I'm Back & Better Then Ever, although a little more GRAY!

For some reason, I woke up this morning feeling like I needed to start

Blogging again. I blogged for years & felt such a sense of community

with my follow bloggers, but after awhile I started feeling that my

voice had faded, that I had said all that I really needed to say,

BUT HAD I?

I'm 10 years older from when I started this journey, my life is completely

different. I remember the day that I picked up my first Artful Blogger

magazine in Baltimore, MD & thought...I have to do THIS! At the time

I own & ran my own antique/baby store, had a 3 year old grandson, spent

an enormous amount of time junkin, looking for new treasures to put in

my shop & was searching for some truths that I finally found.

Now, things are a bit more simple. My husband & I are retired, my grandson

starts high school next year & my passion has become drawing, a strange

thing to pick up out of the blue at 62. Something that has become an actual

QUEST for me, is allowing my hair to just be...to quit hiding under dye

in fear that I might look MY AGE. At 62, more then ever before in my

life, I want to be COMPLETLY My AUTHENTIC Self.

Let's see where this takes us & if I can help any of you do the same thing

through my trials & errors, even better. We can learn along the way,

make mistakes, hit the reset button, find our path together.

Another Journey Begins...

Smiles,

Susie

Handmade Rag Doll made by Moi

 

Oooooh La La...

I don't know why, but I think this sweet, little darling looks

like a Frenchie! Maybe it's all the layers of vintage doilies

I've wrapped her in...

 

 

or maybe it's the pompom on top of her head that could

be a beret, or maybe it's the Marie Antoinette ribbon

tied around her neck, but I have to say...

I ADORE her!

 

 

I adored her so much, that I had to make her a little girl...

'mère et fille'. Oh & I made a cute little pillow for them too,

just cuz. I used a white sheet I bought at a thrift store for

the bodies & a few doilies from my collection I

picked up in Round Top, Texas.

Sew Cute, right?

 

 

Stitched by hand & made with love, this was such a fun project.

I got my inspiration from some LOVELY dolls I found

on Pinterest which you can take a look

at by clicking the link.

 

Bonjour for now, I'll be 'flyin across the pond' in

4 days...OMG, I'm freakin out!!!

 

Smiles...

xoxo

vintagesusie



6 Weeks in Europe with a 22" Carry-On

 

Greetings Friends!!!

With only 12 days to go until my BIG Adventure, I'm starting to KIND

OF stress out about trying to fit 6 weeks worth of clothing & other

necessities into a 22" carry on and a shoulder bag! I have done

LOTS of research on this, as that's just how I roll, but looking

at pictures & reading others suggestion's is far different

then doing the REAL thing...

THUS I Packed!

 

 

Let's start with my bag of choice...

after reading many reviews, I decided on the Timbuktu 22" Carry On.

The main  buying features that attracted me to this bag are it's light

weight construction, it's in-line skate quality wheels, it's half &

half opening system with the net closures & it's 22" size

that fits all the International carry on

requirements.

 

 

I went to my favorite source to look at packing solutions, which

is almost ALWAYS, Pinterest! I think we have all heard that the

burrito roll is one of the most practical, space saving ways to pack

our clothes. The one thing I found on Pinterest that I hadn't seen

before, was to layer your like style items before you roll.

This worked perfectly for me.

 

 

Here I have packed...

{grey & blue is kind of my color palette}

2 Skinny Jeans

1 Grey Long Skirt

1 Grey Short Skirt

1 Aqua Capri Sweat Pant

2 Grey Tanks

2 JG Tanks

4 Neutral Tanks

1 Navy Cami Tee

1 Heathered Grey Tunic Tee

1 White Embroidered Blouse

1 Oat Short Sleeve Shirt

1 Black Long Sleeve Shirt

1 Blue Lightweight Cropped Sweatshirt

1 Grey/Blue Embroidered Summer Dress

1 Black Flip Flop & 1 Nice Tan Scandal

{you can't see these as this bag has an area for shoes above

where my umbrella is}

Small Cream Leather Cross Shoulder Purse

1 Grey/Blue Neck Scarf

2 JG Baseball Hats

2 White Socks

2 Wash Cloths, 2 Grocery Bags, 2 Ziplock Bags

Hair Dryer

Umbrella

Medications

& I actually have a little space for more!

 

 

Another thing I liked about this bag is that it has 2 pockets on 1

side of the netting. These were the perfect place to add my

UNMENTIONABLES, which I shall now mention! ;)

1 Black Bra

2 Sports bras

5 Pair of Underwear

In the other pocket I have a...

Brush

Travel Flat Iron

Toothbrush & Toiletries

 

One thing I was SUPER excited about was this cute little

Clear For Take Off  Toiletry Bag, all cleared for size &

you won't BELIEVE what I fit in here!

Shampoo & Conditioner

Shower Gel

Rose Water Spray

Hand Sanitizer

Tooth Paste

 Lip Gloss

Body Lotion

Face Cream & Serum

Face Makeup

Dark Spot Serum

Razor

Bar Soap

Qtips

Bandaids

Toothpicks

Not Too Shabby & completely AMAZING!!!

 

 

Last but not least is my Carry On Shoulder Bag!

I chose the OGIO Messenger Bag for a couple of reasons.

Soooooo many pockets & bottle holders, lightweight, fit over

my bags handles so I can pull them as one & a great color match! :)

In here I will carry...

iPad, iPhone & Charger

Ear Buds

External Charger

International Adapter & Transformer

Inflatable Neck Pillow

Eye Mask

Ear Plugs

Kleenex

Wipes

Hand Sanitizer

Medication

Sunglasses

Wallet

File & Fly Wallet

{holds money, passport, tickets, maps, etc.}

Sudoku

Magazine

Camera

Gum

Snacks

Water

and of course, because I'm always makin stuff...

 

 

my travel journal!!!

 

 

It's ready to start filling the pages full of LIFE'S ADVENTURES!

 

I know I will inevitably forget some things & will also

probably bring things I don't actually use, but when your going

to be gone for 6 weeks, I figure it's better to be safe then sorry.

For now I'm pretty satisfied with my choices, I'll have to let

you know when I get back if everything in THEORY

worked as well while out on the ROAD!!

 

So for now adieu & I'll leave you with this great quote!

 

We TRAVEL not to escape life,

but for LIFE not to escape us!

 

xoxo

vintagesusie



European Vacation...Oh MY

 

 

Greetings Friends!!!

 

I'm soooo very excited about my upcoming trip to Europe

this summer, only 3 weeks until Bon Voyage time & I can

hardly wait! I will be spending 6 weeks traveling through

Germany & England & I am truly exhilarated & terrified

all at the same time, is that even possible? ;)

 

Reasons for my exhilaration are pretty obvious...

 

6 WEEKS IN EUROPE!

 

Reasons for being terrified are more allusive...

 

Fear of Flying is at the top of the list,

but you can never go to far off places if you don't get on a plane.

 

The extended stay is longer then I have ever been away from

my family, my husband, my daughter, my grandson & my cats!

 

Travelling with family that I really don't know all that well, I'm

kinda crazy...do they know this about me. Will I have any freak

out moments that might terrify them & make them wish they

hadn't invited ME? Anything's possible!

 

I have SLEEPING ISSUES...I have sleeping rituals. What if I

never get over my jet lag & can't get on the right time schedule,

it's happened to me before. My father & daughter & I went to

Italy & came back to the hotel at about 3 or 4pm daily, fell

asleep & then woke up every night at 2am. That was an

amazing adventure with insane sleeping patterns. lol

 

Living for 6 weeks out of a 22' carry-on because we will be

taking many trains & buses & need to travel lightly. I'm pretty

low maintenance, not big on make-up, my hair is easy & I'm

very use to camping, this should be the least of my problems.

 

{one of my digital designs from my card line, 'Just Sayin'}

 

One of my very favorite quotes from Mark Twain has

always helped me be braver then I really am...

 

'Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by

the things you didn't do, than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.

Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.'

 

Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin about...be FEARLESS!

Take advantage of each & every opportunity.

Say YES, even if you want to say no.

Travel outside your comfort zone.

 

And remember...

Be Adventurous, shed your ordinary life & in the Journey,

maybe something EXTRAORDINARY might happen!!

Life is Amazing!!!

 

xoxo

vintagesusie

 



Huntington's Disease & Learning to Live

{my family at Disneyland in 1958}

 

This is a very personal post. It's a post for me, a post for others who

 may have experienced this strange phenomenon, a post for those

in the Huntington's Disease community, a post to expose my

weakness, my desire to heal & my prayer to find peace.

 

You see, I've spent most of my adult life preparing to die young.

 

A statement like this requires at the very least, a quick rewind

into my past & family history.

 

My parents were born & raised in a small Midwestern town in

central Illinois. Daddy was the class president & captain of the

football team & Mommy was a prom princess & a diver who

was a standby for the 1952 summer Olympics. Clearly a

match made in heaven & one of countess love stories.

 

After graduation, they married in Vincennes, Indiana & my

mother became pregnant with my brother & my dad enlisted

with his best friend to fight in the Korean War. He would not

see my brother for the first time until he was 1 1/2 years old

& by then he had arranged for his family to be awaiting

him in Long Beach, California, where I would

be born 9 months later. :)

 

 

My early childhood reminds me of my favorite quote from

'Field of Dreams',

"The memories will be so thick they'll have to

brush them away from their faces."

 

Belmont Shore & the feeling of sand between my toes,

the smell of 'Sea & Ski' & searching for the tiniest  of sea

shells. The sight of my Daddy in a lifeguard tower & us

playing right below him, my Mommy, tall & lean & brown

& my brother Johnny...every childhood memory I have

 includes my brother Johnny. All of it so wonderful & sweet.

{now I feel nostalgic & happy & don't want to go on with the story}

 

 

When I was 10, my mother got sick & no one seemed to

know what was wrong with her. She had mood disorders

& was unsteady on her feet. She dropped things & started

walking as if she was drunk, she shop lifted something

from a store & had money in her purse. This was where

my fairytale ended & a frightening, harsh reality came

over me, just as strong as the sweetness of life that had

come before. Something was terribly wrong &

nothing would ever be the same again.

 

My mother was adopted, this was something I was aware

of at a very young age. I loved my Grandma Alma who still

lived in Illinois. Every summer we would drive across the

country to go visit her & our other family there & she would

fly out to see us a couple of times a year. After my mother

got sick, a big emphasis had come from her doctor to have

my grandma try & contact her birth parents & find out as

much as possible about her family history. What she found

out confirmed everyone's worst fears...my mother probably

had Huntington's Disease. An untreatable, incurable, deadly

genetic disease that was passed down by her mother & that

her 3 children would have a 50/50 chance of inheriting.

In many ways, from that moment on I felt cursed.

 

 

I'm going to fast forward a bit, simply because it's still hard at almost

60, to go through it all again. My mother died when she was 36, an

event in my life I feel I never truly got over. My brother Johnny

also died from Huntington's, which permanently broke my heart.

My younger sister & I miraculously escaped this fate, but

certainly not without scars & deep wounds.

 

Huntington's has effected every aspect of my life & still does

to this day. If you can imagine living with an expiration date,

that's kind of how my adult years went by...expecting to die

young & learning to be ok with that. I chose not to spend years

going to collage for a career that I may never have the time to

enjoy. I had a hard time getting married, then I had an even

harder time deciding to have a child. I had one daughter &

tied my tubes immediately after, not wanting to pass this

disease on, but my desire to be a mother was so strong I

had to allow myself this one gift, just for me. I spent my

20's & 30's off & on in therapy seeing psychologists &

psychiatrists & together they helped me find my way to

happiness. I thank God for them, for I'm sure they

saved my life.

 

So, I have learned to dance in the rain! I am beyond blessed

to be a survivor. My life has been so full of wonder

& love & joy & beauty, but I find myself

unprepared for one silly, stupid thing...

getting OLD.

 

I never allowed myself to even think about the possibility

of living to a ripe old age. It wasn't in my vocabulary.

 

{my sister Kris & I in 1964 & in 2014}

 

I know, I know...my fervent prayer has been answered, I

should be filled with light & glory & I am, I really am!!!

I'm just gonna need a second for my mind to catch up to

my body. For the visual image of me to change from a

person who dies young, to a person who might just live

into her 80's, even 90's. I will embrace each & every

wrinkle & sun spot. I will learn to find purpose in my

old age, what a word, & I will learn to live beyond

my expected expiration date with JOY!

 

For all of those in the Huntington's Disease community

who are taken far to young, who die before there lives have

really even begun...I will do my best to make my life worthy

of surviving. I will LOVE with an open heart, I will

DREAM BIG & I will CREATE & leave

something of myself behind that shows

resilience & gratitude &

ABUNDANT BLESSINGS!

 

This is what I work towards today & every day after!

 

xoxo

vintagesusie

To Shower or Not To Shower

 

 

To shower or not to shower, that is the question! I know,

what a stupid & silly question that is...of course

the only sane answer is to shower. Or is it!

 

 

Now maybe my aversion to showering can be blamed on being

born in the 'PSYCO' generation. Having seen that movie 100's

of times, it does prove a frightening fact... that you are

quite vulnerable while alone in the  shower. ;)

 

But I can't use that excuse, although I think it's a pretty

good one! No, I have many reasons I have this daily

dialog in my head...what a waste of killing

perfectly good brain

cells, right.

 

 

Most people would never admit this to the world, but since

I've decided to write what ever I want on my blog & I just

don't give a shit about what anyone thinks,

I'm sharing one of my secret quirks.

 

When I was younger & probably most of my life, I did shower

every day. I was an active child, involved in many sports which

makes sense that I'd need a bath everyday. In my 20's & 30's

I always loved to have my hair freshly done & my basic

make-up on just to go about my usual life. In my 40's, which

I think were the best years of my life, I started to shower

every other day or so. The main reason I did this was because

I always liked my hair best the 2nd or 3rd day. Now in my

50's & headed to 60, I have to say...I Hate taking a shower!

Hate it!! To me, it's a complete waste of time & there are

SOOOOO many other things I'd rather be doing then that.

I know, I'm such a fucking weirdo!!!

 

I like to blame this fact truly on genetics. The Brewer side

of my family has DRY skin...I mean seriously dry skin. We

lack oil of any kind on our skin & hair. I remember when

my grandmother was in her later years, she would cry when

she was made to take a bath. Now that my Dad is 80, his

aversion to bathing has him at a once every few weeks

schedule...ha,ha, ha. And now with me, I'm running on

a couple times a week...completely gross, right.

 

Since this bathing phenomenon has me thinking & feeling

like such a loser, I decided to do some research on bathing

to see if I'm completely alone in my ideology.

Here's what I found...

 

               1. If you take daily showers, you may be doing more harm to your body

                than good. A new study shows that bathing too often is actually

really bad for your skin & hair.

 

               2. You are also washing away good bacteria that naturally helps your skin. 

 

               3.  "Cleansing Reduction" is a new trend that happens to leave you with

               better hair and skin. This means bathing only once a week to stop

         stripping the skin and hair of essential oils and good bacteria.

 

               4. Eco friendly, a great way to save water & to create a smaller

Eco Footprint.

 

OMG...I may be on to something here!!! :))))

 

Basically it seems that a large part of the NEED for showering

has to do with your lifestyle & where you live. I live in southern

California, which happens to be in a HUGE drought. I also live

on a mountain top where the average weather is dry & cool. I am

not as active as I know I should be, I spend most of my time

inside creating whatever it is that I decide to make that day. I am

a constant hand washer because I HATE getting sick! {I actually

had a flu shot this year & have not had a cold all season, even

being surrounded by a sick husband, daughter & grandchild.}

I am completely anal, even in the most literal term & don't go

to the bathroom without using wipes on EVERYTHING!

 

There you go...WAY to much information about ME!! lol

That's what I said, Susie tells her truths & talks about what's

on her mind, politically correct or not!

 

I guess this post is geared towards the other dirty people

in the world. As James Taylor says...'Baby, you've got a friend.'

You are not alone, I feel you. And for the haters, just keep

this in mind...Prince Harry says he hasn't washed his hair

for 2 years, so I'm doing GOOD! ;)

 

Loved this article on the Mother Nature Network

 

Peace Out...

xoxo

Simply Susie