Did you know?

I logged on to my Pinterest account this morning and while browsing around for some inspiration I saw this...

I was curious, but at the time my desire to see images that evoked happiness and creativity was stronger. After finishing on pinterest I decided it was time to catch up on some of my favorite blogs. That's when I saw Kristin's post and the same image I saw earlier on Pinterest.

I don't know about you but I can barely afford to pay my OWN bills let alone anyone else's.

Are you curious? Did you know?

Stop by My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  to find out what I'm talking about. And while your there, check out some of Kristin's past posts. She's got a great sense of style and eye for decor.

Angie

P.S. Stop back by here tomorrow- I am finally doing my Sidewalk Sunday post that should've happened last weekend. And the best part? This one will be x's 2! You won't want to miss it. Promise!

Time for a change.

Well said.....

Revival Home & Garden

A little peek...

Here's a small peek at what I've been up to lately...

First up was the trout release program at Lil' Red's school. They raised them from eggs till it was time to release them. More on that to come.

Then there was our first crack at homemade doughnuts. 

Ummm it might be our last crack at it as well.

There was a little painting for both Lil' Red and I.

Along with a little gardening. Very excited for our Dwarf Lemon tree but I see we already have little critters!!

Also shopping for pillows and paint for this area as well as trying to talk myself into painting the 3 sets of French doors and 3 fixed windows. 

So far, I'm not doing a very good job at it. 

If you're wondering why there is no mention of the Lil' Man, well that's because he's almost 13 and unless I pin him down, I'm finding it very hard to keep him around!!!

What have you been up to??

Angie

Be Back Soon! I Promise!

 I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post!?

 Lil' Red managed to get the Mission done on time complete with an A from the Teacher!
 (Speaking of Teacher- It's Teacher Appreciation Week in a couple of days, isn't it???) 


There just isn't enough hours in a day.


Be back soon! I promise!

          (Just in case you forgot what I look like)


Angie

A Mission, A Dinner and the Modeling Clay...

The dreaded 4th grade Mission project.

 The deadline is drawing near all the while my dinning room table is being held hostage to the bits and pieces that we hope will soon resemble the grounds of the San Juan Capistrano Mission.

Only one problem, the clay that Mr. Treasures and Lil' Red picked up for the project NEVER hardens.
Yep, just like it says on the package.

I haven't had a chance to pick up any other kind of clay nor do I have flour (that would mean I bake) in the house in order to make our own. So we have $20.00 worth of clay, with NO use for it.

Tonight, while eating dinner  (at the other half of the table not being consumed by the project) I asked the kids about their day. Lil' Man started to tell me about wood shop class and how his teacher finally operated one of the machines today instead of talking nonstop about his travels around the world. He then began to tell me about his P.E. teacher who is obsessed with everyone "suiting up" and his dreaded English class.

As he was talking, I began to play with a piece of the clay, rolling it the way you'd roll a map. The end of it resembled a cinnamon roll. I showed the kids and they laughed.
Now, it was Lil' Red's turn to tell me about the mean 5th grader who had a date with Karma.  It was a tether ball match up that appeared to be lopsided. On one side Lil' Red's friend, a very meek, soft spoken girl - on the other, the Meany.

By  some cosmic payback to all that have been pushed around, the tether ball came off the pole, flew up in the air and managed to come down right on top of the mean girls head.  I asked Lil' Red, "Do you know what that is?" she answered "Yep, Karma."

Now of course I didn't stop there, we talked about what might be going on in mean girls life that would cause her to behave that way. We also talked about ways to handle any situation that might involve mean girls.

By this time, I had rolled the clay into what looked like the handset part of an old telephone. I held it up to my ear and said "hello" again, everyone laughed.

Mr. Treasures said "What can you make out of it?" and just like that we found a use for the clay.

Lil' Man took the receiver part of my phone and came up with this

While Lil' Red was hard at work on her laptop

 Mr. Treasures was working on his Football

Think someone might miss football season this year??

Next was a cell phone

 Followed up with a computer

complete with mouse and keyboard no less!

There was a penguin,

and an airplane

(Momma needs a vacation)

This went on for the rest of the evening.

 I think it might have been the best dinner I've ever had.

Angie

An Interview With Lil' Red

Sorry I didn't post this earlier!!  I decided to FINALLY work out last night and let me tell you, THAT took all my effort!!

Better late than never right?

If you missed yesterdays Makeover Monday, you'll want to start there!

Otherwise, here's the quick interview from a soon to be 10 year old and her outlook on "Living Creatively"

Q) What made you decide to paint your clubhouse?

A) What made me decide to paint it is that I want it to be a cool place to hang out and not be a dirty old thing in the back yard.   (I'm thinking we need to take better care of the backyard, how about you?)


Q) Can you tell us why you chose the colors you did?

A) I chose those colors because they are cool, funky and fun so it won't be boring in there.
      (Great reason. Who wants to be somewhere boring? Not me!)


Q) What do you think "Live Creatively" means?

A) I think live creatively means to just have fun and to do things that you've never done.
     (Can you imagine how great life would be if we didn't forget this as we grew up?)

Q) What are other ways you can be creative in life besides crafts?

A) I'm creative at school doing things my own ways. (explains a lot) I'm also creative the way I dress or when I play games.

Q) Pick 3 words to describe yourself.

A) Three words to describe myself would be cool, athletic and weird.
(I love that she views being "weird" as a good thing)

Lil' Red really enjoyed answering these questions so I might have to do something like this more often.
In fact I think it is a "creative" way to interact with your children!

Thanks for taking the time to find out more about Lil' Red. She's definitely a character!

Angie

Update

I wanted to stop in and give you a quick update.

We finally got a hold of someone at BofA with a brain!!!

He agreed that  our case was not handled correctly and stopped the sale. 

AMEN!!

Now we have to start this process all over again.

At least this time we will only deal with this gentleman in the "Escalation Dept"

With the good news, I decided a little retail therapy was in order.

Say hello to my new pillows....

 My camera battery was dead so I had to use my cell. Not to worry though, you'll be seeing this pillow and it's twin in future posts!!


I also took a ton of  "Lunch time inspiration" photos!! I'll be uploading those to the facebook fan page tomorrow! Make sure you visit the page to see!!

Before I go I want to say a HUGE thank you for those of you who've left comments, said a prayer and have been so supportive.

Thank you!

Angie

M.I.A.

 The Treasures household has been a chaotic place to be the last couple of months. We are always trying to adjust to this new life we have and as soon as it seems we have a handle on it, there is some sort of surprise.

And I'm not talking about the.....

good kind.

The latest battle has been trying to speak with someone at Bank of America (who actually went to high school) about their mistake in regards to our modification. It's quite a long story that I don't feel like telling right now but it boils down to a HUGE screw up on their part that might actually cost us our home on Wednesday February 2nd.



So I might be posting even less (if you can imagine that) than I already am for a little while.

Thank you for following Treasures. I appreciate everyone of you.



Angie

Photo love..

(click on it to view larger)

I LOVE this photo!  

 I'd LOVE to be IN this photo.

I'm not sure why I love it so much.

It's just one of those photos that strikes something inside of you.

You can't explain it, but it's real.

The kind of "real" that calls to your soul and inspires.

Yep, THAT kind of real.

Stop by The Willows Home & Garden to see a few more versions of this photo.

And if you've been wondering what I've been up to?

Stop by All My Treasures Fan Page to see!


Angie

Dear Blogland,

Dear Blogland,

The Treasures household is experiencing Internet difficulties. These "difficulties" are a HUGE nuisance!!
Not only are they preventing me from posting any visual content they are also causing me to fall far behind on all of your amazing blogs. This is going to force me to spend LARGE amounts of time glued to the computer once said "difficulties" are resolved.  So please, for the sake of my family, (at the present moment) clean home and my vision can you slow down on the posts???

Sincerely,

Mrs. Treasures

P.S. Hope to be up and running by Wednesday!!

All I can say is WOW..

Stop by Digging for Treasure and say hello to the Yard Sale Princess!

While you're there take a look at the video she posted. 

Like the title says, all I can say is WOW!

I didn't even manage to get my decorations up.

Enjoy.

Award time!!!

Last week Tara from JunkRestore was kind enough to give me....

the "Life is good" award.

It can sometimes be easy to forget, I'm glad I've got this award to remind me!

Most of you know what comes next.

I answer a bunch of questions about myself and then pass the award on.

Not this time.

Nope, this time I thought it would be fun to let Mr. Treasures answer the questions for me.

This could get interesting.....

Mr. Treasures here, Is everyone ready to find out a little about Angie?

Here we go

1. If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?


 My wife would never want to be anonymous!

2.Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side.

This should be easy since she's only stubborn with me, but nothing comes to mind right now. or at least nothing I'm willing to put in writing.
3.What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

 
I think I'll pass on this one.


4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?
 
Angie's favorite cold drink is a Diet Roy Rogers. What's that you ask? It's a Diet coke with a shot of Cherry



5. When you take time for yourself, what do you do?

Blog, of course! When she's not blogging, reading a blog, or looking for inspiration on the computer, you'll find her at any number of local thrift stores looking for hidden treasures.




6. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?


Yes, to become a World Traveler. She always says that there isn't a place in the world that she wouldn't visit at least once.



7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?


Let's just say neither one of us know what her school mascot was.

 8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?


I would have to say that the birth of both of our children were very poignant moments in her life.

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?


 Angie has a friendly, outgoing, creative personality. Whether on the blog or someone in her every day life, It's very easy for her to share her true self.


10. If you had the choice to sit down and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?
 
If she could figure out a way to do both at the same time, she would.



Alright, a BIG thank you to the clown Mr. Treasures. I hope you enjoyed his answers. 

Don't forget to stop by and say Hi to Tara at JunkRestore!! She is extremely talented and has some AMAZING projects you'll want to see!

Alright passing the award on to...

Words of Me Project because Leslie is an amazing woman full of inspiration and creativity.

Bringing Pretty Back because Kristin always helps me realize how a lady should behave.

Humble Pie because Lissa has shared so much and without knowing has helped me become a better wife.

From Chaos Comes Happiness because Leanne always makes me smile.

Better After because who doesn't love a great before and after?

The Decorista because sometimes in life I need pretty pictures with little words.


Angie

What I've learned

I've learned a few important things, that had it not been for the economy, I might have missed.

I learned that I have a passion for furniture refurbishing.
 (Something I had no idea I could do until there was no other choice.)

I learned that I really meant "for richer or for poorer"
( We never had to struggle before, I had no idea how stressful that could be on a marriage.)

I learned that nothing makes me happier than time with my family.
(and you don't even have to spend a dime to do it.)

I also learned that I don't have to spend a lot of money to enjoy luxury. 

(Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?)

Last night was "Facials at Grandma's" night.

(Something that I might have missed had I had the $$$ to pay a professional)

We each had a bowl of hot water, lil' Red's had chamomile tea.

 Grandma Treasures and I opted for a few drops of eucalyptus.

 

Then we took a towel and placed it over our  head and the bowl.

The steam opens your pores and feels very refreshing!

Next up was the Oatmeal Honey facial... 

Good enough to eat! Just ask Lil' Red.

This is the look I got when I told her she was eating her portion of the facial.

That got her to stop long enough for me to put her mask on...

However, it didn't last long!!

She was right back to eating it!!

She barely stopped to take a photo!!

She ate so much...

I had to slop more on her forehead!

Then all of the sudden....

Mine started to slide off my face!

Lil' Red was laughing hysterically.

I did manage to catch it in time!

"Look Ma no hands!!"

After we were all rinsed off Grandma Treasures wanted a photo of the three of us.

Some how I don't think this.....

is what she had in mind!

In order to get her to stop making funny faces...

we had to each make one of our own.

I learned something else tonight...

It doesn't take much to have a great time.

Angie

P.S. here's the link to the facial mask.

What's in your backyard?

Hi everyone!! I'm still insanely busy with work, home and projects!!

Ruby was nice enough to stop by with a special guest post about seeking adventures in your own "backyard"

If you've been following along for any length of time, you know that my eh hum budget has changed drastically over the last several years.

My last post of  2009 titled Wipe the Slate Clean you'll see that I realized that not all the changes we lived through were bad.


In fact, thanks to Ruby I realized the great adventures we could have in our own town.

 Places I've lived close to for over, well let's just say a veerrrry long time .
I'd never thought to check them out!




Anyhow, a big thank you to....

Ruby,

 for dropping by today with one of her adventures!!



Hello, My name is Ruby from Ruby's Musings. I am quite honored to be asked to be a guest blogger. My blog covers many aspects of my life. One of which is searching out adventures in my own back yard so to say , and do show that one can have a day trip out on a small budget and still have a wonderful time. This is one of my posts from our last adventure. I hope you like it

Hubby got what is known in car sales as a "spiff" , so instead of being forced to sit home for two weeks in a row we were able to set out on another adventure. Keeping in the exploration of back country roads and local attractions, we spent Monday night going through pamphlets and maps. It was decided we would go to Sutter Creek's Gold Mine. It was out of our normal 20.00 and under plus gas budget, but hey the spiff would take care of it , so it was time to splurge. Gas tank filled, snacks and water packed in the ice chest and the GPS unit clued in , we headed out.

Sutter Creek is in Amador County , in the Gold Country , off Historic HWY 49 , and South East of where we live. We seem to always be on HWY 49, it just has all the best towns located on it ! It is a lovely drive, and I, having grown up on a small farm ( very small , 5 acres to be exact) love being out in the middle of the country. It is one of the most pleasant things I know of. Anyway, we drove just around an hour through back roads, and country towns ....tiny places with name like Sloughhouse and Drytown . We even drove through the town of Amador. It is a VERY small town, even if the county is named after it...Just gotta love the stop signs! Plus the entire town is antique shops! Wish we did not always go on adventures on Mondays and Tuesdays cause many things are closed!

  

   

     

Soon we arrived at the entrance to the park....

Drove down the long winding road and pulled into the small parking lot. 

 

Inside there was a great gift shop, historical photos of local miners from years past, a movie theater with a movie about mining, miners and the California Gold Rush. Then there was the maps of all the places , from all over the world , have visited ....we are one of the many push pins now .

We stepped outside once the movie was over ,  and waited for the tour jeep to arrive and took the chance to snap a few pics.....

Pan for gold anyone?? You really can, just buy a bag of silt, and go out and have a go!

Pardon the frown, the bench was hot, the sun bright...

Here it comes....

Looks like everyone got back safe, time to grab the hard hats, red for adults, and white for children.

We loaded up, our tour guide checking us in on the board...16 of us.

      Then we were off.....  

 Down the steep, bumpy, dirt hill.....

 And into the mine......LAST CHANCE....(only kidding)

Now I took a load of pics inside, and do you know not too many of them actually turned out, between the bumpy ride and the dim lighting, photo, after photo, blurry, streaky, and just too dim to tell what it was. We only took the jeep half way, then it was on foot, via stairs and walk ways. We stopped off in the Safety Room to be told about how miners operated and tried to stay safe and well to sit in total , pitch black darkness...never been in such a dark space ! You could not see your hand in front of your face. 

We looked at veins of quartz , that is where the gold lies . We find out the mine is a modern mine, 1989 and only operated till the early 90's , but may open again next year. There is a lot of gold in this mine to be had! We see equipment old and new, and get history lessons about how miners used to operate and how it is in modern times. It was all very fascinating! The photos that did turn out where nothing much more than pics of rock and earth, but this one is nifty as it is what is left over from the bottom of the ocean! I am not kidding!

Soon our tour ends, at 550 feet below the surface, we get back in the jeeps and before you know it , we see the light at the end of the tunnel ....YES!! it does exist !

  Be sure to check out the official site , and there is a couple videos if you are interested in seeing more . There is also a hint on this page of where we will be exploring next! I am super excited, I will tell you that...more hard hats and pearls for sure in my future. 

After we left the mine, and ate our snacks we had packed for lunch, we headed into the actual town of Sutter's Creek. It is a charming town of gift shops, antiques, places to eat and old historic homes...of course we found the wine shop! You can sample the wines from various wineries in the area for free, as many as you like! I decided on Champagnes...well sparkling wine since it comes from California. Then we also found an import cheese shop , and sampled an array of yumminess, and even came home with a French cows milk cheese, by the name of Mimolette Cheese. It looks like Cantaloupe...the color, the outer rind. It comes from Lille France, and was a favored cheese by King Louis XIV ...tastes a bit like Parmesan . 

So that was our adventure of the Hard Hat and Pearls....

  I hope it inspires you to have your own adventure and hit the road , no matter your budget, there is always new places to explore !

 

Thanks again Ruby!!!

Now get out there and see what your town has to offer but, before you go, don't forget to stop by Ruby's blog !!!