because we love all things vintage...and we think E does too

a few years back the mr. and I discovered one of our favorite places 

to go antiquing, Long Beach Antique Mall II

there are technically two Long Beach Antique Malls, but their second location

is my favorite

and so this is where I decided to snap a few pictures of Everly doing her first

"vacation antiquing"

because hey, having a baby doesn't mean you have to stop doing things you like

so here it is

turns out that antiquing can actually be a great baby activity

there is just so much for them to see

I love this last image, the boys are clearly pondering that giant pot

but not our E, she has already figured out that thing, and moved onto that vintage sled

 another thing I'm loving now that Everly is bigger

is we love holding her so she can see everything

and no, don't hold her like a baby

because she will cry, and if you have spent any time with her

you know she doesn't cry very easily

so you don't want to be the person to put her over the edge!

how we spent our day [anniversary style]

for our anniversary we debated on what exactly to do

we were thinking mini road trip

but then I decided that a day in the car didn't sound super exciting at 6 months pregnant

especially since we will be getting our car fix in soon

when traveling down to southern california for vacation here in a couple of weeks

so instead of the car, we decided to hit up some of our favorite antiquing spots

and well, let's just say that we had some success

I really must say that I cannot pick my favorite find from the day

I am SO in love with the vintage "E" sign we found for the changing table

I put in some new lighting yesterday and she is sure glowing pretty at night

and yes, the little lady's name starts with an "E" 

but we will leave it at that for the moment

and the kitchen cabinet, well, it's simply to die for

I am loving it in our kitchen, it is such the perfect fit

and because any anniversary isn't complete without some pyrex

I had to pick up this Friendship fridgie that the Mr. found for me

and considering it was priced like it was at a thrift store

it was surely coming home with me

could not think of any better way to spend celebrating four years of married life

keeping balance

yesterday I made some major progress in the nursery

with some help from a great friend, Jaymee from The Design Hive

I can't wait to share what we worked on soon

but here is just one of my favorite additions we added to the nursery

trying to keep balance in the nursery with new additions and still keeping to

our design style of mid-century modern is truly my focus

and adding this vintage nursery scale is just what I needed

over a year in the making

a little over a year now we acquired several pieces of 

danish modern/mid-century furniture

and one of the coolest pieces was a three seat sofa with attached side table

the only downfall was it was super original

meaning some awkward cream pleather cushions [see below]

so I tried to make do with some pretty pillows

but part of making room for baby has also been making sure we do all those "things"

that can easily get put on the back-burner

no longer a questionable sofa, just awesomeness

thanks to the owner's of Scout Living for referring us to Standard Upholstery

we couldn't be happier with their work & our new addition to our home

it's pretty, and shiny, and not new

seeing as how the bowl is pyrex, I've had it for quite some time

and the husband uses it everyday for his pancake mix

but I never found the Hamilton Beach Mixer

that is, before today

now I have the complete set, and I'm pretty into it
also posted over at the Pyrex Collective II

trying to see the positives

even though the antiquing was very disappointing today

and the $90 parking ticket for having 2 inches of our bumper

apparently blocking a driveway

was for sure a bump in the road

but besides that - here are the positives:

the city was brisk - but so clear and beautiful

we had great company to help us keep our cool through the ticket fiasco

and had a beautiful lunch with my sister

and tomorrow is looking up too - "teacher work day"

no offense, but a day of work sans kids is always ok in my book

because those don't happen too often in my field

and those lesson plans don't seem to get done on their own!

i'm going to call this my happy place post

the first week of school can be draining

and I'm thinking my attitude might not be quite in the right place for school #4

I'm trying - but I'm tired of starting over

I keep calling things like the spanish classes preps, and then with very confused faces

reminded they are sections, not preps in middle school

to that, I say whatever, I'm doing my best here people

I'm not going to lie, I thought this transition would be easier

the good news - my kids were better today

and besides the fact that one period has zero reading comprehension

we're looking pretty good

so far...27 has been a tad overwhelming

(yes, all 24 hours of it)

new grade, new school, apparently being the head of the 8th grade history department

master's program looming, taking a week off in a week

seriously, I'm panicking just thinking about it all

so instead...

let's just go to my happy place

twenty-seven did bring this to me

which is more awesomeness than I can explain

and I know that as I get a grip on the rest of my life

this will continue to shine even brighter

our families have caught on to our obsession

and so this year we got some gift certificates to our favorite place

and you better believe the day after our party I was there buying our hutch

SO in LOVE with it

However, bringing this beauty in meant the disposal of two ikea storage containers

not sad to see them go (one to the closet, the other to my mom's garage)

but trying to go through and relocate has been quite the job

and no, I can't take much credit - or any credit

it was all the husband

hopefully I haven't been too cranky while the house was in transition

I can gladly say - things are back together

and I'm a happy camper about that

happy national thrift store day

And no, I didn't make that up.  It's actually a real thing.  So, to celebrate, I thrifted, and I thrifted with success.  What else was I to do after a day of staff development that left me a tad dizzy?  Changing schools can also mean re-doing staff training.  Especially in a large district like mine, all schools pilot programs at different times.  So this year, I will pilot the same program for the third time.  Well, at least I'll be able to focus on other things, like getting my masters, and thrifting.

And well, I thought having my pretty new little glasses wrapped in primary writing paper at the thrift store very fitting!

local lovin' - Long Beach Antique Mall II (travel edition)

Let's just say that the husband and I LOVED Long Beach's Retro Row.  We loved it so much we actually went there two days in a row!

So, for this local lovin' I am going to feature the spot we just couldn't get enough of!  The Long Beach Antique Mall has just opened a second location across the street and it was a dream come true.

We've only been home two days and we are already talking about our next trip to this place!

The Details:

Located - 3100 East Pacific Coast Hwy

Long Beach, CA 90804

Contact - (562) 494-2526

Hours - 10-5 daily

See what they have HERE!

we're home!

well, we have made it home from our six hour drive back from southern california

here is a quick glimpse at our trip according to instagram

you can look forward to more vacation posts -

I can hardly wait to share our finds

I loved our vacation

but I'm pretty glad to be back to our humble abode!

oh, and if you are an instagram-er yourself, feel free to follow me @ lyndsaylew

I would love to see your shots as well!

pyrex vacation find...finally

The husband & I finally had some vacation success today while visiting Long Beach & all their vintage awesomeness!  We had the best luck at the Long Beach Antique Mall II - a new location just added across the street from the original Long Beach Antique Mall.  We typically have a hard time finding a lot of mid-century lovin' in the Sacramento area other than our beloved Midway Antiques & the new Scout Living.  However, Long Beach is not having any shortages in this area & we were in love!  I was pretty good, but I did have to snag this little promotional casserole dish from Pyrex.  I am currently seeking some advice about this piece on the Pyrex Collective II, my research has turned up very little info.  Could that mean I stumbled on something really good?  Well, maybe.  Even if not, it was a reasonable price, & it matches my favorite dishes in the whole wide world!  I can't wait to use this casserole along side our china.  I think a dinner party is in store soon!

venice part II

well yesterday we took a stroll down the infamous venice beach

I must say my favorite part was the street art

we also enjoyed a nice lunch where we had a great spot for people watching

one of my favorite things to do

tomorrow we hit Long Beach's Fourth Street

seriously, from my research, my hopes are pretty high for this spot

so far thrifting & antiquing has been a bust

hopefully I will have some treasures to share!

thanks to The Thrift Collective for your city guide!  Check 'em out

hopefully I will be able to contribute soon to this collective!

first trip to santa barbara

Surprisingly true, I have never been to this oh so popular destination.  We enjoyed a quick lunch stop here & an antique visit, but no real finds today.  I realized how lucky I am to live in California.  I have so many beautiful places to visit, I am quite jaded.  I enjoyed our lunch date but couldn't imagine coming all the way from Europe.  By the way, we were the only American tourists while eating!

lil' sis turns twenty-two

So of course, we took a trip to San Francisco to spend the day together as a family.  Here's a glimpse at our little Sunday.  Started with a little brunch at Squat & Gobble in the Castro.

 Obviously we had to have a serious bubble blowing contest with the husband's 

Hubba Bubba bubble gum.

 Nothing beats opening presents on the side of the road.

 Then we were off to the Mission District for some thrifting & antiquing.  

 While there checking out the Clarion Alley Mural Project is a must.

 And yes, even the street grates are pretty fun.

Happy Birthday Meg - I loved our weekend together!