photo fun day five: breakfast.

Here's today's pic, called "company for breakfast."

A few more...

A better look at breakfast itself.

Nothing fancy, but good.

The pancake batter had orange zest and vanilla in it.

 It smelled heavenly.

Neither the kids or Nate like pancakes with strawberries.

I, of course, think they are absolutely crazy.

It's strawberry shortcake for breakfast. 

I think yes.

And there's one thing that will without fail

make any dish better.

It's a well-kept secret, but I'll tell you...

A fun plate! ;P

Ok, so if you have any favorite breakfast recipes

you just have to leave a link to them.

Pretty please! I love new recipes.  :)

photo fun day four: ☁cloud☁

That's what I get for saying I didn't want to post late.

Oh well. Here's day four's pic: taken from one of our "lil family country drives." So, the idea of the family drive is what inspired it.

Photo challenge day 3: (her) hands.

Ah, I knew sooner or later I'd have one of the photo challenges posted with nary a second to spare. Yes, I'm going to be a stickler for that--I'm having so much fun with the themes, I want to be sure to post them each day!

For day 3...a picture of my sweet little girl's hand, clutching onto a thin wire. When I was looking at it, it made me think of a tightrope. Thus, this "photo poster" was born.

Like any mama, I want her to have the courage to follow her dreams :)

unloved old teddy bears.

Hi.

What's cracking?

A lot of popcorn, or at our house anyway. It's the big new craze.

That, along with E.T., is really big with them right now. E.T., who knew? Something about it they find fascinating. I think it's kinda cool just because

it's a movie from my childhood.

Here are some more pics of those two that I snapped the other day while watching their pals Jaeda and Gisselle play baseball.

That last photo makes me smile.

I asked Jakey to show me his shoes, which

he is SO proud of. It's the only pair he wants

to wear and he insists on them every time.

I've been picking up a lot of books lately at the thrift store.

I usually buy the kids some, because it seems

harder to find books for me.

I'm thrilled to be able to just go and grab any

that look good, knowing the price

will be suuuuper cheap.

Ok, this is how much of a nerd I am...no, not because I read.

Reading is COOL! 

Rather, because I get so excited about my finds that

I took pictures to share with you.

I mean, considering how much they cost at the bookstore!

And, I love that we run across many we never

would have seen otherwise.

Even though they share them all, I bring them each
their own little pile to feel proud of. 

As you can see it makes them so happy.

These are Addies.

She's starting to love "My Little Pony,"

and of course the Tangled book was a must.

The Madeline Activity book was a good score.

Usually any stickers in books like that look like this--

...with several missing. But this time they were

all there, and it's my little girl who pulled them out.

These were actually vinyl, with a little play board to put them on.

Too cute.

Addie's books: Madeline 29c, Tangled 19c, Lil book of God 29c, My Little Pony 19c.

Her total: 96 cents.

What we do have a lot of are baby books.

So this time, just two for Liam: Autumn, which was 29c, and Babybug, a whopping 19c.

His total: 48 cents.

Jakey also got a special find in that we found an intact lift-the-flaps book. 

Again, those little flaps are usually missing from otherwise cute books.

Funny the things you start to notice when book-digging ;)

Jakes books: Seals 39c, High Five 29c, Mouse Paint 19c,

Cordoroy's Halloween 29c. 

Jake's total: $1.16.

Not even three bucks for a ton of books?! Ok! :D

I am literally the crazy lady digging through the laudry-cart of books

trying to get to the ones at the bottom 

cuz you just never know what you'll find.

I wish all thrift stores had so many kid's books to choose from

at such cheap prices, but this one is unique...so I do stock up.

Now I won't feel so bad when they rip, cut, or draw on them.

I've beent trying to teach them to respect books

but somehow they're not there yet ;P

I bought this one for me, believe it or not.

I have to admit, I'm beginning to build up a slight

infatuation with horses. Well, vintage equine-y items I should say.

I love the look of such things when decorating, as done so here:

(source: Country Living)

Aren't all little girls supposed to go through a stage where 

they love horses? I don't recall ever doing so.

I guess its hitting me a little late.

And alright, while I'm confessing to my cheap book habit, I'll let you in

on these little secrets too. 

As you know, I have a weakness for vintage. So much so

that I see little orphaned, semi-ruined, ugly, or obscure vintage items

and I have to "adopt" them and bring them home.

Like this painting.

I mean, where would I put such a thing?

I suppose I could put it in the kids room, but it'd probably scare them!

Quasi-creepy and all, ya know. 

But I can see a charm about it, too...

it has the neatest little artist's card on the back.

Finally, the best "worst" for last.

Meet these guys.

They're best buds. Both were abandoned.

The panda was in a heap of free stuffed animals.

He's filthy and missing an eye...ok, both eyes.

Brown bear was a whole quarter.

He too has eye problems. 

Why on earth I would bring them home

is to solve one of the great mysteries of the universe.

But seriously, the playful part in me

thinks it could be a fun project for the kids and I...

trying to fix them up a little, replaces some eyeballs,

perhaps make them some little clothes.

(Yes, I've seen Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 way too many times.)

I like the idea of seeing beauty in odd places...

and that some things are worth saving and fixing/working on

to make it new.

Even unloved old teddy bears.

photo challenge day 2: cinderella shoes.

Every girl needs a pair of Cinderella shoes. A pair that makes you feel beautiful and make your feet happy :) I didn't realize until photo challenge #2 came up that I remembered this fact, and my own pair. Since today's assignment was snapping a pic of your favorite shoes, this pair is what I pulled out of my closet.

It made me reflect on the fact that I really don't dress up anymore. Instead of waiting for an occasion, I need to create one! It's rather tough to find the time or even energy sometimes with my three angels keeping me busy. It's something I want to change. Soon.

Here are a few outtakes from my shoe-snapping adventures.

Initially I wanted to snap a pic of them on this mirror, with the clouds and sky in view. Didn't turn out so well, at least I didn't have the patience to keep working with it until I found something I liked. 

I decided to go with something more plain and adding text.

Clean and sparse save for the shoe and text.

Here's just one shoe. Glam-or-ous. ;)

 And with some old photos and a few of my favorite necklaces for a retro-ish look.

I do just LOVE retro!

Thanks for taking a peek! Remember, the group flickr pool 

has tons of great entries. I love how it stands as a kind

of documentary of the participants.

If anyone actually reads this blog,

I'd love it if you could leave a comment for me.

Curious as to who's out there in Blog-readingland!

30 Day Photo Fun Challenge

While browsing Pinterest yesterday (which I am now a slave to, although stumbleupon still has my loyalties), I came across this fun photo challenge, and traced it to A Feathered Nest.  Believe it or not I've never heard of such a thing! But it sounds like fun. I love to take photos and edit them...finding the time is the tough part.

So here's my day 1. Before it hits midnight CA time and I find that I'm posting late the very first day.

(That is so me.)

a jasmine-scented sky.

Now, it should be noted that I am approaching the age where I do NOT like to be in photographs anymore. I know, it's awful in a way. But so often I just don't like how they come out, unless it's one with the kids :) Why does it always seem like the pics from just a few years ago look so much better? Am I nuts?

Well, just to say "screw you" to that part of myself that is critical, I'm posting more. Eeeek.

This was my inspiration: this lovely arch that begins the walkway to my parent's house. (Taken from the car, lol. Note mirror at lower left. Why didn't I get a better pic?)

Seriously, for me the most fun will be seeing all the other participants photos and what they come up with. Catch all the pics on the groups Flickr page!

Thrift store galore

Ah, I like the sound of that title, if it is a little misleading. I've been doing some flea-marketing, garage-saling, and thrift store shopping lately, so I thought I'd link to the post I have on another blog. You can find it here:

Vintage Mom's Team International

That blog is for the new Etsy "team" I created for my fellow mamas out there who also happen to sell vintage on Etsy. Just a spot to further share our passion for vintage. Thanks for taking a look!

We got back from our very long Disneyland/Arizona vacation about a week and a half ago, but it seems so much longer. Just one of those things I guess! Time has been flying by. I've got lots of fun pictures of the kids to share...'til then! ;)