Thursday, August 30, 2012

Flea Market Adventures.....

Lately I have been very interested in all things vintage.  Mark & I checked out a local antique market & had a great time looking through & enjoying all the old items.  We purchased just a few small things to start with, but it got me thinking of what else I would like to add to our home.  I did an online search and found that there is a local, very large, flea market on the 3rd Sunday of every month.  I decided I needed to check it out.  When I mentioned this to my oldest son, he was thought that was pretty cool so I asked him if he wanted to go with me.  He said yes so I set the date on my calendar & waited anxiously for August 19 to arrive.  We got up nice & early and headed out, just the two of us.  

It was already packed when we arrived so we dived right in, planning to go up and down every aisle.  

I was so glad to get to spend some one-on-one time with Zachery.  He is going to be a senior this year and I know he will be busy with school & friends.  I love that he thought all that vintage stuff was so cool & was actually excited to be going with me to check it all out.    We came across this awesome cabinet on the first aisle and I would love to have taken it home with me.  I especially loved the color!



Zachery had a great time at this little stand where the guy had tons of old postcards from all over the country.  He was especially interested in the ones from Monterey County which is where we used to live.  He found several he was very interested in & one of his favorites was from 1912!  We ended up taking that one & a couple others he really liked.  


Another vendor had these awesome old style phones.  They were really beautiful and he had converted them inside to regular working telephones!  You could actually use them.  How cool is that?  




I also saw this old fashioned bottle opener that had a Dr Pepper logo on it.  My hubby is a huge Dr Pepper fan (but has recently stopped drinking soda) so I passed on that.  Don't want to tempt the poor guy!  





















Next we came across this lovely little booth.  I was in love!  I am slightly addicted to all these beautiful old colored bottles.  I especially love the aqua colored ones.  I did have to take home a clear one that actually had our last name on it though!  













































I also found this really cool old Dr Pepper bottle & I did have to grab that one.  He already has one & it needed a buddy. 






















I had to do a double take when I came across this old wooden crate that had Placerville stamped on it.  My dad lives in Placerville & it is just a little tiny town in Northern CA.  I could kick myself for not buying it!  Even my dad said I should have brought it home.  Oh well, maybe I will find another one someday...  

















This old slot machine was beautifully restored & looked great!  





















My last little treasure was this old chemistry set that my hubby would have loved!  He loves all that kind of science stuff, and especially the old beakers & test tubes, etc...  





















We had a great day and found some really great stuff.  I was so glad we had gone but by around noon we were ready to take our purchases & head home.  It was HOT out there & we were wiped out from the heat.  

Here is a peak at the purchases we came home with:

















These awesome D&D board games were a steal, and the boys have so much fun playing with Mark.  Even he was excited I found them!  















These were some of my best finds.  I love the blue Bell jars and have some cool ideas found via Pinterest to do with them.  The small little dish is Blue Danube.  My grandma used to have all those dishes & it made me think of her.  I couldn't pass it up.  I will use it on my scrap desk to hold little odds & ends.  















These were probably my favorite finds of the day.  I have been searching for these locker baskets for my scrap area for months & finally found some today!  I grabbed 3 of them for now but would like to get some more soon.  I love the old camera and will add it to my collection of old cameras.  Can't wait to see them displayed on a shelf in my home soon.  And I'm not sure why this old metal lunchbox appealed to me but I just love it to pieces.  I plan to use it to hold some of my scrap supplies. 















And last but not least, I just had to grab this little dog figurine for my youngest son.  He loves dogs & has been asking for some to decorate his room with.  And at only $1, he was just the right price to come home with me!  As you can see, Benjamin loved him & he has a place on his bookshelf already!  

Can't wait to go adventuring again next month!     

























  

Monday, August 27, 2012

Catching up with Project Life.....

Wow, this is a record for me!  2 blog posts in 2 days!  I'm really trying hard to be better about updating my blog from now on.  I need to make time to write my thoughts & our family stories down.  

I photographed the rest of my Project Life album today and wanted to share my pages.  I am still about 1 week behind but may try to catch up a little more tonight.  

Week 22






This week we had a scary event happen.  Our youngest son was hit by a car while riding his bike to the corner store.  Thank God he was ok and managed to "walk" away with only a broken foot and some soft tissue damage to his ankle, it could have been so much worse.  Once I stopped panicking, the scrapper in me came out & I was able to get some photos of our experience as well as a copy of the XR showing where his break was.  Benjamin was a trooper through the whole thing & I was so proud of him.  I am so thankful that he is ok!  



Week 23



Benjamin had me cracking up during his first bath with his cast.  We turned on the jets in the tub to help him relax.  When he finished soaping up his body and put the pouf in the tub the jets had bubbles EVERYWHERE!  He called out to me to come "save him" from the bubbles which were rapidly covering every little inch of him!  Of course I had to run and get my camera and go that cute shot of him.  



Zachery had a good week, too, and also had us all laughing.  He had a last minute extra credit project for History class and asked if he & his friends could come over to work on it.  They wrote a song called "Welcome to the White House" to the tune of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses and then made a rock video in our backyard!  It was hysterical!!  I was the stalkerazzi by hiding in the doorway to take photos of them while they were singing & playing!  His friends were laughing at me the whole time. 



I also started painting the living room, den & kitchen area this week.  I took my time deciding on paint colors and finally made my choice.  My first choice for the living room didn't turn out so well and was much more neon than I had planned so it was back to square one.  I ended up settling on a Glidden color called Icy Teal and had Home Depot color match it to their Behr paint which I like a lot better.  It is a blue/gray color & I'm super happy with how it turned out.  I went with a brown/grey color called Rolling Pebble for the den/kitchen area & the two colors work together so well.  The living room is now so much more soothing, warm & inviting and I love being in here.  This is the room where my scrap area is so it's nice to have it be so calming.  

Week 24


 

We payed for Zachery's drivers education this week as he's been bugging us for awhile now, saying he is finally ready to start driving.  He had been a little hesitant in the past to drive so we had put this step off until he was ready.  



Zachery also participated in his high school's end of the year musical production this week.  It was a great show & he even had a tiny little solo!  We were so proud of him and it is always such a thrill to see him up there on the stage.  He really does light up when he's up there! I added a 6x12 page insert with the program from the musical and used one of Ali Edwards digital files to write about the evening.  



The black & white photo of Zachery playing his guitar is a favorite as well.  I love listening to him play. 


Week 25





Zachery's 17th birthday was during the middle of this week and we celebrated his actual day with just our little family.  Sadly, Mark & I both had to work on his actual birthday & we felt so bad.  He had plans with his friends that day so he took it in stride.  



I included a 6x12 insert this week to include photos from the pool party we had for Zachery's birthday on Friday, the 22nd.  We had a house full of kids and lots of food, video games, dancing, playing in the pool, etc...  It was an awesome day & everyone had a great time!  



  We also had a small pool party the next day with our friends.  We made margaritas & enjoying the sun.  I made a huge batch of tacos, too!  Another great day with friends.  

Week 26





This was the week of computer troubles.  And I really hate computer troubles.  My Aperture program was not working and I was trying to work on my Project Life album.  I was so frustrated and could not figure out what the problem was.  I called Apple Support and they had several ideas and walked me through a few things but none of them corrected my problem.  I finally gave up and took my computer in to the Genius's.  After 2 days of working on it, they were finally able to fix the problem & I was back in business.  Nothing makes me more upset than problems with my pictures!  So glad they were able to fix things for me with no loss!  



I included another of Ali Edwards 4x6 digital files cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.  I love how these digital files allow you to peek at the photos underneath.  

Week 27





This week was 4th of July and we had a nice quiet holiday at home.  



The best part of this week was Benjamin getting his cast off!  His foot still had some bruising and he will have to wear a special shoe for another month but at least he can move around without his crutches and can actually shower without wrapping his foot! 

Week 28





Zachery went to visit his grama this week in OR to help her work on packing up her house.  She is getting ready to move back down here and has a lot of work to do in order to sell her house up there.  He was gone for 10 days and the house was so quiet while he was gone.  He had a great visit up there and discovered a love & talent for photography.  Jean let him borrow her Nikon camera & he went on many adventures taking pictures.  He came home with over 230 photos!  I added a 6x12 page protector  include some of my favorite photos from his trip.  The empty white spot is (still) waiting for a journaling card from Zachery talking about his adventures in OR in his own words.  





My best friend Kerry and her kiddos came to visit this week also and we had a great visit!  The kids get along with Benjamin so well, they absolutely love playing together and look forward to these visits as much as Kerry & I do!  

Week 29





I included a photo from Instagram this week taken by my dad.  He takes amazing photos and I am always in awe of the shots he gets!  



Zachery came home from OR this week, too.  I missed that crazy kid and was so glad to have him back home safe & sound!  


Week 30





Mark finally got to shoot at the new shooting range.  We took his new rifle out there as well as his new pistols.  He was pretty disappointed when the rifle wouldn't fire, but he did enjoy shooting his new Glocks.  



I was so proud of Mark this week.  He found out that he is receiving an award called Heroes With Hearts from the people at TIPS (Trauma Intervention Program Services) for his work with a family who had a severe trauma following a car accident.  It is a pretty big honor and there is an award banquet in October where he is to receive the award.  What an honor for sure!! 


Week 31





I made my first strawberry pie this week and it turned out perfect!  Well, except for the wonky crust, but it tasted fine, just wasn't very pretty to look at.  



We took a road trip to Vegas this weekend to visit our friends and their new baby girl.  It was wonderful to get my baby fix in!  We also stopped in at Rick's Restoration which is based in Vegas (we watch his show, American Restoration, all the time) and took a tour of his workshop.  We also got to meet with him and get a photo as well as have him sign a t-shirt we bought.  Kinda cheesy but so much fun! 


Week 32





Our new niece was born this week, Kiley Leann, and we were so excited to get photos of her right away!  Sure wish we were able to travel to see her.  Had some routine lab work done this week also.  Got a clean bill of health, thank goodness.  



We had our first beach day & bonfire BBQ this week.  It was such a relaxing day, just the 4 of us.  Bob, Jeff & Chris joined us later in the evening for the bonfire with hot dogs & smores of course!  I included another 6x12 to include some of the photos from the day. 



I tried my hand at the large 12x12 photo cut into the page protector and was really happy with how it turned out!  Love that large photo of my most favorite place on earth.  


Week 33







I took Zachery to get his Senior pictures taken this week.  I still cannot believe he is going to be a senior this year.  I cannot believe how fast the years have flown by.  I still remember taking him to his first day of Kindergarten like it was just yesterday.  He looked so stylish while he was getting ready, playing around with his loose tie and fedora.  So glad he posed there and let me get a quick shot of him.  It is one of my favorite pictures of him lately.  


And there you have it!  Another lonnnnggggg post but at least I am up to date now!  Hoping to be back with another post soon about some of me & Zachery's recent adventures at the local antique fair/flea market.