My Grandma's Quilt

When I was born, my grandma made me a quilt. It's hand stitched, 100%, no machines used. And it's perfect. Every single detail is perfect. I have had this quilt in my possession for as long as I can remember, and it has moved with me, a lot. My mom always says that I can't keep anything. I lose it, or sell it, or destroy it. I guess that's partially true. I am not easy on my stuff. I use it. I wear the shit out of it, I don't hang things up, or box them away. I USE them.

I have used this quilt. It has been on every single bed that I have had as an adult. It has been used on picnics and it has been taken on trips and car rides. I have hung it on the back of the couch and I have even found Ollie or Charlie snuggling it from time to time. I have let guests sleep with it during cold nights, and I have even used it as backdrops for photos before.

I love this quilt because my Grandma made it for me. On Thursday, my grandma had some chest pain and was rushed to the hospital. She was about to have a heart attack but they caught it in time. She had to stay overnight and I spent most of the day crying, worrying and contemplating packing up the van and driving the 9 hours to be with her. But, all was well. She is okay, and she is back home resting and being pampered by my Aunts. All the while, I kept this blanket close by. I feel so lucky, every single day, to have all four of my grandparents still with me. I am 26 years old and I know how rare it is. I call them weekly, if not more, and visit as often as I can. Now that we live in the south again, it's easier to get to them. My Dad's parents are a bit further, but we're hoping to visit this summer. 

The other point to my post today is about using vs. preserving. I thought about putting this quilt away once, and the thought was so brief because I don't know what I would do without it. I use things. I guess I collect other peoples preserved things. That's the difference. I don't have kids to pass on my heirlooms to, so if they are going to be loved and enjoyed, then we're the ones who are going to love and enjoy them. 

This quilt, by far, is one of my most prized possessions. It means the world to me. It's tattered and it's worn, and when I die, it will probably be burned with me because nobody else will want my ratty old quilt, but for now, it's beautiful, full of love and memories and it's perfect in every way. And you better believe it gets used.

Do you have a gift from your grandma (or other family member) that you cherish? Tell me about it! 

xo,

Beca

Our Day in Pensacola

+ B R E A K F A S T +

This morning, Doug and I woke up super early and took the boys for a good walk to the docks. They love Florida already and I do too. I've never been to Pensacola before, I am kind of in love. It was so heavy with fog this morning and it felt so nice to just hang out with the pups. Doug's Mom is severely allergic to dogs, so they can't stay in the house, and lord only knows those boys of ours are spoiled rotten, so you can imagine how sad they are to have to stay in the back room. They have been extra excited to go for walks.

Doug's stepdad wanted Krispy Kreme, so we took the car down to the corner store and got donuts for breakfast. Normally I would have eaten a few, but I only had one. I'm trying, friends, I am trying so damn hard. But I had my cup of coffee and one lemon donut and I felt good. I have been really good about entering in my meals into weight watchers, it helps there is an app. Please excuse my broken phone screen, I dropped it, AGAIN, and Doug hasn't had time to fix it yet.

+ J U N K I N G +

I never thought I would say this, but I am all junked out. I cant go thrifting again, even if somebody paid me. Doug's mom and cousin took us out, and boy, oh boy, they thrift like it's a sport, and I think we went to about 15 stores today. I left every single one of them with a bag of stuff. I am going to dedicate a post to it next week once we have internet set up in our house. I miss thrifting in the south, it's a whole new ball game. YAWL have no idea.

+L U N C H +

We ate lunch at The Oar House, which you can imagine made Doug and I giggle. Regardless of the name, it was really good. I had a crab cake burger and fries, which were perfect. After lunch we did a lot more thrifting, laughing and driving around Pensacola. Doug and I leave tomorrow morning for Steinhatchee and will finally be home, at least for a month or so. I can't wait to get settled and back to work. It has been so very nice spending time with Dougie's mom and family.

What does your weekend look like? If you blog about it, leave me a link, I would love to read about your adventures!

xo,

Beca

Bone China Animals are a Good Distraction

I have recently acquired a collection of bone china miniature animals and am so excited to find them all new homes. Sometimes I think of myself as an adoption agency. I collect the inanimate animals and you can adopt them! Give them a good home, feed them dust bunnies, you know, that kind of thing. Bone china miniatures are one of my favorites. I like wooden miniatures, and even the early plastic ones, but bone china is like holding a ice sculpture, or moth wings, in your hands. Fragile and beautiful.

They make me smile and I'm not sure yet if I can let them go...I need more things to make me smile today.

I am unfortunately trying to distract myself from some sadness in my family life right now. I have been so lucky in my 26 years, to have all four of my grandparents in my life, and a healthy family, but after a very long conversation with my Dad this afternoon, that may not be the case for very much longer. To say I am homesick, confused and overwhelmed with pre-grief is just to say the least. Cherish your families. Hug them a lot, and if you're too far away, a phone call is easy as pie. I know that I won't have my grandparents forever, but they are so important to me and the thought of them not being a phone call away is heart wrenching.

The fact that my grandfather, which you probably already know has Alzheimer's, has lived to 90 (on Tuesday, October 4th, he will turn 90 years old,) is a blessing. I still talk to him once a week, although he no longer knows who I am, and I can't be thankful enough for the last 26 years and however long we still have. Nobody knows that, so I won't pretend to.

I'm going to try to get back to work. Life isn't easy. Crying is good. I can't wait to hug Doug extra hard when he gets home.

xo,

Beca

Everything is Wonderful

As you know, my Dad was in town over the weekend and since I hadn't seen him for almost a year, I was pretty stoked. It's weird, growing up and seeing your parents change. My Dad has changed a lot, and since I have only gotten to spend short bursts of time with him in the last 10 years (ie, dinner every few months) I always cherish the time we do get to spend together.

I am also really lucky that my Dad and Doug get along so well, and our buddy Chris was staying with us for the weekend, and he and my Dad became the best of pals.

We went to the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art where our sunglasses are being sold, but we got there an hour early so they were still closed. :( We peeked int he window and could see the display! It looks awesome. I need to get up there soon to check it out while they still have stock! After leaving La Jolla, we drove up to Del Mar Race Track, and of course, got there 2 hours early for the races. We wandered around and looked at the horses warming up, but got hungry and bored, so we left before the races even started! Ha!

We drove back to Normal Heights, and stopped in to one of my favorite places, Blind Lady Ale House. I'm not joking, if you are in the area, you have to stop by there, the food in incredible. I'm not a beer drinker, or a drinker at all for that matter, but they have Mexican coke in the glass bottles, a cashier/server that looks like Amelie and the best GD pizza I've ever had. My pops and Doug got a pitcher of beer and were stoked on it, so it's good for that too. Duh!

Do we look alike??

After pizza, we went home and chilled out for a minute, and then headed over to the San Diego Zoo. My absolute favorite place in the universe. It seriously makes me so happy to go and see all the little (and big) animals. I've never been much of an animals-in-cages kind of girl, but the SD zoo is number one in animal preservation and the architecture/landscaping/design of the zoo is impeccable. Doug wants to skate everything there, and every time we go, he points out all the rad skate spots. So, SD Zoo, if you're listening, maybe you could have skateboarding day once a year and make my boyfriend very happy. ;)

After seeing planet of the apes recently, I was so excited to see these guys out and about. This little one was so playful, he kept throwing sand at the big silverback. It was hilarious. We walked around the zoo for hours and by the end of the night, we were all ready for an early bedtime. We grabbed a quick dinner at the Red Fox, and said goodnight.

The next morning, we headed down to OB for breakfast at tower two, my favorite spot for breakfast. Of all time! If you come visit me, I promise you, we'll have breakfast there. All of you are invited!! I said goodbye to my Dad after breakfast. It was an awesome little visit. It was so nice to have family in town and do touristy stuff for the day.

These last few days have been ultra exciting/busy/nerve racking. Before I go into too much detail, I can give a little hint as to whats happening in this household. Tumbleweeds Sunglasses will be taking a little trip down the runway of New York Fashion Week!!! NY FASHION WEEK! The clothing designer who asked to use our sunglasses is INCREDIBLE and I can't wait to share!! I will be able to spill all the beans soon, but we need to get everything in the mail and out of our hands before I do that!

Also, for all of you in the San Diego area, we have posted invites for our grand opening event on facebook and would love to know if you can make it. You can also stop by our facebook fan page and say hello. We love new friends, old friends, all kinds of friends. And you can stay updated with all the breaking news. However, we're putting a cover on the window tomorrow and will be hush hush about the insides of our shop until opening. Maybe a few sneaks here and there, ust for you guys!

Anyways, I am running purely on caffeine and two hours of sleep. It's going to be yet another long night, so here's to living the dream! Whats happening in your life? Keep me updated! :)

xo,

Beca

For Grandpa

Yesterday, I went to the mail like everyday. I love getting mail. I wait for the mail to come. I know my post man, he knows our dogs and we're good old pals. Ha! So, I was so excited to see a package from my Grandparents, as I wasn't expecting anything.

Inside the package was something that is so near and dear to my heart, I instantly burst into tears and cried for the next 15 minutes until Doug came home from work and then I cried some more.

My Grandpa Jack is 90 years old, and he has Alzheimer disease. I talk to him every weekend, and some days , he remembers me and jokes with me about when I'm going to get married, but other days, he has no idea who I am and talks to me the same way he would address a stranger - polite and distant. I try to stay positive, and I ALWAYS call, no matter how hard it gets.

One thing that hasn't changed is that my Grandpa Jack is a fantastic story teller. He is charismatic and I could listen to him for days. One story that I have always cherished is the story of him and three friends breaking a world record for bicycle endurance in 1929. He was 8 years old.

My grandma sent me the original newspaper article. Here it is. My grandpa is the little boy on the bike on the right side of the article.

The story meant so much to me that a few years ago, I got a half sleeve tattoo of it by Isaiah at Staring Without Caring. He took some creative liberties and made it whimsical and beautiful. The banner says "I remember" because it doesn't matter that my grandpa can't remember much of anything anymore, I will always remember.

I worked all day today, and my brain was spinning with ideas, so I am going to camp out at the sewing machine until Doug gets home.

xo,

Beca

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!

So very excited! We got the house in Normal Heights. I in fact did not go back to sleep this morning. I received a phone call from the Realtor and have been in super ultra hyper mood since.

Spent a long time on the phone with my Grammy today too. She is really excited for us to move. She's pretty wonderful, this woman, and I'm happy and lucky to still have all my grandparents. She and my Gpa have been married 65 years and 12 days. Unbelievable. She's given me a lot of encouragement toward this huge change in our lives and it's been super helpful. So, thanks Grammy, for everything.

(My cousin Jen Hunter took this photo)
So, now it's crunch time, we have 2 weeks to pack up everything. Turn off all the utilities, pay the last of our bills, deep clean the house, AND say goodbye to all of our amazing friends. BUT now I will have lots of friends to write letters to and lots of friends to come visit.

SO much to do.

xo.