cupcake*iPhone*madness

I love anything CUPCAKE! What is it about CUPCAKES? And I am not even a cake-lover. But I love a pretty cupcake. Maybe cuz they are so small and cute and covered with creamy, fluffy nostalgia. That's it, you know... they take us back to our childhood.
I found this little cupcake stand at Mervyn's on clearance for two dollars and it's on the orange tray that I got at IKEA for 99 cents. I am loving orange these days. What's with that!

So some marketing genius came up with this idea to market a bottle of wine and call it "Cupcake Chardonnay". Come on, now who wouldn't want a bottle of this sitting on your counter! I fell for it... and it's available at Cost Plus.

Don't know if I told you, but our son Shawn who just graduated from ASU got a job at the Apple Store in Phoenix. And because we have not been to see him at his job and we kinda want to see all the iPhone hoopla and they are open till midnite, we're going tonight! Should be quite the setting for some crazy photo ops!

my job

Some of you have asked about my new job. So I thought I'd fill you in. First of all, I love my job! They handed me a check today and I was like... you mean I get paid to do this!
I am so grateful every morning as I drive the 30 minute commute to my job because I can't believe I get to do what I do!
It is so much more than being the receptionist for the church I have attended since the week that Randy and I were engaged in Feb. of 1979. I love this place... this community of grace we call Open Door Fellowship. I get to see so many that I love and I get to serve them and answer the phones and help the various ministries in any way I can and best of all, the staff is so fun and awesome! And because our church happens to be in a very congested, busy part of Phoenix ( oh and a half a mile from one of the "top ten most dangerous intersections in the nation"! )... well, we get needy, drug-addicted, mentally ill, homeless people in our offices every day. And the stories are heartbreaking. And I get sad... and mad... and feel so helpless. We offer them what we can... knowing it's not enough. And I pray I will not grow weary and heartless to their plight but that I will be an encouragement to them with kind and loving words.

So, how about a little, light-hearted story that happened a couple of weeks ago. It was VBS week on our church campus.
Ok, let me back up 25 years... my last job was the music teacher and cook at a preschool, the five years prior to Shawn's birth. But I was also the resident "tooth-puller" those five years. And a mighty darn good one I might add. Never made a kid cry in all those years. Well, word must have gotten out... cuz that week of VBS, I was called out of a meeting, and there stood the sweetest, saddest little girl. Our Children's Pastor explained to me that this little girl was sad cuz her tooth needed to be pulled... so I knelt down and pulled it... umm, more like the tooth fell onto the tissue as I reached in to pull it. The little girl, who btw, did not even know me, gave me the biggest smile and the biggest hug! I walked back into my meeting and yelled out "I'm back! I still got it!" Seriously, I was in tears... that I would be so blessed to have made a little girl so happy by pulling her tooth. Come on, how many of you get paid to do that!!

So, I am the receptionist and I also input updated information for each member of our church on FileMakerPro, while I am answering the phones. And I work Tuesday, Wed. and Thursday. And I love my job.

vintage scale & apron

Randy and I were teaching at a Marriage Retreat over the weekend. So nice to get out of town and out of the heat! These retreats are always such a blessing... when we set aside the time to concentrate on our marriage. And speaking of marriage, our son Shawn and his wife Nicole are celebrating 3 years of marriage today! What a darling couple they are!


Yes, another apron with XL ric rac from my little vintage thrift store. Over the years I have filled my vintage scale ($25.00 at a yard sale) with my various collections. When my sister was here we emptied it with plans to refill it... but for now, this apron will do.

my vintage aqua phone

YES! SHE'S MINE! 

 That AQUA phone right up there is mine! And I still can't believe it! 

OK, just calm down and tell the story...

Well, one of my favorite people in all the world... who happens to be my husband's best friend... and happens to be the teaching Pastor at our church (what a gifted communicator of Truth)... and happens to be an author (check this book out)... and happens to be responsible for getting me started in acting (yes, he's an actor too)... and happens to be married to my dear friend Stacey... and well, he just so happens to have the coolest phone ever... that happens to be AQUA... that I happened to mention that I LOVED... and then guess what happened? 

HE GAVE ME THAT PHONE!!! 

SERIOUSLY, HE GAVE ME THAT AQUA PHONE!!! 

John called me into his office as I was getting ready to leave work today 

and just gave it to me! Just like that.

Isn't she a beauty and she works perfectly and has the sweetest, vintage ring and makes me smile every time I walk into my sewing room. 

And yes, she's a 'she'. Don't know why, but she is.

John, thank you! THANK YOU! 

I am forever grateful!

Randy & I sure love doing life with you and Stacey!

I want...

this.

Hey, a girl can dream can't she! Isn't she a beauty! Oh and for only a cool $50,000! That's more than the first home Randy and I bought in 1983! Be sure to check out the Shady Dell RV Resort in Bisbee, AZ!!! And then click on trailers & rates. Oh my gosh, the cutest place ever!
Anyway, I am itching to hit the road! Have I told you how happy I am when traveling? Giddy happy! Crazy happy! I don't read or look through magazines or sleep. I don't want to miss a single thing! You know, those interesting cloud formations, old dilapidated windmills, an Airstream cruising along, a yard sale or thrift store, a thunderstorm building in the distance, weird license plates, fields of corn and alfalfa or an Amish family in a horse pulled buggy.
And we always play the license plate game... finding all 50 states! We have never found all 50 in a single trip. So, I got one question... do any of you folks in Rhode Island or West Virginia ever go on vacation?!

happy things

Several of you bloggers are posting your 'happy things'. It made me think about what is making me happy at the moment. Oh, I know, happiness is only fleeting. It comes and goes. And what I really desire most is that peace, joy and contentment, that is not dependant on my circumstances but rather on the knowledge that the Lord is always in control and always with me and that I am loved unconditionally just the way I am, no matter what. But having said that, I do love my happy things! So here goes...


My friend Kathy gave me these miniature sewing items this week. I about cried! I actually learned to sew on that very same Singer machine! Ok, only larger. And I now own the smallest pin cushion in the world! And I would have sooo picked out those very bolts of fabric! What a precious gift Kathy! You're the best! (the dime is to show just how tiny!)


Ok, so when I knew I would be taking my Mac to my new job three days a week, thus began my search for the perfect laptop tote bag. My daughter-in-law Nicole suggested Ross and Marshalls. Here's what I found... a Nine West computer tote bag with a padded sleeve for my 15" Mac and get this... $140.00 retail... for only $19.99!! Yes, twenty dollars!! And it's perfect for my computer mouse, cords, wallet, water bottle, cell phone, magazines, etc! And, well, I look so darn cool!


My precious Koda makes me soooo happy! She brings so much joy to our home and family. Look at that sweet face! TOOO CUTE!


Our friends Rand & Michele grow the sweetest tomatoes! And the tiny yellow pear tomatoes are my very favorite!! Yesterday at work I made the mistake of biting into one, rather than popping the whole thing in my mouth... yup, juices all over my pants!

I am really jazzed about my new lamp! Why? Cuz I paid only $2.99 at Saver's!!! I already had the shade and had been looking for a taller lamp. I looked everywhere- Ross, TJMax, Marshalls, IKEA, Kirkland and Target... and it was at Saver's all along! YES! I was one happy shopper!

I won

all this!

Natasha's blog is one of my favorites! I mean, come on, Rickrack and Ribbon! The name alone won me over! Go visit her, she will be your new best friend! Anyway, she came upon the "mother load" of all thrifty fabric finds! Tons of vintage fabric! So she had a drawing and I won the coveted 'Holly Hobby' fabric and OOOH, soooo much more! Natasha, you are so sweet and generous! Do you know that I have loved Holly Hobby forever! And my goodness, the buttons and the orange ric rac! And you package everything so darn cute! Thank you!!

containing treasures

I am always on the lookout for fun, unusual containers to house my fun, unusual collections! Like for instance... my dice, my packaged ric rac, cards of buttons, bits of yarn, colorful beads, wooded spools of thread and my IKEA cording. Thinking outside the box will enable you to repurpose an old sugar jar for the IKEA cording, a favorite Pyrex bowl for the buttons, a green pasta drainer for my spools of thread and a wire basket (25 cents) for my packaged ric rac.

Oh, I gotta share one of my favorite unusual container stories. My sister-in-law put a gorgeous floral arrangement in a old white enamel bed pan! Her husband's a nurse!
Do you house a collection in unusual containers? Oh please, do share!

this & that

Mrs. McGillicutty is sporting a thrifted gingham apron trimmed with gigantic ric rac. She's looking ready to 'rock 'n sew'! Did you notice the colored melamine cups on my little galvanized cupboard? Found all ten cups in a bag at Saver's for two dollars. They were missing their matching saucers, which was fine with me. Love that stacked look.



Have you seen these 13"x13" trays at IKEA? I loved their design, especially the aqua one, but was unwilling to pay $5.99. They went down to $3.99 and I snagged an aqua one and an orange one. Heck, they may be even cheaper by now! I like that you can use them as you work on a scrap page... or any craft project that you need to move around the house.

*** GUESS WHAT?? I just got back from IKEA and they are now 99 cents!! YES, 99 cents!!

Went to Ross the other night and found this darling little dish drainer for $3.50. Isn't it so cute and handy. You could fill it with picture packets, fat-quarters, scrap embellishment packets, sewing notions, vintage salad plates. What else? Help me out.
Randy took the old red metal clock apart so it wouldn't run like a Mac truck! Seriously, it was sooo loud! Now it's as quiet as a mouse and runs like a... clock!

it's official

I'm a working girl! And I'm having sooo much fun! Is that wrong?! Well, I'm loving my job, my boss, the staff and everyone that comes through the door. At one point I was telling someone that I love being here, and this sweet gal that was waiting to talk to the staff about new phones said "I love being here! You hug everyone that comes through the door!"
Miranda and Shawn even came to go out to lunch and celebrate with Randy and I. Did I feel all grown up or what! Oh and a HUGE thank you to my dear husband for my new banner! Come on now, a new job and a new banner on the same day!

vintage chenille

I found these three chenille bedspreads at Saver's half-off Memorial Day Sale! I couldn't believe they were still there when my sister and I finally got to the store. I paid $4.00 for the full size yellow, $4.00 for the full-size pink and $2.00 for the twin-size blue. They are all in perfect condition!



And then during the week I found these two chenille pillows at Goodwill for $3.99 each. They are like new, perfectly white. And they will stay that way. Cuz...


... look where I put them! High atop my hutch in the guest room with the chenille Easter basket from Target and my chenille bunny I got at a thrift store for a dollar. Loving all my fluffy chenille!


When Randy & I married in 1979 we were given a homemade tied quilt made from two sheets. It is without a doubt the softest blanket we own and my three kids have fought over who gets to use it for years. You know what I'm talking about, those wonderful vintage sheets from the 60's & 70's that we are all starting to collect because they are sooo soft & dreamy. Well, I recently found that exact pattern in a top sheet and three pillow cases at two different thrift stores AND in excellant condition! In all these years I had never seen that pattern. Gotta love it when your favorite bedding comes together after 28 years!

25 years ago...

I worked outside the home for the last time. 25 years ago our firstborn son Shawn was born and I have been a full-time Mom ever since. For the past 25 years I have poured my life into being a wife to Randy, Mom to Shawn (25), Miranda (22) & Tyler (18) and being a homemaker. And I have loved every moment. Ok, not every single moment, but you know what I mean.


When Randy and I got married we talked about my staying home when we had children. Both of our Mom's were stay-at-home Mom's, so we were ready and willing to sacrifice whatever it would take for me to stay home with the kids till they were all out of school. I did not want to look back one day and have regrets. I just knew FOR ME, I needed to stay home with my kids. Anyway, looking back on those early years, so much of who I am today was formed as Randy & I entered fulltime ministry and started our family and began totally trusting the Lord to meet our every need. And let me tell you, it wasn't always easy. There were many lean years that to this day I don't know how we managed. So many stories, so many miracles. Someday I will tell them.
I was 'forced' to shop second hand and yard sales (ok, not really, I have always loved yard sales!). We intentionally settled on a lifestyle that would not put us in debt. In our 28 years of marriage Randy & I have paid interest on a home and a vehicle... but we have never had any other debt. In saying these things, I am in no way making any kind of statement. These were OUR own personal convictions. I am humbled as I look back on how the Lord provided and cared for our little family. Beyond humbled... and forever grateful.

Well, last week our third-born Tyler graduated from high school and well, my career as a full-time Mom is over. Did you hear what I said? My "career" as a full-time Mom is over. I will always be a Mom forever & ever... but well, more like Mom-On-Call. You know, always willing and ready to be there and to do whatever, whenever I am needed.

Soooo, now what? Well... I am starting a part-time job at our church next week and just between you and me, I am kinda nervous. No, lota nervous! But excited too. And who do you suppose my boss is... ya, my husband! That should be interesting. No, he's so fun and cute and awesome. How can I not want to be there! I will keep you posted.

sew happy

Oh my gosh, she's gone... waaaa... whatever will I do without my sister Ginny here to motivate and inspire me! I am already missing her like crazy and I just put her on a plane back to Wisconsin a couple hours ago! She was here a whole week and let me tell you, it was the BEST! A crazy, busy week filled with graduation festivities, a road trip to Sierra Vista, shopping, food prep, thrifting, more shopping, eating the food we prepped and then finally on Monday and Tuesday we settled into our sewing projects. And as I said in the last post, I am one happy gal when I am creating!


And these are the fruits of our labor!! I even made one more 'thread catcher' after this photo shoot, making six from me and two from Ginny. I'm telling you, I love each and every one as though... well, let's just say, I love them a whole lot. And the fabrics are so incredibly soft and yummy, I could cry! While I was making my 'thread catchers', Ginny was also making the 'zinc pin cushions'. Hello people! How much do we love them! Can I hear an "AMEN"! (click pic to enlarge)
SO, now what, you ask? Well, I hope to open an Etsy shop and make these guys available. I will keep you posted. Thanks for hanging with me while I was taking a bloggy break this past week. I have sooo much more to share with you! So please check back again! Ok? Thanks.

Thread catcher pin cushions

I am sooo happy! You see, I am creating!! My sister Ginny and I have been busy making thread catcher pin cushions!! So far I have made the two outer 'thread catcher pin cushions' and Ginny made the middle one for Miranda. Oh, check out Miranda's blog for pics of all the graduation festivities! Such fun times! Can you believe the 'zinc jar lid pin cushion' that Ginny also made for the very first time! She's amazing!



I am sooo excited to make one of these tomorrow! Do you not love the little bitty buttons in the middle! You gotta click to enlarge and check out the detail.


Here I am filling my pin cushion with the finest sand. Do you have any idea how happy it makes me to create... to fill pin cushions with sand! OK, so I already told you so. But seriously, my sister is the most talented person I know! We are having the best time! Whatever will I do when she goes back to Wisconsin on Wednesday! Be sure to check back to see what all we accomplish tomorrow! I am sooo happy!

sewing desk & fabric

It's perfect!
Remember I said I was going to be looking for the perfect sewing table for my craft room, to replace the folding white table that sags when I place my HEAVY machine on it. Well, went to IKEA 'as is' and found this computer desk for $25.00 and it's perfect for my machine and for my wooden sewing tray (where the keyboard would go)! The best part... when I want to use the table for something else, I can store the machine below! Ooh, forgot the other best part, it's on rollers!! I can roll my heavy machine anywhere I want on my wonderful commercial grade carpet! And there's more! When AMY was over for our scrapping day on Saturday, she pointed out that when guests need room to sleep on our Aerobed I can roll the desk under the counter!! See pic below. How cool is that!! Thanks AMY!
*** Several of you have asked how close I am to an IKEA. A mile down the road! Yes, very dangerous! But I only shop 'as is'. So I can actually park, walk through 'as is' and back out to my car in 5 minutes... that is, if I don't find anything that suites my fancy.








I am loving all the colorful paper lanterns I am seeing for summer. So on the way home from church yesterday I see this lantern at a yard sale, I pull over and 25 cents later it's all mine!







Like I said, I rarely go to Goodwill unless it is half-off day. But I happened to make a Friday stop and LOOK what I found! Bundles of FAT QUARTERS!! BUNDLES of BEAUTIFUL FAT QUARTERS! And they had the original designer labels on each bundle for $7.99. I got them for $2.99 each!! I am thinking fabric on a cake stand (50 cents) is just about as yummy as cupcakes with sprinkles... I said 'just about'...

did you know that...

1. I am terrified of being tickled.
If I am tickled, I go a little crazy and panic big-time... my heart is racing even as I type this! When I was a young girl, I witnessed my friend being held down by her two brothers and tickled till she cried. It obviously affected me so deeply, that I view it as being torturous to this day.
2. I bought my first car when I was 20 years old... sight unseen... 2000 miles away. A '62 Chevy Impala!
I met Randy a couple months before I went back to Wisconsin for the summer. Randy's Mamaw Bean died that summer and they asked if I wanted to buy her car for $500.00. She was the original owner... and the clear plastic seatcovers had never been removed... and it was as big as a boat... and it was a standard on the column! Yikes! So every Sunday afternoon for a month after I returned to Phoenix, Randy would take me out on remote desert roads and teach me to drive the boat! Man, I loved that car! Oh btw, Randy was driving a '69 Dodge Charger at that time! Two major gas-hogs!
3. I have such respect for teachers and doctors, that you would not know me in their presence.
First of all, I am really outgoing but I get so weird and intimidated around teachers and doctors that I am hardly able to speak with any intelligence. So Randy would always go with me to the kids Dr. visits and school conferences. Otherwise he would ask how it went and I would have been so nervous that I could hardly remember what they had said.
4. I cannot go to movie theaters.
I have been to one movie in the past 6 years and that was "The Passion of Christ". I am sooo hyper-sensitive to sound and movement that I want to do bad things to people that are unwrapping candy, coughing, munching, slurping, talking, getting up & down... and don't get me started if a cell phone goes off. Not good.
5. I mix my metaphors. All the time.
Once when Randy and I were discussing a family's financial hardship, I said "I can't believe they bought that... they don't have a penny to pee on!" And yes, there are dozens more.
6. Whenever we go out to eat, I have to be the last to order.
Otherwise I suffer "orders remorse"... wishing I had ordered what another had ordered. I am very indecisive like that.
7. And last but not least, I say and do unusual things without thinking.
Years ago, when answering machines were new, I was forced to leave a message on someone's answering machine and I think because of the quiet tone of my voice, I ended the message by accidently saying "In Jesus name, Amen" and hung up the phone. I was mortified when I realized what I had just done!

I posted this list a while back, but was recently tagged again by a couple bloggers, so I just reposted the same list but added one more to make it a list of "seven things you may not know about me". Everyone is welcome to play along and post their own list. It's actually quite revealing... and fun.


My lovely red Hibiscus are blooming big this year! And the old tractor seat and milk can came from the family farm in Wisconsin. Have a great weekend and thank you sooo much for stopping by!

the guest room

The pillow case ($2.00 from Ross) was my inspiration for this room makeover. Click the pic to enlarge and see the pretty colored roses and ribbon! The $5.00 oops paint was the perfect match to the quilt ($12.00), sheet set ($6.00), throw pillows ($3.00 each) and curtains ($6.00) that I found on clearance at Ross, Target and TJ Max.


A display of Miranda's musical theater memorabililia... she was Dolly in "Hello Dolly" her 8th grade year... her dance/character shoes... and the necklace and wand from her role as the Godmother in "Cinderella" her Senior year.


My collection of soft, silky vintage pillowcases. I recently found the white wicker, rose fabric lined basket for $2.00 at a thrift store. Perfect for my pillowcases. Perfect for the guest room.


I displayed one of my favorite dresses that Miranda wore as a baby on a wire dress form... the doll-size pink wardrobe was found at a thrift store filled with old doll clothes... the round floral picture was ten cents... the crocheted apron for $2.00... and the rose hat box filled with vintage aqua hats for a dollar.
A week from today my sister Ginny comes for a visit! So I keep calling it 'Ginny's room'! We will definitely be breaking in the craft room with plans to sew and scrap and create. That is, when we are not shopping!

purple brilliance

These pretty flowers show up every spring at the entrance to our home. So warm and welcoming. Such a springy splash of purple brilliance. And speaking of purple brilliance... GO SUNS!! Hope your weekend is wonderful wherever you are!

craft room makeover

I have always said that it just wouldn't be as much fun if I just walked into a store or ordered online and purchased anything I wanted. Not for me. No fun. Waay too easy. I would much rather buy 2nd hand. Randy and I can surely afford more than when we first got married and entered fulltime ministry. So you'd think I wouldn't need to shop for deals all the time. But that's it! I want to! I have to! It's my fix, my hobby! I am all about recycling, repurposing... and the thrill of the hunt!

Sooo, here's the run down on what my craft room cost me. I am doing this for me. I plan to do a scrap layout about my new room someday and tell the stories behind each find. So you are more than welcome to join me. And to be quite honest, it is more fun to tell the stories knowing someone is listening... uh, reading.


This is what I knew I wanted in my new craft/sewing room... aqua walls, plenty of work surface, my $25.00 chandelier and a dress form. Well, I got that, and sooo much more! All are thrifted unless otherwise stated.


Here's my deals from IKEA 'as is'- the 8 ft. solid counter top- $33.00, the base cabinet without doors- $15.00, the other base cabinet with doors- $20.00, the rolling cart with drawers- $13.00 (retail $119.00), wired drawer tower- $20.00, glass jars- 25 cents each.




Yesterday I found the comfy desk chair (perfect color) and awesome solid wood stand next to Mrs. McGillicutty FREE from down the street. (it's big-trash pick-up next week) Paint was $25.00 a gal. X 2- $50.00! I was soo surprised that paint costs that much! I've always used oops paint. Chrome shelving for the closet- $75.00 at Costco, galvanized cabinet w/ glass doors- $5.00, 3 white molding shelves- $5.00 each at Target clearance, the 6 ft. long shelf on top of counter- an old king-size headboard I painted white, 'purse on pegs' art piece- each a dollar or two, an old hand-sewn quilt top for curtains- $1.00 (yup, changed the curtains from the last set of pics) and Mrs. McGillicutty- well, priceless.
The best part... I walk in the room and I want to create and design and play. I feel such a sense of peace and contentment, surrounded by everything that says ME. Making me all the more aware of who God created me to be!