Garden Love

Tonight, as the sun started to set and the temperature became more bearable, I headed out to take a look at and some photos of the garden. I'm amazed at how much has grown in the past few days....

The watermelon plant, in all its glory.

We picked our first cucumber today. Woohoo!

The peppers are coming along quite nicely.

Beautiful basil.  Hello, Caprese.

The marigolds are so bright yellow.  I love them!

The tomatoes will be coming fast and furious soon.  I can't wait.

The zucchini blooms are about to bust out and party.

We're still loving our green bean crop.

Life is good in the garden.

Just When You Thought.....

....I'd gotten over my canned ham obsession....

Ugh, I found these.

And I have to say that I am green with envy.  If I designed, well, anything, it would look exactly like these amazing cards and giftwrap.  I mean seriously.  They are PERFECTION to me.  Of course, someone else beat me to it.  Criky.  And I feel tortured right now because the online shop is not open yet and I have no idea where to buy this line of stationery.  If someone handed me a gift with that coral colored canned ham wrap, well, you'd probably have to pick  me up off of the floor.  It's so divine....

The company is Belle and Union.  They are my new favorite.  For sure.  Biggest fan.  Right  here.

PS ~ Ever check out my Canned Ham Board on Pinterest?  Love it.

PPS ~ If you need to know the background of my obsession, read on here.

PPPS ~ These images were found via The Sweetest Occasion, one of my favorite blogs.

Where in the World is Audrey?

Well, she's in full-on party mode.  

Alain's party is only a few weeks away.  Posting may be rather sparse until it's over.  I have so much to do and so little time in which to complete all of my projects.  This was my project for today: 

My dad is hosting a yard sale on behalf of a distant family member who is moving into a senior living development.  He is too kind and allowed me to take a first look and pick things I might want to have. AND....let's just say that he doesn't have much of a yard sale left.  Still, I found these amazing pots in the above photo ~ they look like they were meant for a fiesta party.  They've been lying dormant for who knows how long just waiting for a moment like this!  Now they're shining in all their glory.  

Oh my how I do love party planning!!!

Thank you, Dad.....

PS ~ Sophie and I managed to sneak away last weekend for a quick 24 hour trip to my parents' house.  It was SO relaxing and way too quick but I did manage to snap this awesome photo of my sweet Kenzie....

This is what 39 looks like...

I found this in my email today.  A friend took it at my little birthday outing that my friend Shellie planned for me.  I never ever like pictures of myself but, for some weird reason, I like this one.  Since that's so rare, I thought I should post it....

For the record, those desserts were as good as they looked.

The wine was even better!

What could be better than a cardboard box?

Last week our neighbor had some new furniture delivered and I noticed the empty cardboard boxes lined up in their driveway afterwards.  I snuck over and asked if we could have one for the girls to enjoy.  Of course they said yes......and oh what fun it was.....

I adore this photo.....Sophie, to me, is so pretty....if only she smiled more!

Clara had a blast trying out the box.  Inspecting all the corners.  Seeing just how much she could do within the confines....

....and she was slightly dissappointed to find that she couldn't stand all the way up while inside.  I love that we caught this shot. It makes me smile....

*** Sophie was not at all happy when she saw the box broken down and laying by the garbage pickup a few days later.  I think Daddy got a little attitude from her after. ***

Mother's Day Fun

For Mother's Day, I decided to make a tiny little something for my two good friends, Nathalie & Elizabeth.  I put together this little bucket with goodies from Target....

Since we were a little short on time and Baby Clara was in the car (and we all know she gets fussy after a few minutes in the car!), we decided to do surprise drops. I offered for Soph to put the bucket by the front door, ring the bell and run back to the car.  She loved it.  As did we.  The bouncing curls, the giggles and seeing Sophie experience the thrill of possibly being caught was irresistible fun. I managed to catch her in motion.....

I hope everyone had a lovely, wonderful Mother's Day.  I know I did.  My family spoiled me with their love and attention. And we look forward to a little visit with Grandma next weekend!

Catching Up

~ Whose idea was it to put Teachers' Appreciation Week, Mother's Day, my anniversary, voting day (for the record, I voted against Amendment One and was saddened to hear that the other side won) and the last soccer game all in the same week?  Whew.

~ With regard to Clara' hair, things were getting a little out-of-hand.  See below.

I finally decided that drastic measures were necessary. 

So we popped Clara into the taxi....

....and this lady got to work.

Clara's little baby curl laying on the floor.

"Hey, is this the cash cab???"

And, just like that, we have a newly coiffed baby girl.  

~ On Sunday, Sophie accidentally hit Hubbell in the eye with a tennis ball.  He screamed out in pain for what seemed like a very long time. After a couple of doctor's appointments, we finally discovered that Hubbell has Glaucoma in his right eye.....he has had Glaucoma for a long time.  In fact, he's completely blind in his right eye and probably has been for several years. Wow.  I've learned that this is not uncommon. Glaucoma is typically diagnosed in very advanced stages.  I'm quite disappointed in my normal vet for not seeing this earlier ~ isn't that what annual appointments are for?  The specialist let me see Hubbell's eye with his special light and the damage is extensive.  Sophie was relieved that she hadn't been the one to cause all of his troubles.  And I actually felt relieved for her accidental aim so that he could be diagnosed and we can start to help him. Since he's already blind, our main mission now is to keep the pressure down so that he is comfortable.The pressure in his right eye is four times the normal pressure.  We're starting his medications tonight and we have a follow-up appointment in two months.  Please keep your fingers crossed that the meds help him. If things continue to get worse, he will lose his eye.  Honestly, I am broken-hearted that he's been in pain and uncomfortable for some time. On the other hand, I am so relieved that it's nothing more serious.  I would be crushed if he had a life-threatening disease. I've been around many one-eyed dogs in my lifetime and I know that dogs are super-adaptable.  Vision is only their third strongest sense.  So I got this. I seriously do. I'm all over it.  As if he wasn't spoiled enough already, I can tell already in the last few hours that he will be even more spoiled.  I'm already looking for ways that I can help him knowing that he's half blind.  The precious little soul.

~ After almost a full 24 hours of rain, I am so excited that I haven't had to water my garden in two days.  I fully expect for it to look like a jungle the next time I go out there.

~ We put our window bird feeder right on the window near Atticus & Scout's cage. They get so excited when they see the outside birds approaching the feeder for a snack.  It's nice to watch and listen to them sing.

~ Recently I took Sophie to get her hair braided for the first time (I never have time to do it myself).  We both loved it and I thought she looked ADORABLE.

The "Before Shot"

~ I wanted to share my new favorite photo:

"Sisters, sisters...there were never such devoted sisters...."

~ Busy, busy, busy......

Garden Love on a Friday

The daylilies are in bloom and they are really gorgeous.

Anyone remember the flower garden I planted last year when I was hugely pregnant?

It is so,so,so gorgeous ~ I love all of the colors!

The coreopsis just bloomed mid-week. Love them!

I've been madly in love with the colors of one of our Swiss Chard plants. This photo does not do justice to how vibrant these colors are in person.

Sophie's Zinnia plant. For whatever reason, the colors on this plant are not that vibrant but it's still very nice.

One of my favorite things about gardening is cucumber tendrils. I love how they search around for something on which to latch.

At Sophie's request, we planted many more flowers amongst the veggies this year.  Good call on her part! I am loving them. So are the bugs!

This is my first year attempting watermelons. Kind of loving the cool leaves on the plant.  Fun shape!

One day Sophie brought home a bunch of green bean seeds from school. She went out and planted them in the garden with no instruction(s) and without even asking.  Well, the beans are plentiful right now. I'm so proud of my girl.

Sophie's impatiens plant on the sill of her playhouse.

We are so lucky to have this ridiculously awesome full moon tonight!

It's a JEEP Thing...

This was a big moment in our house.

My parents gave the Jeep to Sophie for her 3rd Birthday.  I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the idea when my Mom first asked about it.  I was hesitant but she persisted. As you can see, she won. (smile)

Once Sophie learned to drive it on her own, I became a big fan and quickly.  

Sophie LOVES driving it around and watching her brings many a smile to my face.  

A few friends have mentioned that the Jeep doesn't seem like something I would allow my child to have.  I can understand why they say that.  But it's definitely built up Soph's confidence over the years.  I would say it's one of her top three favorite toys. On occasions when Sophie doesn't want to play outside, we'll offer to take the Jeep out and she's out the back door in a flash!

I guess it's a Jeep thing.

Watching Clara go for her first Jeep ride and seeing Sophie's pride was very heart-warming.

The best part?  Grandma was there to see it happen.  Thanks, Mom! 

I look forward to many more years of this....