Free-for-all Friday: Everything I needed to know in life....

...I learned from Peanuts...

....or maybe it's Pinterest?

Sooooo, I was perusing Pinterest and couldn't help but notice this reoccuring trend among "pins"--a little pattern called "Chevron." Call me behind the times b/c I would recognize this pattern but never knew the official "name" of it.  Apparently, it's really "caught on" in the world of accesories, clothing and home decor.

http://theglitterguide.com/2011/08/09/crazy-about-chevron/

I was telling a friend about this trend because she just moved into a new house and I was envisioning a splash of Chevron...perhaps via a lil grey chevron pillow...as a nice touch in her sitting room. 

Not long after, her decorator/sister  called so we inquired. She enlightened us that chevron would be considered fashion forward vs. classic traditional.

Know how once you hear about something new, it pops up like 10 million trillion times and you wonder how you never ran across it before?

Well, a few days later, good ole Stacey (remember her?...theme song...in China) told me she was going to study at the Charlie Brown Cafe in her Chinese town. I made her promise to take a picture so she did. I wish you could see this cute lil cafe but I'm having trouble uploading the picture. Hark! The pattern on Charlie Brown's shirt was stenciled on the outside of the streetside glass windows around the whole outside perameter of the cafe.

It's alllllllllll coming full circle. Could it be that ole Chuck was the original King of Chevron? Who knew that the fashion forward need look no further than Peanuts (and maybe Pinterest) for the answers to all of life's important matters. ;)

Here a a few of my personal fav chevron sightings? 

Chevron Rug

Pink Chevron!

Yellow chevron A-line Skirt

Do you have any chevron? Do tell.

If you're feeling like adding some cheap, crafty, DIY chevron to your home this weekend, here is a step by step tutorial to put a lil splash of it at your entry way or kitchen sink. If you try it, send us a pic!

Trian Up Tuesday: Lunch with Charlie Brown

If you've been following a while, you may remember my fondness for Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. Last year, Glenda (one of our RWAV contributors) commented that she looked forward to watching the movie with her granddaughter and eating the treats shown in the movie. That inspired me for this year!

So...I arranged a play-date for my boys and their cousins....at my mom's house (hey, it's much easier to do these things when you don't have to clean a play room before and after the event ;-). We watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving (why, yes, I do own the video) and as they watched, I began plating their treats - popcorn (which happened to be crunch n' munch because the new Jiffy Pop won't work on glass top stoves :( ), pretzels, jelly beans (and m&ms and skittles...for those who can't chew the jelly beans), toast, and ice cream. Oddly enough, the moment I served the last scoop of ice cream, the scene where the Peanuts gang prays before their "meal" began playing. "Divine" timing? Perhaps ;-)


They had a GREAT time! We also dressed them up in Native American inspired apparel and let them run around outside to play in the leaves...to get the sugar high out of their system (right before naps, too!) ;-)


Even though it has already aired on network television, you should still be able to pull it up on hulu.com (I checked earlier on Monday and it was there). So, if you're looking for a fun activity to do (that is easy to pull together...did I mention I have a 7 week old and 2 other boys ages 5 and 2 1/2?!), this is a winner.

Also, if you are looking for an opportunity to share the truth about Thanksgiving, be sure to check out a couple of last year's posts: Lessons from the Mayflower and 5 Kernels of Corn. I plan to continue our new tradition of the 5 Kernels and share the poem featured on Raising Real Men when we do.

What fun things are you doing with your family this holiday?

-Ashlie

Train Up Tuesday: Peanuts and Popcorn for Thanksgiving

If you are like me, you love the last quarter of the year for many reasons, one of those being the Charles Schulz Peanuts TV specials. No doubt you have seen “ A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”; it’s a classic, for sure. But have you seen the bonus cartoon “This is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers”? If you have the DVD version, be sure that you don’t skip over it. If you don’t have it, it is scheduled to air on Thanksgiving day. What a great way to round out the day or to expose family members to our countries’ true founding (the cartoon is quite accurate in most things...but don’t forget, it IS a cartoon).

The original classic, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is great, too. I remember watching it a few years ago wondering, “What kind of kooky meal is Snoopy, Charlie, & Linus coming up with? Toast, jelly beans and popcorn?” Do you know, it wasn’t until I watched it again this year and remembered, “Oh, yeah, popcorn is actually quite Thanksgivingy.” Let’s not forget, it was the native Americans who introduced this treat.

So, this Thanksgiving, consider popping in “Peanuts” on the TV and having some popcorn, too. Perhaps you could even strand some of the kernel goodness for table decor or a tree outside (to remind your neighbors, too)! :)

Have fun!

-Ashlie