Reason # 2,436,931...

...as to why I L.O.V.E. my neighbors...

because I can call each of them up on a Monday and put together a

'Pizza Eating/Caramel Apple Making/Pumpkin Carving' Party for Tuesday night.

Honestly one of the more fun nights that we have had in a while.

(we laugh so hard with this group of friends...and we are brutal {but in a fun way})

{But seriously, nothing is off limits.}

I'll get to the Caramel Apple Making in another blog post...cause it was an even all in itself...and I'll have a recipe to share as to making your very own caramel sauce.

Let's just say it's sinful and oh so DELICIOUS!

And I think that I'll go ahead and skip over the pizza eating part because let's face it...

once you've seen one starving adult devouring a slice of ooey gooey pizza...

you've seen 'em all.

{...you're welcome.}

OK...so on to the pumpkin carving.

Here is the before picture...

...no faces yet,

...no creativity yet,

...just a bunch of adults trying desperately to cut the tops of their pumpkins off.

The least fun part of the process...{in my opinion}.

In fact Had got so bored with this 'step' that she decided to take a phone break.

"Thanks Lacie for being such a trooper and letting her use yours."

Had hasn't gotten her own phone just yet...but I'm sure that in the blink of an eye, she'll have one soon enough.

A decided that she was not a fan of the smell of her pumpkin's insides.

I had not meant to look so evil in this picture...in fact in the first picture, I had hid my weapon, but Bri (the photog of this picture) thought it was much funnier with it.
Have I ever mentioned that this kid cracks me like no other!!
Here she is smiling like a...'pirate? Popeye?
Actually, I'm not really sure what she was doing...
...must've just been being Had.

Oh and yes, that is a knife in my 2 1/2 years olds hand.
And her she is eagerly showing it to you.
The joys of being 2nd born...less restrictions.
...you should see her with her shot-gun!?!
JUST KIDDING!!
that'll be her 3rd birthday present.
(I don't know why my friend won't let me babysit?!?)

A proudly displaying her collection of pumpkin seeds.

She is such a first born...

that most of her effort of the night went into collecting as many seeds as possible.
{OMGoodness...what happened to her hair?}

UH OH...LOOK OUT...

BRI HAS POWER TOOLS!!!

A drill...really?

What is she be doing?

Our beloved neighbors, Teheresa and her daughter, Z.

They were so smart that Teheresa cleaned out her pumpkin before she came over.

Back to Bri and her drill...

Isn't that cute?

Just a pumpkin full of polka-dots!

Sure to be adorable on their front porch greeting 'Trick-Or-Treaters' on Sunday.

A-Bert doing a meticulous job of cutting off the perfect top...

and in the background, Phil going back for another piece of pizza.

Hey man...knock yourself out!

The more you eat tonight...

...the less I'll eat tomorrow once everyone else is at work.

Had helping me to sh-coop out some of our pumpkin guts...

and with 'Had-itude!'

...see what I just did there?

{I just made that up...but it's so fitting for this child-o-mine!}

A anxiously waiting for Jas to finish socializing and 'gutting' hers so that she could draw the face on.

{Insert Overly-Caffeinated Mom}

OH...JUST LOOK AT OUR BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORS!!

"Hey A-Bert...is that an official-approved UPS hat? And what color are your socks, Mister?"

Had feeling left out that she didn't make it in the prior picture.

My honey and his little lady!

Here she goes again...

...showing me some 'Had-itude.'

Silly little clown!
...well, I have always called her my 'little-pumpkin-head.'
Jas and Phil being overly ambitious and trying to create a masterpiece.

(They were feeling a little insecure with their previous pumpkin creations as soon as they saw

A-Bert and Lacie's 'Work-of-Arts.'

Presenting A's one-of-a-kind masterpiece's.

{...it's a little like those pictures at the mall that you stand back to look at in order to find the hidden picture-

I'm not a very nice mom, am I?}
But on a positive note,

I think it's beautiful and I can see it's face.

Sweet little girl even gave her dimples.

Yep, it's a girl...I just asked her.

These are Teheresa and Z's pumpkins.

They're good aren't they?

...and A-Bert's and Lacie's incredible creations.

They really made us step up our game.

{Left to Right} Bri's, A's and Phil and Jas' (although, I'm pretty sure Jas simply provided moral support for Phil, while Phil did all the work.

...and one last shot to round off the night of festivities.

<>

...There you have it...

...A night of wonderful friends, delicious food, more laughs than my abs could handle, and more memories for me to bank in my mind for later.

...and reason #2,436, as to why I love my neighborhood.

I'm already looking forward to next year's party.

P.S. I'll blog caramel apples soon...I promise!

Junk Salvation...

This blog post has been a long time in the making.

At least 5 months...since the last Funky Junk Sisters show that we, the 4th Avenue Gals, participated in.

And before I go ANY FURTHER...I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Bri and Margee for being such incredible friends, neighbors and business partners.

We are a great trio and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with you throughout this adventure.

...OK...Back to the Show!!

We had so much fun, met such great people and compiled such an incredible amount of treasures over the summer that it went without question that us three gals would be vendors again at the Funky Junk Sisters Fall Show, Junk Salvation.

We are getting a little more serious about our business...

INTRODUCING our business card.

Do you love it??? Cause I definitely do. It really sums us up as a trio. Every component that is a part of this card, is there for a specific reason. And we had so much fun creating the design. You should have seen my driveway when we were done!

So flash-forward to October 15-16...we loaded up a borrowed snowmobile trailer (the for sure way to go) and the back of our pick-ups and made our way to the Competitive Edge building for two days worth of Junk Salvation.

Here are a few glimpses into what our booth looked like. I hope you enjoy them. Oh and did I mention that we had such success at the May FJS Show that we decided that we needed to expand our space and rent TWO booth spaces. What a great idea...it felt good to spread out our treasures a bit and have some more room.

This was our Fall/Harvest section. You can almost smell cider, nutmeg and cloves...just by looking at this picture.

Here is an antique pew that I stripped and refinished for the show. It was the perfect addition to our space and a great backdrop for me to display the pillows that I made for the show. Sorry...it sold Friday night.

Here is the backside of our Harvest Section...we incorporated some great garden treasures into the space as well.

Another picture of the pew, pillows and an overall glimpse into our booth...complete with customer.

Our enamel-haven. This seemed to be a spot that most customers found something to take home with them.
Let's be honest...enamel goes with just about ANY decor...traditional, eclectic, country, retro, modern.

Oh and you notice the lockers in the background...
They sold before we had even finished setting up our space. Another vendor spotted them and snatched them up in the blink of an eye.

...quick funny sidenote regarding the lockers:
I was at my kitchen sink doing dishes when I noticed a scrap metal truck drive by.
I seriously, dropped what I was doing and ran out onto the sidewalk to see where he was going.
About this time Bri was pulling out of her driveway and had noticed them too. She pulled in front and asked if I had seen what she had just seen?
Needless to say, I hopped into her car (she stayed with my girls) and I 'hunted' him down and returned home with 5 lockers being delivered to my yard.

A grocery cart full of seasonal pumpkins...that went quick as well.

The line of eager shoppers on Friday evening (6pm) waiting patiently to get in and get their 'shop-on.'
My dear friend, Pam, was in that line.
I can spot her...she was too cute and I am so glad that she had such a fun night with her daughters (who caught up with her later).

I am PLEASED to share (as is Jason) that I didn't buy one thing at the show...
...that's right...NOT ONE THING!
I used some serious self-control and managed to take home every dollar I earned.
But I have been kicking myself that I didn't purchase this little beauty.
Isn't it adorable?
I love the contrast between tough (burlap) and feminine (flower).

If it's at the next show...IT'S MINE!!!
NO APOLOGIES!

Thanks again to all of our family and friends who have provided us with such love and support.

And of course, my husband, Jason...whom without I would NOT be able to participate in these 'junk shows.'
He knows how much I love the 'hunt' for treasures and the people that I have met are such a great bonus.
Jason...thanks for your support, love and encouragement.
I {heart} you.

P.S. Be on the lookout for an upcoming Halloween Post.

I am giddy to post my girls in their costumes.

TOO CUTE!!!

Dinner Guests

I'll bet you can't guess what this is the lid to!

OK...well if you read this blog on a regular basis...

I'd be shocked if you couldn't identify this lid.

...but just in case,

this is of course the lid to my

Grande Non-Fat Stirred Caramel Macchiato.

Mmmm, just the mention makes me kind-of crave one of these little delicious, creamy dreams right now...

but it is after 10pm and they're closed.

My love of these little cups of heaven is something that I owe to Dawn.

Yes, Dawn...I blame you for my obsession with these.

Prior to my introduction to them,

I swore that I DIDN'T like coffee.

Actually, I still don't...which is why I enjoy these so much.

They are made with a few pumps of vanilla syrup,

2 shots of espresso,

topped with milk (nonfat-my preference)

and caramel sauce drizzled on top and then stirred in.

There may also be some fairy dust sprinkled on top, but I'm not sure.

All I know is...they are delicious and a great way to start my days.

OK...enough rambling....to the point!!!

As a result of our frequent trips to our local Starbucks...

we (A, Had and I) have gotten to know a few of the baristas.

My children, being ever so friendly, always ask the name of the person at the window; and needless to say, we have befriended a few of them...and we have some favorites.

Ashley, Desi, Jay(son) and Lennox.

A decided this summer that we needed to have them over to BBQ...and since the summer was winding down...it was now or never (or at least next summer).

Cue to last Thursday.

The sun was shining, the weather was actually warm, and we had company coming for dinner.

This is the beautiful BBQ Chicken Salad that I decided was impressive, delicious and could be made while Had was sleeping so that I could actually enjoy the company of our guests.

After dinner, we all went out front to P.L.A.Y!!!

And play we did.

I'm not sure that Ashley, Jay or Lennox had any idea just how hard my girls can play.

Here is Had cheesin' it up in one of our trees.

Parched!!!

So much playing makes a girl thirsty

...and I love that she loves to drink out of the hose.

A, Had and Lennox got into a serious game of 'Hide-N-Seek.'

A was the 'seeker' and these 2 were the 'hiders'

If you look really close, Had's expression is too funny.

She was 'painting' Lennox's nose with a leaf.

What a good sport!!

This is Jay...

This is Jay in a tree...

This is Jay in a tree turning around to see me taking a picture.

Again, another good sport.

If you have been around my girls lately...you know that they L.O.V.E. to be spun around.

But I think there is something in the universe that makes moms completely unable to spin.

Heck, I can't even swing on swings without getting nauseous.

My girls take complete advantage of anyone that comes around and can spin them.

These 3 were NO EXCEPTION!

Here A is showing Ashley her abs.

Seriously, the kid has abs...like real ones.

That's it, enough situps and crunches...

I'm going to start skipping EVERYWHERE I go..

...I think that's her secret.

Jay's turn...notice how blurry and crazy Had's hair is.

She was whipping around like crazy.

She had so much fun.

Ash took A for a spin.

Again notice the crazy hair.

OK...enough spinning.

Time to swing.

One slight problem...

we don't have a swing in the front yard.

No problem after all...

we just turned A into the swing.

P.S. Notice the three cars lined up on the street...they belong to Ashley, Jay and Lennox.

And A knows what each of them drive and because of this...

knows who is working even before we've ordered.

A decided that Lennox's shoes were far too tempting not to try on.

Probably because 9 times out of 10, I'm in laceless Converse.

I know thrilling, huh? But I DO {heart} them.

So imagine A's eyes when she spotted these!

And Lennox has incredibly tiny feet, so these just about fit A.

It was a riot to watch her wobble, I mean walk, in them.

And here is the "Bunch!"

Ashley (left), Jay (middle) and Lennox (right).

And of course, A showing off for the camera...and Ashley begging A not to eat whatever it is that she may pull out of her nose.

She didn't! We were all relieved.

I know, Grandma Jill..you were just about to wretch.

We had a super fun dinner date with our Starbucks friends and look forward to doing it again soon. At least before December when Lennox will leave us to head to college. We'll miss her tremendously, and the notes that she jots down on my macchiato cups. But nonetheless, we're very proud of her...and know that we'll still be in great hands with Ashley and Jay (and Desi, too-even though she couldn't make dinner this time...maybe next).

It's kind of funny the places where we meet some of the dearest people and the impact that they have on our lives (even without knowing it).

My advice: "Don't be so caught up in your 'daily doings' that you miss out on potential friendships just waiting to happen (and in the most random of places)."

It's the Little Things....

It seems as though lately I am being gently reminded as to just how fragile life is
(and by gently, I mean knocked upside the head by a 2x4).
Delicately put, huh?
But seriously, in just the past week, I have been hit (not literally) 3 times (unrelated) by incredibly sad news.
And the first thought I had to myself was...
put your jammies on...and crawl back into bed (with my macchiato, of course) and just stay put.
Because before I had gotten out of bed, life was great (and there had been no bad news).
But then a thought occured to me...
I have to set an examply to my girls on just how to deal with tragedies when they occur(because they WILL occur).
So instead, I got up, got dressed (got my macchiato) and dealt with my days the best I could.
Doesn't mean I didn't sneak into a corner and cry a bit...
and it doesn't mean that I didn't share with A why I was sad...
but I still had to be a mom and a wife to my lovely family and continue on with my days.

I had a point with this...what was it again?
Oh yeah...

I wanted to remind each of you that in the big scheme of life (and all it's glory) it is the little things that matter most to those around you.

Some examples are:
-send a card to a dear friend who you don't get a chance to visit with as often as you'd like (heck, you could even sew her a cute little 'chemo' bag if you felt so inclined)
-get your husband's coffee ready the night before so that all he has to do in the morning is turn it on
-have breakfast and a cup of tea waiting for your kindergartner when she wakes up in the morning
...basically, if it would make someone smile...DO IT!!!

Here is what prompted this post for me:
Had and I stopped in at Starbucks this morning to grab a coffee (imagine that), and this is what was presented to me as I reached for my drink:

Our dear, barista, Ashley was working and when she heard me order through the speaker, she was inspired to do something small to make me smile...
...and it worked.
I had spent the morning in a little bit of a schlump and not really looking forward to what the day had in store for me...and Ashley's little bit of kindness completely changed my perspective on my day.

So for that, Ashley, I thank you...
as do my girls and husband too, Im sure.

The following photos are just some randoms that I have E.V.E.R.Y. intent of blogging about...
So consider these teasers:
My crazy girl going crazy...trust me it'll make more sense later.
It's getting to be that time...
and in the midst of trying to clean my house,
I did something very fun and festive with these...
oh yeah...
and I may have eaten a few, too.I can't wait to blog about the story behind this photo.
Look close at Had's expression...it's hysterical.
Just because I L.O.V.E my furry kiddos, too.
This is Ole the dog and Rueben the cat.
No, I didn't pose them...
...they really do love each other.

And finally...and pillow that I have made for the upcoming 'Junk Salvation' show.

Isn't it adorable? I love it..and may end up making another for myself...
...could serve as a great reminder in my living room that
it's the simple things in life that matter so much!