The Auction Purchase

Behold the wonderful vintage chairs!!!!!!! These two perfectly amazing chairs were purchased for only $7.50 at that auction on Saturday. That means $3.75 per chair! I was very excited about the price because usually I see them at antique shops for $30 to $40!!! WHAT A BARGAIN! But do I want to sell them? NO!!!

I bet one or two of you might be thinking, "What is wrong with her? Those chairs are horrible!" Even Kenny thinks they are "WT" if you know what I mean. Let me explain further! First of all, did I mention they were vintage? If you know anything at all about me, you know how I love antique or vintage anything! Second, my grandma had some similar to these (which my mom has now) and they remind me of her. I've always wanted some just like hers.

So now I have two great backyard chairs! Maybe they'll be my next painting project! All I know is that they make me smile because I think of my grammy when I see them.

Band Camp, Auctions, Etc....

Band Camp: Since this week has been filled with band camp and working to put my classroom back together, nothing exceptional has happened. This was the easy week of band, with only freshman being there. The next two weeks will be hard.....8 to 6 everyday. I'm pretty sure I'll be worn out by day 3 or 4......but with 10 days of it ahead of me, I have to be positive! Hey, no "this one time at band camp" jokes either people! ANNNDDD no making fun of my ankle tan line....stark white feet, with a hint of a flip flop line........tennis shoes are a MUST! I can't get around it! Whitney, you understand what I mean, right?

School: My classroom is almost done. I still have to put up bulletin boards, and the piles of stuff I didn't want to deal with have been shoved in my closet......so I'll have to mess with that eventually.......but the furniture is back in it's place! Curious George stuff has been strategically placed upon my bookshelves, and my classroom library is close to being arranged. Oh, and I dusted, which is a rare occurrence for me. Mom will be proud.

Dark Knight: Amazing movie......made my heart pound! GO SEE IT!

Farmer's Market: My new favorite thing! I went to the one by the mall with mom. It had a family playing fiddles and singing (think SDC type music), all kinds of produce, and the most beautiful fresh bouquets I'd ever seen. I bet it'll be even better in the fall with pumpkins and mums!

Auctions: An old favorite thing! I love auctions (Jill, you are with me on this, I just know it). Don't make it to them very often, get nervous when I bid on anything, and am pretty determined when I find something I want. Met dad at one today. I found some old chairs that I really wanted. I left dad in charge of getting them for me (because I couldn't stay) annnddd he got them!!!! Three chairs for under $10! HOT!!!!!!!! Thanks dad!

Babysitting: I am babysitting for my wonderful friend Julie tonight. I am nervous already. Yes, I can handle 25 ten year olds on a daily basis.....no problem! But can I take care of 3 little kiddos under the age of 5 all by myself? A baby going on 7 months, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old. Julie, you might never ask for me to babysit again!

My new favorite song (click on it!!): Beating My Heart by Jon McLaughlin. I play this over and over. Whitney: On an unrelated note, every time Kenny and I hear Viva la Vida by Coldplay (another fave song), one of us does Chris Kattan's head move and the other breaks into Tracy Morgan's hand/wrist shake. Picture that! Good times....

Take me out to the ballgame.....

On Thursday, Kenny and I headed up to St. Louis for a Cardinal's game! We decided to rent a car since both of ours could possibly leave us stranded. I really wanted a Charger.......maybe an orange or red one. Kenny wanted a Hummer.......the new H3.......I don't think he cared about the color. Unfortunately, our options were limited, so we went with a PT Cruiser......a car that we often make fun of........so it was pretty ironic that we got stuck with it. But props to the Cruiser! It was a nice ride!

Once we got to the new stadium, we headed to the Bank of America Box. Our tickets were crazy! They were for the box, which was air conditioned, and it was over 90 degrees so we were very thankful for that. They also included an all you can eat buffet and unlimited drinks. Mr. Pibb was on the menu, so I pretty much drank my weight in it. I love that stuff. Kenny enjoyed a new nachos invention that he created. And what's a ballgame without a hot dog? So of course we both had hot dogs!

Once we finished pigging out, we found our seats outside. We had an amazing view of the Arch from our seats. We sat at about third base......I even bought a Cardinal's shirt for the occasion! They were playing the Padres. Cardinal's won 4 to 3. All four points were actual homeruns! We got to see four real homeruns! I was pretty excited! I was also relieved that no foul balls came our way, since I would have had to duck and cover.

So a big, huge thank you goes out to my amazing and wonderful room-mom and dad from this last school year for sending us on this trip! You guys rock!!!! We had so much fun and really appreciated this gift.

Garage Sale Fashion Show

When 5 friends get together for a garage sale, and customers are few, craziness ensues! We decided it would be fun to dress up in our own garage sale items for a fashion show........with Whitney's driveway as our catwalk.


Whitney sported two fashions on garage sale day. The first ensemble consisted of every single basket we could find. She wore a lovely basket on each leg, as well as her arms and head. To finish off this unique look, she held a heart shaped basket. The second look was made up of a woven straw hat, a handmade boa, and a plastic E II lunch bag. We felt the orange bag matched her shirt and shorts very well. Surprisingly, the boa and hat did not sell. Nor did any of the baskets.


Andrea decided to go a little more formal. For her strut down the catwalk, she donned a stunning gown, once worn as a bridesmaid's dress. In addition to the dress, she held a Curious George doll (since monkeys are the latest accessory). To top off her fashion statement, she found a brown hat that went nicely with the monkey's fur. Strangely enough, none of these selections sold either.




We took a break from the catwalk to do a posed shot of Terri........mainly due to the incredibly unique stool she chose for her photo shoot. Not only is the barrel a stool, it is also a cooler! It can hold many cans of your favorite frosty beverage. In addition to the cooler/stool, Terri modeled a hot pink shawl with brooch, knee-high black boots, and a woven straw hat. To reiterate the fact that the barrel was a cooler, Terri chose a bottle as her accessory. Shockingly, the only item that sold was the shawl.

Back on the catwalk, it was my turn to work the runway. In keeping with Terri's shawl look, I draped a tan shawl across my shoulders. A vintage handbag with a delicate silver chain hung from my arm. Brown wedge sandals and a small straw hat completed the ensemble. In true model form, I decided to strike a dramatic pose for the camera. Of all these items, just the sandals found their way to a new home with Andrea.

Last, but not least, we have Ashley's unusual frock. Ashley went unconventional when she broke out the ski mask. Along with the ski mask, she cleverly added a blue denim shirt and tied it at the waist..........and what would a denim shirt be without a black and white purse and picture frame? This unique look closed the show, with the denim shirt selling seconds later.

Dedicated to Whitney

Whitney.......since Emma's first word was patina, I thought I'd provide you with its definition as stated in Miriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. The definition in which I used patina is definition 1b. Now if you are ever in a spelling bee, you will not need to ask for this additional information, as you are now well informed (I even provided the etymology)! I'll even use it in another sentence for you: The vintage sign had a great patina which reflected its authenticity.

Patina: pa·ti·na
Pronunciation: \pa-'tē-na\
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian, from Latin
Date: 1748

Definitions:
1 a: a usually green film formed naturally on copper and bronze by long exposure or artificially (as by acids) and often valued aesthetically for its color

1 b: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use

2: an appearance or aura that is derived from association, habit, or established character

3: a superficial covering or exterior

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patina

The "Walk"

Once upon a time, on a mild summer day, I decided to go on a walk. I happen to live close to a trail, which is quite pretty. I wanted some company on this walk, so I asked Ashley and Andrea to come along! They happily agreed! Soon after they both arrived at my house, we headed down the street with wild abandon.....no cell phones......no water bottles.........just us and our walking shoes. After all, it was just a nice afternoon stroll, right?

WRONG! Failure to communicate, led us on a journey that I am crippled from today. I feel as if I turned 75 years old overnight. Arthritis set in as I slept. If I can even stand, I hobble to my destination.......with a slight hunch of the back too. How did this immediate aging occur? Well, back to the story..........

The trail picked up at Fort and Sunset, and we headed east. Conversation was flowing, birds were chirping, flowers were blooming..........dodging the bicyclists was no problem. In fact, the company and conversation was so great, that none of us even stopped to ask: Where are we going exactly? As we get farther and farther I'm thinking, "I wonder when they'll want to turn around?"

The fitness level of Andrea and Ashley compared to mine is unmatched. That is, THEY run and exercise (high endurance levels). I try NOT to run and exercise (LOW endurance levels). The pace we had immediately settled into was FAST, and I was fading, but still keeping up. The itchy legs had come back, but by this time, they were numb.

Finally, we saw a set of stairs. We climbed up only to discover that we had hiked all the way to Battlefield Rd and West Bypass. Our options were grim. Turn around? Walk down Battlefield to Kansas Exp? Neither sounded good to me. I offered to stick my thumb out, but no one jumped on that idea. With no cell phones to call search and rescue, we decided to head down Battlefield. At this point, I don't remember much of the return trip......just that I fell back about 10 feet behind Andrea and Ashley..........and when we finally crawled up my driveway, we all collapsed on the floor in my living room.

That was my exercise for the next decade. I have no idea how far we actually walked, but I'm sure it was well over 7 miles. Next time, I'll arm myself with water and a cell phone, just in case.

The Unveiling

I'm ready to unveil the house, since it is finally finished! This project consumed 85% of the month of June, but I think it was well worth it! Talk about CURB APPEAL! I still have some landscaping projects to complete, but I might take July off from home improvement!

BEFORE

A lovely yellow! Not bad, just not me!

DURING

Thank goodness for Kenny's power-washing skills! It is harder than it looks! Just about knocked me off my feet the first time I tried it! I'm sure neighbors were cracking up if they happened to catch a glimpse of that!

Another shout out to mom and dad who helped paint!!!! They spent so much time over here, they probably don't want to come again for months! We ruined a few paint brushes (bad cleaning-them-out skills) and demolished a ladder (mishap with dad...which neighbors did see) but overall, it went pretty smoothly (except that silly storm door).

AFTER

TA DAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So much better!

Concerts, Parades, and Silliness

DISCLAIMER: If you read Whit's blog too, you'll be getting a double dose of what you're about to read! We can't help it! We were both there! Oh, and Ashley was too, so maybe even a triple dose!

On Thursday, I headed to St. Louis with Kenny, Whit, and Jim! We were on our way to see Whit's favorite musician of all time: John Mayer! The concert got underway with an opening act (Bret Dennen or something). Then Colbie Caillat put on a little show! After both of those acts, we were ready for the main attraction! Our seats were amazing.........Row D for me and Kenny.........and Whitney and Jim were on the SECOND ROW! The main attraction didn't disappoint, with one exception..........no Jennifer Aniston sightings.

While we were there, we also had some other fun! Whitney and I demonstrated how to NOT play "Dance Revolution," although Whit always beat me at every round. I've decided that if I ever have a basement, I want one of those contraptions for the "game room." Then we could have Dance Revolution Face-offs! Whitney would win.

We also went to see Kenny perform in the St. Louis Fourth of July Parade! We found really great seats for viewing the army band.....right across from the Arch! AANNNDD while we were waiting for the parade to begin, the silliness began! When cute little flags are passed out to parade watchers (and you have too much time on your hands) you get really creative and silly..............

Toilet Paper and Pepper Spray

Ashley: The non-grass cutter and floating toilet paper house is the SAME HOUSE! They are repeat offenders! I'm scared to mow close to the "fountain of sewer" because I don't want the mower flinging it on me! It's kind of like weed-eating snakes! I don't really want snake to fling on me either, so I try to avoid both! Although it's easier to avoid the moat next door than it is to avoid snakes in my yard.

Andrea: So Bass Pro has pepper spray??? I would never have guessed. I was hoping for a trip to that tactical supply place with you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Stu! Now who will go to the tactical supply place with me?

Whitney: Do you think air horns would work on snakes?