Happy 12th Birthday CJ

Has it really been 12 years since CJ (we called him Cole then) was a baby? 

Grammy is just as proud of him now as she was then.

Cj is the middle brother in the birth order.   

Three Things Grammy Loves about CJ 

(I could list many more)

You amaze me by your ability to:

1)  Build,  whether it is constructing objects or a plan of action you can build it
2)  Say one liners because one word can remind you of something that is funny and you totally make me laugh and I’m amazed where that thought came from
3)  Leader with a plan of action, while playing sports or playing your trumpet  or if you need or want something you know what you need to do  and you work hard to make it happen

 

Birthday Bear always has to come out to sing Happy Birthday song.

Don't you just love the sports newspaper page wrapping paper.

Trust me, he could care less about the paper.  

I'm sure he is having trouble opening the card because he is so excited to see what are in the boxes.

He starts making a birthday list for me as soon as his Christmas list is fulfilled.

 Every year we keep saying "He will not want more Legos this year" but not so.

How special that your Nana (who is almost 91 yrs old) is there to celebrate with you.

Remember I said he comes up with one-liners....well,

before we ate, Papa said "Let's pray over CJ"  

Since Papa is short in statue, 

CJ said "It will be hard for you to pray OVER ME, Papa" so,

Papa proceeded to stand on the bar stool as he prayed for CJ's birthday dinner.

(Does anyone wonder where CJ gets it) 

CJ's Favorite Dinner

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

Chicken Tenders that have been browned in a skillet and seasoned to taste

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup

8 oz Sour Cream (added towards the end of cooking time)

Always a crock pot liner for easy clean up.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours

Rice made with chicken broth instead of water.

 

What he calls "oven salt toast" which is sourdough bread 

with butter and garlic salt that is cooked in the oven.

I didn't take a picture but he likes corn 

sprinkled with ....what else?...garlic salt

We did have green beans and salad.

Original Nestles Tollhouse Cookies.  For recipe click here.

Birthday guy always get to eat off his favorite plate.

Blue M & M plate for CJ

C J:  Live out your life to the fullest and be the man God created you to be.
You bring so much joy to our life and we love you so much!

HAPPY  12th  BIRTHDAY   C J !!!

A Valentine Soiree

Unfortunately about a month ago, I had the flu but the day I was recouping from my suffering time the Valentine issue of the Romantic Homes magazine arrived in the mail, so I had to rest and read my magazine from cover to cover. Under the shopkeeping section, there is an article called "A Romance with France" which was about a French inspired antique shop in San Diego California called Vignettes . They announced their Valentine soiree theme "Queen for a Day".  Since my friend, Sally, and I have enjoyed shopping there in the past, I asked if she would be interested in a Valentine soiree..... of course the answer was ....yes!  We began researching the possibility of attending this soiree and found out that Queen Marie Antoinette would be the inspiration for the soiree.  This is a queen who wore her finest ballgowns to stroll amongst her gardens and said “The least I can do for my gardens is to dress in my finest, for after all, look how they have dressed up in their finest for me”. Also,   Meryl Schoenbaum, Executive Editor of Romantic Homes Magazine   would be the guest for the day and autograph Romantic Home magazines.

Since I was still recouping from the flu, I downloaded from Netflix the movie "Marie Antionette" to recall the story.  In my opinion, the story wasn't  that great but the fashions, grounds, and furnishings were lovely.  If you would like to see some photos go to Sony pictures, Marie Antoinette.

As time went on, life started to get in the way of us attending the soiree but around 9 pm the night before the lavish party was to take place, we decided to make the trip.  It is around a 3-hour drive.  So the next morning around 6 am we were on our way to a royal-inspired road trip.  Following is what greeted us.

 I'm trying to wait patiently for the door to open so Sally took a picture of me and......

 I took a picture of her.

Since my husband knows how I love to shop, he gave me an early Valentine gift of extra spending cash for the trip.  Following I will show you what I came home with.

The first item that caught my eye was this French Boudoir Sweetheart chair.

 

See the red velvet cover buttons and the detailed wood.

 

The sweetheart chair found its new home next to my Victorian gown.

Ooh La La 

 

This Valentine's Day painted sign was perfect to put in my entry vignette.

I purchased a few other items that I didn't take pictures of 

such as a book titled "Cupid's Understudy" and 

some very cute Valentine tags.

 

Wishing you a very special Valentine's Day

My Sew Sweet Studio Giveaway

My friend, Beverly, who is so talented is having a wonderful Valentine's giveaway on her blog.  You can check it out at My Sew Sweet Studio.  Enjoy!