Mojo. Heritage. RV Upholstery. Yup, hold on to your socks...

Schneikees, I've been neglecting this blog. Again.

I've thought about taking a permanent break on this blogging thingymajig because you can't really predict if you've got the bloggy mojo or not.

And that mojo has been sparse this year. Sparse, I tell ya.

It tends to show up when I'm adequately rested, fed, exercised, and all is right in my parenting world.

Um, yeah. That's not often.

However, I like this thing.  I like just blurting out whatever I want to blurt out.

I can talk about my kids. Or shopping. Or parenting failures. Or parenting successes. Or crafting and sewing (LOVE). Or DIY. Or decorating. Or Pinterest. Or cooking.

It's just my slice of life. And in the end? I'm blogging for my family. I hope my kiddos can look back on what I wrote and (aside from immense guilt at the potty training torture they put me through) feel like they really get me. Like they really know me.

And in the end that's all that matters. Not fortune or fame or any worldly possession or accolade. It's all about the heritage of our family.

Whoa. Didn't mean to get so deep there.  Quick, let's change the subject before I bawl all over the keyboard.

So, what's new with you?  Are all three of you still here?

Our latest news: We finally bought a travel trailer, YAY!  We are a family seriously in love with camping. Er....I mean GLAMping. Heh.  My hotel on wheels isn't exactly "roughing it".  I don't care if you are sleeping on the ground in your shirt or are in a huge deluxe RV, it is an awesome way to build family memories and have some fun. Once again, our family heritage had a huge influence on our love of camping...{sniff!}...We both grew up in camping families and have multiple camping trips planned this summer.  Often with the grandparents....er, often with BOTH sets of the grandparents! Oh its just SO lovely when your parents and in-laws are friends :)

Anywho, back to the travel trailer:

Guess what? I tore the entire thing apart and sassified it.

Yep, it was a brand new trailer.

Yep, I tore it apart.

What can I say, my hubby loves me (and deeply trusts me too, I guess!). And he gets me. He knows this kind of creative project breathes joy and life into my soul.

So, I'm a thinking I should show you my huge three week project of sassifying our new travel trailer. Yes? Yes.

See you soon. I think. Maybe. We'll see... 

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Spring 2012 Collection...

Hi there! I've been busy boosting my Etsy shop inventory, adding lots and lots of fabric choices for infinity scarves as well as a whole slew of Mash-Em Up infinity scarves.

Here is a quick looksee at some of the VintageDutchGirl Spring 2012 Collection:




C'mon by and check out the rest over at the shop !

Off to sew some more...

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Burnt Umber Blossom Winner!

Thank you to all who entered to win the Burnt Umber Blossom Infinity Scarf!



So sorry, but there can only be ONE winner. And to keep it fair I use Random.org to, you guessed it, randomly choose the winner for me:



Comment #77 is:



Congratulations Lisa! I will be contacting you shortly.

Thanks again to all who entered to win!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Setting Diapers on Fire…

My husband and I set a diaper on fire last night.

It all started with a baby shower game. You know, the game where you melt different chocolate candy bars in numbered diapers and have the participants try to guess what candy bars are in each diaper. I call it the 'Sniff A Poo!" game. Baby shower awesomeness!

I was also planning on making cupcakes for this baby shower but found I was out of sprinkles, frosting, and cupcake liners. Pretty much everything except a cake mix. Off to the grocery store I went. I found oodles of sprinkles in bulk and had a mighty fun time choosing a huge variety of colors. You know, for all my future sprinkle needs. One can never have too many sprinkle options. And can I just say? Bulk is the way to go in the purchasing of candy sprinkles. I think I spent a total of $3.00 and have 7 new sprinkles.

WOW, I sure have a lot to say about sprinkles. I'm sure all three of you who are reading this are sitting in shock and amazement at the level of entertainment this post has achieved.

While shopping, some other bulk candies jumped into my cart as well. Don't really know how THAT happened. Not that I'm complaining. I was nice and let them stay. I'm in the car driving home (happily munching on some of those jumpy chocolate covered peanuts) when I realize that I forgot a KEY component in the cupcake making process.

The cupcake liners.

Back to the grocery store I go. However, I went to a different grocery store to avoid the shame and embarrassment of having to return to the sprinkle grocery store. Yes, I will call it the Sprinkle Grocery Store from now on. It has a nice ring to it, dontcha think!?

Fast forward three hours: Cupcakes are made and cooling and I'm in our office designing a 'Sniff A Poo?' guessing game sheet. My hubby is melting chocolate candy bars in diapers in the microwave. You know, for the game. Soon, he yells to me that he set something on fire. Um, what?

Turns out, there was a chocolo-diaper hot spot and it burned a huge hole in the middle of the diaper. Whoops. Turns out diapers can catch on fire. Good to know! I for one have never seen a warning on a diaper box: Do NOT Microwave Diapers, risk of fire.

Our house STUNK despite opening windows to air it out. This morning? Same yucky smell. I'm hesitant to use the microwave. If I reheat my coffee will it taste like a burnt diaper? Probably.

I'll let you know how the game goes. For your future baby shower hosting needs, here is a free printable of the Baby Shower melted candy bar 'Sniff a Poo!" game sheet:

Print off as many as you like.

Speaking of things being burnt, the Burnt Umber Blossom Infinity Scarf Giveaway ends this Saturday the 31st of March:

Get your entries in! Up to seven possible entries! See post HERE.

Off to clean my house...

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Burnt Umber Blossom Giveaway!

One should not celebrate thine birthday alone. Or be selfish with thy gifts.

SO. Let's GIVE SOMETHING AWAY!

OK, this has been a LOoooooong time coming, time for a chance to win a Burnt Umber Blossom Infinity Scarf!

This has been a super popular scarf on my Vintage Dutch Girl ETSY shop, and for good reason, it is a gorgeous blossom print on a trendy mustard colored background:



All the normal giveaway rules apply!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. LEAVE ME A COMMENT just saying hi!

2. Earn another entry by FOLLOWING ME via the Google Friend Connect Follow Me doodad located on the right sidebar and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you signed up or already DO follow Vintage Dutch Girl.

3. Earn another entry by adding the VintageDutchGirl ETSY shop to your favorite shop list (by HEARTING the shop) and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did or already have it on your heart list!

4. Earn another entry by liking the VintageDutchGirl Facebook Page and LEAVE ME ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so.

5. STILL need some more entries? Whew...OK. Earn another entry (if you're still counting, that's up to FIVE) by posting or sharing this giveaway (with the link!!!) on your FACEBOOK personal, shop and/or business page and LEAVE ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so.

6. TWEET this giveaway (with links of course) and LEAVE ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so.

7. BLOG this giveaway and link to it....then guess what? Yup, LEAVE ANOTHER COMMENT telling me you did so and include link please!


(Giveaway only open to residents of USA and Canada)

*Why so many entry possibilities? I want to say THANK YOU to those who read and follow along with my blabberings and projects!*

I will leave the contest open thru SATURDAY, MARCH 31st, 10 PM PST at which time I will select a winner through Random.org and post the results.

Remember!!! You do NOT have to run a blog or have a google/gmail account to enter. Just click in as anonymous and make sure you tack your first name and email on the bottom of your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Enter enter enter and I hope you win!

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Keepin' it Real - Office Revamp...

Heyya there!

I am up to my earlobes with reorganizing/purging/cleaning/revamping our home.

We have a LOT of stuff that really does not enhance our lives. So, it's getting tossed out. Or rather, donated to our school thrift store.

Evidence of our madness:

I firmly believe in the ministry of mediocrity.

Aka: KEEPIN' IT REAL, GIRLFRIEND.

First up, home office.

My hubby does part of his office management from home and needed some more storage, filing cabinets, ya know....STUFF.

So that meant:

New furniture! YAY!

Shopped forevah and finally settled on Ballard Designs Tuscan Furniture Collection.
It FINALLY arrived, was set up, and I am slowly getting this office fully functional.

(Functional roughly translated: To have the ability to surf Pinterest at all times.)

Nah, not really (yes, really).

I've been looking (Pinterest, of course) and came up with a bunch of office organization ideas.

Our office is technically coded as a bedroom and has a nice large closet in it. Since our house has a shamefully low amount of storage we are going to maximize that closet.

One half of the closet will be for game storage. Yes....games.

Because we are nerds who have an insane amount of games that need to be stored. Carcassonne? Settlers? Dominion? With every single expansion you've ever heard of?! Yep, nerds like that.

Keepin' it real submission #2:

I tell ya, every time I try to ease a game or puzzle out of the pile three more smack me in the face. OUCH.

The other half of our office closet is for supplies and will hopefully look something like this:

Source: bhg.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Everything in its rightful place. Ah, the dream closet.

The reality:

I'll have you know I took this photo while standing on top of my large upright piano. Yep, risking my life to display my messy office. Keepin' it real.

And in closing, keepin' it real submission #4:

I'll have you know I took this photo well over a week ago...and that little orange snack bowl?

It's still there.

Like I said, keepin it REAL.

Off to sort through piles and pick up a little orange snack bowl...

Amanda- VintageDutchGirl

VintageDutchGirl is on Facebook...I chit chat over there when I'm not doing crafting to avoid my housework. C'mon over and say hi :)

Sbux and Costco KNOW me...

Ya know, is it odd that when walking into a Florida Starbucks I feel the need to stand on one of the cushy chairs and exclaim,

"I'm from WASHINGTON STATE!!!!"

and expect special treatment?

I think not.

It's like I feel I have just a bit of ownership of Starbucks from being a Washingtonian.





Add Costco to that list as well.

Yes, while we are stuck here in Orlando waiting for our flight (8 hours from now) I think I'll find a Costco to run into and exclaim,

"I'm from WASHINGTON STATE!!!"

And when I order my iced mocha I'm going to be watching the food service peeps and reading into their every move:

I think she gave me extra chocolate because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

I think she smiled longer at me because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

I think he put that clear plastic lid on extra carefully because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

Yup. It's gonna happen...

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Hey, didja know VintageDutchGirl is on Facebook!? I chit chat over there when I'm not doing crafting to avoid my housework. C'mon say hi :)

Obesity Pandemic: SOLVED. Subway Style...

Today I took my kiddos out for a spontaneous picnic lunch.

After all, I felt guilty that their breakfast consisted of a splash of milk and a fruity granola bar.

Some people in the house may have overslept a wee bit this morning...or a lot of bits. Like 72 bits. Which is really just 6 bunches of bits. Yes, now that doesn't sound so bad.

Anywho, we were a little flustered getting Bubbalu off to preschool in time (hence the gourmet breakfast) and while zipping up his coat I accidentally caught the side of his face with my fingernail. BIG scratch. BIG tears. Needing lots of snuggles, cold pack application and kisses...45 min late to school.

*sigh*

So it goes.

After picking Bubbalu up from school we had the normal debate as to where to head to pick up a lunch. I always choose Subway. Or at least 98% of the time. Yet, that measly 2% of the time (McD's) is pined after by the young-uns. The holy grail of childhood dining.

While sitting on a bench at the local ball field playground munching our turkey subs I had an epiphany.

Get ready, these don't come often.


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Amen? I tell ya, many a parent has bemoaned the lack of a children's play place at Subway. Seriously.

Dear Subway,

If you install a fun, brightly colored children's play place in most of your fine fast food establishments I am guessing your profits would DOUBLE. Or TRIPLE. Depending on how many crawl though tubes and tunnels you have. Maybe you could have a ginormous crawl though sub sandwich. How fun would that be!? Add in a slide fashioned from a carved out cucumber that lands in a pit of large plastic tomatoes and you are golden.

As a special request, might you consider adding a time out chair in the corner? You know, so I can politely point it out to the parent of the child who is karate chopping my son in the stomach? That'd be great.

For your convenience, my royalties can be direct deposited via paypal.

Sincerely,

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

January: Whew...

Once again, life got in the way of blogging! Massive January update:

We started off the year with Lance and I heading out of town to escape for a winter wonderland weekend in Winthrop, WA. Say that five times fast.

As is always the case before we head out on a vacay, I spend many hours packing the kiddos things and whisking them off to Grandmas, packing my things, packing our food, loading the car yadda yadda yadda. Of course it's all topped off with the inability to leave dirty dishes in the sink and you got yourself a tired Mama.

Seriously, I have to bleach spray my sink before I leave or I get all jittery and uneasy. Genetic predisposition maybe? Hmmm, maybe some of Grandma's Dutch deep cleaning stuck!

After our 6 hour drive, we met our Bro and Sis-in-law in Winthrop and stayed in a charming cabin overlooking the Methow River. Private hot tub on the deck, full kitchen, large cozy rooms, fireplace, and SNOW. So very wonderful!

We got a lovely first day of cross country skiing in doing a 14.5 mile loop. The first half was a hard uphill climb then you got to turn around and coast (aka, fly down the mountain praying you don't catch a ski edge and wipe out) the entire way back down to the car.

To warm up you head back to the cabin and jump into the hot tub! And because you are a smart person, keeping in mind to not drastically underestimate your core body temp and stay in so long you overheat. *Ahem*

The next day the boys decided to head out of town a mile or so up in the mountains to find better snow for sledding fun. The girls? Sleep in, watch movies, lazily drink our coffee (while sitting in the hot tub of course) then stroll through town and shop a bit.

FINALLY decide we should go see the boys and drive up there...Only to find Lance lying by the side of the road. Um. WHAT?

A rock? Oh. Where? Submerged in the snow. Oh. Lance took a direct hit to his shoulder blade? Yeesh.

Fast forward a 20 minute agonizingly bumpy drive down snowy mountain roads, 15 minutes worth of frenzied packing up the entire cabin while Lance stays in the car and moans ( we threw everything in the cars as fast as possible - really, it was quite a site to behold. If only I could pack that way), and a tense hour and a half drive to the Chelan ER where the ER nurse says:

"No, you couldn't POSSIBLY have broken your scapula, do you know how many G's of force that takes!?"

Fast forward 45 minutes:

"So, the X-ray shows you broke your right scapula."

Yep.

"So what position exactly was your arm in when you hit the rock?"

"Well, it was raised up because I was holding the video camera". I tell ya, I bust out laughing. Not sure if Lance thought it was funny or not. The ER doc just raised his eyebrows.

Ah yes, I love humor in stressful situations. Does that mean I'm emotionally immature? Maybe. While pregnant with Lil Chick at 34ish weeks and my OB doc said she was admitting me for full time hospital bedrest I SMILED. Nope, didn't cry. Didn't freak out. Just smiled.

For your viewing pleasure, the sled crash:



SO. Needless to say it has been slightly chaotic over here. I dug my nursing cap out of storage, was a single Mama to Bubbalu and Lil Chick, tried to keep a handle on the house (unpacking, blech) and ran my Etsy shop. Not going to lie to you, it wasn't easy. I was quite overwhelmed!

After a couple of rocky weeks Lance is now back at work and healing nicely. We were so very thankful that surgery was not required...and that our Sis in law is the nurse for an EXCELLENT orthopedic Doc! Ya know, being a Dentist and severely injuring your right arm/shoulder/back is not a good thing. SO thankful he is healing well.

A week after his accident, we had a fun week of snow in our hometown, schools cancelled and everything! Snow that lasts is a rare treat and the kiddos had SO much fun playing outside. I discovered a love of shoveling snow as our regular snow shoveler was still lying on the couch healing. Seriously, making ginormous piles of snow that take weeks to melt? YES.

I went cross country skiing through town the first night of the snow with my bro and sis in law and took a hard fall, spraining my ankle pretty bad. Awesome.

I may have cried a few times over the next few days. Just keeping it real.

10 days later and I am now the one healing nicely....but am fighting a nasty lingering sinus infection.

Doggedly determined to NOT be down. To NOT be cynical. To NOT get angry. I think that's how Satan gets to me. Throw a TON of stressful stuff all at once and watch me crumble. Nope. Not gonna work.

I'm leaning on the Lord.

After all, HE is in charge.

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Confession #1...

Came up with a random idea to do a "Confessions" series. Not too serious, but true confessions nonetheless!

First up:

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I KNOW I'm not the only one :)

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Hey, didja know VintageDutchGirl is on Facebook!? I chit chat over there when I'm not doing crafting to avoid my housework. C'mon say hi :)

I've got the BLUES...

I've got a recent fondness (OK, obsession) with the color blue.

This obsession is evident in the silver sage paint in my house (that is really a lighter blue/gray):


(Restoration Hardware Silver Sage, bottom right)

the clothes I wear (currently a teal long sleeved top. You'll thank me for not taking a self portrait of myself right now. Not my best day)....

or the fabrics I choose to purchase for new scarf patterns for VintageDutchGirl Etsy:


(VintageDutchGirl Etsy) Pin It


Yup, They are all BLUE.

I tend to drift towards bluesy green hues that remind me of our sometimes dreary, yet cozy Pacific NW coast and skies:


(Image via Design-Seeds)

Or the brighter aqua hues of a Caribbean ocean:


(Image via Design-Seeds)

They all speak to me differently: Invigorating, restful, peppy, cool, classy, funky, soothing.

Just Remember: Having the blues isn't always a bad thing.

After all, I'm currently sitting in my silver sage painted dining room on a dark red dining chair while wearing my teal shirt....and a big smile.

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl

Bullet Point Catch-up...

Lands sakes alive our December was chaos.

Anyone else?

I'm reduced to bullet point snippets to bring all 3 readers back up to speed:

• Christmas. Phew! It was BUSY. The past Month was so packed I have a hard time remembering it all.
• That's why I'm having a hard time letting it go.
  
• My Christmas tree is still up.
  
• 9.5 ft tall Nordman Fir
  
• Yes, it's a live tree...No, it isn't dropping needles or drying out.
• Yup, listening to Christmas music.
  
• I had it set up since the Monday after Thanksgiving.
• Didn't get it decorated until Dec 18th. Yup. That's a long time. It deserves a good long run of beauty.
• Our entire main floor got repainted.
• Ceilings too!
• Two weeks before Christmas
• Etsy shop went kabonkers...in a good kabonkery way!
• Got ALL my shopping done on time.
• Celebrated Bubbalu turning 5
• Celebrated Lil Chick turning 3
• I have a 5 and a 3 yr old....how did THAT happen!?
• Currently suffering the after affects of chaos: weakened immunity
• AKA I have a bad cold
• I got it from Bubbalu
• Who got it from Lil Chick
• Who got it from who knows where.
• Maybe the grocery cart handles that she insists on licking?
• Nah, must of caught something when she was LICKING THE BOTTOM OF HER SHOES. (insert grossed-out shudder)
• I have more than one Christmas tree. My Dad said to me, "So, this is a three Christmas tree house?"
• That wasn't the correct number....
  
• Guess what it was!?

OK, off to make myself some hot cider and pretend to make dinner for my hardworking hubby. A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greeting to you all :)

Amanda - VintageDutchGirl