WE MAY NOT HAVE ANY MONEY BUT WE'VE GOT LOVE TO PAY THE BILLS

Lets just be honest. 

My husband and I, like most of Americas population, don't make a lot of money.  In fact, less than most.

And in fact, we live in a small 1 bedroom condo with only two windows to be exact.

But

We love each other more than these four walls can contain

and more than any bank account can hold.

And

We live here loving each other

Looking out our two windows at the ocean,

And were happy.

This morning my husband lost his job with a company hes been working for for almost 5 years.

As you can imagine, we were completely blind sided.

But

My husband is an amazing man, and I know these trials will be short lived.

I have faith in all that he does and aside from life's little hiccups...

We are happy.

Here's to new adventures.

SEATTLE AREA RUMMAGE SALE THIS SATURDAY AND YOU'LL HELP SAVE A LIFE

Hi friends!  Meet Kayla!

Kayla is a 17 year old high school senior who has been living with Cystic Fibrosis her entire life.

I have to tell you, this girl is one hell of a fire cracker!  Shes smart and witty and never puts up with any garbage from anyone.  She's also one of the most compassionate and family oriented teenagers I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  Her body may not be the strongest, but her spirit and personality sure is.

I have the wonderful fortune of working for her family.  I've been a nanny to little Liam for the last year and a half, and Kayla is his well loved cousin.  Liam calls her DoDa, and he loves her to no end.  He talks about her constantly and loves to spend time with her whenever he can.

About 10 months ago, we all learned that Kayla's health has depleted to a state where she is in need of a double lung transplant.  She was put on the donor list in September and her family and friends have been pulling together to help her family raise money for Kayla's surgery.  Though her parents do have insurance, their out of pocket expenses are estimated to be between $50,000 and $130,000.   At first, we all thought it would be a difficult feat to raise that much money, but in the last 6 months, we have raised over $80,000!  Its amazing to see so many people pulling together to give Kayla the best opportunity's throughout her life.

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This Saturday, the Mukilteo YMCA will be hosting a huge rummage sale to help us raise money for Kayla's charity.  We've already had tons of people donate their rummage for the event but we can always use more!!  If you are interested in donating any items to our event please call 206-384-4409 to find out options for pick up or times you can drop off at the YMCA.

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If you're more of a collector than a donor, come join us!

Saturday May 7th

10am to 4pm

Mulkilteo YMCA

10601 47th Place West

Mukilteo, WA 98275

There will be toys, baby and kids items, antique chairs, clothes, tvs, desks, lots of household items, lamps and much more! 

I hope to see some of you there!  And if you follow my blog, make sure to come say hi!  My husband and I will be there the whole day!

100% of the procedes will go to COTA for Kayla H and will be deposited into an account that Kayla can use towards her medical expences for the rest of her life.

Read more about Kayla and other ways to help here:

COTA FOR KAYLA

CHEERS!

NEW SHOP ITEM! NAUTICAL CANVASE THROW PILLOWS

Friends, I do apologize for this weeks hiatus but I have to show you what I have been working on!

Six of these beauties will be added to my Etsy Shop by the end of today!

I'm hoping they will be a hit.  I absolutely love them!  The material is so durable and nice, I love the buttons I found and the nautical rope to loop it with.  As I was making the first one I was thinking to myself...... I'm going to have to steal a few of these for around my house!  I guess the hardest thing about trying to craft for a living is the fact that I want to keep everything for myself!  No worries though, I can always make more!

The fabric is 100% cotton canvas with Grayish Blue and White stripes.  The pillow case doubles over in the middle for easy pillow removal and is fastened by a fun red button and a sandy nautical roap loop.
Holds a 14x14 sized pillow

$22 for Pillowcase Only
$35 for the Case and Pillow

Please visit MY SHOP to snag one of these up!

 

CHEERS!

COO COO CA CHOO

Everyone knows this legendary picture yes?

Abbey Road is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band The Beatles. Though Let It Be was the last album released before The Beatles' dissolution in 1970, work on Abbey Road began in April 1969, making it the final album recorded by the band. Abbey Road was released on 26 September 1969 in the United Kingdom, and 1 October 1969 in the United States. It was produced and orchestrated by George Martin for Apple Records.

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Abbey Road is regarded as one of The Beatles' most tightly constructed albums, although the band was barely operating as a functioning unit at the time.  Rolling Stone placed it at number 14 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2009, readers of the magazine also named Abbey Road the greatest Beatles album.  The photography on the album cover is an iconic representation of last real days of The Beatles.

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Now.... Did you know that you can watch a live 24 hour a day video feed of Abbey Road on the net?

Click here at Abbey Road to check it out

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The Beatles shall live on forever in our own special ways.

Coo Coo Ca Choo!

HAPPY EASTER!

I hope your day is full of joy, family, egg hunts and good eats!

xoxo

CHEERS!

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

Spring is here!  Yes, I know its still raining like crazy here in Seattle, but we've had a few days of beautiful sun, and I'm ready to see those flowers!

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This year I'm determined to spend some time making my balcony a secret little retreat.  I live below the stairs, which I love.  During the spring and summer there is a lilac bush right in front of my balcony rail and it blooms into a lush bright green and purple smell good flowers.  Between the stairs and my lilac bush, my porch becomes almost completely private.  My own private little oasis.  I'm currently on the hunt for a shabby potting bench.  I'm really hoping to have some fun this spring.

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I've been loving these terrarium pieces.  I made 15 of these beauties for my wedding, and now I just want them all over my house.

I love this swing!  I have to make one these!

I also love this idea of planting in glass containers.  This one is beautiful with this pretty rustic rope.

Pretty Pretty.

Do any of you have spring gardening plans?

Cheers!

SUNDAY BRUNCH ~ THE BROWN BAG CAFE

There is nothing better then having a great brunch with great friends.  Curtis and I have been planning on spending this morning with two of our closest friends Courtney and Brandon.  Everyone is pinching pennies these days, and Courtney tells me that when the two of them want to take a minute to splurge and really want to treat them selves, the Brown Bag Cafe is where they go. 

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Walking in to the Brown Bag is walking into a maze of old windows, antique nick knacks and scooting around hoards of people eventually  to get to the front counter to put your name on the list.  I generally think having to wait a while for your breakfast is a good sign, and it was definitely a good sign for this mornings nosh.

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The original owner, Ward Myers used to be a cook and baker in remote Alaskan logging camps, where a fresh home cooked meal was hard to come by.  Later him and his wife moved to Washington and opened the first Brown Bag Cafe.   The restaurant was an instant hit, because it offered local loggers a hearty 4am breakfast, as well as a brown paper bag lunch to go.  Today the restaurant is owned by their son Alex, who is the morning baker.  While your waiting for your table you will see many patrons ordering bags and bags of enormous English muffins and Cinnamon rolls to take home with them.

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A few of their specialties include banana and pecan pancakes and french toast made from their in house made cinnamon rolls, yes frosting and all!  Yum!  Our table was over flowing with yummy breakfast food this morning.  A wonderful over filling breakfast with wonderful friends equals delightful over satisfaction for me.  We immediately had to go play a round of miniature golf afterwards to keep us from going home, curling up in bed and having a complete food coma.

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Cheers to the Brown Bag Cafe!

And Cheers to you!

IT'S T-BALL!!

My husbands family can quite easily be considered a baseball family.  My husbands brother played baseball most of his life, he has one hell of a pitchers arm!  So this weekend was a pretty big to do, because our little five year old nephew Xander played his very first game of T-Ball! 

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I've been sick with a cold and cough for the last few days, so I'm on day 2 of not getting much sleep do to coughing my guts out.  So this morning I showed up at the opening ceremony armed with a fluffy hoody sweat shirt and a giant Chai Late.  Chai really is a life savor.  It was great fun to see all the excited wiggly kids walking across the field.  Non of them could hold still. Lol

After the opening ceremony, Curt and I had some extra time to poke around Puyallup.  Luck came our way and we bumped right into an artisan festival in the park.  Artisan festival to me equals fun crafts to look at aaaaannnddd STREET FOOD!   Oh how I love street food!  Curtis and I found a delectable hand made tamale booth.  Now that is my kind of breakfast!  They also had these amazing fried little canoli like pastries.. Oh so yummy!   On top of an ideal breakfast, I made of with a few new treasures.  I picked up a nifty old beet up fruit crate and a perfect little pick nick basket for only $5 for both!  Woot!

Xander's first game was this afternoon.  It was so great to see all the kids getting the hang of the game.  It's really just teaching the kids to hit, catch and throw, along with good sportsmanship and team playing.  Xander made sure to correct us when ever we would call it a "Baseball Game".  He would say "It's T-BALL!!"  Over all, it was such a great day to get outside and spend time with family!

CHEERS!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Yeah! It's finally the weekend!  Curtis and I are gearing up for a busy and exciting weekend!  We are currently cuddling up at my in laws, watching TV and taking advantage of her wonderful enormous soaking tub!  Woot!  Were spending the night so we can wake up bright and early to see Curtis' five year old nephew play his first game of T-Ball!  Very Exciting!   Then we are going to spend Saturday night with 2 of our really good friends in their brand new digs!  Sunday we are having brunch at a special place and playing a round of miniature golf, then only a few down moments before we go to see my absolute favorite jazz singer of all time, Kurt Elling!!   His lyrics fill my heart with pure love and his voice is just like butter!  I just can't wait!  What do you guys have planned for this weekend?

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Just so you can get a little taste.  :O)

Cheers!

ALL THE WILD HORSES

I keep seeing all these wonderful photographs popping up everywhere.

I think once I get my house together and I'm ready to start hanging art, I might just blow up a couple photographs to have around the house. 

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These are gorgeous

 

CHEERS!

IM JUST SAYIN....

So I just got married right....

Do y'all have any idea how many times I've been asked when we're going to start making babies?!

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So I just want to lay it all out on the line right now.  Are you ready?  I'm no where near crazy enough to jump on the baby train any time soon.....  There.

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But if I were, and I'm not saying I am....... I LOVE THIS!

Oh yeah... and this too.....

I'm just sayin......

Cheers!

SUNDAY BRUNCH ~ THE CRICKET CAFE

Curtis and I are huge fans of Portland.  Mostly because one of our amazing friends and the man who married us lives there, but what makes Portland such an amazing city is the FOOD!!  Every nook and corner has something new and creative to offer, as well as amazing care to the quality and freshness of the food its self.  Like the Seattle area, Portland is also booming with agriculture and specialized vendors of all sorts.  Though there are many places that I love to eat at in Seattle, I have to admit that Portland really has it figured out.  They have it figured out because all of these small little eateries in every nook and corner are taking full advantage to the natural resources and agriculture the city has offer.  It's really quite amazing!

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The Cricket Cafe is no stranger to that concept.  Pulling all of their ingredients from Farmers Markets, local family bakeries, local sustainable farms..... even their next door neighbors backyard stash of mint leaves!  Community and humanity are the heart and soul to small business.  That is what makes us great!  That is what makes us wholesome!  That is what makes the lines go around the damn corner!!

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Ill never forget the first meal I ever had at the Cricket.   It was a special;  Ricotta flap jacks, with glazed white peaches and hearty bits of CANDIED BACON!!!   Yeah..... that was CANDIED BACON!

I honestly don't think Ill ever forget that Sunday brunch.  Along with amazing food The Cricket also offers an impressive liquid menu.  The specialty is, "The Bloody Gary" 

Not just your every day bloody mary...  Jalapeno infused vodka and fresh horse radish.  It's self induced heart burn, but my oh my don't we just love to feel the burn!  My favorite bloody of all time!

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The restaurant was created on a bet between a husband and his wife as they were walking home one evening.  As they were walking, a white cat crossed their path, which later they found out was named "Cricket"..... And there you have it, The Cricket Cafe!

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My dear friends, if you are visiting Portland, you have to stop by 3159 SE Bellmont and have a "Gary" for me.  Oh, and if the line is around the corner, just remember.... CANDIED BACON!

 

CHEERS TO THE CRICKET!

A PURPOSE FOR REPURPOSING

I've been totally inspired lately by Sunset Magazine.  The last few issues have has some amazing articles featuring people who have revamped their yards and interiors with repurposed materials.  I LOVE THIS!  I mean I love gardens that are full of funny junk laying all over the place, but I also love to see people repurpose junk to make their gardens look oh so modern and cozy.

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One of my favorite couples here in Seattle just purchased their first home.  It took Auna and Chris almost an entire year to close on their house, due to construction code issues the bank had to repair, and special loans they had to be approved for to pay for the work that will inevitably have to be done to the home before they can move in.  With a year long struggle, they were just given the keys several days ago, and they are already planning some exciting things.  One thing that is important to them is to conserve wherever possible as well as have some COLOR!  The gray sky's of Seattle can get the best of us down in the dumps, so they plan to counter balance that with a vibrant colored home.  Such a great idea!

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So here are a few ideas with them in mind!

The gall who designed this outdoor space as well as converted her shed into an office space did it for under $2000!

Most of her fancy pots were found at thrift stores or are cheep terracotta pots done up with a little paint.

I love how colorful and whimsical her garden is, and looks to be pretty low maintenance.

Another great use of colorful paint!

Great Shed Transformation!

Love the Chicks and Hens hanging out in the palm tree!

I was also so happy to see a Seattle native Leah Steen from Revival Home And Garden in the most recent article who revamped her beautiful georgetown fixer upper using mostly reclaimed materials and lots of imagination.  Also, I'm not a huge lover of the color purple, but the color of her house is AWESOME!!

I love the front hedges and walking stones that are chunks of cement from their RV parking pad deconstruction.  Also those fabulous gates on the side of the house was built from salvaged metal.

This is a discarded syrup barrel from Coca-Cola that they revamped into a rain saver.  Leah said the water gets them through half the summer.

The pavers are chunks of the old RV parking pad lined with moss.

They revamped the detached garage into a guest house and the windows were repurposed from Second Use.

The interior is as bright as the exterior with crazy wall-paper from flavorleague.com

I also love this industrial storage cabinet turned liquor cabinet!  That candelabra is pretty nifty as well!

Well, there you have it.  Inspiration can be found anywhere!

Cheers!