making soap nuts liquid soap

i have been meaning to make some liquid soap from the soap nuts. you boil 1 cup is soap nuts with 4 cups of water for 20 minutes. what you get looks like cloudy tea. i recycled a bottle from laundry soap. now i can use this for hand washables.

A LITTLE BITTY ORDER..

from forever 21. this is really one of my most favorite online shops now. so i bought a couple things this week.


the tank was on sale. in case you haven't noticed yet..i like flowers..



i love the scarf! i am crazy for scarves anyways.. i usually wear ones that i've made.. so it's nice to get one in a different style.




the lip gloss.. i always need something on my lips now a days and did you notice? the charm on it? it's an owl!

the necklace looks like vintage enamel pins.. kinda funky but i like it.


so that's what i spent my spending money on.. well besides the yard sale finds!

yard sale finds

i've always liked these kind of kitty household things.. i've see salt and pepper shaker, cookie jars, tea pots, wall pockets.. but they are usually pretty expensive. so when i saw these really cheap..i snagged them.



vintage american character sweet sue doll. yes i suppose i have too many dolls. but she was really inexpensive and so pretty. and she is huge! 24 inches tall!


i found a tin with vintage buttons. these are the keepers. several glass ones, a few fancy metal, some pretty plastic. also some rhinestone whatnots and a tiny antique filigree bar pin.



and a couple books. the notebook is one of the two nicholas sparks books i have left to read. and i always love the not without my daughter movie.. so i thought it would be good to read the book.

mikey update

for those of you who wonder how mikey is doing..
he is ok. still having behavior issues but not as bad.
he is learning all sorts of things. he has been practicing still with dressing himself. he can usually take his shirt off and put it back on without any trouble now. he is still learning how to open things. he now can open.. doors, markers and some screw top caps.
he is getting even better at riding his tricycle. but sill need to learn how to steer.
his favorite things to eat lately are pretzels, dinty moore stew, chinese food from panda express, lollipops, cauliflower and recently he had black olives and loved them.
he also is getting really good at brushing his teeth.
so many new things!

the shoes story....

so on our way back from michigan, we stopped in michigan city indiana. we went to the hanna andersson outlet and got mikey some shorts and shirts. and i got shoes. i only tried one on...i was hanging onto a wild child. so when we got home i tried them on.
one felt so small! i know that my left foot is a tiny bit bigger.. but wow! it was tight. so i took it off to look. it was a size smaller! and neither i nor the sales lady checked them. so i sent it back and i got the right one today. here they are. dressy eyelet mary jane flats.. so cute!

today's snail mail

these are from my friend rosy who lives in mexico. the yarn is so pretty! and the sweet bears she made herself. be sure to look at her shop micasita
sometime!
from janet store. my first time ordering. these little plushies are so soft and sweet! the panda envelopes are adorable too! i got a couple other things but they are gifts for a friend.

recent creations

i've been working on customs and fall things lately. here are a few for you to see. remember you can always see more on flickr!

happy birthday amy!

i hope you had a wonderful birthday! i love you very much! huggs and kisses!

new hannas for mikey

we stopped at the lighthouse outlets in michigan city to get mikey some things from hanna andersson. they had a big sale so i got five shorts and two shirts. the shorts will be for next year. if you haven't tried their clothes yet.. you really should! they are cute, colorful, soft and alot of them are organic.. which we like!

trip finds

this wall pocket was found in coloma michigan. it reminds me of russian nesting dolls.




beautiful millinery rose on this vintage hat found in michigan city indiana.



i love this hat. it is ,made of very fine woven straw. the ribbons are think velvet and the millinery flowers are beautiful. i think this is older.. 1930's.. or oder... found in michigan city indiana.


adorable painted face doll. so pretty with all those roses! found in coloma michigan.


very pretty hankie holder with painted flowers. found in michigan city indiana.


vintage baby shrug, booties and tiny pillow case.. found in michigan city indiana.


i don't know how this one got out of order! but another pic of the sweet doll. even though she is stained, i couldn't resist! she is so cute!


so there you have it! my trip fins..mostly from indiana! isn't that funny! it was alot of fun searching though! we must have went to at least 10 antique shops and malls!

we are back!

mikey at the curious kids museum. it was really rather boring! maybe "normal" kids would enjoy it more.. but mikey was really bored.


mikey at the curious kids museum. st joseph michigan.


mikey plaing at the sand dunes in sawyer michigan.



mikey at the hotel in st joseph michigan.


mikey and dad with an elephant in st joseph michigan. they had several different animals.. all painted by artists.. nothing new! seems like every town has their version of this now.


mikey at the beach in sawyer michigan. our last day. he loved the water so much! that cute cowboy hat was the only thing he brought home. we showed him a bunch of other things.. but he wasn't interested.


our first day in sawyer. he was really unsure of the water at first.. partly cause it was cold! but after awhile he was laughing and running back in!

a seagull in sawyer michigan.

this is the biggest sand dune. no we didn't climb them this time.. we were lazy! in sawyer michigan.


smaller dunes in sawyer michigan.


the beach in sawyer michigan.

you gotta read this one...

it was so good... but keep your tissues close!