Rhodies & Reds Wine Tasting

Doug & I attended the annual Rhodies & Reds wine tasting party a couple of weeks ago. We look forward to it every spring!

Our friends, Doug & Donna are fabulous hosts!They call their home Keyhole Gardens. Their yard really reflects their passion for gardening & rhododendrons.......gorgeous!

Kathryn taking a picture of me, taking a picture of her.....

The pond house & Koi pond......

One of the wine stations scattered throughout the property................

More tasting stations............

Donna: the hostess with the mostest!

Anthony & Laura

~ The crowd~

The Winners!

Spring Gardening

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I have no excuses, but I want you to know that I HAVE been busy. Busy with the yard work, busy with creating new patterns for my bag collection....... busy just being! But I'm back, and I have a lot to share.

I was out yesterday morning planting a hundred geraniums.....no, just kidding, but it SEEMED like a hundred geraniums.

I buy them at Costco by the flat. So far I've planted 4 flats. Let's see; that's 4 flats x 6 plants equal 24 geraniums. The sad thing is, is that I need to run down and pick up 2 more flats. It seems I never buy enough in the beginning. They look so pretty; then on to the tomatoes & basil. I dream of eating lots & lots of yummy, fresh caprese this summer!

Many of my rhodies are in bloom too:

And here is a pretty yellow rose just outside my kitchen window~

I've also noticed that my irises are blooming! They are soooo gorgeous!

Margarita Mad Hatter Fundraiser

This last Saturday evening was filled with fun, food, laughter and hats! I attended the Margarita Mad Hatter Fundraiser for the class of 2013. I wanted to support my friend's daughter who will be graduating with that class...

The attendees were encouraged to wear a hat of their choice. I saw everything from leather biker-chic caps to sombreros.

What a great idea!

Of course, I decided to make mine, and I wanted to see if I could make one without spending any money. All I had to do was look around the house & craft room. I took my inspiration from Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter Hat....

I found an old straw hat, and decided to vamp it up. I took black scrap booking paper and wrapped it around the top to enlarge the height; then wrapped some old lace around the whole thing to give it a consistant texture. I took it to my husbands shop and found some black spray paint, and painted the whole hat black.

Then just finished it off with some pink netting (I didn't have enough ribbon on hand..remember, I wanted to see if I could pull this off without spending any money), clipped a black flower on the side, and wa la...................

I swear, you can do/make anything if you own a good hot glue gun!

This is the results.....It was good enough to win 1st prize! Yippee! Sunset Spa, here I come!
Don't we look stunning?? hee hee
Kaylyne wore her tiara...
When we left for the evening, we had several people in the elevator comment how pretty it was...lots of bling!
So what have you made with a hot glue gun?

What's For Dinner??

It's Monday afternoon, and the question is "what to have for dinner??" NO idea.

Usually, Sunday afternoon, I make my week's menu for grocery shopping the next morning.....but a Sunday snow skiing day got in the way.

Sooooo, looking through the cupboards, fridge, freezer hoping something would jump out at me....I'm talking dinner ideas here; no mice (Margaret!)

So off I go to my favorite grocery store. I love, love, love the produce section at Whole Foods!

Ahhhh, I just know I'll be inspired here!

Just look at all the gorgeous veggies......

After my wanderings, I come up with a plan: Eggplant Parmigiana....easy peasy.

It's usually a hit at my house.

Spring In My Back Yard

Look what I found in my backyard the other day!! Yea!! Now I know spring is on it's way! The thing I love most about daffodils; is the cute little ruffled faces. They always looks soooo happy!

The colors are so vibrant on these cuties.

Teatro ZinZanni

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

Doug and I went with some friends to Teatro ZinZanni in Seattle. If you've never been to one of these dinner/shows, I highly recommend you make reservations now. It's a great way to spend an evening. Lots of great fun, laughs and food!Donna, Doug, Me and Doug
Just us girls (?)..........Check it out... http://www.zinzanni.org/

TROPICAL BAG

OK, I know that I just shared "the making of a bag" with you on my last blog, but I just couldn't resist sharing this one also.

This one is going to Linda. She's going on a tropical vacation and wanted something very colorful, fun and functional....

Slip pockets on one side and a large zipper on the other...

Gosh, I love this fabric combo! Good job, Linda!

All done, and ready to play in the sun!