It's a 55 candle day....

I will be enjoying every minute of it!

Happy Sunday!

xxoo

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hello august!

Hello August!

I mean this in all sincerity

please be kind to us this  month...

pretty, pretty please..

We have a month of some big changes:

I am counting down the road to the big

55 in eleven short days and I need to 

ease into it.   haha.....Actually I feel

very blessed to have a birthday each

year - and still feel like I'm in my 30's.

at least my brain feels it even when

my body doesn't at times.

Next weekend I am hoping to have a

low key getaway with my guy and since

we are keeping it pretty local, one of 

my fave areas - Santa Barbara is my

number one pick.  I love, love that place!

I will also be helping Steff get all of her

things together for the big move up

north to her cute little college beach

town and hoping to see my family and

friends while I am there at the end of August.

This week is good, I am breathing

easier, Alex is getting better each day

and we are

 counting our blessings 

minute by minute....

Be good to yourself

and have a great day!

xxoo

(photo via here)

cheers to a special weekend....

Today just so happens to be Alex's birthday - so tonight we are heading out to a nice dinner and fun night at the theatre with a group of our friends to see What About Dick.  There are so many fabulous comedians in this play that I just know we will be laughing ourselves silly!  Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the theatre!  I may have a time or two... :)

I'm sure the birthday celebration will stretch out over the weekend (as it should!) as we do have more plans with family and friends.  Looking forward to a fun filled weekend - there will

be laughter and lots of it!

CHEERS TO ALEX - MAY IT BE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!

Have the best of weekends and thank you very

much for stopping by - you are very appreciated!

xxoo

31 years ago today....

31 years ago today, I became a mother for the very first time.  The most vivid memory that I have of that night was when I was in

my hospital room holding my beautiful baby, looking out of the window into the night and feeling so peaceful for the first time ever in my life. A calm had come over me and a love that I never knew existed until the moment I held my precious little boy in my arms.  It made my heart want to explode with happiness and joy!

Both of my children have always made my heart soar with love and pride.  They have been a joy to watch grow up and I think I have learned more from them than they have from me.  Children are such
wise teachers.  To see them both as the fabulous loving and caring people they are today is icing on an already very sweet cake!

Cheers to Matt on his 31st birthday!

He is taking the day off of work and heading
out to a baseball game - something he has always
loved to do! 

Have a great day, Matt
You are loved more than
you will ever know!
xxoo
(photo via here)

it's march!

This is exactly how I am feeling today - it's March!  Another day closer to my fave season, spring and a pretty fabulous month - with my baby turning a big 21 in a few short weeks (where did the time go?) 

It is also the time of year where it stays lighter longer and I will soon be able to take my nice long walks after work, something I am sorely lacking in at the moment.

Today here in Los Angeles, it is a gorgeous sunny day, with a tiny nip in the air, which I don't mind one bit! 

Have a fabulous day!

xx

(photos via here)

mamma mia, it's a special day!

Yep, today is my Mom's big day!

THE HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS TO

THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD!

This weekend my sis took mom up to

San Francisco to see the play Mamma Mia.

To me there is nothing better than live

theater - so I'm happy that they went!

HAVE A FUN FUN DAY, MOM! 

I love you with all my heart!

xxoo

(photo via here)



scenes from my weekend...

Our weekend consisted of parties for two special men in our family. A one year old little man named Mason and his great grandpa Mariano that turned 100. We sat around the kitchen table listening to and telling stories, had a sing along around the piano, gave lots of hugs and kisses, especially to the little ones, played in barns made out of washing machine boxes, laughed, cried, ate and then ate some more, slept very little and had two days of fun. Very simple and very special family time that we will always cherish.  How many 100 year old birthday parties do people get to go to?  This was my first and although I have known Mariano for 45 years, I learned alot about his life this weekend and am very grateful that I did. I hope you had a fun family filled weekend too!


Have a fabulous day!
xxoo

a very special day over here...

 Join me in wishing a Happy, Happy, Joyful 20th birthday to my amazingly fabulous, intelligent, talented, caring, one of a kind, gorgeous baby girl, Stephanie!  She makes my heart swell with pride at the awesome human being she is.  It is so mind boggling how fast these 20 years have flown by and I have enjoyed every second of them - even those "driving me crazy teen years."  I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything in the world!  The only thing that I have ever truly wanted to be was a mommy and my wish was fulfilled one hundred fold with my two beautiful babies!  It is the most amazing (and at times very heartbreaking, tiring, pull your hair out) feeling in the world to guide your children thru life and realize that you didn't teach them, instead they taught you.

I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK, BABY GIRL!!

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

XXOO

See it does snow in LA....kinda

This was a pretty mountain scene to wake up to Sunday morning. We didn't have snow really close to home, but I hear it did snow a bit in Burbank, which is a 15 minute drive.  Aside from a bit of rain Friday night, the weekend was so gorgeous, a bit cool for us thin skinned California folks, but beautiful none the less!!!  Did anyone watch the Oscars last night? My friend, Katie went to the Oscars, she is such a good observer, I can't wait hear who she mingled with!! Love.love.love that Colin Firth won for Best Actor - he can do no wrong in my book!!  Today is a very special day - MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!  HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, I HOPE YOUR DAY IS FABULOUS! I LOVE YOU LOTS!!  I was really looking forward to seeing you this weekend and meeting the baby. Hopefully next weekend we will make it up if everyone is healthy!! Have a wonderful week, everyone! Can you believe it's almost spring!!!! 

xxoo

one day in paris...

After a few hours of a LOVELY train ride from London

We arrived at Gare Du Nord  Train Station and promptly found a place to cash our money into Euros.  I had bought a carnet (packet of tickets) on the Eurostar train for the metro - we just had to figure out where to hop on it which was so easy as it was in the same station...Yeah!! We were two sleepy people who had no idea where we would go first, so I said "let's just take the metro down near the Seine River and take a boat trip to see Paris." 

So we found a metro map and picked a place and it was St. Michel metro station in the Latin Quarter. We walked around the area which I loved - filled with cafes, shops, bookstores - once again I was in heaven. I couldn't believe I was in Paris.

We just started strolling down the street following the river,

when I spotted the Notre Dame Cathedrale - we definitely

had some company there and the line was quite long to go

inside...

We opted to walk thru the Notre Dame garden area and head over to the river find a boat to hitch a ride on. 

I recognized this boat company Batobus from one of the websites I had looked at so we found the ticket counter and purchased our tickets and hopped on the boat.

We passed the Ile Saint Louis - which is a quaint little area in itself,
I'd like to explore more.

We got off the boat at the Louvre and just started walking down

the plaza towards the Jardin des Tuileries.

From there I spotted a mini London Eye actually more like

a ferris wheel...This was such a beautiful area and it was sprinkling

a bit - but I never opened my umbrella at all as it was such a light sprinkle.

Pretty flowers everywhere...I love looking at landscaping and

this was one area that had the best!

Gorgeous statues everywhere. This was near a large fountain

that had green chairs all around the fountain to just sit and

relax in - and alot of people were definitely doing just that.

We walked up the plaza for at least a mile or two towards the Arc de Triomphe as we truly didn't know what direction to go.  A. and I just love exploring cities in our own way, so it didn't matter where we started.  It's all about the journey!

We were starting to get hungry and lo and behold I see Laduree on the Champs-Elysees, so we had to stop in to sample the macaroons...yum!!!

The Arc de Triomphe from our outdoor cafe table

While we were walking up the Champs-Elysees looking at menu after menu, we settled upon an Italian restaurant..haha...

I  saw one of these desserts being delivered to a table while we were waiting for our lunch, and I knew what I would be eating VERY SOON...It was called a "concerto of desserts" It had tiramisu,

chocolat mousse, caramel panacotta and a raspberry like tiramisu...It was delicious!

Paris street scenes as we were heading over

to the Eiffel Tower. 

Such gorgeous architecture EVERYWHERE!

I loved all the colors on this boat - such a cool place..

More beauty

There I am on a bridge near the Eiffel Tower - a few months before we came here, I would never have imagined I would have been doing just this!

A small garden area near the Eiffel Tower

A small picturesque pond right at the Eiffel Tower

As we were walking over to the Eiffel Tower, one (not me) of us decided we should walk up it. I was quietly chuckling to myself knowing full well we would not be walking up this.  Well the lines were a few hours long and when it comes to waiting in line or just enjoying the scenery and people watching - the line lost out.

We sat in a quiet area in the park at the Eiffel Tower and just watched everyone

walking up it.  It was so nice just hanging out in the park relaxing, A. took a bit of a cat nap and

I enjoyed all the people watching and the scenery.  Alot of people were laying on the lawns napping.

 

After we left the Eiffel Tower, we just walked thru neighborhoods

enjoying "everyday life in paris"

We made our way back to the river to catch the boat, after a stop in at the Musee d'Orsay.

Here is the Notre Dame from our view from the boat.

We ended up where we started and had an hour or so before we needed to head back to Gare Du Nord to catch the train back to our home in London...(that sounds so nice, our home in London.)

If only...

I ordered a chantilly chocolat lace crepe with a baileys & coffee as I needed a little pick me up.  When the waiter discovered that they forgot the whip cream, he swooped in to take it back to the kitchen, just as I was taking this photo..He came back and had added bananas to it too, since they made the mistake....It was soooooo good!  We only had 8 hours in Paris and there was alot that I wanted to see but didn't get around to as we just wanted to go at our own pace and do some relaxing.  All the more reason to plan another trip someday. 

AND LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, today is my niece Christy's birthday and as you can see from the photo, she is going to have to wait a few more months for her real birthday gift.  I am going to be a great-aunt and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTY!!! You are going to be such a wonderful mommy.  I know it as you took such good care of Stephanie when she was a baby and you still do 19 years later!

Thank you everyone for joining us on our day in Paris,  I am still pinching myself at the WONDERFUL vacation we had.  We are still talking about what a GREAT time we had!

CHEERS TO THE WEEKEND, EVERYONE!

xxoo

P.S. Please check out Simone's Blog to read about Summer and her dad, Butch!