Artwork By Age Comparison

Emelina, Age 7

Randy, Age 9

Teresa, Age 9

Pirate Booty

There's this festival we go to and a booth that Emy loves there, where you mine for gold. It's a cart with a water fountain, and you get to sift through a bag of "treasure" and the woman at the booth will make a necklace if you find a pearl or gold charm or shark tooth or something to make a necklace out of. Emy loves looking through and she'd spend an hour there if we'd let her. This cart is a goldmine the way it attracts kids.

I have a chest that resembles an old treasure chest, and I'd like to fill it with small bits of Pirate Booty that the kids could sift through. I am looking for old pieces of fake jewelry and buttons, and beads that you don't need anymore. Or if you see an old box of buttons at a garage sale and you want to let me know about it, I'd appreciate it.

Something like this : http://cgi.ebay.com/estate-find-vintage-mele-jewelry-box-filled-jewels-/160523997687?pt=Vintage_Costume_Jewelry&hash=item255ff9d1f7#ht_500wt_1156

Or this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/60630196/vintage-candy-tin-filled-with-vintage?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_search_query=jewelry+box+filled&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_page=0&order=price_desc&includes[0]=tags&includes[1]=title&filter[0]=vintage

Watching Television.

Kat Kat Birthday

It's WAY too early yet, but I think this year I am going to make a party for Kat that will be a Diego and Dora Pirate Adventure Party. Kat Kat says the Diego is "her best friend" and she loves taking out her "spotting scope" to look for buried treasure. Maybe as a present to her or as part of the party I will have a treasure chest full of pirate booty.

Hmmm....now what will that be exactly?

Merry Christmas!

We've Been Jib Jabbed

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/ojtpBjsj7bPPc6C0?cmpid=jj_fb_friend_holidays

Paint With Water

Room Sketch

I have sketched out (above) what I would like the girls' room to look like one day. Etsy has turned out to have alot of things I will need to decorate>

Happy Birthday to Me

Need Your Eyes People

I am in the market for a few pieces of furniture. I have priced all these items and if I bought them all new, I would need $1200 -- which is actually pretty good, but since I am already saving up for a Disneyworld vacation one day, I have to prioritize. So I am going to try an ongoing hunt to find similar items on craigslist or ebay, and I was wondering if anyone sees any of these things while you are out and about in the world, I would appreciate it if you could email me (it is really not urgent) about where you have seen the item.

Just FYI, please know this list is very detailed because it's also my on the spot research list. I want to remember where I saw things a year from now, and I want to remember all the prices of things so I know what price I am trying to beat. And also, sometimes people on Craigslist try to sell things for the same price or even more than it would cost new, which is silly.

I would like to buy two matching file cabinets that are no taller than 25 inches high. They must be filing cabinets. Preferably real solid wood, or at least real steel frames, not MDF, or particle board because it needs to hold weight -- I am going to use them as stands to a desk. They must be identical. I currently like these $90 filing cabinets on Amazon:

I would also like to find a distressed outdoor fence that someone is giving away for free; I only need a 6ft section. I'd like it to be greyish with age. I don't know if it would be possible, but I'd like Randy to work the fence into a room divider screen. If you see a room divider screen that looks like a distressed old fence bent in half, please let me also know about that. I am trying to have something that looks like the Hacienda Screen from Cost Plus which is $400 + shipping.

I would like a Pier 1 Mamasan chair, which they call a Double Papasan. The bottom base costs $56, the chair costs $87.96, and then the cushion costs another $80. I'd like to at least get the frame for less since I am sure someone somewhere is selling one used, and then I can buy the cushion separately. I have seen only one on Craigslist before, but I do live in a college town with a Pier 1, so it's likely to occur again. If you see a brown or brownish mamasan on Craigslist for sale, please call me, that would be urgent. Thanks.

I would like to find an Ikea Kura bunk bed set. Or something very much like it, which would be like a very low bunk bed set or a low loft. Ikea sells it's bed for $199, so I want mine for less. I do see these for sale all the time, just not lately. Also below, somebody online did some modification to their Ikea Kurt which I like very much; just sharing.

I'd like to find a rug. I'd like it to be preferably 100% wool, but it could also be a rag rug. I'd like it be at least 3' X 5'. My favorite one is at LL Bean, for $170, 4X6. LL bean doesn't like to share pictures, so here's the link:

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/69519?feat=307-CL1

Here is a different one, which I might actually get from Etsy since I don't want a used rug. But if you see a rug on sale somewhere in a store, please let me know. I don't make it out to stores much.

Also, I very much like these things, and if you see anything on Craigslist that looks like these things, or like they could be easily modified to look like these things, please let me know. Thanks. I'd really like them to be made out of old distressed greyish wood.

Wow, I might actually sleep tonight. These ideas buzz around my brain way too much.