From the Trip: Old Signs

I'm back from my trip up the coast. It was wonderful.

And now I have hundreds of pictures to share. Here are a few to get us started.

Old Signs.

You know how I love them.

This one was on an old, wooden, cooler case in a gas station in Big Sur.

This sign has been one of my favorites since I stopped in Morro Bay on my honeymoon. It is one of my favorite parts of the town.
This Foster's Freeze is in downtown San Luis Obispo.

It has a walk up window and outside tables. I love it.
The very art deco movie theater sign in SLO.
There is really no chop suey in China right? Although, the best Chinese food I've ever had was in India. When I was in China I ate at McDonald's. (Don't judge me. I'd been in India for 5 weeks, eating rice 3 times a day. That hamburger tasted amazing.)
Sometimes a sign doesn't have to have words to be cool. It just is.
Many more pictures to come, my friends.

Do come back.

Welcome Fall

We are starting fall with our summer vacation.

I'll be gone for the next week, staying in a cabin on the Central Coast. We'll spend a few more sunny days at the beach and when we return, we'll be ready to dive into fall.

Enjoy the first week of autumn--eat some soup.

See you in a week!

New Furniture, Sweet Ceramics and a Blog Recommendation

We have a large blank wall in our living room. It was crying out to be filled. To be filled with something big. Aaron has had his eye on vintage wall units--they're big, and they fit our aesthetic. So when we heard our favorite furniture shop, Amsterdam Modern, was having a sale, Aaron hightailed it up there and came home with this.

By the way, you should check out Amsterdam Modern's website here. They have amazing furniture. And, the owners are really nice too. We can't say enough good things about them. Please, give them a look.

Any way, the wall unit: it's vintage, it's from Amsterdam, it's big, and I love it! Aaron installed it this weekend.

We still have to put in the glass doors and figure out our shelf arrangement (there are 4 more to put up if we want) but I had to get an idea of how it would look with some of our treasures on it.

None of these work exactly as they are. We will have to pair them with other treasures, like my vintage pottery collection.
Or perhaps some new , but vintage looking, ceramics. Like these:

All three of these pieces are pretty great. The orange owl is my favorite though. You know, in case you want to get me a present or anything. Honey, are you reading this?

These pieces and many more can be found at this shop on Etsy. You really should check them out too. What, you've never been on Etsy? Well, sending you there might be like introducing you to the peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's: it's seriously addicting. If you are willing to take the risk, you'll find lots to love.

And there's one more thing. I've been reading a blog, Mod Podge Rocks, and I wanted to share it with you. I am a huge fan of Mod Podge. In fact, with all the amazing old books I just found, there will be some serious podging going on around here. This sight is giving me lots more ideas. Go check it out and get in on the giveaway too!

Get out some cool paper, vintage illustrations or even one of your kid's drawings and get ready to podge it into something beautiful. You'll get tons of great ideas from Amy.

This post is kind of a hodge podge of things. Hoping you take away something good.

Enjoy your Tuesday!

Friday Finds --Books, Books, Books!

My first job was at the library. I was in 4th grade. I shelved books and I loved it.

I still remember how proud I was when I got my very own library card. It was paper and I printed my name on it in blue pen. I wish I still had that library card.

My favorite house in Fallbrook, the town where I grew up, was a house that was right next to the library. How wonderful would it be, I thought, to walk out of your house and in 10 steps you are at the library? I still think that would be pretty amazing.

I was so, so sad the night that the library burnt down. We knew the kid that did it. he got fired from his job as a dishwasher and decided to go burn down the library. Nice.

They rebuilt it. But I missed it while it was gone.

The library is still one of my most favorite places to be. I have a strange sense of peace and excitement the minute I walk in the door.

I am a book lover.

On Friday morning I remembered an email I got ages ago. The Santa Ana library was having a book sale. All children's books would be a quarter.

We dropped everything and ran out the door.

I thought the place would be crawling with people. I wondered how I would fit the stroller in. I couldn't carry Lilly and a bag of books.

Apparently not everyone is as in love with books as I am. The place wasn't very crowded. There were tables full of books and I was in heaven. The boys picked out a pile and laid down to read under one of the tables. Lilly read in her stroller. And I, well, I bought a lot of books.
Picture books, literature books, science books (see what we did with the magnet book here) and some books just for the illustrations. When books are only a quarter, you just can't lose.
This was one of my favorite finds. Not only is it the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson, but the illustrations are incredible.
Look at this spread of Venice. I love it I will be using a lot of these pictures as art around my house.

But here is my favorite find.
Do you know Charles Harper? If not, google him after you read this. His art is amazing. Beautiful. Colorful. Modern. I love it. Love it.
He has actually become quite popular in the past couple of years. I even found his art on puzzles and tee shirts at Old Navy.
But that doesn't detract from his ability as an artist to bring birds, animals and much of nature alive.

I didn't even realize he was the illustrator of this book until I got home. I saw the cover and thought, "gotta get this one." Once I opened it and saw the first spread I knew I had scored.
I mean, he even turns the inside of the human body into something I want to hang on my wall. James loves this book. William loves Runaway Bunny.

We all had a really good time.

Used book sales might just be one of my most favorite things.

Happy Monday to you. Here's hoping you start your week off with a good book in hand.

Scrapbook Guilt

So are you one of those who suffer from scrapbook guilt? Do you have piles of gorgeous scrapbook paper, sheets of stickers and fancy scissors? Are you just trying to finish that wedding album so you can move onto the kids' baby albums so you can finally catch up on those yearly family albums?

Do you never get any of it done because by the time you drag out all the stuff, and figure out which pictures you want to use, and then lay them out on the page with cute paper and then cut said paper to go under the pictures, and then glue it all down and write a few words about the pictures, you realize it is midnight and you have only done ONE STINKING PAGE!!!!!!

Yeah. Me too.

Well do I have the balm for all your aches and pains. It is called Blogger. Or Wordpress. Or Typepad. Or any other blogging tool. That's right, you need to start a blog. If the word blog scares you, call it a digital scrapbook. Call it your on line photo album. Call it whatever you want, just as long as you start doing something with those pictures and start telling some stories.

A year ago I had never even been on a blog. Then I read an article I really liked in Bon Appetite magazine. The writer had a blog. I decided to check it out. I did and I fell instantly in love. Orangette was more about food for my soul than food for my belly. Immersed in life with a newborn, a 2 year old and a 4 year old, my mind was calling out for a respite. I knew I had to start my own blog. So I did. That very night.

My original idea, to document the life of my family in a way that was doable for a mom of 3 small kids, quickly became my passion. I had to make a conscious effort not to make my husband a blog widow as I sat at the computer every night. All day long, my brain swirled with ideas for another post. Pictures sparked ideas, activities sparked photo sessions and a whole new world just opened up.

Soon, I decided to create another blog. I didn't want Lilly and the Brothers to be about more than our family life, but there was so much more I wanted to write about, to take pictures of and to explore. So Picnics in the Park began and I fell more in love with blogging. It nourishes a part of me that has been trying to get out since I was a little girl. Now I understand how Aaron feels when he stays up all night, lost in a painting. I loose track of time every night as I write posts, sort pictures and explore other blogs. I am having a lot of fun.

"But I'm not a writer, " you argue.

You don't have to be. Post pictures and explain what they are about. Even a non-writer can write a caption for a photo.

"But I don't have time to write every night."

Well, for starters, turn off the tv. You'll be amazed at how much free time you have. Secondly, do it once a week. Download that week's pictures and write about special, funny or important moments from that week.

"I don't want everyone to see my blog"

Easy. Make your blog private. The only people who can see it are the ones you invite.

"I have no computer skills. I can't figure it out."

If I can do it, you can do it. One of my biggest fears is anything "technical". I am convinced I can;t figure that stuff out. But I did. It was easy. The directions are very straightforward.

Come on! You can do it!

Lastly, if you think that a blog sounds great, but you still want to hold that scrapbook in your hand, I have the answer. There is a site, here, that will turn your blog into a book. A real life, hard bound book for you to pass down from one generation to the next. A family heirloom. A treasure. Something you can be very, very proud of.

Read more about blog books here. Or, you can just Google blog books and you'll come up with lots of stuff.

It is time to stop feeling guilty. It is time to stop wasting money on cute paper that you will never use. Put down the glue stick and put your fingers on the key board. You won't regret it. I promise.

PS. If you really MUST scrapbook, try this idea. I used a piece of wood, a picture, some of that cute paper and some other images I liked to create the collage at the top of this post. It was all glued down with Modge Podge and then I brushed thinned down Modge Podge over the top for a lasting finish.

It is a fun project, and it is art that can be hung in my house. But, it would take a lot of time to do an entire album that way. But you already know that, don't you?

Painting Projects and a Giveaway!

I am still in the throes of all my painting projects. The chair is done and that is nice. I have 2 frames sitting on my dining room table right now. They are waiting for their next coat of paint. But this tray was pretty easy to finish. It makes me so happy to look at it. It is such a treat to finish something in a timely manner. I don't have a lot of that happening these days.

I started with a plain, wooden tray. I think it was a wedding gift, actually. But I don't really remember. It was kind of boring. I, of course, took care of that problem with a whole lot of color.

First I spray painted it yellow. I like this yellow. It is from the Valspar line at Loews. It is bright, but not fluorescent. I think it has a bit of orange in it. Anyhow, after I painted it, I used Modge Podge glue to decoupage this gorgeous paper on the bottom of the tray. I think I would like to wall paper an entire wall in this paper. I got it from Paper Source. Have you been there? Perhaps you shouldn't. But do visit their blog.

We'll use the tray in the office for storing our keys, sunglasses, phones and a can of spare change. A simple upgrade.

A fantastic return.

And now the giveaway. A lot of blogs host giveaways. I've entered a few and even won once! This giveaway is on a blog I just discovered. I am sharing the giveaway with you even though it means we'll be competing against each other. The blog is called Progressive Pioneer. I have enjoyed looking through it the last couple of days. Go and check it out. It is a great blog with lots of recipes and other things I'm excited to try.

Oh, the reason I'm so excited about this giveaway is that I just started using essential oils, and I love them! I added a few drops of geranium to the vinegar and water solution I use to clean everything in my house. It smells fantastic. Now I am putting a bit on a cotton ball and leaving said cotton ball hidden about the house. It adds a subtle, clean, invigorating scent that is so much nicer than an air freshener. I am really excited to learn more about essential oils.

Now go enter! Best of luck to you.

Friday Finds

Yes, I know it is Monday. I feel it.

But on Friday I went to an estate sale. Here are my finds.

Oh how I love old books. Especially old children's books. I love the colors, the illustrations, the language. This old copy of Black Beauty is in perfect shape. It is fully illustrated, which the boys will like. It is also unabridged, which I like. It is a win win win!

But my favorite part of the book was when I opened to the first page and I remembered those words exactly. I felt like I had found an old friend.

This Sinbad the Sailor is in great shape too. The boys love it. I like how it is called a fairy story from the Arabian Nights. Did they mean fairy tale?

I collect vintage santa anything, especially mugs. Got these for a quarter. Yeah, I know the one-eyed Santa is kind of creepy. But I almost never find them in mint condition. Maybe I'll just turn him so it looks like he's winking at you. Or we can call him cyclops Santa.

This is my favorite!

I bought Lilly a doll house! A vintage Fisher Price doll house no less. It was dirty. It took a bit of soap and a toothpick to get all the dirt out of the cracks and crevices.
But look at the details. Don't you love this living room?

After I cleaned it up today, James and Lilly got out the animals and the Playmobil guys and the 2 of them played doll house. I asked James to keep Lilly busy, but I think he had just as much fun as her.

He even parked the car in the garage.

Here's hoping your week starts as well as mine ended!

Happy Monday to you.

Little Red Chair

I like little chairs. It is a new like. It started with a little rocking chair I found at a garage sale for $5. It wasn't modern, but it wasn't country, and I could just see my little girl rocking her babies in that chair. I had to get it.

My mom saw it and said, "I have a little chair you can have. It's just sitting in my garage." Well, I can't pass up free. Besides, we are going to restore this darling wooden kitchen for Lilly and give it to her for Christmas, and along with it, I think a table for playing restaurant and dinner time. And what do we need around that table but...little chairs. See how I can justify just about anything? But I digress.

The chair had good bones, but it was a little too shabby chic for me. I wanted bright.

But first, primer.

I used to avoid primer. I don't know why except that I was stupid. "It's one more coat," I thought. Actually it's one less coat. Or more than one. They make a great spray paint primer. I think the grey gives great coverage. Using the spray paint on something like this chair is so much easier than trying to get in the nooks and crannies with a brush.

And then, the color. Fire engine red. Candy apple red. Red dye # 5. Red. Red. Red!

Did you know that I love red?

I think it came out great. I love the color. It adds a shock of color to my living room. As soon as we get their kitchen and table ready to go, the kids can go in your room and have coffee together. And they can sit on this chair!

I've been trying to figure out what else I can paint this color. It is a good thing I married a man who likes bright!

I love this little red chair.

Remember

"Do not be overcome by evil,

but overcome evil with good."

Romans 12:21

God Bless America.

I Love Old Signs

A few weeks ago, we visited Griffith Park, in LA. You can read all about it here. But right now, I just wanted to share some of the signage I found while we were at the Travel Town Museum.

I love old signs.

These are some of my favorite kinds of art. Aaron is working on a painting inspired by this "Fresh" logo. It will go in our kitchen. I can't wait to show you.