Today, December 17, 2009, was beautiful.... A bright sunny day, temps in the mid 60's, great day for running around doing errands in preparation of Christmas. Thought I'd post a photo of my back yard showing the difference between today and December 17, 2008.

Today


and last year

10 Years Later….Another Summer of Love

1969 was a pivotal year for an entire generation and as you know, if you read my last post, the year my sister got married.

1979 also had its share of noteworthy news:

Mister Ed, the talking horse, died

The Susan B Anthony dollar was issued

It snowed in the Sahara Desert for 30 minutes

Michael Jackson released his first break through album “Off the Wall”

“For Better or Worse” comic strip debuted

McDonald’s introduced Happy Meals

And, in my family, it was another Summer of Love as we planned my September 7^th wedding.

Happy 30^th Anniversary, Dear Husband, it’s been a great ride.

Summer of Love

1969 --- What a year….

America elected Richard Nixon to become its 37^th President and Dwight D. Eisenhower, our 35^th President died.

Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon

Boeing 747 made its maiden flight

The Godfather was published

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was the hit movie

Sesame Street premiered on TV

The Beatles released Abbey Road and also gave their last public performance

John Lennon and Yoko Ono conducted their “Bed-In”

And Woodstock became the ultimate music festival

In my family, it truly was the Summer of Love…we were planning my sister’s September 5th wedding. I felt privileged that she asked me, her kid sister, to be her Maid of Honor.

Dear Sis and Brother-in-law, Happy 40^th Anniversary.

Your relationship and marriage have been an inspiration to me.

Live Writer

Just testing to see how using Windows Live Writer will work.

Adding the picture of the Bali Lantern was easy….a lot faster than using blogspot

So far the mechanics of it are easy….Now to see what it looks like when it posts.

Pink Trillium

Saw this trillium design in Diane Fitzgerald's new book Shaped Beadwork and just had to try it. It is my first attempt at a dimensional bead project. I like the results.

A Bumble Bee for Brittany

Beaded this Bumble Bee as a mirror hanger for a friend that drives a bright yellow VW Bug with a black convertible top. Hope she likes it.

Cupcakes Galore

Recently we were invited to a wedding (see blog below) and I started thinking about a wedding gift. Since it was to be mailed, a card with a check or a gift card seemed the way to go. And, then my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check out their Gift Registry. Several items related to cupcakes caught my eye.

Cupcakes…mmm?

Maybe they like Cupcakes???

Maybe I’ll do a theme gift….????

Well, one thought led to another and soon I forgot about the gift card and was going to store after store shopping for cupcake items.

Ended up with silicone cupcake liners (her request was for a pack of 12), she now has 12 traditional, 12 hearts and 24 minis along with an array of sparkling sugars, a six-pack of sprinkles, confetti, flowers, a special cupcake frosting spatula that makes the job easier (according to a self-proclaimed cupcake aficionado that I know) as well as a great cookbook by Susannah Blake titled Cupcake Heaven. I was in Heaven just looking at the photographs…each recipe has a full page photo…Yummm.



Okay, I know, this is pretty standard stuff, so I added a couple “Cup-A-Cake” containers…each one holds one cupcake in a such way that you can “travel” with it and it stays intact. Great if the bride is planning on packing a lunch for hubby (and one for herself, of course.)


Maybe she’ll want to put a little note in his lunchbox, so I included a set of six Cupcake note cards.

Also, planned to include a famous California “Cupcakery’s” Cupcake Mix Kit that came highly recommended until I read the directions. Three sticks of butter for 12 cupcakes!!!!! I’m assuming the bride wants to keep hubby around for awhile so returned the Kit. They should rename these cupcakes-- Coronary Cupcakes!!!

Noticed they wanted a cookie sheet or two. Well, those don’t fit in an extra-large flat rate mailing box so passed on the pans and ended up with a set of Edge-of-the-Cup Cookie Cutters and a cookie/cupcake scoop...this one recommended by a recent grad of the local Culinary School with her certificate in Baking.

Cupcakes are a Fun Food

a Happy Food

and

not just for kids anymore….

They are for the Young- at-Heart !!

And, yes, everything did fit into the flat rate box.

Hope the Happy Couple enjoys this gift

as much as I did putting it together !!

Wedding Wishes

Congratulations to

Watts and Kara

on your Wedding Day

May 30, 2009

WISH YOU ALL THE BEST

AND A

WONDERFUL LIFE TOGETHER

Thank you for visiting

Hi

Want to thank everyone who stopped by to help make my first Blog Party a success.

Sounds like everyone had a good time....

Enjoyed your comments as well as the e-mails. Have no idea why sometimes the comments won't post, very frustrating.

Thought I'd share some that were sent to my e-mail address:

Jann:

You put a lot of work into your Cinco de Mayo feast. Your glassware is wonderful. You made my mouth water for your LV feast with all the wonderful food– yum.

Diane:

Cool party! Got there early and tried to leave a comment but it wouldn't take for some reason. Nice to see Dee and those strawberries look delish. Got the recipe? I'll check back on the party later today as I'm in Marblehead now and it will take awhile to get there! CHEERS,

The idea for the stuffed strawberries came from Paint Diva...she mentioned them on her blog. She mixes strawberry frosting with cream cheese and then stuffs them using a pastry bag with a star tip. Since I'm more into chocolate, tried making them with the Hot Fudge...next time I'll add a little dollop of whipped cream on top and maybe some chopped nuts.

Aunt Pat:

What a bon idée. Thank you for your kind words and I had a wonderful time at your party.

Sue:

Nice blog. You are spending lots of energy on that.

Mary:

What a hoot. I enjoyed the party and tried to leave a comment but for some reason it was not going through. That was very clever. Beth liked it too. I enjoyed reading all the comments.

Jo:

This is too cute

Svein: The "moonshine" you referred to is: Patron Cafe...Coffee-flavored Tequila.
Unbelievably smooth.

Becca: Missed you at work today...hope you are feeling ok.

MaryJo: Nice to meet you. Good luck with the kitchen counters.

Again, thanks to all of you for visiting.

Shell

Let's Celebrate....Cinco de Mayo

Hi

Please come in.

Mingle with the guests...

Introduce yourself, we have visitors coming from:

Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshipe, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin as well as our international friends from Guam, Italy and Norway

Hope you enjoy the Margaritas, Salsa and Chips:

Did you notice the festive glassware?

A gift from my beloved Aunt Pat.
Handpainted by Nancy Fiala of Fiala Design Works

Feel free to wander around my blog while I finish fixing dinner:

Please savor the Chili and Caesar's Salad

Anyone for dessert?

Instead of the traditional Flan,

I made hot fudge stuffed strawberries...Yum...

or, maybe you would prefer a little "coffee" drink?

Thanks for stopping by,

Hope you enjoyed the party.

Please feel free to leave a comment.

No Peeking, Blog Party Under Construction

Please return on Tuesday for the Cinco de Mayo Party

Cherry Blossoms Bring Cherries !!!

The cherries taste as good as they look.

Mr. and Mrs. Catz (again)

This time they're using the Jacuzzi as their watering hole.

April Flowers

Had a little visitor today.....

This looks like a visitor from????

Thank You Gift

Today I received a thank you gift from the sister of a good friend~~~~Cookies

Cranberrry Nut Biscotti

and Pizelles

Okay, I know the rules of etiquette, I must first thank the sister for the cookies before trying them... but, remember these are a thank you gift for something I did, so maybe the rules can be stretched a little? As you can see, I HAVE to sample these cookies ASAP. So, I took the photos and had one of each...and yes, they are as delicious as they look and am now posting a worldwide THANK YOU, BETH.

Saturday Night Dinner

We had a casual and easy dinner tonight: salad and a Boboli with the works: Smoked salmon, Brie cheese, red onions, baby spinach, tomatoes and capers...Yum...

Springtime and the living is easy

Cherry Blossoms

Our Cherry Trees blossomed this week.

Mr. Catz

Guess I should have stayed in bed.

Mr. & Mrs. Catz

Seemed like our bed was getting some daytime use....
Caught the culprits... Mr. & Mrs. Catz

Spring has arrived!!!

Getting Organized

Found a great deal on "photo" boxes recently. It is so nice to open the closet and have everything in order. By having 5 boxes per shelf, I can access any box by moving one box sideways, at most.