Goodwill=Heaven!

A few Monday's ago, George and I had a little "day" date. Noah is now in preschool, so we were left with just Belle. She went along for the ride, and we had such a good time. We stopped to get me some running shoes (more on that later), and then i somehow convinced George to swing by the Goodwill on our way to lunch.

If you don't know George, then you don't know that he isn't the biggest fan of used things. This is extremely hard considering he is married to someone who has been obsessed with the thrift store since Junior High, and has been yard saling since i was a wee little one with my grandma. So what do you know, this was George's FIRST time at the Goodwill!

We walked in, me with a happy grin, George with a apprehensive smile. We plopped Belle down in the basket and i started my journey. I have a particular way i go through our Goodwill, furniture first, then toys, then housewares, then electronics. There was SO much goodness during this visit, but i had to keep it simple since George was so uneasy.

Of course i spotted tons of great furniture items i could spruce up, but didn't want to push my limit. After all, when we walked in George said i could LOOK, but couldn't actually get anything. I knew otherwise. We flew through the toy aisle, because our kids really don't need anymore toys. THEN, i found them. One of the items i have been searching for.....some vintage sheets!





I have been wanting to make Belle some cute summer dresses with some vintage sheets, and i have passed some up in the past, but told myself i would never make that mistake again. There was one that was just a flat sheet, and then an actual Queen set. Our queen bed is in the guestroom since we upgraded to king, and these sheets were just so sweet and cute, i HAD to get them for our guestroom. So in the basket they went.

The other thing i found that i could not pass up were some tea cups and saucers. I have been wanting to start a collection of these for Belle when she gets older. I know that when i was a little girl, one of my ALL time favorite things to do was have tea parties. And they were even better when i could use REAL china. Not to mention, tea cups are just adorable and look so cute throughout houses. I have a few around my house for decoration, and even one on my sewing desk that i use for pins and buttons and what not. So i snatched these up and George with a confused look said LETS GO! Not before i also snatched a glass cake stand. Can never pass up a cake stand :)



I spotted a laminator in the electronic section, and i'm kicking myself for not fighting him on getting it because i have been wanting one with all the crafts and things i do with Noah! The laminator just had to be the item that i let go. I'm keeping my fingers crossed i find one again at the Goodwill, after all that's the best part of thrifting! Finding something you've been DYING for, for cheap and in great condition. Sigh, i love thrifting.

Pre-traveling preparations!

Before going to Cali there were many things i wanted to get done. Some i did, some i didn't even get close. For sewing i wanted to make a pretty camera strap like THIS for my camera that i was taking. I already made a camera bag that i had made in this POST, so all i needed was a strap! I did it really fast since i needed to get a few other projects knocked out, so it didn't come out perfect, BUT it came out cute enough to take to California!




The next thing i was trying to knock out before California were some crayon rolls! I found this tutorial HERE, and wanted to try some. I had attempted one for Noah awhile ago, and it was simple enough so i made some for a few of my friends kids. Here they are! They turned out great and i will most definitely be making some in the future for gifts!



The blue shark one is Noah's. I decided to make him a new and approved one for his plane ride :)

Shake it like a polariod pictuurree

I recently purchased the Polaroid Instax Mini camera and it is so darn cute in person, and even more fun to play with.



I would recommend it to anyone looking to have some spontaneous pictures, especially to leave with family and friends. The only downfall is the price for film. At $17.99 a pack on amazon, you get 10 pictures. So you have to be VERY choosey when taking pictures. Here are some we recently took on our California vacation that i loved!

The beginning of our date day. This was in the morning at La Jolla Cove.

Noah wearing his Mickey ears that he got at Disneyland. I was surprised he was wearing them so willingly.

The kiddos watching tv in their Minnie and Mickey ears. This pic melts my heart.

The kids after bath time in the hotel relaxing.

I think my most favorite thing about the Instax, is leaving people with memories. We have gotten so use to everything being digital, that we forgot the simple pleasure in actually holding a picture. And actually seeing it for how it was captured, right then and there. Not erased and taken a ton of times because someone didn't like the way they turned out. These pictures come out natural, because for once, you have only one shot to get the pic. We recently visited an aunt of mine in San Diego on our trip, and she's older so she doesn't have internet or the luxury of seeing photos via email or Facebook. So before we left, i left her a few little surprises. Photos of her and the kids, and of me and George. Little souvenirs for her to look back on from our stay with her. I know she will treasure them, and that's why i love my Instax Mini!

La Jolla Cove

While in California, George and i spent some time in La Jolla, Ca where one of my aunt's lives. It is located in San Diego county and is a beautiful little town. She told us that we would love to go check out La Jolla Cove and this is what we found one morning. Perfect weather, and breathtaking sites to be seen. Enjoy.

La Jolla Cove

Weather was perfect

This southern boy was amazed

Water was SO clear!

Really makes you wonder about all God's glory. And He created all of this for our pleasure.

4th of July 2011

Well we are here in California, relaxing and enjoying our time at my parents. We got in early on Sunday so Monday for 4th of July we pretty much stayed low key and relaxed around the house. The kids swam and my dad bbq'd. It was just nice to spend time with family. The next day we went to Disneyland, so we went to bed fairly early that night.

The kids have JUST started adjusting to the 3 hr time different and today is day 3. By the time they fully adjust it will be time to go home which makes me so sad. George and i are going to San Diego for 3 days tomorrow to have some mom and dad time. Looking forward to laying out on the beach and out by the pool. I'm taking George to Stone Brewery for his bday so i will be sure to post lots of pics when we get back. Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Fourth of July Learning

Noah just turned 3 in May, and he is it at the perfect age to soak up and learn so many new things. I just recently put him back in preschool, which he LOVES, but i also love to spend time with him and do some crafts and learning on the weekends. I found these CUTE 4th of July printables from HERE and knew he would love them!

We first started about fireworks and that expanded into THIS craft over here. After that we learned about the flag and that's where we started with the "big to small" and "small to large" flags that i printed off.

He caught on real quick!

And loved it!

Next, i printed out this "Which is different" 4th of July sheet. I put a lot of my worksheets in plastic sheet protectors so that way Noah can use a dry erase marker and it comes right off and he can continue to practice.

Loved this one too!

This one was my favorite, it is the alphabet matching firework printable.

So serious.

I think this one was Noah's favorite. He had to match the numbers on the firework cards to the numbers on the clothespins. We love clothespins in our house, we use them for EVERYTHING! I'm thinking about creating something similar to this, but using letter clothespins to help with spelling.

We are in California for the 4th of July visiting my parents so i will be snapping a lot of pictures while we're there. We have a lot of fun things planned, but most all just spending time with the fam!

Calendar Days!

I guess it's a good thing i'm going to school to be a teacher, because i love ALL things that have to do with kids and teaching! One of my favorite things that kids learn is about the days of the week, months in the year, and the weather. Probably because this includes holidays and i am a SUCKER for anything holiday-ish. I will decorate for just about ANY holiday.

So when George and I were strolling through Target last weekend i was SOOO excited to see these! And for $2.50 you couldn't go wrong! I got the month/day one, and the weather one.

Noah LOOVVEESS predicting the weather because since we've been having so many storms lately he's always asking about the rain, and where does it come from, and where does it go, ect.

And here is where it is living. In the loft/playroom that i currently under construction lol. It's actually almost done, i just need some storage and curtains and then i will give y'all a full post :)

**I have since moved this downstairs and hung it on my chalkboard wall that way i will remember to do the days and the weather with Noah.

I would love to eventually do one of these, but then i think people would start thinking i was crazy if i had this in my home haha