Category Archives: Antiquing

A Dapper Evening!!

Good evening!!

My sister, Alex and her kiddos just left for the evening!! Since Christopher just turned 13 on Tuesday, we decided to let him choose dinner – pizza, of course!!! We played a fun game of Clue, which I haven’t done in quite a few years, and I WON!!! WHOO-HOO!! Then we went swimming, and we swam around like crazy people!!! I AM LOVING SWIMMING – it is making me feel so much stronger and more energetic!! Next a relaxing soak in the hot tub, home and a bowl full of cut-up strawberries, and I am a VERY HAPPY girl!!!😉

Well, last evening I spent at least an hour or so perusing the web for some inspirational outfits, to help me think about my wardrobe pieces with fresh eyes! While I was doing that, I ran across quite a few fashionable men too!! I asked my husband what his fashion style was, and his response was “functional”. BUMMER – not exactly what a girl wants to hear, but I really shouldn’t be too surprised! When we first started dating his idea of dressing up, was to wear something with less wholes in it!! 😉 That is ok, I still love his wraggin’ muffin looking self!!!

Here are some of those Hottie-McHottie pics I found last night:

Man!! OH MAN!!! I can’t put my finger on EXACTLY what I like in men’s fashion, but I think it is the juxtaposition between rugged tough man, and old-world gentleman!! Maybe you can see that in those pictures!! If only I could find a way to somehow rub just a smidgen of these dapper men’s fashion sense onto my husband, OH WHAT A MIRACLE DAY THAT WOULD BE!!! You know, like a retro-sexual pill!! 😉 and I am sure I am not the only woman out there thinking it!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS evening! 🙂

 

Wednesday Work Prep Evening!

Good evening!

I feel well rested and so much better after two lazy days off!!! I am back to work tomorrow, and I think that I will be able to handle any stresses that may come my way much better than I was on Monday!! Our team still has a lot of work to do, and I am sure that we will still have a lot of challenges coming our way as we implement this new process over the next few weeks, but I know that I will be able to be a better team mate, and I am sure my co-workers will appreciate that!!! GO TEAM!! 😉

This evening, I have been dreaming about Spring, and getting back out into nature!! Planning my first camping trip of the year with my sweetie – that is ALWAYS THE BEST FUN!!!

Diane Von Furstenberg says that your clothing should comfort you, flatter you, and make you feel your best, just like best friends!! Which got me to dreaming about what “friends” I would like to see in my Spring Wardrobe! Would you like to see??

Do you think it is possible to own too many dresses??? I am starting to believe the more the merrier!!! 😉 Are there any pieces that you are dreaming would join your Spring closet?

Have a FABULOUS evening!!

A Sleepy Tuesday!

Good evening!!

I am SOOOO TIRED this evening!!! The past few days of staying up too late, and getting up crazy early has finally caught up with me!! SOOO, tomorrow, I am planning on practicing some EXTREME SELF-CARE!!! What I mean by extreme self care, is that I am going to treat myself like my own best friend tomorrow!! Taking some much need time and effort to take care of myself and treat myself with the same kind of care that I want my best friends and loved ones to be treated with.

Some of those Extreme Self-Care things are:

  • Get up early and have a leisurely morning getting ready for work
  • Pack some calming tea and take a break mid-morning to get away from the office and have a nice cuppa
  • Take some time to go for a walk, maybe take some pictures of some beautiful things while I am out
  • Take a much-loved fiction book to work, and spend my lunch  reading something fun that takes my mind off of work
  • Keep telling myself over and over that it is alright, I am doing a great job, and this will be soooo worth it
  • When I get home, have a simple, but candlelit dinner with my husband, while we listen to some calming music
  • Spend the evening, reading, or walking outside, or playing with my sweetie and the girls – STEP AWAY FROM THE TELEVISION!
  • Slip into a well made bed, early, maybe read a little, snuggle with my honey, and fall asleep peacefully!!!
  • HEAVEN! HEAVEN! HEAVEN!!!

Basically anything, ANYTHING that makes my health, and happiness a priority!!! I really need that, because I have been treating myself a little rough lately!!! Maybe some of you might need that too – what kinds of things would be on your extreme self-care list? Tell me in the comments above!! 😉

I did pick up something tonight, that really MADE MY DAY!! I picked up the latest copy of the magazine ‘Where Women Work’. I am not sure how many of you have seen that, but it is SOOOO INSPIRING!!! It has made me start thinking about getting back on the ball and keep working on getting my office/craftroom beautiful!!! I have made the decision that wherever my career ends up, I know it is going to have something to with computers, creativity, improving people’s lives and beaing surrounded by beauty!!! I KNOW, sounds DIVINE, doesn’t it????

Anyway, I do have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, including a super-early am meeting, which means I have to get up a little early tomorrow morning to get my booty out the door!!! So, that means I have to dash and get a few more items checked off of the to-do list before I hit the hay!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Hanging with My Peeps!

OK, actually, I hung out with one peep, not plural – like the title of this post implies! 😉 My girlfriend, Dawn and I met this morning to get together for coffee so we can spend some time catching up! We have a lot going on right now, and we don’t always get the chance to keep in touch like we want to, so our coffee dates are IMPERATIVE to our friendship!!!

After coffee we did some walking around downtown and did some window shopping – one of our FAVORITE NATIONAL PASTIMES!!! 😉 She has THE BEST fashion sense so I always have fun perusing the latest clothing wares with her! Of the two of us, I am the decorator, and she is the fashion stylist – that just works for us! She helps me, I help her, and that makes us the most stylish girls on the block – ok, maybe in our minds, but we love each other and have a TON OF FUN!!!

I remember, when we just 12 years old, I would spend the night at her house as often as possible, and would play dress up and I would beg her to do my hair and makeup!! SHE IS JUST A NATURAL!!! 😉

We did happen to go to one of my favorite home accessories shops downtown, Olivia’s. The owner there was very gracious to let me take some pictures of her goods! I could take almost literally one of EVERYTHING and they would fit BEAUTIFULLY in our place!!! I would LOVE it, Jason might go a little into sugar-shock, but I am sure he would let me decorate however makes me happy!!! What a lucky girl I am!!! 😉

Here are those pictures I took at Olivia’s:

Isn’t her place just divine??? I really do LOVE ALL THINGS FRENCH!!! 😉

Anyway, I had so much fun going out with Dawn today, and ALWAYS look forward to the next time!!! I love you, Dawn!!! You are DA BEST!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

My Vision Board!

Here is that vision board I had told you that I was wanting to put together…

Sorry for the blurriness – I tried something new, that didn’t work out as expected!!! but the gist of this board for me is that I want a simpler life that I can share with my husband, with a small farm, a sweetly chic country home, a child (or 2), and a home furnishing/accessories business. I am loving the idea of long walks out in nature, planting my own gardens, lazy afternoons spent up in the orchard picking fruits for jamming, and pies, and such, and room for friends and family to come over, replenish themselves and make some fun memories together!!! Ok, so I may be dreaming of a slice of the Barefoot Contessa’s life, but I sure there will be enough room for everyone!!!

I can see my future as clear as a bell – the trick now will be figuring out how to make it come to fruition!!

Wish me luck!! 😉

A Day with the Aunts!

One of my FAVORITE days of the year is my annual Christmas AUNTIE DAY!! This is a day that myself and my two favorite Aunties – Alice, and Flo (HEY GIRRRLS!!) get together to do some window shopping, having lunch, chatting, laughing, and ooing and ahing at all of the Christmas sights!!!!! These ladies are such a strong support system in my life, I don’t know what I would ever do without them!!! Well, yesterday was NOOOOO exception!! We spent the day on 23rd street in Portland, and HONEY, we had SOOO MUCH FUN!!! I came home with more treasures than I actually expected – I did a little more actual shopping than window shopping this year! 😉 An oversized Gaudy-Fabulous ring, a chocolate brown hat with a flower/brooch, a couple of goodies from the MAC store – I just LOVE that place, and some other miscellaneous baubles!!!!

With that said, during our lunch yesterday one of the topics of conversation was my insane addiction to collecting stuff and the show Hoarder’s! Ok, before you get the wrong idea I am not THAT bad, but I did do a self-analysis last night and realized that if I wasn’t careful, I could be!! SO, today I have spent a LARGE portion of my day posting DVDs and books up on E-bay! I am not sure if any of it will sell, but I have to tell you that opening up my mind, I mean REALLY opening up my mind to the idea of getting rid of the excess and I realize that as I started posting objects, it just got easier and easier and actually quite…what’s the word???? FREEDOM!!! Ok, let’s not go too crazy here, I only posted 31 things – that does not a full decluttering make, but it is a GREAT start, and I can feel the momentum growing!! I will be on the lookout for more things to get rid of, and hopefully get some of this out-of-control-ness in control!!! 😉

I will keep you posted!

Have a FABULOUS evening!!!

Blessings & Birthdays!

Whew!!! It is officially the end of Friday and these past two to days have seemed to be a whirlwind of fun!!

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving at Jason’s mom’s place and we had a blast. Unfortunately my camera has crapped out so I was able to get 0 photos – BOO! HISS! Oh well, maybe I will just have to ask Santa for a new camera so that I can keep up with my hobby of photography.

So yesterday it was my job, along with my 7 year old niece to make the deviled eggs. What I was not aware of, however was that my niece LOVES hard boiled eggs and has the life philosophy that if, as she is pealing an egg, and it should break, then they are no longer deemed worthy of the deviled egg plate – hence she can just eat them to put them out of her misery! Cute, but NO!!! She ended up breaking sooooo many eggs that at dinner time she actually passed on the deviled egg platter as it came around because she had already eaten something like 4 whole eggs! Gotta love my girl!!!!!

After dinner, most of us managed to go for a quick walk in the neighborhood, which was good since the group was seeming a little cooped up. Then a few of us adults hung around to play the game Mad Gabs – WHAT A HOOT!!! That game is so much harder than it seems – I may have to pick this up, so I always have it on hand – could be fun at dinner parties!!!

To say the least – we had FUN!!!

As for today, it is my Sweetie’s 35th birthday and we literally spent the day doing WHATEVER he wanted to do! FUN!!! I won’t go into all of the details here, but we did a lot of walking around downtown checking out all of the French/European stores, made a pit stop at Great Harvest Bread Company – Yum, checked out this great kitchenware store for some supplies, and eventually made it back to Bentley’s for an absolutely DIVINE dinner!!! All-in-all, a damn near perfect day!!!

Happy Birthday my Love!!!! I love you more and more every year!!!

(And Daddy, keep your spirits up – you are in my prayers!!!)

Have a FABULOUS evening!
~Christina 😉

Dreaming of Someday!

I am sitting in my craft studio day dreaming about my ideal future. I dream about one day making a living doing what I truly love; being surrounded by beautiful home accessories and home furnishings. Ok, that may not sound very romantic, but I imagine working with all sorts of fun and creative people,  who both create and are on the hunt for the perfect and unique treasures to help give their homes a special je ne sais quoi. Fabrics, textures, feathers, cashmere, all things sparkly, girly, and absolutely FABULOUS!!! I can hear the French music playing throughout the shop, and how I would ADORE taking a yearly trip to Europe to shop for new furniture and other home accessories! OH!!! Just the thought of it makes me SOOOO EXCITED – I wish I could just snap my fingers and make it my reality now!!! I am not sure exactly I am going to make this dream come true, or what it will ultimately be in the future, but, for now – it is such a beautiful sight in my dreams! I just have to stay focused on that, and ultimately it will be mine! I hope you will all be there to enjoy destination, as well as my journey!

With that, here are some pictures that are inspiring my dream business ideas!

I know these all seem very random, but to me they represent something like vintage girly, glam!!! Oh what a sweet life!! 🙂

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Still Brainstorming Name Ideas!

I am brainstorming a business name for my FABULOUS dream career – a home furnishings/home accessories/interior design service boutique! I did have one idea that I thought was extremely fantastic, but unbeknownst to me, it was already taken – DANG! Anyway, I have a two names so far that have made the top 10 list!! My girlfriend Dawn, who is a genius wordsmith, is helping me come up with some other ideas to add to this list. Anyone have any ideas???

WORLD!!! IT IS TIME TO LET MY INNER DIVA OUT!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening! 😉

Format Change!

Today is a good day to change things up a bit.

This has been a GREAT weekend, although I really haven’t see n too much

of my Sweetie this weekend, which is a little sad!

HOWEVER, I got to spend some quality time with some of my girls yesterday!! First shopping for treasures with my sis-in-law; later out to coffee and then dinner with my girlfriend! It was a VERY good day!!

I even had a chance to check out a new little chic boutique downtown and picked up this sweet little two-sided pillow. Isn’t it darling?

Anyway, I thought it was the PERFECT start to my Christmas season this year, and my Sweetie first thought was that it was a new pillow for the bedroom – Go figure!!! 😉

Have I told you that I am officially brainstorming starting a small business? I am passionate about helping women live the life of their dreams, and I feel that the foundation for living the life of your dreams is creating a home that truly represents your innermost self.

You should be surrounded by treasures that remind you of special people, places, memories, and all that represents the very best of you. That is what I LOVE hunting for those one of a kind treasures, and HONEY you have to know that I have ABSOLUTELY run out of room to store ALL of those treasures in my place, so I want to share them with you!! More news to come – but my next step is trying to figure out a business name!!! 🙂

I am off to go enjoy the rest of my afternoon!

Have a FABULOUS evening!