coat closet, in my underwear drawer.  I swear, that man wakes up with his sniffer in full motion.  Trying to detect any tiny bit of scrumptiousness he can find.  I'll never forget one day where I really got him good.  I got a call from him around lunchtime.  He had been looking for the cookies for 3 1/2 hours and he claimed he looked "everywhere" and couldn't find them "anywhere".  I could detect the frustration, annoyance and hunger in his voice as I stifled my impending laughter.  I totally ruined his breakfast, as I took the box of chocolaty goodness in my car with me to work. 

These aren't anything special.  Just good old basic chocolate chip cookies.  When my mom was sick, I used to make these for all the visitors who would stop in.  I have no clue where I got this recipe, I have made these so many times that I don't even measure.  I just dump, mix, bake and eat.  Well, I guess I dump, mix and bake.  It's my husband who does all the eating.  Anyway, this is the best guestimate on what I do. Oh, and a hint.  Anytime you'd like taller cookies, rather than flatter cookies, increase the flour by 1/2 or so. 


Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup crisco
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2-3  cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix all in sequence.  Bake 375 for 10ish minutes.

And can you imagine his delight when I found the Pampered Chef Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich maker at a thrift store, brand new, for $3.  I think I won wife of the year with that one this year, according to my husband.


A little perspective...

I spot my little one and his colossal mess. I sigh a big sigh.  Yet again, every single shoe, yes every-single-shoe has again, yes AGAIN been removed from the boot tray.  He's so darn quick...and I've likely cleaned these shoes up 8 times already today.
But then, I grab my camera.  I move a bit closer, marveling at my sweet little boy and appreciating his way of entertaining himself.  He has his own ideas, interests and desires.  He's learning and growing and making his own decisions.  Yes, sometimes he chooses to remove and re-arrange everything that I've just straightened.  But often he decides to blow kisses, wave, greet, smile and give hugs.  And those little moments make my heart sing.  How blessed I am to have such a smart little boy. 
 As I'm admiring at my little boy, camera in hand, with a smile on my face, he happens to pause his plans of playing shoe store.  He looks up, noticing his mama gazing at him and blows a single kiss. It's a love like none other.

Homemade Weebles

Yup, you read that right.  Homemade weebles.  This idea just came to me randomly when I was running.  That's the great part of exercise...I take time to plan.
 All I did was fill the bottom of plastic Easter eggs with grout left over from our bathroom project.  I let it dry overnight.  I then used the sleeves of one of my husband's old tee shirts to cover the eggs.  I just gathered and sewed at the top of the egg, trimming the excess thenafter.  I then cut faces out of felt and glued them on with the hot glue gun.  Easy.  And they actually do stand up.  Here's the family of homemade weebles.
My co worker suggested an additional idea. You could also embroider the faces so there's no small parts for babies.  

Cost: Free!

Mama and Baby Penguin

I tried to tell my husband that we should keep this set and make it a big brother and a new baby gift for our little one.  No, we're not expecting.  This was my futile attempt to encourage my husband for round 2.  I thought for sure a cute little penguin toy would totally convince him.  No luck.  He apparently is not swayed by penguins.  So, this is a mama and baby penguin instead.  Here it is:
 The baby attaches to the mama penguin with velcro.
I had fabric left over from this skirt.  I basically just had the idea in my head and went to town.  I appliqued the belly and nose on. I embroidered the eyes. The feet and the arms are stuffed with a birdseed bag, as I find arms and legs keep their shape better with a little stiffness. I tied a few strands of yarn in a knot for hair. I added velcro on the arms of each bird.  I stuffed and finished the seam with a slip stitch.  It really was a pretty easy project.  I actually made a pattern this time around too, in case I want to make it again.

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