Living My Simple Life

Thrifting with my Girl

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:00:47 +0000

It’s no surprise that I love thrift shopping since I post about my finds often. Imagine my thrill now that my daughter is also starting to enjoy these excursions. This is what bargain hunting with Margaux is like.

Find something, try it on.

Nah. Not what she wants.

Find another item:

This was a knit poncho with rabbit fur somehow incorporated into it. I thought it was odd but she went bananas over it. We bought this one and she wore it a ton over the winter.

Here are a few outfits we found put together from our finds:

And this:

But the best, in my opinion was this:

A brand-new travel vest — this baby retails for over $100. It cost us $4 and will be perfect for my girl to wear on our family vacation this year.

Or maybe the best truly is that my daughter is learning that saving money and being frugal can be lots of fun. This is an important skill that will serve her well throughout life. And I get to enjoy her happy self on our shopping adventures.

High time for Pie!

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:00:21 +0000

My family loves pie. Every celebration merits pie. And springtime finally coming, means a special pie — Strawberry-Rhubarb!!

I went a little crazy and ordered a box with 20lbs of rhubarb from a local produce coop. With this much rhubarb, there will be lots pies and, hopefully, lots of reasons to celebrate. Bring on the good times!

*pie recipe from SmittenKitchen. Whole wheat crust from one of my favorite baking cookbooks — King Arthur.

15!

admin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:55:11 +0000

Duncan turned 15 a few weeks ago. It is hard for me to believe, at times, how grown he is. To celebrate, we went to his favorite restaurant, Fitz’s Soda Factory.

He is now in high school. He is at an all-boys Catholic college prep school — the same one John attended. While school has been a challenge this year — it was a huge increase in workload and my shy boy had to meet and make new friends — he has risen to the challenge and is thriving and enjoying it.

I like seeing how his interests are shaping up as he grows. He enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons and gets together with school friends weekly to do this. He also meets with a group of friends from his previous school for D&D. He’s still playing the cello and is interested in learning piano this summer. Reading is still (and I’m sure will always be) a big part of his life. Once each week he volunteers as a math tutor for grade schoolers in the city. Kitchen skills keep growing and he’s doing more and more cooking — last night he made a three-course French meal for our family. This is an interest I will definitely encourage!

I could go on and on about my boy as I’m so proud of the man he’s turning into. I am so lucky that 15 years ago, he came into my life.

Little Elf Doll

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:00:52 +0000

Oliver has had a little elf doll for years. It is still his favorite bedtime snuggly. When I saw the pattern on Ravelry to make one similar, I couldn’t resist.

I modified the pattern to use what yarn I had on hand — heavier cotton and larger needles. My modification can be found here. This was a really quick and fun knit — well, fun if you like using double pointed needles and all. I do. Having lots of cotton yarn left from the Christmas Gnomes, I see a few more in my future. I’m hoping the little hands the wind up in find them to be comforting and friendly as my boy has found his elf through the years.

Freaky Finds

admin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:00:33 +0000

There is never a shortage of bizarre things to hang on your wall at the thrift store. Here’s one example:

This lovely item was dimensional and made of feathers. Yes, even the dog’s face was made of bird feathers. Maybe even from the bird that was dangling from his mouth. Weirdly, I was tempted to buy this as a gag gift for my duck-hunting brother-in-law. Though I’m not sure he would have gotten the laugh out of it that John and I did.

More Little Hedgies

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:00:58 +0000

The hedgehog knitting obsession continues. These were made for some little friends.

More are in the works with plans for some bright colored one for Easter baskets.

Signs of Spring

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:18:08 +0000

For some, a sign of spring might be the arrival of robins or the first daffodils popping up in the garden. For me, it’s the haircut.

Before:

And after:

Time to shed that warm head of hair in preparation for little league baseball season which is starting this week!

Freaky Finds

admin — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Or the alternate title – how NOT to decorate the nursery.

These creepy bookends have been hanging out unpurchased for months. Go figure.

Freaky finds

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:44 +0000

This soup tureen caught my eye.

Mushrooms. Eggs. And some squiggly things that look like worms. I was kind of tempted to bring it home for my kids to see just how good they have it. At least I’m not serving them something that looks like the tureen.

Freaky finds

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:30:19 +0000

Look at these shoes!

They were marked $20. I’m not sure what is freakier – the price or the fact that they were gone the next time I stopped by the thrift store. Somewhere out there they are being worn. And what a site they must be! I’d love to see the rest if the outfit.