I'm unplugging...but, I'm sure I'll post some picts along the journey. Museum of Glass here we come!!!

Another Day in Paradise

Today is one packed day! Exercise class this morning will hold a celebration for my 'adopted' mother, Gladys. She'll be 92!!! I hear a cake hat is in order for the festivities.

I'm looking forward to a phone call from Ann McDermott of COPE - the Center for Obesity Prevention and Education at Cal Poly. We have the big Hands on Health Symposium coming up in October and a friend and I will be doing the Passport - that's the paper people will carry around the symposium to document their vital info. I did a preliminary layout a few months ago but now we're getting down to details.

Then, it's off to San Luis Obispo to get my oil changed and have the alignment checked on my car. After spending huge bucks yesterday on new tires, they say I need it checked. All of this in preparation for my big road trip to WASHINGTON!!! Call it my Bucket List or my Passion List, I have wanted to go to the Museum of Glass in Washington for quite a long time. Well, the time has come - my sister-in-law has a favorite aunt up there, so five of us are climbing into my car (yes, it'll be a tight squeeze) and heading north. I'm linking up with Scott Wilkinson's mom who's a docent at the museum. Check out the beautiful glass. http://www.museumofglass.org/ I'm taking my good camera so be on the lookout late next week for the photos.

I stopped by my local Michaels store to pick up some beads to make my sister-in-laws aunt a necklace. I stumbled across great travel items for my nephews - all kinds of games and things to do.

Meanwhile, I need to call the Freight Room aka train depot to see if it would work for our class reunion.

Upward, onward and on to who knows what...

Joan

The Berkeley Hotel Afternoon Tea

Fashionable High Tea

My friend, Kathy, is taking a couple of her friends to the Berkley Hotel in London for a farewell tea. What an awesome theme!

Mouth-watering Prêt-à-Portea delicacies with a fashionista twist.

The Berkeley London designer afternoon tea, Prêt-à-Portea, is inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world. The menu is transformed every six months to follow the changing seasons in fashion.

Inspired by the Spring/Summer 2009 fashion collections, this season's afternoon tea at The Berkeley in London.

A collection of cakes and fancies in in the colours of the fashion season and in the style of the world’s finest designers:
Lavin duo of blueberry and passion fruit mousse with flowing bright yellow meringue
Balmain almond macaroon jacket filled with white chocolate and pistachio ganache
Hervé Léger vivid orange bikini vanilla biscuit with signature criss-cross banding
Alexander McQueen ‘Elvie’ chocolate truffle tote wrapped in mint flavoured marzipan
Christian Louboutin coconut cream sponge cake shoe topped with metallic frill
Christopher Kane clementine bavaroise with signature over-sized circles of pate de fruit
Oscar de la Renta black and white belted chocolate dress biscuit
Josh Goot blocked dress of strawberry pannacotta and mango crème topped with kiwi marshmallows
Michael Kors red and blue striped Regatta dress cake of rich Valrhona chocolate

http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/fashionista_tea.aspx

Can't wait for picts, Kathy.

4th of July

AMAZING 4th of July!!!
This giant flag was along Highway 1 hanging from a crane.

Ducky Derby!!!

I used an inexpensive and different 'bowl' - quite the conversation piece.

I loved Kim's positive sayings...

Here's a great way to display a rolling pin collection.

I LOVE silhouettes - I remember having mine done at Disneyland when I was a kid - I noticed it in my parents bedroom last time I was home.

Love the olives!

Beautiful oaks trees at the party.

The party was on top of a hill.

My friend Valerie, Katy and Carole...this 1957 Tbird has quite a history - Carole used to deliver newspapers around the San Joaquin Valley in this car - it has over 300,000 miles on the original engine. It now resides with Katy, Carole's daughter.

My neighborhood is VERY patriotic!!!

I have posted pictures of down my hill to the ocean, but here's an up-the-hill photo.

Big Sur Unleashed

BIG SUR!!!

Yesterday, I unleashed myself from my computer and went with a friend to Big Sur for lunch. My friend was taking me to lunch for staying at my house while I was in England. It was a wonderful opportunity to sit back, relax, let someone else do the driving and enjoy the Pacific Ocean and the Big Sur area. We went to my FAVORITE restaurant, Nepenthe. It sits high on a cliff with a wonderful view of the ocean and the coastline.


We had the special - a bbq chicken salad sandwich - it was divine with some soup. The weather was a different treat for me. I always plan my trips to Big Sur when the weather is warm and clear, but yesterday was cool and foggy. After lunch, we ventured down to the outdoor cafe and enjoyed a peanut butter cookie (warm from the oven!!!) and hot chocolate with whipped cream, sprinkled with cinnamon. A special treat of a day!!!

Beautiful paintings in the Nepenthe gift shop rest rooms.

Outdoor cafe at Nepenthe - just beautiful!!!

The base of this fountain was a carved wood bird with water coming out of the mouth.

Rock walls adorn the hillside of Nepenthe.

These comfy 'seat's make the wait at Nepenthe a real treat - the view is of the ocean and the beautiful hills.

Beautiful glass mosaic area at Nepenthe.

We stopped at Ragged Point and walked out to the end of the path for a spectacular view. The railing had so many carvings on it - a little bit of creative history.

Now, to make up for some time away...

My Miscellaneous World

Little snippets of my world for a Saturday...

Fuchsia's on my patio, an applique potholder I made a long time ago for a quilt challenge, an amazing beaded necklace, bracelet and leather flower pin I found in London

This afternoon...going to do some yard work and check out the Oriental Trading Company catalog for more beads...I'm hooked!!!

Newcomers Dinner

I belong to a dinner group where, each month, one of the members of the group fixes the entire dinner for the other seven of us. Last night was a most enjoyable evening at our friend Nancy's house. She just moved and most of us had not seen her new home. She has done an amazing job at decorating!!! I loved these dimensional tea cups and her blue and white accessories.

Nancy's menu included borscht, homemade crab cakes, a delightful cabbage salad and a quite divine meringue dessert with fresh strawberries and blueberries!!! Amazing!!!

Now, to my boring dinner of fish and green beans...only 30 more days until the next dinner!!!

Beads, Beads and MORE Beads

I wanted to make a friend a patriotic bracelet and things just went berserk from there!!! I got out my stash of beads and here's what happened...I made the butterfly bracelet for ME!!!

The bracelet is so cute!!! I got the beads and bracelet from Oriental Trading Company. They included everything from Uncle Sam to flags to stars!

I made a bookmark (also from Oriental Trading Company).

Check out Uncle Sam!

Patriotic pickle fork, spreader and wine cork.

I'm going to a dinner party this weekend and a party on the 4th, so the spreader and pickle fork will make fantastic hostess gifts!!!

It's so much fun to get into beading again - I forgot how much I love it!

Happy creativity!

Joan

Butterflies and MORE Butterflies AND More London

I kept meaning to upload a few more pictures of my London experience...I hand carried these potato chips back for family and friends - I loved going to the grocery stores and seeing the 'odd' food. Check out the flavors of chips...my friends and family did not give them a thumbs up!!!

The lovely little box was a hand painted gift from a luncheon at the Ukrainian Embassy along with brochures about their country. I passed the brochures along to a friend who home-schools her children. Thought it was something a little different for them to learn about.

I bought these clear acrylic butterflies in London - just couldn't pass them up!

A friend and her husband stayed at my home for a week while I was gone and when I arrived home, there were butterfly gifts everywhere.

These beautiful feather butterflies hang in my bathroom.

AND, this butterfly I take with me everywhere to show friends and family (I'm thinking about taking it to the Journey / Heart concert next month) it's the cutest thing - it sings and has three different settings - it lights up, blinks...so fun!!!

I think that's it for my London trip!!!