50's Village Photo Shoot

On Friday my friend Dana who is now my neighbor here at the Villiage(yes I live with a Village of people, more on that later) did a fun little 50's retro photo shoot with all of the girls here at 9567. These are our girls, minus Shain who is Dana's youngest daughter. 

From Left to Right;

My daughter Chloe on left

Middle is my daughter Emma 

And Rio who is Dana's daughter, is the Cutie there on the right end.

*Notice the kicked up leg of my Chloe girl on the end there. 

Take note that this Sass a Frass is ONLY12.

Put a pin in that side-note, we will come back to that later.

Back to Dana the artist behind the camera. She just bought a fancy pants camera that I am drooling over and trying really hard not to break commandment number 6 or 7... ya know the one that says something about not coveting your neighbors belongings, or Fancy Pants Camera. 

This is my daughter Emma. She was going for a school girl/librarian look.

 I think she pretty much nailed it.
Dana did such a good job capturing them all that I now know I have no need to purchase School pictures EVER
again.

I've never been a fan of Lifetouch or any other school pic that just shuttles our kids in like cattle before the camera lens.  They take one snap and call it good, even though our kids aren't smiling, hair is a mess, and then they want hundreds of dollars for these lame shots.
Umm..
Yep...
NOPE!!
Am I alone here? Does anyone else feel the same about the lame school photos?
I would much rather have something like this for Chloe's start to her Jr. High Days.

Moving on,
This is my daughter Chloe aka Lo Lo.

Remember the one with her leg kicked up there at the top of the page?

Don't forget we are coming back to this here 

Little Hot Tamale in a minute. She wore the dress that was my Maid of Honor Dress in sister Jen's wedding last summer. Do you recognize the dress Auntie Jen? Well, I have to say it looks much, much cuter on her.

And this is Rio, Dana's daughter who also lives here now. I had so much fun getting this girl out of her comfort zone and dolling her up. Doesn't she just rock those vintage sunglasses? It was so fun to see all our girls dressed up in an old fashioned style. I absolutely had a blast doing hair and makeup and seeing how they did each others hair and makeup brought me right back to the days of doing this kind of thing with my sisters. 

LOVE.

And then cousin Derek's new wife Samantha also lives here at the Village. 

She wore this dress that I bought a long time ago for a good friend who never wore it. She gave the dress back to my daughter Emma in April and Em wore it for her Jr. High School Grad.

It is an amazing vintage dress that looked lovely on Sam. 

Well, and it's not hard to make Samantha look lovely. 

She is a very pretty lady.

In the picture below we going for the no smile, serious look that you see in all the really old photos.

Can someone please tell me why they went for the no smile look in all the pictures back then? It's so weird to me that they all look so sad and serious. It also really bums me out that I never got to see very many pics of my great grandparents who I know were happy Italians, but in the pics they look like they just heard of someone's death.

We had so much fun playing dress up for the day. 

So now you know, what to do on a Hot Summer day with no where to go and nothing else to do? 

Have a fun impromptu photo shoot. 

It was great fun for the whole Village.

Ok and then here is the reason I wanted to come back to that kicked up leg that my daughter Chloe had;

Umm... I am not allowing this 12 YEAR OLD GIRL

out of the house.

ANYMORE. 

EVER!!

And then of course there was some time for lil' ole  me to get in front of that camera. 

Got to tell you that I much prefer being behind the camera rather than in front, but it was a blast. 

Dana is such a good photographer, and I am so excited about her new business to photograph the little ones. (more on that later)

Have I ever told you of my love for all things vintage, retro, old,  or antique? 

Well now you know.

Letters To Pets (August)

Here it is August 13th, and I am just now writing my letter to Pets for this months link up. I am sorry to my following of readers who may have written their letters and have been waiting for me to post the link up, but I will tell you why I am so late on this.
I think subconsciously I procrastinated in writing this months letter because I had to say goodbye to our foster dog Briot, Aka Riot, Aka Darkness, and I have been sad about it ever since.

A few weeks ago Briot had a rough night, and so did the poor person he happened to bite. It didn't break skin, and I know it had more to do with a mix up with my other dog Bella who was sitting on the person's lap, but still I had to call Briot's person and let him know that Briot couldn't stay.

I live around too many people to worry about a dog who may have the potential to bite and one of my personal cardinal rules when it comes to pets is that they are the pet not the person.
As much as I adore my 4 leggeds they aren't above the value of the people in this house. I have known people who don't think this way, and to them I say "To each his own." But for me, and my house, this is how it has to be people above pets.

So this is a forewarning this letter might be a bit emotional;

Dear Briot,

I am so sorry that you had to go. It broke my heart to say goodbye to you. I hope your time here will be a happy memory and I also hope that we will get to see you again in the future.I'm sorry that Bella got you in trouble.
You are a good dog Briot. You were such a good influence on our puppy Barley. He really misses you the most because no one can play fetch like you. You taught him to mellow out a bit, and I can tell that he will forever be changed because of you.
I know that you are so much happier being with your person right now even if it is a smaller space that you have to dwell, at least you are together. 

I miss you already, and hope to see you again in the future.

With Love
your foster mom,

Noël


Now it's your turn, once a month I do a link up for those of us that have pets that we would like to highlight on our blogs. You can write a letter or it can just be a recent post about your pet, either way this is a good chance to meet other animal lovers out there and make some new friends. 
Grab a button if you want and post it with your post and Be sure to link up below and try to comment on at least one other link up.

7 Year Blogversary GIVEAWAY

 7 year Blogversary GIVEAWAY 

Who is ready for some serious Loot?
Who likes the word Loot?
Say it out loud, Loot, Loot, Loot?

   Are you ready for the Loot?

       Would you look at this here little love

Don't you just adore the quote? I really think that quote is worthy of space on your wall somewhere to remind you of the very important truth. Life is about the details. The "little things" are to be enjoyed and given attention. Don' you agree?

This here lovely is from Nat, who blogs over at Take the Cannoli. If you haven't met the other Natalie in my life you should head over there right now and say hello.
Nat, is the amazing momma of 2 kids and she has a heart of gold. For realz.
And, yes of course we bonded over the infamous quote that is her blog name. 
Oh wait! You might want to enter to win her hand stitched lovely first though so don't go there just yet.

And you can shop for more of her lovely creations that are beyond top notch here:

Take The Cannoli 

Next We have an Amazing Creation from my Splendid English Friend Livvy who is enjoying the Summer Olympics right outside her front door ;) 

You can, and should shop for some more of Livvy's Lovelies over at Mibbidesign. Livvy has one of the best Etsy shop's on the block. She packages each item according to season and puts so much love in every piece. 
She is The BEEZ NEEZ!!

She has some amazing pieces in her shop right now so don't miss out on her pretties.

     Next we have my Girl Kelly over at The Houtz House Party

Kelly is the amazing Momma of 4 kiddos who once was working Cooperate America, and now has been blessed with the hardest job on earth.
 She is giving away an Extra Large Ad Space.

And I wouldn't be a true friend to you if I neglected to tell you about this lil shin-dig that she is doing in a few weeks...

Be sure to mark your calendars now for 5 days of giveaways. 

And Now on to my friend Hannah over at Happy Days. 

When I first made my blog public this past January, I quickly realized I needed to have a blog button. I worked for hours on end to make one myself only to realize on my first ever hosted link up that it didn't work.

Can you say, Epic fail?

Well...

The Amazing, Talented, Kind, Inspiring Hannah helped me out when I was in one of the biggest blog pickles in my entire blog life.

Have I mentioned I'm dramatic?

We bonded that day that she saved my blog life, and have been friends ever since.

She has offered up 

these beautiful earrings to brighten your day.

You can find more of Hannah's creations at Wifeysinger. I really love the coral and blue combo. 



Then we have my friend Alyx over at Every Day is a New Adventure.
I'm not sure that Alyx even knows this but when I first landed upon her amazing blog I loved her blog button so much that I just put it up on my sidebar without even knowing her yet. I really loved looking at it because Every Day really IS an New Adventure.

 I just love this girl. 

For realz. She has got more things going on "Than Carter's got Liva Pills" (like what my mom in her Boston accent likes to say)

Still, she manages to keep me laughing and the blog world enjoying on a daily basis.

I gotta say I am So wishing I could enter for all this Loot right about now.

And Now For What I Want To Give TO YOU Dear Beloved Reader
Beautiful Vintage Pillow Cases, Cloth Napkin,

 Pink Retro Glasses that you see me wearing here

And 


Well there you have it beloved reader.
This is a one winner takes all giveaway that will be randomly selected by that Helicopter Dude below. 
Give him a tip, maybe he'll pic you.

NOW
Don't forget to enter to win.
And thanks again for stopping by,
Nothing But Love <3 font="font">
No..el

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FBF and A Service Announcement

We interrupt this episode of Flash Back Friday's link up to bring you a very important announcement. Stay tuned for the details on that announcement and please come back next Friday for FBF link up.

My First Post was written on August 10, 2005. I was at home in Sparks, NV, and my babies were more than likely sleeping when I wrote it. I remember thinking this is so weird to just write something that the whole world can see. I also remember clicking through onto the next blog that blogspot made available to read and thinking that there are countless people in this life who just long to be heard. And there I was joining the ranks.


I was introduced to the world of blogging from my friend Louie. At that time I didn't have a MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or Hello Cotton account. I didn't Text, Skype, or Tweet my every movement. The only connection to the outside world that I made was either by phone or face to face. Looking back now I can see why Blogspot became one of my very favorite spots to take a deep breath and remember.

Sigh... 7 years is long time. 

Since then I have recorded countless events in my life and the lives of others on this here live journal. I have shared songs, poems, pictures, quotes, tributes to the deceased, and over all just documented well the past 7 years. 
I can't even begin to describe to you all how much this blog has become a faithful friend, and how much I appreciate all of your Vitamin Love. 

Now, blogging has taken on a whole new role in my life. In a way it has given me a new lease on this life with bigger kids. It used to be that I would blog to stay connected with the adults and feel normal when I was at home 24/7 with babes. But now my kids are bigger, and out and about in this big world, I am no longer leashed to them in a sense. I can at any moment get in the car, leaving my oldest to watch the crew, go to my favorite spot and Selah. My posts on here before would be very random and pretty short because that was all I had time for. Now that I'm not needed us much with the lils I have more time on my hands, and friends I have to say I don't like having idle hands. 

Beyond the fact that my job here as CEO has changed, I also retired from Preschool teaching last Fall with not a clue as to what my new role would be. Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of raising up the Fab 4 to do, but it's a different beast all together these days.
I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do in this phase of life where I am still very much needed at home to clean,cook, taxi-cab, make appointments, cloth, shop, nurse, tutor, and countless other things I do when kids are out of school. But what to do when they are IN school became the question? 

The answer.

Write.

Some of you may have noticed the increase in writing that came about in January. And while I do love writing I also love making some fun money. I started to look around for another part time job and right about that time I started to realize that my blog could be my part time job. 

It seems funny to say that out loud, or type that out loud I should say, but that is exactly what I started to think I wanted to do.January of this past year when I made my blog public, I decided to hit the streets of Blogland and see what there was to see in money making department. I realized very quickly that there was indeed some money to be made in Blogland.
I also discovered that I am not alone in this land of Mom's who are working hard at home, and still trying to contribute to the families income.

But, somewhere in there I realized I don't really want my Blog to become One big commercial so I have been fumbling to find the balance. Help me out if you have found the balance in this here spot on Blogspot that I find myself at now.

I'm not sure I have found balance really yet, but I have found amazing, truly amazing people. And I appreciate your patience with me beloved readers. 

I also discovered that I'm not alone in the world of writers who love to blog, and bloggers who love to write.

I saw the kindred spirits that I have with so many of you beautiful people and I thought, I can do this. This can be my part-time job.

DID you know YOU have become my part time job? YOU make a really, really great boss. YOU tip me so well with comments. And YOU make my heart sing when I get to see YOU happy from something I wrote. Truly, I can't thank YOU enough beloved readers. 
But, because I value YOU and your trust in me, I will keep trying to find that balance in blogging. 
I'm not quite sure all the link ups, giveaways, and other ads will be a main staple here in this coming year of blogging.
My sponsors know this and appreciate this and so we are all good.

That being said, I would like you to know that I am going a different direction to find that fun money, and that's where My BIG ANNOUNCEMENT comes in.

One of the other things I learned this past year of blogging it up, is that a lot of people have Etsy shops connected to their blog. Actually some people had the Etsy shop first, and then a blog to go along with it. Ha ha, An Etsy Blog cocktail if you will. I honestly did not even know of Etsy or Pinterest until just this past year. I know I'm a little late to the party, but in the tradition of better late than never....

Today, right here, right now I have A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT to make 

with you all my Beloved Readers;

I am opening my own Etsy Shop. You can find it here;

NoDotsShop

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this little adventure. I am also a tad bit scarred at having my own business again, because the first time I owned my own business was to sell a product little product called BeautiControl. Some of you may remember my BeautiControl days. Well,I'm pretty sure I lost money on that shin-dig, but I was young and naive not so much the administrative type. Now I am not young, I am still somewhat naive, and I'm pretty sure I can handle administrative if I really want to. Hello, I am the mom of 4 kids now.  So my hope is that you might visit me over there at No Dots Shop, and enjoy strolling the isles and rummaging through my vintage treasures, and every so often homemade creations.

10/4 on 8/8

GASP!!

I completely forgot about one of my all time  favorite link ups so in honor of "better late than never"
Here you have my 10 questions answered that were supposed to be Posted on the 4th of August.

4 days late for this but who's counting, I mean really? It is summer after all.

1. What is your favorite makeup product? Great Lash Mascara from Maybeline. Can't beat that Pink and Green bottle for big thick lashes.

2. What foreign country would you like to travel to? Scotland is next on the list for me.

3. What is the last package you have received in the mail? Thrifty Gift Exchange items. Thank you again Alanna.

4. What is your favorite picture from July?

5. What is your favorite board game? Monopoly. So many great memories.

6. What is your favorite Bible story? Oh wow this is a tough one but I would have to say the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman.  Why? Because it exudes the heart of mercy that our Savior has for us all and reminds me every time I read it why I love Jesus so much.

7. What is your favorite non-fast food restaurant? Frankie's Italian Restaurant.

8. What summer Olympics event do you enjoy watching the most? Shh... don't tell but I have not watched a single event yet. I blame it on the Summer baseball games that I have been going to 4 nights a week.

9. What is your favorite post from July? Well it would have to be this one

Nacho Libre Birthday Party

10. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Oh man, I'm not sure I should admit this because I don't really like tell people of my deep, deep adoration for Oprah, but I really, really want to meet her someday. I think we could be best friends ;)

If you want to join in on this fun link up/party/questionnaire click on that little cutie-pa-tootie and hop on board.

Love/Hate

I love that the movie Sandlot is back in my life again.
I hate that it took me so long to buy a copy on DVD.

I love meeting new friends and getting to know them better each time we hang out.
I hate that there are awkward moments sometimes when I feel I talk too much.

I love that my Momma-zita came to be with me for 10 days and I got her all to myself.
I hate that I had to say goodbye and bawled like a baby after giving her a big squeeze.

I love living where I live, and with whom I live.
I hate that we only have one bathroom.

I love that there are still 4 more weeks of summer.
I hate that there are only 4 more weeks of summer.

I love that my girls are so beautiful, and amazing, and kind, and talented, and amazing.
I hate when at my sons baseball games those things listed above are getting noticed by older BOYS!!

Now it's your turn grab a button and link up your LOVE/HATES

If I Were Rich

I would pay to have a maid.
I would not pay to have a nanny.

I would pay to have my car washed.
I would not pay for someone to drive my car.

I would pay for someone to go grocery store shopping.
I would not pay for someone to cook.

I would pay for someone to handle all the designs on my social media's
I would not pay for someone to write for me.

I would pay for a fancy camera.
I would not pay for a photographer.

I would pay for my dogs to be groomed.
I would not pay for them to be exercised.

Now, I wonder what about you?

What would you pay for if you were Rich?

What wouldn't you pay for?

Thrifty Exchange

If you know me at all then you know one of my all time favorite things to do in life is to go thrift store shopping.

Ever since I was a little girl I remember going with my mom to the thrift store and finding treasures around every corner. I was raised in a family of 5 kids. My dad was the main provider and he worked for over 20 years as a disc jockey in NV. Now, maybe in CA a DJ like Ryan Seacrest might make a pretty penny being a DJ, but my pops was on a tight budget. 

Still, we managed, and one of the main reasons why we managed so well was because my mom was/is so thrifty.

She was always making something out of nothing, and the thrift store was her best friend.

Thankfully, that gene got passed on to me.

Second hand use stores are like coming home.

I love the way they smell.

I love the way they look.

I love how each one has it's own quirks and special spots for treasure untold.

It is a rush like no other for me to get a good deal on everyday items at the goodwill.

I have found everything from classic records to my favorite brand name jeans at my thrift store. 

I have written about my secret love affair with Value Village

before so I'm not going to go into much more detail about that, but the reason I'm bringing up thrift store shopping again with you all is because...

Recently I saw the amazing idea that these lovely young ladies below came up with, and I was beyond excited. To go thrift store shopping for someone else sounded like the ultimate good time for me so I signed up.

hannah, sarah, jami, stephanie, heather, esther, carina, and danielle.

For my exchange I was paired up with Alanna Rose over at Suburban Gnomes. If you haven't checked out her blog before you really should go meet her. She is the Sweetest Alanna Rose I have ever met ;)and I had so much fun shopping for her. I was hopeful that I would find a cute gnome to add to her collection, but apparently they are really popular right now because I didn't see one single gnome in all my thrifty spots. The top pic has some of my finds for her. 

And here is what she sent me.

I love each and everyone of her items, but that mug in the bottom left corner... Oh My heaven's I'm in love. 

Is it possible to love a cup?

I believe it is.

And her packaging was beyond sweet.

Every item was tied up with string and came with an imaginary story. 

Alanna, if you are reading this, your stories for each item was my favorite part.

Oh and thanks for not keeping that mug for yourself because I absolutely love it.

Flashback Friday

Last night we watched Grease 2.  I was surprised to find out that some people here that were viewing it with us have not seen this movie. How can it be that some people on planet earth have not seen this classic?
OK, so maybe not as classic as Grease itself, still... a classic in it's own right.
My favorite part of this movie is when the Pink Ladies sing the song, "I'll be your girl for all seasons" because I remember when I was a young girl watching this and loving the outfits that they wore during the season changes.
Silly, yes.
Fun, totally.
Girly, without A DOUBT!

Tell me, have YOU seen this movie?

We had the discussion about the first Grease movie versus Grease 2. There were some in our viewing group that prefer the original, and then some who were born later in life that know Grease 2 by heart. 

Word for WORD.

Song for SONG.

It was so great to share this classic with the younger generations.

Which Grease movie do you like better?

Here are some song snip-its....

Go ahead sing along.

"I want a cool rider, a cool rider, if he's cool enough he can burn me through and through."

"We'll be together, like birds of a feather we'll be together forever, and ever."

And now on to flashing back with our blogs.

So Are You Ready Bloggity Bloggers? This is the dealio:

1. You have to have been blogging for at least a year.(Mandatory) 

2. Link up your old posts from at least a year ago. Don't link up your website, click on the actual title of your old post so that's what the other linkers will read(did you know you could do that?)So if you did know way to go Smarty Pants, but if you don't know how to do that you click on the title of your post that will give you the right http:// to copy and paste in the box that says LINK. 

3. Follow Your Host- It's the decent thing to do.


4. Have FUN!!