happy birthday dear jake

my baby boy,
my first born,
the 4 year old frog master of our tallahassee back yard,
the prolific reader and artist,
the author of an upcoming old west book,
mr. noodle himself...
jake 
turns 11 today.

e l e v e n  
hard to believe!  remember a couple birthdays ago when i showed photos of him through 9 birthdays...  i've looked at that a couple times already this morning.  thinking back on all the elaborate birthday parties i threw for him.  thinking back on the night i went into labor.  the next night having an emergency c-section.  him finally being OUT and safe and sound.  it was scary.  i've never felt so helpless in my life.  but that trauma slowly subsided and we enjoyed every second of our brand new sweet baby.  our jakob was amazing.  sleeping through the night after a couple months, always happy, so easy going, so giggle-ey, SO cute.  in his eleven years we have dragged him through 4 states, 8 houses and 4 different schools.  things have changed a lot since those baby days and we manage through what seems like tough teenager, (but i know will get even harder), years.  but one thing remains....we love him with all our hearts every single day...every single moment.

jake,
we are so proud of you.
we adore your sense of humor and your big laugh.
we love your passion for writing and drawing.
we appreciate how sensitive and caring you can be....
and what a huge heart you have.
we love you and wish you the happiest birthday yet!
happy 11th jake!!!

xoxo...mom and dad

vintage tuesday

it's vintage tuesday...the happy birthday edition...
because today is my sister ali's birthday!

sing with me!
happy birthday to you...
happy birthday to you...
happy birthday dear ali...
happy birthday to yoooou.

vintage card from VintagePartyPaper

1950's couture party dress by twinheartsvintage

vintage ice cream cups by papertreats

soda pop by RobertaGrove

vintage birthday candles from foundvintageobjects

darling cake plate by thevrose

vintage streamers from theginghamgirl

tin clown noisemaker by macphek
















party plates by tiedupmemoriesmarket

party favors from HeyYoYo

happy birthday ali...hope it's an extra magical, fantastical day!
love you lots!  xox...jenn

easter fun

popping in to share a few pictures of our fun weekend.  sure hope yours was GRAND!

happy monday everyone!  xox...jenn

i'll just stand thank you

the easter bunny visited henry's school last week and i sent in $5.00 for him to get a photo.  let me tell you right now...the best $5.00 i have ever spent in my life!!  i was squealing like a lunatic when i saw it!  henry said they told him to sit in the bunny's lap, to which he replied there was definitely not enough room.  i'll just stand thank you.

the way he is standing there with his arm around the easter bunny, like they are old college roomates, is absolutely priceless.   i adore it.

wishing each of you a happy and blessed easter!  xox...jenn

team up thursday

yellow

to me, yellow stands for 

happy, 

spring, 

warmth, 

fun, 

sun 

and renewal ...

how about you?  

once again team up thursday sure is a BRIGHT spot in my week. 

i snapped a shot of some of our bouncy balls.  something so fun 

about having them around.  the boys adore them.  such a treat to 

reach in and pick a winner and bounce that sucker all over the

house.  and can i just marvel at my partner for a minute...look at 

her pencil shot...it is SO good.  SOooo good.  carissa is such an 

amazing photographer among her many other talents.  make sure 

you click on the photo to see it LARGE.  it's impressive folks.

have a happy day everyone!  xox...jenn

happy paintings

remember when i told you about my art showing in a sweet fort worth coffee shop?  well, i am offering those paintings for sale now!  5 new paintings are headed over to my etsy shop right now.  yes, my lonely little etsy shop.  poor thing will be so excited to see a little new blood!  here's a peek for you...

lots of happy spring colors and polka dots of course...enjoy!  and have a SPECTACULAR wednesday!

xox...jenn

vintage tuesday

ring, ring, ring...

just calling to say happy tuesday! 

my photo from here

vintage telephones are so fun to decorate with, and if you are lucky enough to have a working one to chat on...even better!  the little play rotary tin phones are my most favorite.  line 'em up on a shelf  for a darling display.  

now, get out your phone book and enjoy these vintage phone picks for vintage tuesday! 

hello, operator?

vintage photo from main street books

1940's telephone from carpebellus

don't you miss rotary phones?  i do.  

remember those phone numbers with lots 

of nines or zeros?  ooooh the waiting!  

rotary dial front from second seed

darling in pink...

vintage toy phone from Mademoiselle Chipotte

pick a color...

70's wall phones from joe vintage

metal play phone from aunt lettuce

vintage casanova "little black book" phone book from hornets nest vintage.  girls...stay clear of the fellas that own this! :) 

super cute playskool phone from sofralma

1950's bell telephone advertisement from JVoyage

xox...jenn

team up thursday

direction...

we all struggle with finding the right direction...

the right path.  deciding which way to go.  i was 

excited about the team up challenge this week. 

thinking of direction in terms of a photo...

carissa claims her photo wasn't the most exciting, 

but i happen to love it!  

"start here"

yes please!  i NEED a manual like that lately.  

telling me where to start.  exactly what to do and 

when.  you know that feeling when you have SO 

much to do that you can't get anything done?  

living that lately.  big time.  not a good feeling.  

gotta find a way to get back on track.  find a good

balance.  it seems i have been discombobulated 

since the move.  haven't bounced back yet. but, 

i know...it takes time!  i'll get there:) 

my photo has some of my most favorite little 

vintage bowling pin guys.  one guy not following 

the crowd...following his own direction!  

here's to marching to the beat of your own 

drum...going against the grain...finding your path 

and marching it with confidence!  woohoo!!

xox...jenn

spoOkytime jiNgles tonight

oooh it really snuck up on me!  spookytime jingles update is TONIGHT...just minutes away actually.  at midnight (EST) the pages update to reveal the new original art for april!  i just have one thing to offer this month but don't worry...i have lots of things in the works for the rest of the month...really!  have a great night everyone:) oh and here's a little look at my offering!  she is an art doll created from polymer clay and a vintage wooden bobbin spool.  thanks for taking a peek!  xox...jenn

vintage tuesday

photo by vintage warehouse

polka dots have always been a favorite of mine and ooooh boy i love me some VINTAGE polka dots.  here are some super fun polka dot finds from etsy...enjoy!

bow tie by dapper dean

party shoes by ruby red studios



































puppet by luna park foundry

















noise makers by ric rac and button

fire king bowl by old stuff in boxes

scarf by less than perfect

party dress by daisy and stella

tiny polka dot mugs by Iondabianca

happy tuesday to you all!  xox..jenn

team up thursday!

hello thursday!  so excited to be back to team up this week.  and whew...it was a little bit of a tough one!

design



sounds simple enough at first.  but then the zillions of possibilities start rolling around in your head.  what do you think of when you hear design?  i first thought of fashion.  it was my dream job as a kid and teenager.  i would study my stacks and stacks of magazines.  i knew everything there was to know about every designer.  i would cut out inspiration and hang it all over my wall.  sketch outfits instead of studying for my moby dick symbolism test.  (come on...did melville REALLY intend all that symbolism!?)  my idol was betsey johnson.  totally adored her to BITS. still do.  if i ever met her in person i would pass out.  but anyhooo...that was my first "design" thought.

as an artist...design is a big part of my life too.  the composition of a painting...the patterns...the colors.  oh boy.  design is tough.

and then there's interior design...another huge passion for me.  i've told you before...i'm a chronic "mover-arounder".  always tweaking this and that...finding new uses for old pieces...pouring over home design books.
it's a slight case of OCD.  i'll admit it.  yep...i'll know if you move my couch a half an inch.  i like things "just so".  BUT...i'm not totally kooky about it...i do live with 3 boys ya know;)

so, all this thinking and i wound up with a picture of my chair/pillows next to the bookcase.  go figure!  but look how well our photos go together.  the polka dots, the red...  i sure do love my team up partner and HER awesome design sensibility!  and i sure do love that lucky pillow made by my beautiful pal catherine.  and i do adore all my books displayed by color.  and if you look really close (and i JUST noticed this) you'll see a copy of melville's billy budd.  ha!

xox...jenn

vintage tuesday

hey there everybody!
wow...what a nice break i had.  but i sure did miss you all! my mom came for a visit and we had so much fun. we did TONS of junking...i mean TONS.  my mom is a machine!  she could shop all day everyday and she adores antiques and vintage...so yeah...sign me up!  we found sooo many treats...here are a few peeks for vintage tuesday!

and look what she left for me as a surprise...
this darling doll just really spoke to me when we
saw her, but i passed her up (and kept thinking
about her for days!!!).  well, my mom
snuck and bought her!  thank you mom!!!!!

it was such a fun week...so happy my mom could
spend this time with us.  shopping, exploring...

and EATING (p.s. best coconut cream pie ever!!)






















have a great tuesday!  xoxo...jenn