The Flea

My favorite time of year is quickly becoming the weekend of the Old Town Clovis Flea Market.  It's like Christmas for the antique lover in me.  The flea is held twice a year and I think I've only missed it once since moving here.  That first one I came away with a print of a boat (which I love and finally framed two years later).  Then I found a brass firewood holder, some blue pottery and a small piece of art at another one.  Last May's flea was hard to top because I found my beautiful antique hutch that I still stroke lovingly nearly every time I walk by it in my living room (kidding, but I do love that thing a lot).  I wasn't expecting to find anything grand this go around.  I told Aaron that I pulled out some cash but that I had no visions of large pieces of furniture finding their way home with me.  I did stick to that, technically; however, I did make a life changing purchase.

Let me introduce my new china.

I LOVE it.

I had had a list of things to look out for at the flea and china was not even on my radar.  When we walked up to it sitting on a table at the booth though I loved it instantly, which totally surprised me.  I've never found china that I've loved.  I didn't register for it when we got married because I had no clue what I liked.  I always feared that whatever china I picked I would regret ten years down the line when my tastes changed.   But to me, this china is a beautiful and timeless.  I can mix and match it with lots of colors and styles.  It's beautiful on it's own but would also look so pretty paired with other pieces.  And after six years of living all things gold and brass, I can't imagine ever not liking this china.

Despite encouragement from friends and random onlookers alike though, I still had to think about it.  I wasn't expecting to buy china that day so that fact that I was all of a sudden considering it threw me for a loop.  I texted Aaron and called my mom.  I went back three more times to pick it up and turn it over.  I talked with the seller to see if she'd come down on the price (even though I thought it was 100% worth more than they were even asking).  The last time I walked away, the seller ran after me and said, "I'll let you have it for $80! I can tell you love it a lot and I just want it to go to someone who really loves it like I do."  I was so happy and surprised! I brought it home and put it right in our glass cupboard in our kitchen.

Since then I've had dreams of fancy dinner parties with beautiful place settings.  I feel like I've opened pandora's box a little bit because now I keep thinking about pretty silverware and table linens and chargers and candles and flowers, etc. etc.  The honest truth is that I rarely cook a fancy meal.  But I don't want to wait ten years before I use them.  So that Sunday after the flea market, I made honey lemon chicken, quinoa and roasted broccoli and set the table for me and Aaron to eat on our china.

I think what I love most about this find is that it lends to a particular lifestyle.  While my hutch and art and other things are pretty to look at, this china will encourage family togetherness and good meals and dinner parties with friends.  And one day my kids will have it.  It probably sounds a little sappy but it's like all of a sudden I "get it."  Maybe I'm just old now and get excited about old things but I really feel a lot of joy over owning china that I can use and pass down.

Enough about my new china.  There was so much at the flea market to love.  I was tempted by so many things.  Among them, I loved...

^^This big beautiful clock is made on a ranch in Monterey out of the top of a barrel.

 ^^I know I'm not alone in loving Africa mudcloth pillows. There were a couple great ones being sold there by ProjectWildflower and others too (I'm just forgetting now).

 ^^These were big and beautiful and heavy.  They would have been perfect on my table with my new china ;)

 ^^I'm such a sucker for pretty wood chairs like this.  And that's a great price.  I dream of corners like this in my house. 

 ^^I don't think this picture does it justice but Jessica and I thought this would make a fun hanging plant holder. 

 ^^This made my granny, quilt-loving-heart happy.  If I didn't buy the china I would have totally bought this quilt top and finished it.  The quilt top was just $20, which is an incredibly good price for the fabric alone.  I loved the fabric they used so I took close up of squares so I could remember it.  Of course, my mom later pointed out they look a bit like swastikas so maybe it's good i didn't buy it ;)

^^Fun benches.  I think they used to be old headboards.

^^THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL!  My picture does not do it justice.  The glass was old and  the wood was such a pretty color.  I loved the size of it. It felt like a piece of history.

 ^^These books would be so pretty on a bookshelf.  

^^Jessica came across this at the flea and texted it to me and now I'm regretting not finding and buying it.  I want more things for our walls that aren't just artwork. 

So that's a bit of the flea market.  It was HUGE this year.  A lot more booths and SO MANY more people.  At first I was worried all the crowds would take away from the experience but it didn't in the end.  We ate a the food trucks and just had so much fun all around checking out all the local artists and antique furniture. Counting down the days til May!

A Love Seat for Eleanor's Room

We added a love seat to Eleanor's room this week and it's making us all pretty happy.

Eleanor directed as Aaron and I carried the love seat into her room.  When we set it down in her bay window, she pointed her finger and said, "Peeeerfect!" She then ran over to sit on it and exclaimed, "I like it!!"  I was surprised at just how into it she really was.  Maybe it's all the thrift store shopping she's had to endure her whole life finally paying off ;)

Since adding the love seat, Eleanor has found new ways to play in her room.  She has put me, Aaron and herself all down for "naps" on it (her favorite game) and we've already read several stories there.

A love seat was not always the plan for in here.  I love a piece of furniture with a story behind it so here's the story of how the love seat came to be...

We were originally needing a love seat for our living room and I searched for one for months.  The ideal situation was to find a steal on Craigslist that was the perfect style and dimensions and had upholstery in excellent condition.  As you might assume, that combo is nearly impossible to strike, especially when you actually are needing it.  So after six months of looking, I gave up and we bought a love seat from a store (which turned out great so it all works out :)).  

Of course, not too long after pulling the trigger on a new love seat, I found this cute little love seat for sale on Craigslist in Walnut Creek (my hometown, 2.5 hours away).  It was only $55 and for all my months of searching on Craigslist I knew that that kind of a deal doesn't come around too often.  

I was curious about what the legs looked like underneath the skirt so I emailed the seller and asked to see a picture of the legs.  A couple days later I got a text out of the blue from an unknown number that just had this picture, no accompanying explanations.

It took me a good thirty minutes to figure out what this picture was cause it looked super creepy at first.  And then I remembered the love seat and my e-mail.  I liked the idea of removing the love seat's skirt and since the legs looked good all systems were a go.

We no longer needed something for the living room, so I started thinking about other options throughout our house.  I've always planned to sell the yellow couch in our front room and replace it with something comfortable but smaller.  So I thought the love seat could work there.

I also thought about how we were going to need new seating in Eleanor's room once I moved her rocking chair to Ford's room.  And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a love seat would be the perfect solution for that room.   It would be so cozy to read books on it together, especially when we read scriptures as a family at night.  Plus, her bay window seems like the perfect opportunity for something really cute.  (You can see Eleanor's room's original set up here.)

So my wonderful mom and sister-in-law Chelsea went and bought the love seat for me.  My parents kindly stored it at their house for a couple months until this past week when my mom came to town and brought it with her.  

I was pretty persuaded to put it in Eleanor's room by this point anyways, but seeing it sit in our front room definitely confirmed that it was not meant for that room.  The small love seat was dwarfed by the vaulted ceilings and just looked silly there.  

Before putting it in Eleanor's room though, I wanted to deal with the skirt situation.  The love seat is very petite and the skirt just made it look bottom heavy and overly formal.  I have seen a couple examples of people removing the skirts and loved the outcome (here, here and here) so it didn't seem too hard. 

I'm usually a perfectionist about things and generally overthink everything.  When I saw that the staples would show around the legs I started brainstorming a variety of options with my mom on how to conceal them.

Ultimately though I gave up and just accepted that the staples would show and that I'm totally okay with it.  The upholstery has some stains on it so nothing is perfect about the love seat anyways and that's just fine.  In fact, it makes me all the less nervous to put it in a kids room where it will surely see some wear and tear. We can always reupholster it down the line.

Aaron got to work pulling off the staples and the skirt was off in just 10 minutes.

So now it lives in Eleanor's room, skirt free and happy :)

And that's the story of the love seat.

Since taking these pictures last week we put Eleanor's teepee back up in her room.  It's definitely feeling full now as it's not a very big room and it now stores a crib, dresser, loveseat and teepee.  I still need to figure out some sort of bookcase solution. I also hope to find a cute mirror for her room because she loves to check out her outfits in the morning (it's super cute when she stands there twirling in the mirror, such a girl).   And then there's the far distant dream of a colorful persian rug (like so) ;)

But I'm perfectly content with the state of things right now.  Every time I walk by the room and see that love seat I get happy :)

Personal Time

Having a little personal time for myself goes a long ways.

A couple Fridays ago, Aaron came home at 2:30 pm.  Eleanor was still napping and I had just gotten Ford to sleep.  I knew that Ford would sleep for an hour and I was itching to have some alone time.  So I left the sleeping babies with Aaron and hopped in the car.  I went to Chesterfields, one of my favorite antique stores to browse, and just wandered around taking pictures of everything I loved.  It was so freeing to not have the huge stroller as I was wandering the aisles.  Antique stores are not set up with strollers in mind!

 ^^If I could just find this rug in a longer version for my hall then I'd be pretty darn happy.

^^Sweet little seascape. It could fit in to so many places (a gallery wall, a bookshelf, paired with a larger piece of art underneath it, leaning on top of a dresser, etc...)

^^This chest is 250 years old and I love it SO much.

Then this past Friday afternoon, I had the itch again to get out.  With both kids still napping, I got in the car again to head out for an hour of alone time.  I went to Home Goods and wandered the aisles aimlessly.  (Side note: I've talked to two friends lately who also say Home Goods is their spot when they need to get away and be alone.  Is this a thing?  It definitely is for me!).

Then I still had a little time left so I went over to Barnes and Noble next door.  At Barnes and Noble, I picked out a couple home decor books and plopped on the ground and starting thumbing through them.  I snapped pictures of images I liked.

 ^^Love the gray/leather combo on the baskets

 ^^Those pillows would be so festive during Christmas time

^^This sofa reminded me a lot of this one that I've always loved (and here's another view of it)

 ^^I love the combination of styles here

 ^^Art and herringbone floors, so much to love.

^^I dream of dining room chairs like this.  Would those straight backs be comfortable though?

And another night, Aaron was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch at 8:30 pm.  I was very much not exhausted so I spent four hours working on blog posts (hence why my blogging has been more consistent as of late).  It felt so good and productive to just sit down and get things done.  This blog is often times more than just a way to document our family.  It can be a creative outlet where I just get to unload my thoughts and share my interests.  I do it more for myself than anyone else and it feels so great to get things down on "paper" so to speak.

And on another night, I stayed up finishing this little water color that I had started earlier that day with Eleanor (I based it on this cross stitch I came across.  The cross stitch is amazing!).  I had gotten about halfway done when Eleanor decided she wanted to play something else and insisted that I come along.  I was wanting to finish the painting all day so it was nice to be able to sit down and have a moment by myself to finish it.  I turned on music and just got to work.

I LOVE spending time with my kids and with Aaron and even with friends but if I haven't had a moment to myself to breathe and do something creative and/or productive then I just feel antsy and irritable.

In the future, I'm hoping to carve out more personal time to attend the temple, move my body, read a book or paint a picture.  I'm just so much happier when I do.

May Happenings

Eleanor loves these overalls from her Aunt Nie Nie.  They remind my of my childhood too and I love it.

Ford has started playing with the hanging toys above him!  I always love that milestone :)

Jessica and I went to the Clovis Flea Market in May, which is now becoming a tradition.  I've been on the hunt for a hutch and was pretty excited when we found this one.  I'm terrible at pulling the trigger on big purchases so I was so grateful Jessica was there to reassure me.  She (the hutch) now lives in our living room and I love her.

My boys...

Ford wore this outfit practically everyday when he was 2 months old.  I love it.

 Aaron taught Eleanor to say "cool dude" whenever she wears sunglasses.

Baby boy suspenders!!

Classy mother's lounge photo

Tummy time again!  So many pictures just like this on my phone.  This was the first time though that we seemed to be making true progress.  Look at that head lift!

A blissful afternoon.  Eleanor playing in the pool and Ford sitting calmly in his bouncy chair.  This was before the scorching weather set in and it was so nice to just sit outside and soak up the fresh air.

This was one of those "goodness, he's perfect" moments.

A fun outing with friends.

He lays more calmly now but still does the froggy legs.

Sibling love, it's just the best!  She really is this sweet with him all the time.

I realized I hadn't been in a picture with Ford lately so I went over to one of our massive mirrors and snapped this.  My little sweetheart.

She loves putting people to sleep with all of her blankets.  I loved that this time she made Daddy sleep with her baby.

He's always so happy on the changing table.  And I was so excited for him to be able to wear this cute outfit finally.

Cute friends for Eleanor

They wanted to swaddle their babies all at the same time.

I love that these two have each other.  I always pinch myself that I get to raise my kids with Jessica's kids in their lives.

May is for peonies!  This was my most successful peony bouquet from Trader Joes but the others all died so quickly this year.  Hopefully next year we'll have better luck!

Well hey there Ford!

She swaddled her baby, held her upright like so and started bouncing her up and down by bending at the knees.  Ford's been getting harder to get to sleep as of late so I've been doing a lot of this swaddling and bouncing.  It always so astounding to me just how observant she is.

Post nursing smiles.

Our favorite swaddler (the Miracle Blanket).  He's been kicking one leg out so this is how he usually sleeps these days.

I my Youth Conference planning committee (made up of me and two high school seniors in our stake) out to ice cream at our favorite ice cream place, Ampersand.  Eleanor was pretty jazzed that she got to tag along too.   She wanted to try all the options.

Trying to cook dinner and I turn around to see this.  Yes, those are her panties on her head.

Starting to pack for Riverside.  This is my new packing approach.  I put everything on my bed in piles, double my list and then pile things into bags and baskets.  I love having a little basket for Eleanor and a little basket for Ford.  I used to pack Eleanor things into my suitcase but all her tiny clothes would get mixed in with mine mid-way through vacation and it was maddening.  Plus, I basket it makes it easier to see everything and easier to throw stuff in.  These are the gems of wisdom you develop two and a half years into mothering.

Her new thing is putting foam stickers on our wall.

Eating strawberry freezer jam from my visiting teacher (aka Jessica Marcum).  I could drink that stuff everyday and never be satisfied. SO GOOD!

Our first hot week in Fresno was a doozy.  It jumped from 80's to 100's all at once.  You know you live in a hot place when you're jumping for joy that it's going to finally be 93 one day.

Just home from the park and I had to take a picture of him.  Those shorts look like they are going to swallow him up.  Plus bonnets are going to be a summer hat trick.  No burned baby heads around here (fingers crossed!).

She kisses him all the time. So sweet.

Going through her stacks of artwork.  We picked out her favorites and then hung them on strings in her room.  It's a temporary fix til we figure out a better system but it's working for now.  Now when she paints something new she says, "Put it on the wall in my roooooom!"

I painted her toes for the first time.  She asks me to paint them now all the time :)