Tourist in My Town

Even though I live just 20 minutes south of the City now,

I still feel like San Francisco is my town.

With our French exchange student here,

we've been playing tourist!

Lots of fun, and of course, lots of fog!!

I had some fun in Photoshop this morning!

Here are some shots from one of our days touring.

This city sure has some amazing views!

Enjoy!

La Tour Eiffel

No, I haven't really been on vacation... even though my blog has been quiet for a week... I've been a busy bee getting ready for our French friend's son to arrive! He arrived last night, and in his honor, I thought I'd write a post about the icon of all French icons, the Eiffel Tower.

As I toured around my house, I must admit, I found many Eiffel Tower mementos here and there. Here are just a few I thought I'd share!

At the top is the classic vintage postcard of the Eiffel Tower. I picked this up at a flea market in the south of France. It's just one of those "staples" or must-haves in the ephemera department.

Another postcard-- I love the acrobats and "circus-feel" to it.

Here's my ticket stub from riding up the Tour Eiffel several years ago.... I must say, I had the worst case of vertigo as we went up and down!!

And now for something fun... an Eiffel Tower cookie creation!! I picked up this cookbook a couple years ago after the movie Ratatouille came out. It's a fun book-- with lots of great recipes: crepes, croque monsieur, ratatouille (of course), and more...

It also has this fun cooking project, the Eiffel Tower Cookie Sundae!

I made this with my kids one day. Our towers weren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the book, but it was fun to make and then eat, of course!

Now off to tour our new house guest around California! Stay tuned for more French inspired postings soon!

A European Staycation

In honor of Bastille Day (tomorrow), as well as a French family friend coming to stay with us for a month (starting next week), I thought I'd have myself a little European Staycation this week!

First off I will highlight one of my all time favorite outdoor looks-- the globe string lights!

I can hear the music in the background as I look at these inspiring images! We've strung them on our patio too, but I need to get a couple more strings, so I can get the full criss-cross effect!

So, tonight, we'll head outdoors, sip some delicious French Rose and enjoy our first evening of our European staycation in our outdoor cafe!

A Bientot!

Wild about Wildflowers

The Sierras in July... you just can't beat it!
The clean air, the mountain scenery,
the Sierra rocks, and the wildflowers...
ooo, the wildflowers!


The bright colors against the earthy greens and browns
of the surrounding area make these flowers POP!

This bunch looks like the red, hot fourth of July fireworks!

Just looking at these pictures makes me smell that fresh mountain air,
and look forward to our next vacation in Tahoe...

50 Incredible Years!

My parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary!! It's been almost 3 days since all the festivities, yet I feel like I'm still just recovering... and it wasn't even my 50th anniversary!!

What an amazing party. It was held on the same day and same place as my parent's wedding 50 years ago. Ironically, the weather also needed to repeat itself with a scorcher of over 100 degrees, just like their day.

For the special day, I created a custom banner, based on my "I Do" wedding banner. Here's a picture below...
I had so much fun working with actual pictures from their day... they fit just perfectly with the collage of ephemera in the background.


I especially love the picture above of them toasting the day. My mom also wanted a larger banner to go over the band, so I created this long one with background colors similar to the flower color scheme.


Here are my parents, toasting to 50 amazing years! It was definitely a party I'll never forget!

To 50 more incredible years!!!

Party Kits Get Some Press

Check it out... my Party Kits are highlighted today on Bay Area Mommy blog! It's a very nice write up. I definitely thank the gals over there for featuring my work!

If you haven't seen their blog yet, you have to check it out (especially if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area of course.) They highlight local stores and products, but they also list great things to do around the bay. If you're needing ideas of where to go, or what's going on, be sure to check out their site on Fridays. They post a great weekend edition.

5 Things for Dad on His Day

Tomorrow's Father's Day, and like always, I'm scrambling to figure out what to do for my husband... he's the kind of guy that doesn't need any "thing..." So, here's what I came up with:

1. No fathering on Father's Day...
Some fathers may disagree with this... but I know for me on Mother's Day, it's nice to be with the kids, but not have to "be" with them per say... So, on Father's day for my husband this year, he can leave the "joys" of parenting to me. (i.e., stopping the fights, the whining, the demands for this and that... you know...)

2. Let him play that 18 holes of golf...
It doesn't quite fit in with our plans tomorrow... but I'll give him a rain check on this one... just get it on the calendar now, since a surprise all-day golf game can sometimes not be what everyone was "expecting" for that day.

3. Let Him Watch, Listen, and Constantly Check-in with the Sporting World
So, NBA and Hockey are over... there's still baseball, and this Father's Day, the US Open. Where ever we are, I'll be sure to let him check the scores or watch these fabulous events as often as he'd like!

4. Bring him that Lovely Glass of Wine before he either gets one himself, or asks!
OK, so it may just be past noon, but who cares... if he wants a glass of wine (beer, or cocktail), he can have it!

5. Make him his Favorite Meal
My husband has already put in his order for dinner tomorrow night... and it even involves him grilling. How can I deny his stomach something he's been thinking about for several days!!

Possibly I'll come up with some other miraculous gift before now and then... but if not, I hope this list will let him know what an amazing dad and husband he is!