Janie's World

Sleepy girls

2012-02-09T07:47:00.001-08:00

I was cleaning out the closet and I came across this picture. Alyssa fast asleep on Delaney's lap with Delaney passed out over her. My heart melted. There's nothing like looking at your children when they are asleep. They could have been terrors when awake, but the moment they close their eyes, they were little angels. I then remembered this picture:

After a long day touring Pompeii, Delaney couldn't stay awake on the bus ride back to the ship, and that made me think of this picture:

Katie passed out after a long day in Yellowstone National Park. I guess it doesn't matter how old they are, they still melt your heart when they are sleeping.

She's crafty too...

2012-02-08T07:57:00.001-08:00

My girls are proud Americans, they love their country, so it was no surprise that the theme for Katie's birthday with her friends this year was "America". Everyone was asked to wear some form of red, white and blue. A little light bulb went off in Delaney's head and she remembered a tutorial she saw and gathered the supplies needed to fancy up some shorts to wear to the party. They turned out fabulous, sisters requesting pairs for themselves to be worn on 4th of July!

Delaney's version. So cute, I love the addition of the eyelet around the bottom. Did it all herself. Proud mom!

Birthday Tablescape

2012-02-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

Katie likes the romantic country look, so I shopped my house and pulled together a table based on the flowers.

An old piece of burlap for a table runner, napkin rings and to fancy up the vase. I took a button that was bought so long ago and never used to decorate the burlap and raffia on the vase.

The Birthday Girl's place setting.

The rest of the table.

Mason jars for drinking glasses.

Friends and family gathered.

The Birthday Girl getting ready to blow out the candles.

Great day!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

2012-02-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

Today is our middle girl's birthday. We love her so much. She lives her life with laughter and enthusiasm.

Tonight the theme for her birthday party is America. Everyone is wearing Red, White and Blue. Not much has changed since she was little...

Happy Birthday, Katie!

L.O.V.E.

2012-02-01T15:22:00.001-08:00

I've been feeling in the crafty mood since before Christmas so when I was at Roger's Gardens and saw some LOVE letters like the ones above I new I could make them. They were a whopping $62.00 for the four letters. I made them for $10. Each paper mache letter (found at Joann's) was $1.99 on sale from $2.99. I already had paper and all the little goodies I added to them. They were super easy to make and took me about an hour and a half from start to finish.

I also found a cute Martha Stewart Pom Pom Garland at Joann's which was 40% off. Quick and easy to assemble (you get two 6 foot garlands, each garland has 6 pom poms). I took some left over burlap and folded over the ribbon of the garland. I then glued some hearts I made from cardboard (cereal box), glue and glitter. Easy Peasy.

I'm not sure how much extra stuff I want to gather together to put with the letters or if I just want to let them stand alone.

I'm loving the letters. The ones at Roger's Gardens are done in deep reds, they were incredible, but these are more my style!

Little touches of Valentine's

2012-01-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

I've officially been bitten by the Valentine's Day bug and have begun to add a few little touches here and there.

I picked up the little bunny at Roger's Gardens and the little hearts at TPT.

I thought the bunny was so cute, I've always had a thing for bunnies.

When the Handsome Husband saw the bunny, he said, "Who gave you the pig?".

To which I replied, "I bought the bunny for myself".

"Oh, that's a bunny, it looks like a pig".

Really??? I think the ears prove my point...

Highlights of the Quilt Show

2012-01-20T09:37:00.001-08:00

Director's Choice Award

Favorite quilt in the whole show. The picture just does not do it justice. In the off white strips along the border, the words to the Declaration of Independence are embroidered. There is a rhinestone for every word of the Declaration throughout the quilt which gives it a great sparkle. The piecing and quilting where immaculate and precise. On the back it said, "Proud to be an American". This quilt should be hanging in The White House or The Smithsonian or by The Liberty Bell. INCREDIBLE! It had the largest crowd of admirers throughout the day even though it was across from this quilt,

Best in Show

which won Best in Show. The prize money was double between the Director's Choice and Best in Show. I know they look at stiches and stuff I can't even begin to comprehend, but I think they got it wrong. That American, Declaration of Independence quilt was Amazing and everyone else thought so too.

Best in Long Arm Quilting

I really liked the detail of this quilt. All that gold is gold embroidery. Unbelievable!

Beautiful Baltimore Quilt.

Amazing Applique Quilt

Another applique quilt, these quilters are truly artists.

Vibrant Crazy Quilt

I didn't bring my camera and I had to use my phone. It took pretty good pictures but you just can't see the awesome detail in these wonderfully amazing quilts. They were so inspiring. It was a fun day.

The quilt show is at the Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, Ca. $10 to get in. Food and drink available, also plenty of picnic tables if you want to bring your own lunch. Jan. 19, 20, 21 and 23, 2012.

Flower Dress

2012-01-17T09:00:00.001-08:00

via http://christenstrang.blogspot.com/

Every once in a while you see something that you have to share. I am in awe of this flower dress. Amazing.

Designer dogs...

2012-01-12T08:20:00.001-08:00

The Handsome Husband and I like to go to the dog park and watch our dogs run and play. There are so many mixes of dogs out there that we are often asking and asked, "what kind of dog is that". Some are standard like the Goldendoodle (golden retriever and poodle) or the yorkiepoo (yorkie and poodles) and we have our little guy gus who is a pomepoo (pomeranian and poodle), so its no wonder than when Bob saw the dog below,

he asked me, "What kind of dog is that? A beagle, weinerdog mix?"

Clearly a Basset Hound, but everytime I think of what he said I just have to laugh, it put a smile on my face!

Delaney's 20! Happy Birthday!

2012-01-03T10:47:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to our sweet tiny baby! Twenty years have gone by so fast.

Delaney and Michael at the top of the Empire State Building.

Delaney on a hike in Idylwild, first grade.

We love you, Happy Birthday!

Books...

2011-12-30T19:05:00.001-08:00

This is the baroque library at the Abbey of St. Florian in Austria, built in the mid-18th-century.

I received a kindle last year for Christmas and I have really enjoyed it this year. It is easy to keep track of the books you read on your kindle, so I thought I would share them with you.

1. The Night Circus. (one of my favs)

2. The Affair: a Jack Reacher Novel ( very good, going to be made into a movie and Tom Cruise is playing 6'4" Jack Reacher!

3. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children ( liked a lot)

4. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files)

5. The Forgotten Garden (liked a lot)

6. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

7. Storm Front (The Dresden Files)

8. The Greater Journey (couldn't have got through this one without being able to look up all the people and works of art on the iPad.

9. The Most Famous Man In America, The Biography do Henry Ward Beecher (interesting)

10. Something Borrowed

11. The Lincoln Lawyer

12. In the Garden of Beasts, Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

13. The Help (LOVED)

14. Fall of Giants (so Good)

15. The Paris Wife (liked a lot)

16. Cutting for Stone

17. Heaven is for Real

18. Hell's Corner

19. The Hangman's Daughter (loved)

20. The Sherlockian

21. Unbroken ( Best. Book. Ever.)

22. Encyclopedia of the Esquisite (going to buy the actual book, interesting)

23. Deceitful Moon

Currently reading: Catherine the Great

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T07:23:00.001-08:00

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2: 1-19, King James Version)

Merry Christmas,

Disneyland and California Adventure

2011-12-19T08:46:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to California Adventure and Disneyland. It was really crowded, but we made the most of it.

The castle looked so magical all lit up.

Lap Quilt or uh, blanket

2011-12-17T09:48:00.001-08:00

I'm trying desperately to get three warm and fuzzy "quilts" made before Christmas. I can tell you right now, I'm not going to be 100% done. I have, however, finished Delaney's. First of all, it is not quilted, so I hesitate to call it a quilt. I did piece the top together, but they wanted the backs to be warm and soft so I didn't quilt the blanket.

I learned a couple of things making this quilt. I need a quilting foot, which I bought to make the second quilt and a walking foot to put the binding on, which I haven't bought yet. I also should have made the zig zag lines contrast instead of blend. I made this without a pattern, so no instructions and to make each line stand out, I needed to contrast the lines. I blended. I couldn't see it until it was all sewn together and then it was too late. Oh well, I've learned not to do that.

The good thing is that Delaney doesn't care, she loves it and can't wait til Christmas to get it. She picked out the fabric and the backing is nice and soft and warm. Thank goodness she is not a perfectionist (neither am I!).

Thank You cards

2011-12-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

I recently sent out some Thank You cards and I have received a lot of compliments on them, so I thought I would share the source. I bought them on www.etsy.com and the name of the vendor is The Little Brown Pen. She not only has these pink themed postcards (postcards not cards, I had to provide my own envelope), but postcards in different color themes, beautiful 8x10's and bigger in sets or by themselves. All paris themed. I've asked Santa for a beautiful aqua-green set, hopefully they will be in my stocking on Christmas morning.

White Christmas

2011-12-15T18:14:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday night I met my Handsome Husband for dinner at South Coast Plaza and then we walked over to The Segrestrom Center for the Performing Arts to see Iving Berlin's White Christmas. I LOVED IT! The cast was perfect, the voices were amazing and pleasant to the ears, the dancing was terrific and the costumes - to die for!

The cast's voices were amazing. I especially liked the girl with the red hair and the older woman's (Martha's) voice. I LOVED the red tulle ball gown! So Beautiful.

All the 50's dresses were so chic, I wish they were in style today.

White Christmas was one of the best plays I've seen so far. Everything just came together for a great show!

Tablescape Thursday - Nutcrackers

2011-12-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, Alyssa bought me these nutcracker plates from Willliam and Sonoma. We use them for breakfast on Christmas morning. This week, I am using them for Greg's birthday. I've switched out the pink ornaments in the garland from Michaels and added red and gold. Took out the silver trees and put in the red. Added red candles.

I borrowed the big nutcrackers from my friend, Marlene, she collects them. I put in little nutcracker ornaments that I bought at Michael's (from the dollar bin). I consider the little nutcrackers quite the deal, considering I saw the same gold and silver ones for $5 at Crate and Barrel.

Here is a look at the various salad/dessert plates.

One final look at the table.

Saucy Roast Beef Sliders

2011-12-08T08:08:00.001-08:00

Picture from "Mommy I'm Hungry!"

Three Envelope Picante Roast Big Mouth Sliders

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

3 to 4 pound beef chuck roast
1 cup of water
One envelope of dry onion soup mix
One envelope of dry Italian dressing mix

One envelope of dry brown gravy mix

1 (8 ounce) jar of Pace Original Mild Picante Sauce

12 Dinner Rolls

1 sweet onion, sliced and sauteed until browned
Swiss Cheese, shredded
Horseradish Sauce

Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce

From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of sour cream

2 tablespoons of horseradish

4 tablespoons of chili sauce

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Prepare and refrigerate till needed.

Click here for roast and slider directions!

This is so easy and yummy - a little spicy!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

2011-12-06T15:13:00.001-08:00

Ham and Cheese Sliders

from the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

We served these delicious and easy sandwiches at my birthday lunch. Here is the recipe:

24 good white dinner rolls (I used King's Hawaiian bread)

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese (I used Cheddar cheese)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip (I didn't use this)

Poppy seed sauce
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Catching up

2011-12-05T14:23:00.001-08:00

AXO had their winter formal and Delaney took her boyfriend Michael.

Katie went with her friend Kendall who is in Delaney's sorority, so the sisters got to be together.

Birthday Tablescape

2011-12-05T07:15:00.001-08:00

So, it's that time of year again and I'm happy to celebrate another birhday. This year I am enchanted with the color pink. I decided to do a pink and silver tablescape but I couldn't resist adding a little gold. I was amazed at how beautiful gold and pink are together.

The Handsome Husband bought me a few fun things for my birthday. I received some Waterford crystal iced beverage and red wine glasses. YEEEE! I was so excited! The design is Colleen Essence. I will show a close up further down. I got 6 of each. I have to give a shout out to Bloomingdales here. We got the best deal. $25.00 off each $100 spent and then 15 dollars b-money (gift cards that are good for 2 weeks at Bloomy's and spend like money) for every $100.00. Our guy Alex broke out our order in such a way that we got maximum savings! I also got new silver placemats, silver napkin rings, pearl like napkin rings and individual trifle bowls. Alyssa and Greg gave me two watch bands for my watch and Katie and Delaney gave me a cover for my kindle. I made out like a Bandit!

Here is a close up of the Colleen Essence iced beverage glass.

I got these cute little deer planters with succulents in them from Stater Brothers. Be careful when buying them because a lot of them had cracks at the horns. I was lucky to find two without.

I took grocery store roses and some Dusty Miller from my garden for the center piece. Dusty Miller is my new favorite to put into flower arrangements.

I used Alyssa's china, "Opal Innocence" along with silver chargers and silver sparkling placemats from Pier 1. The napkin rings are two different rings from Pier 1.

The garland and flowers down the middle of the table are from Michael's. I added some pink ornaments and silver pinecone candles.

The sun was shining on the table in the morning and I couldn't resist another picture.

We had a birthday lunch and I made these ham and cheese sliders

and roast beef sliders. I will share the recipes this week. Really easy to make and delicious. We also had a greek pasta salad.

We finished up with chocolate trifle and everyone received a white chocolate covered peppermint oreo. Both dessert so easy to make. I used my new little individual trifle bowls from Pier 1.

It was a great day with my family. I love them so much!

Thanksgiving Tablescape 2011

2011-11-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving spending time with the people you love. We had all the kids over and our friends, The Ricks, and we had a delicous dinner cooked by HH and talked late into the night.

My table when fully extended is too big for my dining room. Luckily for me, my dining room blends into my living room, so I moved the table out into the middle of the living room and it worked well. We had tons of room.

I set the table with my china that I received last year from my Handsome Husband.

I put together some flower arrangements from the grocery store. I find that it is really hard to put flowers in an urn because they tend to remind me of funeral flowers. So, I did my best to arrange them in a more casual manner and added a garland of acorns around the base of the flowers.

My favorite candlesticks that I received from my mother.

One of the things I like about my table when it is extended is that I use mix-matched chairs. I really like the look.

Have a great weekend!

Photo Challenge: Week 11: Close up and Landscape

2011-11-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

Close up of barbed wire on the fence post.

A couple weeks back I went to Julian for the day. I took both of these pictures. It was a beautiful day.

Landscape

Pearls of Pi Beta Phi

2011-11-22T07:57:00.001-08:00

Katie (first on left) received an award from her sorority last week. She received one of the Eight Pearls of Pi Phi. It is an honor to be chosen, voted by your peers. I can't tell you which pearl she received, it is a sorority secret. She was also voted in last year, receiving a different pearl. Eight girls out of 130 or so.

Aren't they just the picture of sisterhood?

The Eight Pearls of Pi Phi

Wounded Warrior Quilt

2011-11-17T14:46:00.001-08:00

I've never made a quilt before. This is my first one. I've always wanted to make one, but I didn't want to do the actually quilting process. I like to sew the tops, but quilting? Well, in Sept. I joined a quilting guild. Why take baby steps? I just jumped right in. They have a Wounded Warrior philanthropy and I decided that I really wanted to be a part of this philanthropy. I made this quilt to be given to an injured soldier in the hospital in Afghanistan. I cut it out, sewed the pieces and put the binding on, but I did not quilt it.

My First Quilt

There is a member of the guild named Nancy Burch who quilts ALL the donated quilt tops the guild has sent to Afhanistan so far. She has a long arm quilting machine and has quilted over 60 quilts since summer began for the Wounded Warriors philanthropy for FREE. She spent two hours with me teaching me how to put the binding on this quilt. She is a wonderful, kind, selfless person and I wish I had a picture of her to show you.

Photo Challenge: Week 10: Water and Reminds me of Summer

2011-11-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

Water

Actually this photo could serve for both topics. I spent everyday of my summer at the beach as a teenager. I also skipped school quite a bit to spend the day laying on the sand and dipping my toes in the whitewash working on my glorious tan. I was never a lover of going way out in the ocean like my girls. They must get that from their daddy, who loves the ocean.

Reminds me of summer

This is our friend's little boy, one of three triplets. He was showing off for us, we watched him float on his back, swim and jump in with wild abandon. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my mom would buy those 2 foot high plastic pools and I would try my hardest to "swim" in it. Now they have these great pools that you can actually swim in. Lucky little boy.

Iris - Cirque du Soleil, Kodak Theater, Hollywood

2011-11-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

We had a visitor in town from London last week and so we took him to see all the touristy things in So. Cal, one being the Cirque du Soleil show Iris. It is currently at the Kodak Theater in downtown Hollywood. It was fun just to be in the Kodak Theater were the Oscars, American Idol and the Grammy's were all held. We really enjoyed the show. Iris is loosely based on the history of cinema. It cleverly interprets the stages of film history in a way that isn't pretentious.

There's plenty to enjoy in this show and there's tons of amazing acrobatics. I felt that the first half was stronger than the second. The first half focused on the evolution of film from the beginning to the 1950s. The second half of the show focused on Hollywood's shift to movie sets and large-scale film productions.

The best seats in the house are not in the orchestra section. We sat in the second row of the orchestra and everything was straight above us where we had to crane our necks in a 90 degree angle to see and we were too close to the stage. The best seats are probably in the 1st level mezzanine, first and second rows. You will have a great view of everything from there. The only fun thing about the orchestra section was that they dropped confetti on us.

The arial acrobats above were incredible! One of my favorites.

The contortionist were amazing!

We went on a week night for an 8:00pm show from Orange County and had brutal traffic. We ate dinner at Flemmings, L.A. Live which is about 8 miles from the Kodak. It took us 40 minutes to get from L.A. Live to the Kodak.

The Kodak Theater is steps away from Grauman's Chinese Theater, so we walked over after the show. It wasn't that crowded by 10:30pm so we could wonder over all the impressions and see them all.

There was a great mixture of old movie star legends and new movie stars. The earliest imprint we saw was Marion Davies: 1929. She was William Randulph Hearst's mistress and an early movie star. We saw Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Doris Day, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, the kids from Harry Potter, the cast of Star Trek and Star Wars and many, many, more. This was also the first time the Handsome Husband had been there and he enjoyed it.

In front of Grauman's Chinese is Hollywood Blvd. and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are so many stars, I couldn't possibly name them all. Also, at Grauman's you can get a open top bus tour that will take you through all the neighborhoods and show you current and former star homes. It sounds like fun and we think we may do it on another day.

Hot Tip

2011-11-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

Lancome is offering this special gift with purchase of any amount. 13 FULL SIZE cosmetics and train case for $57.50. Set Includes:

Set includes:
- Two Juicy Tubes Lip Glosses in Bolole and Simmer.
- Two Color Design Lipcolors in It Girl and Sugared Maple.
- Blush Subtil in Cedar Rose.
- Limited-edition Eyeshadow Brush Duo (lid and liner).
- Le Crayon Khôl EyeLiner in Black Coffee.
- Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover.
- Définicils Mascara in Black.
- Three Color Design Eyeshadows in Latte, Kitten Heel and Mannequin.
- Signature train case.

They are offering a cool and warm palette. This would make an awesome present for anyone or treat yourself!

Halloween Weekend 2011

2011-10-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Delaney had a great idea for a costume and she was excited to put it together. She watched youtube videos on how to design and apply her make up and she made her own Day of the Dead costume and applied her own makeup.

I think she was the only sorority girl on the planet with enough self confidence to go to the parties with her face painted. It freaked everyone out and random people wanted their picture taken with her. Above are two of her good friends Roxy and Kaki. Her boyfriend, Michael, also got dressed up as a Day of the Dead person and looked great. Unfortunately, the only picture I have, sent via text, wont download. I'll try to get it for you later.

Katie went to VEGAS BABY for Halloween. She is pictured above with Pauly D from The Jersey Shore, her bff Kendal and her friend Megan. They were staying at The Palms and were headed out for the night. The elevator randomly stopped on a floor and Katie looked out. She saw Pauly D and as the doors were closing she yelled, "Wait!" and stuck her hand out to stop the doors from closing. She then ran out of the elevator up to Pauly D and the first words she said were, "Kendall is going to die!". Kendall and Megan are still in the elevator confused as to what is going on. Katie calls them over to meet Pauly D. Katie carries on a full conversation with Pauly D while Kendall (who absolutely loves Pauly D) is starstruck and can't utter a word. He invites them to the club where he is the D.J. for the night, but they have other plans and don't go. The bodyguard takes the picture and it is a bad one, but proof non the less.

Katie is "Made in America" for Halloween. She was also a ringmaster, but I don't have any pictures of that yet.

Happy Halloween Weekend!

2011-10-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

THING 1 and THING 2 started off their Halloween weekend line dancing at Incahoots.

More to come on various other costumes.

Photo Challenge: Week 8 - Mason Jar and Action

2011-10-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

My Handsome Husband makes a delicious chow chow every summer. It is so hard to find green tomatoes here, he usually can only can 3 or 4 jars. This summer a guy at work gave HH a bunch of green tomatoes, so we gave him some chow chow. I dressed it up to make it a little more special.

My usual entertainment, Gus, in full action mode!

Some Updates

2011-10-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Delaney is pictured here with her two roommates, Sydney and Kaki. Delaney received two awards last night in her sorority: highest GPA in her class and Dean's List. We are so proud of her.

Katie is Pledge Mom this year and is loving it. She is teaching all the new little baby Pi Phi's everything they need to know. She also made the Dean's list for the 6th time and is in the top 15% of all the students at San Diego State. We are so proud of her!

Photo Challenge: Week 7 - Faceless Self Portrait & Reminds You of Childhood

2011-10-17T11:01:00.001-07:00

Outside the Apple Store at the Spectrum. People lined up outside the door to get the new iphone. Delaney needed a new cover for her phone, luckily we didn't have to wait in the long line.

My mom used to bring home bags of these orange slices when I was a kid. Recently, on a trip to Julian, I saw them and they reminded me of her too.

Shrek The Musical

2011-10-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see Shrek The Musical at the Segrestrom Center for the Arts and it was so fun! I really enjoyed it. FUNNY, good music, good story the 2 1/2 hours just flew by. There were lots of children there and they really enjoyed it, there were no scary parts. Lord Farquaad was hysterical. I definitely recommend this musical for all ages.

Lord Farquaad

Photo Challenge: Week 6 - Silhouette and Sun Flare

2011-10-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was a little lazy this week in taking my pictures. Busy and not wanting to inconvience anyone, I couldn't get them done by Sun. I wanted to do people in my silhouette, but couldn't get any cooperation. So here is my rose bush.

Sun Flare

I was a little intimidated by this one, but it turned out to be super easy. I love what Cynthia did over at www.vaultofcyn.blogspot.com for her sunflare, but this will do.

Sprucing up the planter

2011-10-07T07:48:00.001-07:00

I spruced up my little azalea planter with a few mini pumpkins. It took more than I thought it would.

Fall Decorating

2011-10-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

I finally felt motivated and inspired to do a little decorating for fall. All it took was a cold, rainy day. After visiting Rogers Gardens and many blog sites, I finally had a little inspiration. For my living room, I am doing white and burlap with just a tiny bit of natural color. Above is my first attempt. It looked a little plain, so I headed back out into the garage to find a little more.

I added burlap under the green ribbon and an acorn garland at the base of the pumpkins. (I have to cut the stem off that middle pumpkin so the top one lays flat.)

Here is the finished product.

I got these white fairy pumpkins at Trader Joes, really inexpensive compared to Roger's Gardens. I have to work on my dining table next. That means another trip to TJ's.

Halloween at Roger's Gardens 2011

2011-10-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

This year's theme was Welcome To The Blackstone Theater.

It was set up to resemble a theater during the Vaudeville days. I really liked the things they had this year. It was new and different. I felt last year was a lot like the year before. I loved the things they offered, if only I could afford them! I usually go on opening night, but I couldn't this year and actually it was much more desirable because I had the whole store to myself. On opening night, you can't even move around in the aisle.

When you looked up from the sign above you saw all these masks with flames licking the edges of the theater.

They sold very simple costumes and hats along with every kind of Halloween goodie.

This is looking out from the theatre into the audience. You could buy this and it was at least 9x7 feet.

Loved this scary chinese dragon.

They had a lot of these great masks.

This section sold every size skelton you could ask for, from teeny tiny to life size.

Great prop to help set the stage.

I loved how this sofa was crawling with rats. They bursting out from within.

Great dolls

The Dancing Bear

My very favorite was this paper mache circus. I LOVED it. I have no where to put it and it is very expensive so I am just satisfying myself with pictures.

Beautiful Zebra waiting for it's bare back rider.

And this wonderful elephant with a tiny mouse on top. Ah, I wish...

These wonderful wooden carved figures were fabulous. There were so many things. They had those pictures that look normal and then fangs, mosters, whatever appear. Those are always fun to see too.

Recent Reads

2011-10-03T07:49:00.001-07:00

The Most Famous Man in America by Debbie Applegate

Biography of Henry Ward Beecher

Now nearly forgotten, Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) was an immensely famous minister, abolitionist and public intellectual whose career was rocked by allegations of adultery that made nationwide headlines. In this engaging biography, American studies scholar Applegate situates this curiously modern 19th-century figure at the focus of epochal developments in American culture. Beecher's mesmerizing oratory and fiery newspaper columns made him one of the first celebrities of the nascent mass media. His antislavery politics, though often tepid and vacillating, Applegate argues, injected a note of emotionalism into the debate that—with his sister Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin—galvanized Northern public opinion. And by preaching a loving God instead of a wrathful one, the author contends, Beecher repudiated the dour Calvinism of his youth and made happiness and self-fulfillment, rather than sin and guilt, the centerpiece of modern Christian ideology. (The implicit moral anarchy of his creed, critics charged, evinced itself in his sexual indiscretions.) Although marred by occasionally facile psychoanalysis (Applegate describes Beecher, the seventh of 12 siblings, as a classic "middle child" personality), this assessment of Beecher is judicious and critical. Applegate gives an insightful account of a contradictory, fascinating, rather Clintonesque figure who, in many ways, was America's first liberal. (June 27) (taken from amazon website)

I thought this book was interesting and it showed a glimpse into the mentality, morals, and life in the 19th century. Some things never change. It wasn't a fast read where I couldn't put the book down, but the information was interesting so I pushed through.

The Greater Journey by David McCoullough

During the 1800's and specifically from 1830 until 1900, there was a wave of intellectual migration that headed not west to America, but east to Paris, France from America. Keep in mind that we now sit in a country that is preeminent in the world, financially, intellectually, and probably culturally as well. Back then, we were just forming as a nation. The Indian wars were still in process, and the Civil War would also take place, which became the second re-creation of the United States. McCullough is totally aware of this comparison and makes wise use of it throughout this 456 page book composed of 14 distinct chapters separated into 3 parts, followed by a wonderful epilogue, and a very useful bibliography. The author understands history, and is always mindful of the relative positions of different nations. During this period we were not yet the top dog that we were to become after World War I. Europe still controlled the world's greatest universities and they were already centuries old. (from Amazon website)

I enjoyed this book so much more because I used my Ipad to look up the people and the paintings talked about in the book as I read the book. It helped me to put faces and pictures to the many people and their paintings and works of art. Again, interesting, but not an exciting page turner. I enjoyed it. If I didn't have my ipad, I probably wouldn't have liked it as much. It took me awhile to get through it.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

In 1913, a little girl arrives in Brisbane, Australia, and is taken in by a dockmaster and his wife. She doesn’t know her name, and the only clue to her identity is a book of fairy tales tucked inside a white suitcase. When the girl, called Nell, grows up, she starts to piece together bits of her story, but just as she’s on the verge of going to England to trace the mystery to its source, her grandaughter, Cassandra, is left in her care. When Nell dies, Cassandra finds herself the owner of a cottage in Cornwall, and makes the journey to England to finally solve the puzzle of Nell’s origins. Shifting back and forth over a span of nearly 100 years, this is a sprawling, old-fashioned novel, as well-cushioned as a Victorian country house, replete with family secrets, stories-within-stories, even a maze and a Dickensian rag-and-bone shop. All the pieces don’t quite mesh, but it’s a satisfying read overall, just the thing for readers who like multigenerational sagas with a touch of mystery (from Amazon website).

I really enjoyed this book. I looked forward to reading it each night. The story was good and the way the mystery unfolded was intriguing. A fast read.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

De Rosnay's U.S. debut fictionalizes the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations, in which thousands of Jewish families were arrested, held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver outside the city, then transported to Auschwitz. Forty-five-year-old Julia Jarmond, American by birth, moved to Paris when she was 20 and is married to the arrogant, unfaithful Bertrand Tézac, with whom she has an 11-year-old daughter. Julia writes for an American magazine and her editor assigns her to cover the 60th anniversary of the Vél' d'Hiv' roundups. Julia soon learns that the apartment she and Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers—especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive—the more she uncovers about Bertrand's family, about France and, finally, herself. Already translated into 15 languages, the novel is De Rosnay's 10th (but her first written in English, her first language). It beautifully conveys Julia's conflicting loyalties, and makes Sarah's trials so riveting, her innocence so absorbing, that the book is hard to put down. (July)

I had mixed feelings about this book. I know everyone loves it, but there were definitely some parts of it that I did not like. I liked the historic part of the book, but not the modern day story. I thought the modern day conclusions were extreme and kinda unrealistic. I feel I am alone here. It was just okay for me.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

An unexpected love affair threatens a long-lived friendship in this soap opera–like debut from Atlanta ex-lawyer Giffin. Since elementary school, Rachel and Darcy have been best friends, with Darcy always outshining Rachel. While single Rachel is the self-confessed good girl, an attorney trapped at a suffocating New York law firm, Darcy is the complete opposite, a stereotypical outgoing publicist, planning a wedding with the handsome Dex. After Rachel's 30th birthday party, she knocks back one drink too many and winds up in bed with Dex. Instead of feeling guilty about sleeping with her best friend's fiancé, Rachel realizes that Dex is the only man she's really loved, and that she's always resented manipulative Darcy. Rachel and Dex spend a few weekends in the city together "working" while Darcy's off with friends at a Hamptons beach share, but finally Rachel realizes she'll have to give Dex an ultimatum. The flip job Giffin pulls off—here it's the cheaters who're sympathetic (more or less)—gives Dex and Rachel's otherwise ordinary affair extra edge. Rachel would be a more appealing heroine if she were less whiny about her job and her romantic prospects, and rambling dialogue slows the story's pace, but this is an enjoyable beach read—one that'll make readers cast a suspicious eye on best friends and boyfriends who seem to get along just a little too well.

I liked this book, but what kept me from loving this book was the fact that Rachel has an affair with her best friends fiance. It doesn't matter to me that the best friend is selfish, that Dex has always been attracted to Rachel and both are meant for each other, excuse me, he is still her best friends fiance. I just couldn't get past that enough to really enjoy the book. I liked so much of it, but that was a huge stumbling block for me. Fast read.

Photo Challenge -Week Five: Fruit and Animal

2011-10-02T16:12:00.001-07:00

Who me?

My kids say I take too many pictures of Gus and not enough of Daisy, but Gus is just really photogenic! I'm not playing favorites. The top picture is typical of Gus, always bringing in sticks, rocks, leaves etc. from outside. The next picture is Gus in motion, so happy to be at the dog park, hair flying and a smile on his face.

I have a bowl of lemons on my coffee table. Mostly they are fake, but I often mix in real ones when I have them. I love the pop of bright yellow.

Paramount Ranch- Agoura Hills

2011-09-26T16:08:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, we made the 2 hour drive up to Agoura Hills/Calabasas area to see the Paramount Ranch. We recently saw Huell Howser do a segment on it on California Gold. We were intrigued. Huell and the Ranger rode up on horses and it looked like it was far from civilization. We thought it would be fun to "Hike" to the ranch.

Well, it turns out that it is right off the side of the road. No hiking necessary. It takes about 10 minutes to see.

Lights! Camera! Action!… In 1927, Paramount Pictures purchased 2,700 acres of the old Rancho Las Virgenes for use as a “movie ranch.” For 25 years, a veritable who’s who of Hollywood practiced their craft at Paramount Ranch including director Cecil B. Demille and actors Bob Hope, Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. The diverse landscape was the real star of the show. It offered film makers the freedom to create distant locales such as colonial Massachusetts in The Maid of Salem, ancient China in The Adventures of Marco Polo, a South Seas island in Ebb Tide (1937)and numerous western locations including San Francisco in Wells Fargo. The art of illusion was mastered on the landscape.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…The golden era of movie making at Paramount Ranch came to an end when changes to the studio system prompted Paramount Pictures to sell the ranch. Paramount Ranch found renewed life as a film location when William Hertz bought the southeast portion in 1953. An ardent fan of movie westerns, he built a permanent western town utilizing Paramount Pictures’ old prop storage sheds. As a result, television companies began producing westerns at the ranch such as The Cisco Kid and Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre. William Hertz sold the property in 1955. The Paramount Racetrack opened a year later, and some considered it one of the most challenging in the U.S. Although it closed 18 months later, after three fatal accidents, the racetrack was featured in The Devil’s Hairpin, filmed in 1957. Most of the track still winds through the grasslands of the park.

Ride Off Into the Sunset… From 1957 to 1980, the ranch changed ownership several times, but filmmaking continued. After purchasing a portion of the original Paramount property in 1980, the National Park Service revitalized the old movie ranch. From 1992 to 1997, Paramount Ranch was used as the setting for the television show, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Whether watching filming or exploring the area, experience the drama and grandeur of the Santa Monica Mountains.

(from the NPS.gov website)

This is the train station used in Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman

The actors must have been really small, because everywhere HH went his head touched the ceiling.

Since it only took us 10ish minutes to see the whole town, we tried to hike some of the trails. It was pretty comical, we would start to follow what looked like a interesting trail only to be to have it end a 1/4 mile or so in.

It was a pretty place, an interesting find, but not worth the long drive up just to see that. It is worth it if you are passing through or are going to be in the area for another reason. Seriously, it is 5 minutes off the freeway with easy access.

There's a new Sheriff in town!

There was this beautiful old oak tree. It was at least 15 degrees cooler in the shade of this tree than out in the sun.

Photo Challenge - Week Four: High Angle & Sunset

2011-09-24T17:30:00.001-07:00

Paramount Ranch

Well, I've been called out for taking a shortcut this week. I used photos I had taken, just not taken recently. When I looked over my photos that I took for this week, I was unimpressed. But, so I won't be called a cheater, I'm posting them.

Above is a shot of Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills. My family and I drove out there yesterday for a hike, more on that later. I took this picture from the top of the trailhead, but if doesn't look very high.

This is a sunset from my backyard this week. I'm bored with taking photos from my backyard. Even though it is pretty, it's been done. So, I chose to share the ones below instead.

High Angle

This was taken from a bridge overlooking a small river in Yellowstone National Park. The Handsome Husband could not resist a little dipping of the toes in the cool mountain water. Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. We all loved it. I want to go back again. We saw so many animals: deer, elk, bear, mountain goat, wolf, and of course, buffalo everywhere. So incredible. You need a week to really see the park and you have to make your reservations a year in advance. Do it today.

Sunset

This sunset is in Maui, Hawaii. Last summer when we were at the Grand Wailea, every night had a beautiful sunset. This was one of many.

Happy Friday

2011-09-23T10:16:00.001-07:00

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Westside Story

2011-09-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Westside Story

Updated with a new "bicultural" twist

HATED IT!!! I was so disappointed in the new Westside Story show I saw on Sunday night at the Segrestrom Performing Arts Center. First most of what the Shark gang say to one another was in Spanish. A lot of the dialogue between the Puerto Rican group is in Spanish. If I had not just seen this movie about 5 months ago, I wouldn't have known what the heck was going on. If I wanted to see a play in Spanish I would have gone to a different venue. Then, they changed the "I Feel Pretty" song from in the bridal shop to in Maria's bedroom right after the big gang fight and the two boys are killed. AWKWARD, doesn't fit at all. To add salt to the wound, the girls sing only the chorus in English and all the other words are in Spanish. WHAT!!! I was really looking forward to this song, as my aunt used to sing it to me when I was little. Bummer, way to ruin a great song that everyone was looking forward too. Tony's voice was average at best. I was also disappointed in the choreography for the scene in which the boys are singing about Officer Krupke. They are pretending to masterbate and hump each other. Oh, that makes the play so up to date and relevant - NOT! I was offended. I have to blame the director, David Saint and choreographer, Joey McKneeley.

I was not the only person to feel this way. As we were leaving, everyone was confused as to what they just saw. NO ONE appreciated the fact that it was half in spanish and half in English. This is the first time I have ever felt that I wanted my money back. I can't believe I paid good money to see this trash.

Photo Challenge - Week Three: Breakfast and Books

2011-09-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

MMMM Trader Joe chocolate croissants. The Handsome Husband's FAVORITE!!! They are in the frozen section and they are delicious. You set them out the night before, they poof over night and you pop them in the oven in the morning. HH thinks they are better than the ones we ate in France. I have to credit Alyssa for this great find. BTW, one is 9 points. hehe.

Books

Books excite the imagination! I love books. They take you to far away places, introduce you to new ideas, different people, and inspire dreams. It is no secret that I love to read. Here is a small sampling of my DK Eyewitness travel guide collection. I have two book shelves full. I love the color photos, the diagrams of Castles and maps of the cities. They are chock full of information.

Click here to see Cynthia's photos.

Staying on track

2011-09-14T14:53:00.001-07:00

I joined Weight Watchers July 1st.

I have lost 12.2 pounds.

I have been tracking my points religiously since July 1st.

It has made a difference.

I have excellent weeks, good weeks and bad weeks.

Every Friday morning I am held accountable for the choices I made the week prior.

I didn't think I ate that much so why was I gaining more and more weight every year? First it was 10lbs with each baby, but then it just kept creeping up on me. I've tried several attempts at WW, but I would stop tracking my points (food) after about two weeks. Too hard, too lazy, didn't want to face up the the fact that I did indeed eat that much! I was not disciplined, I was too busy. I have found it comes down to choices. Do I want the hamburger or the french fries? Do I want to use 14 of my 29 points on a Costco hotdog? Sometimes I do. I should not have a hamburger, french fries and Costco hot dog all in one day. It will blow my points sky high! But, if I do, tomorrow is another day and I will begin again. Recording everything shows you exactly what your choices were.

What has made the difference this time?

I'm not in a hurry to drop a large amount of weight in a short amount of time.

My iphone has a app that makes it super easy to track your points.

You can look up food from your kitchen and from a lot of restaurants and find points before you eat.

And then the app records those points.

The app also has a point calculator so you can look up points on the fly.

You can look up your activity and record the extra points you receive from exercise.

The iphone keeps track of your points and subtracts them from the total each day, both daily points, weekly points and activity points.

But...

You have to be honest about what you are eating and record every little thing you put in your mouth. You are only hurting yourself by not recording EVERYTHING!!!

You have to make choices.

You have to be disciplined.

You have to realize you will be eating this way for the rest of your life.

You can treat yourself.

You are not deprived.

You will then reap the rewards.

Photo Challenge - Week Two: Clouds and Hands

2011-09-10T19:54:00.001-07:00

We had a great week weather wise. When I say great, I mean, we actually had some weather. We had a little wind and rain last weekend, then a heat wave and finally thunder and lightning and a downpour! I got some great pictures of clouds.

Here is my hands photo. The handsome husband and I forming a heart with the sun making it all glow. Isn't it romantic? He even put The Rifleman on pause so we could take the picture. AHHH. I'm taking this picture one handed right into the sun. I couldn't even see the monitor to see if I got it right. If I could have seen what I was doing, I probably would have made him take more, but I was on borrowed time as it was!

See Cynthia's photos here.

30 Things Photo Challenge

2011-09-04T13:13:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait

Favorite Shoes

I'm doing a 30 Things Photo Challenge along with my friend, Cynthia. She is very artistic behind the lens of a camera, so basically, I'm going to just try to learn from her. The real challenge is suppose to be 30 things in 30 days, but I am in no way that ambitious. So Cynthia and I decided we could do two items a week on the challenge. Here is my first two: Self Portrait and Favorite Shoes.

I have to tell you that there is a very funny story and some unbelievably embarrassing shots that go along with the favorite shoes image. The self-timer on my camera is only 10 seconds, which seems like a lot of time unless your wearing high heels, a long tulle skirt and have to jump to position yourself in the middle of a king size bed. I can tell you that I worked up a sweat!!! I know, it just sounds wrong! I'm sorry I just gave you that horrible visual! I never achieved the right angle, position or composition for my original idea, so I had to think up something different. In the end, I held the camera and worked my core muscles to hold my feet in just the right position to get this photo. More trouble than it was worth.

Cute centerpieces

2011-09-03T09:54:00.001-07:00

On Thursday night, HH and I attended The Festival of Children charity event. They had these cute teapot and cup centerpieces. Each table had the same centerpiece only done with different flowers. They were so cute.

They had these great seating sections along with very tasty food, dessert and drinks. We had a great table of people, but we were too close to the band and we had to yell to each other to be heard.

Have a great LONG weekend!

2011-09-02T08:15:00.001-07:00

Easier Said Than Done

2011-08-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

When HH and I were first married, I made these stockings for us. They were the same kind that my mom had made for us when we were in our teens. As each of my girls were born, I made one for them. They are crewel embroidery kits and cost about $20.00 each. I made the last one in 1992 when Delaney was born. Fast forward to two years ago when Alyssa and Greg got married. I wanted to make one for him as well. I looked high and low and could not find the right kind of kit anywhere. I thought I started looking too close to christmas and they were sold out. I gave him the stock Target stocking to hold until I could make one next year. Next year still couldn't find one. I went on the Sunset, Dimensions and Bucilla websites. They didn't seem to carry them anymore. I decided to google them and that is when I began to see words like "Vintage" and "Rare". What????

I found Katie's "Vintage" stocking, the kit offered for $195.00.

I found Delaney's stocking for $165.00 and still bidding. I found all of our stockings ranging from $165 - $199.

This is the one I would like to make Greg, but it is a whopping $275.00!!!

Seriously, $275.00 and I still have to make it myself?

Finally Friday!

2011-08-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

Everyone have a great weekend!

Birthday Tablescape

2011-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

On Alyssa's Birthday we had a birthday dinner for her and lots of presents. I love to wrap presents with satin ribbon. I also made some tissue paper flowers. It was easy and fast.

I settled on a color scheme of light blue, red, orange and pink.

This was the first time I had ever hung paper lanterns in the house,

I think it gave it a festive atmosphere for the party.

Pageant of the Masters

2011-08-22T08:20:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, the Handsome Husband and I met up with some friends and saw the Pageant of the Masters. This year's theme was "Only Make Believe". The Pageant is quite a unique and amazing production. Many artist gather and create an event unlike anything else you have ever seen! It runs from July 1 - Aug 31 every summer in Laguna Beach. You still have time to see it this year.

There is truly not a bad seat in the house. It begins at 8:30pm and is outdoors. Everyone brings binoculars so you can see the creations up close - They will fool your eyes everytime.

You can rent blankets and binoculars if you forgot yours. Before the show, you can spend time walking around the art gallery featuring 125 local artists and get a gourmet treat to eat and drink.

They produce quite a show. There is a narrator, films and props. They give you an interesting story and maybe a tidbit about the artist or piece of art they are producing and then "reveal" the art and gasps are heard all around. The paintings, posters and sculptures are made of real people paired with a background, make up is applied to the subjects to make them blend in with their subject matter and lighting is applied to make a 3d/2d scene appear as if it were a painting (except for the sculptures).

Everything looks so real! At various times during the show, they will deconstruct an exhibit and you are awed by what they have created and how they created it.

The theme changes every year and it is an jaw dropping experience.

You should go: Pageant of the Masters - You will be glad you did!

Happy Birthday, Handsome Husband!

2011-08-21T08:46:00.001-07:00

Today is my Handsome Husbands birthday.

He is strong - physically and emotionally

He is loving

He is involved

He is an awesome husband

He is a loving daddy

He loves to ride his mountain bike

He lifts weights, religiously

He surfs

He loves to read (he devours books)

He is a fashionista

His favorite color is purple

He loves to shop (including grocery shopping)

He is incredibly smart

He loves his Harley

He is a detail person

He has a memory like a steel trap

He is my best friend

We are having Indian Food for his birthday dinner (I'm not cooking, we're going out).

Happy Birthday, we love you!

Bedroom Makeover so far...

2011-08-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

My new bed and bedding.

It all started when HH and I decided to get a new bed because our old sleighbed hindered HH from being able to stretch out and it was a huge hassle to make the bed. So we stopped by Ethan Allen. It just so happens someone had ordered the above headboard, but they ordered it in the wrong size. We loved it and it was 1/2 off the original price-SOLD.

Our red and gold bedding just did not go with this tan headboard, and our gold walls - UGH!

So we found a new duvet and painted the walls blue / green. Picking the color for the walls was a nightmare. The duvet is silk and changes color with the lighting in the room. Sometimes greenish, sometimes bluish. The paint would match in the morning, but not in the afternoon. I must have bought 20 sample cans of paint. (Notice how the word pain makes up most of the word paint?) Finally I picked the paint that matched in the morning and complimented in the afternoon.

Next came the pillows. I bought the two cream colored ones and I made the snow leopard pillows and the pillow in the middle of them. Took me only about two days and that's because I made the first one way too big. . I am a terrible measurer (if that's a word). My girlfriends gave me the two small long pillows.

Here is a close up of the duvet.

I've now opened a can of worms. I need a chandelier, shutters and wood flooring to complete my room. Then I must paint the rest of the house...

Delaney is crafty...

2011-08-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

My daughter Delaney made this beautiful beaded bracelet this week. Her own design, her own beadwork. She has always loved bracelets and rings and lingers over the jewelry counters. She has made little string macramé bracelets for herself and her friends, but Wow, she really got down to business here. She strung turquoise, white and clear seed beads on duck cloth in a chevron pattern.

Her sisters have already requested that she make them one and she has a new design in mind for another one.

Beautiful Delaney!

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

2011-08-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Our sweet baby is 25 years old today

It is hard to believe

Time has flown by

Seems like just yesterday, she was our little bo bo head

Now she is just Bo

She loves to read (like nonstop through the night)

Her dream job would be "Book Editor"

We tease her that she should work for Snapple and write all their Snapple Facts

She uses words like Wonky and Fancy (as in, " oh, don't you look fancy.")

She likes yoga

She loves shoes

She is a good saver

She wants a dog

Victoria Beckham is her fashion idol

She changes up her hair on a regular basis

She hates to take pictures (not to be in pictures, just taking them)

She has chosen Daddy's homemade spaghetti for her birthday dinner

And of course, she is kind, generous, loving, and loves her family.

WE LOVE HER!

Life with a puppy...

2011-08-14T13:31:00.001-07:00

So, because I'm keeping count, he has eaten 2 pairs of Havaianas, 1 pair of rainbows, 4 USB cables, a printer cable and two rugs. When he goes outside, he brings in sticks, leaves and various dirt, but I still love him. Gus...

Laguna Beach

2011-08-01T08:20:00.001-07:00

A picture of Main Beach from Heisler Park

Laguna Beach is a beautiful seaside town with a thriving art community. It is known for the summer show it puts on every year called The Pageant of the Masters (more about that in two weeks). The little town is filled with art galleries, boutiques and restaurants. It is the home of my oldest daughter and her husband. Laguna is made up of many coves with amazing rock formations and tide pools.

Diver's Cove

The last day of July was starting out overcast and hot. HH had neck surgery for some blown out discs two weeks ago and was going stir crazy in the house, so we headed down to Laguna for a walk. By the time we arrived at the beach, 20 minutes later, the sun had arrived and the cloud cover turned into beautiful blue sky. We found a great parking space right in front of Diver's Cove and began our walk. Diver's is the beach that we took our kids to as children. Out on the rocks, there is a "blow hole" where the water rushes into a crevice in the rocks and splashes up 20 feet high. HH has been known to swan dive into said crevice when the tide is high.

On the edge of Diver's at the top of the hill, is a beautiful picnic area called Heisler's Park. Green grass, park benches, bbq areas with picnic tables (you must arrive really early to snag one of the choice picnic table areas) a picturesque path with stairs leading to the beach coves, lawn bowling club, mini ampitheater, bathrooms, and art sculptures. Today it was not crowded.

This is looking left (the other way beyond Diver's), these coves are in the midst of neighborhoods.

Laguna flys the flag proudly with a little help from a good breeze.

Amazing trees and cactus are planted throughout.

There is no plaque on this sculpture, but to me, it reminded me of Dr. Seuss-Horton Hears A Who!

The kelp beds are thriving! They haven't been this rich and thick since El Nino destroyed them 10-15 years ago. HH is very excited to snorkel out there and take a look.

We came across this new area in the park. They have built a little ampitheater and added this beautiful Breaching Whale sculpture. I love it!

We arrived at Main Beach. Love this old Life Guard Stand from the 20's.

Laguna provides these great trolleys to take you all through the town and Heisler's Park. I believe they are free.

Here is a paparazzi shot of my daughters little place from Main Beach. She has a beautiful view of Main Beach, the ocean and Laguna's coast line. Lucky!

Some Handy Ideas

2011-07-26T12:03:00.001-07:00

Ok, I just thought this was pretty so I threw it in!

Martha Stewart has a great idea for keeping sheets and pillowcases together and neatly folded. Fold the sheets and place inside the pillowcase. Wow! Why didn't I think of that. I'm always hunting for the pillowcases.

http://storageandglee.blogspot.com/2011/02/martha-on-sheet-storage.html

Whoa, this would make my life so much easier. Not only is everything in it's place and all the lids are present and accounted for, but they are not all stacked inside each other. Love this!

http://www.kitchens.com/slideshows/12-storage-solutions/cookware-organizer.aspx

Wow, this is so simple. We all have bread closer thingies and if we don't we can get some cheap. Great idea.

Keeping Busy

2011-07-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

My best friend Annette's son, David, is a minor league baseball player. Thursday his team Rawhide was playing locally about an hour away. We braved the traffic and headed out to watch his game.

He was first at bat and started the game off with a double, a stolen base and a run. Easy-peasy! His team won 5-4. It as great to see him and be with my friend as she watched her son play ball.

Katie, David, Delaney and Natalie.

Katie and David born two days apart and went to pre-school and elementary school together. Delaney and Natalie together since they were about 3. (Delaney didn't really go to preschool. Hated it, cried everyday for 4 months. Enough was enough, took her out).

K'ya Restaurant in Laguna Beach

We met some friends here for dinner and the food was delicious. They serve small plate (tapas) style and we ended up splitting all the dishes. It was just enough for me actually. It is a great way to try a new dish. A bite of this and a bite of that went a long way. Make sure you make reservations as it is packed. It was loud and you had to lean in to talk, but it didn't stop us from catching up with our friends!

Super 8

HH and I went to see Super 8 and loved it. Set in 1979 it brought back memories with songs and cars. The kids were great actors and it is a great family movie. Best I've seen this summer.

Midnight in Paris

Cute movie. I read The Paris Wife, so I really understood what was going on in the movie. The main character is a writer and wishes he had been born in another era. He travels back in time and meets up with the icons of his golden age. I liked the premise and the acting was good. Great girlfriend movie.

Bad Teacher

Don't bother, not funny at all, just bad.

I've Done Some Reading - Time to Share

2011-07-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Help

This was a great book. I couldn't put it down. I loved the women in it and their personalities. I found it fascinating that you could have a woman raise (hold, comfort, feed, play and love) your child, but feel they weren't good enough to share a bathroom with or that they carried diseases. Of course, not all the help was treated that way, some were treated like family, but the dynamics are so interesting. It is well written and a page turner.

Fall of Giants

This is a great epic novel, the first of three in a series. It starts out in Edwardian times and goes through the first World War. It follows a couple different people through this time. Some are from England, Russia, Germany and the U.S. It is detailed and historic. Loved it and can't wait until the next one comes out.

The Paris Wife

This is the story of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson. It is very interesting and I can say that by the end of it, I didn't like Ernest Hemingway very much. It begins with their courtship and ends with their divorce and covers everything in between. It was a fascinating time to live in the Paris artist community. It ties in nicely with the new movie Midnight in Paris. I enjoyed it.

Cutting for Stone

EH, it was okay. Parts of it I really enjoyed, parts were boring. If you are a huge reader give it a go, if not don't bother. I read this book right after "Unbroken" and "The Hangman's Daughter" and it wasn't as good as either of those. Maybe it suffered due to the order it was read in.

The Duchess of Cambridge

2011-07-08T18:00:00.001-07:00

The Royals have just arrived in Los Angeles for three days. I wish their itinerary came close to anywhere I was so I could see Kate. I'm obsessed with Kate and her fashion sense. I love her clothes, her style, her elegance and grace. I hope younger women everywhere will embrace her style.

She always looks so put together. Her clothes are straight off the rack (not forever 21, but available to the commoner, like me!).

She is simple yet polished.

I love that she doesn't wear extra short dresses. Tastefully above the knee. I realize she is working here, but you rarely see her in something mid thigh.

She even looks good in a life jacket!

She is an inspiration to all.

I look forward to seeing her California style.

Pena Palace

2011-07-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

After our harrowing ride in the bus straight up the mountain, we finally reached Pena Palace. At least I thought we did. We entered the gates into a beautiful garden with lots of shade and a cool breeze. Looking around, I could not see the palace anywhere. I saw a path with a sign and a little trolley shuttle. Hmm, we checked out the shuttle and it was 2 euro a person. I started the day with 200 euros cash, but after all the admissions and lunch, (which to our surprise, the restaurant did not take credit cards and I was forced to use cash. Luckily, I had enough) I didn't feel like shelling out the money so we walked. Everyone blazed up the hill, except me. It just about killed me! Seriously. It was steep.

Finally, the Palace/Castle was in sight and what a sight it was. I think when they built this place, the guy could not make up his mind and wanted every style available at the time. A little of this and a little of that. Basically, it had a moorish feel. It was the summer palace for King Ferdinand II and family. It was Delaney's favorite.

It had all kinds of walks, parapets and little secret places to sit and enjoy the breeze.

The kids loved exploring every nook and cranny.

The architectural detail was amazing.

It looked like something out of a story book.

Well, that was then end of our week in Portugal. I wish we had more time to visit more sights but the beach was too inviting to pass up.

We had such a great time and enjoyed being together for the experience.

The National Palace in Sintra

2011-07-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

This is Sintra, a beautiful little town nestled in the hills of Portugal, close to Lisbon. It has two palaces. One is the National Palace which I will show you today, and the other is the Palace de Pena for tomorrow. Greg and Alyssa found a parking space close to the center of town, but we had to park about 1/2 mile away. We parked and walked away. When we got about 1/4 mile down the road, we noticed that you had to pay for parking at one of those ticket machines. We went up to buy one, but they only took coins. We didn't have any coins on us. We thought we would take our chances (because we were too lazy to walk into town, get change and walk ALL THE WAY back). Well, you guessed it. We got a ticket! Fortunately, they gave us a prepaid envelope and all you had to do is put 2euro in it and mail it back. Whew!!!

Parts of the town date from the 13th century. It is shady and very pretty.

The Sintra Palace is known for its tiles and those two chimneys in the kitchen.

I'm always amazed at the kitchens in Palaces and Castles. They caught their own meat: deer, chickens, pheasants, boar, bear and whatever else was near by. They had to serve a lot of people, so there are huge counters, fireplaces, pots and pans and roasting spits.

At 6'1 Greg fills this entire doorway!

Beautiful tiles line the walls of all the important rooms.

The ceilings are fantastic.

After we finished with the palace, we relaxed on a terrace having some ice-cream and we noticed these little guys. I have to say, I was a little worried for them.

We waited for the huge bus to take us up to the Palace de Pena. This is wide compared to what we faced later. There were 3 miles of switchbacks and the road was so narrow. Sometimes it looked as if the bus was going to crash into the wall on the hairpin turns. The mirrors would miss the wall by 1/2 an inch. I'm not kidding! When we got out of the bus, I checked it out to see if maybe they ever did hit the wall. Not a scratch on it. The bus drivers were excellent. Not only did they have to navigate an extremely narrow road with hairpin turns, but people were walking up the road and cars were coming down. The bus took up the entire road so it was a little scary at times.

Alcobaca Monastery & The Love Story of Pedro and Ines

2011-07-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

A little further down the road from Obidos, is a beautiful Monastery called Alcobaca.

Upon entering the Sanctuary.

These are the tombs of Pedro and Ines. Pedro was the son of King Alfonso IV. His father wanted to make an alliance with Spain, so he arranged for his son Pedro to marry Constance. When Constance arrived, she had with her a beautiful lady in waiting named Ines. Pedro fell deeply in love with her. The King had her exiled until Constance's death to try and break up the love affair between the two of them. Pedro continued to see Ines and had three children with her.

Pedro gave gifts of entitlements and such to Ines' family. The nobility in Portugal felt threatened by this and convinced King Alfonso that Ines was a threat to his throne because her family had attained great wealth. The King ordered the death of Ines. This enraged Pedro and he rebelled against his father. There began a civil war. The King won, but died a year later. Pedro became King.

Pedro announced that he had wed Ines in secret and that she was a Queen. He found two of her three assassins and personally ripped their hearts out with his bare hands. He then had Ines exhumed and brought to Alcobaca where he had two tombs made and installed in the monastery so that in death the two could be together. On the processional walk from where she was buried, he had all the nobility follow her casket to the monastery. Once she had arrived, he placed her wedding ring on her finger and had each noble bow down and kiss the ring.

The entrance into the cloisters.

This may be our Christmas card, I'm not sure.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip to Alcobaca Monastery.

There is free admission on Sunday's from 10-2pm. It was beautiful.

Obidos - A Medieval Town

2011-06-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

A short drive from our apt was a small medieval town called Obidos. It was a walled fortress and everything is the same as it was then (structure wise). We crossed into the walled area.

beautiful tower

We saw a lot of people taking this small passage beside the tower, turns out it was the way into the town. As we rounded the corner, we saw this beautiful display of tiles. Portugal is famous for its tiles on the outside of the homes.

This was the idyllic little main shopping street. Restaurant and shops lined the way.

There were many side street off that little main street that held the homes of the people who lived there.

Obidos has a chocolate festival every year. Unfortunately, we missed it, but one of the things Obidos if famous for is their "Ginja". It is a sour cherry liqueur in a small chocolate cup. You shoot the ginja and eat the cup. It was really good.

On this little street, it was only 1 Euro a cup for the Ginja. The night before, at the country club of our resort, we paid 5 Euro per cup. Can you say rip off? They tasted the same.

You can no longer read the plaques on this building, but they are pretty to look at.

Inside we came to a square where the church was.

Beautiful side street.

Here is a good long view of the wall.

We all climbed up, but only Greg and Alyssa were brave enough to walk along its 3 foot path.

We finally came to the fortress itself, high on the hill overlooking everything.

It was a very picturesque little town and I really enjoyed it. The quality of their crafts was amazing and just about everyone bought souvenirs, except me, which I now regret.

4th of July Tablescape

2011-06-29T19:11:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I did a little shopping in May and came across some great 4th of July things. I'm just saying I spent a little time at Pottery Barn. I got this bunting (20 flags and twine) for $12.00. I figured it was cheaper than making it myself. It is double sided, stiff paper.

I then bought four different types of fabric (about 1/2 yard each) and tied the fabric between the flags. I love how it turned out. Of course, I had to pair it with my fav, paper lanterns.

I'm not 100% happy with the pictures. My back garden gets the afternoon sun and it was full strength this afternoon.

I dug out my tablecloth and napkins from last year and paired with my same old, same old dishes. They have all been purchased throughout the years at Homegoods.

I got the centerpiece stars and the little tin stars at TPT (Tai Pan Trading). There are so many things you could do with those little tin stars.

I got these great plastic straws at Pottery Barn as well. They were 12 for $12.00. They are washable and reusable.

I thought I would show you these cute metal baskets and checked paper I picked up at PB too. The paper comes in a pack of 10 sheets and the wire baskets were only $3.50. I thought that was a steal, especially from PB!

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. I am truly loving all the different tablescapes. Basically the same colors, but so different!

Please join our hostess Susan over at Between Naps On The Porch to see some more AMAZING tablescapes.

Portugal Apartments

2011-06-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

We had the use of our friends beautiful apartment in Portugal. When he found out Greg and Alyssa were coming as well, he asked his friends with the apartment next door if we could borrow that one as well. We had one gorgeous two bedroom and one beautiful 3 bedroom. These apartments were steps from the beach. First was our apt. decorated in Rock Star style, black, purple and lime green.

Loved these chandeliers in the bedrooms.

The master bedroom

This was the other apt. Every room had a different color. This was the master

This was the well appointed, huge kitchen. It was the same in both apartments.

Living room in kids apt.

This was the apt. pool.

The lagoon located a short drive away.

The pristine beach

We spent three of the 6 days on the beach. We all got sunburned the first day even though we put on lots of sunscreen. Some more than others. The beach was totally deserted, one or two other groups of people. No boats, no oil derricks, no nothing. Beautiful.

We stayed at a Marriott Resort called Praia del rey. It had a big hotel, private apartments and villas and a world class golf course. Our friend also owns a villa, but it was being rented the week we were there. This beach community is 80 miles north of Lisbon and 20 miles to the nearest town on Piniche. We were about 8 miles from a medieval town of Obidos, a 14th century walled town. I will show it to you tomorrow.

Can you say bored?

2011-06-27T19:28:00.001-07:00

"Mom, can I slide down the bannister?" to which I replied "No". Well, you see what happened. The lady attendant came over and told her not to do it again, then she smiled and said, "Go ahead, I don't care." At the Louvre.

It was raining and we were waiting to go out. Delaney had a little fun with Katie.

Katie loved it.

You've seen this one, everyone around us was cracking up. I few took pictures of themselves doing the same.

I don't even know...

????

Waiting for dinner in Portugal. They like to let you wait at least 10 minutes before they take your order.

Delaney: "Mom, she's touching me!"

Katie: "I'm not touching her".

Take my picture.

Katie: "Put your head in the lion's mouth".

So he did.

The Louvre

2011-06-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a 2nd century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike

One of my favorites is the Winged Victory sculpture. I love the flow and the strength of it. It sits on the landing at the top of the stairs.

The Louvre is a HUGE museum to say the least. Three wings and three floors of nothing but art. We took the metro and arrived through the underground entrance. We skipped any long lines that were above ground. We bought our tickets from a Kiosk and it was very easy. The underground area is impressive. There are beautiful stores, a food court, restrooms and then you get to the section underneath the pyramid were you buy your tickets and enter the museum.

We went on a Wednesday and it wasn't too crowded. The Louvre also stays open late on Wednesdays so that might be why also. Everyone didn't feel as it they had to get up early and see the museum. We picked up a self-guide map and headed for Napolean's Apartments. I wish we would have gotten the audio guide, but for some reason we chose to skip it. This was our last day in Paris and I think everyone was anxious to get going in the museum and just didn't want to take the time to get the guides. If you go, make sure you get them because it helps to know just what you are looking at. We thought there would be a lot of English signs explaining, but there wasn't. If you read French, you'll be alright without one.

These apartments were so amazing. The opulence, the lavish style and the size of the rooms were very impressive. The Louvre was a palace before it was a museum, but I'm not sure if his apartments were there at the same time as the museum.

Incredible detail in the plaster and wood work. Beautiful chandeliers filled the rooms with golden light.

You had to remember to look up as well as along the walls because every ceiling was different and offered it's own version of beauty.

Venus de Milo

We got our map and decided that the Louvre was so big that there was no way to see it all. We opted to see the highlights. Because the highlights were spread throughout the museum, and we got lost several times, I think we saw just about all of the museum. The map to the museum seemed so straight forward and easy to follow. I found it to be a nightmare. We saw so many great works of art as we were whizzing by to get to our next destination on the map. Many times we would end up at a dead end and have to turn around and go back the way we came. As you are about to see, the sculptures were my favorite.

I'm not sure what this one is called, but I liked it. My kids got a huge kick out of it, because I liked a sculpture of little kid strangling a duck.

As mentioned previously, this is one of my favorite sculptures, "Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss"

In the Mesopotamian (I bet you haven't heard that word since 7th grade) art, we found this cute little lion. He reminded us of our dog Daisy and we fell in love.

Delaney loved this brick mosaic of the lion. I pretended to ask the attendant, "How much for this?" and the girls loved it, they were cracking up!

At this point, HH needed to take a little break from all the walking and give his mind a little rest. We had been there for HOURS.

Of course, we had to see the most famous of all, just to say we did. I don't really see the appeal of it, but there you go. That's the great thing about art, it is subjective and what moves one doesn't necessarily move another.

The Three Graces

We continued on throughout the museum, stopping to look at great paintings along the way. The paintings were getting much more attention than the sculptures and there were small crowds that you had to push your way through to get a good look. I think that is why I don't have very many pictures of them.

I wish the Louvre was here, I would go at least once a week and tackle it section by section.

Have a great weekend!

2011-06-25T10:32:00.001-07:00

Bicycle in Obidos, Portugal

Salvidor Dali, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triumph

2011-06-24T07:43:00.001-07:00

When we woke up on Tuesday, it was raining. Raining hard. Delaney felt sick and did not want to go anywhere. So we sent Greg and Alyssa on their way to Montmarte to see the Salvador Dali Museum and we would check back with them later. We then all went back to sleep. Around 4pm, we all met up again and headed out to Montmarte.

Many, many stairs. Too many to climb. We took the funicular (a.k.a. the Turduckin, family joke) up to the Church (our Paris Visite metro tickets worked for the funicular.). We saw some guys using these stairs for exercise: running, crawling up backwards on their hands and knees and one staircase from the top, one guy told the other guy to carry him as he RAN up the stairs!

Always the Drama Queen! Secret's out, she didn't really have to walk up all those stairs, but nice try.

This is Sacre Coeur. HH thought it was the most beautiful church he has ever been inside. They had a strict no picture taking policy inside. We saw the guard kick out a couple of girls for taking pictures then accuse another girl. Her mom told him she didn't take any pictures and he made the girl show him the pictures on her camera to prove it. He let her stay. He meant business. This church sits atop a big hill and has a wonderful view of the city.

In front of the church, there is this little park like setting and you can take a meandering path up instead of walking straight up in those stairs shown above.

One metro stop down was Pigalle, the home of Moulin Rouge, so we went. Don't bother! It is in a neighborhood filled with sex and porno shops. It is quite a let down when you finally arrive. NO BIG DEAL! I felt gross walking down that street.

We had some dinner and then headed over to The Arc de Triumphe to watch the sunset. When we arrived we discovered that there was over 200 steps to the top and everyone felt too tired to go up. So we just hung out at the bottom, watched people and enjoyed the sunset. They were flying this flag over the tomb of the unknown soldier.

For all of you who have never been to Paris, let me give you a little tip. Do not try to cross this big, heavily trafficked road. There are stairs that will take you to an underground tunnel and take you straight to the arc. We saw mom's with children trying to cross. The stairs are not marked very well but they are there!

Disneyland - Part 2

2011-06-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is Adventure Land and what I believed to be the most different of all. Nothing looked the same. Instead of rafts taking you to an island, there were suspension bridges connecting everywhere. It was great, better than ours. Skull island was right next to the big ship that Captain Hook and Peter Pan occupy (not shown due to refurbishing). Then you cross into the Pirates of the Caribbean area. This ride looked like an old stone fort that you see on the Caribbean islands. I really liked it.

Again their ride was similar to ours but different. It was not in the same order, it was shorter and it didn't have the lavish treasure room. But it did have a cool cave area.

Over by The Haunted Mansion was Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Paddle Wheel Boat. This picture is taken from the Haunted Mansion balcony. In this area they had a Wild West Cemetery and an arch like in Arches National Park.

The Haunted Mansion looks totally different on the outside. Inside, it starts out kinda like ours, but once it gets to the graveyard area, it is all wild west ghost town stuff. To us, it felt really bizarre. We like ours better.

It was not crowded and the weather was great. We had a great time.

Disneyland Paris - Part 1

2011-06-22T08:35:00.001-07:00

On Monday, we set out for Disneyland Paris. I really fought for this, The Handsome Husband did not want to "waste" time seeing Disneyland in Paris, after all, we have the original 20 minutes from home. BUT, I insisted. I bought the tickets at home so we would be sure to go. No putting it off, the tickets had been bought. Hot tip: Buy tickets here with your US Dollars. I saved about $33.00 per person by doing that.

We were immediately impressed with how beautiful the landscaping was. Wide avenues and open landscaped spaces were everywhere.

We noticed it was similar but different to the original Disneyland. We all had a very excited feeling. It was like seeing Disneyland for the first time. You didn't know what to expect.

The castle was very pretty. Under the castle they had a Dragon's Lair. A big Dragon laying in the rocks and water with steam coming out of his nose. He would move and it was fantastic.

Love this little train and the big pine trees.

Great topiary. This was in storybook land too. We have a lot of fantastic topiaries outside of It's a Small World and they don't have any.

In Storybook land there were a lot of topiaries and waterfalls. Here is the entrance to the tea cups. It is covered and big lanterns hang over the tea cups. FUN!

Space Mountain was everyone's favorite ride. It was so different than ours. It takes place in the same shaped building and it is dark inside, but it goes so FAST. On take off, I totally felt my spine compress. There is a corkscrew and a loop inside. I felt as if I was going to throw up at the end, but I had no lasting nauseous feeling when it was over. Also, for some reason, I was staggering after I got off. But that is me, not a huge rollercoaster fan. The kids and the Handsome Husband LOVED it. Favorite ride hands down. They even said better than original. Unfortunately, HH lost his iphone on this ride. Gone forever, no insurance. Bummer.

Totally different entrance to adventure land. It was really cool, with large spaces of desert. This is were Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is located.

This is the Indiana Jones ride. It was a huge disappointment. As you can see, it is totally different than the original in Anaheim. Ours is inside and it tells a story and you are on an adventure. This is just a pathetic rollercoaster. Everyone was hugely disappointed.

Even though we liked the landscaping and look of Disneyland Paris, we like the rides (we have more and better) and the maintenance practices better at our Disney. For example, on Peter Pan, the ship you were flying in made a terrible squeaking noise and as we were flying over the city, part of the wall was missing and you could see a broom and mop. That would NEVER happen at Disney in Anaheim. They would close the ride. Also, a big crane was working on the castle during the day. Stuff like that is done at night at the original Disneyland.

HH admitted that he was glad we came. He was really excited once we entered and had a great time.

One bad thing, they allow smoking. UGH! Fortunately, we didn't run into it too much, mostly when people were waiting for their family members at the end of a ride.

Versailles

2011-06-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

We checked the weather and it said rain, but we decided to go to Versailles anyway. So far, the weather forecast had been mostly wrong. We hopped on the train and we were there before you knew it.

They were totally renovating the palace. Brand new gates in front, coated with gold leaf. They used to be black with gold highlights. Private donors raised the money (5 million Euros) to buy the new gates. The original gates were torn down 300 years ago in the French Revolution. They make quite an impression.

Gold leaf gates, no big deal!

They are also restoring the actual palace. Adding gold leaf to the roof toop and the balustrade. It looked incredible. I can see why every kind who ever visited Versaille wanted to build a palace just like it.

While waiting for our audio guides, Katie and Delaney find time for a quick photo shoot.

The Kings Chapel in the Palace. The Sun King became very religious in his old age and had this chapel built.

Every inch of the place was ornately decorated. Molding, marble, wood, and paint.

They were having a special exhibit of Thrones throughout the palace. They were quite impressive.

This was the war room that led into the Hall of Mirrors. It was used to intimidate others.

The Hall of Mirrors. Every window has a mirror opposite and it really creates a lot of light and space. Beautiful.

At the palace, they had a Laduree. We had to check it out.

After a great lunch at the palace, we had this for dessert. YUM!

The gardens are incredible. It was a super hot day and I was so glad I brought umbrellas because we used them as shade from the sun instead of protection from the rain. If you look at the body of water after the grass that is a place where you can rent rowboats.

The gardens were so wonderful, not a lot of flowers, but tons of fountains and greenery.

Paris Day 2

2011-06-21T06:32:00.001-07:00

The first thing we did was head over to Sainte Chapelle. The stain glass in this church is amazing. When you first enter on the ground floor, you look around and wonder what all the fuss is about. Then you take the staircase up and WOW! You are visually in awe of your surroundings. The pictures do not even begin to capture the beauty.

This is the ground floor of the chapel.

The chapel is richly painted with great detail (faded over time). It is so incredible.

They are in the process of refurbishing the outside. In this picture you can see the difference that a good cleaning can do.

We then hopped on the hop on, hop off bus and headed towards the Eiffel Tower. We traveled through the Place de Concorde where all the killings took place during the revolution. They said the blood ran so thick that the oxen refused to enter the square.

It was a hot and humid day and by the time we made it to the Iron Lady, everyone was hungry and grumpy. They didn't let me take many pictures. We then started walking towards the Champs d'Elyses for lunch which looked so close on the map. WRONG!

We passed Invilides where Napolean was entombed, but too hungry to stop and go in.

We crossed the river and walked what seemed like forever to get there.

I will never live that down. Everyone was STARVING and hot and grumpy.

Later in the evening we headed back to see The Eiffel Tower sparkle. It was warm and thunder and lightning filled the air. We got a great light show before the Tower began to twinkle. It puts on a show every hour on the hour during the evening. We arrived at 10:30.

Just as the show was over, it began to sprinkle. When we exited the Metro is was raining hard. Perfect timing!