Tea Parties and Project Runway Here I Come=)

 Tea Party with Pooh and Tiger

Fun fall day with Miss Puddin Toes.  I was trying to get some special Nana time in with her as she is now going to full time preschool.  So we had a date for lunch and went to a tea shop.

 Fascinated with her teaspoon

 Trying on the Queen Mum's hat

 checking ourselves out in the bathroom mirror

 This one definitely matches the outfit we decided

The tea was delicious

 After lunch we stopped at Goodwill and purchased some snazzy dress up clothes.  It was 50% off day, which made this a very economical project.  I had fun snipping and sewing our finds into runway specials...lol!

The days are flying by this fall.  We finally have a hint of a season change in the air.  It is time to gather in the harvest and start all my fall soups and preserves...YUM =)

Round Three

 Babies touring the farmers market with Nana

Eden's 4th birthday!
I can't believe it was only four years ago that Eden our first grandchild came into our lives and changed everything!  How exciting to now contemplate three!

I have been keeping a big secret.  A couple of months ago I was in the kitchen with my daughter Megan and something about her demeanor caught my attention, and I said "Your pregnant !"  NO, NO she stated, couldn't be!  I am not!  Well about two weeks after that little moment she did surprise me with a positive pregnancy test stick one morning when she was dropping the babies off for some Nana time.  I must admit, I squealed with delight.  Woot woot,  here we go again.  Another precious little one to love and cherish in our family.  Since that day for several weeks now I have been keeping her secret.  Today she saw the doctor and made the announcement.  Meg is 9 weeks along and we are expecting grandchild number three on April 19th.  I am so deeply delighted, and at the same time secretly wondering how am I going to keep up with three...LOL!  I am just about catching my breath with Puddin Toes and Sweet Pea.  I am looking around and observing all the grandma's with many grand children.  Any of  you out there with some great pointers...please send them my way!  I feel very blessed...thank you Jesus for your showers of blessings today.

Fun in the Sun!

 I can't believe it is the end of summer.  I know this in my brain, but my heart is not ready to let it go.  We had such a late start, and very little heat...for around here.  So I am soaking up every last drop of fun in the sun.

 Today we went on a little jaunt out in the country to celebrate a very special birthday, as Miss Puddin Toes turned four!  It was a most enjoyable afternoon.  My daughter was able to rent out this little country barn and accompanying rides just for us, for a very special day.  I skipped the actual county fair this year.  This little place had all of the ambience of the fair and none of the crazy crowds and noise.  What a fun way to enjoy a kids birthday party.

 Nana was in charge of the face painting!

 Summer skies and sun...please stay for a few more days....and let me drink in your peace and beauty!

Mmm mmm Good!

 I got to spend a whole day with Miss Puddin Toes  

 One of the fun things we did was bake a cake

Do you remember when chocolate was this guilt free?

Chocolate zucchini cake to be exact...this one is from my mom's recipe box.  It is still a family favorite!

 Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c butter

1/2 c oil

1 3/4 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c sour milk (you can add 1 tsp. of vinegar to milk)

2 1/2 c flour

1/3 c coco powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. of salt

2 c of shredded zucchini

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil, sugar, add eggs, milk & vanilla, blend in the rest of the ingredients.  Stir in zucchini and  2/3 of the chips in the batter, sprinkle the rest on top.  Bake 325 for 45 minutes or so.

This cake should be very moist and chocolatey mmmm.  The little bits of spice turns this one up a notch for me.  

It is amazing how doing such a simple thing with a four year old turns into such a special moment.  She helped me every step of the way, pouring in every ingredient and remarking on every scent.  My first grandchild is going to pre-school next week, and I am a little sad...oh how very silly of me  ;)

A Perfect Summer Morning...for me =)

 A recently started Farmers Market on Friday mornings, smack dab in the middle of our little town.  After weeks of company, travel, and a few rest days.  I head out for a sunny summer morning at the market.

I started my day with my favorite iced latte...dbl. tall with one packet of raw sugar and a petite vanilla scone in front of one of my favorite shops.

Let's take a peek in the door way.  Now I am ready to spend my wad. 

Josh's veggie stand in Stillwater, Minnesota...if you happen to live there stop by and say hi from his Mom ;)

 I love shopping locally for all my fresh veggies and fruits.  Helping to support and sustain the local farmers.  My son is now farming himself this summer in Stillwater, Minnesota.  It is a long way from home and I think he misses his North Cascade mountains.

I got a batch of these last week and Miss P.T. and I made three kinds of strawberry jam...mmm

She was an amazing little helper...

We made freezer strawberry jam, cooked strawberry and peach jam, and a new one for me...stir only strawberry jam.

We are sporting all kinds of venders these days.  French Pastry girl

All sorts of veggies and flowers

these Donut Peaches are new for me

Several bread vendors, french cheese, local honey, even some meat guys

 There are crafters, and lavender ladies... even a guy from Nairobi comes and sells these incredible baskets, mine is on order.  I will show you when it is done =}

winemakers and grape seed oil guys right next door

Goat's milk soap...it is getting a little crazy around here!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

The French Room

 Dada...The French Room is done!  

This was my left over room.  When we moved into this home over 4 years ago, I was not sure what this
room was going to be.  In the original plans it was the dining room.  I closed off the walkway from the kitchen and put in a pantry instead.  I was pretty sure I would not need a formal dining room again.  I made the kitchen large and open to the great room and was trying to down size on every level.

So we put in some glass pocket french doors and thought perhaps a study, art studio, or a sitting room. All those idea's ran through our mind.  Maybe I would even miss a formal dinning room after all...

 It was too much at the time of construction to deal with it.  I put the whole function of this room on the back burner.  The only problem was I never figured it out.  So it became the left over room.  Left over with out design, purpose or function.  It was full of mostly my left over furniture.

 Some of you may remember this scene from our Thanksgiving over flow.  My sister was staying in here and she dubbed it "The French Room."  Notice my old burgundy wing back chair...ughh and a garden bench LOL!

The black secretarial was my first furniture purchase for the house.  My plan was to place it in the great room.  It didn't fit!!!! So it was put in the "left over room".

 I purchased the black book case, and my dad made the desk which was in the loft for Dan's study.  Then we had two summers of hip surgeries and well the desk came down stairs and the brown leather chair was purchased, TV placed on the bookcase and Dan settled in during his recovery.  The stairs were now out of the question for him.

 It bothered me because it was my last room to have completed and it was the first room people saw, and I frankly didn't know what I was going to do with it and didn't have any desire to figure it out.  So it sat.

My inspiration chair!

It sat and sat, until three weeks ago when I walked in to Real Deals with a friend from out of town (check out my sis's link)  I had no intention of purchasing a thing.  Then I saw this chair the second I walked through the door.   I knew immediately this was ment for my house and my left over room.

Now  I knew I had something.  The following week I was in Real Deals yet again with another friend from out of town and stumbled upon the little white chair that would be the perfect fit to complete my study/sitting room off my front hallway.  I was so excited when I got this piece home.  Later that night when my company left  I was up till 2:00 am rearranging, removing furniture, stealing things from other places in my home and came up with "The French Room."  I am extremely excited to be done. I think it is my favorite room in the house now.   I love how it all fell together with out all the hassel of a plan or the dreading ordeal of furniture shopping.

(yes I left one doily on the chair by accident when photographing)

The finishing touches were to plop three Elizabeth Goudge books in a random wire basket on my antique table from Regis, Idaho.  (Another Story)    I am pretty excited to be done!!!

Real Deals contributions: two chairs, pillow, candelabra, lace panel, large bejeweled candle, wall clock, and all the doodads on top of the secretarial.