Viva Frugality!

2011-01-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone - could y'all please Follow my new blog - Casa de Berry - this one won't be used anymore - thanks!

Head on over . . .

2011-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

to my new blog!

Today at Casa de Berry, you will find 11 things about me, in honor of 2011 - and I'll be talking about all things crafty, mundane and plain old random. There's also a print shop where you can check out my pics for sale, and lots more fun coming ;D

See you there!

New Year, New Blog!

2010-12-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

I think it's time for some changes around here!

While frugality is always on my mind - I don't think I will ever NOT be frugal - at one point I had four blogs. One for my sewing, one for my gardening, one for my frugal living, and one for my boys. Needless to say, it was kind of a pain.

My boys' blog will always be a separate entity, but even though I have merged my other blogs onto this one - you will find old sewing and gardening posts here - Frugality only encompasses one of the aspects of all we do. Sure, I make pants for my boys because it's so cheap, but also because they LOVE their cozy warm pants; I grow my own veggies because it's cheaper, but also because I prefer homegrown quality and taste and want my boys to learn where their food comes from.

So, to make a long story short (too late!) come the new year I will have a new blog - and I hope you will follow me there as well!

More details to come!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

To quote Speed

2010-12-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

I must have "felt like [I] needed another challenge or something" because I made 18 placemats for Christmas lunch.
We didn't have enough of any one color, so we figure, since we'll be hosting from now on, might as well have a big set ready. And these will go with every color tablecloth for the holidays - cream, bright red, dark red, gold, green, etc.

Off to make 18 napkin rings. Just kidding. I think.

Our ornaments

2010-12-17T09:13:00.001-08:00

These are just a few of the ornaments we have that mean so much to us, some new, some with lovely memories, but all welcome on our tree:

I found this one at Target, and since my oldest loves dinosaurs and blue is his favorite color, I just HAD to get it!

He had previously made a liopleurodon ornament, so there's plenty of dino-age company around.

This one I got at Disneyland last year, it was the boys' first trip ever.

For the francophile mama, a glittery Eiffel tower.

This one we got the year our youngest was born. Our complete little family.

Last but not least, something Peruvian on our tree. I was born and raised there, and I love to see this hanging on the tree. It's not actually an ornament, it's something you hang up on the wall, but hey, it works, right?

Fun @ Gilroy Gardens

2010-12-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

Gilroy Gardens is a local park that puts on a show for the holidays - we've gone for the past few years with Gran and Grandpa (my husband's parents) and have always had a great time.

This year was no different, it was actually quite warm, so we all started peeling off coats and heavy sweaters, and the boys romped around the park freely. In fact, I might say, a little too freely.

I am not sure what the finances are like for Gilroy Gardens, but it felt like we had the park to ourselves. We didn't wait in a single line, were usually the only ones on the rides, and had the train to ourselves. Twice. Sure there were other people around but not the crowds of years past. A few of the rides were not operating, either. I just hope that we have years of Gilroy Gardens to enjoy!

A tale of two cats . . . and a Christmas tree

2010-12-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

After seeing a dark lump beneath my Christmas tree, I went to investigate and discovered it was my cat, Bernie.

Then another lump scampered out, it was my lardass one-eyed cat, Willie-Boo.

"Who ya calling lardass, lady?"

And this is the reason we don't put gifts under our tree. Because the cats have taken over the "under the tree" area. Le sigh.

Pantone color of the year 2011

2010-12-09T11:18:00.001-08:00

It's been a couple of years since I've been following Pantone's choices and I have to say, their color of the year for 2011 is lovely!
A rich, saturated pinky red, honeysuckle is no pale, pastel-y shade waiting to be overshadowed.

Pantone 2011 Honeysuckle by pontmarie featuring old navy tops

Shoulder Detail Sheath Dress
$98 - anntaylorloft.com
Sheath dresses »

Old Navy Womens Textured Tunics
$22 - oldnavy.gap.com
Old navy tops »

Old Navy Womens Micro Performance Fleece V-Neck Pullovers
$8 - oldnavy.gap.com
Pullover tops »

Floral Print Scarf
$39 - anntaylorloft.com
Ann Taylor LOFT scarves »

SEPHORA COLLECTION Nail Lacquer L34 - Myrtille
$5 - sephora.com

twentyone black lip gloss
$1.99 - rue21.com

How do you like Pantone's choice?

The boys decorate!

2010-12-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

My boys LOVE to decorate the Christmas tree, although my little one loves to take stuff down as much as he loves to put things up!
I think their efforts were top notch and the tree looks fabulous, don't you?

Check out all the other wonderful trees at Sarah's Christmas Tree party!

Thankful for . . .

2010-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

being safe and sound after our little adventure this past Saturday.

The boys and I were traveling from our home (point A on map) to visit my mom, sis and her husband up in Chester (point B) and got caught in a major freak snowstorm. We caught a patch of ice and skidded sideways across the freeway into the snow-covered mountain. I tried to steer the car so the front would take the impact, since the boys were in the back, and it worked, but there was some damage to our car, and we couldn't continue.
I am incredibly thankful for:

The kind gentlemen who stopped to help us. They got us unstuck from the side of the road and one of them eve offered to drive us to Chester, but I couldn't just leave the car where it was.
The police officer who took us back down to Chico, helped me get the boys and our gear in his car and got us to the repair shop.
The tow truck driver who didn't charge me for the extra miles to tow the car to Chico.
The fact that my brother-in-law works for the same hotel chain as the place we stayed in Chico that night, and got us a discount.
The luggage rack I chose to keep in our hotel room, because it was a jungle gym for my boys.
Having bought Cheerios and Froot Loops, milk, oatmeal and yogurt earlier that day because it tided us over until we got into the hotel and ordered pizza for dinner.
My sweet boys, who were a little rowdy at first but in the end, slept like champs, and let me sleep after a scary and confusing day.
My in-laws and our friend J, who offered to drive to get us that evening, driving through the night if needed.
My wonderful husband, who didn't care what I had done to the car (even though money is very tight around here) but just wanted to make sure we were okay. Since we were set up for the night in a hotel room, we agreed that he would get us the following morning. He left at 3am and got to us by 8am, as we were having breakfast. I drove home and he tried to catch some sleep on the way.

Our car is supposed to be ready today so my husband and his dad are going to make the 4 hour drive there, and 4 hour drive back to get the car.

I feel so terrible about what happened, I am not a reckless driver, and at first we thought I'd bent the axle - not that I know what that means - but it turns out it was the strut that got bent, which can happen at lower speeds.

I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, I hope your holiday weekend is a wonderful one!

Giveaway winner!

2010-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

The winner of the copy of Real Simple Solutions is:

Melissa! Congratulations - please email me your address so I can get your book in the mail!

Last chance to win Real Simple Solutions!

2010-11-15T08:36:00.001-08:00

Check out my giveaway of Real Simple Solutions, the winner will be randomly chosen at 1pm Pacific time!

http://vivafrugality.blogspot.com/2010/11/its-my-birthday-but-you-get-gift.html

It's my birthday but YOU get the gift!

2010-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, today, November 12, is my birthday. It's also my sister's birthday. No, we're not twins, we were born 23 years apart, which means she is now 62. Which means I'm now 39. Time to cut my hair into a bob and start taking Metamucil?

Nah, it's time for a giveaway!

If you love Real Simple as much as I do, then this is the giveaway for you!

I will be giving out one copy of Real Simple Solutions, a fabulous book full of "Tricks, Wisdom and Easy Ideas to Simplify Everyday", and couldn't we all use some of that?

In order to win, you must:
1 - be a follower
2 - leave a comment

How easy is that?

Real Simple is not sponsoring this giveaway, I just want some space on my bookshelves! Contest open only to the US since I have to pay postage on this behemoth :D

The winner will be randomly chosen on November 15 - good luck!

My Shutterfly Christmas cards, Spanish version

2010-11-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Feliz Navidad 2010 Tarjetas de Navidad 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Here's a preview of my Shutterfly cards - I love them!

These are the ones I'm sending to my Spanish speaking friends and family - they always want new pics of the boys so I'm including a bunch in the card :D

Giveaway winner!

2010-11-05T11:44:00.001-07:00

The winner of the sequined flower pin - in her choice of small - is the English Organizer!

Please send me your info so I can mail you the pin - have a great weekend everyone!

2010-11-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to comment on my super glam sequined flower pin giveaway post!!!

Giveaway week!

2010-11-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

If you've seen my son's Drago costume in last week's post, then you know I have some red sequined fabric leftover. What can I say, mama likes her glam.

After trying my hand at a few fabric flower pins - you've seen these everywhere on the blogosphere and in boutiques - I decided to put the glam sequined fabric to good use, and because I *puffy heart* my readers, one of you will win one of your very own.

How to win? Easy!
1 - comment specifying if you want the large or small flower pin - 1 entry
2 - facebook, tweet, and/or post about this on your own blog, and leave a comment telling me you did - 1 entry for each

Winner will be announced Friday morning - Good luck!!

Before it's gone gone gone . . . this is Bakugan!

2010-10-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

My oldest, Aidan, decided he wanted to be Drago for Halloween. Oh no, not any old store-bought costume (there's only one that I found and it did not have a tail), but knowing his parents' love of the theatrical, he wanted us to make him a Drago costume.

My husband and I are old hands at this costume thing - one year for our friends' party, we went as the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood:
I sewed his nightgown and cap, my cape, and he did everything else, the makeup, the headpiece, etc. He looked awesome.

So we dove in to making a Drago costume for our boy.
I sewed the wings, including channels for dowels to go in so when he extends his wings they stand out, and a hood like the mail armor hoods they wore under their helmets. My husband did everything else. The breastplate, the required tail, the headpiece. Check out the eyes!
My husband shaped the eyeballs out of polymer clay, painted and baked them. Then he added the browbone, covered in matching fabric.

Aidan's parade was this morning, it was so cute to see him out with all his classmates and teachers. Now we're looking forward to Sunday for trick-or-treating!

Wow wow!

2010-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

There's a cartoon my children watch, called Wow Wow Wubbzy, about a cute little creature and his two BFFs. Well, three, now since they've added a new character - hmmm, does that mean it's jumped the shark?

Anyway, my oldest has graduated to Bakugan, but my little one still likes Wubbzy, so we made him a Wubbzy costume for Halloween.
I sewed the jacket and pants, and my husband made the bendy tail out of some tubing, and the shoe covers.

Alex doesn't have school on Fridays so his costume parade was this morning. The teachers also dressed up and the kids trick-or-treated afterward, I think they had a lot of fun :D

Stay tuned for a giveaway next week!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

2010-10-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, when I start obsessing over Christmas cards and figuring out what I'm going to send to friends and family. Given the variety of people we send to, and how we like to make everything with do very, very "us" - the choice for us this year is Shutterfly.

Or rather, the choices, because Shutterfly has hundreds of designs available - let me show you the finalists for our cards these year:

I love this one from Heifer International - it's an organization that sets up programs for people so they can grow their own food and end the cycle of poverty. One of their programs helped people living in rural parts of my homeland, Peru, so I am happy to support Heifer International by using their cards. And if I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me if, because I am from Peru, I had a pet llama when I was little, I would be rich!

This one is also a must, because about half my Christmas list is Spanish-speaking!!!

And of course, I like to remember the meaning of Christmas - I love the silhouette of the Nativity!

I can't really choose, so I might have to go with all three!

To make it easier on your wallet, Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards - go check them out!

Wanna find out how to win 50 cards from Shutterfly? Go read about it on my Twitter page!

Easy ribbon candle mat

2010-10-19T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've seen various examples of gorgeous ribbon loop wreaths throughout the blogosphere and since, I have to be honest here, my attention span does not extend to making a wreath, I thought I would make something smaller with ribbon loops.

The technique is pretty simple - find a few coordinating ribbons and cut into similar lengths, depending how big you want the loops to be.

Then, you begin sewing the loops together, one next to the other, forming a long chain:

Once the chain is long enough for your project, take a paper plate and begin attaching the ribbon chain to the edge. I cut off the raised edge off my plate so I would have a flat circle to work with and started at the outer edge, then layered inward. I left the center circle bare for my candle:

I love that you can do this craft for any theme, all you need to do is change the ribbons, I have a feeling I will be making a few Christmas candle mats next month!

More makeup goodies!

2010-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

This time, it is one of my favorite stores for accessories and jewelry - H&M. I found some great glosses during my last visit, and at $1.95, you really can't beat the price, can you?

Here it is compared to my $14.50 MAC Lustreglass.

I am planning on another trip to H&M soon, they only had a few shades and this was the only one I liked, but maybe next time I'll find some other ones ;D

Payless for cute nails!

2010-10-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I go into Payless because they're having one of their great BOGO 50% sales and what do I spy?

Beauty products!

Apparently I am the last person to find out about this but take it from me, Latey McLaterson, it's better late than never. I snagged two colors - since their sale extends to everything in the store - and I have to say they look really nice. You will have to take my word for it because a) I only did one nail of each color - b) my hands are dry, peeling, so I am not posting pics that may scar you for life, and c) I will be communing with nature soon so I didn't want to do all my nails just to have them ruined so soon after.

But, here is a photo of the shades I got - Sugar Plum, a delicious deep purple red, and Precious Metal, a pretty, bronze-y metallic.
Aren't they lovely for Fall and Winter? And I got both for less than $5.

Spring 2011 color forecast

2010-09-23T15:11:00.001-07:00

It's kind of confusing to start thinking of Spring 2011 when around these parts it's not even cold enough to be considered Fall 2010!

But our kind friends at Pantone have compiled the colors that designers are naming as the top 10 for women's wear:

What do you think?

My favorite on that chart is definitely Beeswax, which is pretty close to the color I chose for my bathroom almost a year ago. For wearing, however, I stay away from yellows, and would not wear Lavender or Peapod, either. Russet would be my absolute favorite, with Honeysuckle and Coral Rose following.

I put together this little board with some items in Pantone's picks - enjoy!

Pantone Spring 2011 by pontmarie featuring wrap scarves

Miu Miu Jersey and silk-chiffon top
$440 - net-a-porter.com
Miu Miu blouses »

Brinley Vee
$29 - calypso-celle.com
Cotton t shirt »

viscose tango tank - J.Crew
$45 - jcrew.com
J crew tops »

One Shoulder Stud Top - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic Dresses,...
$39 - ardenb.com
One shoulder tops »

John Lewis Women V-Neck Cardigan, Raspberry, Size 10
25 GBP - johnlewis.com
V neck cardigan »

Tops - aerie
$20 - ae.com
Aerie tops »

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Ruffled Tops
$14 - oldnavy.gap.com
Old navy tops »

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Pullover Hoodies
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
Short sleeve tops »

Polka Dot Lace Top - Teen Clothing by Wet Seal
$6.50 - wetseal.com
Wet Seal »

Converse Chuck Taylor Double Tongue Ox Shoes
$23 - piperlime.gap.com
Converse sneakers »

BKE Stud & Chain Purse
$48 - buckle.com
Chain handbag »

Indian Stone Earrings, Apple Green
$48 - charmandchain.com
Green earrings »

Bright Orange Chunky Resin Rose Ring
5.50 GBP - avalaya.com
Tapered ring »

Long Turquoise Shell Disk Dangle Earrings
4.25 GBP - avalaya.com
Dangle earrings »

Tasha Chiffon Flower Clip
$38 - nordstrom.com
Hair accessories »

John Lewis Angora Scarf, Sorbet
25 GBP - johnlewis.com
Wrap scarves »

Buon Giorno Scarf in Brugine
$12 - modcloth.com
Scarves »

BC Footwear Limousine Cognac - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways
$45 - zappos.com

Amazon.com: MAC Eye Shadow Satin Eye Shadows: Beauty
$20 - amazon.com

H&M Generously tailored top
hm.com
Tee tops »

Fall Goodies

2010-09-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

What are you buying this fall? I hear the same mantra everywhere I go:

Military, Lace, Plaid.

Military, Lace, Plaid.

Miliplary, Place, Tad. Oh shit.

Do you understand now how my grocery trips get so complicated? When you're trying to remember "eggs, rice milk, orange chicken, bread" you're just bound to screw up.

Some pretties I have had my eye on for this fall:

fall goodies by pontmarie featuring a cotton jacket

Women's AE Plaid Boyfriend Shirt - American Eagle Outfitters
$16 - ae.com
Flannel tops »

Old Navy Womens Sheer Lace Tops
$27 - oldnavy.gap.com
Scoop neck tee »

Women's AE Military Shirt Jacket (Khaki)
$50 - ae.com
Cotton jacket »

Old Navy Womens Camper-Style Twill Vests
$25 - oldnavy.gap.com
Old Navy vests »

Old Navy Womens Patterned Fringe-Tassel Scarves
$15 - oldnavy.gap.com
Old Navy scarves »

Everything on this board is $50 or less - mostly from my home away from home, Old Navy.

What fall style are you yearning for?

Field Trip: The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden

2010-09-08T18:24:00.001-07:00

With my two boys in school I have found myself with a few hours of "alone time" - and any mom can tell you, that is a rare commodity indeed. Although most of those hours are still filled with errands, I have decided to visit some interesting places around my turf, and the first one was the San Jose Historic Rose Garden.

Although many plants seemed to be suffering from last week's heat wave, there were still many gorgeous roses, check some of them out:

Want to purchase some of these roses? Your chance is coming up in October at the Garden's Fall Event - details here.

Thank you for visiting some of these old beauties with me!

Much maligned

2010-09-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Much derided, much mocked, much scoffed at.

I'm talking about appliques.

I know, the visions of Aunt Hilda's Christmas sweater come to mind, or a little girl's jacket with pink unicorns and fairies on it. But nowadays, with the revival of embellishment, appliques can be (key word is CAN) the finishing touch for a garment or decorative item in the home.

Given my love for all things fleur de lis, my first applique project was a little pillow:
I bought the fabric from the remnant bin and it was $1.82. You can't tell very well on the pic but it has metallic thread running through it and it makes for a sweet accent. Here it is on my bed - the duvet cover set was a gift from my sister, so the new bed look cost me under $5.
The applique racks ARE, sadly, mostly filled with animals and stars and too much glittery pink stuff but I'll be sure to keep scouting around to find a new treasure!

Pantryfied!

2010-08-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my husband undertook a moving-the-chess-pieces type project in order to have more room in his office, and to give me more room in the laundry room and the pantry.

It is all made out of cabinets we had, so no money was spent here, just my darling's labor. On the right you can see the cat food bin. Our kitties are very talented and will open the door by themselves so we had to put it up high.

Here is the pasta/canned goods/snacks cabinet. I used to have about three times the number of canned goods, most of which were black beans. I have made an effort to use what I have, as you can see ;D

Here's the booze - we have a little wine rack in the dining room but the hard liquor goes here. It looks like a lot because my dearest darling just bought a bunch of mixers, but we really don't drink a lot.

Here is the breakfast cabinet, the bottom shelf is the rice/soy milk my youngest and I drink, plus our beloved Cheerios, and coffee/tea/cocoa and more cereal are on the top.

I love all the extra storage. I'm working on a lunch bin so I can have all the goodies for my boys' backpacks ready to grab in the mornings.

I hope everyone has a great week!

The School Run

2010-08-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

The urge to throw on sweats and a hoodie is one I fight every day of every fall and winter season. It is really so tempting to wear the Old Reliables, but with my oldest boy in school, I have been trying to make an effort to NOT look like I just rolled out of bed.

This kind of outfit is my goal, a cute shirt with pants or jeans, a comfy cardigan for chilly mornings, and non-athletic shoes. I also happen to LOVE the tank with its rich, saturated color and lovely ruffles. You don't even need jewelry with that kind of detail, but I've included some on the board because I might be going to get coffee with a girlfriend after the school run ;D

out of the rut by pontmarie featuring slouchy handbags

Paper > Vintage Letters Paper by Karen Foster: A Cherry On Top
$0.75 - acherryontop.com
Vintage tops »

sale - AllProducts - Petal stream tank - J.Crew
$45 - jcrew.com
Knit tops »

Frill Hem Drape Cardi
15 GBP - oasis-stores.com
Oasis tops »

Old Navy Womens Wide-Leg Cord Trousers
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
Old navy pants »

Adi Designs Brown Microsuede Ankle Boot - 9 : Target
$50 - target.com
Brown booties »

Bruges Slouchy Studded Hobo - Cognac : Target
$40 - target.com
Slouchy handbags »

Forever21.com - Accessories - Jewelry
$7.80 - forever21.com
Forever21 bracelets »

Lauren by Ralph Lauren Small Ball Studs
$20 - nordstrom.com
Earrings »

Every item on this list is either under $50 or you can find a similar item for under $50.

Harvesting in August

2010-08-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

My garden keeps feeding us and the joy it brings me daily is only matched by the excitement of "what am I going to plant next year?" - because, people, the 2011 list has already been started. But that's for another post. Today I am going to share some of our latest goodies:

Lovely, gorgeous, succulent, homegrown vegetables and fruits.

I have to pick the green beans every three days, maximum, otherwise I'm completely overrun by them.

Our chard is cooked just like spinach, usually sauteed with tons of garlic!

Our pear tree is heavy with fruit, lots of pear tarts for us this year!

The strawberries are few but delicious, even the tiny ones are full of flavor, as if they are concentrated.

Our zucchini is delicious no matter how big it gets.

I am collecting pear recipes, for obvious reasons, so if you have a good one, please send it my way!

Frugal Fall Finds

2010-08-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about fall. Like, "I hate this f***ing hot weather, can it be fall already?" or, "I'm dreading all the holidays coming in the fall because daddy won't be around this time" or, "I wonder what cute fall clothes there are out there?"

Since there's nothing I can do about the first two, I figured I'd check out what my home away from home, a.k.a. Old Navy, has for this fall season. I'd love to say that my home away from home is Anthropologie, but let's face it, I can't afford their shit. Or rather, I can afford ONE piece of clothing, if it's on sale. Or I can afford their $6-$10 mugs.

I put together this little board because my mother is stuck in a black/white rut (for decades!) and although she wants to start wearing things in the brown/tan/camel color range, she has no idea where to start. If you are looking for some warm cozy goodness, here are some ideas:

Old Navy fall by pontmarie featuring Old Navy

Women's Sweaters: Cardigans, Women's Hoodies | Old Navy
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy hoodies »

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Cable-Knit Sweaters
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tops »

Women's Sweaters: Cardigans, Women's Hoodies | Old Navy
$37 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy hoodies »

Old Navy Womens Shirred V-Neck Tees
$10 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy t shirts »

Old Navy Womens Raglan-Sleeve Henleys
$10 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tops »

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Boat-Neck Tees
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy t shirts »

Old Navy Womens Buttoned Jersey Leggings
$15 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tunics »

Old Navy Womens Cord Blazers
$35 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy blazers »

Old Navy Womens Cropped Corduroy Jackets
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy jackets »

Old Navy Womens Buttoned-Collar Sweater Coats
$37 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy coats »

Old Navy Womens Coffee Grounds Plus Size Boot-Cut Perfect Khakis
$33 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy pants »

Old Navy Women's Double-Weave Box-Pleat Skirts: Clothing
$12 - amazon.com
More Old Navy skirts »

Women's Clothes: Pants | Old Navy
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy clothing »

Old Navy Womens Cord Minis
$27 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy skirts »

Old Navy Womens Double-Buckle Boots
$35 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy boots »

Women's Clothes: Shoes and Slippers | Old Navy
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy slippers »

Old Navy Womens Fashion Bracelets
$11 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy bracelets »

Old Navy Womens Beaded Chandelier Earrings
$9.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy earrings »

Old Navy Womens Cocktail Rings
$7.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy rings »

Old Navy Womens Floral-Starburst Gauze Scarves
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy scarves »

Old Navy Womens Gauze Floral-Print Scarves
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy scarves »

When NOT to be frugal

2010-08-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

The good things about being frugal is that, when there is a time that I need to splurge, I can do it without guilt. Okay, without TOO much guilt.

Last year, just in time for my 38th birthday, I got acne. I literally woke up on my 38th birthday to a bunch of breakouts all over my nose and chin. I tried Clearasil, Neutrogena, etc. and nothing, the zits were getting worse. I eventually went to my doctor, and she told me that it was adult acne, put me on Retin-A and antibiotics, and sent me home with some hope.

The bad thing about Retin-A is that it makes me peel. Big time. So I still had zits, but also peeling skin all around. Yikes. Then I had to be super careful to not be in the sun. I live in California, dude. To make it worse we went on our first cruise ever, so I came home happy and tanned, but very unhappy with my skin.

Eventually things did calm down and I am now at the stage where I get a couple of small breakouts but nothing like the mess before.

And yes, there is a point to all my blabbering.

The point is, in a word, foundation. I have long been against liquid or cream foundation, since I have oily skin, so powders are my friend. However, powders can accentuate peeling big time, so I embarked on a quest to find a budget skin solution for my less than perfect visage.

Revlon, Cover Girl, Maybelline, I tried them all. Powder, cream-to-powder, etc. no formula did it for me. I either felt like I had put nothing on my skin, or was covered in a layer of cake batter. And when it's 90+ outside, that's just not okay.

Eventually I decided not to waste more money on crap that wouldn't work for me, and head to my favorite makeup counter.

I usually wear Laura Mercier oil-free tinted moisturizer. It is light so that I don't feel anything on my sensitive skin, evens me out, and has an SPF of 20. Good times.

I had read about Laura Merciers' Foundation Powder and thought this might be the answer:
It has a matte finish, which I need, is easy to apply, and you can build on it - it has a sponge if you want to wet it and use the powder for more coverage, and a puff to use as a straight powder.

The verdict: Je l'adore!

I like that it is easy to use and blends really well, and that you can control the amount of coverage. So far I've only used it dry and that has been enough for my day-to-day routine. I don't like to look all made up, but I do like to look polished, and this does the trick. It evens out my skin pretty well without looking cakey at all.

When it comes to the face I show to the world, I have definitely learned that being happy with the results is worth the extra money spent. Drugstore brands have come a long way from the all-pink foundations of yesteryear but they still have not made a product that meets my needs.

So now I am curious, what is your splurge?

My favorite new book!

2010-08-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

The new 2011 IKEA catalog is available! You can check it out here - it's funny because a friend and I were saying last night we need to go to IKEA one of these days. And you can also order your own copy.

Here are some lovely items I shall be looking for in my next visit!

Aryd block candle holder - $9.99 - I LOVE LOVE LOVE these, they come in two sizes and could be used in a group as a centerpiece or to flank the ends of a mantel.

Lonsboda candle holder - $3.99 - Oh my goodness, this one comes in my favorite color and I am telling you three of these lovelies are coming home with me. They have a poured candle inside but when that burns off you can certainly re-use the holder for tealights.

Sondrum photo frame - $4.99 for 5x7 - While I have bought many IKEA frames, I have usually decorated them in some way because I find them to be very minimalistic - this little frame, however, changes all that. The frame itself has a beveled edge and there is also a sweet bead detailing, plus it has a mat. This is a great value and yes, several of these will be coming home with me!

Kivsta shade - $25 16x10 - A little pricier than the usual IKEA shade, but this color is just about perfect for our master bedroom. Must see them in person first, though!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Springdream giveaway winner!

2010-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who became a Follower and commented on the giveaway post - if you didn't win this time, fret not, as I have another giveaway in the works coming soon.

But, this time, the winner of the Springdream jewelry giveaway is:

comment #10 by roogirlie!

Congratulations, email me with your address so I can get your sparklies in the mail soon!

The latest lineup

2010-08-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Our onions continue to mature, they are ready to pull and cure - although, to be honest, they will probably be gone in a week :D

The latest entrant to the lineup is the green bell pepper - FINALLY! I swear we've waited like 6 months for this one. Not really, but that's what it feels like.

My tomatoes continue to delight . . .

. . . even these freaky mutant tomatoes!

Fall style from Old Navy

2010-08-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

I put together this little board as a challenge to myself - you know how they say not to buy a new piece of clothing unless you have three or more outfits to coordinate with. In this case, I aimed for four:

One jacket, four looks by pontmarie featuring Old Navy

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Mexicali Dresses
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy dresses »

Old Navy Womens Semi-Sheer Button-Front Cardigans
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy cardigans »

Old Navy Womens Chiffon-Charmeuse Tiered Tanks
$17 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tops »

Old Navy Womens Rosette Tanks
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tops »

Old Navy Womens Cord Blazers
$35 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy blazers »

Old Navy Womens Western Shirtdresses
$30 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy clothing »

Old Navy Womens The Flirt Trouser Jeans
$35 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy jeans »

Old Navy Womens Black Jack Cotton Twill Box-Pleat Skirts: Clothing
$11 - amazon.com
More Old Navy skirts »

Old Navy Girls Metallic Faux-Leather Ballet Flats
$17 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy flats »

Old Navy Womens Tall-Heel Boots
$50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy boots »

Old Navy Womens Faux Snakeskin Peep-Toe Flats
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy flats »

Old Navy Womens Ribbon-Trim Ballet Flats
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy flats »

Old Navy Womens Canvas Bucket Bags
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy shoulder bags »

Old Navy Womens Faux-Leather Trimmed Crescent Totes
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tote bags »

Old Navy Womens Multicolored Straw Totes
$20 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tote bags »

Old Navy Womens Print Totes
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy tote bags »

Old Navy Womens Fashion Cocktail Rings
$5.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy rings »

Old Navy Womens Cocktail Rings
$7.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy rings »

Old Navy Womens Boho-Chic Fashion Earrings
$7.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy earrings »

Old Navy Womens Fashion Cocktail Rings
$5.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy rings »

Old Navy Womens Hammered Cuff Bracelets
$7.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy bracelets »

Old Navy Womens Fashion Bracelets
$11 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy bracelets »

Old Navy Womens Fashion Earrings
$5.50 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy earrings »

Old Navy Womens Lightweight Ruched Scarves
$13 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy scarves »

Every single piece is from Old Navy, a further challenge. What do you think?

Giveaway! Springdream earrings!

2010-08-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

A while ago I posted about one of my favorite jewelry designers, Springdream Jewelry. I recently bought two pairs of earrings from the talented Stephanie but then I decided to share the joy, and now one of you lucky followers of my blog can win a pair of fabulous earrings simply for being a follower of my blog and commenting on this post - easy peasy!

Now, the toughest part is going to be deciding which pair you would like.

Pair #1 - a dainty peachy flower with a creamy briolette topped by a small pearl

or

Pair #2 - a larger pale blue flower with a big sparkly lavender briolette.

So leave me a comment telling me which pair you would like to win - contest is open until Thursday noon PST. I will be announcing the winner on Friday. You MUST be a follower AND leave a comment on this post in order to be eligible.

Good luck!

Get ready . . .

2010-08-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am having my first giveaway next week, BUT you must be a follower of this blog!

Holy Mole!

2010-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today I made a batch of Barbara Kingsolver's Frijole Guacamole, a.k.a. Holy Mole :D

Much like the previous recipes I've made from Barbara's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, this one is a winner. I'm trying to not think about it too much or I will finish the whole batch before our guests show up.

H&M, y ou're my hero!

2010-08-03T11:29:00.001-07:00

I had some technical difficulties earlier but here is the post I meant to, uh, post.

This belt is just so versatile.
I would pair it up with a simple, clean-lined monochromatic outfit to let it shine on its own.

This sweet little cow shirt could easily become a staple.
The bow is on trend but not too twee, so I think even an old lady like me could wear it :D

Ooh la la!
I like balconette type bras, and that's about all I'm going to say about this.

I currently am on a hate-hate relationship with my upper arms.
This top is dressy enough so that I don't have to wear a fancy little tank with a cardigan on top.

This dress is killer.
It can go about a hundred different ways depending on the accessories and hair you choose to do. Ladylike and sexy, this one's coming home with mama!

I plan on a visit to my (thankfully) local H&M store in the next few days and I'll report back on the goodies that come home with me!

Frugal Spotlight: Sweet Libertine

2010-07-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

I discovered Sweet Libertine cosmetics thanks to my friend Jen, who is a nonsense kind of gal and stands for no bullshit, so I knew her praise to be 100% honest.

Still, I must try something out for myself if I'm going to recommend it - Sarah Waller, the founder of Sweet Libertine, often has sales and promotions so I took advantage and a few months ago, I ordered a few eyeshadows.

I was very happy with my purchase - the amount of product was a very good value for the price (even non-sale price!), the quality was top notch, the color was very saturated, which is good because otherwise it won't show up on my eyelids.

All my shadows were winners, but my favorite color, I have to say, is Dragonfly:

Perfectly named, this shadow has a brownish base but once on your eyelid it can appear to be various shades of blues, greens, and purples! I love it. It's glam enough to perk up but not too much for everyday. And most importantly, it did not irritate my super sensitive eyes!

Head over to Sweet Libertine for wonderful products that contain on talc and are not tested on animals - you can even get free samples. Oy, what are you waiting for??!

Join me for . . .

2010-07-29T06:09:00.000-07:00

Blessings

2010-07-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

I have been counting my blessings - I do all the time - but since my beloved dad's passing earlier this month, I try and counter the grieving with the rejoicing, for life does, indeed, go on for the rest of us, and knowing Dad, he would hate to see me sunken with sadness.

I am very happy dad got to see the veggie garden fairly recently, a couple of months ago in fact, and he was awed by everything we had growing. My poor little dahlias were struggling at best, but I think I have some new influence up there yonder, because ever since dad left us, the dahlias have been blooming and blooming:

Our corn, too, has already delighted us with its sweetness. Last year we only got a few ears, but this time there's about a dozen almost ready to pick - this was the first one:

The Concord grapes are growing - I am meant to make jelly with these and we'll see whether that actually happens but it's been nice to watch them grow from little pinhead-sized dots to their current state.

We've had tons of onions already, not only the spring onions (their season is now done) but some of these yellow and white beauties. They've gone into omelets, chicken dishes, even gave one to mom for her stew. They're not the huge onions you see in the market, but that's perfect for us, because one of these is just about the size we usually need.

My Early Girl tomatoes do not disappoint, they are flavorful and have definitely made up for the disappointment of last year, when all I got all year were two marble sized tomatoes. They're doing better on this side of the yard!

The favorites are the strawberries, I can barely pick them and rinse them before they're in one of the boys' mouths. Usually my oldest gets them :D but they're so good and sweet, I can't blame him at all.

We are all enjoying the fruits and veggies from our backyard and next year, we're doing it from seed, baby! I mean to start some heirloom varieties now that I have my fancy potting bench to help me along. I'm already making lists of what I'll get, it's so exciting! When all is said and done, the veggie garden is helping us eat better, because we don't want to waste any of this precious organic produce, and help our boys eat more veggies, not to mention saving a little money off the grocery bill.

I think Dad would be proud. Ok, who am I kidding, I never could do anything wrong in his eyes, so I know he's watching us pick those strawberries and corn and onions and smiling down at us. And that's a blessing to me.

a day in the life

2010-07-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

one day in the life by pontmarie featuring Old Navy t shirts

Old Navy Womens Perfect V-Neck Tees
$10 - oldnavy.gap.com
More Old Navy t shirts »

Lee Leola Dark Wash Bootcut
$35 - asos.com
More jeans »

BKE Saint Bracelet
$4.50 - buckle.com
More BKE bracelets »

heryl1321 Black Sunglasses
20 GBP - coggles.com
More Icon Eyewear sunglasses »

philosophy | classic fudge cake | high-foaming shampoo, shower gel &...
$16 - philosophy.com

Frame It All 4 Ft. x 8 Ft. x 12 In. Raised Vegetable Garden -...
$219 - homedepot.com

French Pillow Cover Eternal France - French Tapestry Pillows
$54 - souvenirsofparis.com

Hillsdale Furniture Venetian Bed - Full - QVC.com
$402 - qvc.com

Gardening
10 GBP - cathkidston.co.uk

Walmart.com: Oxi Clean: Max Force Laundry Stain Remover, 12 fl oz:...
walmart.com

A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes
$27 - barneys.com

Amazon.com: 14k Satin Diamond-cut Open-Backed Medium Plumeria…
$165 - amazon.com

Kiss Me In The Rain Graphics, Kiss Me In The Rain Images and 2.0 Kiss...
layoutsparks.com
More clothing »

Diamond engagement rings, Wedding bands, Diamond rings, gemstone...
mondera.com
More Promise rings »

laundry/mud rooms - blue gray washer dryer shelves cabinets sink light...
decorpad.com

My little cottage in the making: VICTORIAN COOKING
cottageinthemaking.blogspot.com

kindergarten love
steppingstoneslearning.org

cup+of+tea (image)
blogspot.com

TOYOTA PRIUS
ridelust.com

Toast with peanut butter and jelly | royalty free stock pictures...
pixmac.com

Healthy Dinner Salad Recipes - Healthy Salads - Delish.com
delish.com

My Fall Five from IKEA

2010-07-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

We took Dad to IKEA a couple of months before he passed. He had never been there before, and he was amazed by the displays, the sheer amount of products, and the prices. I never got to take him there for breakfast, but I know he preferred his coffeehouse, where he could chat with friends.

For fall, I am looking at these:

1 - MALM storage unit - $69. I have been looking for a shoe storage solution in the entryway and this piece goes with the light-colored furniture in our living room and also fits the required measurements.

2 - LINGO magazine files - $2.99/4. For that price, how could you not? I would choose the red/white floral print but they also have blue and a bright stripe option.

3 - along with these LINGO storage boxes - $7.99/2. I bought a couple of boxes that are blue/green striped, so those will be going to my oldest boy's bookcase, while mama gets some pretty red flower boxes, both to store, and for holiday decor.

4 - ERSLEV rug - $29.99/6'7"x4'7". This is the perfect neutral rug for my bedroom. The dark red color mirrors the burgundy accent wall while contrasting the beige/gold sponge finish on the rest of the walls. It also helps ground the bed in the room, which is a rather offset shape.

5 - SOLIG solar-powered light chain, $19.99/8 globes. I absolutely love these in the cream color for lazy evenings. Our backyard gets a lot of sun during the day and I think these would work quite well.

Your proxy Bucket List

2010-07-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

My father's loss is the first big loss of my life - I have not only lost a parent, but also a dear friend. We could chat about sports, politics, gossip about various family drama, etc. I will miss him more than I can ever explain here.

There were a few things that gave me some comfort during the days dad was in a coma, and after his passing, and I will share them with you.

1 - Make memories now. Dad had health issues, sure, but his passing was still unexpected. I will forever treasure the pictures I asked a friend's husband to take back in February. There was no "reason" for them, I just wanted photos of my parents with the boys, so we went to a park. Little did I know one of the photos would be the last one of my father and I together. His face reflects the love, pride, and joy he felt for me, and it is one I will treasure always. We had planned to go to Peru in a couple of years so he could show off his grandkids to his friends and relatives there, but sadly, that never happened. I wish we had taken the plunge and done it.

2 - Plan, plan, plan. I was fortunate in that I had spoken to both my parents about their wishes in case they were not able to make decisions for themselves. This was a few months ago after my mom had an emergency appendectomy. With this document, signed by my father, I knew he didn't want to be kept alive if there was no chance of him coming back to us, I knew he wished to be cremated, and I knew he wanted to stay here and not go back to Peru. Had we not discussed this, raw emotions and confusion would have led me to make some very different decisions. I also knew I wasn't making decisions for him, but merely carrying out his wishes. That was a comfort amidst all the grief.

3 - Honor important people in their lives. We had a steady stream of friends and coworkers at the hospital, and when dad was finally taken off the machines that kept him breathing, there were not only several people inside the room with him, but many others standing at the door and even outside the door, paying their respects. I didn't know most of them, but I would not have dreamed of turning them away. These people worked with my father for over a decade, shared conversations at the coffeehouse for over 15 years, and were very important to him. They brought him joy and he saw them more often than he saw me and the boys. Some in my family were not happy to have these people there. I am glad I could decide for dad, to have them accompanying him on his last minutes. He would have wanted that.

4 - Make them part of your life. My boys and I visited my parents twice a week. Not only that, I frequently took photos of everything going on in our lives - playdates, gardening updates, and dad loved seeing all of them. He took joy in the boys' antics, he took pride in my gardening adventures, and I was so happy to share all these moments with him. My dad visited my backyard a couple of months ago and was amazed at everything I am growing. His praise will live with me forever. His delight at seeing Halloween pictures or hearing funny stories about the boys is something that makes me smile.

5 - Leave nothing left unsaid. Dad and I had some rough times. At times, I didn't speak to him for months. The last few years were very different. He was a very loving father and grandfather and adored me and my family. I made sure he knew he was loved as well. We discussed the rough times, talked everything out, and I have the peace of knowing there is nothing I didn't say to him before he died. Oh yeah, I'd love to have a few minutes with him to tell him I love him and I will miss him and I wish he'd been in our lives longer, but there was nothing left unsaid that would have changed anything in our relationship.

heartbroken

2010-07-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

i won't fulfill my promise of not buying any clothes/shoes/accessories for the rest of the year.

my beloved dad passed away on tuesday. in our culture we wear black as a sign of mourning, so it is for this most heartbreaking of reasons that i break my promise.

my heart is raw - dad was one of my best friends, we talked almost daily and were giggling like teenagers during this World Cup whenever one of our teams did well. in fact, my last conversation with him, about an hour before he had the massive heart attack that took his life, was full of silly comments and giggles.

i will be back in a few days to share more about my dad.

Metamorphosis Monday

2010-06-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I'm linking up my recent front garden transformation to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday! Check out all the lovely Before-and-Afters!

Benched! part deux

2010-06-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Remember the pretty potting bench we received from my husband's cousin?

She definitely needed some TLC, but she had lots of potential.
With some sanding, priming, and fresh new paint, look at her now!

She is bright and sunny, ready to do work with me in sending new plants out to the garden!

Spreading the wealth

2010-06-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying many of our fruits and vegetables - my youngest loves blueberries:

We've had green beans, young and tender:

The first couple of ears of corn are making their appearance. I can't wait to see how mny we get this year!

Our Concord grapes will make for delicious jelly later this year:

On Tuesday we gathered a few things. More plums, of course; the tomatoes are just delicious!

Strawberries are a hit around here:

Here's my lovely mother-in-law with some butter lettuce:

We've been giving away avocados and plums, and I plan on sharing our plum jam with friends as well. This is one of the best parts of having a garden, the joy of sharing it with others.

The front yard gets its turn

2010-06-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been sharing with you the ongoing saga of our veggie garden, but last weekend we tackled our front yard. We are lucky to have a grassy area for the boys to play in, but the borders around our entryway were a bit neglected.

Still, it was a shock coming home and finding my front yard in this state:

The free mulch we got on Craigslist did NOT smell pretty.

The good thing is, we had good, strong helpers.

Did you know that dinosaur pajamas give you extra strength?

This is the main are we would be tackling:

We played around with some plant layouts:

Dad changed our son's pj's for a really uncoordinated ensemble, but hey, it was comfy :D

The boys apply some glue to a piece of wood:

Then it goes on the wall:

Then the pretty fleur-de-lis hanging baskets are ready:

We also added some fern and gerbera daisies to the front door area (ignore my husband's shoes). Future projects include changing the nasty brass mailbox and light!

Bamboo on the right side of the entry:

The finished front garden - I love it! The space between the wavy border and the brick is going to be filled with stones and another secret project the boys will work on.

My husband is just amazing, he did most of the work on this because I had been mentioning that I would like to have flowers as well as my veggies out back. He even worked on Father's Day, shoveling a ton of that mulch to the back for the veggies. I love my front yard - the pretty bamboo, the lovely gerbera daisies, lavender, hydrangeas, I just love it!

In the interest of full disclosure . . .

2010-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Two items of clothing entered my wardrobe yesterday - as you know, I have forsaken buying clothes, accessories and shoes for the rest of 2010 - but since it was our anniversary yesterday, my husband forced me, virtually at gunpoint, to try on a couple of items at Old Navy.

Nothing that's too big a deal, just a long blue skirt and a gray lace-trimmed tank top - but here are two ways I would accessorize them:

Tank and skirt, two ways by pontmarie featuring Miu Miu shoes

Annabeth Sweater Cardigan
$24 - canada.forever21.com
More Forever21 cardigans »

Rachel Pally Long Full Skirt in Midnight
$190 - shopthetrendboutique.com
More Rachel Pally skirts »

Heather
$10 - abercrombie.com
More Abercrombie & Fitch clothing »

Bettye Muller Women's Brunch Maryjane Espadrille
$196 - endless.com
More Bettye Muller shoes »

Metallic multi-strap sandals
$595 - net-a-porter.com
More Miu Miu sandals »

Via Nativa + Reclaimed Wood Bangle
$36 - econsciousmarket.com
More bracelets »

Tracey's Orange Studded Gold Chandelier Earrings
$35 - fantasyjewelrybox.com
More earrings »

Snowflake Swarovski crystal necklace
$545 - net-a-porter.com
More Lanvin necklaces »

Clarins - Color Quench Lip Balm #14 Blood Orange
$21 - yesstyle.com

Clinique SPF 25 Body Spray - Beauty - Bloomingdales.com
$20 - bloomingdales.com

Clarins Colour Quench Lip Balm
$20 - uk.clarins.com

Seven years ago . . .

2010-06-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

I married my best friend. I know it sounds corny, but it's true, very true for us. Yes, we've had our share of ups and downs but I know I married the right person.

Our wedding was very "us", we both love to create and make things our own and I think we did that. We made our own invitations, programs, place cards; I made the necklace I wore - no dainty little pearls for me, I made a big statement necklace and wore the diamond earrings my beloved gifted me soon after we met.

We had Sting, Frodo's sword from Lord of the Rings, as our cake cutter, and I nearly took off the tip of my new husband's nose. A year later, during our first anniversary party, I nearly took off the tip of my husband's nose. We haven't used Sting since. I like my husband's nose.

We had our parents cater our wedding. My in-laws have a catering business so they provided the tri-tip, salad and rice, and my parents are excellent cooks so they made the Peruvian food I wanted at my wedding. Our guests could enjoy cebiche and picante de pollo, I sure did.

My bouquet flowers were special ordered because I wanted dark, dark Black Baccara roses and chocolate cosmos. My bridesmaids wore burgundy and carried ivory flowers, I did the opposite. My toenails were also burgundy, my fingernails ivory. The nail salon lady got mad at me because I wouldn't let her put fake nails on me. She reminded me of the diamond store lady who almost yelled at me because I wanted a smaller diamond. Hello, my hands, my choice! Like I said, we're not very conventional here.

My husband liked the look of ascot ties, so he wore one for our wedding. We love dressing up. I think we're going to have a steampunk vow renewal for our 10th anniversary.

Our wedding cost far less than the average San Francisco Bay Area wedding, mostly because of our choices in the food. That wasn't so important to us as was having a wedding that represented who we were. But in doing so, we also saved money and that's never a bad thing.

It was a great day. It was a great party. It was great coming home knowing that this choice, this most important of choices, was one I got right.

I love you, honey, here's to seventy more.

Today's Harvest

2010-06-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous and delicious butter lettuce, our first tomato, and more plums and avocados! My helper decided the plums were too tart for him, but his little brother ate 2 pieces of toast with yesterday's plum jam.

Ten Tasks in Ten Days Challenge

2010-06-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Gina from The Shabby Chic Cottage has a challenge and I mean to give it my best shot!

I am considering what ten tasks I will be attempting to complete in ten days and hope to end the challenge with a much lighter burden - wish me luck!

Plumful

2010-06-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago I noticed many of the plums on my tree turning that telltale dark red color, so out came my bowl and down came about 30 plums.

Then I started googling for plum jam recipes and stumbled upon this one, that did not use pectin or anything I didn't already have in my pantry.

After half an hour for peeling and pitting and another half hour for the actual jam making, here are my results:

I absolutely love the color, and the way my kitchen smelled - but most of all, the flavor was great. Sweet but bright with plummy tartness, I am delighted with the results and looking forward to making more to give away!

June in my garden

2010-06-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying our spring onions, which are as flavorful and fragrant as ever, and that's a good thing because due to a ladder mishap I think my spring onions' days are over.

However, our other fruits and veggies are doing great - we can't wait to start eating our sweet corn with lots of butter:

My lavender is ready to harvest and put in sachets to give away:

I'm going to make plum jam this year!

And our tomatoes are almost ready to turn red:

Aside from our spring onions, we've been eating our butter lettuce in salads and sandwiches, and using our celery in soups and chicken salad, I love the crunch it adds!

Cheap decor

2010-06-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I had time to cross-stitch. Once upon a time I could cross-stitch without the fear or a sweet kitty or a beloved child impaling themselves on my needle. Once upon a time I had my finished cross-stitch framed and hung all around my house.

But now, it's time for my finished work to rest awhile and free up the pretty frames I used back then :D

Last week I went to my favorite paper goods store, Paper Source, and got a few pieces of gift wrap. Yes, gift wrap. This ain't your Hallmark store's gift wrap, that's for sure!

I love that this butterfly print is colorful, but muted. It's not loud and blaring, and hangs by my desk in the space we share with the boys and their toys.

This beauty, in its fancy gold tone frame, is now in my bathroom.

I also found this cooking utensil paper that matched my dining room/kitchen walls pretty well.

How much did I spend on these three new decorative items for my home? A grand total of $12. Of course, had I not had the frames it would have been a lot more, but I decided to reuse something I had, and for a few dollars, I was able to give a whole new look to three corners of my house. I'm very happy with the way they look!

If I were buying . . .

2010-06-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

As you know, I have sworn to not purchase any clothes, accessories, or shoes for myself for the rest of the year.

Which doesn't mean things don't catch my eye, of course, so here is a (small) list of items I might have purchased.

A couple of these darling crochet-trim tanks from Old Navy. They're $10 each and would be much worn this summer, I bet.

These darling heels from Project Runway winner Christian Siriano - his summer line for Payless is pretty accessible and at $34.99, not bad for the quality.

This sassy butterfly brooch from one of my favorites etsy designers, Shlomit Ofir. At $23, it's a steal.

These floral earrings from SpringDream, another etsy favorite - wouldn't they be perfect with jean shorts and a white tee for a Fourth of July barbecue?

Those are just a few items I wouldn't mind owning, but since I mean to honor my promises, I will not be purchasing anything for moi this year - but that doesn't mean YOU can't buy some of these pretties for yourself!

From the feet of the First Lady of the UK

2010-05-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

I think I follow UK gossip more than I do American gossip. As cheap and tawdry as our "celebrities" are, I swear, they definitely get a run for their money over the pond. Who's worse, Heidi Montag or Kerry Katona? Lindsay Lohan or Katie Price?

Anyway, back to the reason for this post - I think my favorite part of the recent UK election gossip coverage were the black peeptoe wedges Samantha Cameron wore during the campaign. Hers came from Zara and look comfy enough to wear during her pregnancy. Not that I ever wore cute shoes like that during mine. I think once I wore heels to a party - during my 9th month, mind you - and took them off before walking 3 blocks back to the car because I couldn't bear them. Anyway, SamCam, as the British tabs call her, can afford much costlier shoes but of course, dressed like "one of us" during the campaign. Her style is very much clean lines and a mix of designer and high street labels. Which brings us to one of my favorite labels.

Target's Merona peeptoes are only $24.99.

Merona is great quality for the price and I love the clothing and shoes I have bought from them. If I hadn't sworn to abstinence from any type of shopping for myself this year, I would pick up this pair today, along with a pair in Cognac. Thank goodness I purchased one of their Fit Solution jeans last year, because those are amazing!

If you're looking for a pair of comfortable, versatile shoes for this summer, I nominate these Maire wedges from Target.

I wish I were paid in money or, ahem, shoes, for this post but alas, I am not, I just saw them and remembered how much I liked SamCam's wedges.

From Ballard to Real Life

2010-05-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Ballard Designs. THAT said, there is no way I can afford their stuff. Maybe someday. On clearance. With a coupon. And a gift certificate. But when I was browsing their new stuff online, I realized I had seen (and owned) some similar items that did not have the Ballard tag.

This ship's wheel is on the Ballard catalog for $99.

Michael's carries an unfinished ship's wheel for $9.99, plus about $4 for some spray paint in your choice of color, and you can have a similar nautical accent that won't sink your budget. Get it? Sink your budget, like sinking a ship . . . never mind.

These gorgeous pictures are sold on the Ballard site for $169. Each. That is definitely way too rich for my blood, considering that lovely botanical prints like these:
can be had from a calendar for about 1/10th the price. Places like Walmart, Target, etc. sell sets of matching frames that can get you the same look for much less.

A set of 3 apothecary jars from Ballard will set you back $49. Which is not a bad price at all, for Ballard.

However, I found this set:
at Ross for $12 a couple of weeks ago and I think they're just as lovely. I can whip up some antique-looking labels on the computer as well, and complete the Ballard look. For now, they hold candy none of us like so we won't be tempted.

What started this post, was in fact, this planter I spied on the Ballard website, for $119.
It has a fleur-de-lis detail, which is what called my eye, because . . .

My awesome husband showed up with this fleur de lis planter from Lowe's:
a couple of weeks ago. It now houses some of our strawberry plants, and it was around $16.99. We picked the strawberries yesterday because my parents were visiting, otherwise we'd have a nice picture with lush, red berries resting languorously on the fleur de lis motifs.

So do not despair if you see something on Ballard that you love, because you can find a similar item for less, or make your own, like I did with these Ballard-inspired alphabet ornaments last Christmas.

Happy Ballard-inspired hunting!

Tuesday Tag Along!!!

2010-05-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS
•Create a Tuesday Tag-Along Blog post. Include the Tuesday Tag-Along button .
•Add your blog name and URL of your TTA post to the mclinky
•Follow Twee Poppets, the hostess blog listed in the first post, Leave a comment saying that you are following, and Twee Poppets will follow you back.
•If you can please follow the blogs in the 3 spots before you, (e.g if your number 20, follow 19,18, and 17) This is not mandatory, but it will help ensure that everyone who signs up gets a few new followers.
•Follow as many blogs as you want, the more you follow the more that follow you back. Be sure to tell them you are from Tuesday Tag-Along.
•Make sure if you get some from Tuesday Tag-Along that you follow them back
The Tuesday tag-along post and mclinky will post Monday at 8:59 Pacific standard time and the Mclinky will be open to add your link until Tuesday night at 11:59 pacific standard time. You then have all week long to visit other blogs and follow.

There is a new link every week so make sure that you follow every Tuesday as the links will not carry over from week to week.

Menus for summer and fall

2010-05-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

Blueberry pie, with these homegrown beauties.

Beef and Bok Choy stir fry, recipe tried from Real Simple's one month of dinners. This was our favorite from all the ones we tried. Our bok choy is ready to be picked!

Chopped Salad with Shrimp (and our butter lettuce, of course).

Eggs in a Nest from Animal Vegetable Miracle, including our homegrown chard.

Corn on the cob, made with freshly picked corn. I swear I can see these babies growing before my eyes!

PB and (concord grape) jelly sandwiches for the boys.

Egg white omelets with chopped green onions. These are delicious and so healthy, I just love them.

Okay, not a recipe but already, just walking past these young lavender buds is having a calming effect on me. I can foresee lots of cuttings and sachets this year.

For an indulgent treat, I will make mini eclairs with strawberries from our garden, and cream, recipe from The Martha.

Last but not least, I could list about 500 recipes that call for tomatoes, so let's just say that our lovelies will be well used in our kitchen.

I walk around my growing garden with a loony smile on my face. The sight of these growing fruits and vegetables makes me so happy. I'm not even including the trees that are already heavy with growing pears and plums, and our loyal avocado tree, which has given us (and our friends and family) so much goodness already.

My son wants to plant potatoes, and I plan on granting his wish next year. I also want to grow some heirloom varieties from seed. I absolutely love this, and planning meals around what grows in the garden is so incredibly fun. I am truly lucky.

Small changes

2010-05-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband just got back from a week's worth of business that took him out of town. I took the opportunity to ~~change things around before he could say no~~ make a few changes and see if he'd like them when he got home.

Our main bathroom (i.e. not the master bathroom) has had a jungle theme curtain for a couple of years. I didn't take a picture but it matched these hooks.
Now that my oldest is a cool dude who's into dinosaurs and not so much into jungle animals, I asked him if he would miss the jungle curtain. He said no, and I ~~jumped for joy~~ calmly changed it with a neutral hued one my mom got for me.

The animal hooks went, too, replaced by these gorgeous oil-rubbed bronze pretties.
And yes, I'm eyeing that shower rod, too, because there's an oil-rubbed bronze rod to match the hooks, but I'm on a budget, people! The hooks were $8.99.

Our mantel is tricky to work with because it's propped up against a foam wall. Yes, the brainiac who lived here before decided foam, lovely FLAMMABLE foam, was a good thing to install above the fireplace. Anyway, the mantel can't hold much weight, so I can't really go crazy on there.
We got this IKEA print and we love it, but the whole thing was looking a little too emo for me. I'm 38. I can't do emo anymore.

So on another trip to IKEA, I picked up these candle holders and a little tray I spray painted with Caramel Latte, a pretty neutral with a bit of shimmer, and here's the result after I repurposed some of our rock accents and found a trio of bronze balls (hee) at Ross.
I kept things in the general color scheme but added some more texture.

I love the contrast between the rocks and the candle holders.
All in all, happy with the result, and it was all for under $12.

I had whipped up these curtains for our master bedroom but they did not go AT ALL, so I parked them in the playroom, where we had red/green striped curtains that didn't really go with anything in there.
Our kitty Willie-Boo seems to like them!

Then I figured our sofa needed a bit of cheering up, and asked my mom to transform the aforementioned red/green striped curtains.
I love our burgundy sofa and it's served us well over these past 6 years, so it deserved a bit of accessorizing.

Voila! Mom made some pillow covers that brighten up our sofa.

What's amazing is, the cats aren't scratching them and the boys are, more or less, leaving them along. Color me shocked.

Special Touches

2010-05-07T12:53:00.001-07:00

Richella at Imparting Grace is having a party to celebrate the special touches we homemakers strive to give our houses to make them our homes. I thought I'd chime in and share with you all some of the small details that make this house our beloved home.

1 - No matter what goes on in the rest of our house, with our two boys and our two cats, our bedroom is our refuge. My husband is home today after a week out of town on business, so I did an entire bedroom redo and tried to make it welcoming, cozy, and relaxing.

2 - Make sure the natives know how much they matter. My oldest's favorite color in the world is blue, so when I chose this lantern and the candle inside, I went with his choice instead of a more, uh, complementary color for our bathroom. I figure he's in there plenty and is always looking and fiddling with the lantern, why not make him happy?

3 - We try to retain a sense of whimsy - there are many gorgeous and elegant options for this vase, but this sparkly butterfly was unexpectedly perfect for this spot.

4 - We treasure our boys and love to take (and display) the photos we take of them. Every room in our house - except the bathroom where we have nature prints - has photos of our family. We wouldn't have it any other way :D

5 - I was born and raised in Peru, and although 2/3 of my life have been spent in the US, I like to remember my homeland. We can't wait to take our boys there!

6 - Trying my best to have a pretty set table, whether we have company or not. It's tough because we don't have a craft area so we use the dining room table by default but as much as I can, I like to put things back in a nice way.

7 - Remember who "we" are. We're kind of weird and really geeky. We used Sting, Frodo's sword from Lord of the Rings, as our cake cutter because we didn't want a plain old cutting knife. We're crafty, we like to make a lot of our own stuff instead of buying. We've put Sting up really high on the wall away from little hands but we like to be reminded of our own weirdness :D

Are you ready to share the special touches you give your home? Grab the button below and link up!

Five dollars later . . .

2010-05-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to pop into Goodwill because I'm looking for a good entryway bench that's less than $100. Didn't find one, but I came upon this beauty - here she is, all decked out with faux fruit on my dining room table. Uber tacky I know, but until I find what I want, what I really, really want (ha) fake mini-apples it is.

I've been looking for glass jars to brighten up the house, but they've all been more than I wanted to pay, so for kicks, let's see what something similar to My Precious would have cost elsewhere.

Crate and Barrel has a similar one for $39.99.

Pottery Barn has quite the selection and the one that is the closest size to mine is also $39.99

This one from Tarjay is a surprising $35 smackaroos. Really, Target? You pay minimum wage and give a putrid 10% employee discount (I should know, I worked there not that long ago!) and you're charging $35 for this?

Even if Target were selling their jars for half the price, I honestly feel I got a great deal. I don't think my little purchase would have been there a day later so I am very glad I decided to pop in today.

Here are a couple of more looks at my pretty one:

I love how much I can display in there!

Down Memory Lane - The Pirate Room

2010-04-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

When I learned I was pregnant with bebe #2, we realized that we would have to give up our office. Instead of creating a nursery for our new baby, we decided to leave bebe #1's nursery as it was and move him to a new, Big Boy room.

A Big Boy Pirate Room!

Testing some colors on the original pale blue wall:
My husband made the original sketch, then his friend - who is an awesome artist - expanded it and measure the room to transfer the sketch onto the walls.

Everything was penciled in
and then the background color was added.

My husband decided to make a "real" ship side
and sketched the ship details onto a piece of plywood.

On the beach side, the different tones of beige and tan were applied for a sandy effect

Over the light switch, a friendly shape was penciled in
along with detailed ocean waves.

The first layer of coloring onto the ship side
on the bottom you can see the realistic railing made of unfinished wood candlesticks from Michaels. The railing on the other side was painted on the wall.

Can't have a pirate beach without a treasure chest
Here, the first layer of color.

A rope ladder was riggedfor our young scalawag's toys to climb to the crow's nest.

A composite view of the corner where the crib would later go:
Lanterns and chains in each corner complete the look.

Details that peek through the crib railings.
Our big boy loved to trace around the figures with his little fingers.

A smiling dolphin leaps out of the ocean to greet him good morning:
or good night - he loved it.

The finished ship with a muslin sail (sewn by my mom) and crow's nest.
We later filled in the ladder with a bunch of small stuffed animals.

In the distance, a pirate ship approaches . . .
The sails were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.

The treasure chest, with gold coins and gems
with lots of metallic paint for that golden sparkle.

Our sweet boy in his crib
He LOVED his room and had no problem trading in his nursery for his new pirate's lair.

My husband, his artist friend, and our friend J did a great job in transforming our office into a fabulous room for our son, don't you think?

About grapes

2010-04-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

(click on pictures for full size)

"The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do." Galileo Galilei

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry." E.B. White

"What I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of its own grapes." Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude." Edith Wharton

Well, Edith, all I know is that next year we are turning all these glorious Concord grapes into glorious jelly, mm-kay?

For future reference . . .

2010-04-28T18:51:00.001-07:00

We were looking for one of our house paint colors today so I figure I should have all our house colors somewhere I can always look them up :D

Yes, I know, that burgundy. You see, I used to LOVE burgundy, and still do, but when we do our master bedroom redo, that burgundy is going away. And the two golden tones were done in a sponge finish so they are mixed together. We still like the sponge finish and the neutrals so I think we will keep those.

The living room was a dreary grayish peach, a la "my spinster aunt's parlor" - it was really dark and oppressive even though the color wasn't that dark, but it was hideous, so I chose a very sunny color and voila, big and gorgeous living room.

Our former office was painted light blue per my husband's preference. Then we bought paint to match (we thought) when we needed to touch things up for our second son, and oops! ended up with the upper third a lighter color than the rest. Oh well, he doesn't care.

My husband thought our finished kitchen looked like a Chili's restaurant. All brick red and tan, but hey, he chose the red for the walls. We love it, though, it's full of color and with all our wrought iron details, totally us.

Our bathroom was recently painted in Ralph Lauren's Chamois. Which is really close to Sunporch from the master bedroom, now that I think of it.

My older son's room is a different post altogether. A huge DIY project that my husband and his friend undertook, I shall post about it some other time :D

Is she reading my mind?

2010-04-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

I was just telling the awesome group of women I met on Sunday, that I love rich, saturated color and how it my bathroom is pumpkin orange and my kitchen/dining room is brick red, etc. and what I do I see at the newsstand?

A Martha Stewart Living issue devoted to color - love it!

Benched!

2010-04-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Lookit what our lovely cousin gave to me last week. Can you guess what she is? Yes, it's a she.

She's a beauty, despite some peeling and discoloration. She sounds like me with my adult acne symptoms. Once her surface is done she will be a beauty!

It's my new potting bench! I even love the color of the peeling paint, I might try for a similar terracotta hue.

I could also paint it a light color, like these one from Sunset and Amazon.com.

For now I'm thinking of keeping it a natural color, I can't wait to tackle making over this pretty bench!

Field Trip: The Petaluma Antiques Fair

2010-04-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the always fabulous Centsational Girl posted about this gem of a fair - the Petaluma Antiques Fair. Lots of gorgeous old things (and I don't just mean me, thank you) for not that much. Or at least, not as much as I expected.
Look at this sweetheart. If I didn't already have two naked boys running around my backyard I would bring him home.

Same here. If the aforementioned naked runners weren't trampling every delicate thing I own, I would have purchased some of these lovely tea cup sets. We have wolf mugs. And that's it. They're my husband's from before her met me, of course, I would never have allowed such wild animal displays in my home. Oh wait, naked running boys. Hmmm.

See, this is more my speed. A tool box for my manly husband, that can also hold pretty flowers for me. Win-win.

I liked the church relics from France, but more than anything I just wanted to grab those Provencal tablecloths and run. I don't think the vendor would have been happy.

On the way to lunch with the gang, I walked into an antique shop. At that point I'd been walking about 3 1/2 hours and this bed was calling my name. Then I went to the bathroom and saw an antique item (allegedly) from Mexico, but it had a Peruvian flag on it. Mm-hmm. Girl, I was born and raised in Peru and this whole "oh y'all Latin people are all the same" shit kind of rubbed me the wrong way and I told the counter lady their "antique" was all wrong and to stop calling Peruvian things "Mexican".

No, I didn't. I just asked where they'd gotten it and she had no clue. Oh and by the way, potatoes are from Peru. Not Ireland. I know, right? I'm going to tell See's Candies to stop making those Irish potato things for St. Patrick's Day.

After the antiques store lady threw me out of her shop (kidding!) I joined the lovely ladies and the gracious Mr. CG for lunch at Risi Bisi. Oh my goodness. I love to try pumpkin ravioli wherever I can find it and this one was deee-licious! I delicately cleared my plate while surreptitiously looking to see if anyone else (three of us ordered it) was leaving any pieces behind. Damn. Everyone ate theirs. The bread was yummy, too, as was the veggie mousse Mr. CG shared with us. At the end we got two orders of tiramisu on the house and it took all my willpower to not grab them and run off before anyone else could get a bite. So good.

Who's in the pic? Ok, from left to right:
Kate from Centsational Girl, Kim from Yep They’re All Mine, photographer (and future blogger!) Marie, Pauline from Struggling to be Stylish, and yours truly. Great food and even better company - a perfect Sunday!

Adding some beauty to my lovely veggie world

2010-04-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Lookit what my husband surprised me with yesterday!

Yellow roses are my absolute favorite and we used to have a yellow rose bush in our last house. When we moved, we left it behind and last night I was totally surprised to see this beauty greeting me at the door!

The art above my desk

2010-04-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

During our recent Caribbean cruise, I snapped a few pics at Orchid World in Barbados. It was, as the name indicates, an orchid-lover's dream. Every type, every color, every shape of orchid was beautifully represented there.

When I came home and posted some pics, I was incredibly flattered when a dear friend asked if she could have one of the pics to put up in her home. Of course, I said, and then thought, why shouldn't I have some of these framed and put up in my home?

The end result was this:
they reside above my computer monitor and provide a splash of color on cold, dreary mornings.

The frames were $3.99 each on clearance at Michaels, and the prints were 99 cents each. Can't beat that :D

A kitchen wall

2010-04-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Our cookbooks reside in the living room - there simply is no room in the kitchen to store them. However, we are considering a couple of changes to the kitchen which will clear an entire wall, and my plan is to put up some shelves for our cookbooks to reside.

I can't wait for our new cookbook nook :D I'm thinking something like this:
Photo: Real Simple

I also love the look of baskets on the wall, although the husband is not too hip on the pegboard:
Photo: Martha Stewart

Maybe I could do shelves with baskets at the sides?

We have a few days before we change things up, but the thought of our cookbooks having their own little home is cheering me up a lot :D

The Frugal Spotlight: Springdream Jewelry

2010-04-20T11:34:00.001-07:00

I am starting a feature on the blog to shine a big, bright spotlight on people, businesses, places, etc. that provide great value for cost. Isn't that what living frugally is all about? Getting the best you can for what you pay.

My first Frugal Spotlight is none other than Springdream Jewelry - I met designer extraordinaire Stephanie when I was planning my wedding and was making jewelry myself. I saw that Springdream was highly recommended, we started talking, and seven years later, Stephanie and I remain friends. I had the pleasure of chatting with her the other day:

Welcome, Stephanie – how would you describe your jewelry?
Right now I would say it looks very springy. I live in Colorado where it's cold and everything is dead for months on end, so I look forward to spring all through winter. I have lots of colors and flowers in the jewelry right now because of it.

How long have you been making jewelry?
I have been making jewelry since I was in High School, but I would hardly get too excited over that stuff! I have been making jewelry more seriously though for the last 10 years when I started my bridal line (prior to getting married).

What does value mean to you as a consumer and how does that influence your pricing?
I will admit I am a cheap person. I make nearly everything I can (including all my cleaning products, etc). As a consumer I find value in things that are "unique" more than anything else because I think that people like to feel special and different. I also like to try to support individuals such as myself that are "makers". I try to make sure that I can always keep my costs low in order to offer affordable and unique jewelry at the same time. That way people can have something that will get them compliments and make them feel pretty while not breaking the bank.

Your pieces are so beautiful and delicate, how do you go from inspiration to the finished product?
I spend a lot of time on the internet searching for cool findings that I can add to my designs that are popular (birds, butterflies, flowers, etc), but I like to find new ways to make things with them, or take two styles and put them together. I try to think of my friends for inspiration and pay attention to the trends they pick up on and then find another way to make something similar but with my own style attached. I will admit, I get bored easily and "my style" changes like the wind.

What piece from your collection would you recommend to the first-time Springdream customer?
I think that all depends on the person, but I have two styles that seem to get a lot of attention. My first is the "Romantic" collection that uses silk flowers in an asymmetrical style. I haven't been able to find those flowers for some time now, so what is left is all I have unless I get lucky and find them again. The other one is from my Casual line with the lucite (german plastic) flowers that are asymmetrical. Everyone seems to love those as well. Both collections are one of a kind.

Thank you, Stephanie, for talking to us, and congratulations on your recent feature on the Etsy front page!

Now, Mother's Day is coming, wouldn't you love to give your mom, his mom, any mom, yourself if you are a mom, a beautiful piece from Springdream? To make it even more enticing, Stephanie is offering $5 off her already super low prices if you mention my blog in the Message to Seller section when you place an order from her Etsy shop. Go check it out!

My last clothing purchase for 2010

2010-04-18T11:37:00.001-07:00

In the past few weeks I have come to a decision that will encompass the rest of the year.

I will not be purchasing any clothing items, shoes or accessories for myself until 2011.

The main reason is that I am determined to work on our house and want to put as much of our limited funds as I can towards taking our home to the next level, and considering I am well set in clothes, this should not probe much of a hardship. The only purchase I foresee being tough to delay is a new pair of black ankle boots. I've had mine for 15 years and they're in good condition but little things are starting to happen with them and had I not taken this pledge I would probably have already bought a new pair. But spring is here and I won't think of boots until October or so. And hopefully I can scrape by until the new year :D

So my last purchase was a hat, because now I am on retinoids for acne and need to keep my face from the sun - I needed something more manageable than my big floppy hat I got for the cruise and the little caps I have. I found the perfect hat for $7, although I kind of look like I'm going on safari. Hmm.

Wish me well!

How to Be a Savvy Cheapskate

2010-04-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

I was intrigued by this article from US News and World Report. The part that resonated with me was this bit about what our priorities REALLY are - "We're really mostly committed to buying cool, expensive, green stuff."

What do you think?

Red alert!

2010-04-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just got a FANTASTIC deal and wanted to share with everyone. I might, in fact, go back tomorrow in between kid birthday parties and get another one because I am so stoked.

If you have a Paper Source store close to you, they have these great maps of places like Paris, Rome, etc. I got the Paris monument map.
The size is 20x28. The price?

$3.95

Really. It's actually wrapping paper but given my fetish for all things French, I've hung up the thing above my desk and it looks grand. If I wanted, I could even get some nice, thin moulding and frame it directly onto the wall, but I like it as is.

Of course you can also order it online, and make it worth the shipping by adding some more French-themed items like these
Paris file folders I have my eye on, or these super cute
glitter Paris postcard set.

Check out their fabulous website, there are loads of adorable papers, gifts, and craft-making items you won't find elsewhere.

Summer goodness in the ground

2010-04-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

We hit our favorite plant place, OSH, last week since it was time to get our summer veggies in the ground and they were having a 2-for-1 sale. We have had good luck with OSH plants and had decided to expand last year's garden since it had been such a roaring success.

Check out the bok choy we planted a few weeks ago!
It's going to be great in a stir fry, yum yum.

The chard is doing wonderfully:
We lucked out in that the next 2 days it rained a lot so the soil had a chance to settle.

Gorgeous butter lettuce:

Last but not least, I got some flowers.
These pretty dahlias are going to brighten up my veggie land of green :D

Most of our available ground has been taken so I think that's it for this year's planting, but we'll see. We also planted corn and bell peppers, last year's corn was sweet and delicious, I hope as much this year!

10 signs that I'm a total loser

2010-04-09T09:27:00.001-07:00

1 - I don't like my pasta Al Dente. Sorry, Giada, but I like my pasta soft and tender. There's enough things to fight in this world without my teeh having to fight with my pasta. It's supposed to be a comfort food. Next thing you'll see people wanting their mashed potatoes al dente. Fuck that.

2 - I like my ceiling fans. They're not hip, but when it's 85 degrees at 10am in the morning and I have to do laundry, i.e. get hot clothes from the hot dryer out to fold, I need my ceiling fans. In the living room, dining room, bedroom, I got 'em all over the place.

3 - I don't like Champagne. I know, right? I tried Cristal Champagne about 10 years ago and nearly spit it out. I'm classy that way. I do like other sparkling wines, mostly sweet ones, and we served one for our wedding that everyone loved.

4 - I don't buy scrapbooking "embellishments" any more - if I could have my money back from all the matchy pages and stickers and coordinating this and that, I so would take it. Now it's just the pictures, matted in a contrasting paper, with a blurb that's handwritten by me. The memories and photos are what matter to me now, not whether I have the stick-on sign that goes perfectly with the page theme.

5 - I love rainy weather. While everyone around me is dreaming of sunny days and shorts and tank tops, I am already mourning the fact that summer's coming. I hate summer. The sun and heat give me headaches, I can't stand them. I'll even take moderately sunny but cool and breezy days, but full on 90+ degree weather? Bleargh.

6 - I don't like dark furniture. Which sucks as it's what everyone is selling and every designer is featuring, but I like my honey-toned woods and light happy birch-effect furniture. I tried finding a dining room on Target and I swear, 35 out of 38 were "espresso" or "black". What the fuck?

7 - I have acne. I don't know when the fuck this happened - okay, I DO know, it was on my 38th birthday. I've NEVER had acne in my life, other than my monthly pimple, and now half my face is covered with nasty, painful zits. I'm starting a new treatment because the first one didn't work, so I hope this shit goes away soon. I don't know how to deal with acne.

8 - I love Froot Loops. I've always loved Froot Loops. Give me a bowl of sugar- and preservative-filled Froot Loops over a healthy bowl of twigs and rocks, I mean, Kashi GoLean, any day. Which is why I don't buy them. Because a Costco sized pack would be gone in a week. My last meal will be my mom's cooking and a huge bowl of Froot Loops as dessert.

9 - I like Hershey's chocolate. I've been to Belgium and scoffed at their masterpieces, been to Vosges Haut Chocolat and sneered at the ridiculous Lime/Chili/Hayseed or whatever the latest flavor is. Sorry. Give me good old Hershey's milk chocolate. Plain. No almonds. Dark chocolate is good if there's nothing else around.

10 - I want less. If I could pick one word to symbolize my goal for 2010 it would be Less. I want less clothes that I never wear. Less cosmetics that go bad before I use them. Less toys the kids can scatter all over creation. Less food I definitely don't need. Less chaos that turns my world upside down. Less shit to clean and dust and laundry and clean again and straighten and vacuum and fix and bla bla bla. Just less.

Inspiration from YHL

2010-04-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am obsessed with Young House Love - I have literally spent an entire afternoon watching all the videos, going through the FAQs, I swear the amount of ideas I have gotten from YHL (honey, can we make a headboard? I saw it on YHL!) are neverending.

But since I am nothing but practical, I figured I would put my obsessive energy into a practical endeavor and here you have it, my inspiration board for our master bedroom.
We already have the chocolate curtains and my darling husband is on board for the mirror. He is not quite sure about the bright blue accents but honestly, it's about fricking time we had some actual art in our house. Hanging my old cross-stitch all over the place is not doing it anymore!

The warm yellow background is roughly the color of our walls, although ours have a sponge finish. I have successfully decluttered this room of all extra bins, bags and boxes and today I went through my dresser and rearranged everything, while tossing out some old clothes. Tomorrow I am tacking my closet - I mean, my rod, since we share the measly closet and get a rod each. Pathetic I tell you, but much like the lovely First Lady of YHL, I am looking to have a more pared down and efficient wardrobe.

Wish me luck!

Back from vacay

2010-04-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

We had a glorious 10-day vacation and came back to find our little plants were going gangbusters!
My oldest enjoyed the first two strawberries from our plant. He did let me and my husband have a small bite and they were so sweet and juicy! I think another plant may be in our future.

A tale of two lanterns

2010-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

I love the look of these lanterns from Pottery Barn:but the price ($35 for the medium size, which is the one I wanted) put me off getting it.

IKEA, however, had a similar lantern in a similar size for $6.99.

Furthermore, they also had it in blue, which is my older son's favorite color, and given that it was going in the boys' bathroom, I figured it was absolutely perfect.

Here is our new bathroom accent, styled like the Pottery Barn picture with a yummy sea scented candle and some cheapie rocks from the dollar store.

Looking good!

A bedroom remodel

2010-04-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Call it the domino effect - we got these great curtains for our bedroom in a rich chocolate black-out fabric, which led to thinking about repainting our entire bedroom, so now we'll have a new canvas and I'm thinking there's many, many possibilities in store.

The curtains, btw, were from good old WalMart - they work wonderfully and with the $11/per panel price tag, we might add a couple more for fullness. We layered them with these gold embroidered panels we had for a lush look.
Our walls are currently done in off white and light gold, in a sponge finish, and we plan on doing something similar this time but in slightly richer colors.

To balance the chocolate curtains, I am considering a vibrant Van Gogh print on the opposite wall - the end result would be similar to this:
Needless to say - we are not afraid of color. Our dining room/kitchen is a deep rust color that my husband picked out - he loves the warm, welcoming feeling and our guests do, too.

I am very excited to share every step of our bedroom redo and hope you stick around for the final reveal ;D

A Frugal Vacation

2010-03-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a Very Very Frugal Vacation. How frugal, you ask?

Well, the cruise was free! Courtesy of my lovely MIL, who came up with the idea when I said I'd never been on a cruise, and who also watched my lovely boys while the Hubster and I meandered along island roads for 10 days. My plane ticket was also free, bought with our miles.

Oh my, it was glorious. For all the moms and caretakers out there, let me just say this - Naps Whenever I Wanted Them. Is that just fabulous or what?

Thanks also to FIL and Auntie D who helped with the Boy Wrangling duties. I gots lots of pics and tales to tell but for now let me leave you with this, enjoyed in the place where it was created, in the lovely city of San Juan on the lovely island of Puerto Rico. Yes, I use the word "lovely" a lot. I'm an anglophile. Deal with it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, a Piña Colada:

Frugality in everything

2010-03-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

You know how they say that the first step in solving any problem is to acknowledge you have a problem?

Well, I recently did just that and it was the problem of the multiplying magazines.

I swear I've cut down on my subscriptions and find myself perusing the online websites for each magazine rather than purchase the odd issue here and there, but the truth is, my reading material was incredibly uncontainable.

So, during a trip to the Container Store a couple of months ago I saw this cute magazine file and decided it was going to be my BFF in my quest to minimize magazine messiness.

The moment our mail lady brings me a magazine, or I get home after having purchased one, I put the new magazine in the file. Once I read it a couple of three times, let the kids throw it around the living room like a frisbee, i.e. once the magazine has walked the gauntlet, I decide whether it's a keeper-for-now or not. If it IS, then it goes back to the magazine file. When the file is full, it's time to get serious and throw out what I don't want any more.

So far, the only magazine that has attained Permanent Status is the Real Simple issue with a month of easy dinners. For some reason I much prefer to have the magazine to printing out the recipes from the site, or even taking the pages and putting them in a binder, but if the time comes where my file is fill of Permanent issues, I will reevaluate.

Until then, my little file works and keeps me from accumulating too many ads, which, as we all know, are the bulk of any magazine ;D

Upgrading the master bedroom

2010-03-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

We have a neutral/dark red thing going in our bedroom - our linens are all beige, tan, burgundy, cream, or some combination thereof. But there's something our be lacks. Pillows. Combined with the fact that we don't have a headboard, either, our bed feels kinda collegiate in its minimalism.

Oh, we have the pillows for our heads, but until now I've been okay with not have decorative pillows on there. However, I've come to embrace the fact that accent pillows can be a budget-friendly way to make a bed look more finished.

My sweet mama taught me how to make envelope pillow covers and I can tell you, once my craft abstinence is over after Lent, I am going to be whipping up some pillow covers left and right.

I love this set from Horchow even if it's a little overboard - the burgundy and gold print is very similar to the print on our duvet cover, I am definitely leaning towards making a mix of covers so they can be as versatile as possible.

Since I don't have fabric to match my duvets I wouldn't have something like this from Pottery Barn, but I don't like matchy-matchy anyway. I like the idea of picking up a color, like the solid green accent pillow, that can perk up a more neutral base of pillows.

I LOVE this from Martha Stewart - the mix of blues, browns and patterns. This is more my style - making a few pillow covers that can be mixed and matched with our bedding sets and look equally appropriate to all of them.

While I heart floral patterns in golds and burgundies, I respect the fact that this bedroom is also my darling husband's. So maybe just one ultra girly, floral, beaded and fringed pillow cover for now ;D

She waits, she looks, she scores!

2010-03-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Remember my post about my top 3 wish-list items from Target? This list included a gorgeous black fruit stand for $29.99, which put it out of my budget.

Well, let me tell you, three days ago I hit Target and what do I see? A black fruit stand for $16.99. Almost half the price.

Doesn't it look pretty in my kitchen?

I've got two letters for you

2010-03-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

H&M.

If you are already familiar with this awesome chain from Sweden, then you know that they've got the most current styles of clothing, shoes, and accessories available for cheap. Even if your style is not to wear "the latest" (mine isn't), you can still find great jewelry and accessories like sunglasses, scarves and bags that can pull together the most basic outfit.

If you're not familiar with H&M, check out their website - unfortunately, they don't sell online to the US yet, but you can see if there's a store near you - believe me, it will be worth the trip - just take a look at some of their new items in this little collage I put together:

I can very easily see those three tops becoming go-to pieces this summer. They are so lovely and feminine, the blue especially I love that it is a soft shade but incredibly saturated.

The little dress, as well, would look lovely with a sweet beige cardigan - hmmm, I just happen to have one in my closet, figure that! - an armload of bracelets, and some kick-ass heels.

That light blue in the sandals is a shade I don't see often in shoes, and maybe this is the year to add some color to my usual black/brown/neutral shoe rotation. According to my husband, my skin is perma-tan, and tanned legs would look great with that pale blue.

I added pretty colors in the form of the scarf and bracelets, nothing outrageous, nothing too trendy, but what a sweet pop of bright after these rainy days! The belt and bag, of course, are in basic colors that should be in everyone's wardrobe.

What do you think - is a visit (virtual or real) to H&M in your future?

While Sandra, Mo'Nique, and Kathryn . . .

2010-03-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

were busy accepting awards and going to swanky post-Oscar parties, me and mine were busy doing some pre-rain partying in the backyard.

My lovely husband got me pretty border flowers for the, uh, border along the deck.

He also got some strawberries, seeing as they are the summer snack of choice for the boys. We get ours from our local strawberry vendor, we often run out in between his visits, so hopefully this plant can fill in the boys' bowls and prevent me from getting those nasty supermarket strawberries, where only the top layer is good and the underneath is a gloppy mess.

My green onions, omigosh, I would LOVE to thank the academy for these beauties, except the academy didn't do anything - my fragrant onions have spruced up many omelets and dinners, not only at my house, but in many others, because I often give them away. As you can see, I can barely keep up with eating what they produce!

But in life, we need more than green onions, i.e. yellow, white, and red onions, so I've planted some of the yellow variety and if they produce half of what my green onions have, I will be incredibly happy.

Despite having the distinction of being the only person who can't grow tomatoes, my husband got me this Early Girl plant, and I will not jinx it by saying anything about expectations or plans for tomatoes.

My lovely chard doesn't seem to be making much progress, I think anything leafy around here just calls to any and all critters that feast on free salad, which brings us to the last picture . . .

This is the new wire fence around our bok choy, which has definitely been feasted on. I actually walked out one day to find two of the neighborhood cats taking turns. I threw an under ripe avocado at them and it worked, but we needed a more permanent solution.

This latest planting cost us around $50 with the wire accounting for roughly $30.

Targeting my cravings for March

2010-02-28T19:46:00.000-08:00

I love Target. I really do. As a frugal shopper I have scored awesome deals at my local Tar-jay, and as I look forward to March, here are three items from my Target wish list:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 3 Disc Edition plus collectible film cell - 26.99

Come on. How could you not? I thought the 2-disc special edition was the end-all, be-all of special editions, only to find out that Target is having an exclusive THREE-DISC edition with movie cell. Just the fact that Catherine Hardwicke did NOT direct this is enough to jump for joy at the thought of owning this. Yeah, I own Twilight but I think the universe agrees Cathy just up and butchered the damn thing. She should be disbarred from the directors union for what she did to that poor movie. Anyway, yes I will be getting this because I may be 38 and married with two children, but Robert Pattinson is the epitome of my skinny, weird-looking Brit fetish.

Iron Fruit Basket - 29.99

Holy crap, I so want this. It is the antithesis of frugal, since there are many fruit baskets for half that price that will do the same job, but my kitchen/dining area has lots of scrolly iron accents and this would fit perfectly. This is one of those times where I have to weigh the resentment of staring at a plain steel fruit basket for the rest of my life against the pang of guilt at spending thirty buckaroos on a beautiful, scrolly iron fruit basket. I'll get back to you on that one.

Bath Rug in Aqua
- 24.99

Okay, let me tell you about this rug and how it would be awesome for my bathrooms. First, it would go in either bathroom without being horribly clashy like my deep magenta bath set in the newly painted pumpkin yellow house bathroom. I decided on a beautiful and cozy yellow for our house bath (as opposed to the master bedroom bath) and while I love how it turned out, it clashes with the magenta rug set and it completely overpowers the pale green rug set. Right now, the only rug set that works is the tan set, but with turquoise being THE color of 2010 and us entering into spring pretty soon, I figure this gorgeous rug can hold its own against the yellow walls AND shake off the doldrums of winter.

There you have it, what's on my non-clothing list for March. I'm making a deal with myself which involves a bunch of pounds and whether I lose them or not.

What's on YOUR Target list?

Viva Frugality!

Head on over . . .

New Year, New Blog!

Merry Christmas!

To quote Speed

Our ornaments

Fun @ Gilroy Gardens

A tale of two cats . . . and a Christmas tree

Pantone color of the year 2011

The boys decorate!

Thankful for . . .

Giveaway winner!

Last chance to win Real Simple Solutions!

It's my birthday but YOU get the gift!

My Shutterfly Christmas cards, Spanish version

Giveaway winner!

Giveaway week!

Before it's gone gone gone . . . this is Bakugan!

Wow wow!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

Easy ribbon candle mat

More makeup goodies!

Payless for cute nails!

Spring 2011 color forecast

Fall Goodies

Field Trip: The San Jose Heritage Rose Garden

Much maligned

Pantryfied!

The School Run

Harvesting in August

Frugal Fall Finds

When NOT to be frugal

My favorite new book!

Springdream giveaway winner!

The latest lineup

Fall style from Old Navy

Giveaway! Springdream earrings!

Get ready . . .

Holy Mole!

H&M, y ou're my hero!

Frugal Spotlight: Sweet Libertine

Join me for . . .

Blessings

a day in the life

My Fall Five from IKEA

Your proxy Bucket List

heartbroken

Metamorphosis Monday

Benched! part deux

Spreading the wealth

The front yard gets its turn

In the interest of full disclosure . . .

Seven years ago . . .

Today's Harvest

Ten Tasks in Ten Days Challenge

Plumful

June in my garden

Cheap decor

If I *were* buying . . .

From the feet of the First Lady of the UK

From Ballard to Real Life

Tuesday Tag Along!!!

Menus for summer and fall

Small changes

Special Touches

Five dollars later . . .

Down Memory Lane - The Pirate Room

About grapes

For future reference . . .

Is she reading my mind?

Benched!

Field Trip: The Petaluma Antiques Fair

Adding some beauty to my lovely veggie world

The art above my desk

A kitchen wall

The Frugal Spotlight: Springdream Jewelry

My last clothing purchase for 2010

How to Be a Savvy Cheapskate

Red alert!

Summer goodness in the ground

If I were buying . . .