Dog pile on dad.

A much needed getaway weekend to NYC with cool chicas. Jaime was a pro driving through Manhattan.

There's always a Scrabble game going here.

Bringing in Forsythia; a yearly tradition. #thankheavenforneighbors

Reworking the frames and photo walls. These Target ones are my favorite and they're 20% off this week.

A day of driving and spring decorating on my mind

I spent all day running errands and driving an hour away to get another kid outfitted with braces. Afterward we went to Chik-fil-A.

While we were there, some people sat at the table behind me and spilled over onto my seat, squishing me out of it. I had to take the kids to the restroom and when I came back, their coats were on my seat and there was no room for me to pull out my chair. I had to remove their coats and scarves from my seat to get my coat.

I heard one say to the other that she had to buy food for her daughter yesterday because she didn't have any money. She then said with a sigh that the daughter had enough to get her nails done but not to buy food.
I figured she was stressed out. No need to stress her out any more.

Blair wanted to spend her dollar to get the neighbor girl a New Year's gift so I took her to the dollar store. It's the biggest dollar store I have been to. She picked out princess shoes. Trae got himself a ball and a motorcycle. Within 10 minutes of being home, the dog popped the ball and is now carrying around a floppy piece of plastic.

And as I write this, I forgot to grab the palm fronds I saw there. I usually don't buy fake flowers but you can't get palm fronds here. I miss that about South Carolina. I used to be able to just go pick some if they weren't too large to stab me as I sawed them off the trees. Anyway, they look great all by themselves in a vase.

I like to use ferns instead, or in addition to, since I have a thing for them. I can't tell you how many times Jon has had to pull over somewhere when I spot some nice ferns. Everybody waits for me as I go into the trees and come out with a fistful of them. Man, I remind myself of my mother.
I should just plant my own this year.

Then we stopped at Target and checked out some of their new arrivals for the home event. I liked the following items and realized I have decorating for Spring on my mind. So with that, I rearranged the living room (again) and went to throw the drapes in the wash but realized they are 'Dry clean only.' So I left them and cleared out the decorative items and now I am ready to get some shopping done. Nothing major - since it really only takes some decorative pieces to give your room a new look.

Because we are excited to be snowed in tonight and tomorrow, I won't rush Spring just yet!

It's pretty out my window and the earth looks still and calm.

How does it look out yours?

Thrift store picks of the week - week 5

Belen and I managed to make a quick trip to the local flea market and 1 thrift shop on Saturday. We wanted to escape the virus that was knocking 3 of the other kids out. Since Jon was home and the kids were sleeping, we went out for a while. Most of the market vendors started loading up by 2 PM so we didn't see much there. I did manage to pick up a few things though. I usually have an idea of what I am looking for so I quickly scan the booths and avoid perusing them too much. That keeps me focused and on budget.

My first find was this cute little bird. I remember my mom had a pair of these. Although it looks like a smooth finish, it actually feels a little rough with a porous texture. A light dusting made it look pristine. And for only .75 cents it came home with me.

In one of my last posts I mentioned that I like to buy things that are "native" to the area in which I live. Well, I couldn't do any better than this! This is going into the boys' room and Reese just loves it. I have a few other banners to display as well so they will make a nice grouping.

Next up - If I spot books that are in decent shape with interesting covers or in this case, spines, I like to use them to elevate other things, like this flower. You wouldn't even know that this candle holder came crashing down a few weeks ago. Apparently kicking shoes over the banister will do that to ceramics. Super glue was a good invention.

I don't always buy just vintage items at fleas or thrift shops. Take this glass candle holder for instance - it was a Target item that had been marked down twice in the store before the Goodwill bought its clearance items. I liked the chunky glass so I bought it for $2.99 with an extra 20% off. Charley said, "You got a discount on top of a discount??" Yup.

Speaking of Target, I spotted this metal sign at the flea market for .50 cents. It will also go in the boys' room. Reese thought it looked too new for him so I may have to run over it, hammer it or something.

So there you go - another round-up of fun finds. For all you fellow thrifters and flea marketers, as soon as I work on a link party, we can all link our posts together on one page. Then we can enjoy what each other has found.
Until then, let me know how your hunting was!