Little Break

Today we crossed more items off our list including a chalkboard for Jacob and Holly on their...wait for it...closet doors. Are we creative parents or what? This is just before bath time and their first chance to experiment.

For my birthday, Joe gave me Borders' gift certificates and the first thing I bought was Jennifer Perkins' book and hot chocolate all around. I still have enough left fr British mags the next time I need a little pick me up.

Jennifer just seems like the girl next door but is crafty extraordinaire. She lives in Austin which is on our list of cities to visit. The book is intended for for jewelry making which I do not do but I can use all her tips to make all kinds of other crafts. If you are interested, you can also watch Jennifer on HGTV's Craft Lab.

We had another surprise for ourt the little get-alongs ...a trip to

Irvine's Regionnal Park the Orange County Zoo. Jenny had given us a coupon for a free visit a few months ago and we finally had an opportunity. We had such a wonderful time. Notice the bear behind Jacob. The weather was cool, just like I like it.

On the way home we discovered a new used bookstore :

One Dollar Book Store
8520 E Chapman Ave

Orange, CA 92869 (714) 633-8055

It is the type of store you have to hunt for books but all the books cost just $1 plus tax, really. I found some real gems. The treasures we found were well worth the hunt. If you go, allow plenty of time to browse the huge store. Worth investigating if you are the thrift store type like us.

It hasn't been all fun and games here at the Pumpkin Cottage. We are cleaning. I mean really cleaning and organizing. So much has moved through and out of this house. We are in agreement, we just want to clean, decorate and purge. It is our goal to start the new year fresh and ready.

Joe if you are out there..see what you are missing?