Girly -VS- Tomboy? Which One Wins in Your Life?

Hello + Hello!

How have you folks been lately?

Did you have a wonderful weekend like me?

I enjoyed my weekend to the fullest....and it was all pretty simple stuff really.

I was happy to be able to prep for a little

Instasale over on my Instagram Shop Feed.

It was a pretty "girly" line-up too!

I must admit....I like a little pink in my life...but living with all boys in the house

dictates how much of it I'm able to decorate with.

So,

having an Instasale allows me to play with the pink stuff for a while....

and then find happy homes for it in the end.

It was a successful sale, and I'm happy to say most of the items found new homes.

>>>>>--------------->

On the other flip side of my weekend however....

I had some fairly

"tom-boy-ish"

adventures!

 

Yes, that's my bloody hand.

I was practicing my archery skillz

shooting bow (target practice) with my sons and husband on Friday night,

& I ended up getting a little scratch/cut from the fletching (feathers)

on the arrow.

Oh yes....I am a woman of many talents!

Then....

>>>>>--------------->

It was off to the fishing derby at our local park!

 Where Elliot (and his older brother Tristan) promptly caught his (their) limit.

 

I calmly sat (in my incredibly adorable and girly chair)

and watched as their dad did most of the work

(thanks hunny! xo)

 

The best part about the fishing derby this year???

 

 

Not only did the boys limit out...

but all the other little kids around us who caught their limits

decided they didn't like to

"eat fish....eiuwww!"

SO....

since the fish were dead by that point anyway,

they gave them to us and my handsome hubby smoked them all!
We are enjoying smoked fresh trout....a lot!

And last but not least,

after much other doings and goings....

we ended the weekend with a friendly visit from our local

ice cream truck;

the Sugar Shack!

Mmmm.....mmmmm!

 

So,

girly, tomboy or otherwise.....

my weekend was fun & filled

with all good things for girls & boys!

Hoping yours was too?

>>>>>--------------->

Have a great new week everyone!

T.

xx



Become a Part of our Magazine; Gathering Together for Kindred Collections

Hello + Hello!

How are you doing this week?

If you're anything like me....you're barely surviving the busy-ness of

the end of the school year.

Things have been pretty crazy around here as of late, but it's all so good too!

Well, speaking of GOOD...

I wanted to drop in and let you in on something pretty amazing going on here behind the scenes of

Heather Spriggs' Gatherings Magazine.

We contributors have been so blessed by you  our readers these past few years.

Now,

Heather

has been encouraged by many a reader to move on to yet another

venue for Gatherings Magazine.

P R I N T !

Yes,

that's right....putting Gatherings into print is

"an awfully big adventure"

as Peter Pan would've put it.

Oh if only there were a Tinker Bell magazine fairy....

oh....but wait....there is.....

.....it's

Y O U!

>>>>>--------------->

Yes, that's right.

Now YOU can help Gatherings Magazine become a

printed reality by helping out right over here:

By becoming a part of our Gatherings family!

Truly....

you can not only get into the magazine yourself...but you can be a proud sponser and

supporter/subscriber of the magazine too!

So,

if you have been crazy busy like I have,

and you long for a peaceful moment with a hot

cup of something

&

 a lovely magazine to peruse...

then I highly suggest heading over

HERE

to find out more

about becoming a part of

Gatherings for good.

Only 28 more days to participate in this wonderful offer.

Join our Gathering family of kindred spirits who

value beauty in many more ways than one.

&

if I haven't persuaded you myself....

here's a word from our lovely

Editor Heather Spriggs

on Kickstarter.

 

 

 

 

A Rainy Memorial Day Weekend...Time to Fire up the Tacky Lights!

 Hello + Hello!

I hope your Memorial Day weekend was lovely?

We had a very relaxing weekend, working on this and that....

but sadly...it rained. the. whole. weekend. long.

Boo-hoo.

Oh well, I got to spend a little time admiring the drippity drops

from the front porch.

 I decided to fire up the fun little find I got out thrifting the other day......

 Yes that's right....tacky trailer lights!

(this one's for you mom! ha ha ha!!!)

My dad always thought these little party lantern lights were the tackiest thing around

when we were kids in the 70's.

We had a trailer in a campground we used to visit, &

dad always made fun of people who had them.

My mom and I are of the less "worried what people think of us" version of folks.

SO.....

my hubby and I hung them up last night to give it a try.

We laughed pretty hard....but left them up for the night.

 We'll see if I'm brave enough to leave them lit in our respectable neighborhood....

Hey... a little granny/grampy trailer park chic never hurt anyone....right?

Now....

where are my lawn flamingoes?

 

>>>>>---------------->

 

T.

xx

Instasale This Thursday: Why My Son is an Awesome Buyer For YOU!

Above: Typical fun finds for you at Trisha Brink Design Shop on Instagram

Hello + Hello!

Wanted to drop in and let you all in on my upcoming

Instasale this Thursday May 23rd @ 4PM PST  (7PM EST)

If you are an Instagram user, you  have probably seen similar sales.

I have now had two instasales at my

Trisha Brink Design Shop on Instagram

&

am loving how they work!

A sampling of previous fun finds in our Instasales.

 

It is a lot of effort, time consuming & exhausting

(to be utterly truthful)

but also very rewarding.

I've spent a lot of time getting to know so many lovely

shoppers & shop keepers on

Instagram; they are simply wonderful folks just like all of you!

 

>>>>>--------------->

BUT

THE REAL REASON I DO INSTASALES IS...

As you know, I often end up down at

Children's Hospital in Seattle with my oldest son Tristan

for his rare Autoimmune Rheumetalogical disease called

Linear Schleroderma en coup de Sabre.

Finding treasures to sell online has been a pastime for he and I for quite some time now.

We hunt them down on our Seattle trips as a team (the kid has eagle eyes!).

Then I have the pleasure of

photographing them and listing the items.

I also handle the invoicing and packaging.

Tristan very much helps me with the shipping as well as Elliot his younger brother.

Elliot & Tristan...my little vintage hunters.

 

We work together to do this business;

I truly believe they are really learning something from all of this!

We use the profits we gain to do two things:

pay for our trips down to Seattle (gas, food etc...) and the bills we incur from

various medical appointments and procedures he needs

(which aren't covered by our medical insurance).

And secondly,

we donate to local charities who feed/clothe the homeless.

We often see folks on our trip along the side of the road who are holding signs

for money or help.

I've been taught not to give out money to these people...but instead to give to the local

homeless shelters where they can truly get the help they need.

We are blessed to have a meager but wonderful home with a husband/father who supports us

everyday. But I'm not taking that for granted....and I know things happen. That's why I hope to teach my sons the pleasure of tithing as I learn more about it myself.

It has been a rewarding adventure for us all,

one that I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

We are an entrepreneurial family...and our gifts are from God.

We want to honor our shoppers with fun finds, great service & most of all

honor God with the gifts he provides for us through these instasales.

We hope you will join us this

Thursday evening at 4pm PST for our next installment of

Trisha & Tristan's finds

via

Trisha Brink Design Shop on Instagram.

See you there!

T.

xx

 



I'm Sharing 9 Moments With You Today

 Hello + Hello!

I just wanted to stop in today to say hello to you...how was your weekend?

Was it fun & cheerful? Relaxing and easy? Did you get a lot accomplished?

Well,

I finally had one of those stay at home weekends with no major things planned...

....other than the fact that I had sick kids to tend to this past week/weekend...

it was good.

As you know I'm always on the go with my

Droid &  Instagram, so I captured a few snaps from my everyday life to share here today...

As you can see in these photos,

it's been a little discombobulated around here the last few weeks with work at Grandiflora, gardening,

5 parties for various reasons, photo shoots & illness in the house.

One of the most fun things I was able to do,

 was go thrifting for a morning while running other errands.

I had a great haul, & am planning another

Instasale at my Trisha Brink Design Shop on Instagram!

(Stay tuned for the dates.)

Whew!

May always seems to be a little more than haywire around here for our family.

It really is sort of a shame to be so busy when the weather finally starts to cooperate.

I am just waiting for my seasonal allergies to kick in and really

get me all worked up!

(sigh.....)

Well,

I know this has been a rambling post today,

but I wanted to let you know that you are not alone in the crazy-ness we call life.

Sometimes we are so busy we can't see the big picture

& so....

I'm trying to pause today to see all the blessings I've had this week....

and take note that although it hasn't been fun to have sick kids....

I need to see that it could also be SO MUCH WORSE & isn't.

I am truly blessed.

Hope you are feeling blessed today too!

Cheers,

T.

xx

P.S.

If you're the praying type, please say a little prayer for me and my son

as we venture to Seattle Children's Hospital tomorrow for another

check-up about his

Linear Schleroderma en coup de Sabre.

Thanks my friends.

 

 

Hosting First Grade Caped Crusaders at our Treehouse

 Hello + Hello!

I just wanted to swing in with a little something different for a change.

Some of you may know that I spend the bulk of my time with

my family which includes not only my hubby...

but two wonderful little boys!

It was our pleasure to host a very grand party for our youngest son Elliot

recently.

He decided he wanted to have a Batman theme....

so off to Gotham we went!

 Elliot has always loved super heros!

Frankly I think he likes Batman most because he has such cool gadgets!

(big brother Tristan is in the background helping Elliot's classmates up into the tree house)

 

 

We had quite a pile of Caped Crusaders at the tree house....er....uh....I mean....BATCAVE!

 There were pinecone wars...

 ....rope flying lessons....

 ....and tactical skillz courses.

All the caped crusaders did fantastically,

even with the water bombs & pizza!

 The whole party was filled with fun & laughter by all.

 The best part?

After all the presents were open,

we were able to celebrate our little boy turning 7!

Happy Birthday Elliot!!!

Each Caped Crusader was able to go home with a little

tactical gear and treats.

It was a really fun day for each of us...

but we were exhausted in the end.

You only turn 7 once,

and we made sure it was a really fun day!

Elliot you are totally worth it!

T.

xx

Leftover Pizza For Brunch? Who Knew?

 

 Hello + Hello!

Ok,

so really..........

admit it;

YOU HAVE ORDERED TOO MUCH PIZZA FOR A PARTY BEFORE...

RIGHT?

Well,

if you have, or if you ever do...

here's my solution:

LEFTOVER PIZZA FRITTATA!

What's a Frittata some of you may ask?

Well, it's basically the

Italian version of the French Omelette.

A frittata however is open faced & often contains

ingredients "in" the egg instead of just "on" the egg.

>>>>>--------------->

I'm hoping to post pictures of my son's 7th Birthday Party

we hosted for his little buddies soon....

but...

the reason why I'm stopping by with this mini-recipe is that

I ordered WAY too much pizza for his party

&

rather than throw it out

I made a

frittata instead!

(Frankly, I like the frittata better than the original pizza anyway!)

Want to try your hand at this wonderful

Saturday/Sunday brunch staple in the Brink home?

Okie Dokie...

here we go!

 

>>>>>--------------->

Leftover Pizza Frittata

 

Crack 3-5 eggs into a medium bowl and mix in a few tablespoons of milk

(just like prepping scrambled eggs).

Pour egg mixture into a large warm non-stick frying pan.

Add any chopped veggies or toppings you'd like to be submersed in the egg.

Then add chopped leftover pizza pieces.

Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Cook over low-medium heat until cooked through & cheese is melted.

(I cover my pan with a lid to help melt the cheese. If you have an iron skillet,

you could toss it in the oven for a bit instead.)

Top with remaining ingredients that you'd prefer to stay raw.

 

Serve in pie shaped pieces immediately.

Enjoy!

 

>>>>>--------------->

 

This recipe is a hit with my sons.

Truth be told...

if they had their choice, they'd just eat the leftover pizza straight out of the box cold!

However...

 this recipe satisfies both my hubby's and my craving for omelettes

&

nourishes little growing bodies that need the

protein from our chickens' fresh eggs.

Win + Win!

Hope you can enjoy this simple semi-homemade recipe soon!

 

Be back soon with Elliot's party photos.....

T.

xx

Ice Cream Social & Book Signing With A Cherry On Top

 Hello + Hello!

How's everyone doing?

I'm floating on a cloud of whipped cream dreams.....

ha ha ha!!!

Seriously....

this past week has been a whirlwind of fun partying galore for my family!

I very much enjoyed all of it...but must admit I'm a little bit exhausted from it today.

All the prep work and excitement of getting things ready for the lovely

Koralee Tiechroeb of Bluebird Notes Blog & contributor to Where Women Cook Magazine

was ABSOLUTELY worth it!

Koralee was kind enough to pop into our shop

Grandiflora Home & Garden here in Lynden, Washington

to sign her new book

Everything Goes With Ice Cream!

 

You may already know I was blessed enough to be asked by

Koralee to be a contributor to her book along with many other wonderful folks.

It was "pure joy" to have Koralee in the shop with us the night of our

Mother's Day Sale & Ice Cream Social.

Many sweet folks stopped in and had her sign a copy of her book for them.

 Of course,

in true Grandiflora fashion,

we dressed up like old fashioned

Soda Jerks

to serve up the

goodness that only Grandiflora can offer!

We had a ton of fun together, and I'm so thankful for all our amazing employees

who are always so willing to go along with my hair brained ideas

for costumes to fit our functions!!!

( I love you girls!!!)

>>>>>--------------->

It was such a wonderful surprise to meet a new friend of

Koralee's named Carol.

(She also has a feature in the book: Ice Cream Snow Balls)

Carol is obviously very talented and has a very generous spirit just like

Koralee....no wonder they are partners in

the sweet pursuit of ice cream crime!

 

 

 Did I mention we had a contest for our customers as well?

Oh yes we did!

All you had to do was come dressed as your favorite flavor of ice cream

(strawberry = pink, bubblegum = blue, etc...)

BUT....

we were also giving away gift certificates to the most

creative costumes;

 ...wouldn't you agree these girls won?

Ha ha ha!!!

LOVE IT!

There were goodies galore & great buys to be had by everyone!

My sister and partner at Grandiflora (La Von)

deserves all the thanks...

If it weren't for her,

I'd never have wondered over to Koralee's blog

and fallen head over heels for her

sweet style.

>>>>>--------------->

Want to know what the

Cherry On Top Was?

Being able to chat with Koralee all night long!

.........

"I'm so glad we met my friend;

here's to your continued success at

Where Women Cook

& with your lovely sweet book

Everything Goes With Ice Cream!"





**All images are credited to my talented niece Emily Visser. Thanks so much for taking photos, so I could have the night off from playing photographer and enjoy my company!**



I'm SO Excited to Invite You to Our Upcomming Ice Cream Social!

Hello + Hello!

I am SO excited to invite you to an event

which isn't to be missed!

Awhile back, you might remember that I was

blessed enough to be included

in a really adorable book called

"Everything Goes With Ice Cream".

If you are local, you may also know that I co-own

a wonderful shop called

Grandiflora Home and Garden

right here in Lynden, Washington.

Well,

I would like to take this opportunity to

invite you to the culmination of the two!

>>>>>--------------->

Come meet 

a very special blog friend of mine

&

save on a gift for Mother's Day too!

We are hosting this wonderful event

Thursday, May 9th

Save 10%* storewide;

**The store is FULL of new products

just for this event.

**Free Ice Cream & Toppings,

6pm - 9pm

**Book Signing 6pm -8pm

**Book will be discounted

this night only!

BC author & Blogger,
Koralee Teichroeb
is well known for her contributions to

"Where Women Create/Cook" magazines.

This book features crafts, recipes

and more, to celebrate

women's creativity.
 

Also, we are giving away

30% off* coupons

good for 1 item

for those

who come dressed

as their

favorite ice-cream color.

(EXAMPLE: Strawberry = pink; Chocolate

Chip Mint = green & brown)

Be creative! 3 costume winners will

receive gift certificates for most

creative costumes.

*Coupons and discounts may not be used on Consignments, Gift Certificates, Chalk Paint™ by Annie Sloan, previous purchases, red lined items or online store.

So, come and get your signed copy of:

 



and say "hi" to

Koralee while you are at it.

I know I speak for both of us when I say we'd

LOVE

to meet you!

Hope to see you there!

T.

xx

P.S.

want to know more?

Visit our shop blog right over HERE for more details....

&

oh yeah...

here's a little sneaky peeky from my contribution to Koralee's book....

Eeeeeek!

Can't wait to see you there!!!

 

Boredom & Banners

 Hello + Hello!

Ahhhhhh.....

It feels so nice to be up and about again.

Last we spoke,

I was getting ready to have an

Instasale on Instagram.

I am happy to report,

that it went over smashingly well!!!

However...

(enter impending doom music here)

I ended up getting a super nasty cold just afterwards.

Poo.

So....

I tried my best to keep up with the simplistic demands of life,

and no further.

 However, in my:

"I'm free, but have no energy"

moments,

I reworked my Etsy banners;

Ollie Bollen,

Trisha Brink Design,

&

Wesley Asher.

I'm still tweaking them a bit here and there....

but for the most part it's really nice to see a change.

Right now I'm really trying to reimagine my

Wesley Asher shop.

Emptied of its contents, it's looking a little sad at the moment.

I am trying to figure out which way to turn with it.

I know what I want it to be...but it takes more than 'want' to make it that way.

And so it goes.

Honestly it's so easy for me to get bored with the way things look.

Are you this way?
Or, can you stick with something for awhile?

In some ways it's a blessing to always have change,

and in other ways it's a curse.

>>>>>--------------->

Well,

I've much to catch up on, so I'm off again into the wild blue yonder.

Creativity in one hand and a heart for change in the other!

I hope you are well my friends!

Cheers

&

Happy New Week!

T.

xx