Little Ones

 

I had a dream I was standing by my two year old girl looking in a mirror. I gleefully lifted her and spun her around, then we looked in the mirror together and smiled at out happy faces.

Then I woke up to the real world where this toddler is really 12 years old and loves Yearbook club and playing X-Box with dad.

I never liked fall, but these past few years it’s growing on me. I think of baking and Christmases past. But mostly I feel sentimental about my little girls. Because all I ever wanted to be was a mommy,  and now one is at work and one is in college, and I’m left feeling like sand is slipping through my fingers on most days.

It’s Meant To Be

I just won a prize from Kristina over at her funny, wild and crazy Pulsipher Predilections blog- which is especially exciting because she has about a billion followers and comments every time. So Yay me!!!

But I told you It was meant to be. The prize I won was new book Memoirs of a Gaijin, by Erin Peters. Which I know I will love because I have been a Gaijin……I lived in Japan for a year!

And here’s a little something for Kristina………

 

Yes, now ‘You can act like Diva!!!!!’ with a bumpit from Japan!

Thanks again,

Lynnae

Junkin’ Monday

Click to link to Junkin’ Monday.

Junkin’ Monday is a chance to show off cool thrift store or garage sale finds. I get so many cool ideas from creative ladies out there in blogland, making things much cuter than you can find in stores, and at such a low price. It feels so wonderful to find cool things cheap, and to make old things look cool.

I do have to say that my dear sweet hubby, while he’s a wonderful man, hates old stuff. He Hates. Old. Stuff. So I try to restrain myself from going vintage shopping or over to the Goodwill too much.  But sweetie. Don’t be hatin’.

This past week I went to Goodwill looking for a trench coat for my daughter’s spy costume. I ‘spied’ this AWESOME vintage globe. It’s about 3 1/2 feet high and has a cool turquoise color that didn’t come across too well in my picture. I knew it would look great in our family room. Alas, hubby kindly suggested it would be a neat thing to have in my craft studio. So there you go.

 

I always have to look through the frames, because I have paintings and frames are so expensive. A couple weeks ago I found this gorgeous chippy gold mirror over there for nine bucks. The thing is heavy. It too will look great in my studio. And if you read Somerset’s Belle Armoire you know why I hunted out a few vintage slips. I am dying to dye them!

Drop me a comment so Sweetie knows I’m not the only one in the world who likes these things.

-Lynnae

Give Boredom the Boot

Here’s the picture of my boot I showed you a couple days ago.

Well, one long boring Saturday and a box of Sharpies later……….

  

I colored my boot!

The sides are pink with gray flowers.

I drew a butterfly on the heel.

Here’s the side with the strap undone. And for the final artsy touch I drew a crown on the toe.

It’s the first decorated aircast boot I’ve ever seen. And it’s MINE!!!

My Wicked Wish

Yesterday my sweet hubby surprised me with this clever card and gift………

Yay!

I’m going to see Wicked! I am so excited. Half the gals in my family have seen it and LOVED it. I also have the soundtrack (I bought it after a I came back from my trip and thought there was no way I’d get to actually see the show). Our family was pretty big on musicals growing up, and as my sis said,  ‘Wicked’ is the kind of show you watch and say ‘Yes! Now this is what a musical is supposed to be!’ Woo Hooo. Did I mention I’m EXCITED!!!

Thank You Sweetie!

Now what am I going to wear????

-Lynnae

Inside My Brain….The Home Game

Some people receive inspiration and great ideas when dreaming, or in that somewhat meditative in-between sleep state.

I do too….and yet, it’s a little different.

Yesterday I had a procedure called ‘Dry Needling’ in my foot to help my severe plantar fasciitis. I won’t go into details, but if your foot started to curl up in pain just hearing the name of the procedure then you are on the right track. Here’s my lovely boot that I get to wear around for a while.

I’m pretty tough when it comes to pain. But when you need to take care of yourself, you do it, and when you need to baby yourself, you baby yourself, otherwise you prolong misery, and in the end it’s worse for you and your loved ones.

But the night splint was another story. Because sleeping is VERY  important to me, and it’s hard to sleep with some monstrosity strapped to your leg. The night splint is like a deranged ski boot. It’s open on top so air can circulate, and has a series of straps to keep your foot flexed in a 90 degree angle or more all night. The trouble is that the configuration of the straps allows your heel to lift out a little, and the ball of the foot starts burning as it pushes into the splint. I’ve had it for two weeks, and never made it past 4 am in that thing. But the procedure yesterday made it more important I wear the splint, and I was miserable…. jerking and startling all night.

Until around 1 am..I started to drift off and heard a trusted voice….It was Big Bird calling for Mr. ‘Looper’, his friendly advisor. I saw the outside of Hooper’s store on Sesame Street, Big Bird standing outside the window needing help….and then I hear ‘cross the straps’ and I saw in my minds eye the night splint with the foot and ankle straps crossed over the ankle to hold the heel in place. I hobbled into the bathroom, made the strap adjustment, and then came back to bed where I drifted off to sleep.

Well, I know ‘from whence my inspiration cometh’, but sometimes the messengers just have to make me smile.

  Mr. Hooper and Big Bird

 

-Lynnae

Pride and Prejudice in Comic Strip Form

After hearing that Pride and Prejudice was released by Marvel Comics I had to try and snag an issue. This is #5 out of five, and I think I was pretty lucky to get it at my local Borders, considering it was the last one and I haven’t seen them anywhere since.

The set is coming out in book form in October. But I am so excited to have this cute little Comic to add to my collection of Janeite paraphernalia!

Not Without My Prank Baby or- More of my Utah Trip

I was recently in Utah to take my daughter to college. We had a ton of shopping, but stopped on Friday for some Japanese food with family.

Above, me and some of my sisters, ‘Ramsam’, Shannon, and Krisi.  I look like a muppet stuck behind the wall! ( You can barely see me behind somebody's tall hair…….)

Out from behind the wall!

  

This shot has Ramsam’s nice hubby and a couple of my nephews. My daughter is on the right by me.

Saturday My mom, daughter and I went to Anastasia’s Attic, which I told you all about in this post. Gardner Village in West Jordan was so cute. Everyone says their Halloween decor is excellent, so if you live in Utah check it out.

Cottage exteriors at Gardner Village

Sweet Afton’s candy shop. You had me at SWEET!

Look at this cute sign on their door.

The fudge counter at Sweet Afton’s. I bought three types of fudge. Walnut, Marshmallow, and Jalapeño (Yeeeha!) which was excellent! After Gardner Village it was time for Tai Pan Trading co. Where we met up with my sisters for lunch in the cafe.

My sisters and their ‘twinner’ rhinestone shades. I hardly think at all that they planned this to make me feel left out with my little boring shades.

Me in front of the Christmas tree display. Not pictured- us breaking out into ‘Tonight’ from West Side Story. There are no more pictures from this store due to the frantic and crazed treasure hunt that ensued.

We then worked our way south to Highland where we visited ‘Dear Lizzie’

This store had many beautiful things to look at. They discourage photos however. I had one shot of the entrance in its Halloween glory before I sheepishly had to put my camera away.

Later that evening we went to see a production of Wizard of Oz that my sister was in.

After the play with my sis. Every night Ramsam, Shannon and I would stay up way too late. I don’t know if we got to bed before three. We were so silly. Which brings us to………

The Tale of Prank Baby

One of the first things I did in Utah was to go to mom’s and get an old baby doll of mine. I got it when I was 7 or 8 as a hand-me-down from my cousins, and she was pretty beat up then. I liked playing with the life sized baby doll, but I also used to try and do pranks with her. With a disposable diaper on she looked remarkably like a real baby. When Shannon was a baby I used to set in her crib with her to see what she would do. Cry? Play with it? She pretty much ignored it. I got a better response once when I stuck it’s head in the toilet. My mom was upset when she saw it, thinking at first it was a real baby. I would have lost it. I don’t think I did many pranks after that.

I left the doll behind when I got married, but occasionally wished I still had it. My hubby doesn’t like old stuff like that, so I didn’t really try to retrieve it. Baby got her arm ripped off, and despite that setback was still instrumental in my nephew’s potty training (she just gives and gives!).

After seeing similar babies in ladies art studios everywhere, I decided I needed to get mine from Mom’s house, arm or no arm. So I found her and took her back to where I was staying with my sisters. One night I came home from my daughter’s apartment to see this on my bed…….

Baby, all tangled up in the charger wires.

I thought once I brought baby home I would name it something cute like Cherish or Gracie Lou……… But no matter how I try, my brain still sees her as Prank Baby.

 

So….. I stuffed her in my suitcase and brought her home, where you saw her in my studio in the last post. If mom finds her arm she said she’d save it for me.

Studio Thoughts

Remember the fabulous studio tour party that Karen over at My Desert Cottage put on in July? Or did you miss it?

A few family members were lamenting that they didn’t get to see all the studio pictures before the links were taken down. Today I turned on my laptop that I hadn’t used in a while and there they were! So if you are interested, I’ve put them in my post of July 25th, or just go to the labels on my sidebar there and click on ‘Where Bloggers Create’.

Hopefully I won’t be asked to take it down. Karen did such a wonderful job putting it all together, and maybe now with school in some of you will have more of a chance to look at them.

Today I moved my laptop into my soon to be studio. As you can see, it’s a blank slate. But here’s my dilemma. I love the studios full of whites, creamy neutrals, dark woods and occasional black accents. They are gorgeous and soothing. Yet when I see a studio with color, especially teal, turquoise, or royal blue, and some bright red accents and pinks thrown in, my heart skips a beat. I see myself in those rooms.

Soooooo, Do I strive for the calm poised artist I hope to be, and create a blissful sanctuary? Or do I fly with the color and go crazy, like I really want to?

That’s the dilemma.

Then there’s another thing. Some people say the things you love will naturally go well together. Do I put that to the test or create a more controlled environment?   Feel free to chime in!  

-Lynnae

Just a Sweet Thing

I still have more from my trip to post.

And I’ve been planning and dreaming of my own little studio room.

But I just have to say….

Last night Jon and I sent the kids to get ready for bed and we played a little Rock Band. He graciously downloaded the new Talking Heads songs that I kinda knew (read- know every word backwards and forwards) even though he’s not that into Talking Heads. Finally we have something besides ‘Psycho Killer’ (or Lobster Killer…after seeing Julie and Julia…You know you were hoping I’d sing it that way).

My loyal readers may not be all that into Talking Heads either, but I just thought it was sweet. You have to goof off a little now and then even if your teenagers come down and look at you like you are aliens….  Especially me, since I was singing in a David Byrne meets church choir soprano style……

We are coming up on our 22nd Anniversary.

‘Letting the days go by…water flowing underground……..’

Anastasia’s Attic

Anastasia’s Attic was the highlight of our Saturday shopping spree. OK, it may have been more of a looking spree. Traveling home by plane has its benefits on the pocketbook. But I did manage to acquire a few objects small enough for my carry on.

           

The front porch of Anastasia’s Attic, displaying Halloween wares.

This lovely shop can be found in Gardner Village in West Jordan, Utah. The situation is ideal- a collection of tiny cottages once built by a polygamist to house his various families. The quaint homes and mill have been refurbished and now house a collection of charming shops.

Anastasia’s Attic is full of romantic home furnishings and lovely gift items. I went with my mother and daughter and this was our favorite stop on the trip.

Left, with my mother.   Right, My daughter Hillary.

As we entered we met the lovely store proprietor, Tara Starling. She greeted us warmly and gave us each a star of fairy dust on our cheek. She even paused for a photo with me.

I am on the left, with shop owner Tara Starling on right.

The shop was a feast for the eyes. Honestly, when I entered I just had to stand still for a moment and look around. I was so excited!

While I loved all the soft pastels and romance, the jewel tones of this front room really spoke to me. Look at all the treasures!

Next time you are in Utah, Anastasia’s Attic is certainly a must visit!