Bumper Crop

Our tomatoes have been going nuts

ripening faster than we can eat them!

This is "cinchy salsa" meaning I threw everything but the tomatoes 

into the food processor.

(boy, that cuts the chopping time down!)

It was delicious!!!

Please excuse the very wrinkly table cloth!!! 

There are a bajillion ways to make salsa...

do you have a favorite recipe?

Anyone take time to roast the ingredients?

I've never tried roasting first... maybe next time! :D

Welcome to Monday!!

xx

All Out on a Thursday Night

Not normally... but hey?!

We went to The Juke Joint last night to watch 

Pat Todd

and The Woggles! 

These guys have more energy that I've seen in a long time!

Even my hubby who does NOT dance was jumping all over the place! 

We both were.. along with our friends! 

It was a great show!!!

"Mighty Manfred"

Flower Pin Tutorial

My girls are going to be flower girls in my dear friend Rose's wedding.

Fortunately, their dresses still fit from my brother's wedding last year!

Unfortunately... the flowers started dying-

that's right, silk flowers kicking the bucket!

I couldn't find white ones again (in my quick search)

so went with a creamy-pinky kind of color.

Step 1:

Buy some cool looking silk flowers and safety catch pins from a craft store 

such as Michael's or JoAnns

Step 2:

Snip off the flowers

Step 3:

Bust out that ol' hot glue gun

(side note- glue guns always crack me up because my hubby

does a pretty mean impression of Chirstopher Lowell with his hot glue gun)

Step 4: 

Make a small straight line with the glue gun directly on the silk flower

where you want the pin to stick.

Stick the pin on and hold til glue sets up.

Step 5:

Stand back and marvel at the transformation!!!

You could SO use these flowers for other decorating...

like headbands, jackets, sweaters... put em in your hair or on a hat :D

The possibilities are endless!

Wa La!!!

Simple fix :D

Heading Up the 38

Here's some mountain music for ya!

I sure do love Steve Martin!!!

We went for an "impromptu" camping trip

Saturday to Sunday.

Packed up the tent trailer, kids, dogs, and my hubby and I set out!

We checked out a few spots up near Big Bear

and settled in at Heart Bar Campground!

A fantastic choice! 

I have literally never seen a mountain area like this with a huge meadow below.

Sadly, I thought of Bambi (the Disney cartoon)

C'mon people... I have little kids) hehe

There's a line that cracks me up 

Bambi's dad is trying to make him get up and run from the forrest fire.

He says, "GET UP, Bambi. You must get up!!!"

But the tone of his voice is hilarious!

Ok, yes. I'm crazy! 

Taking a little nature hike

and collecting firewood :D

Crafting time in the woods.

I couldn't pass up these gorgeous yellow wild flowers!

Last stop was the river to cool off. 

The dogs took a little swim

(you can see Molly in the background swimming)

The girls hopped right in too :D 

That was a great mini get away!

Helooooo Kitty!

My little one went to a Hello Kitty birthday party.

I thought it'd be fun if she were dressed for the theme

so I whipped up these little hair clips. 

I'm considering making some of these for 

my Etsy shop :D

"E" is for Elsa

Any of you crafty gals working on something fun?

xx,

Nicky

Longing for some weather

Make your own animation

I got a chance to wear this camping in Big Bear over the weekend :)

Next post will be the camping shots!!

Happy Monday!

Stormy

Yesterday was terribly gray and quite misty!

I LOVED IT!!!

I'm a huge fan of sunny weather, something about it makes me happy, ya know?

But every once in a while a little cold snap comes your way and you gotta just embrace it. 

Sheesh.. it wasn't even cold, just drizzly!
(hence, the bare legs!)

Sweater, dress, and leopard print ballerina flats all from Target

Belt from an estate sale (one of my FAVS)

Do you favor cloudless skies or stormy ones?

Santa Barbara? Yes, please.

Our friends Mike and Ashley
invited us out for a stay at their gorgeous winery
in Santa Ynez for the weekend. 
No kidlets, just the grown ups :)

The chateau above the winery is were we all stayed.

All the building materials were imported From France.

The enormous timbers came from an old perfume factory in France that had shut down because of a fire.

The stair way up to our room

I enjoyed our tub with some music, a candle, and the windows open for a

breeze that couldn't have been a more perfect temperature!

In the bell tower :)

This was a fun stop indeed!

We jumped in and froze but had a great time

Not a big fan of the mossy rocks sliding against my skin though- eeeehhh.






After hiking and swimming we headed back for a dinner
on the patio with a raging fire!
Poor Anne and Ruben were both down with a stomach bug this night! :(

This is where Mike and Ashley were married 5 years ago!

Happy Anniversary guys... almost!
They bring tables out front here to do wine tasting
and open these doors up that lead to the next picture!

Taking a tour around the property with Ashley and Anne while sipping some wine!

Perfect afternoon! 

(You can click on Anne's name to see more pictures)

Here's our whole weekend crew

on another adventure to a waterfall.

I think I'm very ready to move :)

Save us some room Mike and Ashley!!!