WINNER WINNER WINNER

Here are the names of the winners of my 2008 Camping Extravaganza give away.

1. Laurie Ann at Tinkers Piggies

2.Lenore at Alphabet Soup Studio

Thank you very much for taking the time to submit your wonderful ideas and recipes. I can't wait to try some of them out.

We here at the House of B's are busy getting ready to go on our Camping Extravaganza. We have also been trying to enjoy the summer that has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest.
Just when I thought I would have nothing to bitch about today or this week..........BAM!
We went from Juneary to June, oooooooooh it's sooooo hot! I can't take it!
We ( well me for sure) who resided in Western Washington are big Pansie asses, we aren't happy unless we're complaining about the weather!
This last weekend was a super busy weekend. Donna and I did some garage sales, found some very cool stuff, and got started on our base coat for this summers tan. Tooling around in the convertible with the top down, going to garages sales..............life doesn't get much better then that!
Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of my fantastic finds and tell more of our Friday and Saturday fact finding mission.

Thank You Thank You

Thank You Thank YouYou Liked Me, Your Really Liked Me!

Sally Fields 1985 Famous Acceptance Speech.

I know it's probably the speech that is made the most fun of but I don't care. I loved it! I always think of this speech when I'm accepting ALL my awards. Well OK, OK, OK, I thought about it and imagined me giving it twice in my life! Once for best Halloween Costume at some dive bar where me and some drunk guy were the only ones in the contest (it was in my younger day, it's possible we were just drunk and not even dressed up) and today.

Thank you so much Laurie Ann over at Tinkers Piggies. She gave me the Arte Y Pico award. I'm so honored. My first award ever!
So now for my acceptance speech..........
Thank you so much! I would like to thank the 6 people who comment on my blog postings everyday. I appreciate it. You always make me feel like someone is reading.
I would have never guessed in a million years that I Princess Lazy Ass would get an award for anything. I especially never dreamed I would get one for putting out in blogland my typical ranting conversations that I use to bless my friends with on the phone. The phone bill has gone down, my friends are picking up the phone again (yeah, I know you all screen me!) to chat. This blogging thing has been good for me. I have also made some FABULOUS new friends who I get giddy over seeing their name pop up in my e-mail. You know who you are my NEW BFF's from Farm Chicks!

So in honor of this prestigious award I must pass it on to those who are also deserving............................................

Here are the Arte Y Pico Award rules:
1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.
2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.
3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.
4. Please include a link to the “Arte Y Pico” blog so that everyone will know where the award came from.

So here are my five:

Undomestic Diva

Lisa- A Thing For Roses

A Nesting Place

Donna- Swedish Flicka

Tiffany-Scraps A Daisy
Keep up the fun blogging ladies! I enjoy reading everyday. Thank you for contributing to me getting nothing done during the day and still being able to maintain my rein as Princess Lazy Ass!
Now I need to get a Diet Coke and get to readin!

A Typical Conversation at

The House of B's

The Hubs: "We need to wash these windows." Pointing to all the windows he can in one swing of the arm. "They haven't been done since last August."

Me Princess Lazy Ass: "That's not true! " In my most annoyed voice. "I have washed them since then! "

The Hubs: "Yes it is true!!" "They haven't been washed since last August."

Me Princess Lazy Ass: "You don't know what I do during the day." "I might have washed them several times since last August!"

The Hubs: "I do know"

Me Princess Lazy Ass: "How do you know" In my worried voice that he might be on to me and my fakebusy.

The Hubs: "I check and weight the Windex everyday before I go to work!"

"You haven't cleaned the windows!"

Guess I'll clean some windows!

It's one of those days!

This note was taped on the drive up menu board after I had sat and waited in line for about 10 minutes. Having it at the beginning of the line would have been nice. It just struck me funny because some days I feel the same way about life. Notice Service is spelled SURVCE.

We all have these days where our grill is out of service! I'm having one of them today. I don't' want to clean, do laundry, yard work, or cook! I would rather go shopping or have lunch with a friend and work in a little Fakebusy so nobody (The Hubs) knows I did nothing all day.

Please checkout my drawing for feeding large crowds. Just an idea will get your name in the drawing. I don't' care if it's camping or not. I just need new ideas for feeding large crowds.

Hope your grill is in SURVCE today and you get more done then I do!

Have a wonderful day!

Thank you for stopping by

The Nesting Place "Not so perfect" Photos

are on yesterdays post.

Camping Extravaganza Drawing

Help!

WSU Laura and I are starting to prepare for our week long camping extravaganza with our families and friends over 4th of July. We're currently trying to put together our food menu that can be fixed as a group. We need your help in coming up with some original, fun, EASY, and good tasting ideas for feeding a large group while camping. What do you and your family and friends do? What are your favorite recipes?

How do I enter this fun drawing?

Please send us your ideas, recipes, or thoughts on feeding a crowd while camping. Each name that has an idea attached will be submitted for our drawing. Entries can be sent as a comment or you can e-mail me.

What fantastic item will I win if my name is drawn?

I have a two items you can choose from. We will be drawing 2 names, first name drawn gets first pick.

One of my favorite Paula Deen Cookbooks.

This is a previously owned cookbook, just in case that grosses any of you out and makes entering a deal breaker. I would hate for you get this then be horrified that it's a used book.

Very cute (From Target)

Madras plaid
cotton table cloth with matching runner.

Runner is for an umbrella table. It has the zipper for easy placement around your umbrella. New, never used but not in their original packages. Again.....this could be a deal breaker for some of you wanting to enter.

Here are some other pertinent information tidbits you might need to know in order to send a fantastic entry;

We will be feeding approximately 12 people each day maybe more. 3 kids, 9 adults are scheduled to be at the table FOR SURE each day.

No food restrictions that we are aware of , other then we would prefer to not come back from this trip with everyone weighing an additional 40 lbs each.

We will be staying at the beach, however the area where we are staying doesn't allow camp fires. We have purchased a Frontier Campfire and Cook-all kit. Which should be fun. If you own one of these please send us your ideas for cooking.

There isn't a grocery anywhere near so planning on the fly each day won't work. Which is what I usually do. WSU Laura is MUCH MUCH more organized then myself! We haven't gotten much summer here in Washington State either, so farmers markets are sparse and aren't really selling much besides bouquets of flowers. We will be close to a seafood plethora and hope to get some fresh crab, clams, and whatever else we can get our hands on.

We (Laura and I) are planning on doing a lot of book reading, napping, playing cards, drinking wine, walking on the beach and just enjoying spending time with family and friends. Cooking isn't really on our agenda but we know it will have to happen at some point each day. We have all the hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and cereal ideas covered. We would love to have something more original, and fun for everyone to participate in. Example; Fajita bar

PLEASE HELP US!

Drawing runs today June 17th - June 29th

Winners will be announced on June 30th

Prizes sent out....as soon as winners give up name and address

Photos for The Nesting Entry

are on the bottom of yesterdays post

Thank you for stopping by. Look forward to hearing from you.

It's Monday

We got lots a Goin's on's here at the House of B's!

pictures for The Nesting Post are at the bottom of my post today

First off.........My condolences to the family and friends of the following people who lost loved ones this last week.

Amber and Family aka Shabee Chic.......We are all thinking of you and your family. Please take a look at her blog today, and say hi. She could probably use a little note from her blog buddies.

Tim Russert..........My heart goes out to him and his family. Not a personal friend but I listened to him everyday on the TODAY show. I'm a pretty simple gal, and honestly shoes, Paula Deen's latest recipe, what Oprah has on her show, and the placement of the vase of flowers on the table are usually about the extent of my thinking. Tim Russert helped me understand the historical politics going on right now. His reports made me take an interest in it.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do now that I don't have him to explain to me each day. Not sure I'll be able to keep up with what's happening in terms I can comprehend. With any luck Oprah or Paula Deen will pick up where he left off. This is a huge blow to my trying to be aware of something other then my own little world.

We were busy busy busy busy this weekend. The realization has set in that we only have 2 weeks befor embarking on our first ever week long Camping Extravaganza with WSU Laura & Family. I know over the last few months I have been thinking of things that we need to be sure to take with us. Well now I need to find the paper I wrote them all down on and start getting it together and in the Mobile Estate.
Soooooo this week WSU Laura and I will be working on getting organized for that. Please stay tuned because we will be asking for help. It's going to be fun and there will be prizes!

Also this week I HAVE to get some items listed on EBay. The House of B's is being over run with all these fabulous items I have been collecting. The Hubs says " This stuff needs to go!" So I have promised that I'll get busy finding it ALL new homes.
Stay tuned for items to be featured on my website first before they hit EBay. I will be offering items with free shipping through my blog and website. Some great Shabby Chic, Paris Apartment, and Retro Kitchen items.

Here is an observation I made ..............
On Friday I went to some garage sales in my area. Not far from my house. The furthest probably being 12 miles or so away. I didn't get started early, I probably left about 9 am (not early in finding the good stuff first garage sale rules) and arrived at my first sale about 9:15. There was NOBODY at these sales. I went to about 10 sales that I was the only there. The sellers also said it had been really slow. That I was probably the second or third person there. Even the sellers who started at 7:30 hadn't had much traffic. No antique dealers, no junkers for profit, no shopping addicts, none of the usual traffic. It wasn't until I got in to downtown Everett (large town near by) that I ran in to others doing garage sales. It was so odd. There are a lot of people who garage sale. They might not admit it but they do! You can usually run in to at least 1 or 2 car loads of people at a sale even in the country at the "off the beaten path" sales. Friday.............NOBODY!
I'm sure this is due to gas prices. Which is too bad. Garage sales are a great form of cheap entertainment. I know I didn't do my usual running all over gods green earth because of gas prices. I stayed pretty local. Will gas prices put an end to people doing garage sales? If nobody is coming to them why have them? What do you think?

Now for some other important business that needs to be taken care of..........

Monday Morning Meme

I've been tagged by Vintage Thirty with a book meme. This is soooooooooooooo exciting for me! Vintage Thirty is so very popular in Blogland and I'm thrilled I was chosen.

It's quite simple, which is good new for me because I can barley figure out how to check my e-mail. I'm not so computer savvy.

The rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

My daddy was sleeping with anyone in a skirt, so I figured I would fight back with sleeping with anyone in pants. Trouble was, I was too scared to actually go through with it. But that was the beauty of high school, you didn't have to actually do the dirty deed to get credit for it, you just had to act like ya did.

From The Sweet Potato Queen's 1st Big Ass Novel by Jill Conner Browne.
If you haven't read it, this is a good summer read. If you want to laugh every second, read her book God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. This is a book that had me laughing so hard on every page. It should be used as a teaching guide for single women, divorced women, or women who just need a little help managing the men in their lives.

My 5 People Tagged
WSU Laura
Tinkers Piggies
Scraps A Daisy
Delightful Donna
A Thing For Roses
Undomestic Diva
Martha Stewart.... Just for fun!

******UPDATE TO POSTING *******

Laurie Ann over at Tinkers Piggies had a very cool posting this morning. She was over at The Nesting Place, well long story short....... I got all caught up in The Nesting Place blog and had to participate. I LOVE IT!!!

I will be the first to admit, I sit and stress over things not "appearing" perfect. Especially in the house. I stress over it but being Princess Lazy Ass I don't really do much about it until we have guest over. Then it's a mad rush to do everything I should have been doing for a year. I have been asked several times to submit pictures of the interior of my house. I don't because I only have 2 rooms I like, the rest of the house is an old outdated eye sore. Well today.......... here is are some photos of the things that MAKE ME CRAZY!

The Master bath, that "I was gunna" remodel myself one day. I took off 3 layers of ugly wall paper, and decided I really didn't know what I was doing. It's looked this way going on 2 years.

This is our lovely sun room. This is one of the rooms I like the most. We use it everyday when the weather is nice. It's used for entertaining and everyone loves it that comes over. Most of the time..........it's used for storage. Today on one of the first nice days in MONTHS it's dirty, stinky of staleness, and houses muddy outside shoes, dead plants, cushions for the deck furniture and has bird feathers all over the floor where Franklin The Wonder Cat brought in a bird, killed it, and defeathered it.

I could post about 40 pictures of the 8 gardens on our property we let go and now don't know what to do with.

Check out The Nesting Place and submit your not so perfect life.

Have a great day!

Happy Fathers Day!

My Fathers Day Cast of Characters

The Big Grandma (My Dad's mother, Timi's Grandmother, Great Grandmother to Princess. Princess named her "Big Grandma" when she was just learning to talk)

The Mom

The Dad

Princess Spoiled Brat (6 year old niece, notice she's in every picture)

The Brother (Father to Princess Spoiled Brat)

The Mom and Princess Spoiled Brat went on a road trip this weekend to The Big Grandma's house. This is huge fun for Princess Spoiled Brat because she thinks The Big Grandma's house has a pool. When in fact........she and The Mom stay at a hotel. The Big Grandma lives in a lovely retirement apartment that isn't' big enough for guests, so a visit gets you a hotel room. This is a good thing!

The Big Grandma wanted to attend her friend's 80th birthday party in a far off land called Bluehairville. The Big Grandma dosen't drive anymore, so she needs someone to take her to Bluehairville, which is an hours drive from her house. All of this driving, after one has been in the car for 6 hours already (maybe longer with women in the car) getting to her house. Being on the road last weekend to the Farm Chicks Extravaganza, I decided to opt out of the girl's road trip this weekend. Besides that , I have been to Bluehairville and honestly, the last time I was there, I was so exhausted from being bossed around all day by the munchkins of Bluehairville. The Mother wasn't happy with my decision and said I would have to pay later.

So The Mother and Princess Spoiled Brat are gone this weekend off to The Big Grandma's house, The Brother is working on a job that has taken him out of town and is not around this weekend. That leaves me and The Hubs to show our appreciation to The Dad today on Fathers Day.

I called The Dad earlier in the week to see what he would like to do on Sunday. After all, it IS his day. Did he want me to cook for him? Did he want to go do something? What would he like to do? The response from The Dad "I would like to be left alone, I have stuff to do!" I said .."Well ok then! "

For the last 4 days or so I have been trying to figure out if that's really what he meant or did he want me to just plan something on my own and say, "this is what we are going to do" and for it to be a surprise. The Hubs pointed out that The Dad has never been one that you need to "read between the lines". If he said leave him alone, that's what he meant. But you see Hallmark has done a number on my head! They (The Hallmark people) have made me think that if I don't do something spectacular and make a Hallmark card statement of a day I'm a bad daughter.

Well you know what??? Screw Hallmark! I'm going to let it go, I'm going to leave him alone.

As I was trying to let it go, I also was thinking about what I could do for him that would be a wonderful Father's Day gift. Then it occurred to me.............I'll get a surrogate Dad. "Why?" you ask, would I do that, when I already have a perfect Dad?

Just bare with me as I bring you in to this FABULOUS train of thought.

About the time The Hubs and I bought our current house my parents had both decided to retire. Now to a daughter that is purchasing a "fixer-upper" with a soon to be husband, who has power tools but doesn't know how to use them, this is WONDERFUL NEWS! I had these fantasies about my Dad driving an hour each way to my house (and being very happy to do so) to "Help Us" do all the projects we wanted done. Help us in remodeling bathrooms, living rooms, landscape, and outbuildings. All a while he would be LOVING IT! I really had thoughts that The Dad would be delighted in getting my new house magazine ready (Perfect! Just in case a magazine wants to do a photo shoot) and this would be his main priority in his early retirement.

Well guess what?????? He DOES NOT have the same fantasy that I have about him working on our house and honestly ............He shouldn't! He should be fishing, hunting, going to lunch with his buddies, traveling with my mom and helping Princess Spoiled Brat plant gardens.


So this Father's Day, my gift to my Dad won't be my usual list of "TO-DO" projects that need to be done at our house. I won't present the list and then graciously let him pick which project he would like to tackle on Father's Day. If he's been a really good Daddy all year I will let him pick two!


YEP, this year I've decided that I'm going to put an ad on Craigslist and look for a Gay Dad. Yep that's right! I'm currently thinking of interviewing potential Gay Dads. I'm not looking to replace The Dad, that's not it at all. I just need someone who has my same vision. Someone who's main goal in life is to help me make my house magazine ready. A Dad who wants to decorate, garden, and do craft projects. Now the ideal candidate will possess all of these qualities as well as have the similar tastes as mine. If my new Gay Dad interviewee happens to have a partner that's a pastry chef...........well.......HOT DAMN...........he's got the job!

Now if gay men reading this are horrified...... I'm sorry this isn't meant to be a slam on you or sexuality. Some of you do posses certian qualities a girl needs. This is intended as a compliment. I need some gay men in my life! Someone who gets it! Also if you're reading this and thinking "wow that would be a sweeeeeeeeeeeet gig" Please keep in mind that this position pays NOTHING and with that top pay, you have to contend with Princess Lazy Ass who has been known to be a bit high maintenance... According to The Hubs and some of her closest friends.

This gift will allow The Dad to be left alone instead of me calling every week wanting something done and him keeping his schedule VERY FULL so he can avoid me, or what he calls "enjoying his retirement". Whatever!

I really see this as a "Win-Win" situation for everyone.


I do have a back up plan in case this new superb plan doesn't work out like I thought it would. I'll call him later this morning and see if I can't treat him to a big ole burger at The Corner Tavern which he will be thrilled with.

Why My Dad is the best dad in the world???? He is the rock of our family. He is the most anal retentive, organized, smartest, funniest, quick witted, caring guy you will ever meet. He has always bailed me out of every bad choice I have ever made or will let me sit and cry if there was no fix. He's always kept my AAA membership paid up so I wouldn't be stranded, (except now that I'm married, The Hubs has to do it) he has always led by example... that hard work along with doing what is right will get you further, and laughing and having fun with your friends isn't a bad thing. He also taught me that while someone is pointing out something that you could improve on or didn't do right, "I know" isn't the right answer, If you knew, you wouldn't be having the conversation. Listen to what they have to say, You might learn something! And the best advice he ever gave me; If you're embarrassed that people are going to find out about something you did or said, then you probably shouldn't be doing it!

If it wasn't for his well organized anal retentiveness the rest of my family would be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. He keeps us all on the right track, with his wisdom and sarcasm. I do come by the sarcasm naturally.

Vintage Dad and Timi

The Dad, The Mom and Myself in Vegas

One afternoon The Hubs and I were talking about moving out of state (his job was forcing us to talk about it) when The Hubs said "I thought you didn't want to move, that your umbilical cord wouldn't stretch too far from your mom?" I said " I think I could do it now and besides that if that's what we have to do then that's what we have to do." The Hubs said "Well I don't think my umbilical cord will stretch that far from your Dad." If that isn't a testament to my dad being the greatest... I don't know what is!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Don't let me forget a shout out to The Hubs on this Fathers Day. Here at the House of B's, we want to thank him too for being a great dad to Charlie and Franklin. Keeping them with food, shampoo, and taking them out at 4 am. I would also like to thank The Hubs for keeping the internet on, purchasing Diet Coke, Entemans doughnuts, and.........well lets face it Princess Lazy Ass isn't going without much around here!

These are my boys

Call your Dad today, or sit and take a minute to remember the good things you remember about him.

Have a great day!

Who Would You Be A Spokesperson For?

There are a lot of products on the market that I truly love and I feel I can't live without. We all have them.

Corporate America gets us hooked on certain products that they say we can't live without and then...........BAM........THEY CANCEL THEM! Take them off the market, put them on grocery store product death row! Or worse yet.........Stupid Prices which I think is a stupid store and I don't shop there. Anyway......back to my half rant.........This cancellation happens all the time with bras, running shoes, and lipstick! You know what I'm talkin about! This is so maddening. You go to find your favorite product and can't! Now it's not as easy to find as Corporate America made it in the beginning. You start to panic, what are you going to do? I need that product, I can't live without that! This must be what crackheads feel like when they try to find their usual dealer and they aren't anywhere to be seen. I'm now a bit more sympathetic to my local drug addicts.

I have been freakin out over the last couple weeks because I couldn't find one of my favorite products at any of my usual shopping places where I had purchased this product so easily before at a discount with a coupon. The product I have been searching high and low for? Tide Simple Pleasures laundry soap. My flavor of choice is Water Lilly and Jasmine in the blue jug. In my search, I even got on the Tide website to find out where I could get it.
Website says...........available at all stores. Well this is good news! They say it's still available and I haven't seen it yet in Household Death Row at our local discount grocery store. Here it's called the Grocery Outlet we call it the Used Food Store at this house hold.

So I was off to find my much needed laundry soap. I've been out for a few weeks and I'm really missin it. I need it! I went to my usual places because I thought maybe I was just over looking it. The website said available at all stores. Well BULLS^$#! !!!!! Now grant it I only use this particular laundry soap on my linens and some of my clothes (The Hubs thinks a little too fufu for every day, but he does love clean sheets and pillowcase washed in it) it could have been discontinued since I last purchased it. I don't buy it that often. In fact I probably have only bought it 2 times since it's been on the market. We are two people, we don't use that much product............Which........Tide marketing people if your reading this........Please keep that in mind when your thinking about canceling the products you got me hooked on and I enjoy!

I'm not a regular Target shopper. Yes, I know I should be ashamed of myself and there are alot of you out there that think I should be stoned out of town. I just don't shop there regularly.

Well I ran to Target the other night and decided to look there. And as soon as I turned down the laundry soap isle it was like a bright light shown upon it and angels started playing music. THERE IT WAS!!!!! Of course now it's $12.99 for the 48 load jug, I think I paid $6 something before with it being on sale and a coupon. I was happy to pay $12.99 for it, I would have paid $19.99 for it because I'm hooked and need it!

So now I have my fancy laundry soap for washing sheets and some of my clothes and I couldn't be happier. My Not So Mary Tyler Moore life is complete today.

I highly recommend this product. If Tide wanted me to be a spokesperson I could do it with ease! If you could be a spokesperson for a product what product would it be?

Today I'm a Tide Spokesperson

P.S..........I get no kick backs from any of the above companies. N0thing from Ad Sense or anyone else. Now if they are out there reading and want to send me a little somethin somethin I won't object. Here at the House of B's we don't object to payoffs or gifts. Whatever you want to call them.

Not Just Any Ole E-Mail

I became a blogger because of WSU Laura, not because I thought I had something of importance to say. And trust me I GOT NOTHIN of importance to say! Just ask The Hubs.
I never really thought that anyone would actually read my blah blah I posted every once in a while. I really just wanted to be able to comment on others blogs.

WELL...........I got an e-mail that might as well have been from Princess Diana, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner-Browne or Queen Elizabeth her self!

Timi! You have no idea how much your happy, sweet, enthusiastic, funny, fun blog entry means to us! We took a year off to try and figure out how to make our spread out, crowded outdoor show better for shoppers and vendors and even though the rain fell (we definitely need to make adjustments to our admission process) everyone was so understanding and happy! I swear, we have the best vendors and shoppers!!!

I’m so glad you and your friends were able to join us and as soon as we get the next show booked it’ll be on our website.

Thanks again Timi!!
Teri

Oh, the Davenport Hotel will have a discounted FC rate again for the next show…pillow top mattresses and complimentary candy each night! J

Teri Edwards
The Farm Chicks
Live Well*Laugh Often*Junk Much
www.thefarmchicks.com

YEAH, That's right! Teri Edwards herself. One of the Queens Of The Farm Chicks!
Of course she isn't inviting me over for ice tea and coffee cake or for her to pitch a new Farm Chick idea and get my opinion, or an invite to go junkin.
It is however an e-mail from her! It's the little things that make me happy. Especially when I was still giddy from that fantastic show those ladies put on.
I guess there are a couple people out there reading. It kind of gives you goose bumps when you think about it. So you ladies who think that nobody reads what you say.............It's soooooo true..............You never know who's reading your blog!

So as long as The Hubs keeps payin the Internet cable bill and a thought is running through my head I WILL BLOG!

That's my Gone With the Wind impression only a 2008 version.

Have a wonderful day!

***NEW BLOGGER ALERT***
Check out Annie's in Snohomish, she is new to blogging. She has FABULOUS Stores in Snohomish and I'm so excited to see what she's posting and showing off. I think you will enjoy it too. Add her to your favorites!

What A Trip!

Farm Chicks Rock!

They are a big deal!
We here in the northwest don’t really have Antique Shows like this so this (that I'm aware of)was a huge treat! This was our first trip to the Farm Chicks show and my Posse and I were giddy with excitement for weeks prior to this event. We would be traveling over to Spokane from Snohomish. This is about a 5 hour trip that we girls managed to make in to an 8 hour trip. Best way to get in to the shopping mood…………..start shopping on the way!
We were lucky enough to have Mother Madden with us who knew some great stops along the way, sights we needed to see and some fantastic eating places. I’m all about some good vittles!

First stop………Ellensburg. Lunch and a couple of thrift stores. We had a really nice lunch at the Valley Cafe. I highly recommend this little spot. Then shopped at a couple local thrift stores.

My Cool Chick Club Posse Having Lunch at the Valley Cafe

We drove around looking for a parking space and I finally found one right in front of this store front window. One day Cool Chick Club will be Old Chick Club Next stop........Spokane.

I will admit, I'm one of those people that has always thought that Spokane was just a nasty little hole of a town. Hear me now people of Spokane..................I STAND CORRECTED! I will be back to spend my money!
We made our way past the downtown area, and out to an industrial area where we stayed at the Rodeway Inn on E. Broadway. It's not a fancy hotel or worthy of a AAA approval but it was super close to the fairgrounds which was the key to this shopping trip. The hotel had nothing around it but a truck stop, and a tavern. If you're looking to hook up with a truck driver, this is the place for you!
We got all checked in to our hotel room, got freshened up and headed to downtown Spokane. I haven't spent much time in downtown Spokane ever. This little town, much to my surprise, is really a cool old town. Why leave our lovely dive of a hotel in the industrial area you ask-and head downtown? We were off to have drinks and dinner at The Davenport Hotel. This is a MUST NOT MISS place in Spokane. I can't even begin to describe the loveliness of this hotel. The food and drink were wonderful and one feels like royalty when dining there. I can't even imagine what the rooms must be like. Next year this will be where we stay!
This is my crappy picture of the beautiful stained glass ceiling in The Davenport Hotel bar. It's a peacock and it's beautiful!

Donna aka Swedish Flicka with her fancy burger at The Davenport

She's single and a catch incase you know any good guys out there!

Above is WSU Laura with her fancy lava cake dessert that was very good!

Below is Friend M with her delicious crab salad. Please pretend her eyes are open. She's going to be pissed I used this photo.

Saturday is finally here and it’s 7:00 am! YEAH! We are up and getting ready to go. When someone says “what’s it doing outside?” This is usually first thing we here in the Northwest say when getting up in the mornings. Probably a weird question for some but a very important question. Opening up the light blocker curtains in the hotel room let us see our worst nightmare………….POURING DOWN RAIN!
Yes, it shouldn't’t be a big deal for us Washingtonians but it is for women going to an event! What to wear? Look cute, be wet? Be dry, look not so cute? Huge problem!
After much deliberation about what to wear, we decided the Farm Chicks are smarter than us and have taken our funky unpredictable weather into consideration and this would definitely be an inside event. Cute it is!

Before going to the fairgrounds we must fill our bellies yet again so we don't have to stop during the day for lunch. Something to tie us over until dinner. Again Mother Madden came through! Off to The Old European Restaurant.

This was one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long long time! Again I don't have the words to describe how fabulous this place is. I recommend the little plate that has a taste of all their specialties. Swedish pancakes, Danish Aebelskivers, buttermilk pancakes, and a German potato pancake. I also HIGHLY recommend their biscuits and gravy. Put Old European on your list of MUST VISIT places while your in Spokane.
Now our bellies are so full we can barley move but there is nothing stopping us. It's FARM CHICKS OR BUST!

So we head on over to the Fair Grounds Expo Center to get this event underway. We drive in and it’s packed! There are hundreds of people waiting in line in the rain also giddy with anticipation. Now did anyone in our group bring an umbrella with them????? THAT WOULD BE NO! What the hell man?

This would be the line. You can't see how it snakes around to the door or back behind us. Rumor has it, the line was steady like this for 2 hours.

Why would 3 people born and raised in this part of the country not have a umbrella with them??? I don't know. WSU Laura and Mother Madden came prepared. We put the LL Bean Boat Totes to good use as well as a couple Goodwill plastic bags.OH MY GOD! Nice teeth, Bugs Bunny!

yeah that's me!

Well the line was about 30 minutes in the pouring down rain. So much for cute! We finally got in, soakin' wet but ready to shop!

When you walked in the door you immediately stood in awe of what you were about to experience. Antiques, crafts and people as far as the eye could see!

This was a junkin' girls dream come true.

I don’t think anyone there anticipated the turn out this show had, I know we didn't expect it to be such a big deal .
The first few hours of this show were INSANE! You couldn't move, you couldn't look at anything, and you certainly didn’t want to “think about” something before you bought it. It would have been gone as soon as you set it down.
I had nothing in mind that I wanted or needed when I got there. I really just wanted to experience this show and The Farm Chick phenomenon. Well, it wasn’t long after entering the show that me and my Cool Chick Posse caught Farm Chick Fever. We all had initial necklaces, and were searching for cute skirts, aprons, and cowboy boots. You couldn't help but get caught up in the energy and fun happening around you.
The vendors in this show were fantastic! There was such a huge variety of items from beautiful hand crafted things to wonderful unique vintage items. All the vendors had great booths, with lovely displays, plenty of help in their booth, and despite the overwhelming crowds they all had smiles on their faces. These ladies truly love what they are doing. I left inspired to get home and start makin' things happen! Not sure what that is yet but I’m feelin' it!
Some of my favorite vendors there;
Tickled Pink
The Vintage Empire
The Cat’s Pajamas
Bari J.
There wasn’t one booth in this show that we walked by because it didn’t look interesting to us. We stopped at every booth and shopped every booth. As usual…………I found items I didn’t even know I needed!
These are some of my finds that I almost wet my pants over when I saw them.

This beautiful pink vintage sweater and my Farm Chicks necklaces

This superduper fantastic vintage shopping cart that I got from Tickled Pink. How stinkin' cute is that?
I found these cute little floral pictures in the black frames under a table. I spotted them while I was standing with everyone's packages waiting. They fit PERFECT in my entry way!

I decided I needed something to drink, so I made my way through the crowds to the back of the building, once back there, back by the concession stand where there was NOBODY, I looked to my left and amongst the cute banquet tables covered in cute table clothes I saw a sight that made me laugh so hard, yet it should serve as a lesson to all women.
There they were….MEN!.........Sitting at the tables bored out of their minds! Staring in to space, trying to make small talk with the other men, and drinking endless cups of coffee. These men were all great sports when I asked to take their picture. I wanted to e-mail it home to The Hubs to show him what he was missing! These men are my heroes! I hope their wives made them a fancy dinner and showed their appreciation when they got home.

Ladies……..let this photo be lessons to you……………..If they aren’t interested... don’t drag them there! It’s just cruel!

We wrapped up the day with some sore feet, tired eyes, aching hands, and bags and bags and bags. It was a GREAT DAY! After getting back to our hotel room, resting a bit, and getting cleaned up we headed to a couple thrift stores that Mother Madden wanted to show us. Then it was off to her favorite restaurant in Spokane she wanted to share with us. Luna Cafe where we had some FREAKIN' FANTASTIC wine and food. This place is Loooooooovely! The decor is beautiful, the staff was professional, and the food was freakin' fantatic! If you have never been here............another MUST GO TO in Spokane! Thank you again...............Mother Madden!

On Sunday morning my Cool Chick Posse decided that we needed to make one last food stop before leaving town. Sonic would be our final stop together. Yes, The Sonic drive in. Why there............we don't have one close to us. This is the closest one (well other than Portland) and Sonic is a treat! Over breakfast we discussed how much fun we had and what we would do differently next year when we returned.
We will be making our reservations again as soon as the next Farm Chicks show is announced. This was so much fun. We saw beautiful things, met some wonderful ladies, gained 15 pounds each and had a girl’s weekend we will be talking about for months! If you love junkin', and everything that encompasses that, sign up for the Farm Chicks Mailing list and attend their next show! Gather up your best junkin' girlfriends and make your plans. I guarantee this trip will leave you inspired as well as be in your top 5 of BEST TRIPS EVER!

INSANE!!!!!!

I'm back from the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane and I can't wait to write about it. Once my feet stop throbbing, my fingers straighten out (from holding a steering wheel for 7 hours and carrying bags), get wet clothes in the wash and I get the truck unloaded I plan on doing a lot of writin and a little picture showin!

Stay tuned!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

I have been giddy with excitement about going to the Farm Chicks Show! I 've been reading blogs about going, I've been looking at all the vendors and their items listed on websites, and chatting with local antique dealers about going. Which just makes it all that more exciting. After over packing a suitcase with clothes and shoes, I laid awake all night not being able to sleep. I'm not sure if it was the excitement or the heartburn from eating too many Rice Crispy Treats yesterday. Never the less.............I was awake all night! The Hubs said that there is a name for being too excited to sleep. When he was on deployments for 6 months or more they use to stay up for days before coming home. I call it Disneylandides. It's like being a kid again waiting to go to Disneyland. I guess this is Junkers Disneyland!

So Friend M is here and we are on our way! Going to pick up Delightful Donna, then meeting up with WSU Laura and her mom. Then it's off on our adventure!

In all my excitement I'll try to remember to take pictures to share. SEE YOU THERE!

2 MORE DAYS!

Only 2 more days until Swedish Flicka, Friend M and WSU Laura and I leave for the Farm Chicks Antique Show in Spokane Washington. We leave Friday morning bright and early! We are getting there the day before so we are rested, and ready to shop on Saturday morning! Well that, and we wanted to fiddle around on the way over there. Stop off at some antique stores,and where ever else we want along the way.

I'm so excited I can't stand it!

Today I'm going to go get the truck filled with $5 a gallon gas (isn't that ridiculous?) then get it all washed and cleaned out for our 5 + hour trip.

I borrowed a Red Radio Flyer Wagon from my 6 year old niece so it would match and I could haul my freshly laundered LL Bean Boat Totes (monogrammed of course) in it. That way I'll have my hands free while I'm FILLING THEM UP!!!!

Now it's time to figure out what to wear???? As you know it does occasionally rain here in the Pacific Northwest (we got almost 2" of rain yesterday afternoon) so trying to figure out what to wear is sometimes a dilemma. Is it going to be hot or is it going to be cold? Weather forecast for the Spokane area this weekend..........RAIN! That could change in a second in the Eastern part of the state. It could be 90 out as soon as the rain stops. Hard for a girl to be prepared in these conditions.

Guess I'll put away my Stephen Bonanno's and bust out the New Balance or the Dansko for my shopping pleasure. Here in the Northwest it's sometimes more about keeping dry then being all cute. I swear some day I'm moving to a "cute" everyday state!

So today it's all about getting ready to go for Friday morning. I'm usually always behind the eight ball but this time..............I'm going to be ready!

Tonight we are having dinner with The Hubs step brother and his Fiancee. We will be meeting them downtown Seattle for dinner which should be fun. We don't venture out as much as I would like anymore downtown for dinner. I'll let you know how it was.
Have a wonderful day!

Sex and the City

I realize the premier for Sex and the City was last Friday. As usual I'm behind in my unsolicited commentary about what's going on around me. It's been written to death about by now, but what the hell....I'll put in my 2 cents!

I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!!!!

There we were, our cute little 40 and almost 40 something selves dressed all cute at a small crappy little movie theater on Monday night with 20 other ladies in great shoes to see the long (and I stress long) awaited for movie of Sex and the City. It was no big red carpet movie premier but I didn't care, I was giddy with excitement. I didn't even care that I wasn't all Carrie'd Up in my attire, that I hadn't worn fabulous shoes, fabulous chunky jewelry, or fabulous outfits as everyone else had, I was just excited to finally see this movie. Well maybe I cared a little......

I have been a fan since the first day this show appeared on HBO. Before it's enormous popularity, I was with the small group of late 30's early 40 something single women who watched this religiously, used it as a teaching tool and prayed it wouldn't get canceled. I have seen every episode a million times, thought how sometimes what was happening in my life would make a great story line (whack library story) for the show, and quoted Samantha, Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda like they said it to me when they spoke the quote. I have licked my eye brows over how sexy Big was, cried for all of them, cried for me when I could relate, and was excited for them when something wonderful happened as if they were my best friends. It was an odd little TV relationship but I loved them and I didn't miss an hour with them. EVER! I was so sad to see this relationship come to an end. It's been hard finding something to replace these girls and I don't think I ever really will.

The movie..................GO SEE IT! Fan or no fan go see it. For those of you who are fans and haven't seen it yet I'm not going to tell you a thing. You need to see it for yourself. Gather up your best girlfriends or guy friends, take some tissue, get all glammed up and go see it! You won't be disappointed. Then go have a cosmo afterward, raise your glasses and bring your Sex and the City relationship to a close and move on in life as Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda have all done. I think after last night I'll be to have some closure to my long relationship with these girls and move on myself to the next part of life, a little more aware of myself and others.

P.S............You may be a little disappointed as I was, that all the funny gay guy characters kind of take a back seat to the girls in this movie. Stanford was barley present which I was a little disappointed in and Anthony had a few lines, he wasn't his usual funny self. Still loved the movie but was looking forward to seeing a little more of them. I guess it's wasn't about them!



The next movie to get excited about........He's Just Not That Into You Based on the bestselling book. Ladies this is a short must read! Single or in a relationship that doesn't feel right. This will enlighten you.

What Brings You Back To Your Roots

Life is fast paced, people get under your skin, and sometimes you feel out of control, your family feels out of control and sometimes you feel your alone in this big ole rat race. What gets you grounded again?

For me it's my childhood home, my childhood friends, and memories of growing up in a small farm community. This weekend I was lucky enough to spend a whole day with my grade school/high school friends all at once. It's rare that we can all get together, so this was a big treat. These are girls that I went to grade school with and still stay in contact with. Many people find this weird when I mention it, but these are some of my dearest friends. Even though all of our lives have taken different paths and we don't' really see each other socially on a regular basis and kids don't go to school together, when we get together it's like we are still in 4th grade and as close as ever. It's like we have never not seen each other everyday. It's an energy I can't explain, it makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over and brings you back to a comfortable, grounded, centered, place within yourself.

Now.......................Baseball 1974

Friend T was home visiting for a week from New Jersey so this called for a girls get together which I arranged and volunteered Friend S to host. What are friends for?????Friend S had everything set up beautiful. China and crystal on the table with lots of lovely spring flowers on the table. Let me tell you about who was there;

Friend S is the health and spiritual advisor of the group. She is the picture of health, is very spiritual, is one of the most gracious women I know. She will listen with a sympathetic and non judgemental ear. Which is something a girl always needs. She also has a beautiful home and I love to go there. Not just because it's beautiful, and I always steal the most amazing things for my own home (not really but I like to tell her that!) but because it's a place where you feel comfortable, you know you never need an invitation, and when you walk through that door you are greeted with open arms. I always go home relaxed and inspired to do something wonderful! Did I mention she has 5 boys whom she home schools? These boys are handsome and smart. So smart I can't carry a conversation on with them. Most of the time they are over my head in any subject. I wish Friend S would teach them about decorating and shoes so we could chat!Friend S's Shack where the shin-dig was held.
Friend T is our Bling! She's tall blond, beautiful, funny, and has your back in any situation. You can count on Friend T for ANYTHING! We love to see her whenshe's visiting. Friend T

Friend B is our creative and very organized friend. This woman is one of the most creative well organized women I know. Not only is she creative but she is so upbeat and fun that she's infectious to be around. Even my mother has said "oh I just love Friend B, she is just sooooooooo fun to be around, I love her!" Friend B works very hard at creating ways to beg for money for the local Hospital Guild (she's very good at this) and we love her for that! Without her work, there wouldn't be the quality of health care that we have in our small farming community. She is a great scrapbooker too, she brought stacks of scrapbooks that were so much fun to look at. I so admire these people who take the time to creatively document their lives. I could go on and on about Friend B and her creativity, her house she has completely remodeled, and all her fabulousness!

Friend L is our Historian..........Friend L is amazing. She has saved and scrap booked every moment of her life. I admire this. She showed up to our get-together with books and books of pictures and newspaper clippings from grade school and high school. Pictures of weddings, baby showers, young mothers trying to hold it together, and get-together we have had over the years. It was so much fun looking through all these. Friend L also has her finger on the pulse of what's going on, so it's always fun to chat with her.

Friend L with her cake that ended up looking like a penis with a lot of hair. It was really good but secretly I think she is interviewing for a job Master Cake Maker at The Erotic Bakery

Friend M is the compassionate, fun loving, stylish, adventurous one. Her compassion, sympathy, and kindness is always so comforting to me. She too is infectious to be around. She always looks great, she runs marathons, participates in every walking and running fundraiser there is for Breast Cancer, and is just overall..........a fantastic person. She's going to be one of my road trip buddies to The Farm Chicks Show next weekend. We are so excited!

This was one of the best days I have had in a long time! Friend S put on a nice spread for us at her little shack of a house. After looking through some pictures we found a picture of us making a pyramid when we were in grade school so we decided that maybe we could recreate it.

30 years later................We still have it!

1978 2008

Later on in the afternoon we took a tour of Friend S's farm. Isn't this barn beautiful. Makes me want to turn in my rein of Princess Lazy Ass.

Stephen Bonanno's where not meant for the barn yard. Dang!

I'm going to Friend S's for Thanksgiving this year! S's sons have an avery that has every type of bird you can imagine. It's so much fun to wonder around the farm. S's sons are also working on another amazing project. They are plowing a field with horse and plow. Planting oats by hand and I would imagine seeing it through clear to harvesting.

The Draft Horses are being loaded up and taken to the field.I didn't get pictures of all the girls. I'll have to post them as they come in to me from other cameras. If they will give them to me, you know how we girls are?

Thanks for letting me share this really great day with you.

If you have been thinking of an old friend and haven't talked to them in ages.................CONTACT THEM NOW! I bet you won't regret it!