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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Stars and Stripes Tablescape

This year for the fourth of July, I am setting my table with my Colonial, Warren Kimble plates, by Sakura. I am in love with their worn stained Old Glory look. Rustic and fun. 
  

 I am using the red and white ticking napkins that I made and my napkin holders from an estate sale. If you haven't read the story about that estate, read about it here. I have found pieces of these Warren Kimble plates in three different places now. I found the large plates and a couple salad plates at a garage sale years ago in Roseville, California. Then the following year all the bowls at a garage here in Woodland, California. Then I found more salad plates at a local Goodwill. I love that when that happens! I hope I find more pieces, as I really love this set.
  



 Frosted blue votive sitting on one of red and white napkins inside my Currier and Ives sugar bowl. These red compotes Luminarc, from France. Perfect for a scoop of your favorite ice cream on these warm evenings.


  

 Here, I have taken the soup bowl off the place setting. You can see how cute the "Colonial" salad plate is.



  

 A very bright refreshing Americana look. Living in France for a total of almost 8 years, I missed my share of fourth of July celebrations. I think that's why it means even more to me now. There is something so American about the casual family gathering with Barbeques, watermelon, American flags and fireworks.
 
 Floating stars on stripes.

  
 Can you ever have enough American Flags? A bouquet doesn't have to be limited to Flowers. Here I have filled up a small footed milk glass vase with small American flags.

  
 
 Baby, you're a firework.....

  

We made no plans this year for The Fourth of July. We begin to regret it and brainstorm what we could do. Then, just yesterday, I received an email from our local casino. They offered us a free suite for one night, the 3 rd or 4 Th. since this year the Fourth falls on a Thursday, they probably don't have the crowd they were expecting. I called to reserve the free suite quicker than you can say, yes please!I'll be posting about the suite and our stay.

I am looking forward to being poolside. It is supposed to be 108 degrees that day...

Happy Fourth of July to you and your family!

Bisous,
Karen

 I am joining these great parties:

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Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home
”Monday

Saturday, June 29, 2013

White Roses and Silver

 Can you believe it rained the other day in California? We were amazed and everyone talked about how fun it was and how much they loved it...you always want what you can't have! Today it's going to be in the triple digits.
 When I heard it was going to rain, I went out and picked all my roses.
 There were quite a few roses to be picked. It forced me to get out there and take advantage of them!
 Some of the roses had shorter stems and I made bouquet for my silver teapot. Oops...I just said "My" silver teapot. I guess that means I am keeping it. Remember all the silver I found a few weeks ago? You can read about that here.
 I have sold three pieces of it so far and just listed the jewelry box.
 I love the white against the silver.
 I like the different sized roses, some open some just budding.


 Can you see the tips of my artichokes out the window to the right? We enjoyed two large artichokes and now these little guys are flowering.
 There quite a few long stem roses left over. I planned on using a few white pitchers, but I didn't have the heart to cut the stems down too far. So, I used this tall crystal vase (Las Vegas garage sale $2)

 The rain did come and for us it was pretty heavy. I was happy I had cut them all when I did!

Now.....after scratching my head for days (and shedding a few tears) I think I have finally figured out what went wrong. My blog post were no longer on the feed and Bloglovin" did not recognize my blog to make the big switch!




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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Shabby Brocante: Sew, I finally found one!!!!!!

Shabby Brocante: Sew, I finally found one!!!!!!:    I have said it over and over; I don't sew. I have also said several times, I am GOING to find a sewing machine at g...

Sew, I finally found one!!!!!!

 
















 I have said it over and over; I don't sew. I have also said several times, I am GOING to find a sewing machine at garage sale this summer! Well, here she is! I found her quite early in the season! Drum roll please; only $15! The garage sales have been fabulous lately. I almost didn't stop at his sale and then I saw them...two machines sitting on a table! I saw this one, a Kenmore and also a fancier Brother. I know nothing about sewing, but I thought to myself, "Self, you don't need a fancy one. You wouldn't even know what to do with it.


 Remember the curtains I found at Goodwill? I posted about it here. I am going to make valances for the kitchen window!



When I got home for the garage sales my engineer/researcher (AKA hubby) Spent hours on line looking into the machine. Conclusion; good job, Karen! The older machines are made better. This Kenmore has a Singer engine. The older machines, like mine, are made from heavy duty metal and they last a long time. This older model sells for about $145.00 on-line. My husband also managed to find an entire Manuel on line for free. He printed it out and has it all stapled to together. He also fixed the tension for me and re-filled the bobbin. Love it!


 Of course, when you find a new hobby, things keep popping up all over, like these spools of thread for $1 at an estate sale yesterday!

And this fabulous post from one of my favorite blogs: While Wearing Heals:
http://whilewearingheels.blogspot.com/2013/06/star-garland.html

I love her blog and follow her on Facebook. She's amazing.  I had seen these types of banners on Etsy and Pinterest, but had no idea where to start. Her tutorial is wonderful! If you don't already follow her, you sure should!






 So I tried my hand at it! Super fun and easy....well, not that easy for me. Notice I have no real close ups (Ha!). But, I did it! I really did it! I didn't even get the machine in a jam, like first time I tried to make the napkins above!!
  

 Between My Cricut and sewing machine I am going to have banners all over the house!!!

Also while out at garage sales on Saturday I found these goodies:

 A beautiful King size duvet, comforter and four beautiful espresso silk panels all from Pottery Barn. Never used. They were for staging a house! Score! The two cute suitcases are for Lucie. They are like new. $5 for both.
I also picked up this chandelier ($15) for Lucie girl. She was very excited! Can't wait to hang it....you know who I will be asking to do that...poor Stanislas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen


 Parties I am attending:

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http://www.thisgalcooks.com/2013/06/30/link-party-marvelous-mondays-53-with-features/#comment-7455


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http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/2013/06/thrifty-things-friday-115.html



Feathered Nest Friday:
From The Farm Blog Hop

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Legoland, San Diego, California...Things to know!

 I was disappointed before leaving for Legoland. I felt like I couldn't find a lot of information out there about the park or photos. I always want to know the ins and outs of where I am going. I like to be prepared. Here's a quick overview of my visit with Lucie this summer and things I wish I had known.


FIRST IMPRESSION: 

The entrance was impressive and exciting. The entrance was organized and made for a smooth entrance. The hotel is to the right of Lucie, above, (amazing location) However my first reaction, "Wow, that's small." It was a really tiny building. I didn't go in though. You can make reservations on line and they have themed rooms. If you plan to do the park for a few days, it might be worth it. Downtown San Diego is about 30-40 minutes from Legoland.


 https://bookings.ihotelier.com/LEGOLAND-Hotel-at-LEGOLAND-California-Resort/bookings.jsp?hotelId=77376&themeId=3637

 PRICE:

I found the prices to be confusing on line. It's about $75 a piece for one park. $89 for two (Amusement Park, Waterpark or Aquarium) Prices are listed, but they only talk about the Waterpark and Aquarium on the left hand side of site. I wish they listed the Amusement Park along with those. For quite a while I didn't even understand/know that there was an amusement park. Not very clear.

My biggest piece of advice...THERE ARE COUPONS in the Legoland Magazine; Buy one adult ticket get one child's ticket free. However, I didn't read the fine print....it was only good for a hopper. We didn't bring our suits or I would have chosen the waterpark. We pick the aquarium and never went. Tickets were still cheaper for the day with the coupon. Saved quite a bit. $100.00 for the both of us. Sign up for the magazine now. It's free.

https://club.lego.com/en-us/join/magazinesubscription/


PARKING:

You WILL pay for parking. $15 for regular. I paid extra to have priority parking. $25 and we were three rows from the entrance. There was an easy exit as well. I am glad I paid extra for this.
 FOOD:

A couple (not sure why they wanted to come without kids?)  in front of me at one of the restaurants got two chicken meals, a salad and two drinks. $67. I could tell she was surprise, but I wasn't. I was reading the prices. I got a quartered chicken, beans and fries. That was $15. My plan: Lucie gets the fries, I get the beans we share the large portion of chicken. It was perfect. Kids meals were about the same price. OUR drink? A large plastic water bottle with a straw...I had Diet Coke. It was $9. I could have it filled throughout the park for $1 anywhere. I would recommend this with a large group. They sold apple pie "fries" with whip cream that looked delicious. As far s I know there are no sit down and be waited on restaurants. It's all cafeteria style.



 SIZE:

 The park is actually bigger than I expected. We needed the WHOLE day for just the amusement park. We were there from open to close. We never went to the aquarium or waterpark.
 THINGS TO DO:

I WOULD not go back with Lucas (11). I DO NOT think kids 10 or older would enjoy the park like younger kids. Legoland is wonderful for babies, toddlers and kids around the age of 5-7. The rides are all mild. There is one fast roller-coaster, but it would not be enough for older kids. There are several rides that have Lego stations for kids to play in while parents waited in line. The lines were long in the morning and by late afternoon they were non-existent.
 The Star Wars area is just a row of character statues and a couple models of the Star War's landscapes.
 The mini cities was nice. Both young and old could appreciate this. However...the OCD me was a bit disappointed. Here I have brightened up the photos a bit. Throughout the park, many of the lego sculptures are faded. :( I even noticed a decapitated woman on bench in the mini cities. :( The up keep was lacking. Faded Legos, some broken pieces, chipping paint, etc. could be spotted throughout the park.
 There were fun displays throughout. Some with sound and movement.
 Some fun details...like the pigeons. Nice little touches. But, again, if it's not kept up with you notice that sometimes AND not the little touches.
 Cool sculptures....however many (like the mini cities) catered to adults. A kid might not appreciate this. There re shops throughout the park as well. They sell everything from T-shirts to Lego building kits.



One thing I love throughout the park; the trees, plants and flowers. Very pretty and well kept. 

RIDES:
 

 The rides... This ride was for 6-13 year old kids. Honestly A 13 year old would look  (and feel) ridiculous riding this. Lucie is 9. She is a VERY small 9. She's about the size of an average 6-7 year old. This was her favorite ride, because you could "earn" a driver's license. BEWARE: That "driver's License" is self-made at a kiosk and they print it out and put it in a plastic lanyard for...$8.

And....how can you say no? Lucie was very excited about her license. She's still very young at heart. Not sure most 9 year olds would be as impressed :) She sure LOVED it.
 Like Disneyland, there are different sections or lands to the park. There is a Pirate section, a Kingdom, a Jungle, etc. The map makes it easy to get around. There is a nice variety of rides. All very mild. Wear a swimsuit. There are many water features Even a small park with slides, etc. in the amusement park. There was on kind of scary log ride. We got soaked. That was fun. There are walk in dried for a whole family to dry off. $5 to use. MANY areas for babies and toddlers to play in water. There is a laser ride, like the Toy Story ride at Disneyland. It lacked ambiance and was not exciting.

 Here kids could control the steering on a small slow boat. However, I did see a few kids get stuck. There's a guy that goes out in rubber pants to move the boats. Peaceful, quiet and again.....mild. There are some healthy inter-active rides as well...one you peddle and one you and partner pull yourselves up and then you have the drop. Fun...kids were enjoy themselves with their parents.

This sums up the rides at Legoland...cute, but MILD. Have I already mentioned that? Visit Legoland while your kids are Little!

 You won't see too many characters around the park. We spotted ONE, near the entrance. They do have shows....some characters were dancing at the entrance towards the end of the day, and there were a couple stages throughout the park for fun shows. There are people taking your picture throughout the park and on cameras on most of the roller-coasters.

I would recommend Legoland for families with toddlers. I would not go back with a 9 and 11 year old. I was glad I hadn't paid for Lucas to go. Great memories with Lucie. She had a blast.
                            Thanks for visiting!
Bisous!

Karen I am linking up with: Life in a Break Down
Life in a Break Down