Color Chic

She's Moving...

I was introduced to Chris when Amber's preschool teacher thought we could possibly carpool; after all we lived just a few blocks apart. It wasn't long and we were sharing coffee after dropping the girls off at school or after picking them up. I was introduced to her group of friends who's girls also went to Little Red Schoolhouse; and now I have life long friends. These woman are all awesome and I have great memories. Oh the stories I could tell... Now Chris has decided it's time to leave the rain in the Pacific NW for sunshine in California!

I tried to talk her out of it, after all I will miss her terribly! But with her girls scattered around the states and no longer here, she decided it was time to move closer to the grandkids. Not that I blame her, after all I'm fortunate to live close to both my children.

Of course I can visit her and she will be up here time to time; but I like having my close friends close... and I don't really like change all that well.

So here's to Chris... an amazing, fun, crazy, always there for you, friend! I'm going to miss you lots!  Now I need to clean up all the tissue I went through thinking about all the fun times we had!

Time with Tuesday... Recap....

While Amber and BJ vacationed in Cabo, Miss Tuesday stayed with us! The adventure started with dance class Thursday morning...

Her Mama wondered why she was wearing underwear... well because she wanted too! It must have been the right thing that morning because she lined up and went right in to the surprise of moms waiting outside the classroom.

Later we headed to Pence NW & Ribbon Jar...

I tried to persuad her to have a little healthier donut, but she wanted the chocolate one; who wouldn't. Next it was on to Great Grandma's house. She danced, she played, she went out for lunch, she had an almond soy steamer and was exhausted at the end of the day!

The next evening it was off in the Airstream to Champoeg Park! There was lots of eating, reading and playing.

Her most favorite activity was playing in the sink... I mean washing her baby!

On Saturday we headed to the Wings and Waves Waterpark in McMinnville.

I really wish I had more photos but there really wasn't much opportunity. We were busy having fun! We waited and watched for Grandpa and Grandma to come down the slides, we tried to stay out of the water... Everyone was splashing! She was tricked into the wave pool when it was still; she just saw people sitting there on tubes and it looked harmless enough... I still think she had fun ; )! The area she liked the best was the hands on H20 Museum. And just look at that smile... I would definitely say she had a great time!

The plant walk was so much fun! Grandpa helped her cross a log, she found lots of treasures and was ready for a hearty breakfast of pancakes when she was done.

 We had such a fabulous, exhausting time! I'm glad I had my children when I did so I still have enough energy to keep up with her : )!

 

A Thank You & Flowers...

Green Thumb a florist in town called today to make sure I would be in when they made a delivery... Who would be sending me flowers? It's not our anniversary, not quite Valentines and my Honey has nothing to make up for ; )! And aren't they beautiful...

Plus Chocolate! How thoughtful and totally unexpected! These beautiful flowers are from a woman whose wallet I found while driving to work. She had accidently left it on the top of the car before taking off and I just happened to be behind her.  Luckily traffic was light and I was able to pick it up, find her number and return to her.  She had just the smallest slip of paper with her name and number and although I felt awkward going through the items I picked up, I knew she would need her wallet back. 

Do you have contact information in your wallet should it get lost?  I do now!

Thank you for these lovely floweres! They brightened my day!

Red Paprika...... A find for all things Hungarian!

Today I'd like to do a little shout out for The Red Paprika

Before making our way to Yosemite we made a stop in Healdsburg, 250 miles NW of our destination.  Healdsburg is one of California's Wine Capitols; filled with great food, wine, shops & fun. One shop that intrigued us was the Red Paprika!  A shop filled with the finest Hungarian ingredients. Since my Grandmother was Hungarian I'm often curious about the cuisine.  The shop owner was delightful, sharing stories of his mother who recently moved to the states and cooked for neighbors and showing us a cookbook filled with favorite recipes; most of which looked as though they could have been cooked by my Grandmother.  Needless to say we left with a bag filled with wonderful paprika's and pasta's.

When I got home and went through my receipts I realized I had not been charged the full amount (I know, I know I should check this before I sign the receipt)! When I called to let the owner know he said "Oh don't worry about it, it was my mistake! Just visit us again!"

Well it may be awhile before we get back to Healdburg, but I will definitely visit The Red Paprika site.  He said he doesn't have all his product listed, so if you have a specific ingredient you're looking for just give him a call.

This is a great resource for all things Hungarian!

Inspired...

It's a bit after 8AM and I really should head into Ribbon Jar; it's always a busy day after Newsletter release! But after reading Life in Color I knew I had to get a few domestic chores done! First let me just say no I did not can 150 jars of produce... but I did head out to my garden where I found a bit of spinach, an onion and a few tomatoes hanging on the vine:

Now these are not the most beautiful tomatoes you've ever seen, but they are perfect for making soup!

Although Amber will be enjoying the fruits & vegetables throughout the winter, we will enjoy this hearty soup this evening. Perhaps I should start some bread to go with this! Now that would make me an over achiever and my customers would rather get their Jars & Ribbon Packs sooner than later.

For those of you hoping to get a Halloween themed Special Collection Jar they have already sold out.  We do have a few Halloween Ribbon Packs in stock.  I will get more jars up by the end of the week!

I hope you are inspired to accomplish a lot of fun projects today!

Hiking South Sister...

There are those athletic, adventuresome types that wouldn't think hiking South Sister was a big deal. But for someone like myself who was always the last to be chosen for the team in grade shool, rides a comfy girls bike and still swims with sunglasses; Hiking South Sister was quite an accomplishment! It was a hike we actually trained for.

My honey and I hiked into Moraine Lake the day before so we could get an early start the next morning! And yes I had my own backpack!

He takes great care to make sure our needs are met, bringing comfortable chairs to sit and sip wine as well as a warm place to sleep. I was in charge of dinner and made an excellent curry with freshly dried kale (Thanks for the CSA box Amber) and sun-dried tomatoes.

After a fabulous night sleeping in a tent with wind howling and blowing against the tent giving me a soft massage all night,  we woke up early and were on the trail by 6:30. It would be a long strenuous day!

The views along the trail in the early morning were spectacular.  I carried my little Canon elph and took a few photos when we stopped to rest. The trip was more about hiking and less about photography. The really great photos in this post were taken by my personal photographer; one who is in great physical shape and has plenty of time to take photos while I'm trying to make my way up the mountain.

We were not the only ones heading up, there would be a steady stream all day. It was wonderful to see so many enjoying the beautiful outdoors!

As we made the last push to the top our friends would catch up and we would make it to the top together to enjoy a spectacular view.

We spent about an hour and half on top. Bill making a cup of hot coffee for us to enjoy, Katie trying to text her sister, friends enjoying each others company, while a young girl rested after the grueling hike!

I love hiking with this guy...

Fun times...

I made it to the top!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be sharing this at:

Dear Little Red House

A Southern Day Dreamer

Spending the night...

When Miss Tuesday spends the night at Grandma and Grandpa's her bed is just a cozy little spot in the corner of our room with a pad and comfortable blankets to sleep on.  She might wimper a bit for Mama  but it never lasts more than a couple of minutes.  She'll come up to our bed and want to snuggle in but quickly returns to her own comfy spot. Before she falls asleep I hear her checking out her books, clothing, doll etc. how she sees in the dark I will never know. But when I wake and she's all snuggled in I can tell she's keeping warm and is sleeping well.

Yes, she's under there! That's her sweet little hand in the upper right corner! She's sleeping in as I enjoy a little blog time and a cup of coffee!

Guest Post @ New Nostalgia!

You can find me over at Amy's New Nostalgia today! She was looking for guests to keep her blog going while she heals, thanks for considering me. The post "Oatmeal Fully Loaded" was one I posted a while back... but still enjoy the comfort this meal brings! 

Amy you are such an inspiration... Thanks!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! It's going to be another year of adventure and I need to set some goals and get myself organized.  So I'm taking my daughters lead and signing off for a couple of weeks to do just that.    If you've been reading my blog you know I've got some exciting things ahead for this year and typically I like to jump right in and get things started but this time I'm going to "read the directions" so to speak...

Off to find a Color.....

and a bit of inspiration with a  "New Years Hike"...

 

Summer Days filled with...

It's hard to believe how fast the warm days of summer fly by...

They are spent hanging out with a Grandchild:

Tending a garden:

Baking bread... and following directions because my daughter says I have too:

Designing & Cabinet install for a Pence NW project:

 

Hiking with my honey when we get the chance:

And from time to time I stop by to see a beautiful new baby, Sean...  

Time flies.....