Living the Dream

For as long as I can remember I have loved to shop at thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets, along the streets on trash day when people are throwing out big items...these days of hunting are my most favorite and exciting! I get such joy out of finding treasures from others junk...their unloved and abondoned items. So I recently started another blog called The Clever Corner that will have my stories about these fun experiences, how I reinvent them and/or transform them into treasures others will appreciate, and also a place where anyone can make an offer to purchase one of these unique pieces.

I am currently creating necklaces using old clip-on earings that I've found at yard sales and flea markets, and broken glass. They are unique, incredibly stylish, and have that vintage flair that so many love! I'm very excited about these pieces and I hope you will be too!

So come on over and check out The Clever Corner to find your new treasure!

I made my first sale last night...what an exciting start to this new journey!

my nephews started a blog...

Check out the cutest and best blog ever!!

Mena Boys' Adventures
My cute nephews are very adventurous! They have a lot of land where they live in Mississippi and they love to explore it daily! I'm so excited they've started a blog so I can feel a part of their adventures from across the country!

So check out their blog and stayed tuned
for their wild and crazy adventure stories!

Slumber Party Time!

My sweet friend, Melissa, celebrated a birthday this last week. I wanted to spend some time with her to celebrate her life, so I invited her over for a fun girly slumber party! Its been years since I've had a sleep-over...I think girls should have them no matter what age they are! They are so fun!

I spent the early part of the day baking her a cupcake birthday cake. She loves animals so I made it a animal cookie theme! Gotta love funfetti cake with cookies on top! YUM!

Make a wish!!
We had a great night! When Melissa arrived we wasted no time, we were hungry! So we spent the first part of the evening making a homemade pizzathat tasted so yummy!
We ate goodies, watched movies, and talked a lot (as most girls do! lol). I had a great time with her! Melissa is a special girl, her friendship is a blessing! I thank God for her and the life she's living, and pray that He will guide and direct her in all her years to come!
Happy Birthday Melissa! I love you chica!

Kae visits CA

This weekend was so great! My step-sister, Kae, flew down from Washington for a visit. We had two days to fit everything in, and I think we did! She wanted to visit Hollywood, and spend a whole day at the beach. And here's what our weekend entailed....

Day 1: HOLLYWOOD, CA
We woke up, got ready, shared a bagel, and headed out...
As we entered LA, we decided to try to drive to the Hollywood sign first. It was a total adventure, and we had so much fun getting lost, and finding cool spots close to the sign to take pictures...


After the fun of the Hollywood sign, we headed down Hollywood Blvd. to the Kodak Theater.
We had a good time seeing the Grauman's Chinese Theater with the hand and foot prints, putting our hands in the star's prints.


We also saw this kid (I think his name is little Jon) from "America's Got Talent" being filmed out in front, so that was cool!We enjoyed finding our favorite stars along the street too...


Oh man, it was so HOT out there while we were seeing the sites! We literally had sweat dripping down our faces (gross, I know...sorry). So we found this place selling frozen strawberry lemonade and we were in heaven! It was the best drink we've ever had! Seriously!! So refreshing, and made the heat bearable!After Hollywood, we headed towards Beverly Hills. We drove up and down some streets, wanting to see someone famous [with no luck], made a trip down Rodeo Drive, and then continued on our way...

Our next and final stop was Santa Monica. We spent the rest of the beautiful day by the ocean! We had fun on the Santa Monica Pier



riding the rollercoasterand eating yummy cotton candyThe evening was filled with shopping, goofing off...

and watching the street performers on 3rd St. Promenade. We had a great time, heard great music, watched some amazing acts, and met an awesome dancer...He was on "So You Think You Can Dance", his name is Robert Muraine aka "Mr. Fantastic" -His unique style of dance combines extreme flexibility with waving, popping, bboy moves, and hip-hop. He is amazing!

And I got to meet him! I just love meeting famous people!

After our long day in LA, we headed home. We grabbed some fast food and laid on the couches and watched movies till we couldn't stay awake anymore and then we crashed. It was a fun day!!

Day 2: HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA
We woke up, had breakfast, got ready, and headed out...
We made it to the beach by lunchtime, after all the traffic we hit. We decided to eat lunch before going down to the beach. So we stopped at my favorite pizza-by-the-slice joint in Newport Beach and devoured our slices. Kae said it was the best pizza she's ever had! And she's right, it is the BEST!

After lunch we made our way up to Huntington Beach. We parked, got out our chairs, towels, etc. and walked down Main St. to the pier, where we parked our towels and chairs down on the sand with all the crowds. There were soooooooo many people out there! It was hard finding a spot for our stuff anywhere near the water, but we squished inbetween and found our spot. We spent a few hours enjoying the sun, people watching, and getting our feet wet in the refreshing water. After we felt like we had had enough of the sun, as it was super hot, we packed up our stuff and took it back to the car. Then we spent the rest of the day on Main St. We walked around and stopped at a street vender's cart and bought ourselves "sister bracelets"...We continued shopping, getting Kae a couple souveniers, and eating as we went along.After our long and fun day at the beach, we headed back home where we watched a movie and then crashed!

We woke up the next morning in time to get Kae to the airport. It was sad seeing her leave, I miss her already! I hope she can come back for another visit soon. It was so great having her here and showing her the sights that she's longed to visit.

I love you, Kae! Thank you so much for visiting me...I can't wait to see you again soon! :)

4th of July

One of my favorite holidays is the 4th of July! I just love the time you get to spend with the people you care about, the yummy food, and the beautiful fireworks! Its always a great day!

This year, the 4th of July fell on a Sunday. I started off the day at church, had lunch with some friends, went to the movies with my friend Melissa, and then went to the Matlocks for the rest of the evening. There was food, water slides for the kids, lots of time chatting and fellowshipping with friends, and we finished off the evening with our own little fireworks show in the backyard. It was a great day!

Time with friends...

I just love sparklers!!
I had to write my name in the sky with them...
Fireworks in the backyard...

Camping in Carlsbad

Every year growing up, our family would go camping at the beach for two weeks during the summer [1 wk @ Carlsbad & 1 wk @ San Elijo]. So now that I'm all grown up, its so great to be able to continue the tradition and camp with all the same families at the beach during the summer.
I stayed on my friend, Eddie's, campsite with him and his son, his friend Ed and his daughter. They were all great and very generous!
This year, the weather was pretty gloomy...the sun only came out once, the last day! That was a bummer, but we still had a good time. It was chilly down by the water, but we still had fun playing...
I also spent a lot of time shell hunting...I just love seashells! They are so amazing!I always enjoy camping, its a great time of relaxing! I can't wait for next year's trip now! LOL