The BIG 3-0 Weekend

Yes, I am officially old. But, I have had a pretty fantastic birthday weekend!

On Friday Jeff, some dear friends, and I started the night off with dinner at Simply Fondue. It was fabulous.

I have really been wanting to go to a fondue restaurant so this was quite a treat. The atmosphere is very inviting and you could tell everyone there was having a great time. I think it is nearly impossible not to enjoy yourself while eating fondue!

After dinner we went to Lola's to see our friend's Pablo and the Hemphill 7.

Jeff surprised me with red roses and diamond earrings for my birthday. He said that 30 is a classic birthday and since roses and diamonds are classic, that is what he wanted to give to me. It was a fantastic surprise that I was not expecting at all.

On Saturday, my actual birthday day, I lounged about the house and then went to the birthday party that my parents had for me. It was really nice. We had a New Mexican theme and everything was decorated so cute! I can't believe I did not take any pictures of it! My mom cooked Pinon Chile Beans and Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas for dinner. Both were recipes from our Culinary tour. It was delish (I am channeling Rachel Ray)! She even made guacamole like they do at Gabriel's! I also just realized that it is only 4 months until our return to Santa Fe! Wah Hoo! I can feel that desert mountain air now!

For dessert we had chocolate fondue which kept with my theme for the weekend. Also, my dear friends gave me an electric fondue pot for my birthday. I think a fondue party is in the works soon!

My mother is very in tune with my new found passion for Pyrex and gave me some of my grandmother's old Pyrex. I absolutely love it and it is very special to me.

On Sunday, I slept in, until about 10:45 which I never ever do because I am an early riser. Jeff made me my very first fried egg for breakfast. This is pretty miraculous because the boy does not cook. I usually like my eggs scrambled but I have to admit, a fried egg is not half bad, especially when you enjoy it with your 4th cup of morning coffee!

I lounged around the house and worked on knitting my socks. I got a load of progress done on these socks during the drive home from Arkansas last Monday. I conquered the heel flap and heel gusset!! I am very proud!

It was such a beautiful day today so I cracked open a few windows. While I was knitting, Ziggy was busy trying to figure out a way to make the great escape. We caught him climbing on the window!

Now, for the socks, I am working on shaping the toe and I will be done with my very first pair of hand knit socks.

Yes, it has been a great Birthday weekend.

You know, I have to admit, I kinda like being 30. :-)

Cheers.

My Arkansas Vacation Part II

Saturday morning, on Valentines day, we had reservations at the local hot spot, Joy's. We had lunch around 11am and the food was delicious! I had the garden sandwich and I think that was probably one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. After lunch, we went antique shopping! Oh my goodness, I went on a vintage Pyrex shopping spree! I pillaged all the antique stores of all vintage Pyrex. I guess people in Mountain View just do not realize the fabulousness of vintage Pyrex. It is either that or I am just a major geek. I'm telling you, I cleaned up! So, for kicks, it is inevitable that I am going to post pictures of my Pyrex adventure. Oh, and there is a cute little vintage piggie in the mix too.

I found this little butter dish after I found the casserole dishes of this print on Friday.

I was thrilled to find 3 mixing bowls of the same print, large, medium and small!

This little treasure which matches with the mixing bowls, I already had in my cabinet! I am not really sure where it came from. It may be my sisters from when we lived together years ago. Possible a thrift store find?

This was seal too! It is vintage snack set. It's not Pyrex, I am not really sure what it is because it is not stamped. It may be Fire King? Whatever it is, it is adorable and I can't wait to have friends over for coffee, appetizers, and a little crafting!

And I also found the most precious vintage piggie planter I have ever seen!

After our antique shopping extravaganza we went back to the cabin and Kalin cooked the rainbow trout that he, my dad, and niece caught on Friday. He seasoned it and then sauteed it in olive oil. He made a fabulous salad too! I am not a big fish eater but this fish was fantastic.

While the fish was cooking, our little snicklefritz locked her mommy and daddy's bedroom door. At least she did not lock herself in on the other side. We all tried to pick the lock but it took Grand Daddy's master skills to bust it open. See, and Sis I am sorry for calling you out, but my sister would lock herself in her bedroom all the time when we were kids. In turn, Daddy developed great breaking and entering skills.

To top the night off we had chocolate fondue for dessert! Vi loved it....as if you could not tell with the chocolate all over her face. :-)

Late Saturday night my sister and I decorated the table for my mother's birthday. Table decorating is an old tradition with my household. On birthdays and holidays the table would always be decorated when my sister and I woke up in the morning. When we were old enough we were allowed to decorate the table ourselves. It was a lot of fun. To decorate my mothers 60th birthday table, my sister used her vintage strawberry linen table cloth and we also used the snack trays that I snagged while power shopping!

For her birthday lunch we had spinach salad with a homemade house dressing, herbed pasta salad (which my sister made and it was fabulous), and curried chicken salad.

My sister also made a fantastic Victoria sponge birthday cake with berries (a Nigella Lawson recipe). Oh, it was delicious.

After lunch Violet and my mother opened their presents. Violet was so sweet when she opened her gifts. She was so excited about them all and would say "oh, I love it!" "Oh, thank you!". When she got to my gift, she was rather confused. See, I took the loaf of felt bread that I made and put it into a real plastic bread sleeve. She opened it and look at it for a quick second and politely said "oh, peanut butter and jelly!" She thought her Auntie Lizzie made her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her birthday but she was so sweet about it. She did kind of give a slight look of confusion and was more than likely thinking that her Auntie Lizzie has a screw loose. Her dad told her to open the bread so, she took the twisty tie off, opened the packaging, and took a big whiff as if it were a real loaf of bread. Boy, did I have her fooled! I guess my felt sandwich making skills are stellar, ha! She finally got it and realized that I made her play food! After presents, my mother and I went back to an antique store we were in the day before and I snagged this vintage dress form.

Well, that about sums up the trip. We had a really nice time and I miss them already! Until next time.

Cheers!

My Arkansas Vacation Part I

So, every February my mom, dad, and myself travel to north east Arkansas to be with my sister and niece for our February birthday's. See, February is a very busy month for my family. My sister was born on the 3rd, my cousin was born on the 12th, then there is Valentines day to throw in the mix, my mom was born on the 15th, my niece was born on the 18th and I bring in the rear on the 21st.

When traveling with my parents, we always leave bright and early because my dad likes his ship to sail at the crack of dawn. On Thursday at about 5:30 am my parents pulled up and we loaded all my stuff up. I came to a revelation while packing that no matter how much I try to lie or rationalize to myself, I am NOT a light packer. I required a different outfit for every day which also consisted of a different pair of shoes for every outfit. I managed to narrow it down to 2 coats, 2 sweaters, and a hoodie too. Oh, then I have to accessorize which meant that I had to have lots of jewelry and scarfs. I certainly could not forget to my spinning wheel, roving, and spinning accessories oh, and then of course, my latest knitting project, crafting books, magazines, ipod, and dvd's. I also needed snacks for the road so I had a bag full of groceries too. You should have seen my dad's face when he realized all the stuff I was going to take! Classic.

To back up a bit, our trip was threatened when my mom received a call the Saturday before we left informing her that our cabin reservation had been cancelled. See, about 2 weeks ago, Mountain View had an ice storm which left many people without power for many weeks so, our cabin was given away to one of the Entergy workers, our cabin with a 5 month reservation, our cabin that is surrounded by about 60 other cabins. So, we were very confused as to why our cabin was cancelled and really really disappointed to say the least and thought our trip was ruined. But, to be understanding, Arkansas having electricity is much more important than us having a cabin, but nonetheless, we felt sorry for ourselves. So, after countless hours, my sister found a cabin about 9 miles outside of town, along the white river. This sounded perfect! We were all excited and relieved that our trip was not ruined by the evil pine wood cabin people (ha, just kidding, they are not evil)!

So, back to our 5:30 ship off. About half way into our 8 hour drive on Thursday, my sister calls me and says "Um, I just got to the cabin but the road is washed out. I don't think you can get down it. Should I tell Daddy?" Um, what do you mean washed out and yes you should tell Daddy! Where else will we stay!?! So, lets skip back to a week after the ice storm, tornadoes hit the same area the ice storm did. The storms associated with the tornadoes washed out the road and prevented us from staying at the this cabin that we reserved at the last minute because the ice storm prevented us from staying at the pinewood cabins. What the heck is up with all the natural disasters in Arkansas? Geeze!!!! Come to think of it, this time last year when we went to visit for the annual birthday trip, there was a tornado that just hit the area and basically devastated it! Um, Sis, it is time to relocate! After realizing that we were halfway into our drive and now had no place to stay, my sister once again save the day and found a cottage for us just 2 blocks from the square in Mountain View! It was such a lovely little cottage and I think it was meant to be! I had my own little space which I referred to as the "tree house". It was a great big room on the second floor with 4 beds! There was a teeny tiny spiral stair case that lead to a teeny tiny door that led to the room. I felt like Alice (you know, Alice in Wonderland). It also had several lovely windows which I opened every morning for fresh air and a balcony, not to mention cable T.V. ! I caught several old school movies with Audrey Hepburn while I was in the tree house. It was fantastic! Here are a few shots of the little cottage that I took.

The "tree house"

This is the sun room. We had coffee and tea out here and it was fantastic! I am inspired to close my back porch in to make it look like this!

The living/dining room and kitchen:

I think those are all the shots I got. My mom took some great shots outside. I am going to pillage her camera for pictures and I will post those later.

After we arrived on Thursday Carrie and I had a class to attend at Ritzy Rags (that is me using Renee's fancy quilting machine). We learned how to make quilted zipper bags. It was tons of fun. I got way too involved in my project and was not able to finish but, I think I will be able to take a few minutes this weekend to finish it up. So far, I am pleased with the way it is turning out. I will post pictures of the finished project later!






On Friday my mother, sister, and I took another class at Ritzy Rags and learned how to make quilt squares. I have been interested in quilting for a while now and after taking this class, realized how easy it can be! I think I may be whipping out quilt pretty soon but I am still waiting for that quilt that my sister owes me from this past Christmas! Just kidding Carrie! I think we all did a pretty good job on our squares.

After our crafting we did a drive by to the Pinewood Cabins where my mother soon realized that there were in deed vacancies via the vacancy sign hanging on the office door. We were done wrong!!! My sister was driving and innocently followed my mothers directions past the cabins. My sister was telling us a story about something and then out of nowhere my mother bellowed "Nanny nanny Boo-boo" as we past the cabins. No, I don't think there is any bad blood there at all. So, for the rest of the evening I inevitably had to tease my mom with repeating the "Nanny nanny Boo-boo" phrase. After the drive by stalking at the Pinewoods, we went to a great little antique mall where I found some great Pyrex! Oh, how I love Pyrex! This print is my absolute favorite! It is the Amish print. The color is absolutely fantastic.

On Friday afternoon while we were crafting and stalking, my dad, Kalin, and Violet were out fishing. Once they got to the river, my dad said "whoever catches the most fish gets ice cream.". My niece took this to heart and caught the most fish and was subsequently rewarded with ice cream. She came back to the cottage with a cup full of ice cream and strawberries. When she got home after her fishing extravaganza, she joined my mom, sister, and I upstairs for my mother's very first tarot card reading!! Very exciting!

Friday evening my sister and I decorated the dinning room table for Valentines day. We had tons of fun getting things together! Here is a shot of the table:

Oh, also earlier Friday evening, I spoiled my Valentines day gift and gave everyone their marshmallows early. My sister made hot chocolate and topped it off with a nice fluffy homemade marshmallow.

Stay tuned for the rest of our trip!!! To be continued!

Cheers!

Super Shopping Saturday!

My sister and I went to the Benbrook Antique Mall. I have been dying to go back ever since my mom took me there the weekend before Christmas. It is pure bliss! Everything is so well priced and the customer service is fantastic. There are treasures to be found behind every corner. I was excited about this trip because I had my eye on the plethora of Pyrex sold there. Oh, I scored big...oh I scored so BIG! I think this will be my new addiction, shopping for vintage Pyrex at the antique mall!

They have a ton of butterfly gold, friendship, and spring blossom Pyrex which I think I will go back for soon but I got away with 2 huge mixing bowls and a set of baking dishes that I think are the "daisy" pattern. I am still doing my research. If anyone knows what the pattern is called please let me know because I am just not certain that it is the daisy pattern.

And the mixing bowls from the "Verde" collection....

There is a booth at the antique mall that I drool over every time. I thought I would give you a little sneak peek. My sister and I met the lady who owns the booth, she is very quirky but I think you would have to be to have a booth like this!!!

I also found a great little vintage Coca-Cola tin tray for my bar area in my kitchen. This is something new that I have added to the kitchen and is still a W.I.P. I searched high and low for a vintage ice bucket for the bar but that was a no go.

After the antique mall we went to the book store. We made a hit for the cafe and got some iced coffee, then I bet you can guess what section we went to. Yup, the craft book section. It was very convenient because the craft book section was right next to the cafe so, it was totally meant to be. We sat there for close to 2 hours looking at books. There were books scattered all about on the floor. Oh, how I love the smell of a freshly bound book, well, especially a freshly bound craft book. It was a hard choice to figure out which book would leave with each of us.

My sister decided to go with Seams to Me and a knitting book that "seams" (yes, I know) to escape me at the moment. I decided that I needed a good book on needle felting and found this little book...

Last time I was in the book store they were all out of the fall edition of spin off mag, I was rather disappointed because I completely missed out on it but the winter edition was fully in stock today!!!! And yes, I love it so much that I find it absolutely necessary to post a picture of it.

I also finished my pillows last night. I am very happy with the way they turned out. You can't go wrong with an adorned throw pillow!

I live for days like this!

Cheers!