A vacation decorating people watching post.

Well mah oh mah... I can hear myself think! :)

Some of you have been asking how my little alone time is going with my son in camp. And on Facebook, I asked if you preferred a deep OR decorating post. Most said decorating. So how about we combine the two and bring you a vaca-decorating post? :)

Backing up, the day I dropped off my son at that wacko hour of 5am, I went home and fell into bed, which is where everyone else in the world ought to be at that hour of the day. I mean, come ON. Go to bed, crazy driving 5AM people! And slept till noon. Beautiful.

I woke up a new person. And got fancy. I celebrated my new found freedom by putting on my blingy bracelet to match my swimwear (oh yes I did!) and matchy shorty shorts (I do have SOME pride) and sat out by the pool with my homemade ice cap. I felt like a QUEEN.

Then, deciding it was hot, I attempted the pool. After I froze my ankles off trying to get in, I decided hot was a-ok. And then I got a little visitor. And she was hot. So I told HER to jump in the pool.

And so she did. Isn't she cute? I want her hair. Miss S comes to see me fairly often. She thinks this old chick is kinda cool I guess. And being that Miss S is very strong, she moved my tramp for me so I could mow under it. Miss S, xoxo!

The next day I went to work on two firetrucks (I stripe and letter them). But honestly? I was done like burnt toast. I blasted through my work until 7:30 pm, then promptly booked off 2 weeks. (forgive me customers, if you read this!) I just needed to stop. And regroup. My head was banging and I was just... done.  I wanted a REAL holiday and by golly, I made it happen! One week alone, and one week with my son. Perfect. ( Cliff, if you read this, I'm taking YOUR advice, so you can't fire me! )

So the NEXT day, I gasped. My place was a disaster. STRESS. Just saying NO, I packed up my tote and left the train wreck behind for the day and head to a local beach resort for some R and R.

I have a really nice photo shoot to show you, but I'll save that for the 'deep post' day. :). I was gonna give you abit of decorating this round so here we go!

 But let's go junkin' first!  Now I gotta tell you, this is my new purse. I bought my first new old purse in like... 6 years?!? $6. Know why I love this one?

Other than it's small and compact, it's got some junk on it! :) Good potential here. See that lock and key? That is cool. You just wait until I can swap that lock and key for vintage ones! Oh yeahhh... and add abit more junky junk to it.

Here's a staged photo. I call this one, "HELP ME CHANGE MY TIRE, I'M STRANDED!"

It was the only shade I could find on short notice. I was getting weird looks while getting caught shooting photos of things most would regard as common.. like a $6 purse. On the ground. I needed to leave. I swear they sent the thrift store security to pace the sidewalk to watch me. I think I'll invent some blogger ID.

Ok, here's the decorating part of the post. One of my stops at the beach was the local coffee house. I like how they shaded the skylights from the direct sun. Burlap held up with bamboo poles! Simple, very effective and wonderfully rustic casual. Oh.. and stamped too!

I also loved this coffee bar. The owner made it from scratch so you can't purchase it anywhere. But don't you love how beefy and rugged it is with the big bolts and stuff? The tapered legs are pretty nifty too. Is this guy a furniture designer coffee dude?!? This wasn't just a hack job, it was really nice!

And since all of blogland is chalkboard crazy, I thought you'd appreciate how they hung these two narrow chalkboards for their daily quotes. I like it! The arrangement themes the wall nicely yet serves a function too.

So, after I made yet another fool out of myself getting caught snapping pics of my mocha, (admit it, the post would have been tainted without this!),

I head out to the beach boat dock area. That last day of work? All I could think about was THIS spot. For if you turn around, you see...

...   3 level condos with the beach in your backyard. Ground level entry even.  With 2 for sale.   I always wished I was one of the lucky ducks that owned one of these,  so it could be my summer home. (lah dee dah) THREE patios. FACING the beach. ON the beach. That ought to be illegal I'm so jealous! Priced between $400,000-$550,000. I asked.

Whatever. *sob*

Yeah well... notice THIS dream is washing away before I barely imagine it.  Ah heck. Maybe I'll start up those lottery ticket purchases again.

 My visit was wonderful. The solitude gave me alot of thinking time, which I'll share with you next, along with the rest of the 'nature' photo shoot. Here's one of those artsy shots I'm talking about.

On the way back to my truck, I couldn't help taking note of people as opposed to nature. People watching can be fascinating.

This guy, wearing what appeared to be his work clothes, found quiet solitude in reading a book in front of the lake. I loved that. Rather than whip up dinner, he went for the lake and the book. That would be me to a T. He probably lives in MY condo. Hmmm... if I were smarter, I would have asked him if he was single! Doh.. (but I did ask to take his pic and he was cool with that)

And if I didn't know better, this cutie pie would totally rate Miss Funky Junk of the decade! Isn't she the sweetest? She made me smile. She's a gal that doesn't take life too seriously. We could all grab a lesson in that one.

All in all, I'm taking time to hang out with myself as well as incorporating other people in. But it's nice to have the choice. I rented 5 girlie movies tonite, so it's time to go plug one in and stay up late. Cuz I'm on vacation! :)

I do miss my boy if I dwell there, so if I just change the station, all is well again.

(beach photos were taken in Harrison Hot Springs, BC Canada)

Got any summer vacation plans? Where do you like to go? 
And... have YOU ever had thrift store security after you for taking peculiar photos? Yet?

I just saw my Christmas post over at Gina's today! Weee! It's all about... junky Christmas decorating of course. :)