my vintage santa collection...

i am quite fond of anything vintage , but the vintage santa item has caught my eye for a few years now...

i am sharing a bit of my collection with joan and her blog "anything goes here" to celebrate in her vintage christmas monday!

it all started with this guy - the "mean santa" as my girls like to call him. actually, anyone who has seen him has questioned me as to why in the world i bought him. i saw him at an antique store back in 2004 and i just had to have him. i didn't collect vintage santas at the time but after paying $20 for him, my collection began! i loved that he was a full size doll, really something that i had never seen before.

and the collection has grown...

i found this little treasure in my grandma's basement after she passed away - i wish i would have seen these on her trees in the years before but they were packed so deeply in her basement, i am not sure she even knew where they were - there is a set of 4 of them, and i'd love to know the story behind them.

...and i wish i could say that the little cutie in the picture below is me, but i suffer from the 2nd child syndrome and have about 10 pictures of my childhood (hi mom, you know i am right!) so that is my sister who will be 40 in the upcoming year. i love this picture and can only imagine what her little mind was wondering at that moment --

and one of my tiniest yet most treasured santas...

remember this  little santa pin? one of my favorite little keepsakes from my childhood - - it used to have a white string that would make his legs kick out when it was pulled - i loved this pin and kept it safe in my jewelry box year round until i was able to wear it again the following year.

happy monday all!

happy thanksgiving ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

the girls enjoyed helping me make this banner using fabric scraps and felt -

i used fabric scraps that were from dresses i had made for them as well as fabric from the curtains

in their nursery that their Godmother made 5 years ago -- all which adds to the sentimental feeling of thanksgiving.

the coziest room...

the coziest room in our house right now just might be miss iz's room - it's quaint and just the right size for her little 8 month old self. with the surprise news of her existence came the surprise news of  "we need another bedroom" ...which screamed budget and "oh crap!" to me ...but i love what we created and it's a creation that we put together with very little money- a family friend, carol, who is an amazing seamstress, helped me create her room before her birth... i have shown bits and pieces of her room in previous posts to show my frugal finds, but a few have asked to see the entire room -- so let's take a little tour

i purchased the mobile at a childrens' resale shop for $6 and

 i made the purple arm cover to have it match the room decor

handmade curtains - i picked out the fabric, carol did the sewing!

love the miracle sign, a gift from my mom - so true in izzy's case!

bird and birdcage - fun little garage sale finds!

my great grandma's dresser waiting to be painted or refinished in my "free time" (year 2020)

and if you've been reading my blog for awhile now, you are tired of seeing this picture -- my $1 garage sale table and my free curbside lamp which i doctored up with some purple spraypaint.

and this little bug that gets to call this room her own, she's just priceless!

(and if you are presently creating a nursery,

be sure to take a look at spearmint baby

which showcases some adorable nurseries)

matter the most monday...GOOD HEALTH

it was not a pretty weekend in this household. between thursday afternoon and saturday evening, all of the girls in this house, including me, came down with the stomach flu - the husband for some reason, got off the hook. however, he really didn't,  because he had to take care of all of us, so he wins the "best husband" award for his help and patience this weekend. i've mentioned my friend/next door neighbor kim who is always willing to help out in any way she can - well , she and her daughter were in bed with the same thing! so it was my husband all on his own! i really don't know which is worse, being sick yourself or watching your three little ones get sick and feel so helpless in helping them to get better. even the baby was sick! it's heartbreaking to watch their little eyes and see them all curled up moaning in pain. i am glad to have the weekend behind me and hopefully we have this type of flu behind us for the season and can move on to good health!

i do have to admit, however, there was a little part of us all being sick together that was actually nice. sure, we get it over with in one weekend, but it allowed us all to SIT STILL. i didn't jump up to clean or do laundry; jason didn't run weekend errands or tackle the bills; the girls didn't run off to the neighbors to play; the dog didn't beg endlessly for us to walk her or play ball with her and izzy was more then content to spend the days napping in our arms. we watched elf, cat in the hat, shrek 3, and snuck in christmas vacation after the girls dozed off. i  can't tell you how many times i've seen shrek 3 - but out of the corner of my eye, in bits and pieces as they watched  the movie and i cleaned. i actually sat still and watched all of these movies, with them, next to them, cuddled up in the same blanket with them. it really gave me a new appreciation to doing these things WITH the girls, not just for them or next to them, but actually WITH them.

so after our sickly but family-bonding weekend, here are a few of my

"little things that matter the most"

 that i am oh so appreciative of on this monday...

and of course, as i mentioned before, i am so appreciative of
my caring and tolerant husband
 for taking care of all of his girls!

 we are so loved!

now everyone, GO WASH YOUR HANDS and

grab some "hanitizer" as my daughter calls it!

i'm confused...

i'm confused.

i always have had a problem of "letting go" of things.

but this is not right.

 i just can't decide.

if you were standing in my family room right this very minute,

in one quick turn of your head,

you can see this...

the girls' halloween candy which remains - it should just be tossed into the garbage like most good parents have probably already done, but candy does wonders for bribery -- and i remember my love for candy as a kid so is a piece or two a day really that bad???

and you will see this...

the twins have made improvements in their understanding of thanksgiving this year and gratitude and what they are thankful for...imagine my face last year when i read the poster at preschool that said

"what are blessings?"

mia's answer: "when you need a tissue"

maddie's answer: "when you sneeze"

fortunately izzy has been a great example this year in my attempts to explain "blessings"

and you will see this...

understand my confusion now?

and i've blamed my husband for being the indecisive

 one all these years.

we are having company on saturday and i am really going to confuse the heck out of their little kids.

so really, i need to make a decision here.

is it halloween, thanksgiving or christmas in here?

a few of my favorite things...

I've wanted to have this "favorite things" party for many years now at my house with girlfriends - i've always imagined having a holiday party with a 20 dollar gift exchange of your absolute favorite thing (that's in that price range of course, ) hoping that others will discover this secret perfect gift that only you know about - like the perfect hand soap or lotion, you know? So because with my three little ones requiring my every moment of time, this year, i am not imagining having that party as i am lucky to be showered and fed each day. i  am therefore going to join melissa over at 320 sycamore at her blog's "my favorite things" party. and you know what? i don't even have to shower for this and get all dolled up --- but i sure would like to be surrounding a table full of tasty holiday appetizers. to get in the giving holiday spirit melissa asks that you "share a list of 5-10 of your favorite finds that you would send to your best friends if you could"
so here goes my favorite thing gift list to my best friends ... and warning - i am going on the practical side here, not the fantasy land side that we'd all love to be in, but let's just be realistic for a moment...

the "would if i could"

holiday favorite things gift list...

1.  Philosophy brand lipgloss -the best! these scrumptious flavors come complete in it's own little ornament case. i bought this last year for my sister -- it never made it to her. i had it opened in the car before it even made it to my house! and these are not supposed to be but i've found that they are very edible - maybe a dieter's answer to laying off the cookies this year. price: $28

2. giving a box of only 4 of these is a bit of a tease as you really need a lifetime supply of these magical miracles. if your BFF has kids, these are a must! and if she has a husband, these are a must. a pet - a must. just get them! price:$7.99

3.the gift that keeps on giving - doesn't that apply to magazine subscriptions? this is what i asked for christmas from my mom - just to renew all of my magazine subscriptions. reading an entire book seems to not fit into my schedule, or my kids' schedule rather, so i am a big fan of the magazines -- and for this one, i'd pick my favorites for my friends and hope that they'd find some time to relax and read. price: $5-$25

(photo - the quiet owl on etsy)

4.  i am easily calmed by using drink cozies -- silly, yes, but there is something about when i finally get to make my own drink in the day -  whether it's an ice water, or an end of the day beer, i love using one of the many cozies i own - it's kind of a "you deserve this cuteness" for the moment while i enjoy my drink. price $7.00

5.i'm not a shoe girl, but i am a bag girl. the one thing i've recieved more compliments on in my life are my various betsy johnson bags and jewelry. she is just FUN! they won't match your outfit and they certainly aren't subtle, but they make you smile!

price: $50 and up

   for the last one, i am leaving the practical list for a moment and entering fantasy land...

6.

if i could, i would...send all my best friends a plane ticket to come visit me. oh, what i wouldn't do to see their faces, to sit down and share a cup of coffee with them, to catch up on our lives, to go Christmas shopping for our little ones together, to take a walk on the beach before beginning the day's routine...i am so fortunate to have made such wonderful friends during this transition to California over the last few years, but the childhood friends, wow, do i miss them.  price:$400 and up 

lipgloss, magic erasers, magazines, beer cozies, betsy johnson bags, and a plane ticket --just a few of my favorite things! and adding up my approximate prices, i am averaging over $500 per friend. every one of them would be worth it ...if i could, i would!

that turquoise wall...

given my love for photography, i can rarely drive down a street without noticing the perfect backdrop for pictures -- and then obsessing about when and how to get back there to take the actual pictures - how many times i've said "oooh, i wish i had my camera!" this turquoise wall was one of my favorites in my hometown. i am happy i took my nieces to this building when i did because sadly, on my visit home this time, i noticed that my vacant turquoise building has now been painted a dreary gray. i will now have to obsess about where to take the next batch of pictures.

...and on that same day, this old swing at the end of a neighbor's lakeside yard was just too inviting to not stop and take a few photos..but i didn't know these neighbors, so the girls, being girls, were "mortified" that i just popped on in this neighbors yard...but come on, you can see in the distance of one of the pictures just how far the swing is from the house -- so really, unless they really didn't want others, or strangers like us, to have a seat and take a leisurely swing, they would have put it up by there own patio. correct? so sit down and smile silly girls -- and that they did!

to gift or not to gift...

happy to be getting my craft on for the first time with cottage instincts link party...

 and

today's creative blog...