Me, My B/F/F, Flowers & Buffalo

My best friend Kim drove an HOUR to my house yesterday so we could spend the day together hitting the thrift and quaint stores of Buffalo, MN.

The weather was nice.

I was wearing my cool new sweater that she told me was "sexy". I kid you not. It's got a hood on it. I don't see that as sexy. But that's what a true friend does: Lifts you up.

We excitedly drove to Buffalo which is about a half hour from my house. It's a beautiful country drive. She asked me about the many areas of water on the way. So much so (and it was hilarious and cute) that my answer ended up being "I just enjoy the beauty of the various waterways here. I don't question the design or the why."

We park. We hit the spot downtown where the tar is squishy and satisfying to stick a shoe into. Yes, I know it sounds like I'm 8 again. There's just something very satisfying about walking over it. I think I may have yelled "look! the heel of my boot is in it now! Man!!"

Don't judge.


Me and Kim. How cute is she?

She has the highest level of excitement of anyone I have ever known. She has been known to say things similar to this "..and then we'll go to the GAS STATION together, Yayyy!"

She is adorable. Hilariously funny.  Crazy smart. And she has been my memory for the past 30 years. (we are cousins first and foremost. I've known her as long as I've known about ME.) She is also a good barometer for what I should and shouldn't do. She's always very supportive and is friendly when you do "wrong".  She has said this to me "Well...I mean..that wasn't the BEST way to go about it or perhaps the BEST way to say it. But hey."


I digress. We got to our favorite little store in Buffalo and...IT WAS CLOSED.  I think we both gasped! The horror. Apparently the hours have changed and they are now only open specific days. So..like a bunch of weirdos, we sat staring in the windows of a darkened store for a good 20 minutes oohing and ahhhing over what we would have bought.  We contemplated calling the "help" number and letting them know that we were ready to buy and buy BIG if someone would come in for an hour to sell us stuff.


We also hit the Dollar General a few blocks away. Kim almost ran over the guy who works there. She will fight me on this, but the wheels of her car got VERYCLOSE to him.


We were forced to move on to...flowers!!!

These were taken with my phone so they're not GREAT, but you get the idea.





I wish this had turned out better, but I have my memories! The outdoor flower market is right next to the lake and it's sooo pretty!

I bought some begonias and dahlias and we moved on to ANOTHER closed antique store (note to self: Not on Mondays in smalltown Minnesota, I guess.) but were able to peruse the wares out back.



This little sign actually read  "nice red shelf". How's that for selling? Almost "ballsy" in its simplicity! Now that's confidence!  Thanks to my droid phone for its amazing photographic capabilities.

I can't be sure, but I really "feel" like this dog sculpture is the pose of a dog, ANY dog really in formation to go to the biffy. And I don't mean just peeing. Good times!

The obligatory sculpture and old doors and windows area. Ahh. I love it!

Finally. Truer words (for me) could not be spoken.  Image via Pinterest

It was a lovely day! LOVELY! Now it's about to rain here and the wind has kicked up, as per usual. I don't think I'll be planting anything today. But I do have my memories and like an older person...perhaps today is a day for "watching my stories."

I don't know.


Wishing you a splendid Tuesday!!  (To Kim: "We're Tuesday people!")


xxoooo~

T

Pinterest Love Friday!

McSwoon! My b/f/f sent me this today & I say YES! (All images in this post via Pinterest)

However, if you read (and saw!) how my quatrefoil DIY bookcase went (or is "in the making") you'll probably doubt my skillZ a bit. I can take it. I get it. Unh Huh!






Is this not a beautiful idea for shutters? I NEVER think of placing them in the biffy!  I currently have four in various colors & think I may actually be up to the task of doing this!!

I also like the idea of stenciling A bathroom wall because I know that more than one (without Brad's help) will probably never come to fruition. "Know thyself!"





May I present to you today's COMFY KNIT!! Super cute & comfy looking AND helps the people of Haiti? I say YES!  Here's the link to buy: http://sevenly.org/?utm_source=PINTEREST&utm_medium=PINTEREST&utm_campaign=PINTEREST_Anilu

Did some unexpected shirt shopping with my best friend Kim last night AND am super excited by all of the pretty & fashionable YET knit and comfy shirts purchased! Of course, it's a balmy 40 degrees here today so I can't wear anything I bought- but just know I'm ready! Best part of the evening: I try a wrinkly shirt on and ask Kim "What do you think? I kind of love it."  Kim: "Ahhh..I don't know...I just think it looks like it's wrinkled, but it's not supposed to be."  Me: "That's my life! I'm getting it!"




I'd enjoy a nice lemonade here. Perhaps spiked with a little vodka.

I never knew this was on MY bucket list until I saw it on someone else's on Pinterest!

I am a complete sucker for old homes. I loved living in Tennessee for that very reason. History everywhere. Love this!

I just had a huge omelette yesterday & french toast with Brad. Clearly, I seem to feel as if I should be going back for more. It says it's supposed to be "healthy"!!

It is now time..yes..THAT time to have a nice Weight Watchers Lemon Cake! Maybe even two. "Not sure how much time we'll have!" - Will Ferrell as Frank Ricard in "Old School" as he relates his possible "nice little Saturday with the wife" to a bunch of college kids who are trying to get him to drink out of a bong.


Have a lovely Friday, All!!

xoxoxo

DIY In "My World", Dandelion Love & My Flowering Tree

Hello Friends.

Please view Exhibit A. I bought this small bookcase at a thrift store years back for $5! It was made of cheap wood & so I eventually painted it white & loved it.

About a week ago, I saw these words "Free DIY Quatrefoil Download!" and so I clicked, saw the project (a very cute plate and very well done!) and decided that MY bookcase needed quatrefoil!


To be fair...the woman giving the free download who had done the project did mention "Be sure to use cardstock when printing this out."

I am lazy at times. I just used our regular printer paper and thought "I'm a designer! I can make this work."




Lazy Printer Paper Version!!

During. As you can see, I was trying. Had my sandpaper out. High quality tape for home projects!

After. Eh.

Don't get me wrong. I love me some quatrefoil!  I need to finish the whole piece and touch up areas with white paint where the cheap paper RAISED and got wet and messy with paint. Hence the "Use cardstock or something thick" recommendation. That's exactly why this remains "in this state"..I have to get cardstock and do this properly. Getting cardstock also means I have to use an Xacto knife to carve out the relief again. A job I'm just not sure I'm ready to do again.

I share this because I'm a designer and an artist. Perhaps after seeing this, you will feel the need to argue that point. Fair enough, peeps!  It's fun to see the great and beautiful online and everywhere. I think it's also important to view the "Should've followed directions more carefully" as well as "We can't all be good at everything, dammit!"



"We need to work on your craftsmanship." I was told that in design school early on. This reminds me of that warning.

In other news that is completely unrelated: I had the misfortune of catching "Big Rich Texas" on TV the other night. God awful! Seriously? Those people are TERRIBLE. Their kids are spoiled brats, the mothers are gossips, the plastic surgery has reached unfortunate levels. The one daughter continually proclaims that she wants a boob job, but not just any. She wants porn star boobs. Parenting Failure! Ugh. I watched until the commercial and felt bummed out & dirty. I can say with certainty that I will never watch it again.





My trees are flowering! I love this time of year, minus the ticks!!

I love dandelions! I always tell my nephew "Some people will fight you on this kid, but I am telling you that dandelions are God's FREE flowers!" He used to call them Little Katrinias when he was little. To this day, we do not know where that came from. Just makes it all the more special!

I think Miss Daisy likes them too! We don't normally have cargo trucks in our neighborhood. On this day the neighbors were having their yard graded to be readied for sod.

My $1.50 tulips! Best money spent recently! They make me happy EVERY DAY.

The cuteness sometimes hurts. He's the only baby I've raised thus far. Curtis! We got him when he was three months, he turns ONE this month and he and Daisy are my chitlins. I love them so & they bring a lot of light and joy to my life. He's protective & loyal and the weiner dog/black lab combo makes him both amazing and a bit weird.

Hope your day was lovely & that your tomorrow is even better!

xoxo

Mexico Revisited & Paula Deen Sunbathing!

Realized recently that when I did my Mexico 2012 post that I completely forgot to share that a Paula Deen Look-A-Like was there with us on the beach for a few days!



Paula! Is that you?!

In real life, she could be Ms. Deen's doppelganger. I kid you not. I had to stare from afar (with sunglasses on so as  not to be rude and I tried to make it look like I was looking elsewhere.) so as to be sure. As a joke, I thought I would report to everyone "Indeed she DID have a hamburger! Two!" but then I thought "Nah."  I would like to make it clear that I LOVE Paula Deen. I do watch her show, I don't get Anthony Bourdain's aggression toward her AND she reminds me of my best friend Stephanie in Tennessee (not now, but what Steph may be like in 30 years.) I love southern accents, the use of "ya'll" and prior to her diabetes- the use of all of that butter & sugar!  It can't last forever for any of us, I guess.

I miss that water! We had a freakishly mild & some might say..beautiful March only to be somewhat disappointed by what April has had to offer here in Minnesota. I jumped the gun, bought tulips and some dianthus & now I have to pull everything inside at night when it gets cold. One day the windows are open, the next day the heater is back on WITH fireplace. It makes dressing somewhat confusing & I will tell you this: I am sick of wearing socks and boots, sweatshirts and winter attire!

Summer everyday & "Things that are alive and blooming for 500, please!"

Ahhh..Mr. Weaver..why are you so cute??

No threat of a possible frost kill here!

Brad taking the Hobie out for another spin.

Brad's little bird friends. We saw them everyday & I'd say "Brad! Your little friends are here!" and then he'd ask "Why are they MY friends?" and I'd say "That's just the way it is, Bradders."

Yep, I'm "that person" you'll see on a vacation who is taking odd shots of things. I love this. It reminds me of exactly why I like the caribbean. The structures & use of materials. Love.

And again!

Yep, I have a tendency to return this pale from any tropical vacation I take! I've grown tired of ruining my skin for a 3 day TOPS "tan". I even had a couple ask on this vacation "Did you just get here?"  Me: "Nope, I just wear 50+ spf."

In other news..I decided to hop on the treadmill for 30 minutes yesterday as I have cabin fever AND my jeans are getting tight. "A winning combination!"..the result: I am sore today! I also have a hankering for penne rosa at Noodles. I knew nothing good comes from working out. Ha!

Have a beautiful Sunday!

xxoo

Red Rover, Red Rover, Send Health Right Over!

I've been "down with the sickness" literally...since Monday. Ugh & Double Up Ugh UGH!!

What I've been "up to" for the past 4 days. My loyal little friend here makes illness better and more difficult. He cuddles and is so sweet, but gets bored and angry after awhile.  I weakly threw balls for him...and most of the throws were very, very lame.



All I recall is having a dreamy & hilarious brunch with my nephew Emerson on Sunday, feeling fine, eating WAY too much Tex Mex skillet & french toast...and waking up Monday with what I THOUGHT was a food hangover. It just never went away!  Anyway...I'm back and boy do I have stories!

Ha! They would be mostly of the uninteresting variety & in 98% of them I am wearing my pajamas! I will refer to this week as "Humbling". As I started to feel a bit better & got sick of lying on the couch, I headed to our backyard to help Brad remove a FREE fence (thanks to my brother! Sidebar: SUPER excited about having a fenced in area for the puppy to run around in! He runs after birds, geese, paper, little people, fuzz, etc..) from the back of our truck.  As I grabbed two LIGHT poles & placed them under our deck, I felt something and had that "Uh oh" feeling as in "Did I just pull something? Huh? I didn't even DO anything!"

Yes, friends...apparently all of the lying around, no exercise & certainly NO kind of stretching whatsoever didn't really set me up for a moment of bending & stooping.  I walked back into the house, sort of laughing and explaining to Brad what happened. I realized I couldn't bend over or move to the left very well.  Once in the house, I suddenly have a weird foot cramp and can't "unbend" my toe. Seriously? This kind of stuff rarely happens & for that I am grateful. Later on,  over dinner (my sister and nephew came over. We had Brad's homemade chicken and wild rice soup) I start choking. At this point, I'm not even embarrassed, but just annoyed with my body in general. I know it's not fair, but it's honestly how I felt. Dawn asks "Are you okay? What's wrong?" and I replied "Just choking on some cracked pepper! Should be over soon." It wasn't that fluid as I was coughing it out, but you get the idea. A TRIFECTA of issues in one 4 hour period! It was just..bizarre. The best part? Emerson asking "I'd really like for you to come outside and play football with me."  Me: "Kid, I can hardly move. I'm a glass of water away from Urgent Care!"

It makes me laugh now, but MAN (said like MAY YUN!) I felt old. I feel like those moments are perhaps glimpses into the future IF I don't take good care of myself as I age. It's scary. And humbling.

Color Me Humbled!

In other news: A neighbor put dog poop in our recycling bin early Thursday morning. That was a pleasant gift! Who does that? I have two dogs. I have carried poop in bags for two blocks until I get home & am able to properly dispose of it. Everyone knows the blue is the recycling. You can't get it confused with the BROWN plastic garbage. WTF people? I felt violated.



On the positive side..I have been able to catch up on reading and am loving this book- Thank YOU Shannan FPFG for recommending this author to me. I absolutely LOVE her writing style:

Image via http://serendipitous-readings.com/2008/08/21/belong-to-me-marisa-de-los-santos/

And I watched a cheesy yet fun movie with Nicolas Cage during the day while ill. Sitting & actually watching  TV or movies during the day is something I rarely do, with actual focus anyway!

Finally..let me leave you with a FAB Easter photo of me and my sister Dawn..circa 1982??

LOVED that shirt (I'm on the left) and was so very excited that my stick straight hair was holding a curl!

TGIF!!

Hollas & Healing!

xxoo

Good Lawd, This Chitlin Is Fun!

My Delightful & Sweet Nephew Emerson. 

We had a sleepover Saturday night. It was a blissfully nice Minnesota day. The constant wind died down for a full day. We ran in the grass. He coaxed me into playing football with him. He told me "Don't be afraid of the ball, Aunt Tina." to which I replied "Yes, I know. I'm just not used to a foosball coming at my head on a regular basis anymore." "Was I ever?! and then I said "Tina's not afraid of the ball! GREG! It's Greg! Greg is afraid of the ball!" Name that movie!

Give up? "Meet the Parents" when Gay Focker is playing water volleyball or polo. Owen Wilson's character keeps getting his name wrong. Good times.

Yes, folks. This is a guide regarding "How To Take Care of A Baby Dragon." Cool. Emerson played the role of "Sneakers" the baby dragon for a good hour on Saturday night. He really knows how to stay in character. Apparently there are many levels to Dragonhood & while Emerson the 9  year- old boy was hungry, he didn't want to ruin anything by aging his baby dragon self (i'm not kidding!) by eating foods that would take Sneakers to a much older age. See above list. IF Sneakers had eaten say...a few jellybeans he'd be at Level 4 in DragonHood. That meant he'd be 16 years old, if I recall correctly. Because of this, we had to take regular breaks where I'd say "but how about..just for like TWO minutes Emerson the BOY eats a sandwich?" We worked it out. I love his imagination. Having been to design school & having spent life around very creative peeps, I have always said this: Emerson generates more ideas on a daily basis and GOOD ones, than ANY person I have ever known.

Look at that face! This was during a break in TV Tag. I said "how about we take a great candid shot of you happy in front of that flowering tree? If it turns out well, we can blow it up, frame it & it will make a nice mother's day present for your mom? Okay?" He says "Yep!" and this is what I get!

Attempt Two. I told him "this one really looks like you are about to give someone the bird!" He seemed to find that hilarious.

Attempt Three!!




TV Tag was awesome! I lost a lot, but in all fairness..the kid has a tendency to cheat a bit & will bend and change the rules AS you're playing to garner a win. It's sort of hilarious.  During the game, he was throwing out Nickelodeon's best..."iCarly!"  shriek..."Spongebob!"..and then...I ALMOST got him, but before I touched his arm he sat down and yelled "My Strange Addiction!"

Me: (laughing): "What the heck? You are nine! How do you know about that show?" (I've seen one episode where the woman's addiction is eating toilet paper. Okay..two shows..in the other one the woman ate Ajax on a daily basis.

Emerson: "What? I don't know!"

Me: "It's okay..I'm just super surprised. Do you watch that at your dad's?"

I can't stop laughing because it's just so funny, shocking, odd and yes..very random! We let it go & play more of our game. I lost..

Fast forward to our Sunday brunch together at Denny's. His mom (my sister Dawn) shows up as our food arrives. I share the story with her. I'm laughing, she's laughing & looks a bit perplexed that he's ever watched the show. Then as he's eating french toast he goes into his "favorite" episodes of  My Strange Addiction: "The one where this girl had to have everything pink. She went to a restaurant and had them make her eggs pink."  Me: "With food coloring?"  Emerson: "yes!" I'm laughing.  Emerson: "Wait! Then there was also the one where the guy drank gasoline and it showed him at the gas station."  Me and his Mom: "Are you serious?" he goes on to share a few more. Suddenly I realize "Em..did you watch a MARATHON of that show one day at your dad's?"  he says yes.

It was..very funny. Would I have allowed him to watch that show? No. His mom? No. But it happened and his sharing & the subsequent unfolding of it was hilarious to me.

Curtis &  Daisy always end up exhausted during & after Emerson's visits. Same energy level! Lots of playing & running! It makes me realize how much lower my energy level is in general in comparison to a kid's or a dog's. Then I remind myself that it would be A) a bit weird if I were continually running after balls in my yard and B) even more strange if I were to play house, the role of a baby dragon or regularly played Tv Tag with Brad or my best friend. "Brad! Tv Tag..NOW! You IN?"

We polished off all of the green jellybeans after Emerson declared them "the best tasting of all of the colors."

Sho Nuff!


It was fun & I'm always exhausted after he goes back home AND I miss him terribly.



Have a splendid Sunday..what's left of it.

xoxo~

T

This Week's Lovely Makeover

May I present to you...the golden frame that has been transformed!!

Bought this frame while thrifting. And yep, I did have cake on the thrift! It was lemon bread from Starbucks. I still call that "cake". And so it is.


I decided that the gold, although pretty, really does not match the vibe of anything in my house.


Paint to the rescue! I used a pure white by Behr in one of their tiny "test" jars.I had corkboard that I previously bought. I have a lot of cardboard on hand from my Etsy shop. I find that 3M spray adhesive works just swell for these projects. Glue the corkboard to the cardboard so it will retain its shape and have some sort of heft. I used leftover Lee Jofa wallpaper over the corkboard & stapled everything into place & backed it all with kraft paper.

After!  Now a cute and functional corkboard used to showcase family snapshots.

LOVE it! It lends itself to the new white and spring vibe in our living room!

Off to find some Pad Thai! "Somewhere, some way!"

xoxo