Our Rockin New Year's Eve...

okay, so maybe i'm not the biggest party animal...in fact daniel often accuses me of being an "old soul" and tells people i've been a little old lady since i was in my teens. Doesn't bother me a bit... i've totally come to terms with it! So, while daddy went out and celebrated with the boys, ruby and i stayed home and played photo booth. She loves looking at the pictures in the camera display and giving them kisses. Tonight she even took a few pictures of her own. So here is our "rockin new year's eve" at home... which suited me just fine!

A Grateful Heart

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Millie, 1945...New York, New York

What am I thankful for...

Though my life's not exactly where I had it all planned out in my head(is it ever?), I still have SO much to be thankful for. Sometimes it's easy to be frustrated with a few of life's circumstances(which are temporary)and loose site of just how much we have to be grateful for. With that said, here are a few of the MANY things I am thankful for.

A daughter who makes me smile, constantly...I'm pretty sure there isn't anything she does that doesn't make my heart smile. A husband who can make me laugh, usually at myself and often times when I'm angry with him...I firmly believe that this is a gift. I'm thankful I was given permission to give Ruby the middle name Lemon... against Daniel's better judgement. I don't know why but it was REALLY important to me and it makes me happy every time I say it. I'm thankful for our dog Broccoli. For Ruby's room and that it turned out even better than I imagined, it's my little piece of perfect. For a mom who's patient with my grumblings, a dad who lovingly grumbles while putting his blood, sweat and tears into all my many projects and in-laws that are like a second set of parents. I'm thankful that God has a plan for my life and that even when I don't understand it, I know that His way is always for a reason and He gives me everything that that I need.

Momma's Broke, Back to Work!

wearing her mary poppin's scarf, as i like to refer to it!

Today was my last of six glorious days off, and i enjoyed every single one of them. We didn't go anywhere, just stayed home and hung out, got caught up and did more shopping than i probably should of! I find it to be a sick irony that when you are at home (not making money) you have all this extra time to go shopping and SPEND money! I did some damage at Baby Gap, Meggie Lou's, Old Navy and Anthropologie. I swore it would never happen, but i definately shop for Ru way more than i shop for myself. I guess it's just easier when you're one, EVERYTHING looks cute on you...you don't have to worry about finding clothes that are "flattering". I mean it's the only time in your life when chunky thighs is cute right, so who cares if your pants are a little snug?

Anyway, i got some great deals at Old Navy, among them was an adorable green,wool coat for the wee one. I've had my eye on this coat for sometime now, but it was $36.50 and i just wasn't wanting to shell that out. On sale it was half off, and because i used my Gap card to pay for it, it was another thirty percent off...bottom line, i only payed $12.77 for it! Now if it would only get cold enough for my kid to wear a wool coat!

Ruby's loot, Isn't her Christmas Moose adorable!

Side note: if you shop at Old Navy, Gap or Banana Republic with any regularity, i would highly recommend opening a Gap card. They only advertise to card members and they offer special promotions for members only. Example, you get 10%off every Tuesday at Gap Kids when you use your card. If they are having a promotion you might get double points on your purchase instead of the regular one point per dollar spent. As mentioned earlier i got 30% off of my entire purchase at Old Navy's Grand Reopening. Also, when you reach a thousand points you get a $10 gift card in the mail. I do NOT have a credit card for every store i shop at, in fact we only have ONE credit card and i only opened this one to get a discount on my purchase. I had every intention of cutting this card up after i payed the first bill, until i realized how great it was! Okay, enough of the sales pitch, what else did i accomplish while on vacay?

One thing i was so happy to finally have the time to do....wait for it...CLEAN MY FRIDGE! It's just one of those things that every time you look at it you say, i wish i had the time, or a maid... whichever! So i finally had the time and yes i am posting a picture! i just feel better knowing that if someone opened my fridge i wouldn't be mortified when they found a dead fly in the produce drawer...not that that actually happened or anything!

Labels out Ladies!

We also went to daddy's softball game, played at the park and enjoyed some wonderfully yummy, peanut butter frozen yogurt at Golden Spoon...where we modeled the newly purchased scarf (see first picture), which is her new fave! She likes to sleep with it and i love it, it's like my very own Linus! She has an affinity for blankey's or anything blankey like which proves though she may not look like me, she is indeed my child. For those of you who don't know, i still have a blankey and i can NOT sleep without it! Go ahead, judge me, i'm okay with it!

In our Sunday Best...Grammy got her a new dress.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

a farmin familia

what did the chicken say to the football?

love this face!

So as i mentioned before this was my first homemade costume for the Ru. I found the idea several months back on MarthaStewart.com and immediately fell in love with it. It just fit, seeing as how i collectively refer to Ruby and the dogs as "my chickens". After thinking about it for a while i chickened out (pun intended) and thought perhaps i was being overzealous and should just buy her a costume. My mother-in-law Sandy had other ideas and encouraged me to give it a try and was kind enough to to assist me in the process. I'm so glad she did! Not only was the finished product absolutely adorable (strangers asked to take her picture), i really enjoyed the process and had fun working with Sandy and my mom. Both grandmas were a huge help! So here's to homemade costumes to come, i can't wait to do it again next year with the same afore mentioned grandmas! ;) Ruby really loved the trick or treat experience, she held onto her hello kitty bucket for dear life and when people put the candy bowl out for her to choose her own treat, she dove right in. I hate to say it but my little pollo really enjoyed the paparazzi experience. She was quite happy to oblige people when they stopped to check out her costume or take a quick picture, perhaps i should have dressed her as a ham...hmmm, maybe next year!

me and my california grown chicken...

pushin her wagon along...

surprise!

check out those toofers!

our partners in trick or treating crime!

apparently the chicken crossed the road one too many times...so tired!

For Roberta...

any excuse to wear a wig is a good one as far as i'm concerned...so by simply adding a wig to my farmer costume, i was transformed into Rockabilly. can one "be" Rockabilly? i don't know, it's late and i'm tired, so i'm going with it! here's a few pictures with me and my special peeps; roberta, ru, and the boy...in that order! :)

El Pollo Loco!!!

Let there be feathers...

And a comb to top it off!!!

Hooray, the costume is complete! My mother in law hemmed up the comb for me earlier today, and tonight my mom came over to help me finish tacking in the feathers. As for me, I provided an endless supply of nillas to keep my little lady happy and assembled the headpiece which is now complete (it was just pinned in the picture). Headpiece: CHECK...Bodice: CHECK...White Tights: CHECK! The only thing left to find is a pair of bright yellow, or orange socks. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way! I can't wait to see the finished product. Three cheers for homemade costumes!

Recovering from the ordeal with one of many Nilla Wafers :)

Do You See What I See?

a baby pollo...that's right, the Ru is going to be a chicken for All Hallow's Eve. Just wanted to clarify in case you were maybe thinking she was going as a baby sumo. I stole the idea from Martha, and although it promises to be quite adorable, this puppy is anything but child friendly when it comes to getting it on, definitely a two man job. The good news is, that once the trauma of getting it over her head was over & she was once again able to breathe freely, she didn't seem to mind it...the bad news, she didn't seem to have the same affections once the feathers were pinned on. :( I spose only time will tell, but I'm hoping the incentive of free candy will make it a little easier for her to tolerate all this nonsense come Saturday night! Seeing as how when she got her first free sample from See's Candies(what was that lady thinking?), she ran around shrieking "MORE" over and over again, I'm thinking I might have this one in the bag!

Falling Into A New Tradition

I don't know how many of you have been to Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach, but if you haven't gone before, you ought to. A relatively new tradition in my family has been to go the day after Thanksgiving. We chose that day specifically because all my dad's side of the family is in town for the holiday and it is the first day of the Garden's Holiday Open House. Let me just tell you, if you LOVE Christmas the way I do, this is the place for you. They have themed trees with ornaments ranging in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. Decorations and delights from floor to cieling. Lights, stockings, stocking holders, feather brush trees, fresh cut wreaths...it goes on and on, and on. I especially love it because I'm able to find lots of vintage style decorations and even some actual reproductions which of course suits me to a tee. I could easily spend our savings buying up every little thing they have, but i try and muster up some kind of self-control and not give Daniel an excuse to leave me! ;)

Now, I know what your thinking by now..."I thought this post had something to do with Fall."

It does.

As the weather is beginning to change, be it ever so slight... this is California after all, I began thinking about all the decorating that comes along with the upcoming holidays. This lead to my realization that I really don't have much in the way of Fall/Halloween decorations. While I am the proud owner of oodles of Vintage Christmas Goodness, (as I like to refer to it) I have a difficult time finding Halloween decor that suits me. My taste is not readily found in stores as it isn't what's current. Sure I find a piece or two at Target and if I keep my eyes peeled, something precious at the Flea Market, but let's face it,

True Vintage Love,

be it authentic or made to look so, requires a great deal of patience and often times a substantial budget. I was trying to think of any little shoppes that might offer some Halloween that was a little more me, and that's when it hit me! I bet Roger's Gardens carries the same great designers I love seeing at Christmas in September. I looked up their hours and asked the husband if he would humor his wife and take her on a little shopping outing. We packed up the wee one and off we went.


The Garden did not disappoint!

I am not a good window shopper, I do not go to look...

I go to buy.

Even if it's something small, I rarely leave empty handed.




That said, this is one of those places where even I enjoy "browsing," nearly as much as I enjoy buying! So much detail goes into the presentation, I love it! They had one section that had multiple t.v.'s with nothing but snow on showing on the screens...nearby there was an eerily empty chair with a poorly lit side table. In another area they must of had two dozen dolls hanging on the wall, ranging in size, all completely spray painted white. Old rusty appliances littered various displays along with birdcages of all sizes spray painted black. In the midst of it all were beautiful paper mache figurines and glittery goodness, all threatening to empty my pocketbook. The pictures I've posted don't really do it justice but they give you a general idea.




Alas, I could not leave empty handed, and I purchased a few lovlies for our home. The skull I like because it reminds me of my love for Dia De Los Muertos; the hat comes off as it is meant to serve as a gift box, but I would not dream of giving him away. The owl is my favorite, very handsome I think. He's found a good home on our dining room table. I got a few other little odds and ends that I plan to gift to the Ru and my mother.

This brings me to my next thought.

I have discovered in reading other peoples blogs that for fun, they host "swaps". In a swap, you choose a theme, set an amount and then you, buy/make/hunt for little doo-dads and goodies and mail them to a fellow blogger. Essentially it's a themed Secret Santa via the world wide web. I realize we're already nearing the end of September. Further more, I also know that my little blog doesn't carry the esteemed readership (is that a word?) that many others do. But, if you're reading this and you would be interested in participating, or you know someone who would be, whether they have a blog or not...leave me a comment and let me know. I don't care whether you live around the corner, or across the country, if you're game, leave me a comment and let me know. If I get enough people who want to participate than I'll go ahead with the swap...if not, perhaps I'll give it a go for Christmas.

A Weekend Well Spent

Why can't weekends be longer?

Seriously?

Why?

This weekend was a full one and yet it was really relaxing...It started off with a quasi-surprise, when daniels sister showed up unannounced from Alaska. I say quasi because she posted on facebook the night before that she "couldn't wait to surprise her family & friends"...let's just say keeping secrets isn't her forte, even when they're her own. :) She's in the Coast Guard & is about to fly to Virginia for training, but decided to take some leave and visit the familia before she heads east.

Ru snugglin' with Auntie Amanda

We had already planned a BBQ for Sunday nite, with all of daniel's old college roommates and their ladies, and now we had sissy too. It was definitely a good time. Ru wasn't much into letting anyone hold her, unless of course you had food in your hand, or your name was Rob. Apparently Ruby & Robby are bff's from way back, or at least that's what one would have guessed by the way she went to him. All the girls wanted to hold her, but she would have nothing of it, she only had eyes for Uncle Robby!

Hangin' with Robby while scopin' out some watermelon...

It was fun having everyone together for the first time in a long time; in addition to daniel's roommates, we had a few softball peeps including Shaun and his wife Eva who are recently home from being stationed in Alabama. Ruby got to meet their little one, Miss Amelia for the first time and now has another bff to add to her list.

Off-roadin with Amelia...

The boys had an especially good time catching up and telling tales of things long ago in a far away place called Prescott...aggh how i hate arizona...ALL of it!

Boys will be boys...

After fun with friends we decided to make today a family day and headed off to dog beach with the beebs and two small canines. Lots of cute pics of Ru, but sadly not one of Broccoli & Summer. I'm pretty sure they had the best time in the bunch. They ran till they were ragged and slept all the way home until danny gave them baths in Ruby's inflatable pool. They had "a very big day" as we like to say. Ruby was a little tired for our excursion, but L-O-V-E-D all the dogs. Every time one ran by she would laugh and when they barked, she gave her best attempt at returning communication. ;)

me and my girl...

not wanting her feet to touch the sand...

totally okay with the water though...

We had such a good weekend, that on the drive home from the beach I remarked to Daniel that " I couldn't believe tomorrow's Monday and I still have one day left in my weekend" to which he sadly (but necessarily) rained on my parade and reminded me;

tomorrow is indeed Tuesday

...back to work...

drat!

weddings, birthdays & vegas oh my!

because i just couldn't resist...

So the last two weeks have been packed full of activity & though we've had lots of fun, i'm very much looking forward to getting back to my homebody ways! Last weekend we went to San Juan Capistrano for my cousin mikey's wedding. It was HOT, but very beautiful. We might return for another weekend getaway at some point seeing as how there is a mission, an antique mall and an old school train station, all things that hold relevance with our family for different reasons... (i am a wannabe mexican-the mission, i love all things old- the antique mall, and my grandpa worked for the railroads/mom worked for amtrak-the train station...just in case you were curious).

Last wednesday was daniel's big 3-0. We went out to dinner with his parents to celebrate and then left the angel with the grandmas and headed out to vegas to celebrate with his old roomy robby, who also just turned 30. We saw the Cirque du Soliel show KA which was amazing; how anyone ever dreamed that up let alone made it into a reality is beyond my comprehension. The next day we hit the mall. My only must while in Vegas, was to find a dolly for Ru and did i ever. We visited FAO Schwarz & i found this beauty that we named little Lulu. Ruby seems far more infatuated with her over sized shoes than her pink hair, but whatever...i chose her because the expression reminded me of ruby.

Our last night in Vegas, Robby's parents were kind enough to treat the entire group to a dee-licious dinner at Tao Restaurant. Afterwards, we visited the Tao nightclub which was amazing, could have danced the night away, BUT, i am married to a man who does NOT dance, so instead nicole and i danced a few songs and then we headed back to the hotel.

dinner at tao...

the dirty thirty...

he's a looker! ;)

So that's about it, you are now officially up to date on the where-abouts of the Green family... We're back home and getting back into the routine of daily life...not nearly as exciting but it's my favorite place to be!

my birthday boy...