This Vintage Chica

Friday Favorites: Redecorating Edition

I've been pouring over decorating sites and flickr pools every evening for the last week...looking for ideas and inspiration.   

If you are doing a bit of redecorating yourself, here is a little post I wrote for Simple Organic. It is full of great ideas for decorating your space using furniture you already own.

• As always, Habit is amazingly beautiful to me.
• I watched the first episode of 9 by Design via hulu and can't wait for the next two to become available...this might just replace my Project Runway addiction.
• Interior Styling is a great source for ideas too...as the only chica in a house full of boys, I've gotta watch the pink quotient, but it has been so much fun to click through the photos.
• L-o-v-e this rug.
• Via SimpleMom...How To Create an Easy Living Home
• I loved getting a peak at Alicia's home via the Stir

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There's been quite a few changes over at The Magnifying Glass.  If you get a minute, check it out!  Especially the new nature book recommendations being provided by one of our new contributors!

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Have a great weekend everyone!!!

New *old* Light and a WINNER!

Here is a little scene from our kitchen this morning.  Some people have to have their sink clean and spotless before they go to bed.  But me...the dishes can be piled to the ceiling, but I have to have the kitchen table clean and ready to have breakfast.  

The little robin's egg vase arrived on Friday from Melissa.  And I couldn't get the box open fast enough to fill it with some of the wysteria that just started blooming.

I've mentioned the redecoration that has been going on around here, but I haven't shown many photos yet.  That's because its a little here in this room and another little bit here in this room.  Not one room is really "finished" yet.  

On Saturday after three soccer games, we all went over to our new favorite junk shop to pick up a few things we saw last week.  No, the boys did not go into the shop with us. We bribed them with a rare trip to a local drive in.  They stayed outside the shop while S and I tag teamed who went in to browse.

This vintage Benjamin barn lamp now hangs over the kitchen table...replacing a very deco modern number that just didn't fit.  It is amazing how just changing a light fixture can have such a big impact on a room.

We paid $15 for the light.  Compared to what they are going for on this site, I think we did pretty good.  If you have a minute or two, browse around the Original Barn Light site.  It is full of great ideas and photos.

Now I'm wanting to change the lighting in the dining room.

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Oh, and now for the winner of the Cath Kidson MAKE book!

The winner is...

#37...

natalie t. said...
 ooooo! Must. Have. That. Book. How fun it would be to win it:) If not, the local book store will have an eager customer. Have fun with the little boats at the game(s)!

Natalie, send your address to me at esanpedro1(at)cox(dot)net and I will send this great book your way.

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Thanks everyone for entering, I loved peeking at your pretty (new to me) blogs.  I hope you stick around.  
 There are more books to give away coming next week.
 Happy Monday Everyone!

Book Review and A Giveaway: MAKE! by Cath Kidson

I know some of you knit or crochet all year long.  But for me it is a winter sport only.  The cowl I started during the Winter Olympics was abandoned the minute the garden started its sleepy wake up.

So, what project is easy to pick up and take to soccer practice and to work on here and there in the preschool car line?

Embroidery and Applique, my friends.

Last week, as if on cue, a copy of Cath Kidson's newest book entitled MAKE! arrived in my mailbox.

Like her other books In Print and Sew, MAKE! is book is filled with beautiful images and colorful eye candy.

Using applique and embroidery, MAKE! contains 48 DIY projects sure to add some Spring freshness to your home.

My favorite part of this sweet book is that it gets your mind to thinking about how you can give new life to plain items in your home.  Cath gets you started by giving you 16 liittle patterns or you can use your own.  The project cover almost everything including tea towels, bath towels, bags, blankets, skirts and pillows.

I do think a more appropriate title would have been "Makeover" since most projects are not made, they are embellished.  

But having said that, my favorite project in the book were the framed sailboats, so I started on those right away.

Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow as we sit on the sidelines from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. cheering my boys on.

Better yet, maybe I should take enough embroidery thread to make two sailboat pieces. Its going to be a long day.

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To win a copy of Cath Kidson's MAKE! book, just comment below.  Tweet this post and be entered twice to win.

I'll close comments and announce the winner on Monday, April 26th.

Good luck and happy weekend everyone!

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Comments are now closed.  Thanks everyone for commenting!

An Unofficial Flower Week

 

 

I just can't seem to stop taking photos of the blooms right outside our door.  Try as I might to get a shot of the decorating going on indoors, its the flora that is demanding my attention right now.

Abbytriesagain, one of my most favorite photographers ever, is hosting an unofficial flower week.  Its a good thing.  

Now I have an excuse to stop sewing curtains for the  playroom and get back outside to the important stuff.  Watching Spring unfold in full in the garden.

 

Greens and Visions

Here's a quick shot of the greens we picked from the garden this morning. Chard, kale and mixed lettuces...yum!  

Oh, and my most favorite in all the entire world Liberty flip flops from Target.

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Also, Lisa of Visionary Mom posted a little interview about my interest in Nicaragua and and how I balance (or do not balance) motherhood.  In Lisa's own words she says:

How do we teach our children to dream big and to fulfill their dreams?

We have to be doing it ourselves.  Period.

If your children are watching you settle for less than what you want or need in life, you are ripping them off!  They want to see you THRIVE!  They, for sure, do not want to see you being a mommy martyr, sacrificing things that make you happy all for the sake of “taking care of the kids.”

Really, they don’t.

They want to see you alive and well. Happy.  Fulfilled.  And, this is what you want for yourself also.

Thank you Lisa for the opportunity.  Your questions were wonderful and really made me think.  Keep up the great work over at Visionary Mom as you encourage each of us to live lives our children will be proud of.

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There are new posts over at The Magnifying Glass with more news on contributors later in the week.  Stay tuned.

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One last thing before I head of too bed...Meredith, one of my most favorite photographers has just published a photo book.  You can read more about how this project came about on her blog.  I encourage you to support a fellow mama living out her dreams for her children. It is available in her new etsy shop.

Hasta luego chicas!

Friday Favorites

Just sharing a few of my favorite photos from this week that didn't make it on the blog.  I am already missing my time over at habit.  Thanks again Emily and Molly for the March fun.  

Check in this month for photos from E+M as well as the new April guests alicia, molly, and tracy.  

Also, don't miss...

• Creating Life Margins from Stefani via Organic Homeschool
• A Call for Entries over at my other blog The Magnifying Glass
• This repurposing idea from Sneezerville
• For lego lovers (like us), you'll want to check out Courtney's book
• Believing Nature
• Erin has a shop update if you are in the market for a camera strap like mine
• And this video from Amy Butler, via Decor8, makes me smile

How To: Outdoor Movie Night

It's outdoor movie season!

You all know we don't watch T.V., but we are big movie buffs.

Last week, during Spring break, we hosted the official outdoor movie night opener with one of our favorite movies "The Apple Dumpling Gang" staring Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

Some of you have asked what projector we use and how we set this up, so I thought I would let you know well in advance of the summer.

Last summer we knew we were going to be getting a little bit of money back from our tax return so when talking about what we should spend it on, we decided we wanted to get something that would be not only a family present, but something that would be a gift to our community of friends as well.

Ours is an Epson Moviemate 55 Portable Projector.  It is super easy to hook up I can do it myself...easier than our regular DVD player.  The only problem we had was that the speakers on the projector were not loud enough.  So S hooked up some old computer speakers we had in the garage and now you can hear everything just fine.

For a screen, we took a plain white sheet and added medium sized grommets across the top and down both sides.  It is not necessary to grommet the bottom side.  We just leave the nails in the fence so that we are ready at a moment's notice to pop the sheet up.

Some of our favorite family movies to watch outdoors include:

• "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
• "Babe" (1995)
• "The Apple Dumping Gang" (1975)
• "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979)
• "Back to the Future" (1985)
• "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
• "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969)
• "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
• "Field of Dreams" (1989)
• "Fly Away Home" (1996)
• "The Iron Giant" (1999)
• "Mary Poppins" (1964)
• "Peter Pan" (1953)
• "Pinocchio" (1940)
• "The Princess Bride" (1987)
• "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
• "The Rookie" (2002)
• "The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994)
• "Star Wars" (1977)
• "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960)
• "The Three Musketeers"  (1974)
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)

We've also been collecting previously loved (meaning very worn) quilts and blankets.  The kind you don't mind if juice gets spilled on them or cheesy popcorn fingers get wiped on them because you just throw them in the wash.  We have about 5 now, so they are at the ready.  

Movies!

Popcorn!

Quilts!

Friends!

Could there be anything better?

In the Garden: Mid Spring

Our little seedlings are not ready for big world of the garden.  So the past several days, my three little helpers and I have been planting away.

Some of what we planted early on and a few things that survived the winter, like the cilantro and kale, are now shooting up and going to seed.

 

We are trying our hands at some new things this year.  We're growing potatoes in pots.  I've never been able to grow potatoes before because of limited space, but this (so far) is working perfectly.  Looks like it is time to add another layer of soil to these.

The onions planted several weeks earlier, are off to a great start.

Last Fall I started a new herb bed along the back side of the house next to some slate pavers we found via freecycle.  The newspaper has been down all winter to kill the grass and weeks underneath and it was finally time to plant.  The new bed holds bee balm, rosemary, mint, thyme, basil and strawberries.

Despite several new beds, why does there never seem to be enough room to plan everything you want to?

Charles (Charley) Harper at the Virginia Living Museum Spring break is over and all three boys are back at school this morning. Which is nice. And sad at the same time. We had such a wonderful week. It really was.Camping.A hockey game.Neighborhood outdoor movie night. (more on that on Wednesday)Fishing. (yes he is tethered to the tree, just in case he hooks a big one tries to pull him in)and The Virginia Living Museum in Newport NewsWe have been wanting to visit the VLM for over a year now and just couldn't seem to make it work. But on Friday last week, my friend and I and our six kiddos between us, finally made it. They have bald eagles, wolves, bobcats and foxes, the green-house (my personal favorite) and so much other nature-y goodness that we didn't know what to do. But to top it all off, they had an art exhibit of Charley Harper's work. You can read more about him here. And a flickr fan club too.So good!I knew I recognized his work right off the bat. But it wasn't until I got home and read more about his illustrations in Childcraft books that it clicked. When I was a kid I poured over Childcraft books like they were the Bible itself. No wonder I could have spent the entire time looking at his work.Yet, another reason to expose our kiddos to good art while they are little. You might never know when you'll run into it again years down the road and something will click. April 12, 2010 in everyday moments, local goodness, mothering | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) Reblog (0) | | Digg This | Save to del.icio.us | |

Spring break is over and all three boys are back at school this morning.  Which is nice.  And sad at the same time.  We had such a wonderful week.  It really was.

Camping.

A hockey game.

Neighborhood outdoor movie night.  (more on that on Wednesday)

Fishing. (yes he is tethered to the tree, just in case he hooks a big one tries to pull him in)

and The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News

We have been wanting to visit the VLM for over a year now and just couldn't seem to make it work.  But on Friday last week, my friend and I and our six kiddos between us, finally made it.

They have bald eagles, wolves, bobcats and foxes, the green-house (my personal favorite) and so much other nature-y goodness that we didn't know what to do.  But to top it all off, they had an art exhibit of Charley Harper's work.  You can read more about him here.  And a flickr fan club too.

So good!

I  knew I recognized his work right off the bat.  But it wasn't until I got home and read more about his illustrations in Childcraft books that it clicked.  When I was a kid I poured over Childcraft books like they were the Bible itself. No wonder I could have spent the entire time looking at his work.

Yet, another reason to expose our kiddos to good art while they are little.  You might never know when you'll run into it again years down the road and something will click.

A Photo Essay { Spring Break Camping }

A good time was had by all.

We are now home and the laundry is clean and put away...almost.

We now have a camping bin for all of our gear, so it will be easier to pick up and go again next time.

Yes, next time.

Three more days of Spring Break.

We're soaking them in.

How about you?

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Photos were taken at First Landing State Park in Virginia.

Happy Easter Friends

We've had the most lovely Easter weekend. Saturday night we hosted a small gathering of good friends for a Christian Passover seder. Both the Christian and Jewish faith share this ritual of telling the passover story in common. Although I think it has been almost lost in the Christina faith. But no less important to remember.

The table was set with our blue rimmed everyday wedding dishes...we never got good china. I used my ever growing colellection of vintage silver napkin rings and my Great-Aunt Grace's silver plate.

There was a scavenger hunt before dinner for the kids.  As they progressed through the clues, the Passover story was read and they picked up items to remind them of elements of the story...a piece of rope as a sign of Israel's bondage, etc. It was a great night full of much fun and time with good friends.

As I type this, I can hear the older two boys and S organizing the camping gear in preparation for tomorrow's excursion with yet a few more friends.

It is times like this that I feel so overwhelmingly thankful for such a full life shared with such amazing people.

To my family...I tried to get a decent shot of the boys all dressed up and looking nice before they got dirty.  It didn't work out like I had thought it might...here is the only one that is even worth printing.  

Ugh!

Such is life with silly boys.

I just found our that our campsite has electricity, but I do now know about internet access.  But I would really like to leave the computer at home.

Wish me luck with that.

Happy Easter ya'll!

Craft Room: Sneak Peak and Thrifted Treasures

 

 

Oh, the craft room.

A hodge podge of mismatched everything put together from pieces that just didn't go anywhere else?

I think I likened it to Punky Brewster.

Well not anymore.

I took a little thrifting trip...all alone (heaven)...last week to pick up a few fun extras guaranteed to make this space happy and fun.

You can see some of what I picked up in the photos to give you a taste of where Im headed.

I have one more wall to paint and quite a bit more fabric folding to do, but it's getting closer.

I'd like to say I'll have it all done by Monday and ready to share.  But I have to be honest. That is not going to happen.

 

Spring Break begins here tomorrow!  Woohooo!

Which means Im going to have to be on my game with regard to keeping three little boys busy next week.

 

We have a Christian seder to host on Saturday, Easter services on Sunday.  And then a three day camping trip Monday - Wednesday.

So, Im not sure when I'll be back here.

Maybe I'll make it in to share just a few quick photos.

Wonders never cease you know.