Our House in the Middle of Our Street

view of Bellingham Bay from Boulevard Park Last week the kids and I spent an entire day in  Bellingham, WA, and mostly, we spent it at the beach near Boulevard Park . The sun was shining and there was blue blue blue everywhere! It was a warm day, but not horribly hot that you had to stay in the water. A cool breeze was blowing through and after we got our three or four errands done, I parked myself with a book on a bench, a picnic table, and then in the grass on my blanket while the kids played at the park, in the sand, and rested quietly while listening to me read aloud.  new sunnies! It was one of the best days we've had in awhile. I took them to Chipotle for lunch (a rare treat for us now that we don't live by one!), we had plenty of food and water for the entire afternoon, and aside from a bit of grumbling about sunscreen application, these kids had an absolute ball playing on the rocks, in the sand, and just enjoying the gorgeous view of the bay nearby. I...

Above is a picture I snapped in between Lunchables and math work at the local laundromat this morning. For the last year and a half, we've done our wash in between cleaning up kids' rooms and getting dinner ready, but yesterday, I discovered a literal pool of water drenching our hallway carpet. Thank goodness we didn't throw in the load and leave, as is so often the case. Our washing machine went kaput, and unfortunately, at the end of the week, we're all nearing the no-man's-land of an empty underwear drawer, so off to the laundromat we went this morning! Make Do and Mend is one of my favorite phrases, because it has meant a lot to me over the last 9 years of being married and going through financial stress at times during that near-decade. Honestly, we have done so well for getting married extremely early in life (19 and barely 20!), having kids very soon after, buying and selling a house, managing a rental property, moving across the country, and nume...

About a year ago I purchased an antique dresser at an Estate Sale for about $10. I liked the style, the large drawers, the massive mirror, and the price. I can't believe it actually took a year to get this to where we wanted it. After the initial deep cleaning (all 10? 20? spider EGG SACKS) It sat for months at our in-laws storage unit, and then a long time it sat in our own room, unused, and still rife with age and nicks. * I have a half of a small closet to put all of my clothes--every season, too, in 3 of these things . It's not much, but I have minimal amounts of clothing so it worked for a year. I think, however, that Stefan was a little, ahem, crammed . He asked me what color of paint I wanted, and on a nice sunny day he and the kids set to work to painting. Here is the after, with new Anthropologie ( sale !) knobs attached. It's a nice sky-blue color, and goes well with the picture set on top. The other three items are a green bowl (made by a local Grace Chapel p...

It has to be said that I'm a seasoned thrifter. I am in my zone when I am at a garage sale, a good will, or an outdoor flea or farmer's market. I can sift through scads, piles, and large amassed mounds of junk and find treasure... and I love the chase . * Then, I had kids, and that (like almost everything else) was put on hold while I juggled feedings, nap time, and the actual number of showers in a given week. I kind of forgot about my undercover 'deal' nature and really didn't have longings for my past Sally Ann and antiquing days...until I realized THIS year I want to put myself back out there. Garage salin' Fridays are calling my names, craigslist was re-book-marked in the browser and in one Saturday morning I found 5 things on my mental 'thrift list' just by marking it on my calendar to stop by a few favorite places. Score! It can't be held back....estate sales...here I come! all images via weheartit.com