Ohio Antique shops

Back from Ohio! Had a bunch of fun checking out antique shops and sightseeing  spots. And of course a lovely time seeing my favorite guy! Of course missing the heck out of him right now.

On his days off we were able to stop off at quite a few interesting places that sold a vast array of collectibles and antique items! Many of the homes in the area of Dublin/Columbus are breathtaking, quaint and have old world charm.

The Powell businesses were all very lovely, friendly and worth a trip back to see!

Powell Liberty Antique Mall had the most interesting older pieces of off beat finds. Some kind of creepy and others too cute.

Blackberry Patch featured a phenomenal amount of eye candy I have seen in a antique shop! The assortment of shiny things took my breath away!

Paris Flea Market had me drooling over the fabulous sea side displays and they had me longing for a home of my own to put these lovely treasures in! Very chic and upscale items that were at reasonable prices and oh so charming! http://aparisfleamarket.blogspot.com/

Westerville had a few neato antique shops and one really cool, this town was a great stumble!
I was really taken with A Gal named Cindy Lou! The awesome 50's, 60's and 70's throw back's took me back to a time when things were simple and so laid back. Loved this family owned business! Would love to go back! http://www.cindalou.org/A_Gal_Named_Cinda_Lou/Welcome.html

There was also...

The Greater Columbus Antique Mall! Oh my gosh! 5 floors of glory! Rich with a interesting history of highly interesting and cool antique treasures. Our feet hurt and we definately had a full morning of checking out nifty finds from way back! The history of the mall is also very neato and spooky! Loved this!

And of course we stopped at several other spots along the way, here or there and throughly enjoyed spying wonderful items from yesteryear...

Hello from OHIO!

Terry is deployed here for anywhere from 10 weeks to maybe 4 months, SAD FACE! So we are visiting him for a short time, I miss him terribly while is away! He's busy working so the kids and I have been taking in the sights of Dublin, OH and surrounding areas! Love the staff at the hotel we are staying at! Kim and Megan are the Food Queens,making oh so nummy things for the guests. Kim was kind enough to give us some fresh cookies just for us last night! Which of course we all enjoyed! I'll have to snag a picture of her and Megan.

So far we have visited the Columbus Zoo, Scioto Park (Saw Leather Lips and his memorial sight), finally found Meijer and have yet to find Walmart. The streets are so different then by the bigger city of Chicago! Trees line the streets that it is hard to see what store is where and GPS is our friend! We hope to see the Ohio State Fair and the Dublin Irish Fest that starts next week.

On top of this the baby is cutting teeth and he seems to have a bit of the sniffles. Sleeping has been troubling for him, not sure if it's the new surroundings or not feeling 100%. So this makes for Zombie Mommie! As far as important stuff goes, I heard from the GAL for the placement of my girls and son, which if you are inclined can read about in my other blog- http://www.hopewhentherewasnone.blogspot.com/ .

So now for the pictures!

I found a wonderful gift shop called The Morgan House! Loved it! 3 floors of gifts, household items, sparkly things and fun stuff! I wish I could have took more pictures (better ones too) but I had the baby in one arm and forgot to bring the good camera in so the shots are taken with my cell. SIGH!

More to come! I feel inspired to do some crafts! Can't wait to fire up my glue gun and dig out some glitter!

I also found a Goodwill, a number of antique shops and thrift stores! WAHOO! Hoping to hit those next week.

More next week!

A corner of off of a business area by our hotel. These Corn Cobs are HUGE! Sympolizing the product of corn and the industry in Ohio! Pretty cool!

The Morgan House

OH I WANT TO LIVE HERE!

Big marble by food court at Tuttle Center Mall! It's pretty big, the girls were discussing (arguing) about what to eat and said, "Cool" and then continued to argue about lunch. SIGH! I thought it was really cool! You can move the marble around by your hand because it was a fountain the water allowed it to move.

Random baby shot from him hiding in the cabinet!

Happy Belated 4th of July!

We had a really nice time at our friend Michelle's house with her fav guy, Mike and her kiddos! After partaking in some tasty food, we headed out on 2 block long walk. Well at least that's what she told me! LOL! The walk was a little longer then that, but that's ok since I didn't work out (P90X) on that day.

I was so proud of myself for remembering to bring all the food, sunscreen, bubbles (for the kids and baby), and drinks!

BUT! I forgot my camera! AGH! I swear Mommy Brain strikes again! Luckily I had my trusty cell phone to take pictures with. Ok they aren't the best and for some random reason after the age of 35 my hands are not so steady anymore. What's up with that? Everything seemed to fall apart, my eyesight went to crap, my elasticity on my whole body is shot and the bladder! Well that's another story (I love my sling!)

Anyway...

The parade went on for over an 1 1/2 hours! I was surprised! I don't think I ever sat through a parade that long!  Afterwards we went back to the house and I stuffed myself with more yummy food and dessert! Though I missed out on the Chips Ahoy Summer cookies and I brought them! LOL! The kids went through their candy bags! They had quite a stash, there was so trading involved that took about a half hour. Luckily for me I really like Tootsie Rolls!

Didn't see any big fireworks. We were too pooped to deal with the traffic. I told the girls to go through the back of the apartment to look but neither one wanted to get bit up. All in all it was a fun time!

Retro Octopi!

I found an older Crafts mag from '08 that had an

adorable blue Octopus! Feeling so badly because I haven't crafted in a bit I scrounged for materials to make this.

You need 100 yards of yarn

2- 10" pieces of yarn or ribbon to tie around middle and neck

8- 1" pieces of ribbon or yarn to tie at ends of braids

1- 3" styrofoam ball- but I used a 1" ball

Google eyes (I did not use these as I have a little one that would probably chew or pull them off-choking hazard)

Tacky glue for eyes

Hold your hands about 3 ft apart and have your child wrap yarn around them to

form one large ring of yarn.

Knot one of the 10" pieces of yarn around the middle of the ring.

Place tied ring on tabletop and snip both loops.

Form the head by placing the center of the knot on top of the ball and drape the yarn so the ball is covered evenly.

Take last piece of 10" yarn and tie just below ball.

Braid your tentacles!

Divide the yarn strands into 8 equal bundles (I did it as closely as I could)

Start to braid

*TIP!

Have your child hold the head of your adorable Octopus to help the braiding process. This will give you tight braids. Please don't look closely at mine! LOL! I started off with the multi colored one and it looks funny and puffy on some of the tentacles until I had the lightbulb moment of calling Alex to give me a hand. Jess helped me with hers as well!

Have fun!



Struggling to find your voice

Struggling to find your voice

In the face of conflict we might be tempted to just go with the flow and not make waves. The path of least resistance is saying "yes" when you want to say "no" and that road is always paved with regrets and mistakes. While compromise is good and a necessary part of healthy relationships, no one should have to fully deny their feelings and remain voiceless while others dominate a situation. It might feel easier to nod your head and passively agree, but in the long run you are being cheated. While there might be a whole list of justifications and excuses for stepping off the path of your principles, staying true to yourself reaps countless more rewards than selling out to appease someone else. Reconcile today the negative passivity you have displayed in the past.

~Babyfit
Pleasant thought of the day

So neglectful!

I have been so neglectful of my blog here! I have not crafted much at all but I have been busy with my other blogs I'm afraid. You can find them here- http://www.littlecriesandlullabies.blogspot.com/ and http://www.hopewhentherewasnone.blogspot.com/ .

And we took a mini vacation to Marion, IL to visit Terry while he was away for a few weeks. It was a very nice time! Of course my ever present crazy divorce has kept me researching things for upcoming Mediation and court for next week.

I am going to be at a Healthy Mom & Baby Fair tomorrow!

FREE HEALTHY MOM & BABY FAIR

What: FREE Healthy Mom & Baby Fair
Where: The Vitamin Shoppe, (across from Southlake Mall) 2217 E 80th Ave, Merrillville IN
When: Saturday, June 11th. 10am– 2pm
ntacts: Becky at The Vitamin Shoppe 756-0599
Dr Trish Hammett at New Life Family Chiropractic 769-5433
Details
Come receive valuable information, vitamin samples and coupons that will help you have a healthier pregnancy, delivery and baby! Get information on midwives, OB’s, breastfeeding, natural delivery, doulas, vitamins for pregnancy and children, birth classes, VBAC support, pregnancy and pediatric chiropractic care, cloth diapering, baby carriers and slings, and more…!

So I am super excited and anxious! I have my Doula bag together to use as a prop, gathered samples on short notice, blew up my Birth ball and in the process of finishing up a Power Point to keep running on my laptop! So if you live in NW Indiana stop by and see us!

Have a great Friday and I hope to get some projects soon!

The Columbian Parachute Project

I've been MIA for a bit. As I mentioned in my last post I couldn't help but be in a funk, but also we have had so much Jerry Springer Drama that I feel I am in the need of a getaway somewhere where I can just think or relax. It's diffently calling for me to just unwind or blow off steam.

In the meantime I had gotten in my biz cards for Little Cries & Lullabies Doula Services! I'm super excited about that endeavor! Birth of course is one of my favorite things, and I would have a baseball team if I could handle it healthwise. I'm not a Duggar so I am hoping for maybe one more wee one down the line! 45 is my magic number.

Now I am finishing up Parachutes that will be dropped over Columbia! There will be Bible's attached to spread the word and love of Jesus Christ! There is a speaker coming in to talk about the mission and it is also a Mother/Daughter dinner, with dishes native to Columbia, MMM! I'm making fried Plantin and Pork filled turnovers! Wish my luck on that one, I'm not very good with anything that is related to dough. There is a variety of failed recipes that my family has been troopers about and give me a half hearted thumbs up. God love them!

I am going to work at getting some projects out for sale, my Etsy shop is bare! I sold a few Cracker Jack prizes and need to list a bunch more. Work! Work! Work!

 The girls, baby and I participated in the 8th Annual Agape Walk for Fair Haven walk on last Saturday. It was a 3 mile walk that had some pretty intense winds going on! We huffed and puffed while we enjoyed the morning out, taking in both nature and a great cause!