4 Stories: Old Photos

This weeks topic is "Old Photos".


One. Flea Markets
Four years ago, a friend and I were at the Flea Market and we found a set of 5 small albums documenting a couples 2 month honeymoon in the late 1930's (estimated). My friend bought the set and we pieced together the story through the photo albums... three interesting points: they traveled on the original Queen Mary, the groom looked quite wealthy, always held a cigar and the new brides wardrobe through the photos was extensive and beautiful. It was a really interesting find and totally gave us a look back in time... but we always wondered why the family didn't hold on to such a love gem. 


Two. Isn't it weird
(More of a thought/observation than a story) Isn't it weird how much photography and the production has changed overtime? Even looking at my childhood photos, they're so brown, small and not naturally lit (but still really great). At antique stores, I see photos in cute little folders with the year stamped along the side, or a border around the image or a decorative edge on the photo print. People also posed so much back in the day and rarely smiled (probably because of the photography method) and over time, how people have loosened up in photos. The culture of photography has changed so much, I wonder if there's much more that can change in the future?


Three. Ma Mere
In my grandmas house (Dad's mom), there is a picture of a beautiful woman on the kitchen wall. As a little girl, I thought she was the photo that came with the frame because it was that type of amazing photo. I asked about the photo and it's light carved wood frame one day and grandma lit up. It's a photo of her mother "Ma Mere" and ever since, she has told me (and our family) many wonderful stories about Ma Mere. My favorite is that Ma Mere had her first perm done for that photo. Grandma once took the frame off the wall and wrote me a message on the paper back, dedicating it to me when someday she passes. I'm honored to appreciate Ma Mere in my home someday, christened with Grandma's love and handwriting on the back :)


Four. Photobooth Drawer
Since I was 16 (and once as a kid), I've loved photobooths! I become a hyper cookie when I'm out with a friend and we pass a photobooth... but I'm horrible at splitting/sharing the strip so I always pay for them so I can keep all 4, lol. When I got my new buffet a few months ago, I reserved a drawer just for all my photobooth pictures and it feels like a snapshot journey through my life & friendships. I light up everytime I open it :)

Four Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group blog series here (all stories here). Everyone is welcome to join :)

- Feel free to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post.

- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.

- Find 4 Stories widgets in the right sidebar (if you like).

- Please leave a link to your 4 stories post in the comments so we can read each others :)

4 Stories: Hairdoo's

This weeks topic is "Hairdoo's".

One. The Bowl

In grade 5, I got a bowl cut. It was kinda a bob that stopped bluntly at my 11 year old lobes and the rest below it was shaved. The cape came off and I went upstairs (my aunty cut my hair as a child) to look in the mirror and tears immediatly streamed from my face... I was wailing, my cheeks looked so huge and I felt too different and weird. My other aunty came in to console me and it helped, but there was an immediate plan to grow the 90's out ;)

Two. The Perm

In Junior High, I asked Aunty Diana for a perm. Before I got that perm, my hair was straight. Perms were 'mature' so I was a pretty big fan of the look (even my bangs were permed). It never felt like it grew out though, it just relaxed... I must have started "changing" during that time and my hair has been naturally wavey/curly ever since.

Three. The Boy

The year I graduated high school, I worked at camp for the summer. This was around the time I was figuring out my identity and I still felt totally confused with how to be a girl. I felt like I was in a costume with the girl hair, makeup and wardrobe and it didn't feel like me. My eyes/skin/lips/cheekbones looked good with no makeup so I left that out of the equation and I wore t-shirts, hoodies, unfitted jeans and skate shoes. While at camp that summer, I picked up a buzzer one morning and shaved my head. It was about a half inch long and I finally felt comfortable. I kept it very short with a bit more shape over that year and that's when I met Joel, my first boyfriend. He was into me so I thought nothing of it... till one day we were at Applebees. As the waiter came up from behind me, he said "what can I get for you gentlemen tod----". He tried to recover but we'd both heard it and I felt really embarrassed. Joel broke up with me the next day and I began to feel uncomfortable again.

Four. The Girl

While in Bible School, I started dreaming of getting married one day. I pictured walking down the aisle in a traditional wedding dress and knew I wanted long hair. Knowing that it would take years to have long hair, I started growing my hair out. Three years later, my hair was the longest it had ever been, I wore it down and I felt beautiful in my wedding dress :) Ever since then, I've enjoyed having girl hair :]

Four Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group blog series here (all stories here). Everyone is welcome to join :)

- Feel free to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post.

- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.

- Find 4 Stories widgets in the right sidebar (if you like).

- Please leave a link to your 4 stories post in the comments so we can read each others :)

4 Stories "Childhood Games"

This weeks topic is "Childhood Games"
One. ImaginationsThis weekend I was thinking about all the little games that kids love. I started a list in my phone that keeps growing as memories come back. So far: - Checking for change in payphones and vending machines- spinning on chairs at mcdonalds- dropping stones down the sewer- saving worms from puddles after the rain- making fake boobs with those pantyhose eggs (or inverting your top to make a halter style with 'knot' at the front)- making soap hotdogs (we'd rip the pages out of tiny popeyes books, fold paper and put a line of soap for the weiner. We did this often and mom never noticed... probably thought we were really good at washing our hands)- talking with accents & reviewing movies at the kids dinner table- doing flips off the top bunk bed- singing "I'm a g-n-u i'm a Gnu"- underducks- moving our bedroom furniture around in the middle of the night (amanda and I shared a room downstairs)- Spaghetti eyes (push your closed-eyes hard into the pillow for a bit, when you lift up, you see dancing spaghetti noodles)- And when we couldn't stop talking at bedtime, we'd make a deal "No more talking starting---now!"What were your games?

Two. Fort BuildingGoing to my cousin/friend Tanner's house was magical. We were two peas in a pod with the same interests & big imaginations and I admired her sense of carefree individuality even at a young age. Her parents let us turn the whole basement into a fort central, flipping furniture, pulling out blankets, hooking things from the walls, etc... she taught me the art of fort building and I was so hooked after the first time!  After that, I saw everywhere/thing as a potential fort set-up and my siblings caught on too! We'd make forts with our bunkbeds, under the hide-a-bed (and roll in behind the fold-up capsule), in the forest at our grandparents cabin, in the tree-house, and the jackpot location = at our other Grandmas, we were allowed to use the big living room and all of grandma's linen closet to make the ultimate fort everytime we had sleepovers! I lovvvve forts :)

Three. The IntercomAt night, we would crawl out of our room (stelth-like), whispering and slowly scaling the floor. The goal was always to the reach the stairs, peeking downstairs at our parents & the tv. It was nearly impossible to get all the way to the stairs because somehow, Mom and Dad always heard us and called upstairs "BACK TO BED". We were constantly perplexed, "how do they hear us?!". Years later, we learned that square thing on the wall was an intercom and they could hear us very clearly from downstairs. Foiled by advanced 80's technology.
Four. Writing ContractsI'm the oldest child of three and tended to like 'being in charge'. So when I'd convince my sister or brother of a trade or deal, I'd write up a contract and ask them to sign & date it. I was about 9 or 10 and they probably hated me ;)

4 Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group Blog Series here (all stories here). Everyone is welcome to join :)
- Feel free to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post :)
- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.
- Find 4Stories widgets in the bottom right sidebar (if you like).
- I'd love to read your 4 Stories! Please leave a link in the comments here if you join in :)

4 Stories: Color

This weeks topic is "Color".


One. Black and White
I went to bible school & lived in dorm for 1 year with 19 other students. We all became really close friends and on the last 19 days, each student had a day to be encouraged and the other students would share the great things they saw in you. On my day, my friend Tyler said something really special. He said, "Leigh-Ann, where the rest of the world sees things in Black and White, you see them in a million Colors." That was one of the first times in my life I felt unique, observed and understood. I really loved that someone saw inside my brain :)


Two. Favorite Color
Since I can remember, I've always had "a favorite color", ever changing, kinda like the 'flavor of the month'. I've went through the rainbow and cycled back on a few. And when I get a new favorite color, I become totally obsessed with it and everything is that color (my sis/bro tease me about it)!!


Three. Color by Catagory
As much as I love rainbows of color, the mixture drives me kinda crazy. I like it separated into piles or glass jars so each color is on it's own, nothing touching.


Four. The Crayon Box
When I bought my first house, I was extremely eager to make each room really interesting and colorful! I pulled paint chips for hours, made diagrams of different combinations and proudly bought 7 different cans of paint (greyish purple, schoolbus yellow, olive green, red, white and elk tan & 'swiss coffee white' for ceilings and trims). We painted for days (got a little buzzy from too much fumes) and when it was done, I was one happy girl... my house had quite the personality! Then a friend came over and declared it "the Crayon Box". It's since been painted a light seaglass blue throughout (minus the kitchen and guest room) and now I like to use color in 'punches' and in moderation, but I'll never regret making my Crayon Box come true :)

4 Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group Blog Series here. Everyone is welcome to join :)
- You're welcome to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post :)
- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.

- Find 4Stories widgets in the bottom right sidebar (if you like).

- I'd love to read your 4 Stories! Please leave a link in the comments here if you join in :)

(See New Post & Giveaway Below)

4 Stories: Vintage

This weeks topic is "Vintage".

one. The Story

I love vintage for it's uniqueness, quality, variety and charm... but most of all, I love it for its story. To me used is the best part, I love picturing the mom who made cakes with my pyrex mixing bowls, or the wife who removed the buttons from her husbands shirt before it became rags or blanket squares, the way a cute girl once wore my dress a totally different way or the date she went on in it... I just love imagining the stories behind the pieces I now love :)

two. The List

You probably have one too, whether mental or written down... a list of the things you really want to find or the additions to your collections. I call it my "Jackpot List"... no matter what thrift store, flea market or garage sale I visit, I look for these jackpots and get the *most* excited when I find the things on my list (but also love the unlisted discoveries just as much). My list includes 2-pile floral towels (I'll show pretty photos of my collection in a week or so), school & office supplies, colorful kitchen items, pyrex bowls, vintage dresses, pillowcases, bags of buttons, charming blankets, containers and furniture that feels really me :)

three. Jill

I love hearing what treasures and scores my friends have found, Jill especially! She's incredibly good at thrifting & vintage shopping, being selective and giving it the best new home! Whenever I go to her house, I love looking for the new things in her home, hearing the history and if it was a good deal compared to the true value... it's a fun game we play :)

four. Look at my Face

Last month my sister and I went furniture shopping for my house. We wandered into a poorly marked Antique's Warehouse and the first floor was loaded with floor lamps... like, everywhere! Then we wandered upstairs and it was a huge-huge warehouse of old, strong furniture! We were quickly talking in high fast voices, racing from favorite to favorite and both dropped our bags & purses  in the middle of the store in order to speed up all the skipping we were doing! With our smiles so big it hurt, Amanda grabbed my shoulder to turn me around and said-- "LOOK AT MY FACE!!" (HUGE SMILES). We were clearly in a furniture heaven and it was impossible not to see our excitement (and full on dork moment).

4 Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group Blog Series here. Everyone is welcome to join :)
- You're welcome to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post :)

- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.

- Find 4Stories widgets in the bottom right sidebar (if you like).

- I'd love to read your 4 Stories! Please leave a link in the comments here if you join in :)

4 Stories: Swimming

I'd like to introduce you to Freckled Nest's new Group Blog Series called 4 Stories. Every weekend, I'll announce a topic and share my 4 stories that relate to it... and you're invited to join me that week and blog four of your stories about the same topic & link to it in the comments... we can Group Blog! 

Everyone is welcome :)

This weeks topic is "Swimming".

one. Swimming Lessons

I wouldn't categorize myself as the "athletic type"... I lack coordination, didn't understand sports and was horrible at dance and gymnastics (super funny and awkward to watch, back then and to this day), so my extra curricular options were limited. Mom and Dad wanted us to be safe at the beach & pool so they signed us up for swimming lessons. I was so happy... I loved being in the water, picking out a swimsuit every season and gliding through the water like a seal. As I grew up, I went through the color levels earning my badges and felt like I was excelling at something :) I wanted to be a life guard, marine biologist and swimsuit designer and I felt the best when I was in the water. When I was 16, I registered for Diving Lessons and showed up for level one a little late in the game. I was surrounded by nine and ten year olds and a cute 19 year old teacher "Dave"... I was a nervous wreck, lol!

two. Grandma and Grandpa's Pool

My Grandparents live in the country in a home they built from the ground up and they installed an amazing underground pool in the backyard (that my Grandpa dug out by hand!) so that the grandkids would have fun! The first time the pool was filled (with ground-cold well water), we were MAJORLY excited to jump in; there was no ladder, no heater and no fear! We climbed in with that shoulders scrunched, arms not going in the water, slow motion tip-toeing walk you get to raise your body up from the cold water a bit and hiding our chattering teeth-- we wanted to swim so bad!! That pool gave us so much fun over the years, there was kids pool parties every weekend, ring diving, soaking with Grandma, holding your breath contests, fashion shows on the deck, helping grandpa clean the pool, playing mama and baby whale with my sister and a few 'skinny dips' when it was just the girls (or awkwardly around my brother, lol). That pool is one of my favorite childhood memories!

three. Canada Day Fireworks

Lol... a few years ago on Canada Day, Keith brought fireworks out to the cabin. Mom had made margaritas and we were all getting a "bit giggly". Mom, Kody, Amanda, Matt, Keith & I walked down to the beach with drinks in hand (cabin style) and set off the fireworks, laughing our faces off and cheering! Once they were done, Keith and Matt were all of a sudden stripping to their skivvies, running into the water! Amanda and I said, YAAAA, let's go too! We were down to our bras and underwear running into the water with only the stars lighting our way. We swam, floated looking at the stars and Keith & I snuggled in the water... it was one of the most magical moments ever :) When it was time to get out, I realized I was quite tipsy (my first time every being drunk) and I was having the hardest time getting out of the water with the combination of the waves, rocks under my feet and said tipsyness. I fell over at least 10 times, laughing and everyone laughing at me... so tricky!!

four. Diving for treasure at Big Whiteshell

My family went on a week long camping trip at Big Whiteshell Campground and I was at the prime of my swimming obsession. I had snorkel gear, flippers, multiple bathing suit options, and pretty much thought I should live in the water. There was a huge dock and I quickly discovered that there was an incredible amount of treasures surrounding it underwater. I spent the whole week diving for old bottles, awesome fishing hooks, money, weird lost items and anything I could find. It was so fun and the regular campers would stop by daily to see what the days finds were. I'd see fish as I was swimming underwater (one swam into my leg, so freaky) and I met lots of neat people :) By the end of that week, I could hold my breath for over 2 minutes, had an amazing tan and an adventure that suited my soul :)

A few 4 Stories details:
- You're welcome to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post :)
- You don't need to participate every week... just when you want to.
- Feel free to share topic ideas in the comments.
- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.
- I'd love to read your 4 Stories! Please leave a link in the comments of the weekly post if you join in :)
- You can add a '4 Stories' widget to your blog if you'd like (it's a "4 story building"!):