Green Chalk Boards and a Froggy Family

I've updated the shop and have more on the way.  We have had such fun digging this last month, and have turned up some adorable finds to share!  Check the shop for your favorites! 

Checks, Prescriptions, and a Funeral circa 1930s

We went to one of the neatest sales we've been to in a long time this weekend. The family kept everything, but for some reason there wasn't clutter, just really cool finds. These checks, prescription pad, and funeral notice...kinda creepy...were all from the 1930s... (The funeral was in June of 1938). Can you imagine not having to put your name or address on a check? And a phone number that was only two digits? I scooped these up real quick. Great paper projects in lying in state. 

I hoard (vintage) pillowcases...

But how can I not? $2 for 4 of them. I can swap them out for extra pillows on the couch. Or have extra ones for the beds. Or just stack them up and stare at them. Pretty, aren't they? My stack is getting taller and taller. 

41 wishes

My birthday was Wednesday. 41! I don't mind counting, though, and if you are on your way to your 40s don't sweat it...they are awesome!
William surprised me at work with roses, balloons, and a moose pillow pet (love...so fun!)...and he hung a Hello Kitty birthday bunting in my classroom.








And then my friends at work brought chocolate and a Sonic card...and then a delivery at lunch from my sissy came with gourmet popcorn, balloons, and a Sonic card too. Yay for Route 44 fountain drinks on the way to teach 168 Freshmen!

Here is one more shot of those pretty roses on Day 3.


They stayed at work with me until today and now they are decorating my kitchen island. :) Birthdays make a girl happy!

-Birdie on the go...

Commercial Break!

I guess I've had a commercial break this week on my blog....sheesh! Where does the time go? I have all kinds of goodies to show you that we have picked up since my last post.I decided  to take a break from the sales this weekend to spend some time with my little girl while daddy is at the track. So...we spent some birthday coupons, had lunch with Sissy and Hannah, and then came home to watch princess movies and drink chocolate milk. See you in a bit!


P.S. I'll take the bunny in the cup please.  Photo via weheartit.

Little Mrs. Teacher (edited: with pictures this time!)

What is one plus one?


In line for the potty...


Lecture time!

Since little miss started Kindergarten, she has been coming home and teaching her "class." So far, only two have had "accidents," and one has had to mark his folder yellow...uh oh. What a cute class she has. I think she is going to make a GREAT teacher some day.

LOST: Season Premiere

Ha! I gotcha! I wish it was going to start again. Don't you miss it? Mr. Miata and I may watch the whole series again. Even though we know how it ends (I think they were in Heaven at the end, and the whole series was the hell that dying is, what do you think?) I want to see it again to pick out all the tiny pieces we missed, and put more pieces together, although, really, the writers didn't want us to be able to do that anyway.

Until then, I'll admire my little Hurley bus that William painted for me. It used to be a metal yellow Tonka bus. I wish I had a "before" picture for you. It was his when he was a little boy, and he sanded it, taped it off meticulously, and painted it Hurley colors for me. I would love to have a real one, wouldn't you? :)

Self Portrait

Don't you wanna know what your blog buddies look like in real life? No, not a set up picture that took two hours and a tripod, but just a snap of an iphone camera? Here's mine from today, sitting in the doctor's office, bored out of my mind, playing with the QuadCamera app. Doesn't my hair look particularly lovely? *giggle* And I'm linking up with Scatter Girls. I heart them. :)

Thrifty Tuesday, Part 2: Monster Mash!

Who says you have to go with the traditional pumpkin and black cat this Halloween? Pull your tricks and treats out of the oven with these. Handmade potholders going in the shop tonight!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

{Thrifty Tuesday} How Scrapbooks Were Made

We came across two scrapbooks this past week that were filled to the brim with pictures...a basket sitting beside them with more to pilfer through. Black crumbly pages with photo corners in silver, black, gold, and red, holding in memories of the 1950s. Some were labeled and some were not, which left you guessing who and where. Two books left behind by family who didn't want to bother finding out. We scooped them up and brought them home, and took two meticulous hours removing the pictures from the glue behind them, the pages disintegrating from the stress of the process. The photo corners piled up on one side, as we were able to recover them with the pictures. Black dust blew across the table and in our laps, and pictures settled in a neat stack...vacations, school, Girl Scouts, animals, friends, and family gatherings. About 100 of them. The next book holds about the same.

It's fun to look at the images and create the story of how they lived, what they enjoyed, and how many children they had. They had two cats. They saw a bear in their camp site on vacation to Yellowstone National Park. He came up to their car. She was in Girl Scouts and kept pictures of her troop; individual portraits of girls she spent time with each week. She must have loved her teachers...she had pictures of them too, labeled with their names and the subject they taught. There were some pictures with several copies; she must have saved duplicates to give to friends and family. Pictures of war heroes coming home. Each spot in the beginning of the book was labeled with a white raised ink; I would like to know what she used. Maybe acrylic paint?

I'm about to leave for a retreat this weekend to scrapbook, and I have realized that styles change...trends come and go...and we decide what we really want on paper to pass along to our loved ones. It doesn't matter what paper you use...the most expensive or just plain card stock...the raised stickers or the glitter pens...what matters is the heart that is poured out onto each page, the story you tell, and the things that are important now, that you preserve your stories and keep them safe for the ones that will divide your things when you are gone, and know that you loved, treasured, laughed, cried, and lived your way to a legacy.

French Pressed

I must set my alarm a little earlier now. French pressed coffee is so amazing, that I don't know if I can use an automatic coffee maker again. I used Starbucks whole beans and coarse ground them, and used three scoops for about 3 cups of water. I ran the water through the coffee maker to heat it, and then poured it on top of the ground coffee in the press. Let it steep for about 3-4 minutes, press, and enjoy. Yum.