if you've ever been to New Orleans...

...you know just how happy every single dingle dangle person is here! Know how I know that? Cuz I'm here in nola and I sure am happy!! Know why? (besides the fact that I'm just in new orleans and how can you NOT be happy around all these coonasses?!!) MY FUTURE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW FOUND HER WEDDING DRESS TODAY AND I GOT TO BE THERE TO WATCH!!!!! Now, from a mom of three sons, who never thought she'd be able to do this kinda stuff, I gotta tell ya.............so honored to have been invited. And OMG.........how am I gonna get thru my baby boy's wedding if I can't get thru the dress shopping without bawling like a baby??
And is she gonna be a beautiful bride?? Duh..........um......undeniably, without a doubt, gorgeous!!!

A VERY happy bride-to-be and her precious mom!!

Sitting in the lobby of our hotel, having cocktails with some crazy SAINTS fans......they play on sunday here and you can only imagine the hilarity going on right now in the quarter. We've been there all afternoon and going back in a bit! Add LSU fans and Tennesee fans for the game tomorrow in baton rouge and well........the mix is lethal! And one of the reasons why everybody in New Orleans is sooooo happy!!
Gumbo.....shrimp....catfish....boudin....cracklin.......yeah, that is some good eatin' chere!! I feel so lucky today..........my family is growing and with each new member, it just gets better and better!!

Saying Goodbyes.....

"You're going away in late September, but here's a thanks for a summer I'll always remember,"

Monday, Sept. 27....packed it up and time to say goodbye to another summer at Rio Bonito! In the crisp, even chilly morning breezes, sophie and I walked around and told a few of our favorite things bye-bye and reminisced about another lovely summer at our home away from home...

goodbye to mornings on the deck with coffee and this gorgeous view!

goodbye to the most wonderful pool area in the whole wide world!

goodbye to a sweet lil corner of the porch!bag packed and sophie waiting in the car.....

only thing left to do was close the door and smile with warm memories of another glorious summer....2010!

And well..................um, it will only be goodbye until the weekend!!!! hahahahahahaha! You see? We still spend just about weekend there........it's just too much of a paradise to leave it for long!!

Saturday..Sophie...& Shrimp!

and now you're saying....what does that title mean? hahahahaha........nothing, really! Just a day in the life of a crazy chick!! I found this wild hibiscus flower on my walk early in the morning....see the five lines behind the pistil? makes a lil star....like a texas star!! Spent the rest of the day doing honey-do's.....the usual Saturday stuff all homeowners do. Hauling off garbage, pulling weeds, snipping jasmine. Ok, ok...the boyfriend did some of this! Ok, ok....most of it!! But I did get some cute shots of my sophiejane in her basket on the bicycle! Nope, she doesn't like it and we never ride it..........but she is cute....no hair and all!What better way to end a nice Saturday than with LSU football and and a nice dinner! I had marinated a nice piece of salmon, wrapped some jumbo shrimp with bacon and marinated in white wine, parsley, garlic and a few shots of chipotle tobascco sauce...ready for the grill!

and for dessert???

LSU......20 W. Virginia.....14 !!!!!!!!!!

No Place.....

MY BABYBOY CLOSED ON HIS VERY FIRST HOUSE YESTERDAY!!! In this day and time, if any of you are familiar with the housing market, you know it's TOUGH for young people to get loans for anything...much less a house. He's been working on this deal for MONTHS. Been actually doing the "wanting" for a very long time. So yesterday was quite a special day for this man and his lovely fiancee! He signed the papers at 3:30 and had his furniture in by 7:30!!

In the midst of all the unpacking, I took them their supper last night......you know....my gut always tells me that in whatever circumstance, if you provide food....you've helped out!!

Shrimp etoufee, layered salad, cheese bread and a lil pie!

So,not only was I so excited for them to finally have a beautiful new home to come back to after they marry, but I also got to go with my future daughter in law and her mom to begin her registry!! How thrilled I was when I got the invite!! And most of you know what a dish and glassware whore I am, so you can only imagine how much fun I had!!

Autumn Equinox

Happy First Day of Fall!!

Beautiful Friends..

..make my heart smile! Big Time!!
Last night, my boyfriend and I joined my very good friends for dinner. My college roomate!! That's her on the right, with two of her gorgeous daughters! I know, I know....hard to tell which is which. She still looks exactly the same as she looked 30 something yrs ago...(bitch!) We have remained friends all these yrs and even tho lots of time may go by between visits, it's always as if we've never left each other's sides. And I know if I needed her, she'd be back by my side in a heartbeat. She makes me laugh, she makes me happy and I cherish her friendship.
"Do not save your loving speeches for your friends
Till they are dead;
Do not write them on their tombstones.
Speak them rather now instead." ~~anna cummins
So dear friend...................please know how much I love you and I thank you for your friendship!

The Views...

from our balcony between the rails! from the spa balcony! and of course, you can't go to the hill country of Texas without seeing lots of this!

...When the horn sounds...

..this is what "Lake Trash" ... the cap'n's J-22 sailboat will be doing! We are in Austin Tx where he will be racing on Saturday and Sunday.......A beautiful drive over today and an even lovlier dinner at Steiner Ranch Steakhouse! and while he does his thing? I will be enjoying the spa and pool at the Lakeway Resort and Spa, where we're staying!! SPA DAY ALL DAY LONG TOMORROW...HEHEHEHEHEH! Then on Sat, my college roomate who is in town to visit her daughter, will come to play with me!! Good Times!!

FUN grocery shopping!

I've come to Dallas to help stock my oldest baby boy and his wife's new fridge in their new apt!! They came all the way from Californey about 6 months ago and are now settling into new jobs, new digs and new friends. The next phase of their lives....so exciting!! So, I got here yesterday afternoon when dil got off work and we, of course, had a martini first to relax!! We're cool like that! Then we took off for Central Market.....only the coolest grocery in the whole world. Cereally? You could just spend an afternoon there perusing all the unusual foods. I was so verclempt while in there that I didn't take one picture....sigh, the cheese aisle alone? OMG!! Sigh....

As our shopping progressed, I have to show you what filled our buggy first :) We had to have this bottle of bubbly for tonight since she and I both actually toured the Shramsberg vineyard together in Napa a few yrs ago! A celebration!!

And this pic is dedicated to my boyfriend and my buddy, clisa...........they'll know why!! (asiagio cheese wrapped in prosciutto and then deep fried!!!)

Now, I'm off to find a walmart where I can actually get the stuff they really need....you know, like bread and mustard and milk....the stuff they really need to eat everyday!!! But Central Market was a blast........heeheehee!!

Y-U-M-M-Y!

So, since this past weekend was the opening day of teal season.........all my group was at the hunting camp. They, as usual, had a blast. The cap'n cooks for all of them and it's always a treat. And I thoroughly enjoyed my time alone at the lake! Once I got home on Friday, I don't believe I saw or talked to a single person. Except for sophiejane, of course. Total Bliss! Totally!!

We enjoyed our mornings on the deck in the cool breezes. We worked in our garden a bit. We swam ALL day on Saturday -- and by that I mean, we, er, I mean "I" layed on a raft in the water all day long! Again...Bliss!! By dinnertime, I remembered a recipe from The Pioneer Woman that I had seen and wanted to make. Since the cap'n isn't very big on red sauces with his pasta, I thought this a perfect time to make it. And since I usually don't even turn the light on in the kitchen when I'm alone, this was so worth it!!

If you're looking for a really fast, easy and tasty pasta dish.....try it out!! Y-U-M-M-Y!!
(sorry for the poorly lit picture..)

9-11-2010

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Smiling...

A little while back, a friend of mine from NYC! showed me a pic of her little girl, Wisconsin. Well...her name is really Georgia, but since my friend's name is Virginia, I just always felt compelled to name her little one another state.....and Wisconsin is what I came up with. Um....why? Um...crazy? Don't know and Yes!! But it's what I've been calling her for the past 5 yrs. So.. I've been going thru my photo files and ran across this one. The was the original pic of Wisconsin...And this is the one I sent back to her after a lil photoshop play!
She started kindergarten a few days ago and I've been thinking about them. Happy School Days ms. Wisconsin....er, I mean ms. Georgia!!

Always a crowd pleaser...

...around my house!

There is always a smile on boy's faces when they walk in the door and smell and see this for their dinner! (jalapeno cornbread before it goes into the oven^^)

fried deer meat. and mustard greens!

and of course, there's always a sneaky boy trying to snatch some pieces before the meal is ready!

Labor Day brings on the beginning of fall-like days but more importantly around here, it heralds the beginning of hunting season. Oh Lawdy.....Praise Hunting Season!!

My boys have been counting down the days until they could hang out at the deer camp with family and friends to laugh, talk, eat, drink a leetle!, scratch and hunt every single day! This past weekend was dove season. Next weekend and the 3 after that are teal season. And come November, deer and duck season begin. So, my guys are vera vera happy right now.....they are all so cute...like kindergarten kids....getting ready for each weekend!!

Snapshots of summer fading into fall...

*(LSU 30 NC 24!!!) had to get that outa the way first :)

YIPPEE!!

It feels like Fall this morning!! Cool and crisp.....breezy, yet full of sunshine!! What better way to begin this glorious day than to have coffee on the deck with my sweet friend....well, um....kinda. She lives way up in the PNW .... Washington state. A long, long, long way away from me, but after she and I went to Sedona last spring, she sent me these awesome coffee mugs that had been made by a local artist and she sneaked past me. When I got home, I found them in my mailbox. Hmmmmm.....sneaky, I tell ya!

So, I called her and told her I was drinking from my cup and she got hers and had coffee with me.....from a million miles away!!

And excuse me.........what is the first and foremost sign of Fall?????

Hellllllllllllo?? Um, first game tonight against North Carolina!!! HOW 'BOUT THEM TIGERS??

Fun in the Mail!

So, ms R over at Beach House Living has a very cool etsy shop. After exploring her blog, I happened to run across these cool pieces of silverware. HAD TO HAVE THEM for the sweet bride and groom to be in our family!! I'm going to use them in some tablescape decor for their rehearsal dinner party. Have all sorts of ideas running in this ol' head but haven't put them all together yet. This is what I got!!

The piece on top right is a vase for a flower! She included that lil treasure in my package! So cute...and has a suction cup on back for hanging!!
Pretty cool, eh? Go check out her cool blog and visit her etsy store too!