DIY travel memories

 

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You got any big traveling plans for this summer? We are soon to be headed on a very exciting and possibly crazy road trip and I wanted a cool way to document our adventures when we get home. Miles has traveled quite a bit going back and forth to Southern California and Nevada to visit our family but we have yet to travel this long by car and to so many amazing states! Here are a few ways to document your summer trips with fun diy projects but trust me after a three week trip away from home the last thing I'll probably want to do is break out the scissors and glue to craft but give yourself a good week to start recapping your adventures :)

Embroidered map artwork

Travel keepsake kit 

 

Instead of the task of ominous scrap booking, create a quick keepsake memory of travel by making a flip book. Great for maps, restaurants, etc.

Hey Boise!

Well, I should be asleep but as usual mom is finishing up packing and preparing the house for a much need getaway to Boise Idaho to visit family and friends. We are so excited to show off this kiddo to our friends who haven't met him yet and to get lots of squeezes in from grandpa and grandma (Steve's folks). I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty pumped about the mini van we rented so that Miles can watch a few flicks and we can stretch out. I'm such a mom!

Happy weekend everyone!

funny face

My best bud!

See ya!

I'm taking advantage of Miles' nap time with finishing up packing and taking a minute to sit and eat my pb&j. Let me tell ya, packing as a family is way more difficult then packing for just one. Miles and I traveled a lot last year so I feel like I have flying with a baby on lock down (who the hell am I kidding?) but when your ocd about organization like me, trying to get everything in order for a three week vacation is a doozy! Steve, Miles and myself are heading to Southern California to visit my hometown and spend time with my family and friends and I am SO excited! Steve's only staying with us till next week but Miles and I are sticking around a little longer. We're going to be spending time in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Mexico but we are going to be totally missing Papa as soon as he leaves! Well, I probably should get back to it before bubbie wakes up. Wish us a safe flight!
Oh ya, check out Miles' sweet booty and socks courtesy of dad!

Sisters, moms and kids

Here's a handful of pictures from our trip last week. Most of the photos were taken with my phone so the quality isn't the sharpest but these are a few of my favorites. 

 Meet Ella. She is the youngest of my three nieces and will be two years old on Thanksgiving. This little one was filled with so much love for Miles and couldn't stop hugging and smooching him. Because the big girls were in school most of the time I was visiting, I spent a lot of my time with the littles. To be honest, Ella has a temperamental streak and energy to boot and I didn't know what to expect when spending so much time with just her and Miles but I've got to say she was a dream! She was funny and smart and really, really loving to her cousin and not to mention adorable!

 These are my favorite girls. ever.

 

 Lily has really awesome style. Six years old! Check out the super fun headband/crown I made for her!

 This is my sister Clair. She is my best friend and a really great mom. I just love her to pieces!

 Hey Mom!!

 Hi guys!

I was so excited to help Lily on a school project where she had to make a pumpkin resemble a character from a favorite book. Looks pretty cool, right!

Back to reality

Hey ya! We are back in Portland and really excited to be home with papa! Spending time with my sister and girls was so much fun but being away from Steve for that long was pretty tough on all three of us. Miles and I started feeling funky toward the end of our trip and I was really worried that he was going to have a difficult time on the flight home but thankfully he crashed out immediately and woke up mellow the last 10 minutes before landing. Thank you, Lawd! Fortunately, I'm feeling much better now thanks to extra sleep and vitamin C and for my little scout, he still has a pretty snotty nose but the last few days we have been recharging with naps, movies and needy cats. Rough! Finally today I started to sort through M's winter clothes (really just his 12-18 month stuff) and boy oh boy does that child of mine have way to much stuff! I started buying clothes for him when I was pregnant and as the crazy frugal thrifter that I am, I was able to afford and hoard bins of clothes for him all the way up to 2 years old before he was even born. One little kiddo doesn't really need 7 jean jackets, about a billion cardigans and 12 OshKosh overalls... for starters. My goal for this weekend is to thin out his wardrobe (just a wee bit) and price new merchandise for my mall space and hopefully some of Miles' clothes will end up there too. Next week Ill post photos from our trip, share all of our awesome thrift finds and talk about what it's like to travel with a little one.

Thank you everyone who entered last weeks giveaway! Rachel Laveen is the winner.

Instagram Week- Two

 Swoon!

 This little car is the absolute coolest! He gets such a kick out of it.

 Bummer dentist day while in California. Bummer! 

 Trying to crawl so bad!

My best bud and I went to a cool Native American Pow Wow that day.

 Check out these twins!

 I love his sleeping face.

Two weeks away from home was too long!

We are back

Well, hi there! Babe and I got back into a sunny Portland Saturday night from our two week vacation with family in Southern California. We sure missed papa a whole bunch but now being home I'm missing my sister real bad. Luckily my mom, sister and girls will be traveling my way in three weeks for our WEDDING! I feel like Miles has done some seriously awesome growing while out of town from starting to figure out the basics of crawling to independently eating solid food. Holy smokes, this boy is growing so fast!! Check out those pearly whites too. Four on the top and two on the bottom with two more coming in. Ahhh, slow down kiddo! I cant wait to show you all of the fantastic things we brought home. Our dearest family friend generously gave me 15 boxes of super cool treasures for the antique mall and our home so Ill be posting more on that later in the week. Right now Ive got a sweaty, sleeping baby laying on my tummy who is making (loud) snoring sounds so I think I better retire the both of us for the night. Glad to be back home xoxo

Lets take a vacation!

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My kiddo and I are flying into San Diego bright and early Monday morning for almost two weeks! We are surely going to miss papa dearly but am so excited to see my family back home. I can't wait to squeeze my nieces, go to the movies with them and take Miles swimming! I'm traveling smart this time- one smaller suitcase inside a much larger one for all of the loot I bring home. I seem to always do my best thrifting while out of town and almost always have to borrow an extra suitcase to bring all the new junk home in. Did I mention that we are really going to miss my honey? Fingers crossed for a smooth flight!

Stella Saves The Day giveaway winner was reader CB. Thanks for entering!!

Miles and Mama

Oh goodness, these photos kill me! These are from my mini friend Bobbi Jean's third birthday party. We had such a sweet time and Miles was as usual a mellow little guy. 

Miles and I have been in Vegas visiting my sister since Monday and I cant believe our visit is almost over! Its so cool to see her three girls and my boy all play together. Such a sight! The weather here has been seriously perfect. We went to a farmers market yesterday and got delicious breads and soaps and then spent hours in the park hanging with the whole family laughing our asses off. I have lots of photos to share when I get back home. 

Also, don't forget to enter into the Honeyfox Jewelry giveaway! Im going to extend it through the weekend since I wont be home till Sunday.

Fancy finds

Boots galore!

I picked up this complete Bingo game at an estate sale for 25 cents!!

 Large letter D, Cadillac emblem, and a beautiful Vera tablecloth

I swear I find these southwestern blankets everywhere!

I'm in love with this shearling and leather children's vest.

I came across this funky telephone at a flea market for 4 bucks. We just added a land line to our home so this was a fun find for us.

A bag of beautiful hand towels for one dollar!! The two bellow are my favorites.

Ohhh La La! Look at a few of the goodies I brought home with me from our trip. My suitcase weighed close to 90 pounds so my mom is kindly shipping the rest of my finds including a stack of vintage childrens books, clothes for Miles and some knick knacks for our home. The majority of these goods will be sold at my antique mall space but I managed to hold on to some special items for our home.

San Diego to Portland!

And we're back! Damn, there really is no place like home.. Visiting my family in Southern California was so special but 12 days was a little too long to be away from home with a 3 month old. My most favorite moments of our trip were spending time with my sister and her girls. I'm beginning to understand how much patience and strength it takes to be a good mother and I strongly praise her ability to do both so well. 

We flew in to Portland last night and as we were entering the city we went through some very nasty rain clouds that caused serious turbulence. Thank god Miles was sleeping because I was holding on to his fat legs for dear life. For a good 20 minutes the plane consistently swayed back and forth and up and down making our stomach do a dance. When the airplane would do a little dip the passengers would let out a scared "Wooooah" and then laugh nervously in embarrassment. I'm pretty sure everyone sprinted off the plane as fast as they could. But besides the freaky landing Miles did really great!

Miles picked up a few new things while we were away: smiles all the time, laughs a lot too, weighs close to a whopping 15 pounds, when sitting upright he can hold his head up on his own (a little wobbly)  and is teething. Go baby go!

Sunny Sky

Hey ya'll! Wow, five whole days away from the internet (except for Facebook on my phone) since Ive been on our vacation. We have been a busy bunch since we arrived to my mama's home southern California. The weather has been divine and we are absorbing every bit of sunshine before we head back to rain. Poor papa had to fly back to Portland today to return to work but M and I get a whole extra week here with family. Hey, I bought a Nook Tablet tonight! I am super excited to use it while nursing baby boo in bed and on our upcoming flight. Ill share some photos of our trip within the next few days. Oh and guess who's teething?

Oh Hey!

In 7 hours this little boo will be taking his first plane ride! Miles, Papa and I are heading to Southern California to visit my family for two weeks. Hell yes, friends! Wish us luck on the flight.