One Last Hoorah...

Of Summer.

This past weekend we escaped the busy realm of everyday existence and fled to our favorite getaway destination, Bear Lake. We played on the beach, and swam in the pool...

Until our feet looked like this...

Wrinkly, but much cleaner than the same feet on our camping trip last month.

It was such a NICE weekend. As usual, I loved the journey there as much as the destination - another episode of me and my ongoing love affair with the open road. We passed through my favorite little valley and college town where we lived the first few years of our marriage. So painfully beautiful. Painful because I yearn to live there the way my 4 year old yearns for chocolate donuts with sprinkles, and it's just not a possibility right now. If it weren't for the 4 little time bombs tick, tick, ticking away in the back, we would have pulled over and taken more pictures.

Along the way we noticed some of the trees and underbrush in the canyon starting to change color, and my heart started to race. Summer has its moments, but I am completely smitten with FALL.

Dangerous (in a mental sort of way) Beauty

Pardon me for a moment while I go off on one of my favorite tangents. Farm houses, and their aesthetically similar suburban counterparts. I’ve talked about this before, so I’ll skip the overly long narrative this time, and just get to the good part. While checking out a few houses in the local Parade of Homes this week, we drove past this beauty. It was most definitely a “Honey, STOP the car!” moment. Isn’t it lovely?

It’s located in a humongous master planned community on the southwest corner of the valley. Nice, but I think I’d take it on country acreage, with a big red barn on the side. Nothing against master planned communities or city planners – I was a fledgling planner myself back in the day. I just like the idea of living away from sprawl and traffic and having space to breath.
Now I've got houses on the brain again. I knew checking out the Parade of Homes would be a BAD idea. Pretty houses are hazardous to my mental health.

Little Vintage Mirror Re-do

This one is pretty self explanatory. For a while now, I've had a little vintage mirror. The same one that used to hang in my grandparents bedroom, but it has been in need of a bit of work.

Today I decided it was time. I was the crazy lady outside spray painting in my pajamas before the kids woke up.

I enlisted 2 of my favorite makeover tools...

Sprayed and then went to work with the "Purdy" brush. See how easy antiquing is? Just wiped off the extra glaze with a wet cloth.

And after drying in the morning sun for a 1/2 hour, it was ready to hang.

Sundress Recycling

The Empire (waste line) Strikes Back!
Not long ago, I found a super cute, hot pink, paisley sundress (brand new) at the thrift store for only $1.

Loved the fun bandana fabric and thought it would make an awesome swimsuit cover-up. Only one minor problem...

Size 4. Remember my Ode To Child Bearing Hips? Well this could be my Ode To a Child Bearing Rib Cage. The zipper didn't quite zip. So I resorted to plan B. I went down into my dungeon (sewing room) and whipped up this apron...

When I came upstairs to model my creation for my husband (he had never seen the sundress), he laughed and said, "You added boob triangles?"

Obviously strappy sundresses are not exactly a staple in my everyday wardrobe.

In order for the umm "triangles" to stay in place, I had to place the ties a little high - empire style. A fit that's always felt, well... a little funny.
I'll admit, the apron is a little goofy - you'll probably see hot pink bandana squares in my next quilt. Perhaps its geometrical makeup is to blame (can you say triangle?), or that dirty, rotten empire waste line! However, the cookies made in honor of said apron, were delish. Can't go wrong with a recipe titled "Just like Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies".

Vintage Sheet Quilt Top

Holy Flower Power!
It's done...REALLY done this time. I added the 2 extra rows to make it a twin. Now, just as soon as school starts and things settle down a bit around here, I'll start quilting it. At least that's the plan.


This pattern, called Scrappy Sixties (Simply Sixties set) from Anka's treasures, was a lot fun. My favorite part is the zig zag edge. I think it will look pretty groovy hanging over the side of the bed.

My original intentions were for this quilt to used in my toddler's room when she converts from a crib to a bed, but somewhere along the line, my 7 year old fell in love. She even helped decide which sheets to use (sadly, the orange floral got the boot). Now I am trying to decide if I really feel like giving her whole room a makeover to go with it.

Oh probably. She can be very persuasive...and I kind of have a thing for makeovers.

Pantry Door Chalk Board

I've been hanging on to an ugly old frame for a long time, and I finally figured out what to do with it. I turned it into a chalkboard to hang on my pantry door. First of all I painted it a lovely beachy blue - same color I was originally going to paint the china cabinet (Valspar Signature, "Dusty Spruce"). Then, of course, I antiqued it - I seem to be addicted to antiquing glaze. Then I went to Lowes and had plywood cut to size ( the opening is 12" x 16"). Lastly, I painted the plywood board with chalkboard paint and I was done. Wish all my projects were this easy! Now I just need to hang it, and buy some chalk - completely forgot to do that.

Also, I'm almost done with the vintage sheet quilt. Just need to add 2 more rows. Pictures coming soon...