Ooopsie My Bad...

Crate and Barrel $399.00
Pottery Barn $699

Restoration Hardware $739

My mom and I went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store and saw this brand new rattan chair much like the ones above...weelllll....the chair was marked $60.00, but it was going to go half off in two days, so I said to my mom, "It will only be $30.00 in a few days, just go back." Then I saw the same chair in Country Living on the airplane home, so I quickly called and said, "Hurry Go Get It!!!!Hurry!!"

It was gone. Thrift Store 101
Buy Now or It will be Gone!!

Ooopsie Daisy!

One Oh Eight

Now that it has hit One Hundred and EIGHT degrees, it is time to go home!!!

My SIL turned the big 4-0 while we were home...she had a really fun party!

My cousin Chris loves to come "in mourning" because she is five years younger than the rest of us....very funny Chris...you're next you know!

What a great time for a couples photo shoot!
I may have been a teeeny tiiny bit bossy about this and made everyone take
ten do-overs to get the perfect photo...

Awwwww......my mom and dad...

Aunty Charlie and Uncle Darrel


Me and my cousin Lisa... (she was sitting in for my husband who had accompanied my older son on a baseball trip to Nebraska)

awwww.....Chris and Jason

awww...Lisa and Reidar

the girl cousins

Seeee how much fun that was!? (for me especially!!)

Best Ever Part II

We took a little train ride through the San Joaquin Valley to see the cousins...
we passed through beautiful farm land, these are peaches...

...grapes

Enjoyed the fresh air....and sun dried laundry....

and took a garden tour hosted by my Great Aunt Ruth...the farmer...
I need to learn how to can...
her beautiful eggplant...look at that color!

string beans...

this beet is going to seed...she is collecting seeds for next year's planting

berries for the kids to pick...

gotta have tomatoes...

Can you see the asparagus....it's in the middle there...

This beautiful flower is ...... Okra!

Such a beautiful flower for such a disgusting vegetable!

my apologies to those who love okra (dad)...

This is my beautiful Great Aunt Ruth......in front of her amazing little farm patch....a lady never tells, but she is eighty-something-years-young! I wish I lived closer so I could hang out in her garden and learn how to do everything she makes look so effortless. She is the last of the farmers in the family, I think we need to start taking lessons!!

Best Ever

I'm on vacation.....

first I made a thousand pounds of delicious popcorn...
opened up the Kindle...
picked some lemons from the tree...

and enjoyed being at my parents house in sunny California!!!!!

The Learning Curve...

These ladies are my dear friends. The one in the middle was celebrating her birthday, I won't say which one but it rhymes with schmixty.


We had a "Learning Day Progressive Party" it was super-fabulous! We were each in charge of part of the day, I was brunch and it turns out my job was to "teach" the ladies how to pose for a picture.......I personally go for the head tilt...that's how I roll.....


Lisa is demonstrating the "head tilt" here...

I like to suggest a slight look up with a mischievous grin for a delightful picture...Barb what are you doing?....

Barb! Are you even trying!....

Tooooo happy Barb! Barb is some kind of super-genius that worked on Wall Street and then became an attorney.....I said "slight" grin....Barb can't follow directions!!!

My friend Ellen was in charge of lunch and a lesson on how to make "rugalach" the most delicious cookie EVER! Ellen's sister Robin is the Queen of Rugalach and has taught many, many ladies how to make the perfect cookie.

The lesson started with the cutest goodie bags with everything we needed, including adorable aprons for each of us...

Lisa is modeling hers here....

Movie on her i-phone...

We got to each take home a few dozen.....mine are gone already!

Next up....Cocktails, appetizers, and an art lesson!
Wait!.....Not ready!!!

Much better......Robin's sister Marty met up with us...

Off to Canvas and Cocktails in Cherry Creek...

I needed some coffee to keep me going! This was a long fun party!
Ellie
Robin
Barb
Martie
me.. Look at the scary eye that I accidentally painted....Yikes! Drew calls it "The Eye of the Storm"....I had to put it behind the dresser.

Birthday Girl Lisa, not fair that she is an artist already.

Then we ate delicious ice cream cake made by Barb.....I thought that I would never eat again.....for the rest of my life.

We love Lisa, and had the best day EVER!

But the best part was.....

Barb finally caught on! Great job Barbie!!

The End.