California Vacation Get-a-Way

I went on a little girls trip this past weekend.  We headed over to L.A. for a few days to go to the Long Beach Flea Market.  I didn't get many pictures of the flea market but if you click HERE it will take you to a cute blog named : Adore-Vintage and she has some great pictures of cute stuff that is there to buy.

We didn't buy anything BIG because we didn't have the room but we each walked away with a few treasures that made us happy.  We also burned a lot of calories from all the walking.  We went up and down each and every isle!

I would put this as #2 on the list.  #1 would definitely be the Rose Bowl Flea Market.  It's dreamy and....perfect!

Next on the list was Venice CA. and Bountiful .  A dreamy little shop I have been wanting to go to for at least 10 years.  It has been featured in so many magazines and seen on several HGTV decorating shows and it was my one request.   Can I just say it did not disappoint.

 This is just a little tiny corner of the store.  The.entire.store.was.like.this.in.every.direction!  WOW!
I'm not quite sure if it was really cool or straight out of an episode of hoarders. It sure was a lot to take in and it was all.........amazing!  Every nook and cranny was filled with eye candy.

 

It was claustrophobic and amazing all at once.  

A must see if you are ever near Venice.

P.S. I wanted to buy a cake stand.....in pink.  Next time.

For more pictures of Bountiful and a home tour click HERE- Chateau De Fleurs

*We also went to Rogers Gardens - I fell in LOVE!And came home with a trunk full of plants.
*We ate at Lemonade-la - I was in healthy heaven!
*We went to the coolest Tom's store that had Toms, a coffee shop, an internet cafe, several  outdoor patio's  for conversing.  Downright the coolest place I have ever been to.
*The Venice Canals were unbelievable.   I have seen them on TV but hey are so much better in real life!
*Balboa island was a dream come true.  I thought nothing could compare to Carmel Ca but it came pretty darn close.  I fell in love with all the houses, dutch doors, patios, entryways, sidewalks, shops and the ocean.

Enjoy!

Fashion Rut

 

I keep buying stripes.  

I'm drawn to them and I can't help myself. 

 I need to stop the madness. 

Want to help me? 

Where is your favorite place to shop? 

 I have lost most of my favorite shirts to darling daughter #1 and need to restock my closet.  

Thanks in advance.

Summer...Summer...Summer

Today is the last day of school.  Cassidy is leaving our little safe haven elementary school for the BIG Jr. High (sniff).  We brought in our teacher and office staff gifts and I will admit I got a tad teary when she was delivering and saying her goodbyes.  I was really teary yesterday when we gave Amberly's teacher her present.  We have been so blessed with amazing teachers, principal and school! 

After I left the school I was feeling sad so I went over to Target.  I needed to return a shirt and thought a little retail therapy would perk my spirits.  Just walking around Target puts a little spring in your step wouldn't you say?  

I love every single dish on those shelves (in picture below) melamine is my favorite because it's light, easy to hold a whole stack (great for arthritics like me) and come in such fun colors and shapes! I had to take a picture so I wouldn't fill my cart!

Have you seen the lemonade stand area? Everything you need to make some money.  I'm going to have to take my girls and see if they want to buy some of this darling stuff.  Those yellow and white striped cups came home with me...I couldn't resist.  I'm now going to get my toes done in my last two hours of freedom without kids. Happy summer!

Questions:
Are you sad that school is over?
Do you take in teacher gifts?
Does target put a spring in your step?

7th Year of Fun At Kmart

I didn't realize it until I uploaded this picture that we all wore black.  That's funny!

Every year we look forward to our Kmart / Big Lots shopping trip.  It's quite an adventure.  We put it on our calendars and nothing comes in the way of it.  Not sick kids, not school projects not even tamale making!  People ask us "Why do you go to Kmart?"  and we laugh because it's not so much where we go as it it is that we go together and we only go once a year.  It's like a shopping adventure!  No one shops at Kmart anymore so we can pick up some pretty original gifts and holiday decor.  We were thinking about it and decided this was our 7th annual Kmart anniversary.  Awesome!

This year Kmart lost Martha Stewart (she went over to Home Depot).  We loved her ornaments and wrapping paper.  That was sad.  We did have fun going up and down all the isles and we laughed our heads off and made people look and think we were wacky but hey...that's the joy of our once a year trip!  

Check out what I got........

oh yeah baby....a dancing elf hat that lights up and sings!  You are jealous aren't you?  This is going to get a lot of use this holiday season.  I'm wearing it to the ugly sweater party, the ward Christmas party and Christmas eve.  And yes, I was dancing in the Kmart isle while this picture was taken and yes M&M were howling with laughter making people think we were crazy.

Until next year Kmart.......I'll miss you♥

Bargin!

The girls and I went to a Farmers Market on Saturday.  

We walked the streets of Old Town and stopped and looked 
at all the jewelry, art, tie die (is that in?) and produce.  
I was very disappointed in the produce.  
There were only three tables selling fruits and veggies.  
And to be honest they were pathetic!  
I was embarrassed for them and I just kept on walking. 

We each got a ring from a lady who had made them out of old buttons.  

They are so cute!  3 for $5.  Can't beat that for a little treasure♥  

I found this cake stand for.............$8!  

Can you believe it?  It's real silver - $8 what a bargain.  

It made my day!  Now I just need to find a place for it.  

Any ideas?

Quite the hectic day!

Zac - The Little Cutie

Pam and the little dudes (Garrett and Zac) came over this morning. Zac started gymnastics and couldn't have been happier. He's just about the cutest thing on the planet. I may have to borrow a picture from Pam's blog just to prove it to you! The kids swam while I got ready for Crack and Snack and Garrett and Abby traded off going to gymnastics. It sure is nice that it's three houses away. I'm so spoiled!!! Thanks Pam for keeping an I on them while I ditched you for my back crack!

Garret - Abby's Bestest Friend/Cousin

After crack and snack I brought Bree home with me to play with the girls for a few hours. I cleaned while they played. I feel a little bad that Bree didn't get to swim but her Daddy came to pick her up too soon.!!! Sorry Bree - next time I promise!

Then the girls and I headed out to the thrift store to find Abby a tennis racket. We ended up going to three different thrift stores until we found ......not a tennis racket but a racket ball racket. Whatever, she's 5 - it fits her better than a big ol' honkin' tennis racket. Plus Cass and I made it seem all cool and awesome so she would like it. It worked and now they are playing "tennis" in the backyard.

I have to say, I love the thrift store. You never know what you will find. It's always an adventure. I didn't buy anything exciting. Oh wait....yes I did. I bought two cute new summer skirts to wear with a t-shirt and flip-flops. They were $2.99. What a steal! I'll have to take a picture of those too and show you. I will have to start doing what Kristi does over at Everything is Pink. She goes shopping but instead of buying things she doesn't need but would love to have she takes a picture of it. She says it's just as good. I don't know about that but it's worth a try. Today I would have taken a picture of a really awesome hutch that would have been SO cute painted white, some polka dot rain boots, a very cool frame that also would have been cool painted white. (I may have to go back for that one)and a bunny hutch. I wanted it - badly!!!!

We then came home to find our package of Old Navy swim suits had arrived while we were gone. I ordered the girls some shorts and suits online because they were having a $10 swim suit sale with FREE shipping! I loved it. They had a TON of suits I had never seen in the store and every size I needed. Perfection! The girls were so thrilled we had to go swimming. At.........8:30pm. I'll have to remember how nice it is to sit out there after dark- it's not hot and feels soooo good! Plus it wore the little chickens out! Bedtime was a cinch.

Oh I can't forget that we headed over to Sonic for our Free Root Beer Float. Did you get yours? It was crowded but didn't take long. In fact.........the carhops were rolling around with glow-in-the-dark-necklaces and trays filled with root beer floats. They had it down to a science. We pulled up and were handed our treat before we were even in line! Awesome!!!

I'm off to bed after this crazy day. My body is sore from getting cracked and I have my little bowl of pills I need to go take before I can slip into dreamland. Hope your day was just as fun as mine!

Fun, Fun & more Fun!

Today I got to go to lunch for my birthday. Yes, I like to spread out my birthday festivities for as long as possible. Since my birthday is the 23rd of Dec. who has the time or energy to plan or attend a lunch. For the last several years I have just made it a tradition to go out to lunch in January. That way everyone is back in town and recovered from the holidays. And let me tell you - it was worth it! We sat, ate & talked for 2 1/2 hours! Such fun. Thanks girls you really made my day♥♥
(I am losing my blogger touch and didn't get on picture. What was I thinking???)

Before I went to lunch I had a little extra time so I decided to investigate some of the new stores around the lunch location. One of which was Anthropology - what a FUN store!!! No wonder you always hear of movie stars shopping in there. Such different, unique but totally cute stuff! The minute I walked in I knew my Mom would have laughed at what was being displayed. All vintage 50's and 60's colors and patterns. It made me smile. I also had a list a mile long of things I wanted after I go out of there. Funny thing - I was looking at the bedding when I hear a "Cara?" I turn around and it's......Mindy!! Great minds think alike I guess. When you have extra time - go shopping!Later, my brother Matt brought all 4 of his kids over for a cousin sleepover. What fun we had! I have never heard his little guy (2 yrs old) talk. He's always so shy. But he was jabbering a mile a minute the whole time and I have to say I have a new buddy! My girls had a blast with their cousins and Tom and Caleb (5 yrs) hung out all night and played the Wii. We had my Dad's famous tacos for dinner - then brownies and ice cream for dessert. Yum! We ended the night with Kungfu Panda where they all fell asleep on the floor in the family room. I have to admit - 6 kids was a little loud, a little chaotic and a little messy BUT is was also a whole lotta fun!

Little Grant playing with a puzzle.
I realized I don't have any "little" kid toys in the house.

Macey, Cassidy and McKenna playing in Cassidy's room

Abby and Caleb boxing on the Wii
Grandpa C's famous tacos

After Christmas.........

SALES????

I don't think so.

This morning I turned on the news so I could see what happened with the storm last night. The wind and rain kept waking me up it was soooo loud! We found out that a lot of rain was dumped on the valley and snow in the mountains is heavy but nothing major.

Then the news people kept talking about the after Christmas sales. They said it would be better than Black Friday! Well after hearing about it for about a half an hour we decided to clean up the house and head out to see what all the talk was about.

Um, yeah. This after Christmas sale stuff is a farce. I was looking for another great deal like an $8 vacuum and a $130 Kitchen aid. (Which I am still mad I didn't buy either at the black friday sale!) No such luck. In fact, we didn't really find any good deals. We were very disappointed and we went to two malls, a Lowes, Costco, Sams Club, Sports Chalet and Hobby Lobby. I have to say Hobby Lobby WAS pretty good. I would have bought some stuff but we spent our extra money on a Christmas tree for next year. They had beautiful real looking Christmas trees and they were 50% off. We decided to save a tree and go for the fake-y even though it looks like a real-y. Hee-Hee! I would really like to know the secret to the after Christmas sales. Is it just Christmas stuff? Winter stuff? What? I am at a loss here.

We stopped in at Build-a Bear to use the gift card the girls got from Uncle Jones and Aunt Joni. We got about as far as the store next door because there was a line out the door at build-a-bear and it kept going past the next store front. Can you believe that? Who knew Build-a-bear was such an after Christmas hot spot? Poor Abby, she has been saving her money for weeks to go and I keep putting her off. The day finally came and we didn't even go in. (there was no way I was going to wait in that line!) So we went to a movie instead. The Tale of Despereaux. It was cute- not as cute as the book but still cute. That cheered her up! We ate popcorn and red vines for dinner and washed it down with soda. Yes, I know - I said no more junk. Tomorrow I guess!

We came home to a clean house with our tummies full of movie food and got snuggled up in our p.j.s. I'm off to snuggle up in my cozy bed and hopefully have a good night sleep. I'm crossing my fingers I am not woken up by storms, Flower the cat, a little snuggle bunny named Abby or too many trips to the bathroom! (getting old has disadvantages!)

Sweet Dreams ♥

Black Friday

Today Elena (my SIL) and I hit Wal-Mart at 4am. Yep you read that right 4am. I thought the sales started then but that was at Kohls. I was very surprised how empty Wal-Mart was when we got there. We walked around the store scouting out the items we wanted then buying piddly stuff.

About 4:24am the workers started unwrapping the big door busters towards the front of the store. I happen to be right by the dishes I wanted so I grabbed them and sent Elena to the printer and chair she wanted. We were done in no time!! I couldn't believe the deals. A crock-pot $4 a vacuum $8 and it wasn't cheesy! Too bad I was on a budget. There were great deals!! When we got in line there was only one person ahead of us! The Wal-Mart we went to was not crowded and there was plenty of deals for everyone. Very positive experience. (my 1st Black Friday at Wal-Mart)

Then we headed over to Game Crazy and got a couple of things on our list. They were open at 5am. We then met up with Gena, Mindy and Monica in line at Target. They had a great spot! There were people at the front of the line in tents! Can you believe that? I don't care how good the deals are - tents?? No thanks!

This year we divided and conquered. It was great. I headed off for my list of playdough, Mindy got the cameras, Elena got the Rip sticks, Gena got the GPS' and Monica the sheets. We met back up after we had gotten everything and more and divided everything into carts and wha-la BAM! We were done.

While we were waiting in the nice quite purse isle for everyone to finish up I saw this beautiful girl with long curly strawberry blond hair. I looked at her more closely and I swear it was the actress who played Victoria (the bad vampire) in Twilight. I froze. What do I do I asked myself? She wouldn't be shopping at Target on Black Friday like the rest of us would she? So I ran (oh yes I did) and grabbed Mindy and drug her over to the infant section and she looked and her eyes got huge and ran to get Gena. We were all hiding behind the clothes peeking out at this girl trying to decide if it was her or not. We decided we had to call in the expert. Monica. I got her on the phone and had her come find us. She took one look and said, "Not Her!" I asked if she was sure and she said, "I've seen it 3 times I would know." So no movie star at Target today but it sure was exciting there for a minute. Later I went up to the Vampire clone and asked her if she's seen the movie twilight. She hadn't so I informed her that she looked just like one of the characters and even though she was the evil vampire she was very beautiful. She said she will have to go see it now.

After Target we headed to Kohls for more great deals. I was hesitant because last year the lines were horrendously long. Not this year, they moved very fast and wasn't so bad. I'm sure the people behind Elena and I weren't too happy when we finally got to the front and Monica, Mindy and Gena came and cut right in. I was afraid to turn around and see if we were getting evil eyes?!

Elena, Me, Gena, Monica, Mindy

We then headed out for some food with one last stop at Sams Club. There were some pretty good deals there. Who would have thought? I'll have to post a picture of us later while we were at Sams Club. We found this nice vignette set up with a couch, two chairs and huge TV playing a movie and a fireplace with fire. We parked it there while we were waiting for Gena. I asked for popcorn and some hot chocolate but no one brought me any. The nerve! I also asked for a different movie but the workers just ignored me. jeez!

All in all it was a great day. I came home and took a 3 hour nap and feel ready to go again.
I'm sold on Black Friday. The key is to go with great friends, have a plan and laugh a lot! It's also a great idea if you can somehow get an endless supply of money. Being on a budget really cuts into the fun! But we managed♥

The Costco Black Hole

I am back to being a Costco shopper. I am being honest when I say I haven't shopped there since before the summer started. In fact on Monday when I went to get my 420 pictures developed the lady at the photo counter said, "you need to renew and it was up in May." Then she said with shock, "you haven't been here since May?" What, am I the only one that doesn't spend my days roaming the isles of Costco? Thanks Lady!

I even thought about NOT renewing but I wanted my pictures so I caved. The sad part is Costco does suck you in. Since Monday I have been there three times and Tom once. It's a little addicting. You see something, you think, "Nah I don't need that." Then you go home and think about it and have to rush back to get it because if you don't it won't be there! Am I right or am I right?!

The killer that made me stop going was:
1. We are a family of four. I don't need to buy in bulk.
2. I hate walking out of there with 5 items that cost $127.52!
3. I truthfully don't make pre-packaged food that often. Don't judge me. I either make things from scratch or..........wait for it...........we go out. Yep, we like to go out. In fact we need to stop this habit.

So, I guess I am semi back on the Costco wagon and hopefully I won't go broke riding said wagon!

Questions:

Do you shop at Costco?

Why?

Do they suck you in or is it just second nature to head over there?

Make-up Deal

I thought I would pass on this great deal on the make-up I use. I have never been a heavy make-up user. In fact it wasn't until about 3 years ago when we went on our 1st cruise that I even bought a whole set of makeup for myself. (thought I needed to look pretty for my sweetie)This is what I bought and I have been a loyal customer ever since! I love, love, love it! Mainly because it doesn't "feel" like I'm wearing makeup - even when it's 115 degrees outside. It covers all my problem areas and smooths out my skin. I can even sleep in it - which I do only sometimes. I bought it at Ulta.
They have "people" there that will help you pick the right set for you and show you how to apply it. It was a no brainer for me since I wasn't make-up savvy for sure! Anyway, they are having a great sale and thought I would pass the information on.

ULTA Exclusive! Starter Collection - $60.00 - Light
The Original bareMinerals Starter Kit, a $165.00 value, is yours for just $60.00.
The Original bareMinerals Starter Kit includes:- Two shades of SPF 15 Foundation- Mineral Veil- Warmth All-Over Face Color- Glee All-Over Face Color- Handi Buki Brush- Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush- Flawless Application Face Brush- How-to DVD.
SKU: 2133148

Question:

What kind of make-up do you use?

Do you have a favorite brand?