The Sunday Creative: Traditional Anniversary Gifts

I thought I would showcase some very creative people on Etsy making Traditional Anniversary gifts that are sure to please.

1st Anniversary: Paper                          Crepe Paper Hydrangeas Rananculus Market

2nd Anniversary: Cotton                       Wristlet Akward

3rd Anniversary: Leather                       Your childs artwork cuff suzicook

4th Anniversary: Fruits or Flowers         Mid Summer Nights Fruit Bowl Rainestylehome

5th Anniversary: Wood                         Personalized Treasure Keepsake Box Braggingbags

10th Anniversary: Tin or Aluminum        Red Rose Aluminum Earrings Nomsa

15th Anniversary: Crystal                      Night Out of Town Earrings Designsmjc

20th Anniversary: China                        Vintage Mikasa Wrappedroundmyfinger

25th Anniversary: Silver                        Antique Mexican Silver Frame Cerifairie

50th Anniversary: Gold                         Cameo Gold Locket Necklace Melissa Haske Jewelry

75th Anniversary: Diamonds                 Illumination Diamond Ring Singlebbeautiful

My Saturday...

 The Simple Woman's Daybook
Outside my window... so very hot... semi humid....and although the view of  the mountains from my deck is beautiful I would much rather opt out of the 115 degree weather



I am thinking... of milkshakes.. peanut butter & choc preferably



I am thankful for... for my boys..they are so great. For my family and Charlie & my few close friends. For our good health and happiness..That I have a roof over my head ..food to eat...love in my heart & a kind soul ...



From the learning rooms... Summer break:) but reading Magic Treehouse to Nick & touchy feely books for Jake.



From the kitchen... Spicy Hot chicken legs with garlic smashed potatoes & an awesome salad..garlic bread on the side...Chicken with olives & linguini ...Summer fruit salad & jalepeno cheese foccacia ...so far this weekend



I am wearing... Jimmy Hendrix T-shirt (vintage) Dk. brown H&M cargo shorts



I am creating... usable spaces in the house by going through things that had been sitting in good storage spaces since I moved in (a yr ago)



I am going... to California next week...driving by myself & I am scared big time



I am reading... news blogs news blogs .. and Vanity Fair



I am hoping... that matter of the heart will not be as complicated as they have been so far this year in the coming months



I am hearing... the blender spin milkshakes and Nicholas add some sound effects to his Taekwondo moves



Around the house... redoin the boys room tomorrow.. my closet this week...things are slowly coming together



One of my favorite things... how to pick just one...Jakes smile...Logan & Nicky's too



A few plans for the rest of the week: cook, work, rest, movies, pack drive..

MM Last House Goes up for Sale in Brentwood

When I was daydreaming about this home I asked a girlfriend if she'd like to go in on it with me and buy it as she is a huge fan as well to whoch she replied " Are you crazy, that place is haunted! Don't you know everyone who has lived there either goes crazy or dies?? Just look at Brittany Spears?" Wow Brittany Spears lived there?!? I want this home almost more than anything else I can think of besides good health.... I can't wait to hear what is sells for.....

"Cursum Perficio: Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood Hacienda: The Story of Her Final Months" by Gary Vitacco-Robles provides us with detailed drawings of most rooms, and their contents. The name of the book comes from the inscription on the ceramic tile at the front doorstep - it comes from the Latin meaning "My journey ends here".

Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood Home For Sale

Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood Home For Sale

Hold on Wait a Minute

Play Me

What has happened here...my god...these are supposed to be the best years of my life..I am supposed to be hanging out with a husband and have like 15 yrs of marriage behind my belt..we should be cruising around languid with other couples..taking couple trips..hanging out at each others pools..I should have the dynamics of our bedroom rituals and anniversaries all figured out by now..I should be cooking for large crowds of people..entertaining and making small talk with adults while the kids are tucked in bed at night ...I should have bank accounts (plural) and know that when I put something away that it will stay there  because it is my home and will be there 20 yrs from now.. Wow! how did this happen in these best years I sit alone at night watching Adult Swim, eating goldfish crackers, switching off from my Crystal Light & on sale red wine? How is it that I share my bed with a 4 yr old.. have the messiest hair in the morning and just don't care..how did this happen? it is madness ... I am the ex wife... sheesh..the one who likes to drink one too many and blurt out things when I shouldn't... who has decided it is best I stay indoors most of the time.... who has yet to embrace her single status & become the it girl...who's nailpolish is chipped most of the time...who probably will be moving once her lease is up..who acts a little reckless because this is the first time in 18 yrs I have had to go it alone...who shudders to think I cannot even relate anymore to the fantasy they call marriage..who has a slew of suitors that epitomize "The Wrong Guy"...How on earth? I feel like I am on the Other Side looking in... it is anything goes and who knows what will happen next...I am going to flip on Nancy Grace...maybe watch Wonder Boys again and attempt to figure it all out...Or maybe I will save that thought for someday:)

Hangin Out at The Mall.....

The birdcages at Christown Mall circa 1960

There is nothing I found more entertaining at the age of 12 besides making the 20 min walk up to Paradise Valley Mall for an afternoon of soaking up cold A/C, sneaking into R rated movies, hanging out at the arcade, boy watching, window shopping,eating Pizza D Amore, driving security guards crazy..eating Pizza De Amore. As I got older the mall was THE PLACE  to go for lunch during high school... to go on a Friday night ..to go with your mother in search of a prom dress or to blow your birthday money.. Call me crazy but I have long been fascinated by Malls but mainly now because they have, in large part, become a thing of the past. A piece of nostalgia came my way yesterday while on Facebook I came across the site dedicated to the long gone Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale,AZ. Although I did not grow up around the area, our business thrives right down the street and when it was torn down I couldn't help but think what a shame.. after all with strip malls aplenty many malls are occupying a huge chunk of land. Many stores do not renew their lease and stay vacant with the tenants not being able to afford the renewal. Anyone remember The Scottsdale Galleria disaster perfect example.... Back in the day my favorite stores for clothes were Foxmoor...Judys...Contempo Casuals ( except they had this strange dressing room with no doors & a huge mirror that everyone just changed in front of one another in) I liked The Hobby Bench and oogled over doll house furniture..Spencers gifts was always good for lots of giggles over the adult novelty items, the edible underpants in particular ( I have yet to buy a pair and see what the hype was all about) Frisco Deli had french fries just like the state fair did.. Kellys was a coffee house way before it's time serving up fancy lattes and big cookies..Diamonds had a fancy restaurant up above it that overlooked the mall I had always fantasized about what it might be like to eat up there..ladies in fancy dresses eating things like finger sandwiches and pastel mints. and of course the pet store. In my late teens the mall was home to no less than 4 jobs for me...folding sweaters at my beloved Foxmoor..working at the uber chic Limited store..Japanese takout place..& Surf City Squeeze which was really no fun at all. I actually took my first college classes at the college upstairs Rio Salado. Befriended a few Mall Cops who became best buds and reveled with laughter in their day to day stories..... I don't get out to the mall very often anymore, once in a blue moon you may find me there on a Black Friday with all the other loonies but I am not and haven't been living near one for quite some time. Paradise Valley Mall got a facelift a few years back with that came the teardown of Dennys, one of my first jobs waiting tables, in the bar (yes a full bar in Dennys) which was always packed at 6 am... as well as Swensens ice cream parlor ( the after the dance speech debate place). I wish I had taken more pictures back in the day.. I love that my 14 yr old has followed in my footsteps and likes to spend the day at the mall with his buddies cruising The Apple Store, going to movies, and eating Panda Express. I am glad I am not the only one with this sort of obsession as seen in these sites I came across, I love the old photos..especially of Town & Country Mall (Jutenhoops) & The ever popular Metro Center...Even back in Nebraska it was Crossroads (Bishops) & Westroads...You wouldn't want to step foot in Crossroads nowadays, it is pretty rundown but these memories forever have a place in my early life and if they do in yours too here are some places worth a look...They don't even require your coolest outfit to hang out in for an afternoon in Cyberland... I can almost smell the Pizza now...

Malls of AmericaVintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s ...This guy really loves Malls as showcased through hundreds if not thousands of the neatest pics, stats & postcards ever!
Dead Malls This site also lists dead merchandise & dead stores awesome!
Discount Stores of The 60's Need I Say More??
Christown Mall A Retrospective Very neat & nostalgic I love this site!

July is....

Hot & Humid.... with fireworks lighting up the sky.. the grill working overtime...the A/C on full blast...the car always dirty from a little muddy monsoon storm..harvest moons...movies...blues music... bikes that need fixing... sweets...roadtrips...regrets...feeling alive...happy smiles...Iced Coffee with Milk...lots of looking around...lots of love...& milkshakes that seem to make everything just a little sweeter.....Some of my favorite combos..
Coffee & Pinapple
Chocolate Malts
Blueberry Malts
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana
French Vanilla with fresh berries
French Vanilla & frozen orange juice
Vanilla with real cherry cheesecake
Vanilla with Rum Soaked Black Cherries
looking for an industrial milkshake maker now...

A Gentle Life.....

(When the kisses are hers and hers and his Threes Company Tooooo...Only The Die Hards Like Myself Will Get This;)

Lately I have been putting some thought into what it means to live gently... to create an existence where one listens more and to speak less, to rely less and less on material things that are mass produced, to entertain through sparking creativity in ways some may deem to be mundane... To treat the body and soul with great care...create magic all around you... become aware of yourself and your surroundings like never before...acknowledge what isn't working..step back and make room for great things to happen. To be who you are, be calm, be wise, smell the roses, put the time in to love, heal, touch and care. In this all things are possible and the world becomes beautiful. A gentle heart is a kind heart.. and once you realize this there really is no turning back..