Fall Antique Weekend 2012

Wow, this week flew....but, our trip was wonderful! It was such a good time of antiquing, family fun, and fellowship with some of our extended family. The first day antiquing was a bit warm, but then our second day was cloudy and rainy, which is always kind of fun I think. Rain boots are a must for Antique Weekend in both spring and fall because it can get pretty muddy if it rains! We didn't have any luck finding the one big thing we were looking for (a dresser) but lots of cool little stuff.

We found some neat things for Boo including this little turquoise cowgirl outfit, an adorable Mary Poppins book, and a beautifully colored South Dakota pennant. She loves learning about U.S. presidents, but especially Lincoln and Washington, so this was a fun find!

Boo and I dug through lots of containers to find all these adorable accents for her vintage dollhouse. Such cuteness! I especially love the rug and wooden stool in the back.

We got this set of Chinese lanterns from a lady whose booth we always love. The colors are so bright and lovely, and I'm always looking for fun random party decor to add to my collection!

These little maps are from a 1955 German newspaper and are uber COOL. We bought 2 of our favorite cities we've visited - Paris and London - and then our favorite country - Italy. The illustrations are just adorable and we're going to frame them for Boo's room.

These pieces are all from Guatemala - cute little bags, a basket, and a table runner...I so love prints and colors like these. We also bought a larger version of the cool basket in the back.

Boo also picked out this pretty Frida Kahlo frame (she recently studied her in one of her art classes), a little doll for her shadowbox, metal plates/bowls for outside play, and a little Guatemalan purse. She loves antiquing and searching to find cool stuff, just like her mama! So cute.

This was another cool fabric piece from Guatemala, along with some adorably decorated bottle brush trees. Loved the colors and they're always so expensive online, so I was super excited about these.

Other finds include a gorgeous colorful kimono, some school stuff, and an original polly pocket little house and people (the teeny tiny ones that actually fit in your pocket, which my sisters and I had when we were little)! Anyway, that's it...fun stuff though!

We stayed with some family and got to visit others, and we so loved spending time with all of them. Family is just the best! One of our trip days we took Boo around our alma mater's campus (Texas A&M)...she's been there before but it's been awhile and didn't remember. It was fun showing her mom's favorite studying (nap) spot, dad's old studio, our favorite places to eat, and just special little places around campus/town. BCS has grown and changed quite a bit, but Aggies are still some of friendliest people you could ever meet! It was cool to see all the new modern buildings on campus along with some good green initiatives - like the neat water bottle fillers on top of the water fountains (have you seen those?), solar composters, recycling everywhere, and so forth.

It was such a great trip but I was so happy to walk into our nest and "be home". I so love my home and filling it was things we love (like the above) and making it a special place for my family. I truly am a blessed gal. Have a great weekend!

A fall weekend

Last weekend (yes, LAST weekend...I'm catching up) truly felt like a fall one. It was pretty cool out and we had to bundle up, leaves were falling, and it was just lovely. I had a 10K race on Saturday and actually thought it felt "cold" that morning but it went really well once I got warmed up. After a quick trip on the way home to a new-to-us natural cafe/bakery, the rest of the day was spent hanging out all cozy in our nest which was truly delightful.


The weekend also included our first batch of hot apple cider which certainly makes fall feel here! I love me a cup of warm cider on a cool day.


We made the cider and the below yummy carrot spice cake for my family's final gathering at our longtime house (the "Compound" as we call it). Not everyone made it unfortunately (there's alot of us:), but those of us that did, had a wonderful time.


Being the photographers that my sisters and I are (BTW, I'm so happy the 3 of us are reunited in the same country/area for now!), there were LOTS of pictures taken, but the most persistent photographer was by far this little gal...




She was moving all over the place in different positions and spots. It was hilarious! Hmmmmm, wonder where she's seen that?! She has become quite the photographer and makes all kinds of things her "camera", including this old kitchen timer of my mom's :). She now has a couple vintage Fisher Price ones I won on Ebay last week, which makes her seem more official when she's snapping away!


I'm so pleased fall is here...I really love summer but it's certainly a nice change. I'm incredibly excited by ALL that is going on in my head for the upcoming holidays, Lovebug's 2nd birthday, and for our nest! I'm so looking forward to the things we have planned! I feel like I need to give an official goodbye to my beloved summer though...more on that to come.

SO does it look and feel like fall yet where you are?

A weekend of parties

Our weekend was pretty delightful as it was full of birthday parties and wonderful family time. We hosted one of the parties and had some outdoor activities planned. It was rainy though so we stayed inside, but everyone just chatted and played which was still really fun. The birthday and mini pennant banners I made for this party showed up again in a new way.


I love these little colored beeswax candles from here...they're so cute! Of course, a party isn't a party without the tablecloth getting dirtied up a bit with the yummiest chocolate cake ever from here :).


Some of the colorful doilies from this Antique Weekend found their way into the decor too...along with some soy tealights and glass cup vases.


For one of the birthday boys I decided to make another pencil case like this one but I started it the morning of the party, which is not terribly unusual for me unfortunately. :) My sewing machine kept acting up and I was getting really frustrated because we had to leave for the party soon. SO we now have a new rule in our house that presents (since we try to mostly give handmade ones) have to be finished at least two days before they are to be given. Otherwise, the projects are not to even be attempted. It's a good rule, and honestly it's going to be really difficult for me, but I'm going to do my best to follow it. I just get too frazzled under the time constraints when I (or the sewing machine:) mess up and it takes alot of the fun out of the whole process. The pencil case did end up really cute though and the birthday boy liked it alot, which made it all better :). So do any of you have a similar rule you've made for yourselves?


By the way, thank you for all of the sweet comments on Lovebug and her fall! She's doing great and it's healing well. And to the anonymous commenter, YES we are actually filling the darn sunken living room in! It's been on our to do list for quite some time now. That Lovebug incident moved it up to the top for sure and will hopefully be done ASAP! Thank you for offering that idea though.


Well, we need to pack up soon and head out to a friend's to celebrate yet another birthday! :) Have a great day.

4th...

Our 4th of July included watermelon, wiffle ball, peach cobbler, and fireworks, amonst other things....OH and some water play for Lovebug. The metal tub bought the day before at a local feed store was quite a good purchase and she had a blast playing and cooling off in the water.


It was a great day spent with family, although it did seem really long and we were all pretty tuckered out come late afternoon. Somehow we mustered up the energy to go watch our city's fireworks display, but Lovebug could have cared less. She was not impressed at all! So we quickly left, and without a mosquito bite thank goodness. When we came home, our neighbors did their annual little display in the street and she LOVED that. Maybe because it was so close and she could see and hear them so much better. I don't know, but she loved it and was upset when they were over!


I just feel so blessed today - to have my little family and have had such a great fun-filled holiday weekend! There were quite a few highlights but a couple stand out currently, with one of them being the pizza my Love made last night. It was hands down the best pizza I've ever had...seriously. I have begged him to please write down what he can remember of the ingredients before he forgets because it was SO incredible. I cannot wait until the leftovers tonight for dinner, followed by some leftover peach cobbler too! :) Another highlight was finding and then listening to a mixed cd :) my Love made for me about 9 years ago! We had such a good time listening to the songs he chose to put on there...such wonderful memories!


We actually got a little rain yesterday which cooled things off a bit and the morning air actually feels pretty darn nice. When we woke up it was only 82 in the house which isn't bad at all compared to what it has been lately. I know it's going to be a wonderful day! Well, I hope everyone had an incredible holiday and I wish you an even more incredible week!

Fiesta Party

I wrote this earlier in the week but am just getting around to posting it. Anyway, last weekend was SUCH a blast! My Love's parents threw a big 60/80 fiesta themed party to celebrate his grandparents being alive 80 years with 60 of those together!


Alot of family members flew and drove from different parts of the country to be there to celebrate the two of them. It was so much fun and the special couple thoroughly enjoyed themselves!


My little part of the very detailed and planned party was the decor which was really fun to put together. My in-laws and my Love's aunt did the rest and they did such an incredible job! Fiesta decor is so colorful and vibrant, which made it all the more fun! All of the fiesta supplies and decor I got from the famed San Antonio Amol's and I love it all!


Everything is all handmade, SO colorful, and just beautiful. I had wanted to make the paper picado banners we put everywhere myself, but just ran out of time unfortunately. The ones they sent me are far prettier than I could have ever done though! The handmade paper flowers that I arranged in some of my vases and containers are gorgeous too! So, if you ever need fiesta decor, check out Amol's!


For one of the centerpieces, my mother in-law requested it to be pictures of the couple's kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. We had found a metal tree at Antique Weekend for our advent Christmas tree, but thought it would work for this as well.


I found the little vintage sombrero on Etsy and the handmade paper flowers are again from Amol's, which I just twisted onto the branches and trunk. I carefully chose and cut the photos of everyone, and then put a little bit of temporary tape on the back of them and added a little ribbon loop and voila, a fiesta photo tree! My sweet mother in-law was very pleased and everyone enjoyed looking at all the pictures.


My mother in-law found these really cute maracas that all the kids (and adults:) just loved. They were fun little favors too!


The food was an overwhelming array of delicious Tex-Mex (of course) and once we began eating on the patio, a live mariachi band came playing around the corner. My in-laws are known for their surprises, but this one was especially enjoyable.


They entertained everyone for an hour and the special couple got up and danced a bit, which was so cute! Thank goodness the weather cooperated and it wasn't too hot that day.


We stumbled upon the little fiesta dress that Lovebug wore at Antique Weekend and of course HAD to get it! It was perfect and she kept the little flower hair clip I made her on nearly the entire day.


She had such a ball getting to play with her sweet cousins all day long...Lovebug and this beautiful cousin of hers especially adore each other! :)


My in-laws had pictures of the special couple from throughout their life set out all over their house which was really neat. The dining room was set up as the "wedding room" with alot of their wedding memorabilia as the decor, including her wedding dress, their wedding album, guest book, newspaper announcement, and other special mementos. It was so sweet to look back at their 60 years together!


There was also a replica wedding cake with their original wedding topper (so cute!). They cut their cake and even fed each other, which was just beyond precious!


It really was just the most perfect day and so wonderful to have all of our family there to celebrate the still very happy in-love couple! Well, I wanted to share it with you all. Have a lovely weekend everyone! I'm spending mine with these two lovelies whom I just adore...

Get Well!

My youngest sister had surgery yesterday, but thank God everything went really well and she is recovering at home. Today is also her birthday so I whipped up a little card and some fun poppies to help brighten her day (aren't poppies beautiful?). I added in some of our Super Soup my Love made to help nourish her healing body and some chocolate chip cookies for her to enjoy. Lovebug and I just got back from delivering this little get well basket, so for any concerned family members out there, the birthday girl is in pain but is resting and doing pretty good.


OH and a BIG thank you again to Joslyn...Lovebug's party was on Party Perfect yesterday thanks to her!! I always love the parties Sara chooses to post so I am deeply honored by that. It made my week for sure! Big thanks to all of the other love as well from new visitors. Welcome and hope you come back often! :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

The light

I took that picture last week when it was sunny and beautiful out...this week has been cold though! I don't mind the cold normally (because we don't have it very long) but it's been very dreary and grey here, partly because I received very sad news Monday that a cousin of mine suddenly died. It is quite a shock to everyone and so very hard to believe.

His name was Kevin and he wasn't much younger than me...he was wise beyond his years though and always has been! He was very intelligent, witty, sweet, fun, and handsome. He worked with little kids and loved it (and them). It really hit me yesterday when I saw pictures of him - that he's no longer here. My Love and I stayed up late in bed talking about him and life/death as little precious Lovebug slept between us. It just all happened so quickly and our hearts are so very sad. I just keep thinking back to memories of him growing up - going to the beach, holidays at Gramma and Grandpa's, and specifically one time we got together before an A&M game with my other cousins, uncles, and beloved Grandpa.

Unfortunately, we don't live in the same state and haven't seen each other on a regular basis for quite some time though. We did get to see him a couple months ago for my Gramma's birthday and he got to meet Lovebug and make her smile. I'm so glad for that because it had been awhile since we saw him last. You really do have to treasure every moment don't you (?), because you just never know when it's the last time you might see someone. I just feel sad and the weather isn't helping, but that photo is a bit...that light shining through helps me remember that there will be brighter, happier days!

Please keep our family, especially Kevin's immediate ones, in your thoughts and prayers. Sorry for the downer post...I'll be back later this week with something more upbeat like Lovebug's birthday stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just love these little pilgrims my Gramma made us...


From Our Green Nest to yours, we wish you a beautiful and enjoyable Thanksgiving day tomorrow with your loved ones. May we give thanks and savor all that we are blessed with!

Gushing on my Gramma

Hello friends and happy Friday to you! Yesterday was a blast with my Gramma. Lovebug adored seeing her and lunch was absolutely delicious, but the spice cake really does need those carrots as it's just not as moist without them - so FYI if anyone was planning on trying that recipe. I just have to gush on my incredible Gramma for a bit, so thank you in advance...

She is the most creative person I know. Truly. She creates the most beautiful interesting things. She is an original "green" artist without even really knowing it as she is constantly making beyond creative things by reusing everyday materials. She is always ALWAYS creating - whether it be designing a necklace, painting a beautiful watercoloring, making a lovely angel, sewing a table runner, or whatever...always something...and if she's not creating, she's reading a novel or doing a crossword puzzle!

When I was a little girl the excitement that would come over me when we went to her and Grandpa's house is beyond explanation! There are SO many interesting books, SO many beautiful paintings (mostly all done by my Gramma or her sisters), SO many interesting pieces of old furniture, and just SO many of my Gramma's crafty creations! I still love it just as much, if not more actually, because I have a greater appreciation for it all now. Yesterday I just walked around her house looking and studying things, getting inspired, and seeing things for the first time that have probably been there forever but had just noticed. I constantly ask "Gramma, did you make this?"...and the answer is most often "Oh...why yes, I did", and then an interesting story normally ensues.

She created this adorable sock doll for Lovebug and gave it to her yesterday, along with a fabric book one of her friends made. I particularly love the doll (as does Lovebug) because she made one just like it when I was little, except with brown eyes and dark hair :), which I still have in fact.



As a little girl I went over to her house for a weekend here and there and we would go to the fabric store to pick out a pattern or two and some fabric, and would sew them all up that weekend - her teaching and leading me through it all. She is an AMAZING seamstress and has been making nearly all her own clothes since she was a teenager (OH and she fixed my sewing machine - yea!). She also is the one who initially led me into watercoloring as we had many weekends at her house painting as well as quite a few afternoons at our favorite Texas beach doing that together. Within more recent years she has become quite the jewelry designer as well and before Lovebug was born we had a fun-filled weekend of making a few necklaces. She's made me and my sisters many chic necklaces over the years which I always love getting because people always comment on them and I love saying "my Gramma made it"!

When all of us grandchildren would come over she always had a craft project for us to work on - always - and I hope it's the same when Lovebug is old enough to craft. It would make my heart so happy to see her create with her Great-Gramma, just as her Mama did! Just as she did me, I know she has inspired many of my siblings and cousins, most of whom use their creative talents in some shape or form, either monetarily or personally.

She's SO giving of her time too and is one of the busiest bees I know! Not only is she incredibly active at her church, she is constantly hosting this or that at her house for different ladies' groups, as well as teaching craft lessons at a local nursing home, amongst many other activities and responsibilities. Every year for as long as I can remember she and some of her artistic friends hosted this craft show/bazaar during the holiday season that I always loved going to with my Mom and sisters. As soon as the holidays were over she would get busy busy busy designing and creating for next year! Unfortunately she stopped a couple years back, but started it back up this year and I cannot wait to attend, support her, and be inspired by all of the wonderful artisans that have been crafting and creating since way before I was even born.

She is the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of coffee :) and has encouraged me to read as much as possible ever since I was a little girl, and I did and TRY to still do. She gave me my prized whole collection of Nancy Drew's that I love love love and could read over and over again, and we share a love of many of the same classic novels and authors. She always has a great new joke to share and is always open to talk religion or politics but will surely have a pretty educated opinion on whatever the topic is. She's the kindest, most outspoken, well-read, intelligent, and creative gal around, and I just love and adore her. I have always been inspired by her and continue to be constantly. We need more people like her in this world and I cannot even begin to imagine my life without her.

WOW, this turned out pretty long...obviously I think my Gramma is a special gal! Thanks for listening (er, reading:). Have a great weekend!

Off to Great-Gramma's

Got up early and the coolness of our nest was heavenly. I love mornings where I'm able to get a couple things done before my babe wakes up. Since she doesn't have a set "schedule" it can prove to be difficult at times but it's getting easier as she gets older. So whether it be a good dvd workout, a run, some blogging, internet research, emails, or what it involved this morning - baking - it's nice to start my day getting some things done before the time with Lovebug begins and all of the fun and craziness that entails :).


I've posted about the above cake before - it's a Vegan Carrot Spice Cake, but this time I made it without the carrots - so it's just a spice cake. Not any old spice cake mind you, it's a really delicious one! Going to add a bit of icing and some raisins, then Lovebug and I are packing it up and taking it to my Gramma's today. She has promised us a lovely lunch of gazpacho, crackers, and fruit...and then my cake for dessert - yum! I'm so excited for Lovebug to see her Great-Gramma and for them to spend some way past due time with each other! As she's a whiz at such things (many and all things really), I'm hoping she can figure out what is wrong with my sewing machine too - as it's not working properly at all :(. Apart from the amount of time driving and gas that will be spent, it's going to be a wonderful day - I just know it! Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday!

You are my sunshine

Yesterday was a sad day for me...I said goodbye to one of my sisters who is moving away to South Korea to teach for at least a year. She recently got married and each of them had planned on teaching overseas prior to even meeting (re-meeting actually) so it's all working out to get to fulfill their dream together. I'm so happy for them but will miss her very much.


We decided to spend our last day together for awhile doing some things we love - eating good food (at our fave restaurant - the BEST pancakes EVER!) and enjoying beautiful art at the Kimbell. The current exhibit is an Impressionist collection from The Art Institute of Chicago and it's gorgeous - truly inspiring - my faves were Van Gogh's The Bedroom and Monet's Water Lily Pond. Although Monet's Stacks of Wheat series is pretty amazing as well. Lovebug really enjoyed it as well...her Daddy wore her in the Ergo and she actually seemed to like many of the paintings and the vast array of colors and textures. So I see many art museum learning trips in the future - YEA! :)


My Love and I lived in Italy for awhile in college at our school's campus and got to travel Europe so we have been blessed to see many of the world's most wonderful museums (here's one of my faves - I LOVE Pollock and Kandinsky), but the Kimbell is such a beautiful one as well. The building's architecture, interior, and grounds are gorgeous, and we're blessed to have it and other such wonderful museums locally. My Love has a background in architecture and urban planning so he gave us an overview of the Kimbell's famed architect as well which was quite enjoyable - have I mentioned how adorable I find my Love to be? :)

So it was a sad but fun day with my sister and am so glad we were able to have that day before she left! Here's a shot of her and her Love I captured yesterday...


This is for you my beautiful, strong, passionate, and bright Sunshine:

You are my Sunshine
My only Sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You'll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don't take my Sunshine away.

You will be in our prayers and thoughts as you embark on this journey - we will all (even Lovebug) miss you like crazy Sunshine (and Sunshine's husband:). We love you!

I'm BACK!

Well, we're back and it feels good and I'm still catching up with stuff. The trip was wonderful, went by fast, and we had a great time but it's always so nice to come home. It was our first big trip with Lovebug...vacations with babies/kids are quite a bit of work aren't they? :) Not to say we didn't have some relaxing and lots of fun (because we certainly did!), but it's alot of work with a little one, especially in an unfamiliar place. Thank goodness my Love, my incredible partner in this parenting gig, was there 24/7...but now he's back to work (away from home) and it's just Lovebug and me :(, but at least we're back in a familiar place - our green nest that we love oh so much! And I'm BACK to the blog world - YEA! It has been fun catching up on what everyone's been up to...so glad you liked Matt's video! I thought it was pretty inspiring.

Alright onto the photos..let's see here...the above shot I took on a walk one morning. I know most people don't think much of the Texas coast, but we think it's beautiful - in such a Texas way :). We've been blessed to see some gorgeous beaches in Florida, Mexico, and even Italy, but we always come back to this one in our great state!

Lil' Love really enjoyed the water and the sand! She only tried to eat it the first day...


She would have just crawled up and down that beach if we would have let her!


and she didn't seem frightened by the water at all (definitely needs a life vest on next year:)...


Daddy and Lovebug gazing out at the ocean - so sweet!


The mandatory sister pic (love you sissies!)...with Lovebug, who is wearing a Mexican dress that was mine when I was little - thanks Mom for saving it!


Some precious nursing and bonding time between me and my babe on the beach one morning - wonderful memories that I won't ever forget!


Lil' Love really did enjoy it and it was so much fun to introduce her to it all, which we tried to only do in the morning or evening, because of the sun and HOT Texas weather...

Let's see, she also loved practicing her yoga on the beach, especially downward dogs...


and really enjoyed going on walks worn by Daddy or Mommy!


The traditional last night family pic, which was taken after a yummy dinner on the harbor...


My two favorite people in the whole world...and the most beautiful I've ever laid my eyes on!


Began with a sunrise above so let's end with a sunset - a pretty one over the bay at that!


That's it my friends - until next post...