Lovely Cruise

cousins

My mother-in-law brought our niece and nephew from California for a visit.  All five cousins had a great time together.  It was a full, active week of fun, sun, water, laughter, a few tears, Mario Kart, baseball, shopping, lots of food and much more. 

With their departure I feel like the summer is slipping away.  It won't be long and I'll be taking the back-to-school photos.  So I'm going to try to savor these last couple of weeks, because all three of my babies will be in school this year...

p.s.  If you click on the photo collage it will come up larger.  :)

 

chandelier

I saw this on Decor8 today and just thought it was the coolest thing.  I'm looking for a chandelier for our powder room and I'm tempted by this one, but I don't think it is quite formal enough.  It might work for Ella's room though.  Hmmm...  You can find it here and it comes in ivory too and it's only $36!!!

she's got style...

This is what Ella was wearing this morning before I got her dressed.  Upside-down sunglasses, pacifier, onesie, diaper, baseball glove, handmade bracelet made by our babysitter, and the loveliest pair of heels...  Oh my, I'm in trouble!  :) 

Here are a couple more collage tags.  I've added the one with the black ribbon to my shop already, and the other two will go up soon.

zinnias and cleomes

randomness

***These two little monkeys (well, only one) had surgery on their ears (tubes put in) and adenoids (taken out).  George was there the whole time with Sam, but he didn't need surgery.  Although he does have a hole in his foot, but I can fix that...  Sam's surgery went really well.  He's not moving far from the couch, which is normal, but hasn't had any pain or nausea.  We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM, so I'm kind of in a fog too. 

*** I am just crazy about cleomes.  Last year I planted three of them and this year I have a whole crop of them.  Those three plants produced a ton seeds, which spread over a lot of my flower beds.  But the rabbits don't like them, so I decided to just go with it.  And they make the best cut flowers, I have three bouquets in my house right now.  Fresh flowers are one of my most favorite things. 
*** Here's Mr. Charlie.  He's enjoying his summer immensely.  Little man loves sleeping in and not having a ton to do, other than bike riding, baseball playing (and watching) and going to the pool.  So he is in heaven.   As soon as our house guests leave (David's mom, niece and nephew), I think we're going to have to start going to bed a little earlier.  The back-to-school transition could be a challenging one this year. 

***And finally, yesterday a wonderful craft blog called Poppytalk wrote about my new tags.  It's so exciting to be recognized.  Thank you Jan!  :) 

***Oh wait, there's one more thing.  Yesterday I read about this blog (I can't remember where).  Anyway, it is so cool because it showcases different design freebies on the web.  Check it out! 

A-HA!

I read on an online Gocco group that people had success using prints from their ink jet printers to burn their masters (screens).  I had been too chicken to try it, not wanting to waste the bulbs and potentially a screen, which isn't a huge deal but not being able to get supplies locally was holding me back.  Yesterday I had a burst of creative energy and with David's encouragement I decided to try it.  I used my HP office inkjet printer and it worked!   Gocco says you have to use a xerox copy because you need a certain amount of carbon in order for the screen to burn.  So I guess I have enough carbon in my black ink to make it work.  Now I can just design and print from home.  Instant gratification, you know!  This green scroll is what I printed yesterday.  It's a vintage image from Dover.  I'll be adding these to the shop today or tomorrow.  

week eight {garden}

Even with the rabbits, rain, hail, hurricane-force winds, George, kids, and being on vacation, I think my garden still looks pretty good.  Now, will it actually produce anything?  I don't know.  So far I've only picked one jalapeño.  My marigolds should be in full bloom, but the rabbits have just decimated them.   I need to get some chicken wire before it's too late!  :) 

recent etsy favs

One:  missoni knit sling by bronwenhandcrafted.
Love these slings.  Although I'm WAY past this part of life, I think these are beautiful.  Check out the beautiful jewerly as well.  I have my eye on a necklace...

Two:  Cherry N Baby Blue Magnetic Locket Ring Set by Polarity.
I love all the button rings you see on etsy and elsewhere.  This one is very clever. 

Three:  Lion Beads by HighPie
I think these are so cool.  I want to get some to add as embellishments to all the tote bags and purses I'm dreaming about sewing.  Need miniature tubes of toothpaste?  They have those too!

Four:   yellow tape measure ribbon by mykonos.
Lots of really cute stuff in this shop, there's a little bit of everything here.  I want some of this ribbon and they sell it in different colors.   

Five:  pouch in gray and teal by DrikaB.
I adore this pouch, well really all of the stuff in this shop.  I love, love, love, the addition of the jute webbing. 

Six:  afternoon tea (print) by buttonsmagee.
I love several of this artist's prints, but this one is my favorite.  Hurry though, because she's clearing out her shop to add new prints!  And what a great sale:  buy two, get one free. 

California diptychs

One of my favorite blogs is sfgirlbybay.  It gives me a little bit of my city, whenever I need it.  My favorite feature is called, "Sunday in the City."  The author walks around the city and takes amazing photos and puts them into the most clever diptychs with clever titles.  If you're not familiar with this blog, you should check it out. 

So I thought I'd do the same with my vacation photos.  I didn't take that many photos, I decided that the next big trip I take I need to bring a point and shoot camera.  My camera just makes it too difficult, especially at a place like Disney.   

where there's smoke there's fire...

fins to the left...

tastes like chicken (and yes, my dad fried it in that big pot):

which way's da beach...                                                            

joy!                                                                                             

it's a small world after all (even if that ride was CLOSED!)

dreaming of bougainvillea and palm trees...

We had an amazing trip, but I'm very happy to be home. 

More photos and stories soon!  I have mountains of laundry and hungry little people (who slept until almost 11:00) to deal with first.