Memorial Day Shopping & Eating

Well, actually mostly thrifting but I'll get to that in a minute. On Sunday we went to my grandma's house a couple of hours away. (Can you tell my kids love to travel!) She lives near an antique "mall"/flea market that I rarely get a chance to go to. So this time my sister & I quickly snatched the opportunity to go. There are lots of booth on the front porch of the main antique store. I quickly realized how much less expensive things were on the outside than the inside. I spotted this container of vintage Christmas ornaments for $5.00!

No need to think about it they were mine! I still am not sure how many are in there but they are worth WAY more than $5.00! Inside I picked up an orange plate for $1.75! And a couple of pieces of jewelry for a project I am working on. You'll see those later.

On Monday my favorite thrift store was having a 50% off sale. Every major holiday they do this & it is a BIG deal! They opened at 8:00 & I got there 15 minutes early & the line was already to the back of the building on both sides (they have an entrance on each side of the store). I had been there on Thursday & hidden somethings that I wanted! I found everything except for one thing so I thought I did pretty good! I found an vintage curtain, silver canister, green glass plate, framed embroidered mushroom picture, jewelry box for Kate (.24 cents!) three more pieces of jewelry, purse & a set of 4 federal glass vases (all vintage!) as well as two mens shirts to make dresses for Kate & a bright green J crew wool sweater for felting! And some extra Christmas tree tinsel cause you can never have enough of that for crafting & decorating purposes! All for about $20.00! Aah. The highlight of my month I think!

Now on to the eating part.

My grandma that we went to visit is actually in the hospital because she fell & broke her hip last week. We went to visit her in the hospital on our way into town & passed this.
For those of you who don't know what Rax is I strongly encourage you to drive to Lancaster, Oh & try out the beef & cheese along with a chocolate chip milkshake. Rax used to be everywhere here in Ohio. And up until they closed ALL the local restaurants they were Duane's favorite place to eat fast food. He about flipped when he saw this one on the way to the hospital & without hesitation said "I'm eating dinner there!" So after we ate lunch at my grandma's house, spent some time at the local lake & antique store we drove back to Lancaster for the sole purpose of getting Duane a Rax fix! I'll admit. I had one too & it was totally worth it!

Monday I made the Winning Hearts & Mind Chocolate Cake recipe from Molly Wizenberg's book A Homemade Life. It was AWESOME! I made homemade whipped cream to serve with it! If you haven't seen this book check it out. It is filled with yummy & unusual recipies. I have tried the french toast & custard cornbread recipes as well & they too are awesome! I checked it out from the local library but I think I am going to have to buy it. It's worth it!

Nine

Look who's Nine today! I can hardly believe it! He is pretty excited about being Nine. I am not sure what he thinks Nine has in store for him but it must be pretty awesome. No doubt it will be filled with books, legos, ideas for movies & many light saber battles. Oh, and he gets to play football this fall! He has been waiting for years to play on a team! I can't wait to see him on that field loving life! Oh to be Nine again!

Quilt Along

Cause I don't have enough to do. I need to add one more thing to my plate! But this is something I have been wanting to do for a LONG time. I see a trip to the Fabric Shack in my future!

Making Mother's Day

For those of you who were wondering Seth's present included a paper flower and a box filled with peanut butter cups, kisses & hershey's miniatures, yum!

I decided to make Mother's Day gifts this year. I made these cute broaches for my mom, grandma & sister. I had the hardest time giving them up. In fact after mother's day lunch I went home & made one for myself. They are ridiculously easy. I got the idea from here. The card I printed out on some card stock & just pinned the broach to it. Instant present! Hmm, I'm thinking end of the year Teacher gifts! Aren't they adorable!

My mom requested a necklace & bracelet so I made these for her from some lovely Amy Butler fabric that I had been hoarding. I think I am going to have to make one of those for myself too!

My Dad and the husbands planned lunch after church on Sunday. It was yummy, with grilled pork loin, fresh green beans with browned butter, spring salad with avocado & grape tomatoes, red potatoes & ice cream brownie sundaes for dessert! The kids made up a menu and were our waiters. They took our orders & the kitchen (men) filled them. So cute. The kids really enjoy playing restaurant. After dinner we were pleasantly surprised with a visit from The Mother Day Band. They had a private concert just for us and sang three songs. Emma was the lead singer, Elijah was on the electric guitar, Madelyn the bass, Seth played the drums and Logan danced. It was so cute.

I hope your Mother's Day was as fun and loved filled as mine!

Do Not Open Till...

This little bag came home with Seth yesterday with strict instructions of "Do not open until Mother's Day!" The suspense is killing me!

Can't get enough

A while back I was introduced to this artist & I instantly fell in love with his music. But life ensued & I quickly forgot about him. Last night with the kids in bed & the TV on I saw a commercial for cannon cameras that had the best song. Here it is.
Only problem is that is was written just for the commercial & is only about 50 seconds long. Which in my book is not nearly long enough. I kept playing it over & over cause I just couldn't get enough.

I was listening to it again this morning when I was reminded of Elijah. (Not my Elijah) So I googled him & once again began listening to his music. I haven't stopped since this morning. This time I am purchasing his albums so that I can listen to it everywhere. I think that will be part of my Mother's Day gift! So far I have not heard a song I don't like but this one is definitely my favorite.
A Song Of Simplicity - Funny blooper videos are here

Makes me wish we still had our piano.