Shop Update

I'm cleaning out my closet and listing some great dresses, skirts and tops from my personal wardrobe to my Etsy shop! I'm trying to save up so I can purchase the rest of the things I need so I can begin practicing wet plate collodion/tintype photography. I took a workshop earlier this year and I don't think I ever posted about it. Hopefully I can get a post up tomorrow. Anyway, if you want to help this lady make her dreams a reality come check out my shop HERE!

These four items plus a whole lot more are available now!

♥ anne

Hey, an outfit post!

An outfit post? Yep! Why not?! This is what I wore today to run errands and pick up the kids from school.Shane took the pictures for me. Thanks little fella!

Pants, t shirt- thrifted /  Birks- hand me downs from my mom / sweater- gift from Shannon / earrings- gift from and made by Milla

I was happy to wear this sweater today. It's usually not cold enough for really warm sweaters but today was pretty chilly and it has a deer on it, which made me feel festive, so I wore it.

I hope you all are staying sane through these last several days before Christmas! Anyone have any fun solstice plans?

♥ anne

Outfit post?

Earlier this week I stopped by a new thrift store in the area. I was feeling like it had a gem waiting for me and I was right! I found this beautiful vintage gauze dress in mint condition. It's a dream dress for sure! It has long sleeves which make it a bit hot for summer but I couldn't resist wearing it anyway.

I was out at the golden hour while Marianne had some pictures taken of her in some handmade bonnets and figured I might as well get a few pictures of myself in the dress.

I had to get pictures of Maggie and Alex as well. Alex takes all the pictures of me for my blog. She is a huge help to me in so many ways!



Have you had any recent scores at the thrift stores?

♥ anne

Indigo Dyed Tunic

A couple weeks ago I had a dye day at my house. I had a large piece of rayon type fabric that I wanted to sew into a caftan dress after I dyed it. The fabric didn't hold the dye too well but I like the airy, cloudy look it now has. I ended up not having enough fabric for a dress so I settled on a tunic.

I'm pretty pleased with the results considering I don't sew very often. I also made the arm holes large enough that I can wear it and still nurse.

Doing any kind of  solo craft with all the kids home might be one of the most frustrating ways to spend an hour or two. Tons of complaining and all sorts of fights started the second I broke out the sewing machine. I guess it's all in the past now, thank goodness! Does anyone else have the same problem? 

♥ anne

My Jewelry

I have a nice collection of fun accessories and jewelry that I really like but today I am sharing my most loved necklace that I wear almost everyday.  Each piece came to me over time and somehow ended up on the same chain. I like the way it looks and like even more that each one is special.





Starting on the left- The diamonds are my Nana's original wedding setting which she wore until her 25th wedding anniversary when my Grandpa bought her a new ring. For my 30th birthday she had it made into a necklace for me. I didn't wear it often for a couple of years because I was afraid I'd somehow lose it but I finally decided let that fear go. I figure if Nana trusts me enough to give me one of her most special pieces of jewelry, that I should trust myself with it. I really am honored to wear it and it is so pretty and I just love it :)

In the middle is my Miraculous Medal. I found it on etsy or ebay many years ago and have been wearing it since. I've had many over the course of my life but this one is by far my favorite. It's really thin (which i like) and is apparently an antique according to the seller. It says, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." You can read the history of it here.

Last but not least is a little necklace from Milla which she gave me about two years ago. When I opened the package she had sent and saw it, I knew it belonged on the chain with my other two beauties. I'm not sure what it symbolizes but it reminds me of the four seasons. I love how they all jingle when I walk. It reminds me of a bell on a lamb or something. I think about how maybe the kids know I'm coming because they can hear my necklace and perhaps one day when they're older they'll remember it with fondness.

Do you have any special pieces of jewelry? Please feel free to share their stories with me :)

♥ anne

The Ma Books

Have you visited The Ma Books yet? If not, do yourself a favor and head on over! Jessica's new blog is proving to be quite refreshing. And while you're there you can read some of my thoughts on motherhood :)

♥ anne

It's been awhile...

Hi all! I am indeed alive and still pregnant. This past month was a rough one so I decided to take a break from blogging and focus on surviving. Thankfully I'm feeling much better now!

I'm due at the end of next month so I'm in the home stretch finally. We also found out that this little babe is a girl. I wanted it to be a surprise but I'm happy to know so we can attempt to come up with a name for this lamb. If it was up to Marianne her name would be Old Man Coyote (we've been reading this series by Thornton W. Burgess ) and Shane has suggested a variety of names involving superheros and poop or fart. I guess I shouldn't expect more from a 2 and 5 year old!

Although I was pretty frazzled and depressed over the last couple of months we did manage to do some fun things. The week before last we visited Griffith Observatory and Park. Neither Ruben or myself had ever been there. It was a fun day and I can't wait to go back when it's not the smoggiest day of the year. You could hardly see downtown, it was pretty yucky.



We went to the beach several times.

I  made lots of soup.


We went on a desert adventure with Nicky and family.


And we visited my sister.

I look forward to getting back to regular postings and hope all has been well on the other end of the screen.

♥ anne

2 0 1 4

Well, it's a new year friends! I'm glad to have a clean slate and a new beginning. I know a lot of people aren't fans of New Year's resolutions but I actually like them. I don't set unrealistic goals for myself but I do like to look over the areas in my life that I'd like to improve and set to work on bettering them. My main goal this year is greatly improve my spiritual life which has been on the decline for the last couple of years. I'd also love to be able to keep up on my laundry but with baby #5 on the way I'm already having my doubts :)

I have been living in this tube dress from Forever 21. I have a black one as well and they are perfect for this stage in my pregnancy. I rarely shop anywhere other than thrift stores but I was having a hard time finding basic pieces so these have worked out perfectly. It's funny, I would never wear this type of dress if I wasn't pregnant so it's a good thing that it will most likely been worn out by the time baby comes. Oh, and my sweet sweater! A surprise gift from Milla that I've been wearing almost daily. Isn't it a beaut?! Thanks again friend!

I hope your 2014 is off to good start!

♥ anne

DIY christmas wreath and other randomness

I've been admiring the beautiful bush below for the last month and thought it was just begging to be made into a wreath. So, with my scissors in hand, I headed over to it and snipped off a couple branches and made my first wreath which is now hanging in the dining room.

We made a lovely Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed yummy food and fun conversation around the dinner table. Marianne LOVES to help with the dishes and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of her and my very patient Nana working together.

dress, sweater- thrifted // hat- c/o milla // clogs- c/o mary

You see that somewhat puzzled/WTF look on my face? That sums up how I've been feeling. My motto this last week has been, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all" which explains why I've been so quiet. And after having quite possibly the worst day yesterday (which included car trouble, missing my parent/teacher meeting and Shane running full force into the rear corner of the AAA truck and banging up his face right after Marianne had an accident in her pants) I think I may have finally snapped out of my overwhelmed funk. So, while I'm still a lady of few words I can at least say something other than colorful four letter words.

I hope this "Merry Season" is you treating you better! And I look forward to some green lights and blue skies in the very near future for me (and you of course)  :)

♥ anne

maternity style

I thrifted this dress last month and kept trying it on but never got around to wearing it. It is a wee bit too baggy, even for me and I figured I'd just sell it. I tried it on yet again this morning and decided to tie a little belt above my belly and viola! it is now wearable. Someone even complimented it today :)

Then this afternoon I dropped some stuff off at the Goodwill and just had to go inside, you know, in case there was something awesome waiting for me. Turns out there was something quite amazing...a practically new Ergo baby carrier! It looks just like this and was only $6.99! Man, I am STOKED because I've been wanting one for years but never have the spare $100+ to spend on it. Yay for going down an aisle you usually don't go down!

That was my exciting day. Did anything awesome happen to you today?

♥ anne

p.s.-excuse my odd face, I think I was mid sentence when Shane took the pic.

b i r d s

Today we strolled over to Talbert Nature Preserve. We went there initially to fly Shane's kite but the wind was not cooperating with us today. So, instead we went for a walk and bird watched. This first photo of a turkey vulture reminds me Mary's old header. And speaking of Mary, have you read her series on Cultural Appropriation? If not, you can read it here. I was one of the contributors and thoroughly enjoyed what she and the other ladies shared. Lots of amazing animal stories and much more!


I was most excited to see this Red-shouldered Hawk in action. Man he/she was fast! It sped by right over our heads but unfortunately my camera could not keep up with it. Occasions like this make me wish I had one of those super lenses but I'm very grateful to have the camera and lenses I do have. My camera is actually my Mom's. She's been "loaning" it to me for over 2 years...thank you Ma! I use it almost every day :)


Here's Marianne right before she started crying for 20 minutes straight. I'm proud to say that I remained calm through her tears which doesn't always happen. I'm easily irritated...I'll admit it, but today I kept the irritation at bay. She was tired and fell asleep immediately when we got in the car.


And here is a newer dress I thrifted a couple weeks ago. It's pretty much everything I was looking for and should fit me through this pregnancy. I also wanted to thank you for all your nice comments on my last post. I haven't responded yet but will. It's refreshing to know I'm not alone in the weight gain department. I swear every woman I see on social media is a size xs while pregnant and that's awesome for them (I sincerely mean that) but it leads me to compare and we all know where that road leads. Having your body change so drastically is a humbling experience, one I'm still trying to embrace even on my 5th pregnancy :)

♥anne

vintage omnia'c pop-out platform clog skates

perhaps you remember this post from over a year ago? the one where i ogle over the coolest pop-out skates ever. whether you do or not i'm here to report that i did indeed find a pair of Omnia'c clog skates and i did indeed purchase them for a mere $20! ever since that post i have kept an eye out for a pair. over the months i found several that were either too big/small and all of them were $200+, a price much too high for my budget. several months ago i decided to check out ebay and low and behold these were up for auction. they were half a size too big so i decided i wouldn't bid more than $20, thinking that for sure someone else would outbid me. obviously you can see i won!

they are not ideal for walking around in but they work just fine for skating! i nearly killed myself skating in the house for this picture :) i'm looking forward to some more practice and possibly a skinned knee or two. and if you're lucky MAYBE a video ;) who doesn't enjoy watching someone eat it? i know i do!

i found a few for sale if anyone is interested here, here, and here. 

♥ anne

in the canyon

sunday was a fun day for sure! we spent the afternoon at irvine lake for a chili cook-off with friends and family. there was great music, shady trees, food trucks and beers. what more could you want?






in other exciting news, the ever lovely milla opened up an etsy shop, Fireweed and Nettle, filled with magical leather goods. do go check it out here!

♥anne

easter

happy easter! i hope you all had wonderful weekend! we enjoyed our sunday with family, yummy food, great music and lots of fun. i didn't take many pictures but here are a few that i snapped during the festivities.

starting from the top

--an Easter card i painted for my sister
--pretty colors
--the coolest book ever! and yes, we are practicing (and laughing quite a bit). with each step/dance it gives song recommendations so we've been having fun attempting the steps while listening to the songs. of course ruben can only handle very little disco so our dance sessions are brief :D
--my mom and sleeping marianne
--me in my new dress in my dad's lovely backyard

that's all for now folks! i wish i had time to write something more but that rarely seems to be the case. oh well!

♥anne

easy breezy

i picked up this fun dress a couple weeks ago while thrifting and it just might be the most comfortable dress i own! it's loose and flowy, has my favorite colors and is pretty perfect for most everyday occassions.


i also scored several awesome things today but they will have to wait for a post of their own :D

♥anne

chasing the sun

blouse-shannon

vest aka "old reliable"- bought at nordstrom rack almost 10 years ago. i will be very sad when my buddy falls apart.

jeans-forever 21

mocs-minnetonka

this morning was pretty foggy and gloomy so we decided to try and find some sunshine. we were slightly successful. it popped out momentarily while we were eating our "picnic lunch", as shane calls it but was then hidden again by dense clouds. it was nice while it lasted :D 

i hope you had a nice weekend. ours was incredibly boring. and i don't use that word casually! actually, friday night was fun but the rest of it was not so awesome. oh well, they all can't be winners. at least the next two coming weekends will be filled with birthdays, the grand opening of my friend's brewery and a bordertown saints show at mother's. yay!

♥anne

what i wore

ok, so this isn't the most exciting outfit but i am wearing many of my favorites- my favorite sweater, my favorite jeans, my favorite earings and necklaces...and heck i'm even wearing some fun sandals and socks! yeah, you heard right. sandals and socks!

 sweater, belt, sandals- thrifted

tank- target

jeans- forever 21

marianne

dress-thrifted

sweater-gift from my friend rita

shoes-boumy 

marianne was wearing a cute little vintage dress too! and i saw something way more exciting than clothes, an owl! i've seen him/her flying at dusk but on this particular morning he was perched on a stick. it's a bad photo (i only had my phone) but i had to share it anyway. i believe it is a barn owl and i was SO thrilled that i got to watch it for a while.



there are lots of birds by my house because of the nature preserve. i love watching them and hope to be able to identify more of them as time goes on. and i couldn't resist posting that awesome picture of me talking while my daughter was snapping pics of my sweet outfit  ;D hahaha! you just can't beat an awful outtake! 

i also wanted to thank everyone for commenting on my last post. especially those new to commenting here! i know there are people that read and never comment and that's totally fine but just so you silent readers know, i love hearing your thoughts and would be delighted to get to know you if you are interested :D

til next time,
anne

sister sweaters

hi there, oh you've been wondering what i have been wearing for the last 2 1/2 weeks straight? go ahead and scroll down to see my current uniform.

sweater, silk top, backpack-thrifted

jeans-forever 21 (they were $10. you can't really beat that price!)

clogs-gift from mary

scarf-gift from my mom from a recent trip to paris

and as if one perfect sweater isn't enough, i found her twin on wednesday while thrifting for my etsy shop! it's exactly the same except it's grey. and yes, i am going to be a greedy goose and keep them both.

have you had any super scores thrifting lately?

♥anne