A Roll in the Park and the reaction of bystanders

Nov2

We went to the park the other day, right before a Boy Scout meeting.

 I thought it would be a great way to burn off some energy.  The kids put on their helmets and rollerblades and started down the path…

They got a little ahead of me – and when I caught up to them – they were halfway up this “mountain”.

  

There was an older couple that stopped to watch the kids playing.

The man thought the kids were hilarious and he kept laughing… the woman, on the other hand, kept giving me dirty looks of disapproval.  She was so disgusted with my children and I that she huffed away, leaving the man behind (who, by the way, stayed until after the children rolled down the hill and then gave the kids a round of applause).

I was surprised by the diverse reactions of these two people.  I felt the woman judged me quite harshly as I was only allowing my children the freedom to play and explore a hillside… they even had helmets on!

By the time they all had finished rolling down the hill, all four children were filthy!! and Simone had a giant hole in the back of her jeans!!

   

We did a quick dusting off of the clothes and did an impromptu trip to GoodWill where Simone got a very stylish pair of turquoise Lucky Brand jeans for $2

And Eddie had a great time at the Boy Scout Meeting where became an official Scout!

Happy Halloween… Vintage Style 🎃

Oct31

This black and orange QUILTED dress is my costume today!  I’m going as a 60’s girl 😊

  
The bottom half of this dress is seriously quilted!! I’m going to be so warm when I take my kiddos out tonight!!

   
 
There is even a pocket –  perfect for for keeping a secret candy stash!! 😉

  
(This dress was half off at an Estate Sale – so it was $1.50)

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Simone is going as Laura from Little House on The Prairre. She got her outfit from a church sale for $2.

The older lady that checked us out said she had made the dress and hat for a barn dance she attended when she was young.

   
 

Vintage Fashion #7

Oct30

I couldn’t resist posting this handsome picture of my three boys as part of my Vintage Fashion Series!

They are actually dressed as magicians but they look like little vintage gangsters!

  

Eli looks like a vintage Newsboy 📰

  
Thank you Goodwill for all pieces of their outfit… Pants, shirts, vests, hats ($2 each)

Friday Vintage Fashion – #6

Oct30

 Happy day before Halloween 🎃

I think it’s fitting that my vintage dress today is black with orange accent flowers!


My beautiful halloweenish dress…

Keeping warm with a jean jacket…

Truly getting into the season’s spirit with a pumpkin orange sweater…

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I accessorized with a retro-flipped out hair style held back with a vintage orange scarf .

…and I can’t forget my pumpkin-pie earrings that I scored at a craft fair!

Happy Almost Halloween Y’ALL!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Cake 🎃

Oct28

Here is a super easy recipe for pumpkin spice cake using a box of gf yellow cake mix, a can of pumpkin, 1.5 T pumpkin pie spice, and 1.5 T cinnamon.

  
Simone mixed the ingredients…

  
…. And baked it for 30 minutes at 350•.

  
(As with most gf cakes, it’s a heavier, denser cake than none gf)

  

You can frost it or just serve it with ice cream 😋

A minimalized home and a much needed cup of tea

Oct27

Soooo… I just went on an almost 2 month “declutter, minimalize, paint, rearrange and transform EVERY SINGLE ROOM IN THE HOUSE” phase!

…and boy am I exhausted!

Here’s a little peek inside our home.

The first picture is our living room being used as a dual dinning room and classroom.

OH – there was so much stuff!!!

I can’t even begin to explain how much stuff we donated or threw away, but you can get an idea by looking at the other pictures of both our dinning room and living room.

 
Needless to say – I was in need of a break this evening. LOL 🙂

So…

I combined some very delicious goodies to make a fall treat!

I steeped the Chai Spice black tea in my newest 5-cent vintage thermos.

(See why I needed to declutter, I can’t turn down something vintage! I told myself I wouldn’t go to the garage sale and yet there I was forking over a nickel to a sweet old man in exchange for yet another fabulous thermos!!)

I added pumpkin spice creamer I got from Aldi’s to my chai tea.
 

….and let me tell you…

 – this is one delicious cup of tea 🙂

 – it feels so good to write a blog post, drink a pumpkin spiced tea, and do absolutely NOTHING 🙂

Hey good looking…. Whatcha got cooking?

Sep30

Finally! A cool crisp fall day!! 🍁

… And I have a large stock-pot boiling on the stove…


Is this a large pot of stew? Or chili?

I wish – LOL!!

It’s a boiling pot of soapy water filled with old painted-on door hinges!


The kids were rather disappointed when they found out I wasn’t cooking them something to eat.

Here is a before picture – with about 50 years of paint..

Hopefully tomorrow I can show off some shiny vintage hinges hanging on our doors 😊

Vintage paper dolls

Sep29

Simone woke up late this morning….. And was quite jealous that the boys had already played a video game with their father.

I figured I should pull out a mother-daughter activity…. And I had the perfect thing!

A book of Shirley Temple paper dolls and clothes!

  
We have been enjoying a morning of cutting and dressing up the dolls ❤️

  
  
Simone was very excited about the paper dolls because Laura from Little House on the Prairie played with paper dolls too.