A Great Little Getaway

We're back! We had a great mini getaway with our families. We drove down on Wednesday afternoon after I picked up Jesse from work. I don't know if it was the coffee, the Adam Corolla podcasts or just the excitement to see our families, but the drive down didn't feel like the 8.5 hours that it usually is. It flew by. There wasn't much traffic for 3/4 of the drive until we got into Southern California. We got to my mom's house around midnight.

 We spent most of the following  day just relaxing at my mom's house  and hanging out with my younger brother. Jesse got to spend some quality time with his brother-in-law and taught him how to use a car tester. I spent most of the day trying to knit this hat. It's a simple pattern but I like the ribbing to be a bit looser. Needless to say, I didn't get much work on it done.

My sister's graduation went off without a hitch and was relatively quick considering there were 608 graduating seniors. We were only able to take a few quick photos before the mad dash to collect diplomas ennsued. Afterwards we went to dinner and had some great Chinese food.


I had my hair done up very nicely but the wind pretty much destroyed it. Well at least it wasn't hot for the ceremony.


Friday, we went out to breakfast at IHOP. Something I've always enjoyed with my mom. In truth, I just love spending time with my mom and food only makes it better. After breakfast we went to a couple of thrift stores. It was in  one of those out-of-the-way places. I bought a couple of vintage necklaces.

I love this vintage shell and stone necklace. Now to make a tiki or tropical themed dress.

I also found a bunch of vintage patterns; some of them still factory folded. Also, these are all vintage size 20 which is pretty amazing in itself. I also figured out that most, if not all, of these patterns were owned by the same lady.

Next we went to the local Salvation Army. I have noticed that the Salvation Armys out in California are a lot better than Nevada. However, the GoodWills are a lot better here.

I have often admired the vintage crocheted hangars I often see online. I've even tried to make a couple myself but never really like the result. The couple of times I've run across them, the thrift stores have wanted $2 or $3 each. So when I saw this bundle of 6 for $2.55, I jumped on it. ANd I got an additional 40% off.

 

 How cool is this brooch? It's like double the good luck. Funny enough, I bought this last Friday which landed on the 13th and had  a full moon. I got it for $3 and it's a vintage Gerry's. I have a few from this brand and I love them.

Another awesome thing I bought was this planter/bowl. It has the signature of the artist on the bottom but I haven't been able to figure it out.



I also did a little shoe shopping. Northern Nevada sadly lacks cute, flat shoes. Stripper heels and sky high wedges there's plenty around. I don't buy full price shoes very often so this was a rare occasion. Not to mention that I spend most of my day bare foot. Can I just say that I love ankle and T-straps. They are so cute and feminine. I probably wont be able to wear these once the weather turns cold and wet but I'll try to wear them while I can.

Friday night, we had dinner with my in-laws. Pickup Stix. Oh that is one of the things we look forward to when we travel down south. So good and very fresh food. My mother-in-law gave me this Daisy Fuentes star burst brooch. Isn't it pretty. I love it.

 

Saturday morning we went to the Costa Mesa swap meet. This trip, I made a list of the things I wanted to buy/do. It was really helpful in not buying this that I didn't need. I kept to the list and was very proud of myself.

I have really grown to love cacti and succulents. They are so hardy and grow practically anywhere. There are also very cute and pretty. I like having plants in the house but I'm not good with them like my mom is.  One of my main purchases at the swap meet were succulents.

I bought all these tiny babies for a dollar a piece. I would have bought more but these were the ones that  really stood out for me.

This pot was $3.99 and has at least 6 different of succulents. And the guy I bought it from was totally awesome. He talked to his plants like they were his babies.

My mother-in-law is also a succulent enthusiast and she gave me a ton of her succulents and a couple of Aloe Vera clippings. This is one of the arrangements I made with the clippings she gave me. I love the way this turned out. I have a lot more planted but that will be for another post.

Our last trip for the weekend was to the local Japanese market. It one of my favorite stops. Once again, I made a list and we bought items I use to cook with. I stocked up on our favorite miso paste,  curry paste, seaweed, sauces, dashi stocks, ramen, noodles and a few other condiments. Jesse got some of his favorite yakisoba noodles too.

I also bought a few bowls and a tea cup for myself. love these smalls bowls. They're great for snacks and cereal.

Well that's the last of our loot from our trip. It was a really great trip. We spent some quality time with Jesse's grandparents which was really nice since they can't travel anymore and are in poor health. They both loved their blankets I made them and used them the entire time were there.We  spent some fun times with our families and had a great drive down there and back up. I think the key to enjoying ourselves and our families is to NOT plan a billion things to do. It's hard not to want to do everything you miss while visiting but having (and sticking) to a few things worked out better for us.

              

                         I hope everyone has a great weekend. Looks like it'll be a nice one out here.

It's been Crochet for Me Lately

Hello my dear readers. It seems I've been off the radar yet again. Time always seems to slip by me a lot quicker than I realize. It's not as if I'm so busy that I don't have the time to blog. It's just that my life is very routine. Some people might find it boring and trying but for the most part I love it. For close to ten years, I ran a small business. It's absorbed my every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moments. It's was a lot of work and stress. I miss it sometimes but I love being a housewife more.

I'm in the middle of cleaning house and making house. My younger sister is graduating high school next week. We also plan to  visit the rest of the family while were are down there and do a little shopping. Well, I plan to do some shopping. Whenever we go to So Cal, I try to get things I can't buy in Northjern Nevada. One of my must visit stops is Mitsuwa, a Japanese market. I buy several good there like miso paste, curry paste, pickled ginger, spices, and a few snacks.

Since we are also visiting Jesse's family, I decided to make his grandmother a lap blanket. A few posts ago, I made his grandpa a lap blanket of his own. Figured it would only be fair to make her one too.

I really love the way this blanket turned out. The colors and the texture of it are just perfect. It's a rectangular blanket. I have a hard time figuring out how wide and long to make a blanket but this pattern makes it easy to figure out.

A few weeks ago we had a freak weather pattern, we got some rain and snow. It was nice. It rained for almost two days which is unheard of in Northern Nevada. I got into a crocheting mood and made myself another blanket. I had to recreate the pattern myself. It was a really fun and easy project.

I bought this a month or so ago off of eBay. I am not one to wear crop tops, but they will make great bodices. I just need to add a longer midriff piece. I've also come to terms with the fact that I can't make a top that I like. If it has sleeves, I'm happy. Anything sleeveless, tank top or halter top? Just can't get it to work. I'm hoping to find a pattern or two that I like. 

I just wanted everyone to know I was still alive and kicking. I still need to plan my outfits while visiting and finish cleaning the house. Not sure if anyone else does this, but I like to leave the house clean whenever we visit family. Less work for me  when we get back.


I leave you with a photo of Ridley looking stoned. Jesse doesn't like that I said that but I think it's funny. I hope everyone has a great week and weekend.