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!

Summer Vacation #2

 Amberly jumping for joy to be in the ocean.

This summer we tried something new.  Maybe not new to other people but, very new to us.  Camping. We've only been on one overnighter as a family and it rained.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the best either.  This year we wanted to try camping at the beach.  We had heard for years how fun it was and I was desperate to get to the beach this summer so I signed us up.  Yes, me.  The non-camper signed us up.

And guess what?  We LOVED it with a capitol L!  Seriously one of the best vacations we've done.  in fact we were already planning our next camping adventure as we were driving home from this one.

 This girl (Miss Cassidy) would not get out of the water.  

She was in it from sun up to sun down.  I kid you not people.  

She was in heaven.

 I sat next to this handsome guy everyday.  We shared an umbrella and had matching beach chairs. 

 We brought a picnic to the beach everyday with snacks, drinks and lunch. 

 We didn't move from our post.  It was wonderful!

 Amberly didn't love boogie boarding as much as her sister but she spent her fair share of time in the water. 

 I didn't get in because it was too darn cold! 

 But I did get my feet wet, chased the waves, went for long walks, gathered smooth flat stones and shells, took a long nap, got really really tan and filled my heart with being at the beach.

 Amberly has the best Daddy.  He took her out in the water and didn't come in for hours. 

 Just him and her.

More beach pictures to come and a big thanks to our friends that made the trip so much fun!

Summer Trip #1

We hadn't planned on going anywhere this summer. 

 Pool time and summer movies was the only thing on our agenda.  

The closer it got to the 4th of July the more we wanted to get out of the hot desert air and go somewhere cool and with a parade.  We didn't see either but we did have a great time!

Cousin Mischa age 5

We went on long walks down country roads, had long talks with friends of old.  

Grandma came and played games for hours.  It was a heat wave, so glad we had power! 

We loved being away from real life.  The country is so peaceful and quiet.  

These pictures are all on Tom's brothers farm.  What a beautiful place to live♥

I love the history of the Midwest.  Everything in Arizona is new, new, new.   

I love that too.  

But there is something about seeing these old buildings and barns that have been around for 

100+ years that melt my heart.

The favorite thing from our trip was swimming in the pond out back.  

My kids loved it and I loved watching them.

Other things we did:

 

 We went through Oklahoma which Cassidy was thrilled about - since she was born there.

 My Dad's mothers maiden name was Hooker.  

I had to take a picture of this as we went through Kansas for two reasons: Why? And Why?

 We stopped in OZ in Liberal KS.  

They have Dorthy's house, a museum and if you blink as you are driving through the town you'll miss it. 

 (It's a very, very small town)

 

We met a biker guy named Jingles at a gas station and he gave Tom this bobcat hat.  

Yes,  Tom can make friends anywhere!

 

We played socks with Grandma and the cousins.  

She does "socks" so no little hands get hit with 'spoons".

We also, watched fireworks, lit fireworks, BBQ'd, went to dinner with friends, stayed up way too late, melted in the humility, went swimming in ponds and pools, antique shopped, grocery shopped, went to an Amish auction, ate ice cream, organized, and overall had a lot of fun.

Get Ready for the Travel Bug

I have been wanting to get out of this heat like you can not imagine!
Oh it's been a hot, humid, sticky August and September doesn't look like it's going to get any better.
I saw this and thought to myself.....
"would anyone notice if I just ran away?"
of course they would, so I won't run..I will just dream...of going somewhere, anywhere, other than here.

♥ House Love ♥

On my little weekend get-a-way to Pasadena I fell in LOVE with the houses there.  I mean come on....houses in Cali have soooo much more personality than the houses here in the desert do.  (no offense desert)

 OK I didn't fall in love with this house but it was quite comical and it is on the corner of a busy street so everyone can see it for sure...without a doubt.  I'm sure that's what the owner intended.

What I loved most was the tree lines streets.  In the movies the characters always live on a tree lined street where there is a canopy of leaves that you drive under to get home.  I found it on this trip!  I didn't get any pictures of the houses on the beautiful drive to the Rose Bowl but I have to say that going from our Hotel to the Rose Bowl Flea Market was just as fun as the flea market itself.  The trees, houses and curb appeal was breathtaking.  The houses above in the pictures are what I like to refer to as "excuse me houses"  When you drive by one you say, "excuse me!  Who lives in that house!"  The houses in Pasadena were more realistic and just as beautiful if not more.  Remember this house?

The House in The Father of the Bride?  The house with the amazing tree lined streets?  Yep...Pasadena!  Here's the kicker.......I read that this house was in Pasadena the day after I came back from.....Pasadena.  Ugh!  Seriously!  I guess I will just have to go back!?  (photo courtesy of Dear Old Hollywood)

Anyway, I think I may have a house addiction.  When we drove by the above neighborhood where I took the pictures I got all giddy with excitement and was bouncing up and down in my seat.  I made Chelsa turn the car around and go back.  I have issues. It could be worse....houses don't make you gain weight.  Haha

Papa Bear Chair

We were in Amish country during fall break (or as Abby calls it- Homish) and we stopped in an Amish furniture / craft store. My SIL saw this chair and said,

" oh look at the Papa Bear chair!"

then she climbed up in the big beast of a thing saying in a low voice,

"someones been sitting in my chair"

the whole store (OK it was only about 6 people) busted out laughing. Seriously.....it was the funniest thing! The best part? She wasn't trying to be funny because that's what that big chair looked like...and doesn't she look like Goldilocks sitting in it?

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OUR NEW HOME

So what do you think? Does it look like it could be the new Gardenview Cottage? My girls think so!

We have been on a fun adventure this week and I can't wait to post pictures and share all our fun stories!

Bad news though........I forgot my "other half" - my camera.....so the entire trip I took pictures with my phone!

Seriously......can you believe that?

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Va-Cay #1 - Florida

We arrived in Miami Wednesday. The flight wasn’t bad. We had a layover in Houston Tx. When we flew in to Houston I thought to myself, “wow they sure have a lot of bright blue pools here!” then as we got closer to the ground I realized that it was the roofs of houses that had bright blue on parts of it. I asked my seatmate what they were. He said they were tarps left over from the damage of the last hurricane. Ike was it? How sad. Wasn’t that last year? And people still don’t have their roofs fixed?

After we arrived in Miami it was late. We were tired. The girls were amped. Isn’t that how it always is? Parents are exhausted – kids wound up? I don’t think that us renting a convertible helped matters. They were beside themselves. Now we all want one - they are so fun!

Thursday was spent sleeping in (till 11am!) Then we went to the pool. We noticed there were a lot of beautiful Latin girls in bikinis all around the pool. About 15-20 in fact. All young and beautiful. Hmmmm this was not very good for my self esteem. We got in the hot tub and found out they were here till May for a Latin Reality Pagent Show on Univision. Nuestra Belleza Latina. There were 75 girls but now they are down to 40. It ‘s on every Sunday night. I’ll have to tune in to see the winner. The girls were so friendly and nice it was hard not to like them – even though they were so darn beautiful. We even got to see them do some filming! My purse and shoes might be in the shot. I was hiding in the hot tub. No way was I going to be filmed next to those beauty queens!

Friday we went to Gator Park early in the morning. The girls were dying to see some alligators and we aim to please so off we went! I searched a bunch of different airboat tours to the everglades and decided on Gator Park because they have a live alligator show and other scary animals to look at. Snakes, lizards, turtles and a lot of alligators in all sizes. The boat ride was fun and we did see a lot of alligators hanging out in the sawgrass. I have to admit, the alligator wrestling show was the highlight of the trip to Gator Park. The guy was sooooo funny and he really did wrestle the alligator! He put his hand in his mouth and jumped on his back and got his head and did all kinds of crazy stuff. I wonder how much he gets paid. Not enough!

The kicker……? He let us hold an alligator about the size of Abby!! Oh yes he did! Tom was first, then Cassidy then Me. Abby didn’t want to and I don’t blame her. It was as big as her. I would have been a little apprehensive too! Tons of fun I tell you! I could have done that show again it was so good. I highly recommend it! It also wasn’t very expensive. $42 for the four of us to go on a boat ride, see the alligator show, hold the alligator and walk the park to see all the animals.

(Do you like how I'm holding it like a baby?)

Friday I spent a good amount of time being a spy and trying to find the location of my favorite show Burn Notice. I knew they filmed in Miami and since I was in Miami I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by. So I searched and searched and found a location. I also found out they have have a contract that says they have to film in Miami. Miami hasn’t been on the TV map since Miami Vice and they (the City) want to have their name in lights again. I’ll say it’s in lights! Burn Notice is the Best Darn Show out there if you ask me! We love it! And it was a unanimous vote – Saturday we were off to find the Burn Notice Set location!

Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast of oatmeal and bananas in our room. Instant oatmeal is the perfect in-your-hotel-room food. You use the coffee maker to heat your water, the coffee cups to hold the oatmeal and the coffee spoons to stir and eat! Saves time and money when on vacation! That is….if you like instant oatmeal. We then headed to the Wholesale Mall that was next to our Hotel. This is similar to the LA Fashion District but not as good. Lots of shops with wholesale items like jewelry, purses, clothing and such. The girls and I got earrings, sterling silver hoops for $3 and $5. And Cass got a bracelet for $4. I was too excited to go on my Burn Notice adventure to want to shop for anything more. We then put the top down on the car and off we went in search of Michael Weston and Fiona.

Since being here in Florida I was surprised at how…..shall I say ugly it was. The landscaping was blah, the trees were sparse, no flowers in site. I was shocked really. I kept saying to Tom, where is the lush tropical landscaping? Where are the flowers? Even in California in the bad parts of town people will have bars on their windows, paint chipping off the houses and gorgeous flowers and shrubs in their front yards. I was expecting that of Miami. Not until we got into Coconut Grove did I see pretty flowers and trees. And let me tell you they were everywhere! I loved it!!!! We drove right to the address of the Burn Notice location. We got out and started investigating. It’s in an old building that isn’t used anymore and looks deserted. However we saw the stars trailers, a big semi with a card in it’s window that said Burn notice, a food service truck, lots of production tricks and trailers. (these are the stars trailers!)

We were getting very excited. We walked around the building and saw two guards. We asked them if we could get in and see the set. They said they wouldn’t start filming till Wednesday and to come back. We tried and tried to get them to let us in to see but they wouldn’t. It was deserted anyway, we wouldn’t have seen anyone. We then walked around the whole building all sad but still hoping we would see someone or something. We were just about to round the corner and head to the car when Tom and I stopped, looked at each other and looked to our left. I then broke into a run – yes, I RAN! Right over to the entrance to Michael Weston's loft. You know the corrugated tin gate, the rusted walls. The staircase to the blue door. We saw it and we were all dancing around. The girls were so excited! (they think Michael really lives there) It was all real to them and very fun for Tom and I. You can bet we are coming back after the cruise. We can’t wait!!!!

We then drove through Coconut grove which was beautiful and had big beautiful homes and lots and lots of amazing flowers and gorgeous landscaping! We drove right out to Key Biscayne had lunch then spent the day at Crandon Park. One of the top 10 beaches in the United States. It was sunny, warm, breezy and beautiful. The ocean was shallow for a long way out so the girls were safe while they played in the waves. This was a very family friendly beach. I was afraid to go to the beach because of spring break but we lucked out and were surrounded by families and children. The beach was picturesque with the big yellow lifeguard station, palm trees blowing in the wind and the green blue water stretched out before us. It was a perfect day.

More to come about the rest of the week!