Visit to Farmers Market

There's just nothing quite like shopping at a local farmers market.....

...everything so beautiful and fresh!

Look at these gorgeous strawberries! Hmmmm, I think they need a little something....

Oh yes, chocolate of course!

All of a sudden I have helpers!

How can something so sweet...

...turn into something THIS messy? Oh well, they were delicious while they lasted!

Happy weekend everyone:)

Farming In The Big City

First there was Old MacDonald's farm....

Then there was Mary Jane's Farm....

Now Facebook has a new application called "FarmVille" which lets you plow, plant and harvest your very own online farm! Well, what's a city girl to do if she can't escape the big city? Exactly! It's a mighty fun game with cute graphics, but beware - it's addicting! So next time you want to escape city life pay a visit to FarmVille - won't you be my neighbor?

Mom... I'm bored!

They are the words a mother dreads to hear the most. Well at least this mom does! School starts in less than 2 weeks and my daughter uttered the words I dread most, "Mom, I'm bored!" I made it through the entire summer entertaining this little person and ran out of steam just short of the new school year...so what did I do? I told her to play dress up with the dog! I was definitely bad to the bone! So without further delay, here's your impromptu doggie fashion show.....walking down our catwalk today is "Max" in his casual hiphop outfit....yo dog!

Next, we have Max modelling our sneak peek fall look "smashing pumpkins"...he does look rather smashing, doesn't he?

Here we have princess attire with it's very own teeny tiny tiara - don't ask me how she got his ears through there...

And yes, the ever popular "up" do for that special evening out.....and there you have it!

What a good doggie you are Max!

My Daughter's New Desk Set

Well, after weeks of cleaning through numerous stuffed drawers, shelves and closets I'm happy to say that my daughter's room is completely cleared out and we're awaiting the arrival of these goodies....goodbye infant changing table set, hello pre-teen desk set! Here's a beautiful wall mural that will be above her desk...

A desk set that's cute and functional....

The must have cute lamp (and yes, she asked for the phone too, but I couldn't quite make that step)

A brown polka dotted chair to make studying that much more fun...

a personalized trash can...

...and of course a couple of frogs to keep you focused on homework! These guys she bought herself by doing chores and walking dogs in the neighborhood:) Looks like she'll be spending more time in her room after all this!

Random Thoughts on a Summer Day

Today was spent looking for a new desk for my daughter before school starts....

...making baked wontons from scratch with her (recipe to come)...

...all while our dog Max stood guard outside.....have a great day!

Sunflowers from Italy

My husband recently went to Tuscany on business and sent me these gorgeous snapshots from the Italian countryside....my favorite flower is the sunflower!

Walking down the streets of Sienna....

A beautiful Tuscan sunrise...

And olive orchards nearby.....next time I told him he's gonna have to take me with him!

Summer in Montana

This summer we went back to Montana after having such a fun time last Christmas! We wanted to see what was under the snow and we were pleasantly surprised!

We stayed at Gaynor's Ranch and Resort...it was an awesome place to stay!

We were welcomed by the house posse (Tank, Hemie, and Sam)

...and my daughter spent most mornings taking care of 40 horses on the property....

She especially loved fly fishing at Glacier National Park with dad! We didn't want to come back to California after that!

Vacation Bible School Crocodile Dock!

All last week our church was a buzz with this year's Vacation Bible School theme called "Crocodile Dock". Last year we had 200 kids sign up and this year we had 257! There were so many kids in the sanctuary we had to remove all the pews so everyone had a place to sing, dance, and sit down! When the opening 20 minutes was over, each grade level rotated to various stations including a Bible memory verse station, snack/sing/dance station, craft station, game station and Bible story station. All in all it was a great success and such an inspiration to see so many young smiling faces worshipping at once:)

Sea Glass Vases

Life has been like a wave of craziness the past month with school ending, dance recitals and year end celebrations....I always feel like the last month before school lets out is like jumping off a diving board into the deep end of a swimming pool....you can only hold your breath for so long....I'm happy to say I survived it all!

Anyway, before all this craziness set in I took a moment to purchase these darling blue vases from Pottery Barn on sale:) Originally $40 for the largest, I bought these at just $9 each! I love clearance shopping when I find something marvelous on sale! I hope this little post finds everyone happy and healthy.....enjoy the start of summer!

BIRTHDAY DREAM CAKE!

What would my dream birthday cake be like?  Well I'd love to hire this man to come make my piano into a scrumptious chocolate birthday treat!  Thanks to everyone for all your great wishes - you made my day!

Waiting in Anticipation

Alright, I'll admit it.  With all my baking, decoupaging and making handmade soaps, deep inside I'm a Trekkie at heart.  Always have been, always will be.  In fact, many thought my dad looked like Leonard Nimoy!  He was the one who actually introduced the series to me as a kid and I've watched ever since!

When I worked for UPN a few years back I even asked to work on the new "Enterprise" series with Scott Bakula.  They started me out slow with "Voyager" (which wasn't the best in the series) and then to "Enterprise".  I wrote and produced on-air promos (or commercials that promoted the series).  I was in Trekkie heaven.

My favorite series was "Star Trek: The Next Generation"....nothing like Captain Picard up against a few random Borg!

Now, just a few years later I'm elated to discover another Trekkie on the horizon.  Looks like a pretty handsome cast too - I can't wait to see it!  Live long, prosper, and enjoy the new film!

Bargain Finds and a Sign of Things To Come

Hello everyone!  Well after a very very busy month I'm ready to catch up on some blogging!  Here are a few bargain finds from this past month - aren't they cute?  I bought these two tins signs at Joann's Fabrics for around three dollars each.  I think they're adorable, light weight and give my kitchen a little touch of country!  

Do you get catalogues in the mail?  I do....I don't need to go out and buy magazines anymore because I get so many catalogues in the mail!  Well, while perusing the Pottery Barn catalogue, I spied these beautiful glass jars!  Originally $40 each I got them for just $9 each!  That's a steal!  I love this color because it reminds me of beach glass.....

Finally, my sister gave me this adorable chalk board while my daughter and I visited her a while back, and I decided to make this bold statement after realizing I spend nearly a third of my day cleaning up after others!  Definitely a sign of things to come!  Well, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

A New Brand of Cereal!

Well my daughter came home with a very interesting assignment the other day - the class was asked to come up with a new brand of cereal based on a fairy tale character.  My daughter chose Little Red Riding Hood because she figured Max our dog would make a good wolf!  Needless to say, she had everything planned out - we taped her in front of our yard and she and I learned how to make a short movie through IMovie (I Mac)...  each student was asked to make a video or act a commercial out live.  My daughter said she was too shy to act it out in front of the class, so she acted it out on the tape alright!  It was fun and turned out cute!  Don't forget to turn off the blog music before playing the video:)  Happy viewing!

It's hot hot hot!!!!

When it's this hot at our house (we're talking 93 degrees hot!) everyone eats popsicles and ice cream all day - even our dog Max!  Stay cool!

Well maybe not a cake, but how about Banana Bread?

Well I had a few bananas just asking to be made into banana bread today!  I love this recipe my mom gave to me because the sour cream makes the whole bread so moist and yummy!  My daughter insisted we add chocolate chips for more fun....

Mom's Banana Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs well beaten

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1  tsp. vanilla

walnuts (or other nuts) to taste

In a hot dry skillet toast walnuts over medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Walnuts can be mashed into smaller pieces when cool if desired.

Cream butter and sugar.  Add beaten eggs.  Dissolve baking soda into sour cream and add to the batter.  Add bananas, flour, salt, nuts and vanilla.  Mix well.  Bake in well-buttered oblong pan at 325 degrees from 45 minutes to one hour.  If using two loaf pans bake from 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve warm and enjoy!