Treasure Find Tuesday

As I have mentioned before I LOVE thrifting. I figured it is a shame to keep the treasures I find to myself and therefore should share some good ones with you. Look here each Tuesday for a new Treasure.

I found this set of three flower shaped bowls at City Opera Thrift Shop a few years ago in NYC. So far I have used them as serving dishes, candle holders, and now they are on display in my curio cabinet.

Blue

Can you keep a secret? My guess is that you dear internet are like me and have a hard time keeping anything to yourself. One thing that helps to distinguish me as a person is that I don't believe in hiding. Sometimes I try to hide and it just seems ridiculous. If I am feeling something, it is likely that it is obvious to everyone around me. I HATE not telling the truth. I HATE pretending I feel a certain way when I actually don't. If I feel great I want to share it and if I feel lousy why shouldn't people know? How am I going to feel better if I just swallow my feelings. No thank you. Not me.

I feel as if I have been hiding for the past few months in my daily life and boy is it getting old quick. Because I don't know people here really well I have had a hard time opening up. I always reach for my phone, but for real who wants a slew of unhappy phone calls? Blame it on the season, being lazy, the weather, piles of laundry what-ever feeling down is an all around lame situation ... especially when you are hundreds of miles away from the friends you have come to feel like you share parts of your soul with.

I had a moment the other night. Chris and I were standing in the kitchen and I saw his eyes move towards the sink. Before he could say a word I leapt into the air and laugh/shouted "I don't want to do the dishes" I began pounding gently on his chest exclaiming "I will get a job just get those dishes away from me" it's the kind of scene that I would include in my lifetime movie. It was more hilarious than dramatic. The moral of the story is I realized I need to get myself out of the house so that normal tasks can be normal tasks and not what I define myself by. I am not a dishwasher, a toilet scrubber, a vacuum diva, or an ironing board master. If you are sane enough to stay home and rock out while dusting more power to you. I'd currently like to keep these things on my to do list rather than my resume.

This is one of my first rambling personal posts. It will be the first of few I promise, I'm just sick of editing myself and hiding behind my happy posts. I am blessed that I have so many happy moments and hate to be a complainer.

Thanks internet for providing an outlet. To my dear friends, the truth is I miss you. I miss you terribly. I feel less myself the longer we go without each other. I thrive on your excitement for life and want so badly to be with you. There is no substitute for your positive energy. You continue to amaze and inspire me. I want to laugh, dance, teach, drink, brainstorm, work, learn, make art, and eclectically move with you. I'll get over this gloomy mood in no time, but know that I will always be missing you.

Dear Laundry,

Please wash, dry, and fold yourself. Afterwards I will gladly put you away.

love,

rachelmarie

THANK YOU

I LOVE handwriting, stamps, and stationary. More importantly, I love the messages these things bring with them. One letter can go a long way in boosting someone's day.

That being said, I still haven't finished all of our wedding Thank You notes. Do I feel terrible about it? Yes. Am I working on it? Yes. It is always important to show your appreciation when people think of you and I can not believe I haven't finished yet.

I know that you are supposed to have a six month grace period, but I am hoping for an understanding extension. Wether or not you have received your thank you, THANK YOU! We haven't forgotten you and are very grateful!

Shock

I actually got up on time this morning, showered, had breakfast, made husband's lunch, and am leaving the house on time with an acceptable hairdo... PLEASE make this a habit!

Do You See What I See

Ummm is it just me or is there a swamp thing crawling out of our pond!

See him reaching his arm over his head like he is trying to climb out onto the ice!?

CA Calling

I got to talk to two of my favorite ladies today and it made me SO happy!

I know Its a Bit Late in Life ...

... but I just discovered string cheese

... and its delicious

You Never Know What You Will Find

I could happily spend every day digging though thrift and consignment shops. A hobby I inherited from my parents. Department stores are just too easy and cookie cutter for me. I like the hunt for the perfect item (not to mention the price tag that usually go with them). I have had a dream lately of opening my own special finds shop. There are so many jewels hidden among the junk. I would love to be able to excavate them and make them available to others. I only have room for so much myself. I would probably have to have an online shop considering we are military and bound to be on the move ... which means I could store all of the items in my office and pretend for at least a little while that they are mine. Oh my goodness even if I could design rooms for other people using thrift shop finds I would be in seventh heaven. That should be a TV show (Its probably obvious that I am watching HGTV as I write this). Sigh. SO much love for these ideas - this isn't over.

For now I volunteer at the base thrift shop on Tuesdays and I LOVE it. I get to hang out with interesting people, do good, see crazy things, get great deals, and I get a homemade lunch for only $2. Delicious. Amazing.

The only downside is that I can never seem to leave empty handed ...

... and I always seem to walk out with a classic mason jar of buttons.

What Now?

I have been sporting sweats for quite some time now thanks to the weather, my lack of snow boots, and no snow tires.

These babies are from J.Crew

Any ideas on what I can do to keep from getting cabin fever?

It's Snowing

a lot.

"152 Insights into my soul"

If you know what the title quote is from then you have seen a little snippet of what makes my soul happy.

You've Got Mail is one of my all time favorite comfort movies. I used to fall asleep to it in high school on VHS. After college I could have sworn I owned it, but couldn't find it anywhere! Panic. Turns out I had been living off of Bethany's DVD copy for four years. Thankfully Chris took me to the video store on Christmas eve (I got him Kung fu Panda which he could have sworn he owned, but also had been movie mooching off his college roommate).

I recommend both, but especially You've Got Mail. With Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, New York City, Children's books, and somewhere over the rainbow you can't go wrong.

Watch it. I know you'll love it.

btw Bethany i'm pretty sure I ran off with your copy of When Harry Met Sally =/

Burnt Toast

I can't cook. Negative statement, I know. I have tried and tried and tried, but have had very little success in the kitchen. I want to cook. I need to cook. The flare for combining meat, spices, pasta, cheese, and other delicious things has not found me... I haven't found it either, but i've been looking! I beg Chris not to give away my dirty little secret and it usually goes, "please don't tell people I don't feed you"! No worries people I do feed him, but I plead guilty to saying, "what do you have against cereal!?" more than once.

What can I say, I make a mean breakfast and married a man who only eats lunch and dinner.

I've heard the rumor that if you can't cook well, you are usually a baker. Is this like the whole Geometry/Algebra situation? Because I aced geometry and still have nightmares about algebra. Since I make an outrageous banana bread and fluffy waffle, am I doomed to serve overcooked and under par dishes for the rest of my life?

One of my new resolutions is to read MARTHA Stewart's Cooking School cover to cover and see if I can pick up on any of it. I have been able to locate numerous cooking schools in the area, but they are geared towards professionals rather than home cooks.

FYI I stumbled upon my copy for $9.99 at TJMaxx where at a regular bookstore they are still about $45.00

I find myself wishing I had half of the culinary skills of one of my dearest friends, the berry beautiful Erin, at least three times a day (usually around breakfast, lunch, and dinner ... and snack times ... and of course after meals when you want something sweet) Visit her at food n femininity you wont be sorry, but you will be hungry. I still don't understand how I lived with this lady for months and didn't take notes!!

So many people I know are creative in the kitchen. How have you managed scrumptious successes?

Recycle Joy

Hope everyone had a happy happy holiday.

This is a simple brown paper bag I stamped on to use as a gift bag for my brother. Always remember to think before you throw something away - you never know how creative you can be until you try.

Happy New Year