4 Stories: Color

We are feeling so much better!

Thank you all for your well wishes!

Here are my latest 4 Stories...this week's theme is on color...here we go!

1. My car is a target

Growing up, my parents always ended up buying vehicles that were RED... This went on for years without me really putting much thought into it...until I started driving myself...and my parents got a new car for me to drive...which was of course-RED. One day...realizing that all our cars held this one commonality, I asked my dad for the reasoning...his response??? "Well, my cars are always red so everyone can see them coming...there like targets...on wheels..." Ummm..awesome so when somebody hits me...I can blame it on the color?!?!

2. What's behind a rose?

Ya know how almost every woman has a favorite flower!?!?!...and how each woman usually has a favorite color in said flower?!?! Well, when I was in my early teens my grandmother asked me one day what my favorite flower was...and I told her (at the time) it was a rose..."What color rose?" she asked. Well, (again, at the time) my favorite rose was Yellow ..."Do you know what that means?" she asked me... "Means?" I was confused...."Every color rose has a different meaning," shared my grandma...Hmmm, I had never heard that so she went on to say that yellow was for friendship, red for love, white was for secrets and so on (can't remember the rest)...pretty neat I thought...

3. As a child

....My favorite color was purple...How do I remember what my favorite color was from when I was like 5 years old??? Well, I have a documented circumstance that memorializes my favorite color for all times...I broke my arm on the first day of 1st grade...and the color I HAD TO HAVE my cast...yes, it was purple...bright, traffic stopping, purple! Uggghhhh...Awesome...and I have all the embarrasing (and flourescent) pictures to prove it...

4. I wish I could wrap my head around it...

...But for some reason I cannot get myself to wear anything (hardly) in white!!! What the heck!?!?! It is an awesome color, and goes really well on dark complected people like me, but for some reason I always seem to subconsciously avoid it...Weird...This is probably a good thing now since I have two kiddos and lots of messes...black can cover a multitude of messes! lol. Big thumbs up to all you ladies (and men) who actually do wear this color and wear it well...I am going to have to work this in somewhere....

Hope you all enjoyed this week's 4 Stories! I want to hear your stories as well!!!! Remember, this segment I am doing I got from FreckledNest...so to find out how to give credit (if you do the 4 stories) go here to her sight to get the info!!!!

I am so excited for tomorrow!!! Me and the Mr. are going out (ALONE, Shock!!!) for a couple of hours to scope out a couple new vintage shops and grab a cup of coffee ....I can't wait!!! We rarely get time together like this anymore so these moments are cherished ♥ Plus are 3rd anniversary is on Saturday...so double fist pump (lol) for us....I ♥ you Mr.!!!

Hope you all had a great Monday!

XoXo

4; Stories: Vintage

I am so super ready to do the second segment of 4 Stories with you all! Again, you can find all the pictures and weekly themes from La over at FreckledNest .

So to my extreme delight, this week's topic is VINTAGE...oo.lo.la.

1. I Got it From My Momma (and Daddy)

Neither one on my parents believed in getting rid of anything...ever. Case in point, the sofas in my parent's living room? Yeah, they were bought 2 years before I was born...I have newborn picture on those sofas...and my kids have been photographed on these sofas...vintage at its finest. Needless to say, I caught the bug...and there has been no looking back. Funny, you say you will never do certain things you parents did growing up...just wait- you will.

2. Let's Take A Picture

My very first vintage purchase was when I was 17 years old. I was taking my first b/w photography class and we were required to have a camera....so off to the camera shop I went. The shop owner, was (and still is) the cutest little old man I have ever met! We ended up taking for like two hours, and in the mix of the conversation he gathered that although, I really needed a camera...i didn't have a whole lot of money to get one. I think he enjoyed having somebody genuinely enjoy having a conversation with him. One in which the person was not rushed, did not look at the clock a dozen times and felt all the more educated for speaking with him. I truly did. By the end of the conversation, he had packaged up his nicest vintage 33mm Pentax, in perfect working condition, per his amazing skills, and charged me $100. Now, maybe I could have gotten a better price, but he was selling it for over $300...it truly was (and still is) a beautiful camera. I still have it and use it...and she...I like to call her Penny, has never disappointed. To this day, I got to see the shop owner (whose name I won't mention) when I have a question, a problem, if I need materials or if I need something fixed...and yes, he will soon be seeing me with several new gems I have just recently added to my collection. More importantly, by taking a little time I met a great person, creative and one with a shared love for old things.

3. Type it Up Old-School

This year, my dad bought me an early birthday present...a 1930's or 40's Royal Typewriter! Oh.yes.I cried. It was beautiful...and I couldn't believe it was mine! I had eyed it in a vintage shop for an amazing price..and told my dad about it...he went back and bought it and about a week or two later, surprised me with it! He has never been one to buy many gifts and I just felt so loved and important to my dad in a different way that day...like he had invested, in something I loved and we shared in that together. I will probably pass this down to my kids one day when they can appreciate it's value and the story behind it...one of my most precious possessions.

4. A Birthday Gem

My son turned 2 this past June...and unlike many parents (which I am not against) I don't think tons of gifts are healthy for kids...so in lieu of a dozen gifts...he got just a few...mostly made and some from family members...but the most prized gift I gave him was the little red rocking chair I used as a child. One of the most touching of moments is to see him rocking in it Every morning (where he likes to eat his breakfast)...One day I hope he will give it to his child...and I hope I am around to that sweet bundle the story behind it all.

Hope you all are having the greatest of weeks! Remember, I want to hear some of your stories too!!

XoXo

4 Stories: Swimming

Ok, so as you my be wondering, I have started yet another "project" lol. This latest one I found over at frecklednest, really speaks to the English Major in me....

For all the specifics on the 4 Stories "project", including link back information, you can follow the link above....and join in!...I would love to hear your stories too...so if you do send me your link!!!

This first 4 Stories subject is swimming...so here are my 1st "4 Stories":

1."Swim" for your life!

I have always been an avid swimmer...part fish, if you asked my mom. When I was about 8 years old, my brother, myself and my two cousins (along with our moms) got together for a day at the beach. This is something we had started to make a tradition of that summer and this was probably our 3rd visit or so. We were all out in the ocean jumping waves, diving and general careless beach fun not realizing that the tow was pretty heavy.Next thing we knew, we had been drug by the tow over to one of the piers (worst place to be by the way) and we were beginning to be pushed way to far out into water we couldn't handle. My one cousin and I kind of panicked and started to get tumbled by all the waves...we finally managed to grab onto each other and use the others arms as leverage to keep ourselves above water...meanwhile my brother was pushing himself to shore (lucky him lol) and my other cousin was farther out than us, struggling very hard to keep her head above water. We had to have screamed our heads off for like 10 minutes before our moms finally heard us and ran out to help...yep they pretty much dragged us back to shore....and we never went back to the beach (as a group) again...

2. How I learned

My grandfather, who this year turned 95!!!, lived a very active life. He was a semi-pro tennis player, avid swimmer and help numerous active jobs during his lifetime. Growing up, my grandpa would visit once every one to two years,since he lived in Panama so when he would come, we tried to make the very best of it. One thing he really loved to do was teach us to play tennis...but one year (on top of rigorous tennis lessons) when he was probably a young 82 years old, he decided to teach me how to swim...we were at our timeshare (using the fabulous indoor pool p.s..) and he Couldn't live with the thought of any of his grandchildren not learning the "art" or swimming...so right then and there he drilled us on paddling, arm extension, floating etc., etc., etc,....and that is also one of the greatest memories I have with my grandfather...he wasn't around much ...but he was always invested in us the best ways he could be...swimming was one.

3. I need a swim...
One of my favorite vacations with my husband was a little jaunt we took to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last year....We were stressed, tired and all-around burnt out. At just the right time, the Mr.'s grandparents call us up and invite us to join in the annual trip to SC....so of course we obliged. We were able to get away, spend some time in the sand...take a walk and have some quality family time...it was the best recoup I think we could have ever asked for...Thanks Nana and Grandpa!!!

4. Oh, Pensacola

Ok, in 2004 I attended a Bible college in Pensacola, Florida. Now, this sounds like a wierd beginning to a swimming story but hear me out. This was a very conservative college, that made certain activities (like going to the beach) very difficult-to nearly impossible for us to do. They did, however, have the greatest olympic sized, heated, indoor pool I have ever witnessed...but girls were only allowed to swim on certain days...Tuesdays and Thursdays Im thinking (it has been 6 years ago people). So everyday we were allowed I would try to make it to the pool...it was my normalcy in a not-so-normal place (for me). The greatest achievement at this school by the way...was diving off their highest diving board (I am terribly afraid of heights)...which was something crazy like or 12 feet (but don't quote me on that).

Well, that's my first segment of 4 Stories hope you all enjoyed "diving" (lol) into my world a little bit....Again, if you want to join in, just follow the link above and make sure to read the instructions as well as how to properly use the material...(photos, idea, etc...)

ps. I really hope you all join in, and if you do PLEASEEEEEE send me your link...I wanna read your stories too♥

XoXo