Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Garden View

This summer, our friends hosted an outdoor movie night at their house, and I took some photos of their beautiful backyard. I've been meaning to share them with you but we've been pretty busy with our homeschool schedule after getting back from our beach trip.
It doesn't really look like the desert, does it?
 Although it can get pretty hot here in the high desert during the daytime, our nights are generally pretty cool.  Bugs aren't much of a problem here either, so a movie night outdoors was a wonderful idea. Everyone had a great time.
 Sid and Angela live on a couple of acres, and have several outdoor areas to enjoy.
 The stumps of old trees have become torsos to hold vintage baskets and garden odds and ends.
ferret fun

They also have a few critters here on their property :-)



Roses seem to grow well in the desert.
  Thanks so much to Jo over at the beautiful blog Secret Garden Cottage, for telling me about the ease of photo editing with Picnik. I'm very much an amateur, but it's been so much fun learning :-) 
~White Wednesday
I'm joining Kathleen over at Faded Charm for her White Wednesday blog party. If you get a chance, stop by and visit.
Blessings,
Marcia

Thursday, September 23, 2010

White Market Beauty

   "All things white, that is what we like! Down couches, dutch mints, vanilla candles, white pear tea; bell jars, chandeliers and bottle brush trees…Glass, glitter, old and new; gold, pearls, paper, silver hues. From french to flea market, second hand too, treasures we find to bring them to you." White Market
From tea parties to holiday and seasonal displays, along with vintage crafts, the beautiful and talented Aubrey Johnson and her inspiring family have created White Market.
   Several years ago I had the privilege of attending a craft fair where Aubrey had a boutique. I was so taken by the items displayed that I purchased several, then went back for one more just as they were closing.
I couldn't resist :-)
 Aubrey recently started a blog and I asked her if I could share some of her lovely creations with all of you. She graciously agreed. 
Aren't these the sweetest little shoes?
The romantic one-of-a-kind creations of  White Market and the inspiring words written from the heart will be a treat for all of you. You'll also be sweetly encouraged to find your own creative outlet. Peruse her blog and be sure and sign up for her newsletter, available on her White Market website. Both sites are a joy!
Sometimes I just want to share the beauty of blog land with you all! After you visit with Aubrey, go by and see all of the other Vintage Inspiration Friday posts at Common Ground and the Friday Pretties at I Love Pretty Little Things, where  Debra and Joyce both love to share the beauty in blog land too.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Blessings,
Marcia

Monday, September 20, 2010

Unexpected Memories

  In case you missed my last post, we were blessed with a wonderful vacation last week.

We walked over to the California Surf Museum, because, as you may know, Russ has been a surfer for years, and we were within walking distance :-) When we arrived, the sweet ladies working there introduced us to a few surfing legends who just happened to be visiting at the same time. We were all thrilled. I even remembered to get a photo!
Chuck Quinn in back, Woody Ekstrom, Eve Fletcher and friend

As we headed back to our condo, we decided to take a different route, and as we were walking down the strand we happened upon these little cottages facing the ocean...and memories of my childhood came rushing back. I thought I'd only been to this beach one time before, 17 years ago, when I was pregnant with Serena. These cottages were part of a memory though, and it went back a lot farther than that.
 

 I told my family I'd stayed here as a child. I remembered these cottages well. I was here with my parents, my brother and my grandma. I couldn't remember the circumstances that brought us here, but I was sure of this place. I remembered getting up early in the morning with my mom and brother and going out hunting for seashells. It was overcast, and I kept looking back at the cottages, keeping my eye on them, not wanting to venture too far off.

When we got back to our condo I called my mom. She filled in the blanks. We had been to the San Diego Zoo, and decided to stop in Oceanside for the night. Yes, these were the cottages and I couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 when we'd stayed here.

 I asked around and found out a little more about them. Built in the 20's, they were originally a motel, but were later sold individually as condos. Called Roberts Cottages, they and are still available for rental, and are part of a condo association. In a place where large condominium complexes and apartment buildings are the norm, these sweet little cottages were such a pleasant surprise and a wonderful unexpected memory. We were also able to make a few new memories of our own :-)
Aren't these little cottages cute?
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Blessings,
Marcia

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Gift




 Have you ever been given a gift that you know you can't possibly repay? One that blesses 
you more than words can ever say? Our family was given that gift this past week.

 It started several months ago, when a couple that we've become acquainted with at 
church asked us a simple question. 
They said "Does your family ever get away?" 
 We smiled, and said that it tended to be "day trips" with a family of 8.
 

 The next week they showed up with a book of destinations. They were offering us a week at 
their timeshare, anywhere we wanted to go! We were overwhelmed. People don't give
family of 8 a vacation, it just doesn't happen!

 We'd never been to dinner with this couple, never had them in our home, and only gotten 
to know them in the past year, but they chose to bless our family in this way. 
And what a blessing it was my friends. 

I can't even begin to tell you.



 

 Our entire family spent a week at the beach, in a lovely 3 bedroom condo. Both of our older 
sons were able to come too. We all had a wonderful time. 


Thank you  so much Larry and Aleen.

 You've exemplified Christ's example of offering a gift that can never be repaid.
It has meant so much to our whole family. More than you'll ever know.
Words cannot begin to express the joy and thankfulness we feel in 
our hearts!
Blessings,
Marcia


Saturday, September 11, 2010

A "little" r & r

 We're slipping away for a few days...
 Can you guess where we'll be?
It might involve a little bit of this ;-)
I'll visit you all when we get back. 
Until then...have a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Marcia

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sweet Vintage Lids

 For today's post, I wanted to share something that is simple and useful, and many of you may
have them in your home.
They are the old zinc porcelain lids for mason jars. 
 When my mom was a child growing up on a farm in the Ozarks during the depression, they didn't
have many toys. However, my grandmother did lots of canning and she had many mason jars.
The lids would get rusty, and while we might like them that way in our vintage decorating,
they didn't work well for canning. 
I'm told this word means "glass towel" in German
 When they started to rust, she would give them to her girls. They would take the metal off,
and be left with this little porcelain plate. These were their toy plates!
Of course, I haven't done that with any of mine :-)
Do you see the little raised area? That was the bottom of the plate.
 My mom and her sister would have stacks of these little plates, and they would play house with them.
I have always loved the resourcefulness of the people of that era. As we try to find new uses for
vintage items, I just thought I'd share this dear old one with you.
My mom has been having some health issues this week, and while we hope it is now figured out,
I'm so glad to have her in my life, and the sweet stories of her childhood.

See more Friday Pretties at I Love Pretty Little Things and more Vintage Inspiration Friday posts
at Common Ground :-)
Enjoy your weekend my friends.
Blessings,
Marcia

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Summers Past

 I want to thank everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes for my daughter Serena. 
You are all so sweet! 
School has started back at our house. We are back to a schedule so my time in blog land is a bit more limited right now. I will do a post on how we started homeschooling sometime in the future. I am now beginning my 16th year of homeschooling, and I still continue to learn new things.
 Summer is still apparent around here too. It's warm, and will probably stay that way for a few more weeks. 
I came across these old photos recently and thought they'd make a nice end-of-summer post. 
A reminder of the simple summers of our past. 
 The little girl is me, along with my brother Kevin.
I just love the load of white laundry hanging in the background. 
Don't look too close though, I think there are "unmentionables" hanging there!
 My memory tells me that Kevin sometimes picked on me, as older brothers will do.
Maybe I asked for it :-)

As this summer passes, I hope that you all have wonderful memories to treasure.

I'm linking with Faded Charm and all the fun White Wednesday posts.
 Stop by and visit them if you get a chance!
Blessings,
Marcia

Friday, September 3, 2010

Friday Pretties--My Sweet Serena

 9-3-93...the day I gave birth to my first baby girl! She's turning 17...where oh where does the time go? After two wonderful little boys, our baby girl was a such a sweet surprise. We named her Serena Joy, and that name fits her perfectly. 
 Always a little lady, with a sweet nature that has taught me so much about kindness. She can hold her own with all of her siblings though :-)
She's a loving daughter, sister and friend. Her love for God shows in the way she lives her life, every single day.
 She had violet eyes as a baby that have turned into a beautiful shade of blue green. She also has a natural blond streak on the top of her head that can be seen in some of the photographs. It sometimes looks as if she has a headband on. She has another one in the back. She'll never need to streak her hair, because it grows in that way. No roots!!
A photographer friend, McKenna, of McKenna Pendergrass Photography recently took photos of Serena and I'd like to share a few including the one at the top of this post. She's a photographer in the Los Angeles/So. California area. We think she's a very talented photographer and she did a wonderful job.
Thank you so much McKenna!!!

 Happy Birthday My Sweet Serena. I love you!!!
I'm linking with Joyce at I Love Pretty Little Things and her Friday Pretties because I'm the mama and I think my sweet Serena is beautiful. I'm sure you all understand :-)
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Blessings,
Marcia