Yesterday, I took my four little galentines on a Galentine’s Day date. We woke up and finished up school by noon, ate lunch, then went out for some sunshine and cupcakes. I wanted to check out the new Baked Dessert Bar location, and of course, I knew my sweet tooth loving gals wouldn’t mind that one bit. On Mondays, they have $1 mini cupcakes, so each of us picked one. True and Soul picked out strawberry cheesecake cupcakes, Brave and I went for a salted caramel pretzel cupcakes, and Glow went for s’mores. Each cupcake was moist and absolutely delicious. Their new location is nice and spacious, so I think we’re going to come back one day to do a little homeschooling there, and nibble on desserts on our break. As much as I love staying home (I’m such a homebody and I hate traffic, which is hard to avoid in SoCal), it is really wonderful to get out and enjoy a beautiful day with my sweet galentines. It reminds me I need to take them out on more adventures!

The Golden Years Market in Downtown Santa Ana happened this past Saturday, and I went with my two biggest girls in tow. It’s a vintage clothing/record market that happens a couple times a year, and this was my first time going. It was a last minute decision to go, since Ben was sick, I decided it would be fun to get out of the house for a little bit. Plus, while I can’t do malls (oh how my high school/college self would have never believed it), I can definitely do vintage market shopping. I will take a vintage market and thrift store over a mall any day. The market hosted some of my favorite online vintage shops, so I really couldn’t wait to see some of their goods in person.

The girls and I walked through the whole market, making mental notes of what we loved. There were a few hats, shoes (sadly not my size, but good for my wallet), scarves, and a vintage kid jumpsuit we loved, but what I did come home with was some vintage bell bottom overalls from Fair Season. She had a couple other pairs of jeans I was eyeing, but I stuck to the overalls, since those are really hard to find in my size. I was really excited to meet Toni too, since I have been following her shop and Instagram forever. She’s one cool gal with such good, laid back vintage style. The girls brought their own money, and while they found things they liked, they didn’t want to spend. On the way home, I said, “We didn’t get you guys anything.” They replied, “Yeah you did. The overalls will be ours one day.” Yep, that is true, so I guess I did get them something.

The girls have outgrown a lot of their clothes, so we’ve been thrift hunting and altering some of my old clothes to fit them. I can see their individual styles developing, and even though they share clothes, they style things differently. I’ve been teaching them to read labels and identify fabrics, so it’s really special for me to be able to pass down this love for vintage. At the market, I’d pull out an item and say, “Would I wear this?” And they know if I would or wouldn’t, so I listen to them. It helps eliminate unnecessary purchases because they know what I would wear every day and what I like with my eyes, but wouldn’t really wear.

While there, I also got to meet thrift/vintage guru Beth from BJonesStyle. She’s just as fun and bubbly in real life as she comes across on video. The girls and I thought this gal was coolest dressed at the market, and True and Brave especially loved going inside Blossom Vintage’s trailer. I’ve followed Taylor’s depop shop, who we happened to meet at Anthro a few weeks back, and the girls recognized her at the market. It was fun going through her stall of stuff and we’re still thinking about one thing of hers we passed on at the market.  The girls and I ooh-ed and ahh-ed at all the one of a kind things, and all the people dressed to the nines in their vintage clothes. Even if you don’t buy anything, the market is an energizing place to be, so don’t miss out the next time one comes around!

on me: vintage top, bottom, and jacket (similar denim blazer here, and skirt, and bandana). shoes, rachel comey. birkin basket, space rocket store. on true: vintage denim jacket, similar here. vintage tee and skirt. pair of thieves socks, target. shoes, new balance. vintage bag, ms. tips. on brave: denim dress, thrifted (similar here). flares, old navy. doc martens, zappos, mini birkin basket, space rocket store.

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This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

We’ve got pummelos the size of your face growing in our garden.

The week started off bad, and we were all out of sorts on Monday, but praise God for new mercies and abounding grace that came every morning. The girls and I are constantly learning from all the little (and big) bumps in this mother-daughter relationship, and what it always comes down to is how we all need Jesus. It’s a cycle of repent, forgive, and believe.

I don’t own a pair, but I love no. 6 clogs. Mom, I like these or these! 😉

I’ve been craving shabu shabu (from here), ramen, korean bbq, or a burger. I get burger (and korean bbq) cravings often because we don’t eat red meat at home.

Everlane’s wide leg cropped pants come out on Valentine’s Day and I can’t wait to see what colors they come out with. I may have to pick up a pair.

Anyone know where you can find this basket?

These leather mules are cool (and made in the USA).

Totally feeling the vibes in this home. I think it’s the unique, vintage chairs, and the subtle pink throughout. Of course, all the glorious house plants too.

I did a good job cutting down my checking of news outlets this week. I cut it down to once a day, and sometimes it’s no times a day. I think next week’s habit change will be to open my Bible (on my phone) first thing, rather than check ig on my phone.

This article has me seeing that I need to pray for the Lord to make me more bold.

Oh man… Seven Costs of Disciple Making is another loving heart slap.

I love this space to share crafts and frivolous things like shoes, but I know life is more than that, and it’s matters of the heart (and soul) that matters most. I’m thankful to all of you who tune in here to check out all the random things that make up me, from sharing ice cream recipes to heart rants. I pray that this space you are encouraged to love God more in and through all.

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Hello, it’s Ben here to share about our rainwater tanks. We’ve not only started to harvest fruit, but water as well. My inspiration came from some of the speakers at the CRFG’s Festival of Fruit in 2015 (the theme was “The Year of the Drought-Tolerant Fruits”). After doing further research, I decided to move forward with rainwater tanks. So, what went into the decision?

PROS:
– Conserve water
– Save money:
– Receive a rebate for purchasing a rainwater tank
– Lower our water bill (perhaps prevent us from increasing to a more costly tier)
– Rain water is high quality water for plants because it doesn’t contain minerals that can harm root growth.
– Rain gutters are needed to help channel the rain water from the roof and we already have them
– Easy enough to “hide” in your landscape because of color options and the “slim” options

CONS:
– You won’t get a return on your investment. Learning this really helped me to temper my expectations regarding savings.
– You go through the water much more rapidly than you might think. One speaker’s estimate was an average of 25 gallons per week per tree. A 100 gallon tank would only last a month for one tree! What a rude awakening for my daydreams of kissing our water bill goodbye.
– Additional investment, and assembly, of a first flush diverter is required. The water from the gutters needs to be filtered as the first flush of water from the roof can contain bacteria from decomposed insects and droppings from birds and other animals.
– While I felt our local rebate for a single, larger tank was indeed generous, the rebates don’t allow for those interested in multiple tanks.
– It’s not potable water, so if there was a natural disaster, purification steps would be needed prior to drinking.

Thankfully, with the uncharacteristic amount of rain we’ve been receiving, all 3 of our tanks filled up quickly. While the rain was welcomed, I look forward to “test driving” the tanks and seeing how much mileage I will get out of them.

I’m still stuck on what to make for Ben for Valentine’s Day, but I did let him know that if he does want to give me anything, I would gladly take flowers in a basket. Sure, flowers in a vase or an arrangement is nice, but something about a pretty bouquet in an equally lovely basket is playfully romantic. Plus, I have this thing with baskets, so of course, I’d love anything in a basket.

For the bouquet I made, I mixed some store bought roses with mint and other greens from our garden. I love the added aroma mint adds to a bouquet.

The basket above is this mini Birkin basket handmade in Portugal. I use the medium for my everyday purse, and we use the large one for fruit picking in our backyard, see here, Here are some baskets that I think would look quite sweet holding a flowery bouquet… this phoebe basket from Doen, this seagrass basket dipped in white, a simple bolga basket, or this vintage wicker basket.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Ingredients for the ice cream base:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Ingredients for the salted caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp milk
Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling on top of the ice cream

To make the salted caramel:
In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine the sugar with 1/4 cup cold water and stir to combine. Without stirring, cook the sugar until it has turned into a golden amber hue, which takes about 10 to 12 minutes (I like it golden, but if you want a more burnt caramel flavor, wait until the color is a dark amber). Meanwhile, warm the cream in a small saucepan. Once warm, whisk in the salt and the butter. When the caramel is ready, remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream mixture in with the sugar until the mixture is smooth. Lastly, whisk in the milk. Allow the caramel to cool completely before mixing into the ice cream mixture.

Directions for the ice cream:
Place the metal mixing bowl and metal wish in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes. In the meantime, prep the ice cream flavor you plan to mix in. Pour the whipping cream into the bowl and whisk just until the cream creates stiff peaks. Gently fold in the sweetened condensed milk, then continue to gently add about 1/2 cup of the salted caramel mixture (save the rest to if you’d like to drizzle more caramel on top, or to make another batch of salted caramel ice cream), and mix until completely combined. Freeze ice cream in an airtight container (we used metal bowls with lids) and put the mixture in the freezer until it completely hardens.

When you serve your ice cream, sprinkle some sea salt on top. If you want more caramel, drizzle the top with the leftover caramel sauce.

My ultimate favorite ice cream is salted caramel from A la Minute. We often buy salted caramel flavored ice cream from the grocery store, hoping it tastes like A la Minute’s, but nothing ever tastes close. I must say though, this homemade version is pretty close. Ben thinks it’s almost exactly and he said, “Now, we can save money on ice cream!” The girls and I have already devoured this batch of ice cream, so I need to pick up more heavy cream at the store to make more. I think this we will be making this for our Valentine’s Day dessert.

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