What I Did on My Summer Vacation...

As you probably guessed, I took a little vacation in August and did all kinds of new and fun stuff which left little time for bloggin'.  So you ask, what exactly did I do?  Well, I...

1) Made a new best friend...Sumi!
  Sumi  is almost 5 years old and lives next door to me.  She and her brother Mohammad (almost 2 years old) come over to water my plants and we eat popsicles.

2)  Had a summer camp for my nieces and nephews.  We went to the Berkeley Hall of Science, swam at Dimond Park and did volunteer work for City Slicker Farms.  Fun!

3) Spent time with the Divine Ms. M who came home for a visit.  We went to dinner, went shopping, went for run around Lake Merritt and did other fun mother/daughter stuff. 

 She's back in NYC now and I miss her...

4) Went to the movies with Yogarden and saw  "Midnight in Paris".
Je peux à peine attendre pour visiter Paris en 2011.

 

5)  Became addicted to shopping at Home Depot!  The Mexican Chair Factory (see July post) has opened up a whole new world to me of  spray paint, door knobs, light fixtures and sand paper...what??

 

6)  Celebrated with friends and family two Quinceaneras on the same day.
The celebrations were 59 miles apart but I was honored to have been invited to both.
Here is a pic of my very close friends Clara and Gabriel with their lovely daughter Gabriela.
 Que bonita!

 

7)  Drove out to Tracy for Daniel's 10th Birthday Pool Party!  It was tre hot...95 dgrees but we had lots of delicious Puerto Rican/Mexican food and cake to get us through it!

 

8)  Sold Mexican Chair Factory treasures at Chabot College Flea Market..ok, this was a slight deviation from vacation plans but it went well...

That's just some of the stuff I did in August and now I am gonna pretend that it's NOT September

 and that summer is NOT ending.

How about you - what did you do in August?

More to come...

xxooxxoo

The Mexican Chair Factory...July Update

Ok, so I have been working more than full time (or so it seems)  on my latest obsession...The Mexican Chair Factory.   Here's a few of what seems to be a gazillion pieces that Yogarden and I have rescued from the trash pile and worked on...

 Trio de Colores...

Love this fabric!

 

I found this one on the corner and

 Yogarden painted it with this vibrant color...

perfect for summer...

 

The Factory has  expanded beyond chairs

 and we now including other smaller pieces like this

 vintage magazine rack

...another one we rescued from the garbage truck...

And if that doesn't keep me busy (and out of trouble),

I  have my nieces and nephews (my sisters grandkids) with me this week!

We are doing a "Tia's Summer Camp"

and we've been swimming...

At  Dimond Park...

Here's half of my crew at Lawrence Hall of Science - UC Berkeley

 

We also managed a stop at the Oakland Museum...

Of couse, a visit to

Fenton's Ice Creamery

 is always on the

camp activity schedule

Anywhooo - The Mexican Chair Factory

has continued to gather lots of  "gems"

so it's back to work

WE/I CAN DO IT!!

Take it easy Oakland Breakfasters

Mexican Chair Factory (aka Two Mexicans and A Whole Lotta Chairs)

So......Yogarden and I have now "retired" our travel company (in case I didn't mention it we have had a travel business for the past 10 years)  and we are now onto new adventures.  This time around, we are rescuing chairs, tables, desks and other small furniture pieces to refresh and send back out to the universe.  All pieces are going out with good Karma, too!

I'll be posting photos of our projects (before and afters) for your viewing enjoyment.  We are still experimenting with surfaces and paint but here is a sample of what we've done so far.  All pieces are for sale (some are already sold) but sorry folks, you must pick up in Oakland...

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before (the one on the right)

After

Before

After

Before

After (cushion not quite done but you get the picture..)

Before

After

And here is what our new "office" looks like...

Let me know what you think of the Mexican Chair Factory.

 I gotta go wash off the paint I spilled all over me!