New Fav Thing!!!

I have found a new love.  I know I am slow to find this love.  I guess I was never patient enough before.

GARAGE/YARD/TAG SALES!!!
Whatever you call them, I am an addict.  


So we have moved once again and have not been able to get our stuff up here yet (so pricey!) so we have had to buy a few things to get us through.  You know things like a comfy chair, a table to eat at...you know, so we aren't sitting on the (awesome) hard word floors eating breakfast etc.  We have found so many great things and I am thrilled.  
Here is my new comfy chair...it's from Lord and Taylor furniture and is nearly new.  The lamp ($5) is also new and in really great shape.

Our new dining room table and 4 chairs from World Market!  The lady with the above chair also had this table...she had good taste!  

We have also been lucky and found some free stuff just sitting out waiting to be given a new home... these wicker tables I will eventually paint and use them outside or in the girls' room but for now they are very handy in the L.Room.  The futon pad (temp. couch) my neighbor found and gave us. 

My neighbor also scored this sewing machine table w/ a great sewing machine and chair!  Her daughter's GS troop had a GSale (I didn't know about this one) and these items didn't get purchased.  She brought it all home for me!  Ohhhh, I also love my new neighbor! 

The top of the sewing table folds out and to the left.  The sewing machine lays under and you fold it up to use.  The chair had an awful tweed fabric and I recovered it this week.  So great now!

 I also found these pillows...love them so much...Just my style and the perfect colors!  

My entire family love the garage sales...hubby was the one getting me going last Saturday by making the pot of coffee and the kiddos always grab their wallets. 


Some of our other scores...
Washer/Dryer...also from the woman with the chair and table.  They aren't shiny and new but they wash clothes perfectly!  

and....
K and L have found lots of very cute clothes 
Z found a new bike for $10!!!




Each Friday our little local and FREE newspaper comes out and they have a great list of garage sales.  I map it all out with the maps app on my hubbies iphone and we are set to go! 


A great way to start the weekend! 

What will I find this weekend?  I will let you know...

Girl Scouts!

My littlest is officially a Brownie GS and she couldn't be happier about it.  She was so excited to be asked to join the troop and didn't hesitate. Of course I thought there might be a bit of hesitation because we are new to this school but no, not one bit of thought required.                                    
We went to the GS store the day before the first meeting and she got her garb needed to be "official".   Of course that was a lot of the fun...shopping!  As we still don't have a lot of our stuff from FL, I borrowed my neighbors iron and got those patches on good and tight.  I would prefer to sew them but for now they seem to be holding good. 

She was easy to wake this morning...I told her the sash was ready to go and she JUMPED out of bed to get dressed and put it on. 

Her troop is big...29 girls but there are 4 leaders and they seem to be extremely organized.  They work on a badge at every meeting and there is even a back yard camp-out coming up in a week or so. 

The above, first pic was taken pre-hairbrushing as sissy pointed out to us.  "Lili you really need to brush your hair".  So I had to take a second...

Now we were pure Brownie perfection!  Can you tell she is excited?!  I sure can! 

To help us Remember...

A group of volunteers here in St. L put together a very touching memorial to help us all remember those people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

Its was really an amazing sight and put into real, hands-on meaning just how many people were affected that terrible day. 

This location is Art Hill in Forest Park and the large building is the St. Louis Art Museum. 

Each flag was numbered and labeled with the name of a person who died that day, a picture (if avail.), their age, where they worked, and where they died...in the Twin Towers, one of the 4 airplanes, or the Pentagon. 

Hearing all those flags wave was such an experience...very chilling reminder of what those people heard that day.  The shadows on the ground also made me think of the person who is no longer here on earth with their family.    

It was a wonderful honor to be there and celebrate those that lost their lives on 9.11.01.  I applaud those that had this idea...it was perfectly fitting. 

My thoughts...

It's been 10 years since the attacks on 9.11...hard to believe.  It still feels like yesterday and I wasn't directly affected.  It was an awful feeling of helplessness.  I can't imagine what the families of all those innocent victims must have felt while they were talking to their family member on the phone or watching it on the TV.  

We all have the stories of where we were that sad day.  I too have my story.  I had just had my 2nd child and had been home from the hospital only a few days.  My mom was still in town helping out.  My husband called from work and said I must turn on the TV.  We sat there stunned as that 2nd place flew into the 2nd tower and spent that day watching the events unfold.
 
Our country came together in those days.  We were a team.  There were none of the usual differences whether they be political, religious, cultural, or ethnic.  All these differences were put aside and we were one.  It's not like that today.  We seem to be so focused on defining ourselves in terms of those differences.


We all want what is BEST for our country, BEST for our citizens.  We may not agree on how to go about it but I choose to stay positive.  I liked being part of a team.  Lets get back to that.

If we haven't learned anything but hatred and fear, then we have lost.   
 

Happy Fall...or at least it feels like Fall today here in MO!

These were all taken from our house in CO which we miss but we are loving our new home in MO!  

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and GO WILDCATS!!!!

Forest Park, St. Louis

So far my favorite place in St. Louis is Forest Park.  Well I guess my second favorite...our house is pretty great too.  

Forest Park is the second largest municipal park to Central Park in NYC.  It was the home to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition otherwise know as the 1904 World's Fair.  It was a spectacular event for it's day.  The first weekend we were here in St. Louis, the kiddos and I headed to the local library, got our new library cards and I checked out 2 different books about the Fair.  The second weekend we toured Forest Park and St. Louis Zoo (within the park). 

I am including a link for a website from the Missouri History Museum.  They did a big exhibit in 2004 to celebrate the Centennial of this grand event.  Here is the link if you're interested...1904 World's Fair.  

A few interesting facts I discovered...

1. most of the "Palaces"-12 in all-were built for the fair were temporary and an agreement was made to have the park returned to it's original form afterwords. 

2. only 2 buildings remain in the park today from the Fair...the Art Museum, and the Flight Cage. 

3. the large Ferris wheel or "Observation Wheel" (36 cars total and each held 60 people) built for the fair was dynamited afterward and buried on site...such a shame...it's was a cool structure.  There is a pic on the site I included. 

4. the Fair lasted 215 days, 18,317,457 people attended, and it cost $31,500,000. 

Here is a far away view of the Art Museum...not great as they are doing some major remodeling but you definitely get a scope of how large Forest Park is as this is a small section.  

That is a very big concert tent on the other side of the pond or Great Basin as it's named.  I believe that was there for the fair too. 

Here is the Flight Cage

right outside the entrance

From the inside

So great!

Inside the cage is this cool "porthole"...I love the look I captured. 

The cage remains at the St. Louis Zoo and the intention of it's design was to feel as if you are walking through a bird cage.  It's filled full size trees and many birds.  It's very cool.  



Oh...here is one other pic.  The building is called the Jewel Box and I believe it was built in the 1930's.  I love this building.  It's a very large greenhouse and is magnificent!

Such a lovely day too!

If you visit, leave me a comment!  I love comments!

Looking back...

Today is Tuesday, September 6th and I have been doing a bit of reflection this morning.  Lili is home with me today...a bit of a cold...the sudden chill here in MO isn't helping.  We decided to hit up the library for some books to read and movies to watch while we chill out together today.  
So...
It's been quite a year and I am liking where we have ended up. 
The kiddos also seem to be very happy.  Its amazing how much that matters.  I didn't realize how much stress I was carrying last year just because I knew the kiddos were unhappy.  It's so much different now.  Their schools are wonderful, the teachers are amazing, they all have lots of friends and they are getting involved.  Lili is joining the G.Scouts, Zander will be doing sports (not sure which yet), and Katia is in Yearbook, Orchestra and Student Council.  Go Kids!
I have already gotten acquainted with several women from Lili's class mostly but will soon be active with the PTO's.  So far, the minute I say we are new here the conversation gets started and everyone is so excited to share whatever they feel I need to know.  I LOVE IT!
C's job is constantly keeping him busy and that is a great thing.  He loves the challenge and feels he can really be a great asset to the company. We don't get to see him a lot during the week but at least we are all together at night and not in 2 separate states. 
Sometimes when things seem hopeless you just have to keep plugging away.  We did that.  It was tough at times but we did it.  Things are not always perfect, some decisions are not always the best but you can't throw in the towel and give up.  I am proud of us!  We did it and I am thankful!

Happy First week of September!