Florentine Lily

Getting Ready for A Bridal Shower

I haven't participated in Julia's "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday" in quite some time. It all comes down to not blogging much & then having a bicep repair surgery! But here I am joining these talented women to showcase what we are working on this week. If you would like to join us, pop on over to Julia's blog and sign up!

My daughter has been asked to be the Maid of Honor for her best friend's wedding in October. Along with the day of the wedding duties, the Maid of Honor hosts a shower for the bride to be. My daughter asked me to help come up with a theme and we decided to do a tea party for the wedding shower. 

The bride and groom are getting married in the fall & they chose coral as their wedding color.  So, to keep with the theme of fall, I decided to use orange and coral for the invitations. 

I used Stampin' Up stamps, ink & punches, Melissa Frances pattern paper, a Tim Holz embossing die, and seam binding tape to make the card.

The best part was that I shopped in my own craft closet! The only thing we purchased was the seam binding tape. I think the total cost for all 24 cards was $3.00!

To make the invitations even more special, my mom wrote a poem for the inside of the card to announce the party. This is what she wrote:

The time has come to shower the bride

With well wishes and words to the wise

Wedding thoughts of traditions and lace

join us at a bridal shower in her honor,

Lisa Case

Share a tear of joy, a laugh and you

At a tea party that starts at two

The date is set for the twenty-third of September

Sending you this invite for you to remember

 

Next on my list of "Mom to do" is the favors. We tried to find something that would be nice & yet inexpensive enough for a college girl's budget ;) So, unfinished frames were purchased and painted - They are just waiting to be decorated.

Once I do, I will be sure to take a picture or two to share.

 

Leia turns 3 months old

Our little pup turned 3 months old today. In honor of her new milestone, we did a small photoshoot.

And then she decided to attack the paparazzi!

NO PICTURES PLEASE! lol!

43

I am now 43 & loving it!

My husband and kids surprised me with a weekend of family & fun. Santa Cruz, The Crows Nest, a walk on the beach & a night in a hotel! I had a wonderful time. 

First - We headed up to Santa Cruz on Highway 17 - those of you from the area know how bad traffic can be on this stretch of highway - we got stuck...behind a car fire. But, being us, we turned off the car, turned up the music, laughed and talked. We made the most of the situation. Before we knew it, the fire was out & we were moving again

Once we hit Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the family decided it would be fun to play a game of miniature golf - so, off we went!

Some of the holes have "added" challenges. You have to spin the wheel & do whatever it says. 

In one instance my husband got to be a barrier anywhere on the course to block the other players. Tiff & I got to move an opponents ball anywhere on the course with our spin. My son got to choose someone to hit the ball with the club behind their back - Of course he chose his sister - what "little" brother wouldn't? 

We then headed to The Crows Nest for dinner. Everything was yummy! I had steak & prawns - I will say that even though the steak was good - I like my husband's steaks WAY better. His are amazing & always cooked just the way I love them!

After dinner, the kids & I went for a short walk on the beach (just to put our feet in the sand) and then we headed off to the Marriott for the night. 

I have the best family ever! Thank you Team Jefferson for making my birthday wonderful!

 

2012 Bucktown BBQ & Bocce

Back in 1990, my husband became a part of a basketball group called "Bucktown". This was a group of guys from the bay area who would meet at different gyms or parks to play basketball on the weekends (or during the week if they could swing it!) As the years went on the men got married, had kids, careers, and lives. The group spread out all over the world - but the friendships built so long ago have survived. 

On August 17th the "Bucktown" family got together for our second annual BBQ & Bocce ball tournament.  We eat, tease, play & talk MAJOR mess. The day ends with the group playing bocce ball. 

Although it sounds like a relaxing sport - the tournament is extremly competitive. So much so, that several members of the Bucktown group practice throughout the year, working on their bocce skills to win the tournament. You see, the winners receive a plaque to hang on their wall - but more importantly they win coveted bragging rights on Facebook for the next year!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

 

Snoop & Megan! Congratulations!

We are looking forward to seeing you "Defend" your championship next year! 

The Smoker

My husband came back from the Big Jim's BBQ class raving about how much he learned in the class. He listened to lecture, learned new techniques, met fellow BBQers and ate lots of amazing food - to say he had a good time would be an understatement! He LOVED the class. 

During a class break he text messaged me to tell me that he would like to get a smoker. I jumped on that right away - for this means LOTS of delicious food for our dinner table! That afternoon while hubby was learning away, my son and I headed to our local Ace Hardware store to pick up the requested item. Big Jim had suggested a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker & of course that is what we got!

 

Isn't it beautiful! lol!

We have a lot planned for this upcoming weekend, but I am hopeful that we will be eating smoked meats soon!

Our New Puppy

In October of last year we lost our pup to cancer. He was a Belgian Malinois mix and was the absolute BEST dog I have ever owned. If you are a pet owner, you can understand that it was one of the most difficult times in our lives.

Best of buds: Jengo with Marley. 

One night my husband was on FB and noticed that his friend's dog had had puppies. She was looking for homes for the puppies and had posted pictures of the litter.

Here is the thing...my husband KNOWS me. He knew that the moment he opened his mouth about the puppies I would be interested. BUT then he went and SHOWED me pictures! Pictures of the most adorable little Beagle & Peek-a-Pom pups. At that moment I knew I wanted one & was ready for a new pup.

I called the kids in to see the pictures and ask if they were up for a puppy. Of course the answer was "YES". My son wanted a little girl (It was his turn for a dog) - and so my husband sent an email on FB to his friend. Then we had to wait for a response...and wait...and wait...(at least it felt that way!)

My husband had to go out of town on business & so we didn't get a response on the pup until midday the next day. I am sure my husband would tell you that we bugged him constantly - he must have had at least 10 text messages on his phone before he landed! (Hey, my family knows how to use technology! lol!) 

We were told she still had girl puppies to find homes for. My husband asked her to put a brown one aside for us & we would pick her up when he got back into town. 

Meet Princess Leia

 She is now two whole months old. In the three weeks we have owned her she has healed our hearts. Our entire family is head over heels in love with this little girl.

 

 

Big Jim's BBQ

Last year I signed up for Livingsocial.com. Like a lot of people I know, I love looking at the deals - but never REALLY purchase anything. Then one afternoon I came across a deal for a BBQ cooking class at Big Jim's BBQ in San Rafael that took me from a browser to a buyer. 

My husband is the BBQ master in our home. He makes THE most excellent steak and tri-tip. His steak is so amazing that it makes it difficult to order one at a restaurant for fear of disappointment. 

I have always wanted to send my husband to Barbecue U with Steven Raichlen, but my husband travels a lot for work - so, going away for anything other than a family vacation is out.

Big Jim

That brings me to today's class at Big Jim's BBQ. San Rafael is only an hour away, the class is only 5 hours and Big Jim is an award winning chef. THAT is a deal worth exploring! 

So, off my husband goes today to learn more about his "craft" and I sit at home in anticipation of all the yummy food that will be on our dinner table.

 

Back to School Night

My son has started 8th grade and we had an opportunity to meet his teachers at Back to School Night last night. It is always nice to get a feel for what he will be learning this year. (or I will be re-learning! lol!) Although he is in middle school, I still like to do something nice for the teachers to show them that they are appreciated. 

Our mascot is a yellow jacket & last year I found a cookie cutter at Tin Works on Etsy.com that was THE perfect yellow jacket. The company will even make a cookie cutter for you if you send them clip art! I hadn't tried the cutter out yet & decided to break it out to make sugar cookies for the teachers.

Last year I went in search of the "Best" sugar cookie recipe. I went through several different recipes & modifications before I came to one that my family gave the "Jefferson Stamp of Approval" on. 

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups sweet cream butter

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs & vanilla together in a mixer. Sift together the flour, baking powder & salt and add to the creamed mixture slowly. (I sift 1/2 the dry ingredients together at a time and then add).

Once the cookie dough is mixed together, I like to divide the dough into three parts that I wrap in plastic and put in the refrigerator. Chill the dough for 3 hours or overnight. Roll out dough & cut into shapes. Cook on 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until edges are "just" lightly brown.

Once they are cool I use royal icing to decorate. There are just as many royal icing recipes as sugar cookie recipes out there - just use your favorite. I am not going to get into the "raw egg" debate - use what you are comfortable with. I have used both and really can't tell the difference in taste, the biggest difference is in how the icing spread. (The egg white icing was a little smoother). For these cookies I used Wilton's meringue powder.

And here is the Yellow Jacket cookie.

In giving a gift, I believe the presentation is as important as the actual gift. So, I decided to individually wrap the cookies and add a tag with some curling ribbon.

Here is what you will need: cellophane bags, curling ribbon, hole punch, tag punch & card stock.

On the card stock I printed "Hope you hive a Bee-utiful year". I then punched tags around the words giving a little more space on the left side to punch my hole for the ribbon. I then tied the tag around the bag with the curling ribbon. 

The teachers LOVED them!

Here is to a great start to the 2012-2013 school year!