Coffee Needed

I feel like I need a coffee cup that big. :)

I didn't have a picture lined up for Flashback Friday today so I am skipping it this week. That makes me a little sad. But I am really tired today and I just wanted to write a thinking out loud post. I am drinking coffee. I woke up a little earlier than usual today because of my son. I thought by the time he was 2 1/2 years old he might sleep more solidly. But it hasn't happened.

On a different subject...
Something I find interesting related to Etsy recently is that I have sold 2 pillow covers(the same one, relisted) to the same state/province of Australia in one week. Is there something I don't know about going on in Australia? Someone talking about me? on a blog, or in person? or...? It could just be an interesting coincidence! I sold the first to Australia on Monday and this morning sold the other.

I find it exciting when people from all over the world end up in my shop on Etsy and buy something! And then it has to go traveling all the way there. Of my sales in both shops, I have had a good amount of international orders. The most common international destinations are Canada and the UK. But Australia is probably next on the list. I have shipped to Germany and Thailand also. Maybe somewhere else too but I don't remember.

I have added a couple new items to TheCozyNest recently and need to finish up more to add soon. I don't have enough items for sale in the shop! These are already in the shop now:

Vintage Thursday: Eye Catching

Hello Helen Vintage Shirtdress

I came across some very eye catching vintage listings on Etsy. They drew me in right away. I love the vividness of the above picture. The orange VW Bug in the background is so bright! What a great photo. And the shop it's from, goulash, is filled with more!

I searched for "orange chair" in the vintage section of Etsy and found these. Again, the picture drew me in! The first picture that shows for the listing is the one below. From the shop graftonv.

Two orange/red vintage youth chairs

Then more props were added to give the chairs such a cute story in other photos. I find it impressive the way people create stories out of items for sale in their Etsy shop.

I also came across the vintage shop TheGinghamOwl. I was searching for vintage vases and a listing caught my eye(first photo below). It is so cute, let me tell ya! Each listing has a little owl in it. Peeking out of things, standing near by, watching over, in things, etc. I realized that while clicking through, that each listing has an owl in it, all different owls. I don't think I yet have seen a shop where the name of their shop is incorporated into every listing that way. Here are some items:

Vintage Collection of 4 Milk Glass Vases

Set of 3 Mushroom Candles (I want!)

Vintage Aquamarine Blue Glass Covered Dish/Bowl

Vintage Yellow Tin Watering Can

Vintage Pair Milkglass Diamond Pattern Bowls

Vintage Self Locking Metal Book Holder

Have a good Thursday!!

A Retro You

On facebook, one of my friends used "MadMenYourself" to make a cute character version of them self. So then I couldn't resist! This is mine above. I don't work in an office but I picked that background anyway, and picked coffee in my hand. ;)

I don't actually watch the show. I just have read about the retro fashion that is on the show on various blogs since the series started. So if you are bored and silly like me, make one for yourself! It's fun. madmenyourself.com

The other day I trimmed my own hair. I have a habit of doing that. I get frustrated with something in my hair and decide to trim. I wanted the bulk out! So I trimmed it and on Sunday it dried nicely. My hair is naturally wavy but it's not usually easy to work with. My son wanted to take pictures with our camera and he took a bunch of pictures of me along with other things. I guess being his mom makes me important or something. :P But he already knows how to take photos and it's so funny! Here's a shot, it shows how my hair looks when it actually dries nice and wavy, and looks old fashioned in a way that I like. My facial expression is kind of like, oh no he is taking another picture! He took a bunch but I am not going to post them all haha.

Here is more of the 2 year old's photography from a couple months ago haha...

I love it.

C25K, Me!

I had a busy earlier part of the day. We went out to a fun play center for kids and Kavi had fun. We met up with two of my friends and their baby girls. It was the first time we went to this place. It's about 20 minutes away so not too close, but I may go once in awhile.

But what I really wanted to mention is that I started the Couch-to-5K plan a week ago! I finished week one and then started week two yesterday. This is part of my goal for getting healthier. At one time I wasn't sure if I should attempt this because I have arthritis on the side part of my ankles and I wasn't sure if they would hurt. So far, they don't. So I am going to keep going to see what happens. It really does start you out nice and slow. I had already been attempting some jogging, so I handled week one fine. Week 2 is a little harder and definitely more tiring. So far, these are 20-25min sessions. Not too long!

The funny thing about this is that I jog/walk around inside my house. It is way too hot to do this outside and I am not even going to try that. I have enough room going back and forth between certain areas of the house to do the full amount of time needed, in the a/c. Even in the a/c, lots of sweating occurs by the time I'm done!!

I still wonder if I will actually finish this whole program. It's a 9 week program, but if you need to repeat a week because the next one still seemed too hard, you can. Each week gets harder until you are finally able to jog 5K, which is 3.1 miles. Wish me luck!

Decor Inspiration

Wallpaper GULA

Originally uploaded by *Ximena Escobar

Instead of fashion inspiration, I wanted to post decor inspiration. This first photo is not a home but a store, but isn't it so pretty looking?

And here are some other ideas that I find inspirational:

Flashback Friday: Dr's office - Waiting endurance challenge

The photo is from February of this year. Bad quality because again I am using a cell phone picture. Kavi had a check up appt at the pediatrician's office. He had a bad cold a few weeks earlier but was fine by the time we went for his follow up visit. He also had turned 2 years old the day before!

I like the pediatrician's office we go to except for one thing- the often long wait!! I really feel that taking your baby, toddler, or child to the doctor is an endurance challenge. That is how I think of it. I have it all thought out in my mind. I'm crazy! :) This could be a game show, if it weren't for the psychological damage that could possibly occur. :P So no, I don't actually support it being a real game show.

My challenge has often gone a little something like this:

Doctor's Office Endurance Challenge

Phase 1: wait in the main waiting room.
Everything goes fine. My son is entertained enough just looking at other children or at the fish tank in the wall(pretty cool) or the movie playing, if one is playing. I keep whatever toys I brought with us tucked away in my purse for later. We get called in after maybe 10-15 minutes. "Oh, not bad" I think in my head.

Phase 2: The first 30 minutes waiting in the small examination room.

It's time to bring out the toys! Maybe even one by one. Let's keep the distraction and fun going as long as possible. My son does things like in the photo above. Playing with cars, lining them up on the examining bed, pushing them over the curves, pushing them off onto the floor, etc.
But then...things start getting a little harder near the end of this 30 minutes. The toys lose their thrill, and your child wonders why you need to stay in this small windowless room forever.

Phase 3: Any minutes following the first 30, for a total of up to 60 minutes.(yes that has happened to me before).
Your child starts getting irritable, saying "out" or " door" every few minutes, trying to leave the room. Then they want to be held. You open the door to be a part of the outside world for a minute wondering if you were forgotten. You weren't. This is just how it is. Your blood pressure starts going up, you start sweating from trying to keep your toddler entertained(it's NOT working) or in your arms and you just want to lay down on the dirty floor and think of a happy place where children don't have to wait in a small examination room for so long. And now you are so hungry because you forgot to stick a banana in your purse to hold you over during the wait.

Suddenly, there is a knock at the door, and all the color comes back into your face and into the room as the Doctor enters. There is an end in sight! Now, if it's also the day for routine shots, you add one more level to this endurance challenge and you become a total warrior by the end. When you finally leave the office, you feel part of the world again and freeeeeeeeee.

If you can make it through this endurance challenge, you can do anything you set your mind to!!

And that is how I turn crazy long waits at Doctor's office into a
weird reality game show in my head. Thank God Kavi doesn't have
to go as often anymore after turning 2!

Do you have a zany, crazy, or sweet flashback to share? Join in! Click the button below!

Vintage Thursday: Treasury

I made a vintage treasury a few days ago that I could share here on Vintage Thursday! I didn't have an exact theme. I love the ship bookends. I think all the items compliment each other color-wise. You can click this image to get to the actual treasury.

When I was visiting Alabama a couple of weeks ago, we went to two very cute antique shops in a nearby town. I bought a couple things that I need to share, which reminds me, I forgot where I put one of the items after unpacking! And it's a cute mug, oh no! I must find it! :)

In one shop I bought some old fabric quilt pieces and a really cute bird couple Christmas stocking hanger(the kind you put at the edge of a fireplace, or shelf). I also bought a coffee mug. I should take pictures! In one store I was so tempted to buy ship bookends that were $12. I didn't end up buying them because I had already bought other items and wasn't letting myself spend a lot more money. I had no idea if that price was too high or a good deal. I am sad that I left those behind, but one day I will have ship bookends!

An oilcloth flag banner for my mom

So let's go all the way back to the end of April for a moment. My parents were visiting here. I asked my mom what she wanted for Mother's Day, and she asked if I would be able to make her a banner, like kinds she has seen on Etsy and loved. So I thought, why not! Doesn't seem too hard since I already know sewing basics. She picked out some favorite oilcloth fabric with retro style patterns on them. I ordered those along with my own picks to add to it from Oil Cloth Addict.

I ordered a sample pack and a fat quarters set(of 4) and had plenty to make two 9 foot long banners. I have enough left over to make even more!

So here's my process! Click pictures to zoom in.

I made a triangle template out of simple paper, to about the shape I thought would look good. I used "wide single fold" red bias tape which was so easy to work with. It's already folded over and pressed down, so you just stick your cut out triangle shapes in between and sew. The process went pretty smoothly! I don't know why I haven't made more since then. I plan to.

I finally got to give the finished product to my mom in June when they came to visit again. So it was a late Mother's Day gift but she loved it! And here they are hung up in her house in Alabama in July. Two 9 ft long flag banners.

Outfit Challenge

I submitted a bathing suit outfit that was used in the "A Day at the Beach" fashion challenge at Lillyella.

Here is mine, outfit #1:
I chose the bathing suit based on it being a one piece, a pretty color, and it being plus size. I wanted some curves represented! (The model doesn't look very big to me though, just curvy. That's how it is for so many "plus size" models it seems.) The price is too high for what I would actually spend, but I picked it anyway for fun.

I also wanted vintage style sunglasses to go along with the vintage style bathing suit. Then you need some matching sandals that are more substantial than flip flips, and finally a cover up for walking around. If it were MY day at the beach, swimming shorts or jean shorts over the bathing suit would be a must! I don't wear just a bathing suit heh.

There are many other great submissions too. You can check them all out here.

Then you can go vote here for your favorite!

Fashion Inspiration: Stripey

Above: from the shop Amoelbarroco on Etsy - Spain

I've heard the fashion do's and don't's and tips many times such as: Wearing horizontal stripes makes you look wider, and vertical stripes make you look longer.

But sometimes I think rules should be broken. Wear something with the "wrong" stripes just because you really like it! I don't have any black and white stripe items I wear lately, but my sister does and I think they look great on! I'd love to have something in black and white stripes.

Mute Navigator Blouse by amoelbarroco

Rock and Roll striped tunic by Supastarclothing

Striped French Pierrot by ouma

The Blondie Tee from DesireeSalas

1. wardrobe remix. 6/20/10., 2. That's a wrap

Mermaids are real!

Well...kind of! (photo above courtesy of here)

Today we went to Weeki Wachee Springs/Buccaneer Bay. Only 10 minutes away but we rarely go. Today in Florida, it was FREE to get into every FL state park. Since Weeki Wachee Springs/Bucc. Bay became a state park in 2008, it was part of today's free deal- and it's usually $26! Wooo! DEAL!

What is Weeki Wachee Springs, you wonder? Only the home of the mermaids and the underwater theater! Plus it's the spot of a natural cold water spring, a guided boat ride on a river, and other fun stuff. The two pictures below are from flickr, since I didn't get to see the mermaid show today.

I would have missed out on today's "free day" if not for facebook! Some of my friends had posted this info on facebook this morning, just when we were wondering what to do today!

So we went, and as I imagined might be the case, the parking lot was overflowing with cars of others there to take advantage of the free day. After 20 minutes of frustration and almost leaving, we found a parking spot. But we missed the mermaid show we wanted to see before we went swimming at the water area. I have seen different mermaid shows there several times in the span of my life. When I was a little girl we lived about 30-40 minutes away instead of 10 minutes away. I thought the mermaid show was magical and I wanted to be a mermaid when I grew up. Now I live so close to it!

The swimming side, called Buccaneer Bay, has a few water slides, icy cold spring water to swim in at a beach, a kiddie wading pool area, and a lazy river. It was so hot today and the water felt so cold! It always stays cold all year long because it's a spring. It's so refreshing! But the first few minutes in the water, you are psyching yourself up for going all the way under because it's so so cold feeling. Once you get brave enough to submerge yourself fully, it's such a relief from the heat and you forget it's even hot outside.

Here are my pictures from today.

Flashback Friday: Sink seat

Me and Kavi in one of the bathrooms, from a month ago. My husband thought it was funny to stick Kavi in the sink, and we took some pictures. I think Kavi ended up enjoying his sink basin seat. Kavi is smiling even though it looks a little like he is not happy! haha

We try to have fun around the house and my husband also loves doing goofy things with Kavi. If you remember a month or more ago when I posted the picture of us all wearing big glasses that were missing lenses, we do weird stuff like that a lot. :) Kavi is very entertaining, too.

Join in to the flashbacks! Stop by Tia's blog to read more!