The most important things in life aren't things! Faith*Family*Friends

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

And The Heat Goes On!

Summer is still in full swing in North Texas. Which is normal for August, but by now, even people like me who love summer and lazy days in the pool are ready for crisp fall air and football. I want to sit on my patio and read a book and be comfortable! The weather forecast says this might be our last 100 degree day.  I'll believe it when I see it! And that's really not so encouraging when the 10 day forecast is all highs in the 90s and lows in the upper 70s.  I'd love to wake up to a morning in the 60s. I know it's coming soon.

I'm finally ready to give up my summer pedicure and sandals in favor of sweatshirts and boots. September and October are great months here because I can still wear sandals and a light sweater but I don't get damp the second I walk out the door.  I'd also love it if it was not 140 500 degrees inside my car when I leave work at the end of the day.


Found a similar idea on Pinterest and copied it, love!
Check out more toe pics here and here, it's a recurring theme.
I'm not quite ready to give up the beach themed decor around the house, it can stay for a few more weeks.




Fall this year is going to be extra special because we have another grand girl coming in October! This means I'm making another baby quilt.  I made two last year for my first two grand girls, you can see them here and here.

I don't want to give too much away, but here's a sneak peak of the purple puppy.



I love french knots! I know that's probably weird, but
they are my favorite embroidery stitch.
It's probably weird to have a favorite embroidery stitch.

This quilt is so colorful!
I think it is going to be one of my favorites.

I've got to get busy this week and over the holiday weekend because I plan to give the quilt to my daughter-in-law at her shower on September 7th.  And as odd as it seems, September is almost here!

Much love and laughter,


Laura


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Friday, August 22, 2014

California Adventure - Old Sacramento

Greetings from Old Sacramento! 

And welcome to the second day of our northern California vacation.  On Friday, my cousin, Val, arranged for us to take the underground tour of Old Sacramento and learn the history of how the city was raised to prevent flooding. Sacramento was the first city on the West Coast - and the only one in California - to raise its street level.  This began in the 1860s and took many years to complete.

The area designated at "Old Sacramento" sits right on the bank of the Sacramento River.


I found this courtyard with the remains of the ground floor of an old building very interesting. It was below street level at the original level of the street.


These beautiful columns were once on the inside of a building.


I made my family stand next to this column, it is cast from metal and has gorgeous detailing top to bottom. I didn't want all my pictures to just be architectural features, I had to include some family members!


My baby girl, Colleen, my cousins and I had a lot of fun in the gift shops and candy stores.  We didn't buy a lot, but we took some fun photos.


Val claims I forced her to do this, she is worried the family would blame her, but it's not my fault! I only handed her the sign and took the picture.




Colleen is a big Dr. Who fan and she found a lot of fun things to pose with in Old Sac.



We loved Evangeline's Costume Mansion and spent a long time looking at all the costumes and getting ideas for the next costume party we will attend. Those masks on the bottom are covered with rhinestones.



Colleen made a new friend!



After some shopping, we headed over to the river front for a nice lunch. (My biggest purchase was a large bag of saltwater taffy)  We had lunch on the patio of the Rio City Cafe. It is right on the river and the food was delicious.  I didn't take any pictures during lunch this time.

Then we walked and looked some more before stopping in an ice cream shop for a cold creamy treat.  A good time was had by all.  Some history, some shopping, some looking around, some food, some candy, some ice cream all shared with family.  What more could you ask for?



If you love historic areas, shopping, good food and salt water taffy be sure to visit Old Sacramento next time you are in northern California. Happy Friday, have a relaxing, blessed weekend!

Much love and laughter,

Laura


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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

California Adventure - Lake Tahoe

For months I was SO excited about our California vacation, then it came AND WENT in a flash! One reason for my excitement was that it would give me something wonderful to share here on my blog. I LOVE traveling and family. I knew pictures would tell our story without boring everyone to tears.  Now, I must remember that even though it is over, we made a lot of wonderful memories and I have photo evidence to support that claim.

I came home with over 1200 pictures and I had to reduce them to a good representation of the trip's awesomeness for a photo book I created on shutterfly.com. It is the longest photo book I've ever created. Thank goodness for coupons! I've shared before about making our photo books for special occasions, if you missed it you can find the post here




We were in California for 10 days and saw new and interesting things every day. I'll break up the posts so you can enjoy the trip.

This trip was epic because it was a "Congratulations on your Graduation" trip for my baby girl.  She had just graduated from beauty college and when we returned she passed her state licensing exam on the first try. applause  She already had a job lined up, so she went right into training and is now working full time for the first time EVER!  She took a few selfies along the way.  Here's one that includes me that I'm not embarrassed to share.



We arrived in the Sacramento area where my aunt, uncle, and cousins live in time for dinner on Wednesday.  We picked up our Mustang convertible (for cruising the PCH) and drove straight to my aunt and uncle's house where we were joined by my cousins with kids, grandkids and dogs in tow. My aunt was anxious to prepare her delicious Filipino cuisine for us and we were even more anxious to eat her wonderful home cooked meal. It was a great start to a wonderful trip, family and food! We had 15 for dinner that night, we were only missing a couple family members from that area.

On Thursday morning, we headed to Lake Tahoe for lunch and sailing. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited and I couldn't wait to get there.  The morning started with cool wet weather in the mountains so my clothing schedule was shuffled from day one because based on the forecast I needed to wear long pants, a t-shirt and a sweater.  Yes, I planned my clothes for each day.  No, it did not work out.

As usual, on our trips to visit family not everyone can go on all our outings but we had a good turn out on this day that included three generations.



We arrived for lunch at The Beacon Restaurant at Camp Richardson and even though the weather was clearing it was too cool and breezy to eat on the deck. That was a little disappointing but it was still fun, the windows are large and the views amazing.  I ordered fish tacos and they were delicious!


After lunch we walked out onto the pier and all around the historic buildings to the north of the restaurant.  I can just imagine the families gathered here decades ago enjoying their summers in grand style!  There were separate buildings behind this grand home for the cooks, groundskeepers, nannies, laundry, etc. There was even a separate building for the children's play room. Must have been a rough life summering here with all that staff to do the work!



I loved the view from the deep porch and would have been happy to sit here and rock for a while.




The porch of the children's recreation room had a lovely view as well.


Next, we drove to Zephyr Cove to board our sailboat.  I sailed with my siblings and cousins on the lake the last time I visited Lake Tahoe, but SuperDave and my baby girl weren't with me so I was excited for them to get out onto the water.



Due to windy conditions they weren't able to raise the sails and the weather was chilly! But we motored along the shoreline and spent some time below deck where there were also big windows to enjoy the view without the cold wind.  The mountain weather was beautiful, lovely, enjoyable (not hot). This was a real treat for for southern folks in June. No complaints here, only smiles!



My daughter is a gal after my own heart, it was her favorite place we visited on our entire trip.




We spent such a long time in the mountains that we stopped and ate again on the way back to my cousin's house. She and her husband were the best hosts and I'll share some pictures from their lovely home on another post.

Much love and laughter,


Laura


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