Something I'm Always Looking For...

are vintage ice cream soda glasses.

I've been collecting soda glasses for a number of years, and am always on the lookout for unique ones to add to my collection. Pictured above, are a few of my favorites. Some are from the 50's, but I also have pieces from the 20's and 30's as well. We use them all the time for lemonade, iced tea, parfaits, and milkshakes - they're great for so many beverages, really. I love an eclectic table setting and always use a different soda glass for each of my guests. Besides all the neat patterns, what I love most is how heavy and thick the glass is.

Things Are A Changin'...

We've officially been caring for our two tadpoles for 11 days now - so far so good. Look at the progression! They're actually looking like cute little froggies. It has been a hoot watching them swim around and now, they are starting to climb onto leaves and such in the pond.

Never a dull moment, these guys are busy, busy!

First Kiss

What an appropriate name for this stunningly beautiful rose, don't you think?

"First Kiss" is in the Floribunda class. I love this rose bush and all of its flowering sprays.
About 6 years ago my brother bought a beach cabin with a beautiful rose garden. They immediately made plans to replace it with grass - yikes! Can you imagine? I couldn't, so my mom and I asked if we could dig up the roses and transplant them in our yards. I wasn't about to let all those beauties end up in a compost pile! Let me tell you though, it was hard work digging up the twenty or so roses. These weren't small plants either - some of the plants had to be at least 15-20 years old. You should have seen the tangled mound of prickly bushes in the back of the truck - it was a sight!

Boy, am I ever glad we saved "First Kiss" along with all the others that day.

Berry Fun

I took the girls to a U-pick strawberry farm this morning.
They were both so eager to pick their very own berries. It was a beautiful morning to pick too, the sunshine had returned after being absent for a few days.
We had good pickings in this patch - lots of gorgeous red juicy fruit!

More then a few times, I'd catch someone sneaking a snack.

This girl always ends up with the evidence written all over her face...

Big Day

Last night was a big night for our family. My nephew got married and both Sydney and Daphne were flowergirls in the wedding.
As we were driving away from the reception, Sydney said "aaahh this was the funnest night ever!" and then Daphne (while starting to cry) said "it was really really pretty, mommy."

A Little Experiment

Last night, we went on a tiny adventure... You see, we were in search of pond water for these two little fellas that Sydney brought home from school the other day. Just look at their cute legs!

We had a terrible time trying to find a natural pond filled with water.

Since we're experiencing a record dry spell - 29 days with no measurable precipitation, everything seems to be so dried up.

Finally, we did find a little stream to borrow water from...

I put together a little pond in our garden today, and our two polliwogs moved into their new home this evening. It'll be lots of fun to watch the metamorphosis - the girls are so excited!

Ohhh, I really hope this experiment is a success....

Oohhh... So Hard For Me

To cut my roses! I don't know what it is, but I can barely bring myself to do it. The thing is, I totally love to bring the beauties inside. I know - weird!
The rose bush by our front door has lots of gorgeous blooms on it and I managed to cut a few this morning.

Let me tell ya, I'm so glad I did!

99 cent Ralph Lauren

A week or so ago I picked up two Ralph Lauren pillowcases while thrift store shopping. It was the rose floral print that caught my eye - big surprise, right? hehe
Last night I made these two dresses for the girls to wear to church today. I added the vintage crocheted trim to the hem, elastic across the top, and ribbon ties over the shoulder. Super quick and so easy.
Not to shabby for my 99 cent investment!

Got One - Finally!

I finally found myself a perfectly shabbied up ice bucket at a cute thrift boutique today. I just love it, and knew it would be fantastic filled with peonies! Along with pink roses, tulips, lilacs, plumeria, hydrangeas, sweetpeas, gerber daisies, star gazer lilies, hollyhocks, freesia, gardenias, and orchids they're my favorite flower. My peony plant didn't produce a single flower this year, but my neighbor has a ton in her yard - I wondered if she'd notice if I cut a few...? Actually, our neighbors are relatives of mine. It's definitely a benefit, especially when my aunt grows gorgeous peonies. hehehe I didn't have to steal 'em, 'cause Aunt Bonnie was gracious enough to share with me - whoohoo!
My new ice bucket filled with all the sweet smelling peonies makes me happy. Both were such a welcome addition in our entry hall today.

About 3 Weeks Ahead Of Normal

We've been having unbelievably fantastic weather for the past few weeks. It's been like what we usually experience in July, or even August for that matter - absolutely wonderful!!

Well, since it was like a summer day again today, I took advantage of the sun and made sun tea. I gotta say, hubby and I have been craving it, and boy did it hit the spot - mmmm mmm!

We're enjoying some of our favorite summer things, while it feels like summer.

You just never know how long it'll last around here...

Chive Flowers, Salmon, and Sunset

One of my favorite things at this time of year - chive flowers!

If you've never eaten them, you've just gotta try 'em. They taste yummy, and I love the added color they bring to a salad.
I made one of my hubby's favorite meals last night -
fresh sockeye salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Grilling salmon on a cedar plank gives the fish the most amazing flavor. I wish you could smell it grilling - it's heavenly!

Accompanying the salmon: long grain wild rice, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and my own aioli sauce. We should of bought the whole salmon filet instead of having the fish monger cut it down for us. The girls couldn't get enough - it was divine!

We dined al fresco and also late I might add, so soon after we finished dinner, the sun began to set...

and what a glorious setting sun it was - spectacular!

Loving The Red Couch

Last weekend I sold a bunch of stuff at my aunts garage sale and then, pretty much spent all my earnings on this new (well, new to us anyways) couch. I can't tell you, how excited I was to come across it while visiting the other garage sales in the neighborhood. I've been looking for a red couch for quite awhile as the loveseat in our "couch room" was desperately needing to be replaced. We just hadn't found "the one" to buy until we spotted this one. I've been slowly kind of redoing the "couch room". Someday I hope to be able to show more pics... After we got the couch in, I knew right away that I needed to do something about the ottoman, so...

I made a slipcover for it, using some of my vintage tablecloth material.

I think I'm gonna love this slipcover business - so easy to care for.

Whoohoo!

Seattle Is Having A Heat Wave

So we've been doing a whole lot of this....

Life is good!!!!