Thrift Share Monday

I hope everyone had a restful weekend before Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

Did anyone go thrifting? I scored a few things for yself and for my Etsy store.

I went to a local thrift shop this weekend and found 10 vintage holiday napkins for only $2.98 They are perfect for my Christmas Eve dinner table! I even found a craft online to make napkin rings from jingle bells! And three really pretty vintage Readers Digest books and a vintage cross stitch NOEL for my Etsy shop.

And a local Antique shop had a holiday open house where I bought a vintage rolling pin with red handles. The owner had it tied with a really cute Christmas plaid ribbon, so it will look perfect on my kitchen counter for the holidays! I also found a red vintage metal tin with white Santas on it. I plan to put an evergreen plant in it.

I was only able to take a few photos before my battery died on my camera, so I pulled a few photos from other sites too.

Painting, Purging and Preparing for the Holidays

The weather has suddenly turned cold and I have started my nesting by purging things to make room for all of the new things for the upcoming holidays. Does anyone really need 20 sets of sheets? But I am a little sentimental when it comes to getting rid of the girls' toys. I have been searching for some storage system before Santa brings more.

Any suggestions? These are some that I am using for inspiration.


I have to give hubby credit for painting the bathroom. When we moved into our home five years ago this was the only room that didn't need painting and I was able to live with the white until we changed it to a soft yellow.

And I am really excited searching the internet and blogland for holiday decorating inspiration. I have found some great ideas at Southern Living, Country Living and Retrorenovation.

Ventures in Veganism

I loooooove dairy, but it does not love me! Unfortunately, I am lactose intolerant.

I love frozen yogurt sprinkled with jimmies. (Or do you call them something else in other parts of the country?)

A cheese pizza with a bubbly crust. Yummy!

Chicken is the only meat I can tolerate and I am not a seafood lover.

Soooo, I venture over to the Vegan world and find myself really liking what I try more and more.

I have a new love, Falafel! It is packed with protein and sooooo delish! I use it crumbled in a taco shell with salsa. I could seriously eat this every single day!

And, of course, there are my yummy salads with a side of hummus and pita chips.

It Has Been A While

I know it has been a while since I posted last. Why can't I be more like other moms who seem to be able to blog, prepare meals, change diapers and do laundry all at the same time?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Of course my husband had to work all weekend, so the girls and I stayed busy. The irony of it is that my husband's day off was actually Memorial Day, but because of the parade and the fact that he is in the Honor Guard, he had to work.

So I packed up the girls and we headed to the parade to watch daddy march. And we got to see the American flag from Ground Zero which was very moving.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

I'll take the Self-confidence with a side of Serenity

I have been MIA for a few weeks. A lifestyle change if you will. Or at least to my diet. I have always tried to eat healthy, before, during and after both of my pregnancies. Yet I still managed to gain weight during both pregnancies. ALOT of weight. Sooooo, I have spent a good part of the last 10 months trying to lose weight.

I can honestly say I am FULLY motivated to eating clean. I have a strong desire to be back to healthy weight. But something is not working for me. Hmph!

While I have been gone, I have been trying several new and yummy recipes. Although I can not take credit for them. Many of them have come from this great blog: www.peasandthankyou.com. Great, clean recipes and she is funny too!

I sometimes think I am the only thirty-something year old woman who struggles with her self-confidence. I mean seriously! I am a mommy and wife, not a teenage girl anymore, yet I still sturggle with it. I guess I thought self-confidence comes with age!

Clean Eating

Although I have been trying for some time now to lose the post-pregnancy weight(is is still called that if she is already 10 months old?), I have been on a Clean Eating kick lately.

And one of my new favorites is Stoneyfield Oikos Greek yogurt in Chocolate. It is heavenly.

Another big step for me has been to not have any frozen yogurt in the house. This is a hard one for me. I am not huge on sweets, but I do like frozen yogurt. Of course, I should not be having it at all because I am lactose intolerant, but SoDelicious makes a really good Dairy free frozen yogurt.

And why is everything that falls under Clean Eating or is categorized as healthy SO much more expensive? It is just another excuse to fall off the Healthy Eating Bandwagon for some!

Have a Great Weekend!

Time for a Picnic

All photos from Etsy.com

All of this unseasonably warm weather here in New England has me dreaming of a picnic. And my two year old has absolutely been loving eating her lunch outside on her picnic table! I actually have never owned a picnic basket, but have really been wanting one lately.