My Winter Garden

A post Christmas walk with Holly around the my garden and neighborhood brought us a a bounty of fresh blooms for a wintertime arrangement.  The persistent rain and hectic holiday schedule has kept me from the garden but the flowers are still blooming and we have red bell peppers, beets, carrots and green tomatoes on the plants.  It really is one of the wonderful things about living in Southern California.

Italian days

I am luxuriating in quiet time today and going through my Picasa albums. Paul & I went to Italy a few years back, just the two of us for my birthday and a second honeymoon. Fourteen exquisite days without the girls, then two and five. We met friends in Tuscany and stayed at our own private villa with a pool and vineyard. We ate pecorino fresco, fresh mascarpone cheese and fresh picked grapes every morning. Winding our way north, we traveled the beautiful Italian autostrata through Bologna, Padua and eventually Venice. My birthday celebration in Venice was at the Restaurant Alla Madonna with a charming Italian waiter who plied us with prosecco and praises. Our final destination was Florence where we stayed in an apartment overlooking the Piaza della Signoria and the Caffe Rivoire. Florence is one of my favorite cities with its sophisticated shopping and Tuscan warmth. A beautiful community production of Rossini's Barber of Seville made us weep with awe on our final night.

It was a memorable trip.  A trip everyone should indulge in at least once in a lifetime

Joyeux Noel

Last minute elf duties kept me up most of the night, so when Sophie & Holly came busting into our bed at 6:30 this morning, it felt like a big mack truck careening into the room. We had a nice sixty seconds snuggle before the girls tore into their presents from an overly generous Santa. The excitement of Christmas morning sapped most of my energy by nine o'clock. When Paul announced that he was tackling his Buche de Noel today, I was a little stunned. What? ~! That's a project that takes professional bakers a few days to finish. It always falls upon me to be sous-chef but today I am opting out. I fell into a coma just thinking about the project.

Thank goodness the DS games kept my girls occupied for urr..... all day. When I emerged from my coma this afternoon, Paul had most of his project wrapped up and only required me to taste and help assemble. I can't believe I am married to this man!

P.S. It's delicious, 'shrooms and all.

Merry, Merry

It's been four years since we sent out a Christmas card and every year it seems harder to get our family to spend a few hours posing for a picture. My friend Deanna sent us a Christmas card that was like a catalog of good living. It was a collage of their family pictures throughout the year, lovely!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Merry Christmas to all.

Craft Fair

Every spring and fall our little nursery school has a craft fair. Last spring I made some clothes from my stash of silks and designer fabric that was threatening to take over my "studio". The fabrics were collected through the course of 5-6 years since I found out my first born was going to be a GIRL! I was going to dress her like a princess, wearing silks and gorgeous flouncy skirts that any girl would love. It turns out she preferred wearing knight's armour and Spider Man costumes. Such is life. So I threw my creative energy into dressing up an imaginary princess. The clothes were very well received at the craft fair and I started pondering the notion of a small children's line.

The nursery school had another craft fair yesterday. I sold my upcycled sweater and silk skirt to this gorgeous couple. It was a lovely way to validate my efforts. Thanks Vanessa & Cameron!

P.S. He plays Ryan Lavery on the ABC soap opera "All my Children"