some loot

Danni and I are having a little get together tomorrow, so I headed out to the thrift today to find some things we need. While none of the below are what I was looking for, they still did come home with me. I got a vintage bed sheet and some much needed vintage cloth napkins because when we have had guests over for dinner, we never have napkins to give them and just use paper towels which is such a waste. These napkins will definitely be put to good use and I will soon be sewing some of my own too.

I also did a little dance when I found two cute crocheted afghans. I love those too much! One is being contemplated for a gift, but seeing the delicious color is making me think I can't part with it. The other one is for sure mine (or my girls cause they like to fight over those granny blankies too!). My granny crocheted afghan collection is growing!

Anytime I come home from the thrift, everything immediately gets thrown into the wash so they can be enjoyed asap. It is pretty crazy going out thrifting with the three girls and just me, but it is nice to get out of the house. As long as I am kinda quick and they are well fed, things go much smoother. Oh! It helps to promise them their own vintage goodies in the form of books and all is well. Thankfully.

Tomorrow will be a full and busy day, but we have something super fun planned in the evening. I will definitely be taking (and sharing) lots of pictures...

DIY rolling garden bed

The final count for tomato varieties we have growing this season is 34. Good golly miss molly!!! We were running out of room that Ben had to build another bed. This time he made a rolling bed and we have it on the concrete. He used redwood and the approximate measurements 4'(w) x 2'(h) x 2'(d), with 4 casters on the bottom for easy rolling (though this thing is pretty heavy, so it does take some muscles). There are different ways to make this, but he followed the same design he used to make the raised beds, which he had originally learned about from Sunset.

He added wooden poles up the sides and top, so we would be able to string up the tomatoes vertically as they grow. If you look at the raised beds in the first two pictures you could kind of see our tomatoes, but these pictures were taken a month ago and have they have grown like crazy since then! We have already seen some baby tomatoes on many of the plants and we are anxiously awaiting the day we could pick them and eat them up.

I think we are mostly done planting for the season. I got some french broom in (to replace one of the many plants the pocket gopher ate) and some type of growing vine. The heat has now taken over our days and I don't think too many plants will fare well being planted at this time. We learned our lesson from planting last summer as we lost many plants because there was not enough time to get established before the heat set in. I will be ready this Fall to get my Spring plants in, but we will see how that will go as tending to a newborn and the bigger ones will definitely take precedence.

Do you have a Summer garden? What kind of crops do you have?

Once I get the backyard semi-cleaned up, we will give you a little tour soon.

new month coming

Wanna get your shop or blog out? Email me for info and rates!

a change of sheets

The girls have had the same colored sheets for like ever, so I thought we better change them up a bit. And a few months ago, they had a crayon hidden in the sheets when they got washed and thrown into the dryer and came out with crayon stains all over and it was kinda bugging me. I just haven't had time to clean out the stains or go to the store to get some new fabric, so I thought why not use the tons of fabric I already had lying around!

I saw this and really loved it and tried to recreate it, though I don't have that many vintage sheets (I don't seem to have too much luck finding them here). I can't wait to go looking for some at the thrift, but what we got now will do. The only thing that I used that wasn't vintage was the stripe flat sheet because I still had yardage left over. Everything is a bit quirky and mismatched just the way I like it!

I have started making some new pillow coverings for our own bed, but I still am kinda stuck on what I want or the color scheme. We still pretty much just use a white duvet cover because I can never settle on a color for our bedroom. Maybe plain and white suits our room best, but I will keep trying different things out until I find just the perfect thing.

What kind of bedding do you use? Do you like things plain or colorful?

oh, a hunting we will go: a papi day surprise

Ben got his late Papi Day surprise on Saturday afternoon (True was sick the day before father's day when we originally planned to do it). The girls and I put together a special package for him that was going to assist in the little adventure they were about to embark on.

What was needed: A large muslin bag, washi tape (purchased from Pretty Tape and speedily sent to me), fuji instax mini, fuiji mini film, and a mini hunting book.

The hunting book was put together using some string, black poster board, glue, white pen, and an exacto knife to cut the poster board.

In the mini hunting book, were the things that Papi and his big girls were going to be hunting for.

All was nicely contained in a muslin bag and ready for their hunting adventure.

Their Papi did not know what was in store for him. He thought we were all going out as a family, but what actually happened was we sat him down, gave him his present, gave him instructions and sent him off an adventure with his big girls. It was a special Papi and big girls date!

His instructions: Go and find the list of items (they weren't super specific, but little phrases that allowed them to be creative) and capture each find on film.

A bit panicked as this was not what he was expecting, Papi and his big girls quickly took off on their hunting adventure.

1. round and flies: They went to the nearby carnival and the girls played a ring toss game.

2. a little cat: Papi took them to the nearest Hello Kitty store and each girl got to pick out a special kitty treat.

3. a sweet treat: They went to a candy store and bought some sweet treats and came home with sticky, colored faces.

4. very pink: Papi bought each girl her own special pink rose.

5. black as night: They went to a nearby farm store and bought some delicious blackberries.

6. spins and spins: At the carnival, they rode motorcycles, a carousel, and a dumbo-like ride.

7. hugs and kisses: Giving their Papi some love!

8. super yummy: When their hungers called, they answered with some yummy Arby's sandwiches at the big girls' request.

9. printed word: They found themselves all over the newspaper.

10. totally rocks: They found a large pile of rocks, stood on top, and yelled, "Rock on!!!"

They came home with lots of stories and a heart full of joy. We ended the night watching fireworks from the nearby carnival on our front lawn and all of them recalling their favorite finds of the day. The girls had big smiles and lolliop remnants all over their faces and their Papi has a mini hunting book full of memories to look upon. I think this will become a new Papi Day tradition!

What did Mommy and Soulie do? While Soulie napped, Mommy got as much cleaning done as she could, then they had a quiet dinner together, went outside in the garden for a bit, then when Soulie went to bed, and Mommy got even more cleaning done (while watching a movie). It was kinda nice having a bit of quiet in the house, but I was so happy to have them home and hear about their fun adventure!

I am already excited to plan another hunting adventure!!!

fridays

I am getting rounder by the minute. Yesterday was mochi, today was loads of pastries from Paris Baguette (thanks Jane!) and I made strawberry shortcake (it looks a bit like mush now, but it is still good). I am suffering from sugar overload and I don't think I want anything sweet for the rest of the day. Okay... maybe I will have some ice cream tonight, but that's it. For reals.

I hope Ben's back feels better soon because I miss my workout partner (he hurt it last weekend)! This week we didn't work out at all and I have been feeling much more tired without it. Usually, we work out in the morning. Ben wakes up first, then shakes my foot to wake me up, and I groggily go downstairs to get some exercise in. So if he doesn't work out, I don't. It is the best energy booster and makes me feel better and more efficient to care for the three girls. And I don't feel as guilty when indulging in loads of sugary goodness!

This week was filled with lots of friend visiting and catching up and now I am definitely ready for the weekend!

Things this week...

- No gestational diabetes (praise God!), but I am anemic again.

- I have a new love for vintage children chapter books. I have started a little collection.

- Don't let your husband carry a concrete vintage bird bath in a rush. He will hurt his back.

- Make sure your husband doesn't leave his basketball shorts on the hard wood floor, cause you will trip and get a concussion. My poor BFF did!

- I am encouraged to see Ben sharing life with another member from our church family. He is such a shy guy, that it isn't easy for him to open up.

- Seriously want this dress (in green) and these shoes (in black, size 6)! Anthro is my weakness. Dear Anthro, Will work for clothes.

- Pretty much caught up in emails (for now). Just have a few more left.

Hope you all have a grand summer filled weekend!!!

BFF in town

So my BFF is finally on summer vacation and came to town. Well, she too is a southern California resident, but we live on almost opposite ends of southern california. She lives closer to the beach and I live a wee bit closer to the cows. That's as best as I could describe it. It is a good hour away from each other, so when school is in session (she's a teacher), we really don't see each other often. Now, we have a few months to play and hang out! Usually our hang outs involve just my house because I really don't leave the house with three girls and with summer starting to settle, it is just too darn hot to get out.

Of course, Lin came over with her newest load of shopping goods and modeled them for us (and I did the same with my tiny bits). It is so classic Linda and Ruby! When we were studying abroad in London during college, we would go out shopping together, then come back to our flat, try everything back on and "frolicked" our newest outfits in front of each other and the mirror (all behind closed doors so our roommates wouldn't think we were bigger dorks than they already thought.) We are such strange creatures.

The girls of course made Auntie Linda read a gazillion books to them and play hide and seek a gazillion times! Soulie would sit with them and then come back to me after a few short seconds of listening to a story. She was more content roaming around.

When I told the girls their Auntie Linda was coming, they said, "Is she bringing mochi?" I just laughed. To them, their Auntie Linda is the mochi lady who brings the fresh made Japanese mochi to them every time she comes! It isn't the ice cream kind, but has yummy bean filling inside. They are sooo good!!!

Seriously, BFFs are the best. Don't you agree?!! Thanks Auntie Linda (and Uncle John) for the loads of mochi and the entertainment. We love you!!!

behind the scenes

I am sure any behind the scenes of any photo shoot is always interesting, but it is especially interesting when it involves kids! We had the Fall/Winter Misha Lulu shoot today and this was the shyest True has ever been. She clung to my leg for the first thirty minutes and even when it was her time in front of the camera, the photographer handed me his camera for a bit to get her comfortable. My big girl is oh so shy!

The coming line for Misha is oh so good. They are always good and every new season they just keep getting better. Also, Karen has something special up her sleeve this time around that will make all the little girls hearts' melt.

A fun thing between outfit changes is that all the adults there get to chat. Heather (3 Ring Circus) was there (and her adorable Pippi), so it is always fun catching up and exchanging stories, especially hearing about her thrifting adventures. Gosh... that lady always scores big in the vintage department! And she gifted us with the cutest vintage shoes (pictured above). I mean just look at those teeny little bluebirds. Be still my vintage lovin' heart! Soulie was already trying to put them on as I was taking a picture. That baby of mine is definitely a shoe girl! Thanks Heather, we love it!!!

The girls were exhausted and tired, but happy as clams because Karen always sends them home with little goodies (Thank you Karen!). We fought traffic home, relaxed a bit, then I headed back out to go help the sister with wedding dress shopping. It was such a full, full day!!!

shop stocked

Yes, I know. It has been a very long while since I have done anything shop related, but here you go. A nice big update of goodies for you! Go and visit the Cakies shop now...

All the items listed are ready to be shipped! And some colors are one of a kind, so if you want one, you better snag it (like this, this, and these are the last ones). The bows (we got big and smalls) probably won't be made again and don't forget the dollhouse pillows! But if you do still need a custom crown, just let me know and I can always see what I can do.

This will probably be the last update for the rest of this year as we got a baby coming in a few short months and who is to say if I will continue to make things for the shop after that. Four kids is a whole lot of responsibility and not sure if that leaves much room for sewing in the days ahead, though I do want to open a vintage shop up soon, but I just need more time in a day. Though for now, enjoy the stocked shop!!!

Happy first day of Summer!!!

his breakfast

Ben got his father's day breakfast in bed Saturday morning because 1) we were going to celebrate Saturday until True got sick and 2) it is easier to do on Saturday morning rather than Sundays when we are running around like crazy trying to get ready for church. What did I make? Omelets! He loves omelets or at least I think he loves my omelets, so I keep making them.

One thing I learned when we got married is that it takes Ben about 30 minutes to wake up in the morning. He is awake, but not really, so when we surprised him with his breakfast, he wasn't quite ready. I think it took about 30 minutes until he took that first bite. It is really funny to watch him in the morning. Also, I made a fresh pico de gallo on the omelet and I think I used a wee bit too many serranos (the dude likes things spicy, but maybe not first thing in the morning), so for a sleepy guy it was a bit too spicy. That was another funny to watch!

Oh and did I mention he has pretty crazy bed head?!! He is such a good sport that he lets his blogging wife post a picture of him first thing in the morning. I really love him lots and still think he is such a looker even with that crazy hair!!!

The girls made him a cute little present and Lord willing on Saturday he will get our special surprise for him, so there will be more father's day post to come. We want to make sure Ben knows how much we love him, though we try to make sure he knows that everyday, not just on father's day!