Picnics in the Park

Vintage Sign Love

2012-01-27T00:50:00.000-08:00

If you're new here, you might not know about my love for vintage signs.

It's kind of an addiction.

Or obsession.

At the very least, it's a collection.

I collect photos of vintage signs.

And I've been doing it for years.

Here's a few I snapped recently.

Don't you just love a good arrow?

The lights in it make it that much better.

The arrow is part of the Roxie Cleaners sign from Belmont Shore.
This sign used to be much cooler.
Then someone decided to "clean it up" and took off the old letters, painted it, added the new, blue letters and changed the sign for the worse.
Don't people know that you don't mess with vintage signs?
Come on now!

So now I mostly like the arrow.
Aaron bought a bunch of the big Christmas lights on clearance after Christmas with hopes of one day making us a light up arrow of our own.
He's got a million and one projects to do, but that one sounds like so much fun!

This is a trailer park sign I have loved for years.
I finally stopped to snap some photos.
As evidenced by the story above, you never know when some fool is going to get rid of a sign.
Document while you can!

I played around with some filters on Photoshop with this picture.

Late night fun for this mama who should be sleeping.

Want to see more of my favorites?

Try here.

Here.

Here.
Or here. (we're taking another trip to China town soon and I can't wait to see these signs again!)

If you know of a great old sign kinda near here, let me know.
I go on drives just for signs.
No lie.
Love from,
Greta

The Sunset Drive In

2012-01-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

The first, and only, drive-in movie I saw was Mary Poppins.
I was little. Mabey 5?
But I remember it well--the speakers, munching the popcorn my mom brought in a big paper bag, the thrill of watching those silly penguins on the big screen. (you know the penguins are the best scene in that movie)
It was so much fun.

We went to the drive-in in Oceanside.
Some of you fellow Fallbrook or North County readers might have gone there too.
The screens are still there.
So is the parking lot.
Except now it is home to a swap meet every weekend.
It bums me out every time I drive past it on my way home for a Fallbrook visit.
Why did the drive-ins die?

When Treats Come in the Mail!

2012-01-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

I am still deep in the throes of Christmas posts over at my other blog, Lilly and the Brothers.

I just have not been able to catch up with all those Christmas memories I want to record.

And so I am still plugging away.

Yes, I know it's nearly February.

I don't care.

It must be done.

That's why this post is appearing now.

By rights it, too, is a Christmas post.

But I didn't get to it at Christmas.

Or anytime after.

But it must be done.

Because it is just too much fun not to share.

Right before Christmas, I found a package left on my doorstep.

It looked like it might have been dropped a few times, and then ran over by the mail truck before it was delivered to my house.

I had received all the packages I'd ordered, so I had no idea what it was.

And the return address label didn't make any sense.

"What is this?" I wondered.

I opened it.

And remembered.

A faithful, international, reader of my blog made some wreaths and I commented on how cute they were.

"Send me your address and I'll make you one," she joked.

But she wasn't joking.

So I sent her my address.

And then forgot all about it.

Until I opened that package.

Look what I found!

Doesn't it look perfect hanging on my turquoise, front door?
I love it!

I squealed and then got all teary at the thought that someone, who I have never met, would go through all that effort for me.
What a wonderful surprise.

And it kept getting better.
The package was chock full of Christmas treats.
A home made memory game for the kids.

A soft book for Davy to chew on.

A doll sized, hand painted table and chair found at a German flea market.

Christmas Toffee for Aaron.
Oh man, it was good.
Really. So. Very. Good.
There were homemade Christmas cookies too.
I don't know how they survived the trip, but they did and oh my, they were good!

I loved that the tags were in German.

And the best part was a sweet, hand written card from my blogging friend.

I love the world of blogging.

Over and over again, I have been touched by the kindness of strangers who become friends over the internet.

I know some people find it kind of weird, but I love it.

Who doesn't love it when treats come in the mail?

Thank you, friend.

Your wreath still hangs on my door, and I smile and think of you each time I see it.

Love from,

Greta

PS. And take a moment to visit Swenja's blog, Hennymats. Lately she's been posting simple kids crafts that I really like. We did these little paper houses yesterday and my boys loved decorating them. You're sure to be inspired.

Julia Child's Split Pea Soup

2012-01-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

As a child, I dreamt of split pea soup.

Not because I was an amazing eater.

I was picky.

Annoyingly picky.

I'm sure I had never even tried split pea soup, and if I did, I probably would have hated it.

I wanted split pea soup because of this place:

Every time we drove down the 5 freeway, I'd see it.

Pea Soup Anderson's.

The place with the windmill, the Tudor style buildings, and English cottage roof lines.

It looked different than anything in my Southern California, small town experience.

It looked exotic, and it called to me.

I guess I've always had wanderlust.

I don't know if we ever ate there.

In the way of kids, I probably never told my parents that I wanted to.

I probably couldn't formulate a way to express my desire for far off places.

Or maybe I did, and we ate there and it was so un-memorable that I've forgotten it completely.

Whatever it was, all these years later, I now like split pea soup.

I'm not picky anymore.

We haven't had much soup weather yet this winter.

We've gone to the beach far more often than we've wanted soup.

But we've just had a few days of rain, which immediately calls for making soup.

I decided on split pea.

There are heaps of split pea soup recipes around.

But I went with the best: Julia Child.

She didn't disappoint.

It turned out to be the best split pea soup I've ever had.

It just doesn't photograph well.

The thing that sold me about this recipe was making a ham stock for the soup.

One of my favorite parts of split pea soup is the taste of salty, slightly sweet ham.

Using a stock made from ham as well as adding shredded ham to the soup seemed like it would take the soup to the next level.

Making the stock is easy.

You start with mirepoix, that is, a mixture of chopped celery, onion and carrot.

Put that together in a big stock pot, along with water, a herb bouquet and a meaty ham hock.
I used a smoked ham hock because I like that smoky flavor added to my soup.

After simmering on the stove for a while, the stock is done.
If you think making your own soup stock sounds to hard, I assure you, it isn't.
Minimal effort for a big pay off.
I strained the stock and poured it into large mason jars.

I let them cool a bit and then popped them into the fridge to use the next day.

Or as it turned out, a couple days later.
This is another one of the reasons I really liked this recipe.
Storing the stock in the fridge, or even the freezer, gave me the flexibility to make the soup at a later date if I wanted.
I wasn't committed to making it that afternoon.
In fact, waiting until the stock has cooled a while in the fridge makes getting the fat off much easier.
When the stock is cold, it rises to the top in a solid "cap" and you can take it right off.
Be sure to remove that fat before you use the stock.

Whether you choose to use your stock right away or later, it is liquid gold.
A touch sweet, a touch salty and with real ham flavor.
You will not achieve that flavor by simply cooking your peas in water with a ham bone thrown in.
Try it.

When you are ready to make the soup, make another mirepoix and cook it in some butter.
Add flour, the stock and your dried peas.
Cook it all together for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the peas are soft.

Most people puree their split pea soup.
It makes for a prettier soup.
But I prefer chunky soups to smooth, so I only removed a cupful or two and blended them.
This gave the soup some creaminess, but kept the chunky texture I like.
You might prefer to blend the whole batch of soup.
It does not affect the flavor of the soup, just the texture.
And the way it looks.
Because this soup is the most unattractive food I have ever photographed.

I won't tell you what it reminds me of.
But I assure you, it tastes divine.
We're expecting temperatures near 80 by the end of the week, but as soon as we get another rainy day, I'll be making this soup again.
I can't wait.
Bon appetit!
Love from,
Greta

I'd love to write out the recipe for you here, but can hardly keep my eyes open, so here's the link.
Go here.
Thanks to Kath for doing all the work for me!

Of Thrifting, Old Signs and Being Married to my Soul Mate

2012-01-23T15:58:00.000-08:00

Aaron was out of town last week and I had every intention of blogging each night he was gone.

Because I have missed it.

I was going to get all those Christmas posts done because it is bugging me that I am behind.

And I want to move on.

But each night after I got the kids to bed, before 8 mind you, I fell on the couch, utterly spent.

I often stayed there until I woke up shivering, or heard a child calling me from sleep.

Sleep became far more important than blogging.

Even fractured sleep.

Doing it all, all alone, is tiring.

Even if it's only for a week.

But I'm getting better at it!

The first 3 days felt pretty easy.

And I got a little confident.

That confidence came crashing down the 4th day when I became frustrated with each kid about something or other and desperately wanted a break.

Thankfully I got one.

I dropped the kids off at my friend's house for my every other week, afternoon off.

I needed to clean the house.

I went thrifting instead.

It turned out to be a great day.

I found vintage sheets, vintage thermoses, a new thrift store and when I got a little bit lost, I found this old sign.

I had a few heart palpitations when I saw it.
There I was, in the middle of suburban sprawl, not quite sure where I was, when I happen upon this sign, and this still operational, drive through dairy.

Even more amazing, behind it was, a still operational dairy.
What the what?
Am I in Wisconsin or something?
I guess this all used to be farm land.
I bet it was beautiful.
Now it is surrounded by less than gentrified neighborhoods, the 91 freeway and miles upon miles of sprawl.
Not so beautiful.
But the sign made me happy.
Really, crazy, happy.

I got out and took tons of photos.
Because that's what I like to do for fun.
What made the moment even cooler was this: right as I pulled over to take pictures of the sign, my phone rang.
"Greta? This is Paul."
What?! Paul!
No way.
Paul, one of Aaron's friends from art days in college, and new dad of a 3 week old baby, wanted to bring dinner over.
Because I was still palpitating over the sign and the fact that Paul was calling right when I saw his name on the sign, it took me a moment to process this.
And then I did.
"What? I should be bringing you dinner. And besides, Aaron is out of town."
"I know. I just talked to him. That's why Denise and I want to bring dinner to you and the kids."
Wow.
Really?
I almost cried.
Because sometimes, in the midst of solo parenting or not, being taken care of feels really good.
It doesn't take a lot to make someone feel like a million bucks.
Here's to friends who come over bearing pizza!

As soon as I got off the phone with Paul, I called Aaron to tell him about the sign, my vintage sheets and the care of friends.
David was screaming from the back seat, finally fed up with being toted along in his car seat for 2 + hours.
"Where are you?" Aaron asked.
"I don't even know, but this street is so full of amazing signage, I have to come back and take pictures."
In the background: Scream! Scream! Scream!
"Oh my gosh!" This time it was me.
"I just saw the coolest laundry mat ever! The coolest!"
"Is it the one with the giant clothes pin on it?"
"Yes!!!!"
"I know! It's so cool!"
You see.
SOUL MATES.
(Cue Napoleon Dynamite)
I wonder how many guys out there would be excited with me about the laundry mat with the giant clothes pin?
I guess I'm the lucky one.
I guess we were just MFEO.
(name that movie)

The next day I took pictures of all my treasures.
These sheets are kinda Brady Bunchish, but imagine them pared with pink, in Lilly's room one day.
I have a vision.

I loved these pillow cases.

And then I found this sheet to go with them.

Not matchy at all, but theysome how work together.

And for our cold and hot beverage needs, vintage thermoses.

A little worn, but sometimes I like things with a patina.

Besides, I never mind adding to the thermos collection.

Some girls go to the spa when they're feeling overwhelmed.
Me?
I hit the thrift store and buy other people's cast offs.
I stop for old signs and swoon over giant clothes pins.
It's cheap fun.
But the spa wouldn't be so bad either.
Love from,
Greta

Boots As Art (i got pink Hunters!)

2012-01-10T02:10:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year, Aaron got me a pair of pink, Hunter, wellies.
You know, rain boots.
For all the rain we get here in Southern California.
I know.
Perhaps rain boots for a girl living here are a touch dramatic.
Or silly.
But I have wanted these for years.
They're something I'd never buy myself.
And then that rainy day does come, and I see everyone else walking around in their rain boots and I am kicking myself for letting another winter go by without getting a pair of my own.

I've scouted out lots of other boots and I have to say, these are my favorites.
I tried plaid ones, polka dots and stripes.
Most of the time I hate the way the pattern is screen printed on the boot.
It's sloppy and it looks cheap.
My art director husband has gotten to me, right?
And even when I have tried on other solid color boots, I always come back to these.
I think they are the best.
Hunters are just my favorites.
Aaron knew that.
So he surprised me.
He's the best.

I couldn't wait to give them a test run.
As soon as presents and breakfast were over, I donned my favorite green coat (a Christmas gift from Aaron a few years back--the man has great taste) and headed outside to do a little photo shoot with my new boots.

The outfit was kind of laughable since it was about 75 degrees outside.
But I was enjoying the moment.
And then I had to go change, since I was getting all sweaty.

Of course, we haven't had a day of rain since Christmas.
We haven't even had clouds.
The weather has been amazing.
80 degree days.
We went to the beach 3 times last week.
It's been glorious.
But not rain boot weather.
And I figure, even though I can't wear them, I still can enjoy them.

There they sit, in the entry way, for all to see.

Just a little piece of installation art.

Pink Boots, I call it.
I'm enjoying my boots every single day.

They're ready to go.

Maybe we'll get some spring showers.

Or maybe someone has a horse stable I can muck out.

(not really)

Thanks for another favorite Christmas gift, babe.
You spoil me.
Love from,
Greta

The Best Laid Plans (and a cute little book to write them in)

2012-01-09T01:13:00.000-08:00

I have had plans to get back to blogging.

I have had plans to change the Christmas header into a new one.

Or even back to the old one.

I have had plans.

But sometimes, often times, my plans don't go the way I want them to.

Christmas was busy.

And I couldn't manage outings and projects and packing and wrapping and sickness and blogging.

So I took a break.

And then we got home from our week away and I spun into a whirlwind of New Years activity.

Taking down the tree, cleaning out closets, scrubbing walls and light fixtures.

I like to start the New Year fresh.

And then I got the flu.

I was down for the count.

Do you ever feel like losing a day sets you back a week?

I lost 3 days and was pretty much done for.

I'm still recovering.

One night last week I came home from an after-the-kids-go-to-bed-trip-to-the- store and Aaron wanted to watch a movie.

"Sure," I said. "Can we watch it in bed?"

We have never had a tv in our bedroom.

The only time we watch tv in bed is when we're staying at a hotel.

So...never.

But I was so tired I knew I'd fall asleep immediatly and so a movie in bed seemed like a perfect idea.

(Lap tops are awesome for this kind of thing.)

It was. I fell asleep right away.

Having kids wake up coughing all night long, or wake with horrible ear pain, or wake wanting to nurse all night long because he got used to it over Christmas break at the grandparent's house doesn't do much to help the tiredness either.

What I'm trying to say is that the plans to get back to my blogs just haven't materialized.

I'm trying tonight, but there's no telling what tomorow will bring.

But if I do end up taking some one to the dr. for ear pain, I'll be sure to write down the appointment time in my new planner.

It's super cute.

Let me show you.

The cover alone makes it worth it, am I right?

Inside front cover, also super cute.
Now if you are a uptightish, perfecty kind of person, this might not be the planner for you.
You might prefer a more traditional planner.
This is the kind that you can start whenever you want.
Just circle the month at the top of the page and write in your numbers.

I love a planner that has each month laid out and then the weeks as well.
This has both.

It also has lots of space to write notes.
Along with fabulous bird illustrations and great quotes.

It even has a section for you to write down names, phone numbers and addresses.
Yes. Old school.
You should do this.
Because if your cell phone dies you won't even be able to call your husband's cell phone because you don't have the number memorized.
Oh wait, that's just me?
Ooops.

There is also a sweet little pocket on the back page for boring stuff, like important receipts.
Or fun stuff. like love notes from your man.

I do love a good planner.
It's one of the best parts about January.
I'll just make sure to write my plans in pencil since they are sure to change.

I got the planner at Anthropologie, if you interested.
And if you want another kind of planner, my friend Heather, over at Life Made Lovely, created these free, printable daily planner sheets.
Go look!
They are so adorable and pretty much perfect.
Print a bunch, tie them with a pretty ribbon and give them to a friend.
Giving to others is my New Years resolution and that would be a good place to start.

It's good to be back, friends.
I have so much to share.
But I won't make plans for it, because who knows what will happen with them anyway.
Happy New Year!
Love from,
Greta

Trimming the Tree

2011-12-13T00:26:00.000-08:00

It's busy around here.

That seems to be a common tale.

Sadly it isn't the productive busy that I'd like, but more of the being out quite a bit and having a baby sick with a cold and keeping Mama up at night, kind of busy.

Still, I'm trying to remember it's not really about finding, or making, the perfect thing, but just enjoying all the simple things that make Christmas so special.

My vintage Christmas ornaments bring me a lot of cheer.

Singing "Joy to the World" with the kids every morning after we read the Christmas story, enjoying our neighbors' Christmas lights, and lots more sweet and simple Christmasy things are making our days merry and bright.
Hoping you, too, are taking a moment to slow down and enjoy the little things.
Love from,
Greta

An Ode to Vintage Automobile Design--1963 Ford Falcon

2011-12-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

Also an ode to beautiful design for a functional item--yes, the two can mix.

How fun it was to wake up this morning and see this in the driveway.

Aaron has waited so long for this car.
It makes my heart happy to think of him driving a car where the driver side door actually opens.
One where he hasn't had to bang out the fender with a hammer after someone crashed into it.
One that he actually likes to drive.
Oh, I know, be thankful he had that truck to drive.
Believe me, I was thankful.
I was thankful for almost 300, 000 miles and almost no $ to get it there.
But mostly I am thankful for a man who would make a sacrifice for his family and wait so long to get something he really wanted.
That old truck is a mix of funny stories, good and bad feelings.
I am not sorry to see it go.
And neither are our neighbors, I'm sure.
Because now, there is this!
Cars used to be so beautiful.

I love all the details.
Even the gas cover design is thought out.

Look at those luggage racks.
They're like sculpture.

More details.
I like the little cover over the locks on the doors.
Smooth.

It was funny how our kids didn't know how to operate the handles and locks on the car.
You don't just pull on the handle to open it.
And these locks aren't automatic either.
We had to tell them, "pull up!"

No automatic windows either.
The kids think rolling down the windows, all the way, is so cool.

Perhaps I am extra fond of this car because it reminds me so much of my first car.
A 1964 Ford Mustang.
I bought it from the original owner.
I was 18, saved my money, and against my dad's better judgement, bought that car.
And loved it.
But it was old and nothing had ever been replaced.
So there were plenty of tearful phone calls to my dad from the side of the road.
He rescued me every time.
But he told Aaron when we got married that he was glad Aaron would now be the one taking those calls.

The steering wheel is just like the one in my Mustang.
Isn't it beautiful?

That turquoise takes my breath away.
Yes, you can make fun of me for saying that.
But really, isn't color one of the best things in our world?
Aren't you glad for it every single day?

I like the ash tray in the back in case the kiddos need a smoke while we're on a long drive.

And speaking of kiddos, they are so into this car.

They pretty much think it's their playground.
James said, "isn't it cool that we could get an old car?"
We're raising them well.

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
The other day, a little friend of ours looked in our minivan and said, "your car is so cool."
Her mom drives a vanagon--the only cool minivan.
But Avery likes ours.
I had to laugh at that.
Because I am no fan of minivans.
At least not for style.
For practicality, they rock my world.
But not for looks.
Not for beauty.
Well, not to me.
But who knows what someone will think about the minivan in 50 years?

I guess we've got the best of both worlds now.

Practical car and fun car.

I am so very grateful for both.

We are blessed indeed.

Here's to finding beauty in a hubcap.

Love from,

Greta

1963 Was a Good Year

2011-12-05T01:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy weekend.

And it ended with this.

Aaron bought a car.

A 1963 Ford Falcon station wagon!

It has turquoise interior.
Come on!!
Could it be more perfect for him?

It's really the cutest car ever.
If it had air conditioning I would totally steal it from him because it is soooooo much cooler than my mini van.
But I've done my time with no air conditioning and I'll never go back.
My first car was a turquoise (notice a trend here?) 1964 Ford Mustang.
It had no air and often overheated in the summer when I drove it up and down the mountain sized hills to my college.
So I'd be driving with the heater on in 90 degree heat with no air.
I'm over no air.
Lucky for Aaron.

The kids love the car too.
The seats are bouncy.
And slippery.
It's a fun car.

I'll take more pictures in the morning by the light of day.

I'm so happy my man found his car--he's been waiting for years.

It's Christmas!

Love from,

Greta

For the Love of Spray paint

2011-12-02T01:20:00.000-08:00

My husband is addicted to spray paint.

From the amount of spray paint cans we have in our garage, you might suspect him of being a tagger.

But he's not.

He just loves to spray paint furniture.

Lamps.

Hardware for the front door.

Mail boxes.

Halloween costumes.

You name it, he'll try spray painting it.

We (mostly he) tackled these lovely tables over Thanksgiving weekend.

They were in pretty bad shape.

Lots of scratches, dings and a generally ugly finish.

Just as we started sanding them, I remembered, "I have to get some before pictures!"

Here they are having been just touched with the sandpaper.

When sanding for spray painting, it is important to give the piece of furniture a "tooth".
That is something for the paint to grab onto.

We did not sand deep or hard enough to take out all the scratches.
We just gave each table a good rubbing down and made sure there were not any real uneven spots in the finish.
The secret to a good spray paint job lies not just in the sanding but in using a primer.
Get gray primer.
It works best.
And give your piece a real solid base coat with that primer.
It will make all the difference in the world.

Let the primer dry well and then put down your final color.
This turquoise is amazing.
It is really saturated.
It makes me happy every time I look at it.
I could not be more pleased with the end result.
Spray paint magic!

Aaron also hit this lamp I bought at an estate sale more than a year ago.

I really bought it just for the shade.

The lamp is kind of weird.

Aaron said it reminded him of a bomb from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.

So he hit it with some orange spray paint to see if it would look any better.
I like it a lot better.
Still not sure if I love it, but I'll give it some time and see if it grows on me.

And just to give you a final glimpse of the wonder of spray paint, here is the table and lamp before spray paint:

And here they are after spray paint:

Magic, I tell you, magic.

What do you love to spray paint?

Love from,

Greta

Masterbedroom Makeover--Baby Steps

2011-11-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

Having kids is helping me become less selfish.

It's bound to, you know.

As much as I want to keep sleeping at 3 am, when that baby is crying, I can only be selfish for so long and ignore him.

Eventually I have to get up and help the kid out.

Or give the 3 year old a snack, or wipe some one's rear, or read someone else a story after they've asked for the 57th time.

When you're a parent, you are forced to be less selfish.

Unless you are a total jerk.

And I'm only that sometimes.

The rest of the time, I'm learning to let go of my selfishness.

Our bedroom is a perfect example.

It was almost a year and a half ago that I started to redo our bedroom.

All that really happened was I got rid of our old, iron bed frame.

After some searching, I found some new bedding and also decided to actually do something about the beat up old bedside tables.

That meant I put them in the garage.

With the intent of sanding and painting them, of course.

But, like so many other things in this house, the project lagged.

That was as far as I got.

My house is one giant, half finished project.

It used to bother me.

A lot.

When I had my first baby and couldn't even clean my closet in one sitting because of his interruptions, I was not the happiest mama on the block.

Half finished projects were not my style.

I like to start things and then get them done.

Right away.

Having someone else determine my availability to complete a project was a big adjustment.

And not one I handled gracefully.

There was a lot of resentment, frustration and at times, anger.

Embarrassing to admit, but true.

3 kids later, I've come a long way.

I don't have the energy to waste on anger over my half finished bedroom.

Or the unpainted bathroom.

The finger prints and nicks on the trim of every door way.

Or.......fill in the blank.

It's just not worth it.

Things will get done when they get done.

We will devote time to them when we can.

But we won't stop living life just to stay home and get things "perfect".

We live here.

With 4 little people.

We work, we school, we play.

Our home, our whole life actually, is a work in progress.

And I'm OK with that.

(except on a bad day when I get all hysterical and vow to get this house in shape and make lots of threats and promises to myself and maybe to my husband. but we won't talk about that, OK?)

So, the bedroom.

We currently share our little room with Baby Davy.

We don't really want to invest in new furniture or a headboard because we have dreams of getting a grown-up sized bed one day.

Right now we sleep in a double.

It was pretty hilarious when I was big and pregnant and a kid would end up in bed with us, and occasionally, 2 kids.

I was so tired I didn't even care and slept with my butt hanging off the side of the bed.

That's real life in a little house, baby!

Yes, we dream of a queen sized bed

But in the meantime, we just needed something to hang over our bed in lieu of a headboard.

We found this at an antique market in Cayucos on our vacation.

It does not "go" with our bedding, but I fell in love with it.
Aaron did too, and we brought it home.
Sometimes all it takes to get you started is a little inspiration.
And believe me, we needed inspiration.

Just to jog your memory, here's where we started.
Old, metal headboard.
Beat up beside table, ugly lamp and toilet paper. (i must have had a cold)

Another view of the same stuff.

And here it is with bed frame gone, tables gone, and it's dullsville.

Here's what a little inspiration looks like.

This art is actually a piece from a vintage pinball machine.
I love the way it is worn and chipped.
It has a definite patina.
Not really mid century, but we are not living in a DWR catalogue spread.
We like things with a story.

Hanging the art inspired us to paint the tables.
We sanded them last weekend and then Aaron spray painted them.
I'll show you the before pics next post.
I think they came out soooo great.
He also painted the lamp.

Yes, we still have more art to hang.
And we really need to do something about the ugly, worn, plastic roller shades in the windows, but it's all about baby steps, people.
Because after all, we do share a room with this baby.

And babies take time.
But he won't be a baby forever.
So I'll rejoice over our baby steps, just like I rejoice over his.

If we only find happiness in the big stuff, we'll miss all the little happys that fill our days.
And now this room is a little bit of happy for me.
Love from,
Greta

Here's Why I Thrift, Garage and Estate Sale

2011-11-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, there was a period of time that my family was really broke.
Like lose our house, have one car and shop at thrift stores, broke.
Shopping at thrift stores wasn't cool then.
I am really thankful for that time, though.
I remember it was hard.
I am sure it was much, much harder on my parents than it was for me.
But I learned a lot.
Even as a 5th grader.
Like what things really matter.
And those lessons have stayed with me my entire life.

So here I am, 20 + years later, hitting the thrift stores all over again.
And this time, it's fun!
Wanna know why?
Because when I decide I need a coffee carafe, I find one.

For a DOLLAR.
Yep.
1 Dollar.
So not only did I save myself at least $10 bucks, (cheapest one I found was at IKEA and cost $11) but I also like the idea of reusing something that is still perfectly good.
Why buy new when you can reuse?
And, to make things even better, this carafe is perfectly vintage cool.

It was also really fun to see this exact carafe in a vintage shop a few days later for $20.

Score one for me!

I have my list of things I need and I look for them each time I make it to a thrift store or garage sale.

Sometimes it takes me a while to find an item, but most things are not items I need immediately.

I just keep my eyes peeled and things turn up.

Like a cake stand.

I've been wanting one for forever.

I resisted the urge to buy a new one and then stumbled upon a sweet vintage one at an estate sale.

White glass with tiny, gold star bursts. So 50s.

The woman told me her mom put all her cakes on that plate.

Love that. (see it here)

Or the vintage juice glasses I wanted for my votive candles.

They have a little star burst pattern on the bottom and were 25 cents each.

Way cheaper and cooler than buying new ones from Target.

I used them on Thanksgiving.

The best part about thifting and garage saling, are the surprises.

Like a vintage sheet.

Or a beat up old paint by number in a hideous frame.

Just wait until you see the transformation!

What are your favorite thrift store scores?

Hope your week is off to a great start.

Love from,

Greta

I'm linking up to Life Made Lovely today.

Thanksgiving Week! Homemade Rolls

2011-11-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

For the past 3 years, we have been the Thanksgiving hosts for both sides of our families.

I absolutely love it.

It is so much fun to have a houseful of our loved ones.

And, since I'm the host, I just do the turkey.

Everyone else brings the trimmings.

It's a pretty great set up if you ask me.

A couple of years ago I decided that in addition to the turkey, I'd be in charge of the rolls too.

And I wanted to make them from scratch.

If you're only going to bake homemade bread one day of the year, Thanksgiving is the day to do it, don't you think?

I found a recipe in Sunset magazine that sounded pretty straightforward.

I tried it and it was a success.

Now, hot from the oven rolls with Thanksgiving dinner are a tradition.

A simple thing, really.
But something I've always wanted to add to the day.
It's one more way to make the day special.

I haven't made them in a while, so I did a practice run a few weeks back.
Just making sure the recipe is as good as I remember and working out the kinks.
It was also a good time to use my new dish towel as the dough rose.
It looks Thanksgivingy to me, in a non-traditional way.
Isn't it cute?

Like I've done each time before, I change the final preparation of the rolls a bit.
The original recipe calls for rolling the dough and then slicing it into strips.
You then layer the strips in a muffin tin and create pull apart rolls.
I opted for a quicker preparation for my rolls.
I simply rolled them in a ball and placed them in the muffin tin to rise and bake that way.
Much faster.

The rolls came out delicious, as always.

They are light, and springy, soft and the tiniest bit chewy.

They are really, really good straight out of the oven with butter on them.

They are also really, really good the next day with cranberry relish, mayo and turkey.

There was one thing that bothered me this year.

My rolls came out looking a bit like muffins.

I don't know if it was because I let them rise longer in the muffin tins or what, but to my eye the result wasn't perfect.

I think I found an easy solution, though.
This recipe, and a few others I read over the weekend, had directions for putting the rolls together in a glass baking dish for rising and baking.
I think that will be the ticket to ultimate roll success!
I can't wait to try it out.
Here's the link to my roll recipe.
Do you have a must make recipe for Thanksgiving?
Do tell me all about it.

My man will be flying home tomorrow afternoon.
It has been a long 10 days.
I can't wait to see him!
I have a katrillion things to do before Thursday.
And then I'll be enjoying the long weekend with my family.
A post Thanksgiving hike will be in order, hot cocoa and going to see the Christmas trees all lit up on the bay, and oh my, I'll have to start working on Christmas presents.
This time of the year is wonderful but always makes me a teensy bit nervous.
Have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving, my friends.
Love from,
Greta

Thanksgiving Week! How to Make Waxed Leaves

2011-11-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

Waxed leaves may be my favorite craft of all time.

They are certainly in the top 5.

We've done them for the past 3 years, even though the ones from the first year are still as good as new.

It is just such a calming, meditative, lovely act; dipping the leaves and freezing a moment of beauty.

Yes, even when you're doing it with kids.
Which I am.
So in case you missed the post last year, or the year before, here's the how-to.
Waxed leaves.

First, collect your leaves.
We use mostly leaves from the Sweet Gum tree (also called Liquid Amber) because those are a colorful leaf in abundance here in so. cal.
Leaves with a long stem work best.
Lay them out on a table top or some other flat surface.

Cover them with books to flatten.
You only have to do this for a few hours or at the longest, overnight.
Any longer and they will start to dry out.
You want them to remain pliable.
Or, if you want to capture the shape of your leaves as they begin to curl, leave them out overnight on the table with nothing on top.
They'll be a little more fragile this way, but still very beautiful.

Get your wax.
I found this wax at the hardware store.
1 box has lasted me 3 years.
You gotta love a cheap craft.

Use an old pan or one of those disposable ones you find this time of year at the grocery store to melt your wax in.
Square or rectangular is a better shape than circular.
You want it rather wide and shallow.
The wax you see in the pan here, is leftover wax from last year.
I just left it in the pan and stored it.
I added another block this year.

To melt the wax, I use this really fancy system: old pan of wax on top of another pan of boiling water.
The wax melts fast.
Keep the water on a simmer on the stove so you can reheat the wax as you're dipping leaves.

After a little talk about hot wax and its sticking qualities, I gave the kids a tutorial and they got to dipping.

The best method for perfect leaves is to gently lay the leaf in the wax.
Swirl it softly to cover both top and bottom with wax.
Don't leave the leaf in too long or the wax will get clumpy.
Slowly lift the leaf from the wax and let it drip for a moment.

Lay it on waxed paper and let it dry.
Every so often you will have to put your wax back on the pot of hot water to reheat.
If you let it get even the tiniest bit cold, the wax will clump and you'll get some really ugly leaves.
I had to reheat our wax multiple times during this dipping session.
The air temp in the house must have been pretty cool.

It's fun to identify the leaves you are dipping.
I picked up our tree book at a used book sale for a dollar.

Isn't this leaf beautiful?

Last fall my friend Alicia went to Paris for a week.
Just her and a girlfriend.
I almost had to stop being her friend for this.
But I swallowed my jealousy (mostly) and was happy for her.
While there she collected leaves and brought them home.

Hello, coolest souvenir ever!
This one was one of her favorites.
We waxed it.
It turned out beautiful.

There are lots of things you can do with waxed leaves.
I've used them like a runner for my Thanksgiving table.

My friend, Jen, used giant leaves from the California Sycamore and hung them from a big branch.
It had an almost sculptural effect.

My favorite thing to do, of course, is to string the leaves and make a garland.
Simple and beautiful.

I know many of you are already putting up Christmas decorations.

But if you need some extra Thanksgiving decor, or your kids need a craft to do one afternoon this week, this is your project!

Or, you can just pin it for next year.

Tomorrow I'll be sharing easy, homemade rolls for your Thanksgiving dinner.

See you then.

Love from,

Greta

PS Just remembered this post from my fried, Andrea. Her waxed leaf garland is fancier than mine. Go see, for her take on waxed leaves.

Thanksgiving Week! A Poem and a Hymn

2011-11-17T08:04:00.000-08:00

Every month, the kids and I memorize a poem for school.

I love poetry and very much want to pass along that love to them.

This month's poem is a perfect one for Thanksgiving.

Wanting to add more richness to our Thanksgiving celebration, I told the kids that we'd recite this together for our guests.

They're pretty excited about it.

So am I.

It's a beautiful poem.

November

A Thanksgiving

by John Kendrick Bangs

1862-1922

For summer rains, and winter's sun,

For autumn breezes, crisp and sweet;

For labors doing, to be done,

And labors all complete;

For April, May and lovely June,

For bud and bird and berried vine;

For joys of morning, night and noon,

My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine!

For loving friends on every side;

For children full of joyous glee;

For all the blessed Heavens wide.

And for the sounding sea;

For mountains, valleys, forests deep;

For maple, oak and lofty pine;

For rivers on their seaward sweep,

My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine.

For light and air, for sun, and shade,

For merry laughter and for cheer;

For music and the glad parade

Of blessings through the year;

For the fruitful earth's increase,

For home and life, and love divine,

For hope, and faith, and perfect peace,

My thanks, dear Lord, are Thine.

How do I get my 7, 5 and 3 year old to agree to a public poetry recitation, you ask?

It's easier than you think.

For one thing, I didn't ask if they wanted to.

I just told them that's what we'd be doing.

But also, we recite our monthly poem with our home school group, so it is a normal activity for us.
I think my kids just expect that this is what you do with a poem.

Our group learns a poem together and at the end of the month, at one of our nature study locations, our kids gather and recite.

Some kids recite on their own, some with a partner and some with the whole group.

Even the littlest ones join in.

I am so glad for this opportunity to make poetry a real part of my children's schooling and of their life.

How would you use this poem in your Thanksgiving celebrations?

In addition to our poem, we also learn and memorize a hymn each month.

This month's hymn is a special favorite.

It was played at my wedding.

The words are incredibly beautiful.

They, too, are perfect for Thanksgiving.

For the Beauty of the Earth

Folliott S. Peirpoint

For the beauty of the earth 
For the glory of the skies, 
For the love which from our birth 
Over and around us lies. 
   
Refrain 
Lord of all, 
to Thee we raise, 
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour, 
Of the day and of the night, 
Hill and vale, and tree and flower, 
Sun and moon, and stars of light. 
  
Refrain

For the joy of human love, 
Brother, sister, parent, child, 
Friends on earth and friends above, 
For all gentle thoughts and mild. 
   
Refrain
For Thyself best gift divine, 
To our race so freely given, 
For that great, great love of Thine, 
Peace on earth and joy in heaven. 
   
Refrain




I will be printing up the words to this hymn for my guests on Thanksgiving.
We'll be singing it together.
Maybe I'm trying to introduce a little Thanksgiving caroling into the day.
It's only a week away!
I hope these two pieces help remind you, in a different way, of all we have to be thankful for.
Love from,
Greta
PS. There are lots of different versions of this being played and sung on You Tube.  If you've never heard it, go take a listen.

Thanksgiving Week! Our Favorite Thanksgiving Books

2011-11-16T00:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody.

It's Thanksgiving week here at Picnics in the Park.

Thanksgiving is my holiday.

It's the holiday that we've hosted for the past 3 years and it is fast becoming my favorite holiday.

Maybe even, gasp, surpassing Christmas.

Can we still be friends?

There are just so many reasons to love it.

It's not just the food.

I love the focus of thankfulness, and gathering together with loved ones to celebrate that.

It is a good, good day.

This year I thought I'd share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving things with you.

There will be food, crafts, decorating, poetry, vintage books and maybe more?

I know it's Tuesday night, and really this post should have gone out Monday morning, but, my husband left Monday morning for a 10 day trip to a corn field in the middle of Illinois. (for a press check, at a printers)

And I've been keeping busy with the kids and feeling tired and sick and this is the first moment I've had to....breathe.

In fact, my house looks like a bomb exploded in it, and all I've managed to clean up is the kitchen.

So that's where I am, typing at the kitchen table, ignoring the rest of the messy house and...breathing.

We'll roll with it, OK?

First up, some of our favorite Thanksgiving reads.

Enjoy.

..........................................................................................................

I have a big stack of Christmas books.

They are stored with the Christmas ornaments and only come out at Christmas.

My kids are so very, very excited to see those books every year.

It's like they are seeing old friends.

Last year I decided to start the same tradition with Thanksgiving books.

Thanksgiving can be underwhelming for kids. (or is it just mine?)

After all, it comes between Halloween and Christmas.

I am working hard to create traditions for Thanksgiving that are as meaningful to them as the ones we have for Christmas.

I am hoping to cultivate a love of Thanksgiving in my kids instead of just a, "can we get this out of the way so we can get to Christmas?" attitude.

I have to say, I think it is working.

My kids are growing more fond of this holiday.

I'm thankful for that.

Now back to the books.

Good Thanksgiving themed books are harder to find than Christmas books, and so my collection is still fairly small.

The 3 I'm sharing today focus on the history of Thanksgiving.

First,

The Thanksgiving Story

written by Alice Dalgliesh

illustrated by Helen Sewell

(more of her art here. i love her work)

Published in 1954

This is my favorite Thanksgiving book.
The illustrations are amazing.
They are graphic and rich and colorful.

The writing is great too.
It is a simple tale, following a family on their journey to America.
There is some history about the people who were on the ship and the different reasons many of them were coming to this new land.
The rest of the story is about their first year in America.
It doesn't whitewash it--it was hard and people died.
But it also talks about how they lived.
Did you know the Indians taught them to put a dead fish in the ground when they planted the corn?
Fertilizer!

My favorite part of the story though, is this sentence: "The Pilgrims decided to have a special day to thank God for all He had given them."
It doesn't skirt around the fact that the Pilgrims had a belief in God and wanted to thank Him.
He was the reason for their celebration.
Many books now say things like, "the Pilgrims gave thanks."
To WHO?
The dead fish that fertilized their corn?
Sorry, tangent.
I just think it's important to acknowledge that God was a part of the original Thanksgiving.

My kids love this book.
I leave it out through the month and they pick it up and look through it again and again.

Next up, more history.

Squanto, Friend of the Pilgirms

Written by Clyde Robert Bulla
Illustrated by Peter Burchard
(he did this and wouldn't you love this?)

Published in 1954

We're reading this book for the first time this year.
My kids love it.
There are a few illustrations with each chapter.
They are black and white and very graphic.
(very different style from the cover--it was illustrated by someone else and, I must admit, if I judged books by their cover, I would be totally turned off by this one. see original cover here. it's way cooler than the new one. but it feels a lot less friendly. probably why they changed it)
I really like the illustrations.
The story is good also.
It is very simply written.
It's not a picture book, per se, but even Lilly, my 3 year old, can easily follow along.
I never knew much about Squanto.
It's a pretty fascinating tale.

And last, more history still.

Meet The Pilgrim Fathers

Written by Elizabeth Payne

Illustrated by H.B Vestal

Published in 1966

We read this book for the first time last year and my boys, especially James, my oldest, loved it.

It covers a lot more of the history of the Pilgrims than the other two books do.

The book begins with the stories of the Speratists as they worshiped God in secret, fleeing England for Holland and then returning to England to set sail for America.

The rest of the book is full of details of the Pilgrims journey to America and their new life there.

I learned a lot reading it.

I don't like the illustrations at all, but the kids liked all the detail.

In addition to the books explaining the history of the Pilgrims and the origins of Thanksgiving, I am including books that convey an attitude of thankfulness.

For example, Ox Cart Man is now in our stack.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving books?

Please share.

I'm looking to expand our collection.

Love from,

Greta

It's a Small World After All (especially when you're a blogger)

2011-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

Last week I had a really fun visit.

My friend Megan stopped by for breakfast.

She came all the way from Seattle.

But here's the thing that makes her visit so cool.
We met through blogging.
Kind of.
Here's the story.
One day I left a comment on a blog I like to read, Shelterriffic.
In the way that bloggers do, Megan, a Shrlterrific contributor, looked at my profile.
We bloggers are always curious to see who is reading our blog.
Megan saw I was from her former hometown.
Interest sparked, she clicked over to my blog.
That's when she recognized my kids and realized we knew each other.
From Trader Joe's.
Yep, Megan worked at my Trader Joe's before she moved to Seattle.
She often worked the samples counter and we often (always) visited the samples counter, so that's how we knew each other.
When she emailed me and told me the story, I remembered her right away.
I even remembered when she told me she was moving to Seattle.
And there we were, connecting via the internet.
It's a small world, isn't it?

A few weeks ago Megan emailed and said she'd be down here for a visit.
In the midst of visiting family and friends, she stopped by my house for scones and coffee.
I felt pretty special to be on the list.
We had a great time.
She didn't mind hanging with my crazy kids.

Or doing a crazy pose for James' signature sideways picture.
Or the fact that William jumped into the picture.
Or the fact that some of us were still in our jammies.

Or that some of us tried to talk to her non-stop.

She didn't mind it at all.

Instead she kicked off her cute red clogs and we talked blogging, decorating, cooking, cats, kids and lots of other stuff.

And she brought me this fabulous vintage mug.
I have a collection of state glasses.
But I do not have any mugs, nor do I have any cities.
I love it.

Now I drink my coffee out of it each morning and I think of Megan.
Here's to you Megan, cheers!

I am so glad we met again through the wonderful word of blogging.

And I am so glad you came by for breakfast.

Blogging can bring about some pretty fun stuff.

I love making new/old friends.

Happy Thursday!

Love from,

Greta

PS. For those that think meeting up with a blogging friend is kind of odd, or maybe even weird, and that blogging is not a way to make "real" friends or forge "real" friendships, I'm going to respectfully disagree.

This kind of friendship might be taking place over the computer, but the idea of it has been around a long time.

It's called writing.

Pen pals.

Talking with the written word instead of face to face.

I recently read this book about Julia Child and her dear friend Avis DeVoto.

They wrote each other letters for years before they ever met; Julia from France and Avis from America.

Avis was instrumental in getting Julia's famous cookbook published.

Their friendship lasted a lifetime.

It was real and dear and funny.

The book was a treasure.

It's just a book of their letters to one another, but I found it wonderful.

A true testament to friendships made in unconventional ways.

I like that.

*read a review of the book here.

Cut the Clutter: Vintage Paper Trays and Organizing the Kids' Art

2011-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most often asked questions I get about my house is how I keep it clutter free.

Let me tell you, it's a battle.

Part of it stems from my own neurosis.

I am kind of a freak about clutter.

Or, according to my mom, I am a total freak about clutter.

But she's a freak about crumbs on the floor, so we all have our own issues.

For me, keeping the clutter to a minimum is one of the ways that helps me happily spend my days in a small house with 4 other people.

We're all here together, all. the. time.

There just isn't room for clutter.

I subscribe to the theory that everything has a place and I try really, really hard to put things back right away. (95% of the problem is not putting things away.)

I encourage (sometimes it sounds more like nagging, but, whatever) my kids to do the same thing.

And my husband.

But, keep in mind that all of my drawers, cupboards and closets are not clean.

I do try to keep them that way.

It's just that there are a couple drawers and closets that are like black holes.

No matter how hard I try, they are always a freakish mess.

I try to pretend they don't exist.

And, if the rest of the house is pretty clutter free, I can handle a messy closet here and there.

Kind of.

So, since I get so many questions about clutter, I thought I'd share some of my cutting clutter ideas.

Here's the first one.

I've been trying for a while to come up with a workable solution for organizing the piles of drawings my boys produce on a daily basis.

I think I finally figured it out.

Best part?

It involves vintage!

Read on.

........................................................................................................

I have a soft spot in my heart for vintage office supplies.

I've shared this shop with you before.

It's just a little bit of vintage office supply heaven over there.

I could spend 100s of dollars.

But I don't have 100s of dollars to spend on vintage office supplies.

That's why I was giddy when I found these 3 beauties at a rummage sale for $2.

$2!

A sturdy, well worn stapler, a solid metal 3 hole punch and a perfect paper tray.
True, they aren't fabulous colors ( i dream of finding an orange or red one that isn't priced at a small fortune) and as I said, they're worn.
But you can't even get a crap, plastic stapler from Target for $2, and the one you do buy will break almost immediately.
So, this stapler might be worn, but it will last.
And besides, it has character.
Anyway, as stated, I was giddy.

I brought them home and put them in the office/schoolroom.
And wondered...how will I use that paper tray?

I looked at the boys' side of the desk and inspiration hit.
A place for their art.
Have I mentioned that I hate clutter?
It is my nemesis.
Clutter makes me tense.
Call it a disease if you will, but a clutter free house is balm to my soul.
So looking at this pile of papers every day drives me mad.

My boys draw constantly.
Their desk is always covered with a pile of their drawings.
Every so often I go through it, save a few treasures and toss the rest.
I can't keep it all.
Nor do I want to, because, let's be honest, some of the drawings are not very good.
But I don't want to sort through the pile every day, and sometimes not even every week.
So the pile grows and grows, until it takes over the whole desk, and I get all panicky and frazzled and go through the papers acting like a crazy woman.
Am I the only one who does this?
Please say no.

Enter the vintage paper tray solution.
Each boy gets a tray.
At the end of the day, they sort their own papers, deciding which to keep and which to toss.
At the end of the week, or whenever I get to it, I sort through the keepers, decide which ones we are really keeping, and put those away in a binder.
The desk top is clutter free.
And my sanity is restored.

All that for less than $2.

You gotta love a good rummage sale.

Now I just have to find a try for Lilly and Davy.

Keep your eyes peeled for me.

Love from,

Greta

PS Just to clarify, no one else's clutter bothers me.

Just my own.

I don't live with your clutter, and probably would not even notice it when I was at your house.

So don't get all freaky on me and say, "I could never have Greta over--she'll judge me for my clutter."

I wouldn't.

Although, I did think it was fun to clean my best friend's room when we were little.

I doubt she thought it was fun.

But I was cleaning her room for her, so she got something out of it.

I liked organizing things.

What can I say--I've always been abnormal.

Home

2011-11-06T23:04:00.000-08:00

Unlike the rest of the world, I am not the biggest fan of fall.

And winter, all that cold, really, really not a fan.

Give me spring and then give me summer.

Lots of summer.

You know this quote?

Well, I agree 100%.

But.

This weekend it turned cold here.

(cold for Southern California is a day time temp of 57--we're talking scarves and heavy coats. brrrr.)

And daylight savings time ended.

It was dark at 5 pm.

Tonight, coming in from the cold and dark, my home welcomed me.

There was golden light.

And warm air embraced me.

It felt so good to be home.

And suddenly, I was so thankful for the things I don't like, because they made me appreciate the things I take for granted.

HOME.

How blessed I am to have a home.

Where I am safe.

Where I am warm.

Where there is food.

Where there is comfort.

Where there is love.

Where there is light.

Where there is laughter.

Where I am happy.

Where I am with the ones I love best of all.

Home.

Oh, how I love my home.

I like the last 2 verses of this poem we all know a part of, Home Sweet Home, by John Howard Payne.

How sweet 'tis to sit 'neath a fond father's smile,
And the caress of a mother to soothe and beguile!
Let others delight mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh, give me, the pleasures of home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, oh, there's no place like home!

.................................................................................................

November is one of my favorite months--despite it being fall, I still love it.

I love it because many of us remember, more than any other time of year, to be thankful.

I don't know yet what I'm supposed to do with this moment of gratefulness that was thrust upon me.

But I want to remember it.

I want to remember my windows lit up with the glow of warmth and light.

I want to do something with that.

This quote is speaking to me right now.

"At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in." Mother Teresa

Feeling grateful for so much right now.

And feeling challenged.

Happy November, friends.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Love from,

Greta

Fresh From the Oven: Raspberry Breakfast Bars (non-dairy)

2011-11-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

I miss breakfast.

Eggs are a big no for me right now.

Actually, eggs are a big no for David and therefore, for me.

I won't let him forget all the yummy breakfasts I've had to give up for him.

Because really, what's breakfast without eggs?

Soft boiled eggs on toast for breakfast are practically religion around here.

(except for poor William for whom the sight or smell of eggs brings about gagging. he suffers greatly in this family of egg eaters.)

Pancakes taste best with a fried egg on top.

Scrambled eggs, wrapped in a tortilla with fresh avocado slices and some salsa? Divine.

And then there are all the breakfast baked goods that have eggs in them: muffins, cinnamon rolls, french toast, waffles, quick breads, danishes and the list goes on.

Add no dairy to the list and breakfast has pretty much turned into a piece of toast with olive oil on top and a package of instant oatmeal.

I miss breakfast.

That is why I was thrilled to find this recipe.

Raspberry breakfast bars.

Egg free, dairy free, and still so YUMMY!

I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen.

The original recipe calls for butter, but I substituted.

The bottom and top of these bars are essentially a crumble.

You start with flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in the food processor.

Then you add your fat.
Butter in the original recipe, coconut oil in mine.
A reader suggested I try it.
I listen to you guys.
It looks kind of gross--like Crisco only wetter and lumpier.

But once mixed with the other ingredients, it turned into a perfect crumble.

After you've mixed up your crumble, pressed it into your baking dish and put it into the oven to bake a bit, you prepare your raspberries.
I used frozen.
Add a little sugar and flour and some lemon zest.
I really liked the addition of the lemon zest with the raspberries.

Next you pull your crust out of the oven, all golden and slightly set, and pour our raspberry mixture on top.
Then you sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture over the top of the raspberries.
A note on that: I felt like I did not have enough crumb mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. I thought the crust needed to be thicker.
It didn't.
Don't make it too thick.
I would have liked my crust to be a touch thinner and had more crumble left over to sprinkle over the top of the raspberries.

I also had to bake my bars a bit longer than the recipe calls for.

Maybe because I used frozen berries?

When they came out of the oven, I could not resist taking a bite.

It was still so crumbly that I had to eat it with a spoon, in a typical crisp way.

But by the next morning, I could easily cut them into bars.

And even without eggs or butter, they were just right for breakfast.
Perfect with coffee.
I made these Sunday afternoon and knowing they were waiting for me on Monday morning made Monday morning so much better.
It's been a no sleep zone around here lately, so something to look forward to in the morning helps.

These raspberry breakfast bars are much, much moister than the granola bars I made last time I was hankering for some baked goods.
They still aren't bready, or cakey, they're too oaty for that, but they are really quite tasty.
Equally good for breakfast or an afternoon snack.
Try them.
Get the recipe here. (because I am too tired to type it out myself. no sleep and all that.)
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Now, I'm sure you couldn't help but notice that fabulous fabric my breakfast is resting on.
What is it, you ask?
Just a cute little vintage sheet.
Thrifted. For $2.
I have a few vintage sheets that I love, but haven' really looked for more.
No longer. They are now on The List.
There are just so many possibilities for a great vintage sheet.
This one is currently residing on my dining room table as a table cloth.
I love new lives for old things.

Hope your weekend finds you enjoying a delicious breakfast or 2.

And maybe some good thrifting? Estate saling?

Patchworking?

Whatever you find yourself doing, make the best of it!

Love from,

Greta

From Drab to Fab: the 20 Minute Art Project

2011-10-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend was great.

We were home.

We cleaned the garage.

And now it is no longer declared a national disaster area.

The kids can go inside to get their bikes and I don't fear for their lives.

Aaron started working on the decomposed granite patio/play area in our backyard.

I baked.

Cupcakes and this.

I (almost) caught up on laundry.

I went out to breakfast with a friend.

Aaron and I went on a date.

Vintage clothes shopping and dinner.

We had a friend over for dinner.

I weeded the flower beds.

We watched a movie. (i know we're hopelessly behind the rest of the world, but if you haven't seen this, you should. i found it fascinating. if you have, what did you think? i want to talk about it with someone)

Yes, the kids were sick.

Yes, the kids were, at times, quite cranky.

Yes, we had another night of many people being awake and coughing and crying.

And yes, it sounds like it was crazy busy.

We did a lot.

But, we were home and that felt good.

I even found time to do a 20 minute, drab to fab art project.

This is the pantry in our kitchen.

It's where I have our growing collection of photo booth strips on display.

Problem is, there was nothing much happening with those strips.

Drab.

I've been mulling over some ides.
Problem was, they all involved cutting of wood, painting of wood, building with wood, $ and time.
They were bigger projects than were really feasible right now.
I needed quick.
So, I came up with another plan.
I cut one piece of paper from my big roll of brown, builder's paper.

And made some art.

Fab.

This project cost me no $.
It took about 20 minutes.
It was fun.
And now my photo booth strips have a home worthy of their coolness.

Around the edges of the paper, I used magic markers to create the frame.
I used a ruler to make the edges kind of straight.
I wanted it to be a little bit crooked--a little bit imperfect.

Then I cut some narrow strips from the same paper and stamped the year on the strip.
For some I used the whole number, 2010, and for others I used just the last two numbers, 11.
I put the year next to each strip because it is fun to see the year next to the strip.

In the bottom corner of paper, I stamped our name, and the words "I love you".
And, of course, I put a bird on it.

The whole thing is held up with little magnets.
Remember, my cabinets are the original metal ones.
They're handy, let me tell you.

I'm happy with the way my art project turned out.
I was especially happy when Aaron saw it and said, "hey that's a cool piece of art."
I always consider him the artist of the family, so when I get an art shout out, it makes me feel pretty darn good.

The other side of the cabinet looks very empty now.
I plan on filling it up with a poster or 2.

Next weekend I'll be going to this, and picking a poster from this guy.

The hardest thing will be deciding which one, or two, I like best.

Which are your faves?

I like the bacon, eggs, coffee, and the bird to name a few.

Hey, it's Halloween today!

We have some last minute costume work to do.

Hope your Halloween is full of fun.

Love from,

Greta

Mr. Roboto: Easy Homemade Robot Costume

2011-10-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's a lot of fun being married to a creative guy.

He is always amazing me with his creations.

Paintings, furniture, home remodeling projects.

Costumes.

This costume makes me laugh.

Because, it illustrates a truth about this man I that love.

My 37 year old husband is really just a 10 year old boy trapped in a man's body.

See?

Aaron's work throws a pretty big shindig for Halloween.
Aaron's come up with some good costumes in the past.
But given the insane amount of busy in our lives this past month, he had no costume as of yesterday afternoon.
Then last night he came home and made this.
Because we like the handmade costume round these parts.

Homemade with only 1 trip to the hardware store.
Supplies:
1 large cardboard box--cut holes for arms and head, spray paint gray
1 piece of dryer vent tubing--cut into appropriate length for arms and put into arm holes of box

3 plastic cups--spray paint cups gray and ends of cups red or blue, glue to front of box
Multiple pieces of cardboard cut into small squares and rectangles--spray paint cardboard pieces red or blue and glue to front of box.

1 large, plastic water bottle--cut top end off water bottle so head can be inserted in bottle

Spray paint bottom part of the bottle grey or silver.
Drill air holes along bottom of water bottle
Cover rough edge with squishy, tubing from hardware store.

Drill more air holes in top of water bottle and one hole for the antenna.
Spray paint a pencil red and a small wooden or styrofoam ball blue,
Glue ball to pencil and insert pencil in water bottle.
Use glue to secure.

Let it all dry overnight.
Put on your costume, and secure your place in history as the COOLEST DAD EVER.
Our boys were soooooooo impressed with their daddy.
They all speak the same language.

I love this boy I married.
Isn't he fun?

Happy Halloween everyone!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Love from,
Greta

I'm linking up with Much Love, Illy for the big blog hop.

If you are a new reader from the blog hop, welcome!

Please visit the buttons on the sidebar for a peek at the goods on my blog.

And if you are a regular reader, go to Illy's blog and visit some of the other blogs linked up for the party.

Have fun making new friends!

Bleh

2011-10-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

BLEH.

That is about how I feel right now.

I can't seem to get caught up on anything.

And blogging is getting lower on the list of priorities.

At times I can manage to post 2 blogs a night.

At others, this week for example, I can hardly manage one.

Hence the lack of posts here.

I've been posting over at Lilly and the Bros.

I'm just having a hard time catching up after all the being gone.

The housework, the laundry, (Help Me Rhonda! the laundry) the school work, the runny noses, the coughing kids, the sleepless night I had last night.

I feel bleh.

But, I just saw this.

There was a photo booth at my brother's wedding.
You know how I feel about photo booths.
LOVE.
Their rad photographer was snapping away and she got so many fun shots.
They are brightening my day, let me tell you.
To see more great ones of the fam, go to Lilly and the Brothers.
To see the full set, go to Colleen's blog.
She's the rad photographer--you'll want to browse her blog a bit while you're there.
And thanks, Colleen, for making my bleh day a lot more of a yay! day.
Love from,
Greta

PS. Can I do our wedding all over again so I can have cool things like a photo booth there? Seriously. I have so many great, new ideas. It would be fun. I'm not kidding.

I Love a Man Who Appreciates a Good Throw Pillow

2011-10-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

While we were on vacation up north, Aaron bought this pillow.

We saw it in the best fabric store EVER one afternoon while we were in Paso Robles.

He said, "I really like this pillow. Should we get it?"

Ummm. Yeah.

People often tell me how lucky I am that Aaron and I have the same design sense.
That we compliment each other.
That we have the same vision.
It's true.
I am lucky.
Funny thing is, he is the one who has informed my style.
He had the vision and I caught on.
Sometimes I take it in places he might not go, but usually he likes what I come up with.
We rarely argue about how to decorate.
Anymore.

Another thing I hear often is, "I don't know what I'd do if my husband had an opinion about how to decorate the house."
I'm actually glad I don't have that problem.
I love decorating our house together.
It's fun.
In the distant past, I didn't always trust him, and so we'd fight, and then I'd give in.
Because, ultimately, it never mattered as much to me as it did to him.
And then, oh bitter pill, he was (almost) always right.
So now, if our opinions differ, I usually say, "let's go with your idea. You're usually right anyway."
(Feel free to comment now on how lucky Aaron is to have me)
And, to prove my point, look how good the pillow looks in my green rocker.

The man has a great sense of style.
And besides, how can I not love a man who cares about a throw pillow?
One who actually knows what a throw pillow is, for that matter.
Yep. I'm lucky.

The pillow has also come in handy for other things.
It makes a good pillow for ring bearer practice.
See?

My little brother got married this weekend.
All 3 of the kids were in the wedding.
So this week they donned their wedding duds and practiced a bit.
The new pillow came in handy.

I can not resist a small boy in a tie.
Seriously.
The cutest thing ever.

For a few more photos from the actual wedding day, go to Lilly and the Brothers.

To find out the name of the awesome fabric store, come back tomorrow.

I plan to do some blogging now that our whirlwind month is over.

See you then!

Love from,

Greta

The Sunset Drive In

2011-10-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

The first, and only, drive-in movie I saw was Mary Poppins.
I was little. Maybe 5?
But I remember it well--the speakers, munching the popcorn my mom brought in a big paper bag, cuddling under the blankets, the thrill of watching those silly penguins on the big screen. (you know the penguins are the best scene in that movie)
It was so much fun.

We went to the drive-in in Oceanside.
Some of you fellow Fallbrook or North County readers might have gone there too.
The screens are still there.
So is the parking lot.
Except now it is home to a swap meet every weekend.
It bums me out every time I drive past it on my way home for a Fallbrook visit.
Why did the drive-ins die?

We see this old drive-in sign every time we drive up the 101on our yearly Central Coast vacation.

It is just south of San Louis Obisbo.
We never remember it until we are sailing past and then we say, "Oh! The drive-in sign! Let's get it on the way home."
And we never do.
No longer, my friends.
This time, when we were sailing past on our way back home, Aaron said, "don't you want to stop and get a picture of the drive-in sign?"
I did. Terribly.
But there were 2 kids asleep and I didn't want to wake them, and I didn't want to ruin the momentum we had by stopping just for some pictures of a sign.
But my man is sweet and he pulled off, backtracked and explored until he found the sign.
I love that man.

But the coolest thing was when we pulled forward to get the sign from another angle and saw this:

And we peeked in and saw this:

And then I saw this:

And I kind of squealed and said, "this is SO cool."
And I might have kissed Aaron to thank him for stopping.
Or I might have just kept on taking photos.
But if I did that, he would understand.
Because he was the one who helped me fall in love with old signs in the first place.
(do you think I am a total dork, or are you with me on this?)

Isn't it a great sign?
I dream of owning an old sign like this someday.
To hang up somewhere--inside, outside--anywhere would look good.

AND, this drive-in theater is still operational.
How cool is that?

I have been wanting to take the kids to a drive-in movie for ages.

Who knows, maybe one year there will be a movie we'll actually take the kids to see, during the one week a year we're on the Central Coast.

It could happen.

I'm an optimist.

If you're headed that way, check out their Facebook page for what's playing now.

I'm glad not all the drive-ins are dead.

What do you remember about the drive-ins?

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I have so many fun things to blog about from our trip.

But the posts may be sparse again this week.

My baby brother is getting married this weekend!

And 3 of my kiddos are in the wedding.

I have a lot to get ready.

The past month has been a blur of activity.

Good stuff, all of it.

But it will be nice to settle down to a regular schedule.

And to have time to blog regularly, too.

In the meantime, check back for posts about our favorite Central Coast drives, eats and the 2 awesome, vintage treasures I found.

Love from,

Greta

2011-10-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

You'll find me over at Heather's Life Made Lovely today.

I am so excited she asked me to be a part of her Home Made Lovely series.

Please head over there to visit and see our home as well as all the other lovely homes she's featured.

Some of you have already asked questions about paint colors and such.

If you have any more questions, leave them here and I'll answer them in the next few days.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Now go on over to that home tour!

Love from,

Greta

Road Trip Rule # 1: Always Stop for Cool Signs

2011-10-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

We drove north this morning.

After the LA traffic, the road opens up and there are golden hills, rolling and empty.

Before long, the ocean appears.

Today the sun was out and the water was almost turquoise.

Driving the California coast was our honeymoon drive.

We've done it, or parts of it, at least 6 other times since.

I never, ever, tire of it.

Road trips are one of our favorite ways to travel.

Yes, even with 4 kids.

There are some things we like to do to make our time on the road more fun.

Maybe I'll do a full post on that later.

But for now I'll give you one of the most important rules for our road trips:

Always Stop For Cool Signs.

Yes, even if it is on the other side of the freeway, even if you missed the exit and you have to back track, even if you are making good time, even if you're making bad time.

Even if.

Because you might never be back that way.

Or, even if you will, the sign might not be there next time.

So stop already.

Today, we saw this place.

Just south of Santa Barbara, right off the freeway, and a place we've been meaning to stop for years.
That was before the rule was instituted.
We always drove past with plans to stop on the way back, or next time.
And then we'd forget, and drive past and....
But not this time.
We stopped.
And I snapped.
And then I messed around with photo shop tonight.
Which one is your favorite?

I'm doing research so I really want to know.
(yes, I know I need to remove those power lines--isn't photo shop amazing?--but I didn't feel like doing actual work, just playing with colors)

Then the stop got even better because right next to the bowling alley was this place.

I so regret never taking pictures when the restaurant was still there.
Do any of you have pictures of it when it was still open?
Did you eat there?
Check out this picture here.
It was so great.
At least the sign remains.
For now.
Hence the rule, people.
If we hadn't stopped this year, and next year the sign was gone, there might have been tears.
You think I joke.
Look at this awesomeness.

We spent a few minutes driving around the area of these 2 signs and found this little ghost town.
There were all sorts of abandoned, mid century buildings.
Great roof lines, colors, and what was once a bustling area, now all empty.

I'm glad we stopped before everything is gone.
What are your road trip rules?
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Are you thinking it's weird that I'm blogging on vacation?
Let me tell you, to actually have the time to write at night, sitting next to a warm fire, without one chore hanging over my head, well, that's my idea of vacation!
But tomorrow night I might opt to go to bed before 10.
Who knows. I'm on vacation.
You can see more about our trip today over at Lilly and the Brothers.
And come back on Thursday for some fun news.
See you then.
Love from,
Greta