Retro Redo Part 1

I love a great deal as much as the next person, and free is always good, but I have to admit I've always been a little wary of "dumpster diving."  I know people that do it, I've heard people talk about it on HGTV, and I've seen the great stuff that people drag home and resurrect.  I've just always been a little to "scared" to do it myself.  That was until last year after picking up my son up at middle school. You see, every year my small town has what they call "City-wide Clean-up."  You can clear as much shit unused treasure out of your house as you want and set it at the curb, and the trash service comes and takes all of it.  What I discovered is that if you scope out the streets before the trash truck comes you can find some diamonds in the rough.

Sorry about the blurry Android photo! And it's not in the photo but the seat cushion was with the chair!

I must confess my middle-schooler wasn't too keen on the idea of me pulling over on the road near his school and dragging this beauty up out of the ditch.  But sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  I promptly drove to our storage unit and unloaded it in hopes that my husband wouldn't discover it and throw it back in the trash!  And there it's been sitting since last May.  Fast forward to last week.  I've been wanting to learn to upholster for quite some time but just didn't ever take the initiative.  I was talking with my sister  again about wanting to learn and she just happened to go online and find a class at a local community college.  Unfortunately, the first class was the night before she found it and it said online that it was closed.  Not to be discouraged, I called up the admissions office and pleaded my case.  As luck would have it the instructor is a very agreeable fellow and gave me permission to start this week.  Yeah!  So last night I loaded up my project and headed to my first upholstery class.  As much as I hoped it could, the upholstery could not be saved, and  as you can see it is missing a front leg, but not to worry a new one has been ordered and is on its way!

This is the tag I removed from the bottom of the chair.  I haven't done any research on the Thayer Coggin Co., but I definitely will.

 After removing the base of the chair, I was on my way to removing all the old upholstery.

All the springs are in great shape.

This is its current state after my first official upholstery class.  I post more as I work my way through the class.

It Seems So Simple

I need to put this list on a constant loop in my mind!

Conversations With a Three Year-Old

Me:  Wow!  Julia you look great but we may have to change before we go into town.

Julia:  But Mom!  These are my special errand-running clothes!

A Very Caribbean Christmas

The kids are past the Santa years (except one) and frankly we were getting tired of shopping and filling our house with more overpriced junk.  This year we decided to take a family vacation for Christmas.  We quizzed our travel agent a bit and then decided on Turks and Caicos.  If you are looking for a vacation packed with action and adventure this might not be the one, but if you need to entertain children between the ages of 3 and 20 and you want to relax this is surely a top contender.

Everyone enjoyed playing in the ocean.

Our butler, Aide showed off his fire dancing skills for us at dinner.

We turned TJ into a sand mermaid.

We watched a colorful, rhythmic parade.

But one of my favorite memories of the trip is how easily Julia made friends.  Generally she met a new friend each day, but she met Anastasia the second day and played with her almost every day.  When Julia first met her, she couldn't understand why Anastasia was "speaking English" German to her.  Ana would say something to Julia and she would try to repeat it.  When Ana didn't understand what Julia was saying to her, Julia tried again in her own made up language, then throw her head back and laugh like it was just the funniest thing.  They finally just settled on the international language of sand castles...

Shhhh! It's A Secret

I am lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where many of my closest friends live.  This year I decided to give homemade gifts to them.  I thought about the normal caramel popcorn, assorted cookies and fudge, peppermint bark, etc. but it just didn't feel right.  Then I remembered something my mother used to make every year at this time.  HOMEMADE KAHLUA!  It's the perfect gift because Lord knows we like our happy hour around here!
If you are like me, you love anything coffee flavored.  It's easy, so go ahead and try it for yourself.  This is what you'll need

I sent my husband for the vodka and this is what he came home with. 

 Might not have been the brand I would have picked.

4 c. water
3 c. sugar
5 oz. pure vanilla
2 oz. Kava instant coffee
1 qt. vodka


Mix sugar and water and heat to dissolve (DON'T BOIL)
Combine vanilla and coffee and add to water.  Pour into a gallon pitcher and stir in vodka.  Let stand for 2 days.

While you are waiting, go to World Market and get some fancy bottles.

After you have washed and dried the bottles, use a funnel to fill the with Kahlua.

Once they are all filled, add a pretty tag (with a coffee martini recipe) and an ornament and "Voila!" Easy homemade Christmas gift.

My Nativity Scene(s)

Here is a quick peek at BOTH of my Nativity scenes.  The first was a wedding gift from a dear family friend.  She made it herself in a ceramics studio.  It has quite a lot of pieces.  There are more animals in it than you see in most scenes, which I suppose is fitting; they were in a stable after all.  There are two camels, four sheep (if you count the one across the shepherd boy's shoulders, a cow, and of course, Mary's donkey.  I especially love the angel that hangs above the entire scene.  It is a good reminder to me that there are always angels among us.  I must confess that I get very agitated every year when my children understandably want to help me put it out.  I am terrified that one of the pieces will be broken.  I know, I know; the pieces could be repaired, but the thought of the clunk and shatter as one of the pieces is broken is almost too much for me to bear.  Here is a look at the one I've had the longest and was a gift from Marian.

My second Nativity scene was a gift from my grandpa shortly before he passed away.  Again, he made it himself in a ceramics studio.  It is much smaller, both in the number of pieces and its physical size.  I love how it appears to be made of pewter.  Even though this scene is equally as precious to me, it is the one that I always put down low for the kids to look at and touch.  The main reason for this is that I can hear Grandpa Bob saying, "Jenny, let them play with it, there isn't anything there that can't be fixed."  Here is a peek at it.

So there you have it; my Nativity scenes.  Both of them equally beautiful and handmade by people I hold dear.  Merry Christmas everyone!

This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop.  Go ahead and link up too!

Note to Self

Advent Conspiracy from International Justice Mission on Vimeo

I'm so guilty of this compulsion to spend at Christmas.  This year for Advent I will try to remind myself of this little video each day.