Well, hello! How was your weekend? Ours was busy. Typical. Let's just dive right in, shall we? Although I'm going to save the best for last!
1. #1 spent her weekend at a swim meet. This was a good meet for her, though. She dropped time in all 8 events she swam which was awesome! She also ended up 4th overall for 100 meter breaststroke. Crazy. I was able to take her yesterday and the hubby took her today.
I only took my iPhone so here is a shot of the board after her first solo event. 200 Meter IM. 3rd in her heat.

2. I went scrapbooking Friday night. I haven't done that in a YEAR! It felt good to get to work on #4's baby album. Here she is almost 4 years old and I only had the first month in her book. She and #3 LOVE to look at photo albums so I decided it was time to get her baby book completed. #3 has a baby album and that's it. #1 and #2 each have a couple years in albums but unfortunately, that just won't happen for #3 and #4. They'll have a baby book, though.
3. I spent my Saturday night doing this:

Priming. I totally thought I'd be able to whip out the bannister in an hour and then sit with the girls to finish watching the movie. Uh, WRONG! It took me almost two and a half HOURS to finish up that bad boy. I can't wait 'till the blasted staircase is done!
In other news, I was able to paint half of it black this afternoon. And I'm happy to report it looks good! #4 is disappointed in me, though. She was sure I was going to paint it pink and purple. Her "favorite colors" (said without the "s") I tried explaining that black and white colors are timeless. She wasn't buying it.
4. My sister bought a kitty this weekend. She found an adorable funny-looking kitty at Wayside Waifs. Lucy is only 4 months old but she has an infection in her incision so she has to wear a cone around her head to keep from licking. The poor baby. But truly, she is so darn cute.
Of course I had to take my girls over there today to meet Lucy. That cat is going to be so spoiled! She's a keeper.
5. I ran 10 miles this morning. It was the warmest long run I've had in a long time. I lost my hat and gloves right after mile 2. Loved that! The course was really, really, really, really hilly! Thank goodness we were mostly sheltered from the wind or it would have been miserable. But as it turned out it was nice!
6. OK. I said I was saving the best for last, didn't I? My thrift shopping recap, of course!
I picked Christi up at about 9:30am Friday morning. After a run through the Starbucks drive-thru, we headed to our first shop, Lone Elm Antiques. It was fabulous. We both found a bunch of stuff here. Truly, there was something for everyone. Here are my finds:

The two milk glass bowls, the green items, and the owl bookends all came from Lone Elm Antique mall. I'm not entirely sure where it will all go until after we finish in the foyer. The two vases actually came from the River Market Antique Mall. Here are the book ends. My girls all want them for their room. I had to pull the mom card on them. They are MINE:

Hello? Don't you just love the "knowledge" on the bottom. I think I'm going to spray paint them. But they are for sure going in the book shelves I built into my window seat. So excited!
Our next good stop was Mission Road Antique Mall. I felt like some of it was too rich for our blood - like we should have been socialites to shop there. But we once we found our section, life was all good! My purchases:

Those paintings spoke to me. I just loved them. They are watercolor paintings of Scotland. I'm going to keep them in their frames and just hang them as is. And the key is going to get a coat of spray paint. I'm going to hang it up on my gallery wall (scroll to the bottom). There is trapped white space that needs a little something. The key is IT. Awesome.



I also found this keeper. It's the exact same mirror as in my inspiration photo for my foyer. I heart this mirror. Seriously. And to think I almost passed her up? What was I thinking?!

Our last stop of the day was down at the River Market Antique Mall. Here is Christi enjoying our escapade:

As you can see, sometimes you have to weed through some strange crap before you find the treasures. In the end, though, I think that's half the fun.
It was a great day! We didn't leave downtown until about 5pm. And I am not a shopper. Ask anyone. I go in, get what I need, and leave. I don't think I've ever shopped that long. Ever. But it was really such a fun day. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!
OK. I left out a treasure... I found Jeanette. Love her:


My family just doesn't get it. But you watch...I'm totally wearing Jeanette to a soccer game this spring. She will be awesome. She may also make an appearance at Halloween next year. Oh yeah...
And with that, have a fantastic week!