Camp Whimsy

On the Mend

Strauss is on the mend! He is having good days and hard nights, but I am hopeful that the nights will gradually get better. Yesterday we went to his appointment down at UC Davis and the surgeon and doctor said we will be able to get another x-ray in four weeks to see if the cast can come off. That was great news compared to the 6-8 weeks they originally said in the hospital. This experience has been sort of like bringing home your first new born baby. We were exhausted, a bit scared to handle him or change him. We were unsure. And I never thought I would have to pack a diaper bag again in my life but yesterday I got out my old diaper bag and loaded it with diapers, wipes, snacks, a sippy cup, and a bed pan for the ride down to the doctor. I have often said that I wanted a third child but when Strauss came along I had my hands full with him and decided a third might not be the best decision for our family. So now I have my chance to have a third baby experience! I am thankful that ultimately Strauss will heal, that although this was a scary and hard experience for us, in the end it is only a broken bone and not a bad disease or worse that happened to Strauss. Audrey has been with my mom since the accident and we are thankful that she has had a wonderful time at Nana's and for the help it was to us to be able to give all of our care to Strauss. We think she will come home tonight and are looking forward to that. My husband and I got antibiotics on Tuesday and are feeling much better than we were. God has been here with us throughout this experience, comforting us and giving us the strength, hope and patience we needed. The scariest part for my husband and I was having Strauss under anesthesia at both hospitals. When Strauss began to open his eyes ever so slightly and moaned a quiet, "mommy..", that was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Like the first time you hear your baby cry when he is delivered. I was never so glad to hear his little voice as I was in those moments. I know that we will find God's purpose in all of this and we will be a stronger family in the end. 

Strauss is Broken

Well Strauss is broken. Saturday evening he fell off our bed while playing with Audrey and he has a spiral fracture on his left femur. We spent six hours at our local emergency room, took an hour ambulance ride down to UC Davis medical center in Sacramento and spent 14 hours at their pediatric emergency center. He was sedated at the local hospital to get the leg in a splint and also went under during the casting procedure. He has a cast that covers his whole left leg, the right leg down to his knee, and up to his chest. He can not walk or use the bathroom. He is itchy and pretty unhappy with not being able to walk or move himself. My husband and I are sick on top of it and we could use prayer to feel better so we have an easier time in a difficult situation.  I am so thankful that ultimately he will heal and I am thankful that he received such good care at the hospital. God really is our refuge and an ever present help in trouble. Please pray for Strauss to have more relief from pain, to have less itching, success with the bed pan and to adjust to this situation. Oh how I love my sweet little boy. 

Out with the old, in with the new...

Happy New Year to you. This post is a bit of a rambler, so don't say I didn't warn you....how is your new year going? Mine is going well. Here is what I have been up to this week...

Time to change out the slipcover on the sofa for a clean one. I have had several people tell me I was crazy for having a white sofa with small children. Hello people, have you heard of bleach and slipcovers? Really though, these slipcovers cost only 50 bucks, so I have two sets, one that is on the couch getting dirty and one that is clean and ready to go. About every 3 or 4 months I just remove the old dirty covers and replace with the clean covers. I vacuum out the sofa when I change the covers. The big cover is too big for my washer (I soak it in the tub) so I don't change it every time. I soak the cushion covers in the washing machine for a good long time and haven't had a problem with stains. 

When I am done I have a nice clean, somewhat wrinkled sofa. The wrinkles fade in a few days.

January is a good time to tackle some projects you have been putting off. I bought the paint to paint our coffee table last April. Since the weather has been unusually warm and spring-like I thought it was a good time to paint...

...voila! Now it matches the other vintage tables I have in my living area. My house is full of greys, whites, and soft blues. The paint in my house is the same paint that we painted when we built five years ago. Over time I am adding more to the home as I find new (old) furniture.  Here is a look at my very grey living room. I used to think of grey as a rather gloomy color, but having lived with this look for some time I find it quite cozy and calming.

(click on the above picture to enlarge) I am slow to add things to my home. I would rather wait to find the piece I have in mind than to put just any old thing in my home...

...and with that said, I am giving you one last look at this sweet cupboard which holds my oriental collection. I have had this cupboard since we lived in our first home. I bought it at an estate sale about seven years ago. I am thinking I will move it to my husband's study (for his ever expanding book collection). We have 11 foot ceilings in our living room and I have always wanted a hutch here that would look a bit more substantial, (plus my once little oriental collection is not so little now and I need more cupboard space!). I have waited five years to find the piece I wanted. I was looking for something with glass cabinets on the top and storage on the bottom...

...so here is the new cupboard I found. It was a built in from a local home that I found from an antique dealer. The paint is fairly ratty, so we gave it a light sanding. I am going to try the cupboard in our home without painting it to start with and see how I like it. I did have to paint the inside of the shelves, which were orange. This picture shows them primed and ready for (grey) paint. I finished the painting yesterday and will be wall papering a panel for the back of the cabinet. I found a vintage wall paper, grey with white oriental scenes, on ebay. I am excited to finish this project this weekend and can't wait to show you! The cupboard is slightly taller than the existing cupboard I have and is about twice as wide as the existing cupboard. 

The bottoms of the new (old) cabinet drawers were warped and needed to be replaced. No problem for a handy husband. This guy can fix anything. Mostly that is a positive thing. Except in the current case of my broken washing machine. Which has been broken for 8 days, waiting on a part to come in the mail. Sometimes I wish my husband wasn't so handy, like in this case.  I would have liked a new washing machine, delivered the same day the old one broke. However it is nice to spend 20 bucks on a part rather than have to replace the whole machine. But come on Fed Ex, let's go. I've got a mountain of laundry to do. Seriously. A mountain.

I am glad for a fresh new year. I am glad for a slower routine following the busy holiday season. I am glad for my two children who bring me great joy each day and I am also glad for a can of grey paint and a new cupboard. Out with the old. In with the new. Happy New Year.  

 

Afternoon At The Stable

Last week I took the kids to the new stable to visit my sister and Ace. When we drove up to the stable Audrey exclaimed, "Oh, it's just like I always dreamed it would be." First we watched Ace get saddled.

We met many of Ace's new friends.

We watched as Ace got warmed up in the round pen outside.

Then we moved into the arena to watch Genevieve ride.

We are good watchers.

Genevieve is a good rider. Ace is a good horse.

After riding Strauss helped brush Ace down. Audrey is excited to start riding when she gets a little older. Horses are beautiful creatures. 

Dream House in New Orleans

 

Do you like dreaming of your ultimate house? Well when I get day dreaming I look at houses for sale in New Orleans. If I was a billionaire I would live in New Orleans. I saw this house in person when my husband and I took the Garden District walking tour in January 2009. It was the grandest house we saw. Now it is for sale for a cool 12.5 million. The pictures of this house are insane. Who lives like this? Oh yeah, I do, in my dreams.

This is my favorite room. Not too bad. Not too shabby.

 

Alright so this house is decorated a bit more formal than I would probably want, but I am dreaming here and since I am a billionaire it doesn't matter how expensive these furnishings are. 

So there you have it. My 12,072 square foot dream mansion in the garden district. Complete with elevator,  8 full baths, 2 half baths and a guest house where you can stay when you come to visit me. I think I will be needing some help cleaning my dream house. I just dreamed up a maid. She is lovely and I treat her nice, not like that mean Hilly treats her maid (from the movie The Help). In my dream mansion I eat beignets and drink cafe au lait with my maid friend every morning. (Except on Saturdays when we breakfast at Brennan's and Sunday's when we go to Commander's Palace). Then we clean a bit and lounge by the pool eating muffuletta's in the afternoon. At night we go to the quarter to Galatoire's or Arnaud's or Antoine's. And of course, since this is a dream, all of those calories I am consuming don't harm my figure one bit.  I like this dream more and more. If you are reading this and you are in fact a billionaire and you buy this house would you invite me over some time?  I would make a great maid.

 

 

Christmas

Christmas eve morning we had a special breakfast of waffles. 

Yum. I think I would eat these every day if I could.

Christmas eve night we went to my sister's house. Her house was warm,cozy and beautifully decorated for Christmas.

She made a delicious spread of food for us to indulge in.

Yum again.

Then we opened presents. My Mom had a fun surprise this year for our family. Every year she gives very nice thoughtful gifts, but it is the stockings she fills that we like best. This year Mom made GIGANTIC stockings. She made the pattern herself and sewed everyone a beautiful stocking embellished with vintage ribbon, lace, buttons and so on. They were just darling. My Mom is the coolest lady. When I went to my in-laws the next day they asked if my new Ugg boots were a Christmas gift, without thinking I said that they were in my stocking from my mom. They weren't sure what to make of that, and then I realized I needed to explain that the stockings were HUGE so that is how the boots fit in a stocking! I think that gigantic stockings are the way to go, no more wrapping presents for hours and hours, just put them right in the stocking!

And then we had Christmas morning. The kids were very happy to open presents and play with their new gifts. Here is Strauss, quite excited about his new puppy from Grandpa and Grandma. That afternoon we went to my in-laws for more Christmas celebrating. The kids loved playing with their cousins and Strauss even got a ride with his dad on his cousin's dirt bike (very slowly across the lawn), which he thought was AWESOME. I wish I'd had my camera with me to show you his expression! We had a very nice Christmas with our family and I am very thankful for a good weekend. Although I have been pretty sick the past few weeks I am so glad that Christmas was nice and even though I didn't feel so great at least I was able to go to the family gatherings and see the joy my kids expressed throughout the weekend. Today I am feeling better than I have in a while so maybe all of those get well wishes and prayers are working. Since I missed baking for Christmas this year I may have to make something special this week. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family or friends and are looking forward to a great new year. 

 

Merry Merry

Hello there. How have your holiday preparations been coming? The past few weeks I have been very sick so mostly I am just resting and enjoying this time watching the kids run around and play, excited for Christmas. My husband bought Nutcracker tickets to take Audrey on a date. So today I will have an afternoon with just Strauss in the house. I wasn't feeling up to making gingerbread this year so I bought a gingerbread train kit for Strauss to build today while Audrey and Daddy are at the Nutcracker. I haven't even sent Christmas cards this year (shocking!). Maybe I will feel better and can send New Year's cards. We'll see. So here are some final shots of Christmas at our home. 

This year I decorated my tinsel tree with my vintage black and white Christmas cards. I love these old cards. They are funny.

Laurie aka Magpie Ethel sent me this one last year. I LOVE it!

Look at these two darlings, setting out to bring you holiday greetings.

 

I love the wise men on my silvery mantle. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. Blessings, Kim

Christmas Lemons

My little Meyer lemon tree runneth over. I keep her warm at night with a string of big Christmas lights. 

Lemon pie, lemon bars, lemon curd, limoncello, lemon cake, lemon zest, lemonade. Christmas might not be white, but it will be full of lemons!

My Woolworth's Christmas Store

Welcome to my Woolworth's Christmas Store! I've been collecting vintage Woolworth's for a few years and I try to buy things that were sold at Woolworth's in the 30's, 40's and 50's. I never had the pleasure of shopping at Woolworth's, the closest I came was going to Pic 'N' Save on Saturdays with my mom, aunties and great grandmother. I LOVED Pic 'N' Save during the holidays, the shelves in the middle section of the store were full of holiday decorations (made in Taiwan, yes it was the 80's!). I can't help thinking I should have been born sooner. Because I can only imagine the delight at shopping at F.W. Woolworth's at Christmas, when things were made in Germany, and later in Japan. So here is my tour of my Woolworth's Christmas Store...

I love these tiny houses, marked Japan on the bottom. I bought a lot of vintage Woolworth price tags and I use them throughout my display.

My heart skips a beat for tiny boxes of ornaments. I heart them. I hoard them. These blue and red ones are my favorites.

Jingle bells from Woolworth's

This tiny tree is quite possibly the cutest ever. In original box. Marked Japan.

I love the graphics on the box. See the little church with the steeple? So sweet!

This is one of my favorite Woolworth's collectibles, an original 1938 week's worth of menu's from the Woolworth's counter at 441 Fifth Avenue, New York. The back sides of the menu are copied and the front sides are hand typed with the week's specials.

I'll have No.3, the Chow Mein Dinner, please.

Yes, a cup of Woolworth special coffee would be lovely.

Or maybe I will have an ice cream soda, then I can use...

My Woolworth's spoon! My birthday gift from my husband this year. Best birthday gift EVER!

And don't forget to stamp my receipt...

...with this Woolworth's vintage rubber stamp!

I can pick up a Woolworth building post card, or even a set of Woolworth Dominos...

...which feature the Woolworth building on every domino!

I will definitely buy Strauss this bow tie for our Christmas party this year.

So there you have it, my Woolworth's Christmas Store! Every time I look at it I am happy. I hope you have a very merry Christmas this year. 

Birthday, New Job and Finding God's Purpose In Everything

This week was a busy one. Had a birthday in there somewhere. (Aren't these flowers from my mom and dad lovely?) This fall I started working part time with a company and that has been good, but tiring. Missing the days of kids and home being the only things to do on my to do list. But I am learing new lessons and being blessed along the way. Because of this job I met a family last Saturday that has a daughter sick with leukemia and has had a hard year. They live in a small home with their four children and paternal grandparents. I wanted to help them but felt that I couldn't do enough for them on my own. So I prayed and God gave me an answer, I asked for help for this family and it came. God is good. Life is not always easy, and sometimes we don't know why we are in the situations we find ourselves in. But this year, more than ever before, God has been teaching me that there really is a purpose in everything. And he is always working. If I take the time to seek him out I always find him. He never fails.