first buds and blooms

Good morning and happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Here in California the weather was absolutely gorgeous - definitely the most beautiful spring weekend ever! I heard it was similar spring weather near and far over much of the nation - hopefully in your back yard along with mine.

I am sad to say my weekend of photography was upstaged by a wicked migraine I woke up with Saturday morning. However I still took advantage of the amazing weather outside. I took my medication, poured a nice diet Coke, and relaxed on the trampoline in the sunshine most of the day! I will not complain!

And as I felt a bit better I took a few snapshots of my roses that were finally in full bloom. I had been following the very first pink bud as it progressed, and here it is for you to see - finally blooming so beautifully along with all the other buds that are now in abundance. So lovely!  



Does this look like one little happy rose or what! Happy happy joy joy :)

note to self: flick the switch off Saturday

Story by Trystan L. Bass, Yahoo! Green

Do you want to show you care about energy conservation? Simply switch off your lights on March 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., local time.

This is Earth Hour, and Saturday is the third annual worldwide event. Earth Hour is both a symbolic act and the start of a practical habit.

Millions of homes and businesses and hundreds of major landmarks will go dark for one hour to show that energy conservation is important and to send this message to political leaders attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2009.

At the same time, Earth Hour reminds each of us how easy it is to conserve -- just turn off non-essential lights and electronics to reduce our own power consumption.

Lighting accounts for about 11 percent of a typical American home's energy bills, while computers and electronics add another 9 percent. So by shutting off these things when we're not using them, we can lower our load significantly.

Earth Hour started in Australia and is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. Anyone can participate -- check out the website for details. At last count, 2,400 cities across 82 countries have officially signed up. 195 of these cities are in the United States.

Some famous buildings will be going dark on Saturday including: The Empire State Building in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the Sydney Opera House, the Sears Tower in Chicago, Seattle's Space Needle, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Broadway theater marquees in New York City.

Even the flashy Las Vegas Strip will turn dark for an hour. For the very first time, the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign will go off. Spokespeople say that Vegas lights have dimmed for a minute when a local celebrity dies, but the Strip and the sign have never gone dark for a full hour.

more spring for your step

Happy Friday everyone! And if these gorgeous, colorful, aerial views of Dutch tulip fields don't make you feel like all is right with the world... please go do something really, really nice for yourself! In fact, go do something nice for yourself anyway - and for someone else as well! Perhaps a big bunch of beautiful tulips?
These lovely photos are originally from forty-sixth at grace and I found them via oh happy day. Neither are blogs I frequent, though both are popular blogs and I was delighted to run across these photo gems! And like I mentioned on Twitter recently, I've been blog surfing lately - so stay tuned for some new blog recommendations next week!
Have a lovely weekend everyone! I am hoping to spend some time taking pictures of as much spring as I can possibly fit into two days filled with driving and church and who knows what else! 

and now for something completely insane

........ or in other words, the reason my boys all want to go to the Netherlands now, thank you very much.


wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

weekend score

Ahhh... can I just tell you how much I needed a quiet, relaxing weekend? Actually, I'm not sure it would be humanly possible to express it. Just take my word for it - I desperately needed some serious downtime. And a bit of alone time. I love to have fun with my friends and my fam. But I relish my alone time too. 

Saturday afternoon I took off to my favorite local funky antiques mall. I hadn't been there for a few months. That place and I go way back. We have a history. Sometimes it bugs me because it's definitely more trash than treasure, and I get trash overload pretty quickly. I'm not a junk girl. Sometimes the grumpy women who have worked there forever annoy me. Sometimes even the music grates on me! But I love the vastness. The overhead fan that kind of makes me dizzy. The familiarity. The smell. 

I've scored a lot of cool things there over the last 20 years, both big and small. A lot of them have come and gone, as I am an antiques dealer myself. But a lot of them I've hung on to. Some of my favorite things actually, have come out of this odd, unpredictable place. This weekend was no exception. 

Most of my readers know by now that I collect antique croquet and billiard balls. Well, never have I found any at this particular antiques mall - until this weekend! It was so fun to find them because it was so unexpected. Not a full set, and not terribly old, but still very much a great surprise - AND an elusive PINK croquet ball was the absolute icing on the cake! Score! Add to those a few vintage yard sticks and I was a very happy girl :)

I hope all of you had a lovely weekend?    

Officially Spring!

Good morning and happy spring! I guess we can say spring is finally here officially. Yay! 

No, these beauties aren't my ranunculus', which are still stubbornly refusing to bloom (I think I planted the bulbs too shallow)... And believe it or not, it's actually gray and overcast here in "sunny" southern California this morning! But I'll take it, believe me! Like fall, spring comes and goes in the blink of an eye. All too soon the warm 80's and the hot 90's will be a distant memory and it will be in the harsh 100's all the way until Halloween. Those of you who know me and love me anyway, know how joyfully I greet anything over 70 degrees ;)
I took these photos last spring up the coast in two lovely dream towns which happen to be two of my favorite places on earth. Both are north of Santa Barbara and south of San Fransisco, located in Central California. The first town is Solvang, which is a sweet little Danish town I have loved since I was a young girl. My favorite nursery of all time is there, which also happens to be the source of many of my photos.
The second town is Cambria, which is a town just north of San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay. Cambria has been near and dear to my heart for many, many years. I go there every chance I get, not just because I sell antiques there, but because of the associations I have made with some wonderful people over the years, and because it's simply a magical place for me. 

So happy spring everyone! And like I've said before, spring is a new beginning :)

Happy 40th Birthday, Very Hungry Caterpillar!

I absolutely heart Eric Carle. I mean seriously, who couldn't possibly love and adore this amazing author and creator of some of the most popular children's books ever written!? My boys grew up on nearly all of his books - I still have such fond affection for each one of them. From the Mixed-Up Chameleon to the Grouchy Ladybug and everything in between... they are all colorful, engaging works of art.

My dear friend Joan knows of my ongoing love affair with color, and recently directed me to this video of Mr. Carle. While enjoying it's contents I learned that the 40th anniversary of his most famous book - the beloved Very Hungry Caterpillar - was coming up! Well, that anniversary is in fact, TODAY!  Happy anniversary, Very Hungry Caterpillar and Mr. Carle! You have brought so much joy to countless people all over the world!

If you heart Eric Carle like I do, you simply MUST check out his BLOG! He writes it himself and it is seriously just about the cutest blog on earth. And did you know there is an actual Eric Carle Museum? Well there is! In Amherst, MA! Check it out as well - oh, would I ever love to go there someday.

anti-everything update

Laundry on track, kitchen finished, still have miles to go, but I'm on a roll (that rhymed - lol)... so I'm still in there fighting. One day at a time (right Vanessa?). Still hate my dishwasher, still hate dust and animal fur, still feel sorry for myself at times for being the only girl drowning in a house of testosterone...... but I am grateful I can usually find a silver lining as long as anything to do with a bathroom is not involved ;)   

Thanks for all your adorable comments and e-mails and Tweets and Facebook blurbs :) I realize my readership took a hit yesterday and I risked losing any new readers I might have gained had I not been in such a state of mind! There is a part of me that hates appearing less than superhuman, but it doesn't bug me as much as it used to years ago. I've learned that sometimes it's more brave to be real than it is to appear superhuman.

And I never made it to the store so I never got my Ruffles! But I did eat a Cadbury egg ;) 

anti-everything day

So I'm in a bit of a snit today. Which I always hate to admit. But I have to admit... it happens. And I know I'm not the only one, which is why I'm admitting my snittiness right here on my blog for all the world to see. It's a of a leap of faith but it's just who I am. 

Below there is a smattering - a plethora, if you will - of documented reasons why I am in such a lovely mood. Oh, there are more reasons than what you see here, believe me. Sooooooo many more. But these are the only ones I had the guts to show. And just say a silent prayer of thanks that these are all I'm showing ;) 

Let's start with the kitchen and the pile of dishes such as I've never faced in my sink before at any time in my entire life. How this happened I'm still clueless. It just did. And the dishwasher has had to be unloaded for about a week now - no seriously, an entire week. Have I mentioned how much I detest my dishwasher? I do. I absolutely detest it. But that's a whole different rant. And as you can see, I took the picture as faaaaaar away as possible, such is my embarrassment.

Ahhhh, the wii controllers and all the video games, TV controllers, blah, blah, blah. Love it. Love that there's a huge basket not 2 feet away to contain everything, but they just can't seem to make it in there. 

DOG AND CAT HAIR ALL OVER MY VELVET COMFORTER! AARGH!!!

The endless laundry basket. It multiplies over night while we sleep. And this is just one child's basket. Good thing they supposedly do their own laundry. And as you can see from the pictures of both of their rooms, they keep the rest of their laundry all over their floor so they know where all articles of clothing are at all times. Along with everything else they own. On the floor. Including a very confused cat. Can you find her? (kind of like Where's Waldo, huh)

Let's drop down lower to some other favorite things that drive me completely insane. Ah, the fur roller. Isn't it nice that my kids want to appear neat (even though you've seen how they really live)? Now if they could  only throw away the used roller sheets....... 

And what do we have here? Something I can attest to that wasn't there the day before. How these HUGE balls of dog fur all of the sudden appear and blow through the house like tumbleweeds, I do not know. 

Now, here's an oldie-but-goodie I've lamented about before. DUST. My arch nemesis. See the circle on my red shelf? I JUST DUSTED. How dust can ruin my life so quickly infuriates me on a daily basis. It's not like we live in a windy dust bowl. Okay, yes we do. We live in southern California. And the wind blows a lot - that's why every season here is fire season and it's already in the 80's (soon to be in the 90's and then 100's and boy will I be a pleasure to be around then). So I just answered my own question - I am destined for a life of dust until we escape :( 

And last but certainly not least, power cords. Love those power cords. Cords, cords, cords. All over the freaking house. In every corner, behind every piece of furniture, and just to top it off, always covered with dust. I'm always waiting for that "Christmas Story" moment when we plug one too many cords in and the sparks start to fly. 

I'm not even going to TOUCH my issues with cleaning bathrooms. No, no... can't even GO there.

Well, I suppose I have stalled long enough and need to start the laundry, and the vacuuming, and the cleaning, and the dishes. And did I mention we have absolutely no food whatsoever and I need to go to the grocery store too? No? Well, that's going to be fun too. And you can bet there will be some diet Coke and some Ruffles in my bag! That's right baby! 

Sigh. It's times like these that I feel so...... small. Do you know what I mean? Usually I can keep it together pretty well. Not always easy, but I mean, I can do it - I can do it and keep my head above water. I run a really, really busy family. Crazy busy. I have some time to myself. I remember birthdays. I read my scriptures. I say my prayers. I try to help out. I have projects. I have a nutsy life with all the "stuff" just like everyone else. And I usually do a pretty good job. But sometimes things just pile up. Really though, the only way through it...... is through it. Is to plow your way right through. So....... here I go :)

Glad I got that out.

happy luck of the Irish

Well, I'm not really one for St. Patrick's Day frivolities. But being that I took the "where should I live?" quiz on Facebook yesterday (I know. I can't believe it either.) and the answer was IRELAND....... and seeing that one of my all-time favorite movies is a delightful little Irish gem....... I decided I would at least pay tribute to Ireland. And All Things Green. So I gathered together all my vintage croquet balls and billiard balls that are green, set them on my mother's green and white wedding quilt, and there you have my own little tribute to Ireland today. 
Now go treat yourself to one of the best movies ever, and may the luck of the Irish be with you :)

weekend wrap-up... AND the cutest video ever... SHEESH!

We had QUITE the weekend, yet AGAIN. It all started with my husband John's birthday on Friday (the 13th heheheh). He did take the day off and we had a nice day driving down to Sprinkles cupcakes in Beverly Hills and then going out to lunch later in the day. Friday night we attended a fundraiser for leukemia at a local high school, featuring............... 
................. favorite local high school bands - including our son Davy's band, Cost of the Recall. It has been a while since we've heard them play live, so it was fun to go see them. The crowd was great and the band was in fine form. Such a fun, talented group of terrific guys. We love these boys. Yes, Davy likes to sing in his underwear. It's just his way. 
Doing a little of his famous screaming. It comes from somewhere deep within. We're not sure where. We're not sure we want to know. As long as a hernia isn't involved we like remaining blissfully unaware. It adds to his mystique. 

~

And then on Saturday we did a 180 and switched gears for our 13 year old Matthew's big dance competition. The 7th graders at his junior high have never entered this competition before, but his awesome P.E. teachers jumped at the chance. These 10 kids worked hard for 8 weeks, learning the cha-cha, the merengue, the waltz, the tango, and the west coast swing. 
Each couple was chosen to dance what they were best at. Matthew and his partner Kendra were chosen for the West Coast Swing. They were A-MAZ-ING! They danced 3 times before a panel of judges. To see that Mouse out there dancing like that... I can't even explain it - all I can do is smile. It was just too cool :) And with their combined scores, their junior high won FIRST PLACE! 
Congratulations to all the kids and teachers! You worked so hard! You totally deserved to win! We're so proud of you!

Cutest video ON EARTH. And I'm not biased either. Okay maybe a little. 

magnetic personality :)

Another big hug to Rachel of One Pretty Thing! She featured my Chick Magnets post (below) on her wonderful blog. As always, I so appreciate the recognition :) 

Welcome to any new readers, and if you have any questions about Chick Magnets please feel free to ask. I did not use steps like I usually do in my tutorials, so if you need more clear-cut instructions, I'm happy to assist :) 

Chick Magnets

A few days ago, I was finally able to sit down and enjoy crafting something I had been wanting to try for quite some time. What a fun day! 
I got my diet Coke (of course), I set up my fave girl songs on my iTunes, set up all my supplies, and away I went. I want to mention that I got all of the supplies from Etsy seller Sun and Moon Craft Kits - they were awesome to work with and had every single thing I needed for this craft. They even supply ready-made kits if you wanted to do projects like this for birthday parties or whatnot.
I have never worked with Japanese craft paper before, so this was a first for me. It's not my usual style, but you all know how much I adore anything colorful, so I enjoyed it very much. And I had never worked with paper punches before either (I have obviously led a very sheltered life). They were very fun to use!
I used 1" glass discs and 2" glass discs for my magnets - I purchased a lot of both.
I also purchased a lot of new bottle caps to hold the 1" glass discs - I think they make really adorable magnets. And speaking of magnets, I also purchased their super tiny but super strong magnets. Amazingly strong - even the large, heavy 2" glass discs only needed one!
Here are some paper discs already punched and waiting to be glued onto the back of the glass discs. You can see the paper punches toward the back. The Diamond Glaze glue is great because it's perfectly clear. Just make sure the entire surface of the disc is covered so the paper adheres to the glass well. I like to move the paper around a bit at first to ensure the glue is evenly distributed. Then working from the middle out to the edges, push any air bubbles out and wipe any excess glue off. The glass discs have tiny bubbles in them, but you don't want any bubbles between the paper and the disc or your paper will not look as vibrant.
Magnets are glued to the back with the E-6000 glue. I also used the E-6000 glue to secure the finished 1" glass discs into the bottle caps when I was making those types of magnets. It's a real strong glue.

So pretty!

a stellar weekend

So seriously, after such a couple of stressful weeks, of which I shall spare you the details, we had such an amazing weekend of fun and frivolity. Our college boy came home with his friends, and together our two families shot up the coast to Santa Barbara to see Jerry Seinfeld, live and in person, one night only, sold out, and it was hands down one of the greatest evenings ever! SO. FUNNY. I am not a big comedian fan on average, but come on - this is Jerry! JERRY! Our friends Lisa & Dave had seen him before and loved him, so when they heard about Santa Barbara we bought tickets well before the holidays last year and the countdown to "Jerry" began. Well let me just say, our entire family enjoyed every minute of his performance. I laughed so hard my stomach muscles (rarely used) still hurt, I've never seen my eighteen-year-old smile so much at one time (he admitted his cheeks were sore), and even the Mouse laughed through the entire performance. So enough said - if you ever get the chance, GO. 

(*photo credit Lisa Larsen - I can't figure how to get mine off my phone!)  

Ah, here is my favorite thing in all the world, my three boys all under the same roof. And doing something fun together, like watching a movie. When they're laughing, and enjoying each other's company, and having a good time without hurting each other. Or without breaking something. 
And what weekend would be complete without me Nairing Daniel's hairy arms? That's right. I promised him that if he showed me how to use Photoshop to put a watermark on my photos then I would Nair his hairy arms. I think that's a pretty fair trade-off. And he totally came through on his end of the deal so of course I came through on mine. Besides, he helped me with all the groceries too. He's so helpful that way. And it's not his fault that he's the Missing Link. The poor guy is so hairy I have to shake his sheets outside before I can even wash them. Poor guy. It drives him crazy. So the least I could do is Nair his arms. Oh I love that boy :)

What a terrific weekend - I hope you had a great weekend as well. 

signs of spring

Joy and rapture! Good things coming for sure :) The first little pink trumpets on my new trumpet vines. Are they just so sweet or what!
And just look! My roses are getting ready to bloom! I planted 12 new bushes this year and mixed pink in with my white, so I can hardly wait to see their lovely faces!
Speaking of pink, look at this little primrose bathing in the morning sunshine :)
And here are my ranunculus bulbs - about six inches taller now!
This tiny poppy on my porch wants to say it's cheerful hello :)
Also gracing my front porch, I'm a dusty miller lover - with it's soft, lacy, silvery plumes.

Ahhh - can't wait for more colorful little surprises :)