~ refreshed...restored...and ready to go ~

please

come for tea

and

sit with me

I have

a

"secret place"

to share

with you

today

a place

that restores my

soul

and

gives me back

my

peace

and

harmony

my favourite resting place in the whole world

Deception Pass

on Whidbey Island

where time is spent

watching the sunsets each and every night

sitting for hours upon hours on the beach

listening to the ocean waves

feeding the squirrels

collecting rocks and sea glass

counting the fishing boat

spotting the seals ....

restoring

me

where silliness is welcomed

and

laughter is required

where
mother

daughter

time

is

so

preciously

savoured

and

enjoyed

I am once again

refreshed and ready to go

thanks

to my

"secret place"

{stay tuned for part 2...my secret shopping place...."where bunnies live and give glad dreams"}

~ full of peaches ~

bluebird notes

is

home

and ready to get back at it

had a great visit with my mom and dad

where we celebrated

their
amazing peach crop

{i must of ate at least 100 peaches}

now i am off to get caught up with all your lovely blogs

~ a bit of this and that today ~

bonjour

i am back

refreshed and ready to blog

thank you for all the lovely comments left on my blog while i was gone

they made my heart sing

i will try to visit you all in the next few days

{if you leave a comment i always try to visit you back and say hi }

~~~

somethings i want to share with you today

these are some of the fun items sitting

on my coffee table at this moment

{above image}

i am always changing my table depending on what i find

what do you have on your coffee table today?

{bluebird/blackbird plate from my friend colleen....robin egg shell found on my patio [to my up most delight]...beautiful tags from faded plains...ceramic # balls found at stella bleu}

images from my time away

spending a few days on Vancouver Island will relax anyone


beautiful Victoria, British Columbia
we always stop at Chinatown
and the Beaconhill drive-in for the best ice cream ever



Now i may have a gift for you

Let's Pay It Forward...are you game?

Karyn of FRENCH CHARMING is making me a treasure!

I get to do the same for five new friends.
She found this wonderful way to pay it forward through Angelpea at keeping the faith.
I will send the first five people who respond to this post a little treasure.
It will be made with love, that I can promise.
It will be just for you from me.
I am willing to send my package overseas (I am in Canada), but remember, you must commit on your blog to do the same for 5 others.
I make no guarantees that you will like what I send you, but you may be pleasantly surprised.
It will definitely be hand crafted.
What I send will be just for you, with love, by my own hands.
I will complete all 5 gifts this year - 2009
I will not give you any clue what it is going to be, it will be something made in this world, something that you can touch and feel, and not something cyber.
In return all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 people that respond to your blog post.
Please leave me your email so I can contact you and get your mailing address.
Everyone is welcome and it doesn't matter what you hand craft.
I guarantee that you will receive something from me providing you do the same for 5 other people in your blog post.
If you would like to join in and 5 people have already agreed to participate on my blog, go stalk the blogs of the first 5 who responded until they post their Pay It Forward and get on their list.
I am thinking how much fun this will be!
I have never done anything like this before so I thought.. Why Not?
Remember you have tell the end of this year to make the treasure!
I have some great ideas of what I want to make
and it will be all packaged up beautifully
i promise

Are you willing to Pay IT Forward?
come on
please...please!

~ camping ugly turned camping cute? ~

off camping for a few days

my cute camping dishes are packed

they are the only cute camping gear we own worthy to be shown on my blog

we have an

ugly tent

ugly sleeping bags

ugly camp cots

ugly camping stove and cooler

ugly everything else

you get the idea...sometimes camping is just ugly

especially if it rains which it seems to do quiet often when we camp

i am slowly trying to push out the uglies and add the cuties

by introducing all things "camping cute" to my husband

{ha ha....will never work...can't see him in a floral sleeping bag and tent}

like this gypsy caravan
do you think my sweetie will go for it?
sheep included?

{country living british edition sept. 2005}
{check these sweeties out here}




my sweet tooth even comes camping with us
it is a must to have smores around our campfire
how cute are all of these
{ours are never this perfect... but ours do taste yummy and look pretty cute on my red and white polka dotted plates}

{all from martha stewart}



this is my idea of a good time
piled high smores
{google image}





now these little fellows are adorable as well
{found here}
we only get the real ugly ones around our smores
ugly ugly ugly

all kidding aside
i am kinda looking forward to a few days away
my husband does everything
cooks
cleans
puts up tent
takes tent down
all i have to do is look cute drinking tea from my polka dotted mug
See you went i get back!

~ snippets of my time away ~

the apricots were ready and waiting

the cherries were calling our name

lots and lots

of family bike rides

and

everyday

walks with my mom

I even had time

to read this

BOOK

{double click on book}

a fun and crazy read

~ off to have some small town fun ~

Off to visit my Mom and Dad...

in a very small town filled with nothing but beautiful orchards

and vineyards

...hope to do some cherry and apricot picking

{taking my bike..Maria & my camera}

Have a Great Week

bed image.... Sarah Kaye

laundry image.... Cabbages and Roses

suitcase image...... found on google images

Willy Wonka can i work for you???

this image is my idea of heaven...

i am a candy junkie...

i go into every candy store...always bringing home a bag to munch on...

the prettier the better...i like candy in my favorite colors...aqua and pink..the old fashion type in the jars....

i always make up goodie bags to give away.... always color coordinated....

on holidays i always bring people candy gifts ... {who cares if they are on a diet}

my girls are addicted as well....the dentist loves our family..

check out Amy Atlas candy tables

on our trip to Martha's Vineyard i stumbled upon this yummy shop in the little town of

Edgartown...

the fudge was AMAZING....{notice the pretty pink fudge}

some of my favorite candies ...{again notice the colors}



my candy jar on my kitchen counter is always full of some sweet treat....
i think i should go work for Mr. Wonka...

molly shares....

i myself have never been to France so i am living vicariously through my daughter and having a lot of fun doing so....

Molly gave me permission to post some of her photos ....

so of course i jumped at the chance....

being the good daughter she is.... she full filled her mothers wishes and headed straight to Laduree to buy those yummy French macaroons....

she could not bring them home without disastrous results... so enjoyed every last one..... but she did bring me the sweet box they were in ...{i can't believe i got so excited over a box}...

which is now being displayed proudly in my china cabinet ....

{she spoiled us all with many many beautiful French gifts...not just a box}

as mother requested she took a photo of the window display at Laduree...

those are her macaroons which are now in her tummy....

my box is just like one of those....isn't it lovely???

this weekend = relax

will be busy all weekend....

reading this book....

listening to molly's adventures of her France trip...

and cooking/baking yummys for us all!!!

a peek at Seattle....

pike place market
this market is second to none...the sights and smells remind you of what an European market must be like...
i love wandering through the flower market..
the blooms of color are unbelievably gorgeous ...the little old women that tend to their flowers are adorable...heads covered with bright scarves...just tall enough to peek over all the blooms to flash you a wink or two....


at this very french bakery we were delighted to find macaroons...all lined up in pretty pastel colors...i chose pink...Syd chose green...we kinda felt guilty eating them because i sent Molly on a mission in France to find them and here they are at our backdoor...shhhhh we will not tell her...though i am sure the ones in France do taste better.... however... these were very delicious.. melt in your mouth... die and gone to heaven... want to eat 100 more...kinda treat..
lucky we only had one each..
ps.....i didn't find the perfect dress but i did find the perfect skirt/blouse etc..... so all ended well...

it's all about the dress.....

off again

going for a sleepover to find a dress

heading to one of my favorite shopping spots

downtown Seattle

i love that city

i would even pay to sleep on the floor surrounded by these beautiful vintage gowns

imagine what you would dream about

{ found at shabby chic }

see you in a few days

wish me luck....i really need to find "the perfect dress"

a little peek at Oliver....

Oliver.....relax...visit....eat...walk...read....
not much else to do in this sleepy town....that is why i love to visit...
Mom and i would walk everyday around this little lake they live by called Tuc-a-nu-it..
it is still frozen solid and it is still very much winter in this little town...
the only "spring" happening was inside...
we celebrated mom's birthday with flowers and doughnut birthday cakes....

one more day.....

map..check

journal...check
funky suitcase....check

Eiffel tower...2 more days


Laduree for mom....
i am so hoping molly will find a way to bring back some of these for me.....
{google images...eiffel tower..laduree macaroons}

a pink welcome.....

Hot pink.....I love doors....I am always taking photos of them....this one hot pink drama queen door was taken in Newport, Rhode Island .....a charming town filled with beautiful huge homes dotting the coastline....and wonderful quaint shops to poke about in.....the hot pink door knob is taken from google image....I thought they made a smart looking couple.....seeing I am still on my pink theme...

momorro lanterns...

.....momorro....the color pink in Japanese....reminded me of my trip to Oak Bluffs on the sweet island of Martha's Vineyard this past summer.....we arrived by ferry and to our unexpected delight it was illumination night....these adorable gingerbread cottages were illuminated only by paper lanterns....what a treat for the eyes....i wanted to move right in....