ummm....

suddenly i am uncomfortable with my theme!

i have spent the afternoon beginning to decorate for my dinner party, it's looking pretty cool (spooky). now a 70 year old woman calls and wants to drop by some donations for Operation Christmas Child! i am so concerned what she will think of me! i have not put one scary thing on my house in 25 years! ugghhh!

here is what she will walk in to. not to mention the front door that is covered in spiders and web (pic won't work because of glare).





yep, i guess you get what you ask for. i keep telling myself my theme is spooky house not haunted house...

it is what it is.

invitations

i've really wanted to do a dinner party with our group of really close friends this month. the best date we could come up happened to be Halloween. so it being the day/evening it is and i being the woman i am (a bit obsessed with tacking a theme on any occasions i can). i have chosen a theme for my dinner party and i created the invitations today.

i am not artistic at all but i am creative. after being inspired by invitations that Heidi did for her Halloween Party my juices got flowing. here are the invitations i delivered today.


a close up of one of them.


i am happy with them, they look better in real life. i think they are quite fun!


yes this is from a woman who refused to allow her children to wear anything scary for trick or treating! i suppose my love for Disneyland and one of my absolute favorite attractions being the Haunted Mansion during the Halloween/Christmas season. it's simply fantastic, i suppose it's mellowed me a bit. i am excited to try and theme my dinner party with a theme that is just a smidgen as delightful!

if you double click the image you can see them best.

x
Leila

worth the wait!

i have begrudgingly been sleeping on a mattress on the floor (that has moved from room to room depending on where we were in the process) for exactly six weeks. that Costco.com their delivery service says, "4 to 6 weeks". they hit that one on the nose!

i was more than delighted yesterday when sunshine delivery showed up with my bedroom furniture. i had forgotten what it looked like and was pleased to find it even more tasteful and pretty than i imagined.

i promptly took the rest of the afternoon off and set out to try and put our dream bedroom together. Bill's vision; sophisticated romance. mine; little to no color / soothing peaceful. it was a lot of work trying to figure out where to place things but i am pleased with the results thus far. we still have to get our art printed and up on the walls. (we are going to enlarge photos Bill took in Italy and frame them).

this picture taken without flash, hoping to get the beauty of the true color. it's a dark day here today so it's a bit hard to make out. i think the color is so soothing.


with flash...


the bed is a sleigh style, yet with a more modern feel.


cheap IKEA bedding. not exactly what i wanted but it'll do for now... the budget is blown (*v*) so IKEA to the rescue.


we attempted to extend the look and feel into the bathroom.


we can not forget Bill's new fan. he loves this thing. nightmare to hang though (that is one high ceiling!)


so Bill was right... it was good to redo our bedroom. i think it's soothing, pretty, romantic and all that. i had the best nights sleep last night that i have had in ages. not being on the floor just does me good i suppose.

thanks honey. good vision, great job! oh you designers...
i love it! (o:

changes coming...

it's been almost six weeks since my bedroom was stripped of what little glory it had.

changes have begun.

we have a new floor, new paint, a new fan. a new chair... other wise a blank slate.


not to mention an absolute mess in our bathroom and tub/storage container.


i am so weary of all of this but it is almost over!

feline and the triplets....

yes here they are. they are sweet aren't they. yep she has three of them. if you click on the pic and look at it closely you can see them all.. they sat here at least an hour watching us eat dinner... waiting... eyeing the few flowers i have managed to keep their cute little snouts off of!

we really do think they are sweet and cute and she is such a protective mother. at the same time this is the result of them. flowers chewed to shreds...

oh well!
they can't get these babies. i get a bucket each week filled with surprises from the farmers market. it was just so colorful yesterday i had to take a picture. that onion is actually much larger than a softball and that is the first red carrot i have ever seen! God's a great creator of color and beauty, isn't He! even deer (o:

a year since takeoff to Paradise

i am reminiscing today... i realized it has been a year since my blog took off! i have posted 82 times since then. when i look back at all i have been able to experience in just a year, i am blown away and thankful.

Bill set up the blog for me because my sister Renee and i did a surprise trip for her birthday, he wanted us to be able to share the time with others.

the take off was initiated at one of our favorite places in the world! i admit, i am a sucker for the magic.


after that we spent four nights on the wonderful Paradise. it was so much fun i would do it again in a heartbeat if i had the chance. she was an older ship and we had a crummy room but we had a fantastic time. it was so great, i wish i was there again, right now, sailing south for a few days.


we loved living as queens and enjoyed each others company so much. we are both obsessed with dressing up, fine dining and being on the water so cruising worked well for us! oh to be dining on lobster again....


i do not tire of gazing at the sea... i miss it. my algae ridden pond does not always do it for me here in central oregon. i love cruising so much. i admit, i have another one booked for valentines day. i know i am completely spoiled and my life is blessed beyond what i ever imagined it could be.


thanks for reading this past year and listening to my rambling. i always appreciate your comments and am thankful that you each actually take the time to be interested in our life.

i am so thankful for the Lord blessing me and allowing my life to be so rich and full. also that he gave me an adventurous spirit that desires to see this world while i am on it. it's pretty fun!

by the way. the flag is just a simple tribute to 9/11 and the freedom we are continually blessed with in our Country. thank you to those who have had to give their lives to help keep the blessing. i am grateful.

Three Italians and a Wedding

I admit I really enjoy the titles that my family members come up with for their blogs. My sisters Renee and her family are incredibly good at this on our family website, that i never post on... i have my own blog and that takes time enough. regardless... i felt the busyness/interestingness of my life lately deserved a fitting title. alas, i just can not come up with one that fits! grrr... so... it is what it is, it does have to fit, somehow!

we had the extreme pleasure of hosting a very intimate Italy reunion on friday night. i do have to say, in one way or another i enjoyed everyone that we were fortunate enough to experience Italy with. at the same time i admit, this small group plainly represents my favorite people.

the food was italian and quite yummy.


three true blue Italians attended the event (henceforth the title) somehow they all seem brothers. which IS astonishing because they are so unlike one another. (other than.. the obvious choice of stylish clothing).


we repeated our wine tasting game from a few weeks back. kinley got way to into it! (note her focus here) so much that we had to find a prize for her! it was a blast and my goodness does that young woman have a way with words!



leslie flew all the way up from SF. i wish she lived here, we are kindred hearts and enjoy one another so very much. she is such a dear new friend, just too far away... )o:


the chef of the evening (me) appreciated the thumbs up of the 'master' if he enjoys the food... one can rest easy. thank you dr. juri sbandati. i believe you are the best!


the evening was an complete success and though our group was small, we were mighty. each of us found saying goodnight tough. this is a group of hearts that came together in Florence and are most likely friends for life. what a blessing to have our 'Laura' a part of it and for her to have the opportunity to get to know our new friends on a deeper level.

the following a.m. Bill, I and Francessco were off to Astoria (yes where GOONIES was filmed, a phenomenon i do not get.... apparently my age) for Tim & Terra's wedding!

we decided to take Francessco along simply for the joy of the experience of an 'American' wedding, not to mention his OBSESSION with GOONIES (yep, Italy too! we searched for posters, the house even visited 'the beach' what on earth is it with that FLICK?) also... admittedly, Terra & I had our hopes on hooking him up with a friend of hers.

we ran into Terra in the lobby before the party... Francessco was smitten... oops, wrong girl! she did look so lovely though! wow.


Terra had her 'very simple' gown made in Paris, it was, as was she, stunning. she confessed wishing she could wear it again and again.


it was a great celebration and turned out to be a BradnNav reunion (sans Russ, which is understandable... awkward....)


Francessco admits, when he saw DeAnna he felt a BOMB go off inside (Italians.. they do not waste time with their illustrations). i am sure that is why he is avoiding eye contact here. unfortunately, wrong girl.... again...


DeAnna and DJ have been married for years and are quite the charming couple.


Ben's wife Chloe is about 2 weeks away from birth and is glowing. i think Ben has found his girl and awaiting his bambina with excited anticipation.


Terra & Tim enjoyed the entire evening fully. we were so happy we all attended to show our love.


the golden couples of BrandNav. so striking!


Terra eventually introduced Francessco to 'the girl' and he did spend a good couple hours talking with her and then was out till 3 a.m. bar hopping. he enjoyed it very much. although, the following morning.... he continued to reflect on the BOMB that he had felt evening last. oh italianos...... so romantic.

attempting to clear his head we whisked him off to 'the beach'. another goal of the weekend, to allow Francessco to see the astounding Oregon Coast before his return to Tuscany.

it was a misty morning, the fog laying on the hills offered a serene feeling that none of us wanted to leave. it was spectacular with a very tranquil awareness that we each absorbed in our own way.



the 'boys' grew in their respect for one another and the things they have in common. they are kindred hearts, so rare for males. especially here in the USA.


the time was too short. i longed in my heart of heart that it could be longer... Francessco had another 'date' and we needed to return him to Bend.

too me, this is LIFE here on earth.






really more than words can say. well other than all those above and... people, places and love.

x.