Thrift Find- Leather Weekend Bag

I haven't blogged anything on here in weeks.   I have been kind of busy creating another blog, Retro Toy Safari.   It is mainly about my love of toys.   Recently, a new Goodwill store opened very to close to my home and work.    Whenever I get a few spare minutes to myself, I will go explore and see what I can find.

Lately, my favorite store has been a great source of vintage toys.  I have found about 8 first generation 1 Transformers, some G3 My Little Ponies, some Star Wars items.   I even found a brand new Monster High doll in a bag of fun!

Today, was a great shopping day at the Goodwill, not so much in the toy department, but elsewhere. I found this bag and I have been showing it to anyone who would look at it.   I spotted a lady looking at it from over a shelf.    I was just hoping that she would put it back and luckily she did!!  It has this beautiful Bohemian quality to it.   I picture the former owner as a world travel that returned with this as souvenir.

The bag is leather on the inside and the outside trim.    The buckles and closure are brass, in need of some polishing.  The tapestry appears to be handmade and looks like it could possibly be from South America.   The picture doesn't do justice to the colors of the tapestry.  


 Today,with it being President's Day,  the entire store was 50% off so I got the bag for $2. 25.   I can't wait to use it for an adventerous weekend away. 

Crepes by Suzette

This last week, my daughter checked out a the cutest book, called "Crepes by Suzette" by Monica Wellington.    The story follows Suzette and her crepe cart around the city of Paris.   She stops at various Parisian landmarks making crepes for people.

At the end of the book is a simple recipe to make crepes.   Since my little girl loves to cook, I knew we were going to have to try this recipe.  I thought they would be difficult to make, but the crepes were actually really simple.

Crepe Recipe-

1 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1 tbsp butter, melted

Sift flour, sugar and salt together and set aside.   Beat eggs and milk together.  Beat in flour mixture until smooth and add butter.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or pan over medium heat.  Pour about 3 tbsp of batter into the pan.  Working fast, remove the pan from heat and rotate pan in a circular motion to spread batter thinly.  Brown both sides.

We ate our crepes with fresh fruit, powdered sugar, and Nutella.

My take on The Hobbit

Last night, my husband and I had dinner and a movie date night.   So, we flipped a coin to see who got to decide dinner and the movie.  I lost the call for picking the movie.   I knew my husband would pick  "The Hobbit".    Here is where the idea of compromise makes a good marriage.

Now before I ruffle the feathers of Tolkien fans, let me tell you why I already hate The Hobbit.     Long ago, way back in 1988, I sat in Mrs. Erwin's 3 rd period English class.    Mrs. Erwin was a good a teacher, but her taste in required reading material, to put it bluntly, SUCKED!  

I guess she thought 8th graders would appreciate a story that is packed with action, dwarfs, elves, wizards, strange creatures with hairy feet.  And maybe a majority of the 8th graders did and still do?  I don't know?  But, she got me and well,  I am a tough nut to crack. To me, the book was as dry as a popcorn fart.   I hated everyday, every page, and every sentence that I had to write in connection to The Hobbit. Then she forced that terrible Japanimation cartoon on us.  If you have never heard  Lenard Nimoy sing, torture yourself with this Hobbit flavored gem.  Sadly, not lost to the ages thanks to Youtube.    The hate and loathing of The Hobbit, has stuck with me.

So let's fast forward to Peter Jackson and his Tolkien love fest of films.  Sadly (?, possibly)  I married a man who loves them.    He drug me to see Return of the King, you can imagine my delight.     To quote one of Kevin Smith's master works, Clerks 2, " There is only one Return okay, and  it aint of the the king-....it's of the JEDI".  After seeing Clerks 2, I thank God, I am not the only person who felt the same way.   I spent 3 never ending hours, by the glow of my cell phone writing thank you notes during the film.   So, lets just say I came prepared with things to do by the glow of my cell phone.

When it comes to watching movies in the theater, my husband  is a bit like Dr. Sheldon Cooper.   If you aren't familiar with Sheldon's seat selection process, check out this youtube clip and you will understand what our seat selection process is like.  Okay, maybe not to the same extreme.  But, we have changed seats more then once to make sure we get the perfect spot.

We are all snuggled in our seats and the previews roll.  Dear God, how many crappy previews can you pack on before a movie??   I swear there was 30 minutes of previews!   I honestly can't remember any of them, because there wasn't one that I would even remotely want to pay money to see.  When the movies show up on HBO, I might watch one, but it is doubtful.   Don't get excited the next couple of months at movie theaters are going to be S---L---O---W.

The movie starts finally.   JOY! :/     I do compliment the set design  and costuming team.   They do an excellent job when it comes to set decoration and costuming.   These clearly are some of the best people working in film.   The attention to detail is beautiful and this is about the only good thing I can say from my point of view about the movie.

If you don't know the story, it is about Bilbo and an adventure that he is basically volunteered for.   It starts out with these dwarfs made homeless because a dragon (cue the Eddie Murphy voice from Mulan)    There is a scene where the dragon is swimming through these piles of gold.   I just busted out laughing because it reminded me of Uncle Scrooge swimming through his vault and I couldn't get the Duck Tales theme song out of my head after that.  

Much like the other Ring movies, the majority of the time, the characters and even the trees are walking.   In "The Hobbit", they  started out with horses but those are quickly lost and the characters  are walking the rest of the way.  

Gandalf is still smoking his "Old Toby" .  Puff, puff,  share Gandalf, which he does.  Because, Gandalf, Bilbo, the brown wizard, and few of the dwarfs are high as kites.     They get chased by orcs, the elves show up, the dwarfs end up in a cave and  ...Bilbo finds "the precious".   Enter Smigel/Gollum, the only character who might possibly have just as many or more personalities as Cybil.    

Well, guess what.... this is the point in which I fall asleep.    That's right, I fell asleep in the middle of "the Hobbit"!  I can hear all of you LOTR/Hobbit lovers, who proudly  whip out your Preciouses and sporting your elf ears, gasping for breath.    I missed the 20 logical ending points leading up to the end.   According to my husband,  the movie ends with the dragon waking up in his Scrooge McDuck piles of gold.

Am I looking forward to the next 2 Hobbit films? No!   not a fan and never will be....  I don't care how pretty they try to package it up.   No, I don't really want to give the book another try.   That ship sank and isn't going to be rediscovered.   For those of you who love the movies and books, good on you.   My wish is that Peter Jackson would learn to edit.   Hey Peter, I would like my $10.50 back.  Thanks!

It was still a great night all in all, I was happy with dinner.  My husband was happy with the movie.  We stopped for some ice cream on the way home.  All was good in the end.

World Vision Charitable Gifts

    Instead of buying another sweater for that hard to shop for person, give a gift that will truly impact the life of another.  

World Vision's Gift catalog offers more than 250 gifts online and in printed versions ranging in price from $16 to $39,000.  These gifts can be purchased in the name family members, teachers, co-workers, or a child,  including my affordable gifts under $50.    For the past couple of years, a friend of our family has donated a goat in our name.    My children were so thrilled by the idea of donating to children in another country.

The best part about these gifts, is that they are self-sustainable.  For example, a goat given to communities  in Africa are purchased in Africa.   This allows community development in some of the most poverty stricken villages.

Here are a few gift ideas:

* Goat ($75):  One of the most popular gifts.   Its milk provides protein for children and the surplus can be sold off.

Feed a family in the U.S. for a day ($16):  Here in the U.S, 1 in 5 children live in poverty.   Gifts givers can help restore hope to those  families who have been effected by disasters, homelessness, or job loss.

A child's education ($32): Supplying a child's school fees, textbooks, paper and pencils will help a child reach their true potential.

You can also help by donating to the Maximum Impact Fund.   The Maximum Impact Fund gifts help answer specific, urgent needs of children and families that might otherwise go unmet.   For example,  for a $25 donation, you will receive Gertie the Plush Goat, available exclusively through World Vision.   Gertie will be a delightful memento for your loved one of the hope you've given in his or her name.  At your request, the plush toy will arrive with a beautiful card explaining the impact of the donation.

Please consider giving a World Vision Gift this holiday season.   Both the gift giver and receivers will be truly blessed by your thoughtful gift.  





* I did receive a set of plush animals for the purpose of this post. I did not receive any other monetary compensation for this post.   All opinions expressed in this post are my own.  

Kung Fu Panda Holiday Dvd/Blu Ray

 If you have a Kung Fu Panda fan in your home, you will want to check out Kung Fu Panda Holiday now available on Dvd and Blu-Ray.    Snuggle up with some hot chocolate and enjoy this fun new holiday themed addition to the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

Synopsis:
In this hilarious action adventure, Master Shifu calls on Po to host the year’s biggest event - the Winter Feast, a special time of the year to celebrate family, tradition and the awesomeness of Kung Fu!  Po and the Furious Five must team up to throw the best celebration the Valley of Peace has ever seen.  Can Po pull off the perfect party, impress his heroes, and discover the true meaning of the Winter Feast?

Pinypon Party

I recently had the opportunity to host a Pinypon Party sponsored by Mommy Parties.  My daughter was thrilled when we received the HUGE box of goodies.  We received 2 Pinypon Caravans, 12 Pinypon dolls, and 2 Nenuco Newborn Baby dolls.  







We included our Pinypon party in with my daughter's birthday celebration.  This year, we hosted 6 girls ages 4-7.   They had a wonderful time eating cake and ice cream, then playtime.   We started out with a Pinypon scavenger hunt.   When the girls found a card, they could  turn it in to receive their own Pinypon.    Once all of the girls had their own doll, playtime was on.   One thing that I noticed the girls really enjoyed was mixing and matching the different Pinypon parts to create a new girl.



The caravan includes several features of play with the shower, small boat, surf boards, and my daughter said it was also an ice cream truck.   The girls loved the water feature in the caravan.   The little shower works so Pinypons could enjoy some water fun.


The only downside to these adorable little dolls is the amount of small parts.  Since we have a 9 month old, they posed a major choking hazard.  I gave the girls a container to keep all of the parts in and made sure they were all picked up when they finished.








The Newborn baby was also a big hit.  I heard a lot of giggles after giving the baby a bottle.



Overall, the girls had a wonderful time playing together.   Each left with their own Pinypon and goodie bag and one lucky girl got to take home a caravan as well.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, my daughter and I decided that we would give the other baby doll to Toys for Tots.  We are lucky to have these types of opportunities and wanted to share.

Pinypons would make great gifts or stocking stuffers for this holiday season.  









To find out more about Pinypon, you can find them on Facebook and Twitter. 
To find out more about Nenuco, visit their website or you can find them on Facebook or Twitter.






I received sample products from Pinypon and Nenuco through Mommy Parties for the purpose of this review.   I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.  All opinions expressed in this post are my own.  

This is what a Monster High scalper looks like

This is one of the things that I hate the most about Black Friday shopping.  It is people like this guy, who make holiday shopping frustrating.   All parents have felt the frustration of not being able to find that one toy your child wants.
 I know with the Monster High dolls,  my husband and I looked for almost 6 months before we found an Abbey doll for our daughter.    There were plenty on Ebay selling for $60 or more, but I wasn't willing to pay that for one doll because of ******** like this guy wanting to make a profit.

Share this youtube video with other Monster High fans and put these scalpers out of business.