Puddin Toes First Birthday!

The Tutu Dress (Nana made in a whirl on Thursday) it was quite fun and easy... really!

Well Saturday was the big day. Lots of work and preparation went into Puddin Toes party. I am sooooooo tired all I can do is post the photos, and let them speak for themselves....I really thought when my last child turned 18 I had given The Last Birthday Party ...who was I kidding =/


I will try to catch up with everyone by mid week. Hope you all enjoy the big event =]

My daughter worked hard on all the decorations...

The cupcakes

The party favors!

and the hats...are they too cute or what?

We served fruit, veggies, cheese, and sandwiches (thank you Alice for the sandwich ideas)

I did Alice's Mozzarella and Basil on Ciabatta

and her sweet Sweet Pear & Cheese which was every ones favorite!

I really have to make a comment here. Alice from Tea in My Cup has this amazing blog that is everything tea. The way she has organized her blog made it a snap for me to just click on the sandwich label and in minutes I had my recipes and knew what my menu was going to be. I cannot say enough about how fabulous this resource blog is! Thank you so much Alice!

Puddin Toes Auntie Ash made Sangria

Birthday girl in her puff cloud dress heheheh....we all just giggled

Mama made the birthday cake with fresh flower from Nana's garden

Presents!

Special friends!

Nana and P.T.

Mama and P.T.

The End!

SkyWatch Friday

This is a photo sent to my son from a student of his who took this amazing picture of my son viewing the sky in the North Cascades (WA) this summer. Now wonder he loves the adventure of the great outdoors when he gets to see beauty like this just doing his job.

Visit SkyWatch for sky viewing around the world!

The Last of the Summer Blooms

Hibiscus

Well I am on a busy schedule with company coming and Puddin Toes's B day party coming up this week. But here is what I found blooming in my garden when I got home from vacation. I will be back next week with more attention to my blog land friends...whee is has been a busy bit here lately...you too?
I am not even sure I like this color...I have three different colors and the darker ones...maybe I just need to find the right place for them.





I think this is pretty much the last of the summer flowers to bloom...there will be somethings new for fall...and of coarse the last show of the roses in all there autumnal glory.

Have a good week all!

Sky Watch 6

This is it the best I can give ya...we had rain for 4 days at the beach. Last night the sun tried to peek out towards sunset. For maybe an hour and a half, people ran out and tried to take in a moment of beach ambiance. Sorry for the bad photo's, but this really was the best sky shots I could work up =/ Of course if I were a photographer I maybe could have figured out some technical or artsy angle...

Read on if you are a regular blogland friend and want to hear my updates...

But the great thing about a rainy week at the beach is all that real rest and relaxation you are forced to take =] It was such a great time for my husband especially. We joined some friends at the beach and the guys did a lot of hanging out together.

First there were the morning walks, followed by long stints in the hot tub. That took them all the way till noon. Then we had lunch, maybe a nap following. Girls went shopping in the afternoon, boys...Shooting and Killing movies...allllllllllllllllllllll afternooooooooooon. Now if and when the rain stopped, there was heavy activity on the beach ;]

Some of you more astute blogger friends...may have figured out the guy in the maroon sweat shirt is no other than the Strider guy himself...there he is reading that book he has been blogging about :0)

We did have a really good time, thanks to our friends for letting us tag along. My hubby on the right really did decompress and that was absolutely worth every second of our trip...and of course reconnecting with some really great friends!

Puddin Toe Update

I can't stand it...my daughter just sent me these two new photos. Puddin Toes is turning one in a week and a half. There will be plenty of pic's for this "event" be prepared for the deluge. But I had to pull Nana bragging rights tonight. I have been away for almost a week and I can hardly stand not seeing my girl!

Pretty sunsets at the beach...maybe not this time

Here at the beach with heavy overcast skies. We have a room right on the beach, so even if the sun isn't shinning, I have the lovely roar of the waves to relax my spirit and settle my soul.

Our weekend started off with a bang. We had a neighborhood get together at a local winery. A great time was had by all, getting to meet neighbors and especially the owners of the Tapteil Vineyard and Winery. They are a fascinating couple that are pouring their heart and soul into the land and the local wine industry. Jane and I clicked as I discovered her talent as an amazing artist and gardener. She paints wonderful vignettes of life at the winery and uses these painting for the label of each new wine that they bottle. Tapteil Winery was a very special place indeed. We were able to do some wine tasting, and imported olive oil tasting. Neighbors brought wine, and special tapas for all to enjoy.

Here are some pic's of the winery

The sun setting on a very fine evening (DH on right)

The second leg of our weekend, we headed to the beach by way of Portland, Or. Stopped to visit some very good friends of ours and spent the night. We had a great evening dining on authentic Lebanese cuisine, and walking around Portland tracking down the best cup of coffee, and gelato the Pearl District had to offer. Mmmmm

Sunday morning found us spending the day with our son who recently moved to Portland to attend school this fall. We spent some more time with him exploring the Pearl District and the Rose Quarter. Ended up at a very special city breakfast spot called "Gravy".

It was great exploring some lesser known parts of Portland for me, and seeing my son get situated.

This place as you could guess served some amazing biscuit's and gravy. Josh (back right) had the vegetarian gravy and we had the sausage. It was a huge meal, but the boys did a great job getting it down ;]

So here at the beach I have made one more very fun discovery. I have finally unearthed some Elizabeth Goudge books! I was so excited after searching many a used book store to finally find a stash of these babies here on the coast.Well the clouds are breaking up a little bit...here's to hoping I can find a little bit of sunshine on the beach today!