Pink, more Glassybaby love and we have a winner!

First, to honor National Breast Cancer Awareness month I have changed my background color to pink.  Secondly, thank you Valerie at Glassybaby.  I absolutely adore my new "bff" glassybaby and use it all over my house.  Valerie sent me a link from You Tube and it sort of explains the feeling people have about the company and the product.  During the last year, two of my closest friends have been diagnosed with cancer and that is when I came across the company Glassybaby..  So, thank you to those reading my blog, leaving comments and sending emails.  I really really appreciate it. . .  the winner of a Glassybaby of your choice is:  Adrienne of the beautiful blog, The Rich Life (on a Budget).  I used Random.org and the winner was #16 and 16th comment was from Adrienne.       

Thrift stores and flea markets

The thrill of finding a treasure really is in the hunt and there's no better hunt than your local thrift stores and flea markets.  Check out what I've found in the last few months....

I found a new "old" Statue of Liberty for my collection.

A small oval brass tray at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, $2.  The amber bottle is from  the Irvine Valley College Flea Market.  It's changing venues, but still in Irvine on the first Sunday of the month... I also found the handled bowl which has an anchor engraved on it in Irvine as well, $5.  Perfect for pocket change.  What have you found lately?

Preppy Post - Take 2

A while back I did a post on the topic of preppy fashion and apparently I incorrectly linked something and it made by blog disappear.  But with the help of fellow bloggers, I figured it out.  In the 1980s I was as preppy as it gets.  Living in Denver there were stores like Aspen Leaf and the Buccanneer and it was all about prep.  Today I found another copy of the original Preppy Handbook for $1 at a thrift store in Laguna Beach.  It will make a great gift...that is if I can ever let go of any of my thrift store finds.  I become very attached.

Preppy feet...Patrick wearing Sperry Top-Siders and Madeline loves her  Jack Rogers...

Kind of love the Jack Rogers box and I think the Sperry box has the same look as it did in the 80's.

Another come back from the 80's...The original Clark desert boots.  Right out of the box they are so comfortable.....just like they were back then.  I think Patrick will need a pair of these too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love Kiel James Patrick!  We discovered these bracelets last spring and she's been wearing it ever since.  I think it's about time we look into a fall colored bracelet.  And I'm pretty sure she'll find a pair of these in her stocking...check out their new earrings...clip-ons, if you can believe it!  Everything is made in the USA and most of it in Rhode Island...even the piece of fabric and the string they use to tie it up...it arrives looking like a little gift.  If you haven't already read the interview with Kiel James Patrick and Sarah Vickers in Matchbook Magazine...go...it makes me want to trade in my Volvo for a Ford. 

 

It's fall in Southern California...

The calendar says fall, but the temperatures say summer!  It's really, really hot here today, but I couldn't help notice how even here at the beach in Southern, California there really is the look of the seasons changing.  It's not what I'm used to...I think of crisp air, bright blue skies and of course beautiful changing leaves...but this is what I saw a few hours ago...

                                         So what does it look like outside your door today? 

pink and green + happy birthday

To celebrate Madeline's 17th birthday we decided on a pink and green theme and just went from there.  Invitations were made using card stock cut into the shape of a tag.  I got the idea of using different fonts from invitations I've seen on Pinterest.

Madeline chose 10 of her favorite quotes and we put them in inexpensive and a few re-purposed frames.  I wrapped them in gingham fabric from Walmart and they played the game of exchanging much like the rules of an ornament exchange.  I found the rules here.

Madeline insisted no candles, no singing happy birthday...so we went with flags made from Lilly Pulitzer gift wrap.  Thank you dear Elizabeth for finding LP paper!

That moment of waiting for her guests to arrive...

Shirley Temples and pink Lemonade. Photo by Bailey.

Twistbands, garden roses and miniature latte bowls from Anthropologie, frames wrapped in gingham fabric and ribbon from Walmart.  I generally wrap everything in Kraft paper, but I was imagining a lot of brown paper covering the table and decided a little piece of fabric would work well. 

Details - The place cards incorporated pink and green twistbands that the girls all love to wear.  I ordered pink stripe straws from Shop Sweet Lulu.  They arrived looking like a little gift...love that.  I made Madeleine's and put them in small cellophane bags sealed with an M sticker.  I used this recipe and they were absolutely delicious!

Brown bags for each girl to take all of her goodies home.

Trader Joe's + Lentils

 My sister was telling me about this salad she made with French green lentils, but by the time I stopped at Trader Joe's I knew there was no way I was going to make it to actually cooking green lentils and then tossing together a salad.  I'm trying to make healthier choices all day long so when I saw Trader Joe's steamed lentils...I knew this was the short cut I needed to stop me from veering off the healthy eating trail.  I still had to chop a few things, but the steamed lentils ready to eat right out of the package was just what I needed.  I did warm them, but that only took three minutes in the microwave.

Shallots, carrot, yellow bell pepper, fresh parsley and arugula.

I sauteed the thinly sliced shallots in a little olive oil until soft and then added my diced carrot and bell pepper.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook until all the vegetables are tender and add them to the lentils.  Add the parsley,  arugula,  a little more olive oil and a splash of balsamic.  Toss together and then add a small amount of crumbled goat cheese.  I freeze my goat cheese for a couple of minutes, then crumble it into the salad and toss gently.  This way the cheese does not melt too quickly.

Enjoy!

Available at Trader Joe's for $2.99. 

                                                     Linking up with:  Savvy Southern Style

October + Halloween

What I love about Halloween is that it's in the fall and I LOVE fall.   And I love that it's at the very end of the month so I can decorate on the first of October and enjoy it until the end. 

This makes me happy every single Halloween.  My friend Nancy (the same friend that gave me the thank you fold out book I wrote about here)gave me this little photo album to be  filled with photos of my kids and their friends dressed up in costumes throughout the years.  From Piglet to a Rockette, to Darth Vader and Dracula.  I love them all and it's so fun to look back through the years.