Book Club Friday

I did it! I read the second Harry Potter book last week after watching the first movie (again) but this time with Kristen. She kept saying she didn't want to watch it, but she sat all the way through it and later admitted she really liked it. That is the reason I picked up the 2nd book last week, and I read it in just 3 days.

 

 So, this week for Book Club Friday, I'm reading book # 3, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Oh, and for the record, we watched the second movie (as soon as I'd finished reading the book) earlier this week!  I am loving the books. I forgot how great a read the first one was, how I couldn't put it down. And the second book was exactly the same, even though I had seen that movie a few years before - still a fantastic read.  I loved watching the second movie straight afterwards too, seeing little differences here and there, but again, still a great movie to watch. I've seen only the first 3 movies of Harry Potter, so after this 3rd book and re-watching the movie, everything will be a new experience for me! 

 

What can I say about this book? Most of you will probably have read it by now (more than once perhaps) but for those who haven't, well I'd have to say, "what are you waiting for?". These books are SO good, the three main characters so endearing. I don't know what else they all get up to in the coming books, but one thing I do know, I've got some good reads ahead of me ;-)

 

Next week is our last full week of Summer vacation! The kids here return to school on Monday, August 22nd. I'm always amazed at how quickly each season of the year passes. Not that we're moving in to a new season yet here in TX, it is still so very hot. Not one day in the 10 day forecast is below 103. We're all just praying for rain right now - surely it must come soon!

Sweet Bliss!

A few weeks ago I tried this delightful bottle of wine. Bet you can't guess why I picked it! Just kidding, of course you can guess I picked it because of it's cute label. I LOVED IT as soon as I saw it. What's not to love about a white chocolate dipped strawberry on the label.

I'm not a huge fan of overly sweet wines, although when it comes to white wine I do prefer a sweeter one than a dryer one. I much prefer a Riesling to a Chardonnay for instance, but some of them can be too sweet. I thought this pink wine would be overly sweet too, but my local grocery store was handing out samples one Saturday afternoon and when I tried it I was rather surprised. It was lovely and fruit,y sweet but not too sweet and really quite refreshing.  I took a picture of the back of the label . . .

The best word to describe this wine is YUMMMM. Aromas of fresh strawberry jump from the glass and harmonize with flavors ranging from white peach to watermelon. This wine is unbelievable delicious with bbq chicken and it's positively indulgent when paired with red velvet cake, strawberry shortcake or gelato. After all, everyone deserves a little Sweet Bliss.

Doesn't that just make you wanna go out and buy a bottle ;-)  I googled the wine and found they have a really sweet website too. Check it out HERE (or click the picture below)

They also have a sweet white wine . . . I just love this label too (although I haven't tried the white yet)

and a sweet red (I also have to try), chocolate dipped cherry, YUM!

I've been watching my 'diet' this week, trying out something new (I'll talk about that in another post) so I won't be drinking wine this weekend. I'm watching my carbs, so instead of wine I'll be trying a gin and 'diet' tonic :-)

CHEERS!

All about the boy!

Wow, midweek already and I haven't been here since Friday! As you saw from my last post, Friday was Jason's 40th Birthday!!! He took the day off work, but it was just a quiet day of relaxing at home. Saturday was the day we celebrated, with our friends/neighbors and my inlaws, over at Cheryl's house! You're probably wondering why not our house? Well, Cheryl has the pool, remember, and it has still been over 100 degrees every day, so we knew her place would be best, so the kids (and anyone else that wanted to) could get outside and play. Believe me, if there's no pool to keep cool, there's no way you want to be out in this heat!

Here's Kristen and Jason in the pool on Friday night - Kristen is holding up 4 fingers and making a '0' to show her Daddy is 40 :-) Here's a few more pictures from the afternoon and evening. . . . 

 Birthday boy and Mama! She said this was harder on her than it was on him! I'm sure she's still wondering where the last 40 years went!!

For the record I think the camera added about 20lb to me in this picture!!!

I forgot to get a close up picture of the cupcakes I made. I put pictures of Jason when he was about 7 on top of them!

Our gracious host Cheryl :-)

The days are flying by, next week is our last week before school starts! I wish that would indicate the weather will be turning cooler, but usually it doesn't. The lowest temps in the 10 day forecast is 103! (the lows at night are 75!). I am so ready for the heat to be over.

In the meantime, I am gathering my supplies to redo my dining room, based on Susan's Inspiration Board :-)  So far I have an orchid plant from Target, a burlap runner from Etsy, I've ordered chair covers from Target online, bought the Annie Sloane Chalk Paint for the buffet and ordered that gorgeous chandelier (which unfortunately is on back order, but only for 2 weeks). I can't wait to start pulling it all together, but probably won't make a start on it til Kristen goes back to school. 

Hope you're all having a great week so far. I'll be back soon with more posts before the weekend!

Book Club Friday & A BIG Birthday

This little guy is FORTY YEARS OLD today!

This 'little guy' is my sweet Hubby. 

Happy Birthday Babe!

 x x x Love you x x x

(pic taken last year Aug 2011)

Yay, it's Friday, hubby has taken the day off for his birthday today, so we're all doing what we love to do, just relaxing at home and enjoying the comforts of home - it's where we like to be. I went out earlier and picked up an Indian Takeaway for lunch. We were going to go out but Jason and Kristen said they'd rather stay in (surprise) so I drove an hours round trip to go pick up Indian food! After we ate Jason blew out candles on his birthday cake Key Lime Pie! We're gonna watch a concert on tv tonight, but Jason doesn't know who yet - it's a surprise! Tomorrow we'll celebrate his special day with our friends next door and my inlaws. I'll have lots of pictures to share tomorrow. Haven't taken many yet today.

 Before I sign off for the weekend I wanted to join Heather for Book Club Friday. I love that I'm ahead with my reading for my book club (no book this month, and Heaven is for Real is September's pick which I've already finished) so I get to read whatever I like for the next couple of months. Last week I read  . . . 

 As her only child leaves to study abroad and her husband admits his love for a younger woman, Annie Colwater feels invisible. Having devoted herself to being the best wife and mother she could be for the last 20 years, Annie no longer knows who she is. She heads home to her father and to Mystic, Washington--where she grew up, where the dreams she barely remembers first blossomed, and where her first love, Nick Delacroix, still lives.

I picked up this book from the library because someone else on BCF had reviewed it. It is the first Kristin Hannah book I've actually read. I liked it, it was a nice easy read and I'm sure I'll read more of her books. The characters in this book were easy to get to know, the story line rather sad, about a twenty year marriage that is falling apart and a woman who has 'lost herself', but it all turns out well in the end (most romance stories do). I've heard Firefly Lane and Winter Garden also by Kristin Hannah are good reads too. I'll be looking for them soon at the library. This week I decided to pick up Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!!  I have only ever read the first book and keep wanting to read the rest. I've started on book 2 but I did this about 6 months ago too and put it down again. I'm starting from the beginning again but not sure I will stick with it? I have a good Jodi Picoult book on my nightstand too that I want to start - decisions, decisions!  

Wine - The Birdman!

Hi guys, I thought I'd make my wine post on Thursday, so I can still join in with Heather on Fridays for Book Club Friday :-) Last weekend I picked up this cute bottle of Pinot Grigio called The Birdman. I want to try a new wine every week if I can, but I don't want to read the back of the label to make my choice (I want to try the wine and see if I can pinpoint any of the tastes it mentions), so for now, I'm going by label!  Yup, if I like the label, I'm buying it.

So, this label caught my eye last week. The birds on it looked kinda cute, especially around the top of the bottle, each one was different and had a different expression on their face!

 

 Well, once again I forgot to NOT read the back of the label before I tasted it, and I didn't make notes about it! Not much of a wine reviewer am I?!! 

sings with a harmonious blend of floral peach and pear aromas and finishes with a long, fruity warble!

I love how some wines are described - 'fruity warble', LOL :-)  This was a really nice Grigio, smooth and almost creamy (i.e. not sharp or citrusy), but still very refreshing. I wish I could taste the peaches and pears, but I usually can't (wonder if that has anything to do with my often stuffy sinus nose!).  I definitely would buy this one again, but there are so many more out there I want to try, so it may be a while before I do. 

I found this on Amazon today, I've added it to my Wish List ;-)

 So, how do you pick a bottle of wine? Does the label influence you at all, or do you reach for something you know you like?

Looking Forward!

It's 104 degrees outside, and I'm knitting Winter Cowls!!!!!! I must be crazy! To be honest though, there isn't anything I could knit that I would wear during the summers here in TX. It's always way too hot for knitwear, no matter how thin/cool the yarn is. So, I'm content to knit 'winter woolies'.  Instead of "wishing the summer away", I like to think of myself as just "looking forward" to the next season ;-) Fall has to be my favorite season of the year, and here in TX we tend to have to wait quite a while for it. Even in September the temps can still be pretty high. I looked back at my posts from last year and by mid September I was still complaining about the heat! So it's nice to sit here and knit with thick yarn, and think about the cooler days I know will come soon enough.

I love how this chunky grey cowl turned out. It's just a simple roll neck design, but I think the addition of the silk flower really makes it special. The flower can be removed and worn as a brooch or a hair barrette

For this cowl I knit the flower too. Colors differ on each monitor so I'm not sure how you're seeing this. It's not a light cream but more a golden wheat color. The flower is a burnt orange. They look great together for Fall

The cowl stretches to go just over your shoulders too, or you can pull it over your ears when it's really cold out! However it's worn, I think it looks stunning.

I knit these pretty beaded wrist warmers months ago, and have just never gotten around to listing them in my Etsy store. The hard part is trying to get great pictures! They look great with a denim jacket, or even just with a sweater!

Now I just need to get them listed. If you're 'looking forward' like me, and you'd like something custom knit, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to discuss the details with you.

Inspiration!

Last week the lovely Susan over at Hometown Girl asked for volunteers to help her with a new venture she is starting. She posted on her blog . . . .

I've decided to start doing some design work on-line. My vision is to offer design services for table settings be it parties or a wedding, along with favors and party decor ideas. The other will be for interior design ideas.

My plan is to provide my clients with an Inspiration Board and a source list so they can secure the items needed to create the desired look. Maybe even a DIY project if they are inclined. I would love to do this for a few readers for free so I can work out the process and get a feel for how it will work.

I emailed Susan and said I would love to help. She sent me a questionnaire and I picked my dining room as the 'project'. I'm rather bored with how it looks right now and I thought having someone else's thoughts and ideas would be a great help. Here's the pictures I sent Susan.

 

I explained that I was hoping to change the curtains, move the buffet back to the cream colored wall and would like help with accessories and table setting. Wanna see the Inspiration Board that Susan created for me?

 Isn't it awesome? :-)  I absolutely LOVE IT! You can click on the board above to go to Susan's blog and see what she had to say about 'my space', and what she would do with it. She also lists all the items and where I can buy them. I also have the option to replace them with similar items to keep things within my budget. I'm already looking around the web for some alternatives, and I found this wonderful Burlap Table Runner from Thimbleana on Etsy(it's being shipped to me as we speak!)

I love the chandelier and the bench. Not sure hubs would agree to the bench, but I'm thinking the chandelier is a definite ;-) I'll also be pricing other chair covers and curtains perhaps from Target or Bed Bath and Beyond?  I'll keep you posted as and when I purchase items to 'pull the room together'. Susan also did a Coastal Inspired Bedroom for another blogger, you can CLICK HERE to see it.

Thank you again Susan, I can't tell you how much I love the ideas you've given me and for allowing me to help you in the process. I hope your new venture gets off to a great start.