Guest Post: Going Junkin'

While I'm packing and traveling across the country I thought you might like to hear from one of my favorite bloggers (and friend in real life!) Kaleena. Kaleena blogs about life over at Live Happy...be sure to check her out!

Summer highlights for any shabby chic inspired, junk drunk, antique enthusiast as myself are the monthly or annual antique markets that you can find tucked away in the small towns across the State. Have you ever watched a D.I.Y. television show and thought where are they getting these unique finds and how are they staying under a budget of $200 for a three-room make over?? Let me tell you their secret: antique markets. Dealers hoard large items all year in preparation for these day or weekend events drawing people from all over the state who are so excited that their twenties seem to leap out of their wallets. Excitement is in the air when treasure hunters feel like they are getting a deal on antiques that are priced for a barter and people is walking around with one or two one-of-a kind items that maybe they were looking for, or maybe they caught their eye. Ahhh antique season is here!

This weekend I rounded up some of the best style-eyes I know and headed out to the Allegan County Antique Fair and we were not disappointed!

Treasure hunting, finding the perfect piece.

Even the kids get into it! Andrew with an antique race car. 

After six hours in the sun, smelling the carnival food, maneuvering strollers like professionals and feeling the rush of finding JUST the right piece we came home with the quite a bounty. 

What we came home with!

Things to keep in mind if you plan an antique fair outing this summer:

1. Arrive early.  Big furniture goes fast.

2. If you like something buy it, if you don't someone right behind you will.

3. Pack a cooler and snacks or dare to eat the luke warm hotdogs and lemondade that's so sweet your head is spinning.

4. To avoid impulse buying (good luck) think to yourself is this exactly what I'm looking for.  Two answers will pop into your head either yes! or no but I just love it so much!

5. I suggest taking your favorite style savy friends and making a gorgeous day out of it!

Something we left behind....but had to remember. One person's trash...another person's treasure?

Live Happy - Is a collection of my experiences and ideas that come to me in moments of clarity, frustration and humor.  My stories are told under the basis that life is fun and I have amazing people in my life providing so much inspiration for funny stories and interesting adventures, there's no other choice than to live happy!

On the road again

Hi everyone! I'm writing from California this morning...I am busy helping my mom pack up her house so we can move her out to Michigan. Crazy right? We have a TON of stuff left to pack before the moving company comes tomorrow....so please send prayers our way that we finish in time!

We are so sad to be leaving her beautiful house, but we know we have many fun adventures ahead of us. On Saturday some of my mom's work friends threw her the nicest going away dinner. They had such wonderful and sweet things to say about my mom...it was SO cute! We also had a family going away party yesterday and it was so nice to see everyone.

My mom and I will be driving across the country on Wednesday, so wish us luck! We are traveling with her dog and cat...so there are sure to be some interesting adventures in store for us. I fully plan to share all the fun moments on the blog...so stay tuned!

Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday

I'm guest blogging about how to curl your hair over at Happily Herring today...pop on over and leave some love!

It's finally Wednesday and that means it's time to share our favorite pins of the week! If you haven't joined Pinterest yet shoot me an e-mail and I'll set you up!

Source: fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

First up, hello totally awesome kitchen. Could you please be mine?

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Julie on Pinterest

The husband and need to have a baby just so I can have this nursery. So adorable.

Source: teachcraftlove.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Definitely making this wreath for our door some day.

Source: bellemaison23.com via Julie on Pinterest

And I'll be making something similar to this with my mom's old shutters. SO cute.

Source: etsy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Can I please have this bag? It's really cute in navy too.

Source: downandoutchic.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Map love.

Source: etsy.com via Julie on Pinterest

Must find some vintage locker baskets asap. Woudn't these be cute in my kitchen?




What are you loving this week? Be sure to link up with Michelle at The Vintage Apple!

AM in the PM

When I was in college every one's favorite cafeteria meal was always breakfast for dinner.....aka AM in the PM. We would always get so excited for this dinner....and that is probably why we all gained 10 pounds in college. Oops! But man, the cafeteria sure knew how to put on a good breakfast. It was worth it.

Yesterday I got a craving for a little AM in the PM and knew I had to make it for dinner. Luckily the husband doesn't mind my crazy ways!

I made scrambled eggs and fresh strawberry pancakes. And I may have thrown a few chocolate chips in there for good measure. So delicious.

Just Keep Swimming

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fun and relaxing weekend. The husband and I spent the weekend up at my mom's lake house. We rode around on the boat, cooked hot dogs and corn on the cob, and made some yummy s'mores. It was the perfect relaxing get-away.

We also let Wrigley go swimming in the lake...and he was in heaven!

I think he would live in the water if we let him.

In other news, the husband some how managed to score us free HBO for a year...and do you know what that means?

 True Blood!!!! I missed all of last season but am able to catch up thanks to on demand. Season 4 starts this Sunday and I am so excited!

Do I look 13?

Oh my. I can't believe I'm asking this, but really, do I look 13? Because I'm not. Nowhere even close. Add about 15 years to that and you have me. But this morning I had to go to the orthodontist....because apparently I am 13 again and someone forgot to tell me.

It's really weird to be at the orthodontist when you are an adult. First of all, your mom doesn't drive you there and wait with you. And second, you are surrounded by 11 year-olds. I was 13 when I got my braces off and between now and then I've totally forgotten about the torture devices they use on you. This morning I had to have my 15-year-old-dinosaur of a permanent retainer replaced. Because it was, you know, old like me. And my teeth had "shifted". And apparently I like flashbacks to my teenage years.

The girl working on my teeth asked me what year I was in school. I am not kidding. I just smiled and said "Oh I've been out of school for awhile now."

I guess I should take it as a complement, right? I think I've reached the age where it is good to hear people think you are younger than you are. So I'll take it on one condition: could I please weigh what I did when I was 13? Because that would be kind of awesome.

Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone! I know I've mentioned on here how much I love Pinterest so today I'm linking up to at Michelle The Vintage Apple for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday! Want to join Pinterest? Send me an e-mail and I'll set you up!

So here are some pins I'm loving this week.

Source: flavorwire.com via Julie on Pinterest

 How cute is this polka dot cake?

Source: flickr.com via Julie on Pinterest

Oprah says this all the time....love it!

Source: camillaathome.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

I love everything about this kitchen.

Source: None via Julie on Pinterest

Isn't this a cute idea for a wedding photo? Too bad I didn't see this three years ago....

Source: flickr.com via Julie on Pinterest

Cake stands! Yes please!

Source: tallgirltales.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

Love these Tory Burch wedges.

Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Julie on Pinterest

I think I need this watch for fall, don't you? 

Source: quick-dish.tablespoon.com via Julie on Pinterest

Such a cute idea for fruit...I'm doing this for sure.

Now pop on over to Michelle's blog for more Pins!

Another reason I love Trader Joe's

(photo credit)

I heart Trader Joe's. As if I really needed another reason to love them more.....they went and did something incredibly sweet for my mom. You see, my mom is a HUGE fan of the TJ and goes there basically every week. She told me a few weeks ago that the store by her house had these vintage street signs from the city of Long Beach on display at their check out (like in the photo above)...and of course one of them happened to be the street her house is on: Bixby! I knew immediately that we needed to get her that sign as a keepsake of the house we loved for so many years. We searched all around for vintage street signs but had no luck. So we thought we'd take a chance and ask the kind folks at Trader Joe's if they would let us buy it from them.

At first I think they thought we were crazy...but mom and I are used to that feeling. They quickly brought Sandy, a store manager, over and without hesitation she said they wanted to give my mom the sign. We were so shocked and excited!!!! Several TJ employees came out to try and help get the sign down for us, but they ended up asking us to come back the next day and said they would have it ready. And true to their word they did! My mom left the store with tears in her eyes...it was SO incredibly sweet of them to give her the Bixby sign.

Thank you Trader Joe's of Bixby Knolls! We are so touched by your kindness. Now, if anyone from TJ is reading this, could you PLEASE open a store in Grand Rapids Michigan? I guarantee you will have some loyal customers on your hands!

Random Photos from California

Even though it was emotionally draining, I had a great time in California. My mom always takes me to some new fun place to eat. We started the trip off right with a visit to a country BBQ place. Fried pickles and sweet tea? Yes please!

While I was visiting I helped my mom sort things so that we could have a massive garage sale. We spent four days going through all of our junk. My mom kept every single toy I had ever had...so it took a lot of time. And of course the kid in me wanted to play with everything. Did anyone else have The Littlest Pet shop toys? This isn't even half of what I had!

It seems like these toys are selling well on ebay so this lot is what I decided I could part with.....plus it was a good excuse to set all of them up one last time!

They are just too cute for words. Hopefully I'll have a daughter who will enjoy playing with them some day. 

I didn't get a chance to take photos of the garage sale goods until it was almost over. I can't believe we still had SO much stuff left over! Our goal was to sell the big stuff: piano, couch, dining set, bookcases, and dressers...and we did! 

That's my cousin sitting on the ground going through records and my aunt standing to his right. They were a huge help to us that day. The best part (other than the cash we made) was seeing some old friends who stopped by. Both Erin and Abby came, as well as some mom's of a few of my other friends....so good to catch up! Too bad I didn't take any photos.

My mom's dog Sydney was really confused by all of the boxes. She's getting old and not used to so much activity. 

She was doubly confused when I tried to take a photo of her wearing my old pink boots. Oops. I settled for a photo of them next to her...and she was scared of them the rest of the week.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I have learned recently that I don't do well with change. I like predictability and the comfort of knowing I'm in control. This week I've been in California with my mom helping her prepare for a huge change....she's officially moving to Michigan to be closer to me and the husband! I am beyond excited to have my mom, who is my best friend, close by. It has been really hard to start my life in Michigan with out her with me. As happy as I am about her move, a part of me is really sad too. She will be leaving the house I grew up in and a place she's called home for a long time. I love that house and am having a hard time saying goodbye. She's not selling it right away, so that helps a bit but still it's hard, you know?

I came out to California to help my mom pack and have a huge garage sale. We spent the week cleaning out my massive closet, organizing old toys and books (she kept everything!) and making memories. And we only cried two times! That has got to be a record.

We did come across a few awesome finds while we were sorting everything.

Um hello, I  had a Prince William book? I don't remember having this but I do remember being OBSESSED with him. I mean, look at that face? I wanted to marry him so bad. Too bad he's not as cute any more...oh and married. 

Look what my mom found! Vintage mason jars that were my grandma's. I may or may not have done a little happy dance when she showed me. 

We also found all of my old journals from elementary school and middle school. I'll have to share some of those genius entries another time. Something that did give us a laugh was this letter to my Grandma that we found. She saved every single card and letter I sent her....so adorable. 

I have no idea why I was hoping my Grandma wasn't tird (tired) but it was hilarious anyway.