weekend report

first of all, i have to say that i am having trouble keeping up with all the fun things i want to say about my life these days. that is a great change, now isn't it?!

this will be a lengthy post, so bear with me, because if i don't get it all out right now i may run out of time this week (since right now and all week i should be working on a new book...)

saturday we started out the day by heading to "touch-a-truck" in dunedin, which is a quaint little town about a 45-minute drive from here. we had seen these advertised in the paper before but had never gone; you know the kinds: tow trucks, fire engines, ambulances, cranes, 18-wheelers--if you can name it and it's big and loud it was there. they even had a helicopter the kids got to sit in (although by that time i was whiny, hot, hungry and tired so i didn't get a picture).

on the way, we passed my favorite store to shop at: vivant house. (he doesn't have a website or i would link to it.) this guy has the most amazing finds, all crammed together in an old house, and the best part is that everything is reasonably priced. he happened to be having a yard sale, so my husband was sweet enough to do a U-turn and pull into the parking lot when he saw my eyes get really big at the possibility of a yard sale there!

we looked around outside, and then the minute we walked in the door we fell in love (ok, i fell in love, but my husband went along with me because he is so nice). ok, no more until the end of the post and i'll tell you what i found that is now in my living room!

at the touch-a-truck event, the hit for our kids was a Swiss Army hummer that a man had bought to use for his own private use a couple years ago.

playing in the back of the vehicle

decked out in an old army helmet

and my favorite:

(feel free to read into this photo how i feel about the current war situation!)

then after the touch-a-truck, we went headed over to the volkswagen festival in st. petersburg, where there were LOTS of old (and some new) VW beetles, vanagons, eurovans, things, and other cars i can't remember the names of.

of course aedan had to have his picture taken with the *blue*beetle since "i am a boy, mom."

and now our girlie girl:


and the two of them together (without fighting--and even smiling!):

here are a couple more cool photos of the cars. they are so beautiful and fun to photograph:

then yesterday we had friends over for our weekly gathering, and this week was a fantastic spread of yummy food. my favorite by far (i even had it again today for lunch) was this made by my friend krystal:

here is the recipe; it is SO yummy. she made almost exclusively with ingredients she gathered from our community farm here in town!

i also made this bread, as recommended by my friend laci. and she is right: it was DELICIOUS. i am definitely making it again. (we ate it all before i could think to take a picture, so you will just have to trust me...)

now to the highlight of my weekend. back on saturday morning, i purchased this:

the minute i saw it i knew i was in love. i have a lot going on color-wise and even style-wise in my living room (and the rest of my house). it's just how i like to decorate--sort of on a whim. and i love to mix different pieces that shouldn't really go together. i knew the moment i saw this beauty that it would go perfectly in our living room, and when we got it yesterday (the owner of vivant house was sweet enough to deliver it to us because it's over 7 feet long and won't fit in either of our cars!), my suspicions were confirmed: it looks AMAZING!

a friend even pointed out that it looks like something from anthropologie. and i think she's right. which is why i feel even better about that fact that we got it for only...ready for this?...ok, here it comes... EIGHTY dollars! can you believe this? i almost hugged the guys who sold it to me. i have been giddy ever since. i barely let the kids touch it. i think it's from the 1960s.

anyway i could ramble on forever about this thing, but i'll just leave you with a few more pictures. and then be sure to visit tomorrow, because i have some more exciting news to share!