♥ Happy Valentine's Day ♥

Wishing family and friends a very sweet

♥♥♥

Valentine's Day!

Capiz shell hearts that are hanging over the dining table.  This is the extent of our Valentine's decor this year.  Love the simplicity of them. 

 Wish I could send these pink tulips to you!  I've enjoyed fresh cut flowers lately - dreaming of a little spring.

Our youngest turns 10 today!  Two ten year-olds under one roof for a week.  Me-oh-my!  Time is a flyin'!

Lefse

The kids and I were invited to make Lefse over their Winter Break with a lady whose grandparents came from Norway, I believe.  Being the amateurs we are, she had us make the kind using flour instead of potatoes since it's supposedly easier to work with.  I think we need quite a bit more practice, though.  None of ours were uniform like hers. 

See?

But we still had a great time!  They tasted good, too.

Coffee Stands

Here is something you might see next to a coffee stand here in the Pacific Northwest.

Located in Allyn, WA

Love driving along the Puget Sound!  The kids and I took a jaunt here over their Winter Break.  Most times I venture outside the house, I am smitten with how beautiful a state we live in.  I am so fortunate.

Catch Up

Remember this post last Monday?  This is what transpired that evening.

Even though it was a school night, the kids (and dad) made good use of the snow by sledding late into the night.  Gotta take advantage of it 'cause you never know how long (or not so long) it will stick around! 

It did start raining early the next morning and the snow was ALL gone by the time the kids got home from school. 

White Flowers

Ahhhh...the hope of Spring.

 Hyacinths just starting to pop

Had to buy myself these mini tulips at the market yesterday.  Okay, it wasn't the market, but the grocery store.  Just love the sound of market much better.  The cashier asked if they were for someone else or me.  They're for ME, of course!  Every girl needs some fresh cut flowers in the house every now and again, right?!?  Especially when skies are gray - hence, the not so great lighting (I dislike using flash). 

The pretty flowers make me want to get outside and work in the garden, but it's so cold out still.  Can you believe the weekend is just around the corner again?  Where do the days go?  What are your plans this weekend?

White Stuff

More snow pics???  We know you're probably tired of seeing pictures of it on our blog, but we LOVE the stuff!  We don't get it that much so it's still a novelty to us.  It's coming down at a steady clip this morning and already is so much whiter than this pic I took about 15 minutes ago.  School is NOT cancelled.  Whoohoo!  I can stock up on a little peace and quiet in case school is closed later in the week.  I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for a heavier snow that's been predicted.  Make sure freezer and pantry are stocked.  Blankets and quilts clean.  Clothes laundered in case power goes out.

So. . . . . happy Monday morning! 

New Year's Brunch

Cannot believe I didn't take ONE picture of the potluck brunch we hosted on New Year's Day.  We had a wonderful turnout - 44 people to be exact!  I was in charge of making the coffee and made 100+ cups.  Had to keep the people who'd stayed up late New Year's Eve awake.  Lots of delicious food, too.  We hope everyone had a nice time.  I know we did!  After brunch, there was lots of visiting and game playing.  Great way to start off the new year - with dear friends!

These two pics were of our bonus room and the tables we set up New Year's Eve.  Not the best, but you get the idea.  We did simple centerpieces of silver/gold/black noisemakers and silver and gold wrapped chocolates.

Happy 2011!

First Snow

What we woke up to this morning - a few perfect flakes.  Note the big star-shaped one in the center.

It's starting to snow even though you can't really see it.

 See the accumulation? 

It's really starting to come down now so we'll keep you posted with the progress!  : )  Kids can hardly be contained until we have enough to really play in.

Edited to add:  This is just 1/2 an hour later. 


Snowman in progress

Jordan getting ready to head off to school for a few more days before Thanksgiving.

This momma has now officially entered the 'biting nails' stage.  Don't like the thought of him driving out in this weather in his new (to him) pickup.  Dad at least weighed down the back with some heavy blocks.

An iron fence project he's taking to school to work on is also weighing down the back.

Poinsettias, Anyone?

These pics are for you, Dad!  Wish you were with us.  They remind me of Grandma - she always had them at Christmas time.  I took Brooklyn with me to Degoede Bulb Farm. It is the place to go this time of year for Poinsettias!  Also a fabulous place to visit in the spring when tulips are at their peak.

Who knew there could be so many poinsettias in one place at a time,

 and so many different varieties?!?

It was cold outside, but inside the greenhouses it was a perfect 70°.

Can you guess which one was Boo's favorite?

Pink, white, speckled, deep burgundy red, bright red, cream . . . . . with names like Cortez Red, Feeling Pink, Sonora Jingle, Silverstar Marble, Cinnamon Star, Enduring Pink/Red, etc.

A peppermint colored one!  Probably my favorite, but we didn't get one this time.  We picked up white ones and, of course, one pink one!

Seabrook Randomness

A few more pics from our stay in Seabrook, WA before I move on to another post.

Stairs leading to the beach - great exercise!

Sunset from the top of the stairs above the beach.

A trip to the beach is NOT complete without building a sandcastle.
A door plaque on one of the cottages.

Fitting name to the road our house was on.

Well, hello Jordan! He was playing with his mini-helicopter.

Inside our fabulous cottage - dining/kitchen area.

Dining/living room

Living room, door to master bedroom

A gorgeous sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

We'll definitely visit again!

Seabrook, WA

We took a mini-vacation in February to Seabrook, WA where we rented a fabulous 3 bed/3 bath beach cottage. If you're ever on the Washington coast and want a place to vacation, click the link above to plan your own!

Blogspot never seems to upload pictures in order any more and because of the amount of pictures on this post, I won't bother to sort these this time. If you are adverse to looking at a bunch of architecture/beach homes, you better skip this post.

If you are game for reading to the end of this post, thanks for humoring me!

The first thing on our agenda the morning after we checked in was to take a walk through the neighborhood.

A cute row of beach cottages facing a small park.

Nothing like the details - beautiful lighting, transom windows, wood siding . . . must I say more?


Enclosed porches.
Painted shutters

Cedar shake siding

Wraparound porches

A fave - one of several

Arbors at the front gate - remember this was winter so the flowers weren't blooming, yet. Would love to go back when the vegetation is beautiful.

New beach camp cabins under construction
A great shuffleboard game in progress between Jaeden & Keith!

It comes in handy when your outfit matches your bike! This blue house below is one of my top picks! It even had a matching breezeway and attached garage. Very nautical looking with blue and white and the red accents.
Love the cheerful yellow color!
A 2nd floor balcony and a 3rd floor dormer - cute!

This one could be a keeper! I think it stretches the "cottage" idea, though.

An abundance of fabulous lighting choices.

Great architecture abounds. . .although some of these almost look too formal for the beach, in my opinion.

The super-wonderful market that so kindly stocked our fridge for us before our arrival. That in itself felt like a vacation to not have to haul food for 6 people x 3 days on a "camping" trip. Loved it from a mom's standpoint!

See a peek of the ocean through the trees?

One cottage that even had a "lodge" look. Cute except it seemed out of place at the ocean instead of in the woods somewhere. Adore this bell. If anyone comes across one just like this, let me know - would ya?!?

Great little cafe, although we didn't get an opportunity to check it out. We tried, but they weren't quite open when we went by. Guess they don't do "early". Life at the beach. . . . The great Pacific Ocean

and a peek at the progress of the 2010 Coastal Living Idea House. Click on the link to view the latest updates. I cannot wait till it's open for the public to view. Coastal Living is one of my all-time favorite magazines ever! And their Idea Houses are awesome. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read in one of their magazines (or maybe it was their website) that they were building one this year in our neck of the woods. So this is proof that we were there during construction.

Notice the house above and the picture below. They are the exact same house. Above was taken in February of this year and the one below was taken in August of 2007 when we happened upon this brand-new community just being built. Also, the flowers were all in full bloom and the grass was gorgeous. Now do you see why it would be great to go back when everything is flowering? What a difference it makes!

We could just take our pick of a couple of beach cruisers to use during our stay. They said they were phasing out that perk because of the abuse the bikes got and people wouldn't return them. The neighborhood association would have to go around the community and collect them after people left. Also, the salt water is very harsh on them and they rust easily. Costs are too great for it to continue being a free service. Anybody want to open a bike rental shop?

Our rental was the green Craftsman, pictured below, called the Seastar Cottage. Three sets of French doors opened up onto the porch where we grilled our meals.

Oyster shells lined the streets and walkways. How fitting! Although, Keith assured me that it wasn't the best of ideas. The bits of shells track into the houses and onto the hardwood floors so easily and sure enough, he was right! We had to do lots of sweeping to keep from scratching the floors. So - cute idea, but not practical!

A couple of houses across the street from us. I'd like to rent the one in the middle just to see what it's like. Loved the beachy color scheme of white with aqua trim/shutters. Not all of the houses in the neighborhood are for rent, some are just part-time vacation homes for the owners. There are only about 8 actual owners that live in the community year-round.

Thanks for your patience! Wasn't that fun? Which one would you pick? It might have felt like I took a picture of every house there, but that was just a few of them.