Avon Calling!

I may have made two trips to the best nearby thrift store this week, but I donated a carload of items during each visit and only left the store with one bag each time!  During the second trip there, I was checking out when I spotted something colorful on the shelf behind the register.  It was instant nostalgia, Avon perfume pins!  I had tons of these when I was a kid and still have quite a few, but this collection included some I don't remember ever having.  The cashier said she didn't think they were ever going to sell.  I don't know how I missed them on my first trip of the week, but I'm glad that no one else noticed them!  I can't wait to wear each one!

Blythe Ice Cream Social

I thought it would be fun to have some ladies over for an afternoon of ice cream and dolls!  I may have went slightly overboard with toppings and we did have eight flavors of ice cream, but it's nice to have choices.  It was just a small group of us, which is really what I prefer.  Heidi worked at re-rooting one of her doll's hair, we made little sweets out of clay, and we ate lots of ice cream sundaes!

Collections ~ Momiji

This is definitely one of my cutest collections!  Momiji are little wooden dolls and sort of a modern twist on Japanese kokeshi dolls.  I have a small collection of those too, but that's for another time!  There is a little slot in the bottom of each of these dolls with a secret message tucked inside.  I love that each doll has a name and a list of interests or likes.  This is one of my smaller collections, but I have a pretty long wish list of dolls I'd like to add!  You can find out more about Momiji here.

Plough & Orion

File this one under songs that are so lovely they make me get a little teary eyed.  The video is sweet too!  I took a break from blogging last week to catch up on some things around the house, but I have plenty of posts planned for this week.  Happy Monday!

My Dear Deer

Finding Myself

Please excuse the terribly fuzzy picture, but I think that it perfectly describes how I feel these days.

I started this blog nearly a year ago, in hopes it would help be an outlet for my increasing depression and anxiety.  I know I've spoken about my depression previously and I thought now would be a good time to share a bit more, because I know of a few people who are currently in the same place as I was.  I tried like hell to fight it on my own.  I exercised.  I saw a counselor.  I blogged and wrote out my thoughts.  It all seemed to help, but it just wasn't enough.  I really felt like I had lost myself somewhere and I know it was affecting my life and relationships.  I returned to my family doctor to discuss the one thing I had always been against, medication.  She had been the one who had recommended counseling and I felt like she truly listened to my concerns.  Just as I had initially spilled my guts to her, I did so again, listing out all the reasons medication scared me.  I didn't want to feel flat or emotionless, I didn't want it to add to my struggle to lose weight, and as most parents of toddlers can relate, I didn't need anything that would further interfere with any chance of intimacy with my husband.  Trusting that my doctor had once again sincerely heard me, I began taking a small dose of medication.  My doctor was great.  She assured me that if I started a medication and it wasn't working out, we could try something different.

I checked back in with my doctor after taking the medication for a few weeks.  I remember her commenting that I had my glow back.  It's been months now and I feel like the glow is still there.  I still work at my happiness, because I think we all have to do some of that, but it comes much easier.  I feel so comfortable with myself.  I am truly the happiest I have been in a very long time.

I know this has gotten pretty wordy, but I think it's important to be reminded that sometimes it's okay to ask for help and that we all deserve to enjoy what little time we have in this world.  If you made it all the way to the end, thank you for reading my story.  I hope you can feel some happiness too and if you aren't there yet, you'll get there.  Don't stop trying and don't be afraid to ask for help!

Let's Float Away

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Summer Eating

I have to admit, I'm more a fall weather kind of girl.  I do love all the salads and refreshing foods of summer, though.  We always eat lighter this summer, but I've found myself trying out some new recipes and making healthier choices than in previous years.  Here's a look at some of what we've been enjoying and links to the two salads pictured below.

We do this often, fresh fruit, veggies, and mozzarella, warm crusty bread, and veggie meatballs

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This cornbread salad is one of my new favorites.  I ate it all week long!  You can find the recipe here, although I think I will add a second can of black beans next time.

The recipe for this Mediterranean white bean salad came from the same site as the cornbread salad and was just as delicious.  Check out Budget Bytes for lots of great recipes!

These are my eggplant stacks.  I'm sure I got the idea somewhere, but I don't use an actual recipe.  I just grill some veggies, slice some mozzarella, bake some sliced polenta, layer those ingredients, and top it all with marinara.  It's easy and one of those things you can adjust to everyone's tastes!

What have you all been enjoying this summer?

Dead Man's Bones

As if you need one more reason to love Ryan Gosling!

Hey, Doll Face!

I started working on turning these doll faces into brooches awhile ago and just rediscovered them in my craft room.  I'd like to say that it was while I was cleaning my craft room, but really I was just adding more junk to it!  I literally have a bucket full of doll faces and I really have a love of tacky things, especially brooches, so these make sense.  I hope to finish them soon and send some of them off as gifts, but I'll be sure to keep one for myself!

Collections ~ Vintage Toys

My Favorite Pin-Up

I love Messy Nessy Chic.  It's one of those blogs that I can go to every day and find something interesting.  That's where I found the above picture, along with the story behind Hilda.  She's quite curvier than most traditional pin-ups, but just as beautiful!  I don't know if you've seen me, but I'm not really a small girl, so I sort of love Hilda.  I mean obviously she's comfortable with herself, because it certainly takes some confidence to ride a bike in a bikini!  You can learn more about Hilda here and see more photos, all of which are adorable and make me think that this would be one fun lady to hang out with.  Here's to Hilda, my new role model!

Our Backyard

Summer is winding down, but our backyard is still so full of life!  There are some new baby bunnies in the garden and some older ones in the large flower bed.  Oscar has named the mom (pictured below), Truck Barbie.  Obviously that makes her babies Barbie Jr. and Little Truck.  We haven't decided on names for the newest additions yet, but I'm sure they'll be awesome!

Christmas in August

I realized that I've totally been slacking on crafternoon posts, so I will try to remember to do a post with some of the previous month's crafts.  This month's event was sort of a Christmas themed fiesta, which was completely random and so fun!  We made pretty Christmas corsages/brooches and feasted on a Chipotle-inspired lunch.  I could make a hundred more brooches and eat that food every damn day, so I especially loved it!  Head over to Heidi's blog to see more pictures from the event, including a picture of yours truly!

No Boys Allowed!

So I cheated on this playlist just a tiny bit.  All of these songs feature lead vocals by a female, but there are definitely some male band members.  It's my blog, though, so I can bend the rules!  I'm off to D.C. today for a training.  I won't be home until Thursday, but I have some posts lined up.  Happy Monday, everyone!

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

We All Scream for Ice Cream