More of what we’ve been up to…

IMG_3155.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, we are continuing to be busy around here. This is a shot of Isabella (second from the right) and her three best friends at their 6th grade graduation party. It was a pool party at a nearby park, and they had a taco bar cater it, so the food was fantastic too.

This is her teacher:

The next day a friend threw a party at her house for some of the kids. Just a small affair for 60 or so!

Then Zachary had his guitar recital at the House of Blues. My kid is the one who is too cool to smile. ;p It was like a real rock concert. They played Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day and Holiday by Green Day. Other classes played songs by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, GNR, and more. Afterward, we got a big table, and a bunch of us grabbed a yummy meal and hung out for a while. The guy with Zachary is his teacher. How awesome is he to get the kids a venue like that for their recital?

More of what we’ve been up to…

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IMG_3155.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, we are continuing to be busy around here. This is a shot of Isabella (second from the right) and her three best friends at their 6th grade graduation party. It was a pool party at a nearby park, and they had a taco bar cater it, so the food was fantastic too.

The next day a friend threw a party at her house for some of the kids. Just a small afair for 60 or so!

Then Zachary had his guitar recital at the House of Blues. It was like a real rock concert. They played Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day and Holiday by Green Day. Other classes played songs by the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, GNR, and more. Afterward, we got a big table, and a bunch of us grabbed a yummy meal and hung out for a while. The guy with Zachary is his teacher. How awesome is he to get the kids a venue like that for their recital?

Romeo, Romeo…

IMG_4059.JPG, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Well, here are a few photos from one of the many events that has been keeping us busy. To tell the truth, I have been exercising nearly every day, which is stealing away a lot of the time I used to spend online. I am walking 4-7 miles 5-6 days a week, which feels great, but does take time. I am also trying to go to the YMCA for the machine circuit a few times a week.

We are also getting ready to move soon, probably the first of August, so I am trying to get ready for that, as well as continuing to buy books.

Most important are all the kid events. The 6th graders did a Renaissance Faire at school. Isabella’s class did a spoof on Romeo and Juliet, and Isa was cast as one of the Juliets. The top photo is her with the other girl who played Juliet in the second cast. I was amazed at how my normally shy girl came out of her shell. They were supposed to overact, and she really hammed it up. It was really fun to watch her. Summer will be here in two days, and then we should have some time on our hands again.

Are you all ready for summer?

It’s been a whirlwind here

 

Well, it always gets crazy during the last month of school, so I apologize for being absent. We have been busy with school projects, a 50th anniversary party, and so much more. Unfortunately, my camera is on the fritz lately, so it only works some of the time. Thus I don’t have very many photos to share.

I do have a few photos from my friend Ninder’s annual party, a great chance to have my fill of homemade Indian food. Every year she throws a big bash for 30+ people who all met when their kids played Pop Warner football. She works for days ahead of time preparing, and then she recruits all the women to help prepare the food. I got there a couple of hours ahead of time to chop veggies and help to some last minute cleaning. Then six of us lined up to make fresh roti. It’s just whole wheat flour mixed with water. Two women made balls of it, two rolled it out, and then Ninder and I cooked them on a griddle, searing our fingers in the process. We made 200 of them, and it was so worth it! Just look at my plateful of food. My daughter’s favorite dish was the vegetable pakora. This was a mix of diced cauliflower, garam masala (spices), chopped onion, minced spinach and garbanzo flour with water added. We scooped up small handfuls of this mixture and dropped it in boiling oil to make little fried dumplings of goodness. It was delicious with mint chutney and yogurt.

It was great to see so many friends, although most of the women refused to be photographed. And the little girls gave us a fashion show to round things out. At the end of the night we had strong, hot homemade chai tea and ice cream (which we had stirred every half an hour for an hour and a half) made with real cream, cardamom and diced almonds and pistachios. Unbelievably rich and good!

Just to prove that I still exist

Mother’s Day, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Life hasn’t slowed down much, but we spent a lovely Mother’s Day at my mother-in-law’s house. We had a health scare with my oldest (looks like she is going to be fine), and I didn’t get much sleep last week. It was so warm and breezy in the hammock with birds singing and the leaves rustling all around, that Nick and I just crashed hard for over an hour! Sophia, my seven-year-old actually snapped this photo. I haven’t slept in a hammock since my honeymoon. I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day with your kids and/or mothers!

Got pancakes?

Just add pancakes, originally uploaded by Temeculamom.

Sorry for the lack of online activity! I have been so busy lately with family and school events, not to mention working at book buying. Isabella has started volleyball lessons twice a week, and Zachary takes guitar twice a week as well. Sophia is activity-free right now except for tons of playdates. Yesterday I ended up taking home three extra kids.

Besides working and family obligations, the bulk of my time lately has been spent on the school’s annual pancake breakfast. Here is one of my favorite photos from one of the earlier breakfasts. It is something we volunteer for every year, and this year I took on a lot more responsibility. Today, I turn in the volunteer sheets and flyers for approval/school handout.

Last weekend we had the school’s annual Parents Night Out. For $100 per couple, you support your school, have a delicious Mexican buffet and hang out with friends all night. It is held at a local outdoor patio, and there is tons of dancing. I don’t bring my camera, because adults never want to be photographed! Here is one cell phone shot of me my daughter insisted on taking.

We had a great time as usual. There was fake casino gambling with raffle tickets as winnings. Even my anti-social husband enjoys this event every year, since he can play poker all night. We ended up with tickets to the Festival of the Masters, a 70s Soul Jam concert at the Greek Theatre, and tickets to the Pacific Symphony. Not bad for free! I hope you all are well. Things should hopefully slow down a little here after Mother’s Day, and I can catch up on all my friends’ blogs.

Off for the weekend-see you all later!

Hopefully next week I’ll have more time to catch up on blogging and reading about all my friends. We have been having plenty of fun here, and getting things done as well. If you came by my house this week, you probably left with a box full of vintage kitchenware, tupperware or other things I am purging as part of Spring cleaning.

I met with a trainer at the YMCA on Monday and kicked up my cardio a bit. I am feeling that Spring urge to get in shape! I walked for 7 hours this week and swam for one. Isabella has started a volleyball class at the Y, and Sophia wants to swim every week at that time, which is a great use of the time for all of us.

Today we are off to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Nick’s aunt and uncle. What an accomplishment, huh? It will be a giant party with 4th, 5th, and 6th cousins. I am just trying to figure out how to keep my calories lowish at a huge Mexican party. My crazy in-shape friend has advised me to avoid tortillas, rice and beans, stick with meat and salsa, and only drink tequila!

Easter Catch-up & Garage Sale Finds

Yes, I’m a bit late. We have had such a full past week, with all sorts of family and sports obligations. Then on Saturday Nick and I went to a wedding reception. I actually danced in four inch heels, and boy did I feel it the next day! We were so ecstatic to have time to ourselves that we hung out at a bar on the way home and then kept ourselves up till 2:00 a.m., not at all the norm for us anymore. Then on Sunday I was lucky enough to go to San Juan Capistrano with a wonderful group of friends, all of whom I met online.  

This is a photo taken by a man who worked at a beautiful store called “Whim”. This was the one store in town where things were not outrageously overpriced, and the salespeople were not only knowledgeable, but funny and friendly, from the elegant woman who showed us the Book of Breasts, to the young, pierced guy who wrapped our packages. Not coincidentally, this was the only store in which we bought anything.

It certainly is a new world we’re living in, isn’t it? I have been officially addicted to the internet since 1996, although I was utilizing it long before that. In that time I have met well over 60 people in “real life” whom I first met online. I also have many dear friends whom I have not yet had the chance to meet. But these “girls” all live within a couple of hours of me, so we decided to meet up in San Juan Capistrano. We spent the day window shopping and had Mexican food for dinner. I bought the most delicious smelling bar of linden scented soap and a hilarious greeting card. It was great to see everyone again (except we missed a few friends who couldn’t make it!), and really nice to get away for a few hours.

We spent our Easter at my in-law’s house. They have a wonderful yard for an egg hunt. I hardly photographed my own kids, since they are big lugs now ;p, but a friend brought her sons and grandbabies, so I did snap a few shots.

 On Saturday I went to a few garage sales, hoping to find some valuable used books (I probably got about $250 worth of books-half of that goes to me). I also lucked into a sale with lots of vintage goodies. I got this lot here (and a new-with-tags dress from Nordstrom Rack and a stack of magazines) for $7. Can you believe it?

‘Twas the Night before Easter…

 

  

Well, actually it is already early Easter morning, but I have been having trouble sleeping, so I am up and online. Since I can’t enjoy the Land of Nod, I thought I’d share a few photos from around the house that I took today.

Quick disclaimer: To be my friend you will have to ignore dust, spotty windows and bad lighting.

First is a shot of some of my favorite vintage children’s books with an old bunny bookend keeping them up. His tail is somewhere else in the house, poor little guy. Of these books, my favorite has got to be A Child’s Garden of Verses with illustrations by Jesse Willcox Smith. It is pre-1923, so I can share them with you someday, when I get a working scanner again. Her drawings are really magical, and they perfectly complement Stevenson’s poems. Another amazing book is Miss Muffet’s Christmas Party. You can check it out online at the Rosetta project’s website. Trust me; you want to find out who comes to her party.

Next is a wonderful photo that I found in an old book I bought from the Goodwill.

These little children are 2, 3 and 4 years old. How cute are they?

 

Here are some vintage suitcases stacked up to form an end table.

My lamp and a candle are fairly permanent fixtures, but for Easter, I added this Southern Living pedestal (one of very few full price purchases I have made) with a milk glass plate and a small cloche from the Goodwill covering a .30 cent bunny and two .25 cent chick candles. I went thrift shopping with my good friend Ellie, and she told me if I didn’t grab those candles, she was going to take them herself!

 

Here are a few more Easter touches:

(This large apothecary jar was a trash find; can you believe it? It doesn’t have a lid, but I don’t turn my nose up at free pretties.)

I also have a few non Easter decorations which are new. I have never been much of a decorator, but all of you amazing bloggers have really inspired me. I am doing a few intentional touches, but so much of what goes on here seems accidental. One year soon, I’ll get it right. ;p

I found this flower frog for a quarter today. I had the old library cards and the cute little girl (cut from a vintage pattern package) with her Raggedy Andy sitting on my dresser, hoping against hope that someday I will scrap again. So I gathered them up and stuck them in the frog, for the time being. ;p

I recently found these vintage Russian nesting dolls at an estate sale, and I just love them.

I found this tiny apothecary jar this week for $1.99 filled with fruit shaped soaps (now making my kids’ washups a bit more fun). I filled it with shells and beads and found it fit perfectly inside this 1920’s Egyptian style chalkware maiden figurine. I think she used to be a lamp originally. Poor thing has lost her nose, but it works for her Egyptian sister, the sphinx, so she is going to rock the look too. I think she does need a name, though. Any suggestions?

Last, I thought I’d catch a current shot of the ever-changing tableau above my kitchen sink. It is not exactly decorated, since half the items here are temporary, never meant to be here or need a little work.

From left to right, you will see:

1) two heart-shaped rocks from Nick to me
2) an old soap dish with some jewelry in it
3) a Middle Eastern rose water shaker that my husband picked up in a thrift store (I’ve corrupted even him!). Would you believe I had a bottle of rose water in the cupboard that I had found on clearance at the market? So, if you come over, you can sprinkle your hands with fragrant water before we eat.
4) Behind the water shaker is a planter I won in a raffle, complete with succulents and little angel.
5) Next to the shaker is a vintage pharmacy beaker with some paint brushes my seven-year-old and I used for a school project last week.
6) Front and center is the .25 cent rusty, old Tonka truck I picked up at a recent garage sale. I put a tiny pot inside, and I fully intend to put a little succulent in it, but that has not happened yet.
7) Behind the truck are my trusty Ball jars.
All that’s left are another tiny terra cotta pot (with a vintage sterling bracelet inside-meant to be returned to my jewelry box), one more plant, and a little vase

This little corner is one of my favorite spots in the house. It makes even doing dishes by hand (endlessly) seem bearable at times.

Okay, I found one more shot on the camera. Don’t be afraid, but my house is haunted, and I got proof today.

Sophia walked in to my room today and asked where Daddy was. Of course, I said I didn’t know, ignoring the 6′5″ flannel-sheet-covered specter near the closet. Sophia said, “Okay,” and left the room, with a “Bye, Daddy” in parting. That kid cracks me up! And, boy is my husband weird! Of course, I wouldn’t love him so much any other way.

Shhhhh! Don’t tell my neighbor, but I made her a birthday present.

 

I was talking to my neighbor a couple of days ago, when she mentioned celebrating her birthday last weekend. Oops! I am really terrible when it comes to remembering birthdays. I have barely memorized those of my parents, five siblings, husband and kids! But this neighbor is special. She is always willing to help me out in a bind, and has even called Triple A for me on occasion. Our houses are catty corner to each other, and there is a small pathway by which you can climb up from my backyard into hers. During the summer our kids sneak back and forth to play all the time. This is her cute oldest son with my youngest. She always remembers my birthday and is so generous. Last year she got me several vintage jewelry findings and a gift certificate to this fabulous store that sells all kinds of fabulous old and new baubles and tchatchkes to set your creative spirit alight.

So yesterday I pulled out my long-ignored scrapping stash and put this little decoration together for her. I recently bought two of these frames at a thrift shop. They were vintage, cream plastic, made by a religious manufacturer (to hang religious medals?), but I painted this one white. Then I found the Spring Song in one of my old children’s song books. I used some ink pads for color and cut out these cute old-fashioned girlies who look ready to embrace a new season. I made the little nest from slivers of the same music paper and inked it slightly. The edges (and the girls’ white bows) are sprinkled with vintage glass glitter. Then I tied it up with some leftover ribbon and a broken rhinestone brooch.

It felt really good to be so creative, and I am a bit shocked that I was able to come up with a concept, find the materials and execute it so quickly. I have never done anything quite like this before, and I sure hope she likes it.