Reminiscing

When I came across this vintage VW Bus when we were cleaning out my parent's house, I knew I had to have it. 

I picked it up on one of the last days before we took everything to donate or to the dump.  Everyone else had passed it over, but I just couldn't let it slip away.

You see, I have many fond memories of VW Microbuses, or the Deluxe Microbus as this particular model was called.  It was also called a Samba bus when it was first released, and the real buses had a canvas sunroof and mini skylight windows all along the roof because it was designed for sightseeing in the Alps...how cool is that?!

But my memories are not of seeing the Alps via a VW bus, though that would totally be cool, nope one of my best friends in high school drove one of these babies!   We owned a convertible VW beetle which my brother totaled, but we never owned a VW bus, which to me was the height of coolness back in the day.

Oh the things we did in that bus, singing at the top of our lungs, changing clothes on the grounds of the Naval Academy (sheesh, no modesty), and cruising to the beach or to tennis practice with my two besties!  Those were the days when life's possibilities seemed infinite, and being over 40 seemed impossible!

(Shadowhouse raised texture)

Today I still feel like the possibilities are infinite, but being over 40 is not only possible but 50 is edging closer with every passing year!

My friend now lives in California, where she and her family run an almond ranch, so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like.  I'm hoping that I can get out there to see her this year though, and we've promised one another that when we both turn 50 we will be doing a girl's trip to the UK.  When I do visit her, I hope she will take me for a little ride down memory lane because that old bus is still running, and they use it on the ranch!

I wonder what songs we will blast on the radio now that we are so much older?!   Or maybe we'll just do a little reminiscing.

A Little Beauty

In life sometimes we just need a little beauty.

Something to remind us that life is sweet...

Even in times when life seems unfair.

When things happen that we just can't understand.

Like a friend who has cancer, or a life taken too soon.

As I picked the tiny viola flowers for a completely different sort of post today I was struck by how frost bitten their delicate petals were.

But how despite their blemishes they were still so very beautiful.  Reminding us that life is imperfect, and that even with the bumps and bruises we gather along the way, there is beauty deep down.

As I have been having some of the best weeks of my life career wise, some of my blog friends have been having some very hard days.  So this post is dedicated to them...especially Jenni.

To those of you who are struggling, I wish you strength, love, support, and comfort.  And I hope that even in the darkness you will find the beauty.

My Very Own Card Keyper

Ok, before I tell you about this great invention made my my dear friend Suzanne of Privet and Holly, and her equally wonderful mom, I have to first apologize for my obnoxious watermark on these photos!  In Photoshop, if you don't pay close attention, when you go to watermark something it will pick a random color...this time black, and I also didn't downsize it to make it less noticeable!  And I would sub out these pics for my none watermarked ones, but they are HUGE...ugh...sorry!  Ok, back to my post!

Yesterday, I received a lovely package from Suzanne at Privet and Holly.  I had ordered one of her cool Card Keypers just as soon as I read about it HERE on her blog.  I was so psyched that she had decided to take a dream and turn it into reality, and I thought it was even more cool that she and her mom had done it together! 

The concept behind their super smart invention is to keep all of those cards we have floating everywhere in one easy place.  Now, instead of digging for my library card, my grocery store discount cards, my Panera card, Petco, etc. I can simply grab my Card Keyper and voila, they will all be in one place and right at my fingertips but also not weighing down my car key chain...which I hate!

Another added bonus is that for people like me who switch between my camera bag and my purse frequently, I can just grab my handy dandy Card Keyper and I won't end up forgetting a card I might need.

I can't tell you how many times I've switched purses or taken my camera bag and realized I didn't have a discount card that I wanted.  I know, you can often just give them your phone number, but it never fails that when I give the store clerk my phone number it never comes up, so this is so much better!  And it's pretty to boot, just look at those darling charms!!!

And speaking of cute, can a hole punch be cute?!  Well a bright blue baby hole punch sure can be!  But don't let its cuteness fool you, it's completely up to the job of punching through those thick plastic cards without blinking an eye hole! ;-)

True to Suzanne and her mom's great sense of style, the packaging is just as beautiful as the items inside.  I will be keeping the bag not just to hold the hole punch, but because it's so pretty!

I love their logo too, and they even include a sample card and instructions on how to use the Card Keyper...those girls think of everything I tell ya!

Thank you to Suzanne and her mom for creating such a wonderful and useful item and for using such heavy duty quality materials.  And for demonstrating awesome girl power across the generations!  

Be sure to stop by their Etsy store where you can pick up your very own Card Keyper.  Just click HERE to order a Card Keyper for yourself or someone you love...it is almost Valentine's Day after all!

Spread Your Wings

When was the last time you really stepped outside of your comfort zone?

When you dared to spread your wings while others played it safe, keeping their wings safely tucked beside their bodies?

Do you hesitate because you're afraid you might not soar, or because of what others might think?

Because most of the time others don't even notice.  And maybe, just maybe those around you won't judge you, or think you are crazy, they might even just keep swimming right beside you and offer you support and encouragement.

And even if you don't soar to great heights, you will have at least tried, and reaching the sky isn't always the measure of success.

Sometimes the success is in the trying.  And I just happen to think that people who spread their wings...even just a little, are much more beautiful than those who choose to play it safe and never try at all...wouldn't you agree?

February Already

Am I the only one who can't believe how quickly January flew by?!  Or who has daffodils coming up, way far up, and trees budding out?  Are you like me in that you can't comment on other people's blog posts...what's up with that?!  Yesterday, I was able to comment on only one other blog, the rest of the posts I tried to comment on I apparently wasn't up to snuff according to Blogger, so it rejected me. :(  I hope that resolves itself quickly.

Yesterday, I was treated to lunch by a friend, and it was so nice to get away from buzzing phones and work stuff for a few hours.  It was a working lunch, but the kind of working lunch where you talk about how to grow your business as well as getting caught up on house and family stuff.  Plus it never hurts to have lunch with someone you like and admire for all of her success through hard work, and her great sense of style, so it was a fun afternoon...Thanks M for the nice lunch!

Today it is back to the grindstone with more phone calls to be made and more emails to be sent and answered.  It's a new month, and my hope is that it will be a productive month, but one that won't be gone in the blink of an eye.

So what's been happening in your world?  Oh, and I LOVED reading your comments about sewing on one of my recent posts.  It was so fun to see who was adept at the art of sewing and those who were like me and couldn't sew a lick!

Perspective

Tonight, while doing my usual blog trolling I came upon a post by A-M which led me to a blog that put life into perspective all too clearly.

I ask that you take a moment to visit Lisa's blog and read her story of loss, unimaginable loss, and that you will find it in your heart to donate to her and her family.  I don't often send people to other blogs when it involves money, but once you read what has happened to her family in the last 4 months I hope that you will put aside your need for that new pillow or decorative item and send that money to her instead.  You don't have to say who you are and you don't have to give much, but anything will be greatly appreciated.  I can't think of a better use for social media like blogs than this my friends.

And before you go to bed tonight, tell those you cherish how very much you love them!

Click HERE to visit Lisa's Blog and HERE to Donate.  Thank you A-M for letting us know so that we can help in some little way!

All Spooled Up

Here are some more vintage lovelies from Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces.  She included these sweet wooden spools as a gift to me, and I love the way they look...thank you Linda!

I've never been much of a seamstress, but I do love old spools!

One time, back when I was in the 7th grade, and schools still taught home economics and shop...can you say 1970s?...I had to make a sundress.

My poor sundress was looking so wonky that my home ec teacher took pity on me and let me take it home so that I could fix it.  I think she knew that if I did take it home that my mother would likely take over and try and fix it.  She was a rather harsh teacher but based on how bad it was looking she was ok with a little parental intervention!

Though, with a little...ok a LOT of help from my mother, I was able to salvage it and I actually wore that dress for many years to come.  But that dress was the beginning and end of my sewing career for anything that required more than sewing a straight line.

I did lose my mind once when my children were little and I bought a sewing machine.  My thought process was that I could somehow channel my grandmother who could sew quite well and made many of our outfits when we were little.  I still remember the Alice in Wonderland shift dresses and matching triangle head scarves that my grandmother made for my older sister and me.  I loved that dress, but alas, I was never able to sew like she could.

So my love of old spools comes not from my own sewing memories, but from watching my mother and grandmother sew.  Pinning patterns onto pretty fabrics, cutting along the dotted lines, hunting for the perfect color thread to match, and then sewing pretty things for us to wear.

I wonder if anyone out there really still makes the majority of their clothing?  Somewhere along the line it became cheaper to buy clothes than to make them, or maybe it just became unfashionable to make them?!  Either way, sewing is a skill I admire and respect.  It takes a great deal of patience, an exacting nature, and a good deal of artistry.

What was the last thing you sewed?!  I truly can't even recall anything beyond reattaching a button...

Photographs and Memories

(Daguerreotype of my Great Grandmother taken by my Great Grandfather)

I hope that each of you goes out this weekend...

to create a few photographs and memories of your own, so that some day, someone will treasure the things you capture through your lens!

Happy Weekend Everyone, I'm off to take a few pictures.