the beach {part one}

Just got back from a nice CA excursion. The first part of the trip included just our little family and the second part included my parents, siblings and all of their kids. We were a little nervous because it was the first trip we took ALL of the kids to stay in a hotel with just husband & I. I felt a little bit sorry for the people in the hotel rooms above, below and to the sides of us. I don't think we've ever gotten so many stare downs. I forget that there may be a possibility that we stick out whenever we go places. We did a few various activities that mostly included a tour de southern california beaches, including the following:

Solana

La Jolla

Encinitas

Coronado

Aliso

Laguna

Huntington

Out of all of the beaches I think that I am still partial to Coronado. The sand is so soft, fine and has the most beautiful gold specs that glistened in the sunshine.

I would love to hear anybody else's take on southern California's beaches.

Thanks to anybody who gave me some great suggestions....we really had a swell time.

{Kingsdown by the sea luxury fisherman's cottage}

If I was say in the UK today I would have no problem going to the unspoilt and quintessentially English seaside village known as Kingsdown by the sea to stay in the above home. They do rent it out you know. It is located just steps from the sea and has easy access to London just incase one would want to hop on the train and visit the lovely Helena. Isn't it so charming?

{Home found via Unique Home Stays}

P.S. - Happy Weekend!

red

Sometimes all it takes is just a little red. When decorating I think usually shy away from red for some reason but I do love it in small doses.

here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

boys room inspiration

Ever heard of the saying "A sister from another mister"?

Well I'm thinking my husband wishes he could make up a saying that went more like "A thrifter with another mister"...ha! Bless his little heart, he really does try to be patient with all of my projects and items of business but I know he would prefer I halt all of my collecting ways.

To my defense I haven't been thrifting very much lately but I do have quite the stockpile. Since the girls room is pretty much complete I am starting to put more energy into decorating the boys room. So today I pulled all of the above items from the "stockpile". I still do not know how I am going to pull everything together but I think I have a few things to work with. I especially love that vintage striped lamp and that vintage eagle trim...oh wait and the antique art deco containers. All of a sudden I want to go thrifting....for the love of treasure hunting.

Anyway the below images from Rifle Paper Co. are really inspiring me with the boys room. Love those colors.

{The above images found via The Neo Traditionalist}

a cool small space and I am OK

Look how much happiness can be packed into one little 365 square foot space? To see more pictures of the above home go here.

***NOTE: Apparently a couple of commenters think I have something to do with the above space, when alas I don't...I just wanted to share it because I think it was a job well done for such a small space.

Also, thank you SO much to the 2 people that were concerned about my non blogginess lately. We're are all doing fine...the kids are thriving....in fact so much that there has been a surge in the need to break things around the house. We are going on 4 for 5 days in a row of something breaking. My poor peacock chairs were the innocent culprits yesterday. Husband didn't have much sympathy. I guess I am surprised this didn't happen sooner. I sure hope the 2 gay guys that I bought these chairs from don't read my blog because they would be MORTIFIED but if they do then I am sure they would just shake their heads and say, "See, we told you that you should've just stuck to raising dogs". Hmmm, the funny thing about it is just this morning I was a little confused as to thinking I had pure blooded children. They lick things off of the floor, they chew things up, they can get overly excited, they're territorial, they bark really loud and sometimes they even drool...see my confusion. To date though, I don't think I've met a dog that can say, "I LUUB YOU MOMMA"...so I'm sticking to the original theory that nothing got mixed up in the petri dishes if you know what I mean and I am forever grateful that the original cells that multiplied are now growing and I get to witness it. Have I ever mentioned that the doctors said that there was a less than 2 percent chance that I would have triplets and less than 7 percent chance that we would have twins again? Well he did. Guess what else...multiples run in our family. I think my twins were that 6th set and I have an aunt who had 2 sets of twins. I always chuckle because usually when we go places I know that people will either say, "Did you have help to get your children?" or "Do multiples run in your family?", to which it is always a smile and a nod to both questions.

If you observe the below picture then you will see one last curly "q" hanging on for dear life.

those colors

My little brain is thinking about the above images...all because of the flowers in the top picture sitting on Katie's table. I really love that color combo..especially for summer.

here Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks, here Abigail Borg, here, unknown source--sorry but I'm pretty sure taken from somebodys blog I love, here & here

nautical nonsense in a bottle {erasers & toothpicks}

With school coming to a close this Momma has already had to deal with the whole, "Mom I'm bored, there is nothing to do" thing. We have been scrambling over at our place to keep the girls entertained. I did set a goal to try and find one new craft to do every week so we'll see how that one pans out. So far though our TV has gotten so much usage since schools been out that I think it almost over heated....BAD MOM.

Anyway with our family planning to go to the beach soon I thought it would be cool to get the girls all pumped up for our upcoming trip by incorporating something along those lines. I had once seen somebody who had made Christmas snow globes out of baby food jars so that's when a "beach in a bottle" started to formulate in my brain. The only problem was how were we going to construct it. I first needed to find miniature pieces that could get wet. Once I had settled on sand dollars and starfish, how in the world were we going to get them to stay put in the bottle just right. So one night as I started to drift off the thought came to me "erasers & toothpicks". That is how this craft came to pass.

Supplies needed:

baby food jars

epoxy glue

glycerin

miniature objects to display (I found the mini sand dollars @ Michaels by all of the other sea shells)

eraser

toothpicks

spray paint (optional)

trims (I already had mine from all of my trim hoarding ways, I just knew I would need them sometime)

First spray paint the lids to the jars. Then glue the miniature pieces to the toothpicks and let dry. Next glue the erasure piece to the inside of the jar lid and let dry. Take your miniature pieces on toothpicks and push into the eraser. Then fill the clean baby food jar with water and a few drops of glycerin and glitter (so far my favorite glitters have been carrara marble coarse and crystal coarse,both by Martha Stewart). Lightly glue the inside of the lid and screw it on tight. Now take trim and glue it around the lid. Now play with it before you give it to the kids because you'll never get it back. The girls have already put them by the sides of there bed so that they can dream of their sea-side adventures.

***Pls. send any links or ideas for crafting with kids over my way. I would forever be grateful. I do have the admit the actual part of making the snow globes is not as kid friendly as I would have liked because of all of the heavy duty glue. I think I let the girls push the toothpicks in and that was it. They sure liked the end result though.

Phoenix Homes and Garden {Berkley Vallone}

Now why would anybody want to boycott Arizona after they saw this gorgeous home in Paradise Valley..ha. The above is home to Berkley Vallone, owner and operator of Vallone Design. I give major props to Phoenix Home & Garden for publishing the above spread in the June issue. Not only is the decor amazing but I am a sucker for all of the windows and doors..oh and who wouldn't want to hang out in that backyard...I am taking notes.

{all photos via my copy of Phoenix Homes & Garden}

Madame Pumphrey

The bobbins are slowly being harvested. They have just as much charm & character as they've ever had....as they have all been made with love as I handcut and dress them with the highest quality trims and notions. Hope you like them. I am going to try and post a couple every other day. The above are from the first batch posted into the Madame Pumphrey shop yesterday. They were put onto double pronged hair clips but they always find their way onto my shirts. The link is over on my sidebar.

Thanks,

xx - Christina