Welcome to Lake Michigan!

Oh..... the things you'll see at the beach!!  Darling is a water baby and LOVES the beach!  We don't live too far from Lake Michigan and the weather was nice last Saturday so we headed over to this GREAT little town, Grand Haven.  Can you believe the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler on the water?

Guess who wished she'd brought her snow pants!?

 1st off save the comments, I am in NO way making fun (ok, a little) of this gal or commenting on her weight, she was actually quite darling, but....or should I say BUTT?!  If you butt is trying to eat your swimsuit, just get the next size up... it's ok, really!!

 After Tiger-booty got done throwing the football around with her boyfriend, they got down to BUSINESS.... and by "business" I mean: digging a GIANT hole.  I told the Mister they must have seen Darling and how cute she is and they were digging their way to China to get their own little sweetie!!  They borrowed someones shovel and frisbee and dug as if their life depended on it....

 and that was the last we saw of those 2....but their hole lives on!

 I also saw a lady walking a giant blue parrot down the beach.  I don't know, is that weird only to me?  Next time I'm taking my goldfish, Goldie, in a zip loc baggie-she LOVES the water!

and Yes, I do have a great zoom on my camera!  Gotta go, the National Enquirer is calling, I promised them a close up of the Sperm-a-nator and his love child....

10 Random Things Friday...

Holy COW, did Friday get here as fast for you as it did for me?

1. Yesterday I went on a field trip with Darling and her class.  We went to Frederik Meijer Gardens which is one of the most gorgeous places you'll ever see in Michigan.  It's a large conservatory, outdoor gardens, sculpture park, and one of the largest children's gardens in the country. 

 Find more info HERE

2. Started my 1st hat for my 2nd Annual Baby/Kid Hat Drive- See more information in the tab above and feel free to spread the word!!

3. What my kiddo does INSTEAD of getting dressed for school in the morning: making a TP fort for her littlest pet shop animals.

4. Keeps me up till 12:30 every morning reading!!

5. I had to return a bracelet to J Crew at Christmas so I had a store credit... I got this bracelet instead.  Not only do I love it, when she rang it up it was marked down from $45 to $24.99!!  Win-Win!

6. Easy Peasy eye lift for $19.99, but wait, if you order now, they will DOUBLE your order!!

go here for DREAM LOOK

What do ya think?

7. I'd like this purse, it's on Amazon and it's just under $600... maybe I should get 2?

source

8. I LOVE this artist on etsy: Retro Whale.  I've been stalking the shop for a while trying to decide which piece I want in my home... actually I'm not sure I can narrow it down to just 1.

Love the colors and the style and the humor...

Find retrowhale HERE

9 Crackle finish nail polish...

good or bad?

10. Hope the weather holds up this weekend, because if it does, we're headed to the OCEAN... the Michigan Ocean, we call it Lake Michigan!  Ahhh, who doesn't look forward to a day filling every crack you have with sand?!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Happy Long Weekend!

Hope you USA'ers had a great long Memorial Day Weekend!!

Friday we went to a new place in town "Quaker Steak and Lube"

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 I had the  BEST Bloody Mary ever and...this pork BBQ wrap with Jalapeno coleslaw that I'm still paying for, man, was it GOOD and I can't wait to eat it again!

On Saturday, the Mister told me to come outside and see what was movin' through our yard

I thought it was a snake at first, he had his neck out so far!  He wasn't so friendly when I got closer!

We went to see this movie:

Win Win 

(aren't you glad I told you the title? You know, in case the poster didn't give it away!)

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When we were in line to buy the tickets the Mister said "what is this movie about?" and I said "I have no idea, I just liked the poster." (yes, i do judge a book by the cover) Plus it was a 2011 Sundance Film Festival selection and I'm a big fan of those indie films.  When we got inside there were only 2 other people in the theater and then, they started rolling in... they came by orthopedic shoes, walkers, and motorized scooters.  the Mister and I just sat there with our mouths open as they came in at a snails pace, all of them over the age of 75!  We looked at each other and just started laughing and he asked me again "what is this movie about?".  We thought perhaps there were going to be prune juice shooters or secret codes for restaurant discounts given out.  It was just weird.  Finally, a family with 2 teen age girls came in, but besides the girls and us, everyone had silver hair and an AARP card!  The movie was really cute and moving and I still have no idea why it attracted so many Seniors.  The downfall to the Seniors being there...they whisper loud, really, really LOUD!

I finished my weekend this way

My 1st ice cream of the year!

next time I'll brush my hair...

Later Tators!!

10 Random Things Friday...

1. My darling is off of school today so we're going to go see...

photo source

2.

photo source

20.5 carats?? TWENTY POINT FIVE?? Oh yeah, and that guy? Ehhh, he doesn't do much for me, but...20.5?!?!?!

3. If you can't find your remote, he's available for hire!

Let me just brag about my Mister real quick: Since Christmas he's lost over 35 lbs, started walking and is GOING TO run at least the 5k in next years RiverBank Run!  He's pretty awesome (and handy to have around!!).

4. I had my drawing class Wednesday, guess what I forgot?

5. Darling got a watch at McDonald's, and because she's my girl, she knew she had to get Mama one too...

we LOVE our Hello Kitty!

6. Do you remember when the Mister and I went on our cruise and my Mom tried to kill my plant while I was gone?

Well, I just happen to have inherited my Aunt Mable's green thumb

7. Darling's little trophy display she made in our dining area.

8.
Who wants to come over to chinamommy's for supper?

Who knew cornbread couldn't stay in the cupboard all week?  Doesn't it kind of look like a picture of the ground taken from a plane when you're flying through the clouds?


9.  Right now I'm reading: 

I really like it, it's a little dark and creepy... Have you read this series?

10. 

A REALLY cute new dress (that does not look so cute on the hanger), I'm hoping to wear it this weekend when the Mister takes me out! 
Hope you have a great HOLIDAY weekend!! Do you have any plans?  We don't, I'm just looking to wear that new dress and keep watering my plant!

DIY Pinwheel Tutorial

Yes, yes I AM posting a DIY, but first let me just say.... HOW RIDICULOUS is Michigan right now?

It's 50 degrees right now! I put the electric blanket BACK on the bed (which guarantees a warm up since taking it off 2 weeks ago encouraged a spring freeze!).  And because who doesn't want to copy THIS look:

Hat: Target

Glasses: Phoebe Couture (Costco)

Hoodie: Paul/Frank

Stripped Tee: Nordstom Rack, it's old...

Tank: H&M

Jeans: Aeropostale

Slippers: Target

 Pinwheels seems to be kinda the "thang" right now. So, instead of a DIY for a sunflower sundress for your cement goose I decided to get with the program!  This is a pretty easy little tutorial you can use for all kinda of big girl crafts or you can even let your kiddo's get in on the action.

 Step 1: cut a true square, this example is a 4 inch square with the middle marked.

 Step 2: Mark a line in from each corner, I cut a 2 inch line.  I don't know if there is an exact size to cut depending on what size your square is, because anyone that knows me knows I don't do MATH!  Cut enough that the tips will bend into the very center!

 Step 3: I added a sticky dot to the center- you're going to cover it anyway!  Take the right corner from each cut and bend into the center and stick.  As you rotate your square, make sure you are always bending the RIGHT side in.

 Step 4: Make sure all the corners are stuck down and then decide what you want to add for a center!

 Easy Peasy!  I decided I liked double sided scrapbooking papers for what I'm going to use my pinwheels for...but you can use anything you can cut and bend, I guess!  The devil's in the details...and I'm not a fan of either.

 Project sneak-peek!

I've got my space heater on and am headed down to my studio... Anyone else getting their craft on? What are you working on? Are you a member of "My Craft Corner"? www.mycraftcorner.com 

Come on back tomorrow for Random Friday.

I was a sticker crazy girl of the 80's...

My mom brought these to me a while back.  2 of my STICKER books!!! I can't even tell you how much i LOVED stickers back in the 80's.  I remember going to hallmark and they had rolls and rolls of them hanging from wooden dowels and you'd tear off those little sheets covered with adorable sticky goodness.

 I hadn't seen these books in years so imagine my delight when I opened the one and found an entire pouch FULL of never before stuck-down-stickers meant for trading.  Trading?  Obviously, I wasn't really into trading, I was more into hoarding!! 

 Fuzzy teddy bears, ugly mice, weird hats, bicentennial stickers and do you see that afro goodness peeking out?  OMG- Puffy Michael Jackson STICKERS!!!!!!!!!!!

 My gosh, do you even remember him looking like this? And by "this" I mean: black with a nose!!

 Top left is a hologram of MJ!! And "Mystiks Fan Club of America", it's full of squishy blue stuff that changes color when you press it- these were special stickers that I have an entire page devoted too and the blue stuff is STILL squishy and turns green when it moves around!  Puffy silk heart stickers with glitter accents? Care Bears, Unicorns and Donkey Kong "high score" sticker- GET OUT!!!  It's like a sticker time machine!

Proving how BIG TIME I was in the sticker community!

 Nothing says 80's like LISA FRANK!

 And, if that doesn't prove how hard core I was, I think this will... The Jewish Stickers, 'cause dude, we aren't Jewish!  Didn't care, if it stuck, I had to have it!!!

Anything you collected as a kid?  Do you still have it?

Happy Wednesday-it's raining here (and yes, I DID run in it!)  I'm headed down to my studio to work on a DIY!

The neat freak gene

I was a pig as a kid and pretty much through college.  I was an out-and-out SLOB, but now... I can't sleep if the kitchen isn't cleaned up, I can't leave the house if there is anything left out (my studio doesn't count), and my day can't start if my bed isn't made.  The worst thing ever (next to losing bowel control during a race... it happens people!) would be for you to stop by my house and there be something out!  I know, I know...but I get it honest.  I remember someone stopping by our home when I was in HS and my mom yelling "the vacuum is out, the vacuum is out, someone put the vacuum away!!" I think my (mental) response was "ok, psycho!", but now guess who's psycho?? AND, don't guess Darling daughter, cause if you do.... you're wrong!!

Yesterday she told me "after school I'm going to get this room cleaned up, I promise".  This is what she got done:

Well, it's a start!  I hope you're outside enjoying the gorgeous weather instead of scrubbing grout or putting your spices in alphabetical order!  Are you a neat freak or a messy?  Or a messy that lives as a neat freak (that's my category!)?