Blondie 'N' SC

A Tiny Hole~

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from my mom.

As I opened the e-mail and read the words before me, my eyes filled with tears and I was suddenly burdened by a small hole that resides in my heart.

A tiny hole that was not always there but over the years has grown in depth.

 A tiny hole in my heart that I cover up with sarcastic remarks to others when they ask.

A hole that once was filled with a brother, is now filled with more emotions then one should have to handle...

 

As I read the words a small tear fell off my chin.

I closed the e-mail.

Wiped the tear away.

And, took a deep breath.

I called my mom and as she answered the phone, I could tell she was upset...

We chatted for a while about the e-mail and about who my brother used to be and as I hung up, I realized that my mom has lost a child.

My mom has a child that wants nothing to do with her.

With my dad.

With me.

And, now with my son.

I have a brother that lives a life of secret from us, his family.

 

The days have gone by.

Years have made their marks, but in life...

I have realized I am affected by the people that come and go,

Whether there for a short period of time or for the long haul.

As I raise my son to be a good person, to love others, and to appreciate those who take care of him...

I can't help but think of my mom and how she must feel, as she put the same effort into her son as I do my own...

And, now...she has no idea of the life he leads.

 

As we sit on the aftermath of Christmas and now into a New Year...

I can't help but think of my mom and my dad, who have to keep on going, keep on living, keep on smiling, even though their holidays, their days are minus one.

As the days pass with my son,

I vow to cherish every moment with him, every single day, year, mile stone and miracle.

As I know one day he will choose his own path, his own way...

I pray that he chooses to keep me & the pool man in his life...

I pray he chooses to be the son my brother never was.

 

I hope your 2010 is filled with all the wonderful people that have left an impression on your life for the long haul...

Remember in this new year...

 To let go of the things that drag you down...

 To draw from those who love you unconditionally...

 And, to do something good for yourself here and there, you deserve it!

Much love and Sweet Blessings for a new year~

{photos from this wonderful Etsy Store}

Life is like a roller coaster....

You are never quite sure of the ups and downs but if you hold on tight you eventually make it to the finish line.

 

 

 

 

Jane's Famous Cheesecake~

It's the day before Christmas and it has just dawned on you that you forgot about dessert to go with Christmas Dinner....

 

 And no, I am not talking from experience here...nope, not me!

 

Don't fret I am here to help...

 

I'm like a little elf by your side...

 

 

 

My mom calls this dessert cheese pie rather then Cheesecake.

 

I however, call it yummy and it doesn't last long in our nest with the pool man and his sweet tooth the size of mount Everest!

 

We named it Jane's Famous Cheesecake...

And, don't ask who Jane is.... it's complicated!

 

 Did I mention this is a simple recipe?

You know I like quick and simple when it comes to baking...

 

3 bricks softened cream cheese

3 eggs

1 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

 

Beat cream cheese until blended.

 Add sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Do not over beat.

Pour into 2, 8" pie pans with your favorite crust.

{we have used Oreo, vanilla wafer and graham cracker ready made crust and they are all wonderful!}

Bake at 350 Degrees for 25 minutes or until dry around edges and moist in the middle.

Sprinkle with cinnamon while hot.

 

Topping:

1 pint sour cream

4 Tablespoons of Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

 

Mix together and frost cheesecake with topping when completely cooled.

 

Enjoy!

{photo from here}

 

P.S. Have you seen Julie & Julia?

I am making the pool man watch it with me tonight while we wrap presents...!

Paint Fumes~

So...here's the thing....

 What I think is a good idea, and what really is a good idea...

Well, most of the time they happen to be world's apart.

So, what I thought was a good idea of taking photos of my parents house and venturing out to the canals at dusk, didn't turn out to be a good idea at all. The photos were blurry and the lighting was horrid and what I should have asked Santa for was photography lessons.

Yup, you read that right, a year long subscription to an awesome photography magazine and a personal trainer...a personal trainer for me and my camera that is!

 

The things is, I stink at taking photos at night. Not like, oh look she took a bad photo stink, like I can't keep my hand still and there you are sitting wondering if that was my son or a dog running by because the blurr is so bad, kinda stink.

And, here's the other thing, I am as stubborn as a mule. I am not afraid to let you all know this, I have come to appreciate my stubbornness, therefore, I won't turn my flash on and I won't take my camera off of manual.

What was suppose to be a fun filled Christmas inspired post has turned into a post about how I stink...at night time photography.

So there you go...

 

And what was suppose to be a short eye candy post has become this long drawn out post, about nothing really. I mean if you look at what I just wrote you would agree it is all about nothing.

And,  after 3 hours of painting my sister in law's bathroom  ( Merry Christmas, Amanda), my hands hurt and my calves hurt from standing on a ladder, and I can't think of anything slightly amusing to write about, and I might as well have ended this post here with all this gorgeous pink Christmas decor.....

 

But, I got to thinking this weekend....being that it is Christmas and all...and deep down we all love to give presents, and see our children's eyes light up on Christmas morning, and we all know it's the season to give to others who are less fortunate then we are, and so on and so forth....

 

However, I think we as women deserve a nice gift here and there.

We as moms who wipe butts day after day,  slave away at the stove night after night, yell at our children day in and day out meanwhile, keeping them in line with their manners, and who have braved all sorts of weather to make sure our children's Christmas morning rocks...

 We, women deserve something good too.

Don't cha think?

 

So I want to know, what did you ask Santa for this year?

 And, if you say nothing I will know you are lying...so give it to me.... all the good details, so I can feel better for asking Santa for chunky baseboards and a little remote island that the pool man and I can escape to on the weekend...

Ok, I might have been a little dramatic about the last one...but not the 1st!

Let me have it girls...and also, Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

You are the reason I keep coming back to this silly ole blog.

 

You are the reason, my butt is getting bigger, because instead of walking I read your blog posts...and drool all over my desk.

You are also the reason I have not gotten a promotion at work, since my boss doesn't think putting in verification codes to leave comments on your blogs is a good use of work time...

What does he know?

You are also the reason  I want to tear walls down in my cottage...or i don't mind splitting my finger in 2 finishing a project all in the name of blogging!

You girls are the best motivation a girl could ask for...now perhaps if I got the pool man to blog he could find some motivation to help me tear down walls....

And then I wouldn't be a nag either!

And, I think my problems are solved!!

You are special each one of you and don't you EVA forget that!

Now if you will excuse me I need to shower...

I stink!

Cheers~

{photos 1-2, 3,4-6}

P.S. I believe the paint fumes have affected my thinking...I probably should have taken my sister in law's advice and opened a window....

Good point to remember girls, ventilation means saving brain cells and your ability to write a sensible blog post!

cha cha cha...

'Tis the Season~

To Remember those who fight for you:

And those less fortunate then you.

Here's wishing you a lovely weekend filled with the spirit of the Holidays.

We are off tomorrow to my parents for a Christmas Boat Parade, and some holiday cheer.

Be back Monday with some photos of my parents house all dolled up for Christmas!

Muawhhhh!

P.S. I found this story to be heart warming, perhaps you will too.

Thank you Tonya for sharing it with me. 

Santa & Presents~

Explaining who Santa is and what Christmas presents are to a 2.5 year old can be well let's just say interesting to say the least....

The other night while I was shopping, whoops I meant working on the computer I could hear the pool man and my punk down stairs. It was close to 8:00 and that usually means the baby is getting tired and when he is tired he gets punchy, which usually means he doesn't listen.

I know shocker here, huh?

 

I finished up my work (wink wink) on the computer ran down stairs and started the bedtime ritual of giving daddy two kisses, rounding up the 5, yes I said five, ( it would be 6 but we recently lost a blankie and yes it was tragic) blankies, grabbed a sippy cup full of Orange Tang....ahh, just kidding, WATER people, a cup full of water, chased the baby around the room....gave him three chances to come over to me and finally I loaded the baby in my arms and we walked up stairs to his room.

 

As I walked him upstairs I tried to explain to him what happens to naughty boys at Christmas. I explained that Santa watches him all year, he knows when he is naughty, and come Christmas morning, Santa is just going to drop off two little elves to come and fill his stocking with corn, apples, and carrots if he is not good.

No presents for naughty children.

   

We stood at the entrance of his room and locked eyes with each other.....

I could tell he was thinking....

Thinking about everything I just said....

About being a good boy...

And slowly he flew his arms out to the side and shrugged his shoulders and muttered...

"Santa?"

"Where?"....

" I dunno know momma".....

I just burst into laughter.

I can see that whole conversation really made a solid impact on my 2.5 year old...

And, I am sure he is really concerned with his behavior and Santa now...

I can just see it in his daily routine!

I guess there is always next year to use this tactic, and maybe, just maybe it will have an impact!

 

I have also had a doozie of a time explaining "Christmas Presents" to my punk......

I was trying to stay on top of my game and wrapped a couple presents to put under our tree the other night while the boys were out in the garage building something, or in other words creating a HUGE mess....and my punk wandered in and said in his baby voice,

"Momma watcha doin'?"

{some how he acquired a southern accent in the last few months...it kills me}

Huh, loaded question here I thought to myself, do I tell him the truth or do I lie?

Of course being the honest Mommy I am, I told him...

Baby I am wrapping presents, one for you and one for Grandma....

His eyes lit up and he said to me,

"Momma I wanna a present..please...I wanna present....please, please, please"...

Well baby I know you do I said, but you have to wait until Christmas...which is only 10 days away....

I started to realize my decision to tell the truth was back firing quickly as crocodile tears started streaming down this face...

There I stood next to my farm table, ribbon in hand....

Watching my son cry hysterically because he just wanted one simple present, and couldn't comprehend that he had to wait 10 whole days, when he could smell his present, he could see it...and if I let him I am sure he would taste it too...

 

So I handed him the box and let him shake it, and he started to walk away with it as if I had given it to him!

Little boogar,  I thought as i shuffled after him.

I stopped him mid way to the garage and put the present under the tree and told him, NO.

There they were again, those tears....they were HUGE and they glistened in the yellow light that filled the room...

So me being a SUCKER.

Me being sucked into his little world of "presents"...

Me being taken hostage by crocodile tears...

I went and grabbed a $0.99 "hot wheels" car that was suppose to go in his stocking and handed it to my punk...

 

He ran outside yelling to his daddy...

"Mommy gave me a present...a present...a present..."

And, there I am thinking I should know better then to wrap presents in the kitchen and surely I should know better then to tell my kid the truth!

Ahh, the world of a 2.5 year old...

Isn't it just the best?

 

Sweet Blessings to you this holiday Season~

P.S. These are photos of my christmas decorations...nothing fancy, simple and sweet...

Just like me...on a good day that is!

**giggle**

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old Farm Table Complete~

A few weekends ago I went to the flea market with my girlfriend Kim, who happens to live in San Clemente (5 minutes from me), whom I happened to meet through this silly ole blog and whom happens to love vintage just as much as me!

 As we were strolling through the flea, chatting about Vintage Christmas decor and funny stories, I happened to mention that I needed a rattan back chair to finish off my farm table. I showed her what I was looking for, since there happened to be a similar style of chair at the flea with an outrageous price tag of $95.00. In mid sentence, Kim looked at me and said I have two chairs similar to those in my shed, my husband was going to list them on Craigstlist, and my heart started to pitter patter.

Later that night she sent me photos of her chairs, and they were perfect...for a fraction of the cost of the $95.00 chair I saw at the flea, my farm table is now complete.

Thank goodness I can finally get a good night's rest!

Here is the table if you have forgotten:

 

Ta Da!

Our new chairs!
 

 

Here is the 1st chair I found on Craigslist in her old school grubbies:

 

Ta- Da~

 Here she is all dolled up in her Sunday best!

And here is how they all look together!

Don't mind the mess in the background, we had a Christmas party Saturday and I haven't finished cleaning up!

 

And, yes we do keep all 3 chairs at the table all of the time.

I love the quirkiness of having two white and one brown chair in the middle, all with matching seats and rattan backs....prrrrrrrrrr!

And, guess what?

She seats 6 people perfectly now!!

Yipee!!

My search is complete and it always amazes me when I find something I have been searching for right under my nose!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

The countdown is on for Christmas now, huh?

I guess I better get to shoppin'!

Cheers~

P.S. Did you notice how many times I used the word "happen" in this post?

I guess I just so happen to like that word...

Hardy har har!

 

 

 
 

It's Raining~

We woke this morning to more rain.

I love laying in bed listening to the rain hit the roof with a faint sound as it trickles down the side of the house.

 We are having a Christmas party this evening with some close friends at our cottage.

I am a busy girl today with baking, cleaning and last minute touches on gifts and decorating.

However, I decided this year not to stress on the small things, but to put my efforts into making people feel at home in our house with some good Italian food and yummy desserts.

This year we have a new baby coming over. This is his 1st Christmas which makes the evening even more of a blessing for all of us.

I hope this weekend finds you feeling the comforts of home and better yet the comforts of home with friends and family mixed in.

Last but not least, Lisa Ann you are my winner!

Please contact me through my Etsy Shoppe with your goodies of choice.

Happy Weekend girlies!

Be back Monday with photos of my new (old) chairs I found to go with my farm table!

Muwahhhh!

It Sounded Good~

It is cold here.

Like 42 degrees when I walked to my car with my peep toe heels on this morning.

{I know most of you are laughing hysterically here with my definition of cold...I know, I hear you!}

I could see my breath, which reminded me that staying in bed with the pool man sounded really fabulous and romantic.

I am not a morning person.

At all.

It takes 4 hits of the alarm to get me out of bed.

I am pathetic.

Pathetic.

And, I just inhaled a salt bagel, yup you read that right.

I know it sounds awful.

But apparently I was in need of some additional salt in my diet this morning, cause it was calling out to me while standing in the bagel shoppe starring at the bins of bagels.

Sure I could have gotten the whole wheat bagel sprinkled with flak seeds, but really, how much fun is that?

I also just inhaled a diet coke, so I am off to an awesome start today.

I thought I would tell you about my good idea.

It sounded good.

Kinda.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, if I had actually taken more then 2 minutes to think about it, but often times I throw all rational out the window and go with what sounds fun at the moment.

And often times, I wonder how I have made it to 31 or is it 32...no 31...

uh~oh... I forgot how old I am.

But, let's not dwell on that....

A silly little detail.

It rained on Monday...a lot.

As you know I love the rain.

And I just bought my punk Green rain boots....

As I drove home, floating along the road, thinking I should have packed an oar in the car this morning, because I might actually have to row myself home with the amount of rain falling.... it dawned on me:

Rain= rain boots.

Rain boots = cute Christmas card.

I paddled home.

Ran in the door.

Changed my heels to flip flops.

Grabbed my punk who was being a total punk ass and headed outside.

With my camera.

He dashed out of the house like he had never seen a rain cloud or something.

I pulled his wagon out on to the grass, attached a "Merry Christmas" banner to it as the wind whirled us around.

 

And proceeded to take as many photos as my camera would allow.

However, my punk was being well, I think I might have already mentioned it....a punk ass.

He did not listen once.

Ran away from me to jump in a huge puddle of mud.

Marched through the soggy grass with me getting slightly annoyed behind him...

And, there I am standing in my flip flops, with a camera, hoping it doesn't start pouring, yelling at him to get his ass (ok, I didn't really say ass...I am not that kind of mom) over here this instant.

   

Pleading for him to stand in front of his wagon.

To just just stop moving and stand still for one second.

Here I am saying over and over and over again...

"I am going to count to 3...and if you aren't over here, you are getting a time out"...

1....

2....

3....

and there he sat in his time out on the soggy grass....loving every minute of it.

The pool man came out to throw some trash away, grinned at me, and walked back into the house.

I snapped  some more photos, slipped on a lone piece of dog poop and soaked my yoga pants as the neighbors next door probably wondered what the heck the crazy lady next door to them is doing in her backyard in the freezing cold with her camera and hair flailing around in the wind.

After 20 minutes, both of us soaked and running into the house while trying to protect my camera from the rain... it started pouring down buckets again, and as I stripped my child off of all his wet clothes....

 I just started laughing....hysterically.

What the *beep* was I thinking...surely this was an awful idea.

But I couldn't stop laughing.....it really sounded good at the time!

Perhaps next year, I will resort back to the pier, or a park on a sunny Sunday afternoon with the birds chirping and the dry grass a golden green color...

But, then again, just like that whole wheat bagel sprinkled with flak seeds, what fun would that be!

Merry Christmas!

 

And, just because it is the season to be jolly and I feel in the spirit of Christmas...

How about a little giveaway?.

One reader will win a $25.00 gift certificate to either of my stores.

To use when ever you feel like it.

Leave a comment 'bout anything....

Except how you slipped on a piece of dog poop, 'cause no one wants to hear about that!

Ends Friday at 8:00 pm.

Check back Saturday for a winner....

Cheers!

P.S. Sunday is also the last day my Etsy stores will be open, I am taking a break...and not to mention I don't have the patience to stand in line that runs through the double doors and almost out to the parking lot at the post office....! Shoppes will re-open January 1, 2010 with new goodies galore!

P.S.S. No cameras were harmed in the making of this Christmas card!

 

 

 

 

Crocodile Smile~

 So I guess here is where I tell you....i LOVE the color green.

Any shade.

I love it!

I am probably the last one on the earth, ok wait that might be a little too dramatic...the last one in blogland who has not gone ALL WHITE!

I can't...I love color...did I mention I love green?

When I bought a small child's chair for my punk from my neighbor, it was GREEN...bright green.

And I fell in love with it.

Shocker, I know.

So while on my blogging break I decided why not paint my room....The same color as the chair I bought..."Crocodile Smile" to be exact.

I also painted the bathroom...

Small undertaking.

{add a huge dose of sarcasm here}

As I was painting, the pool man came in and said to me...

In the midst of a brush stroke...and half way done with the room...

"oh my goodness, did Kermit the Frog throw up all over our room?"

There you have it...my room is now the same color as Kermit the Frog!

And, I lOVE it!

The white pillows are Vintage...I found them a while ago and they are in perfect condition.

The black linen and ruffle pillows came from this talented lady at the flea market last Sunday. 

The furry fella, loves to be a part of my pictures...apparently my camera smells like catnip...

He runs to any room I am in with my camera...to pose for me.

Or maybe, he just wanted a dose of the afternoon sunshine that hits my bed!

Vintage metal black box from this fab etsy shoppe.

I seem to have a small obsession with butterflies...

I used some old sheet music and cut out tons of butterflies....

& somehow they made their way onto Lucy!

She is not completely done yet...I am waiting for one more detail...

I will share with you when I receive it!

The mirror behind Lucy used to just be a picture frame.

I bought it at an estate sale for $9.00...I felt like the girl on the Ikea commercial...

When she is yelling to her husband, "Start the car...start the car"!

It was a great deal....in other words!

I just had a local glass shop add a mirror to it...and I keep going back and forth on whether to paint it black or not...I have the spray paint, I just can't pull the trigger so to speak.

What do you think?

I might also be slightly obsessed with magnified glasses...I found these at Marshalls for $9.99.

A few month ago I saw similar ones in a display at Anthropologie and fell in love...

And now I have some at the fraction of the cost!

The butterfly dish below came from this lovely Etsy Store.

The pool man did these diamonds...I am horrible at Math...Geometry especially.

I painted them an off white, and love the contrast with the kermit the frog green!

 

  

The pictures below were a part of my inspiration for also painting my room...

They came from a calendar I found a while back at Anthropologie.

I used about 4 pages from the calendar.

I just cut each page to fit the frames....and the colors are just perfect wtih the walls.

The & and the 5 came from here.

I also painted my bathroom...see told you, small chore.

A shade in the same family as our bedroom just a little lighter.

I added some butterflies to this Apothecary jar I bought at Marshalls for $7.99....

Do you see the framed art in the back?

Yup, another page from the Anthropologie Calendar!

I know...more butterflies...told you...obsessed!

This is the loo (or le toilet)...I normally wouldn't show you this, but I get a kick out of how small the loo is in our bathroom, so I thought I would show you too!

It is Tiny, trust me!

We aren't done in here either, there is a small chair rail that needs to go back up....

one of the many projects on the to-do list.

I know this color is not for everyone....but I suppose I am a true believer that your home should reflect you, and what you love.

And apparently I love kermit the frog and I didn't even know it....

The pool man finally warmed up to it...but he really didn't have a choice, now did he!

It started raining here in California yesterady...and I bought my son...

hold on to your seats...some GREEN rain boots, so we are going to go play outside!

Be back soon!

{photos 1 & 2 found here}

P.S. The black dresser and nightstands are 17 years old, I got them when I was 15....

and I still love them!

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Via: Amy Atlas

Vintage Treasures~

Happy Sunday!

It has been a while since I shared some vintage treasures I have found lately, so without further A-Do...some vintage goodness all for you!

 

  

 

 

 

 

 
 

I have a few more items I am adding to the store today, from my flea market excursion...

Like a wonderful light blue clock and a set of gorgeous vintage silver forks!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.

We are off later to find a tree...did I mention we buy a real tree every year?

Yup we do!

And my Christmas decorating is off to a good start!

Be back soon with some photos...meantime better see what my punk is up to...it just got really quiet down stairs and that usually means he is being naughty!

Ta ta!

Some of the vintage treasures shown are listed here.