Pandemonium

Running of the Bulls update

Well, they made it safe and sound. 

Mike tells me that a guy went down about 20 feet from them.

Here's the best video I could find on the web of the run but the screen isn't big enough that I can spot them.

 Mike tells me that when they watched the local news later in the day they could see themselves on that video.

Running of the Bulls video

Flea market necklace

My dear friend Jeanene is turning 50 this week so we threw her a surprise birthday party yesterday. 

She wasn't very surprised, although she made a valiant effort to fake it. 

But she was surprised when she opened her Flea Market necklace.

I made it with things that she helped me find at the Paris Flea markets.

I told her I was looking for a special piece to put on a wire doll I've been working on.

She found this pocket watch and really loved it so I bought it and told her I was going to put it on the doll...just a little white lie.

The key, domino (2 parents + 2 kids) and chandelier crystals are also items she helped me find or buy there.

The soldered charms I made from a map of the metro stop in front of the apt in Paris and also from vintage papers and postcards I bought at the fleas.

The $4 adding machine key I bought at our local Farmers Market. The buttons are 7 Gypsies and a vintage one and the pearls are from an old strand I bought at a vintage shop and took apart.

4th of July Festivities

BBQ + bike parade + homemade ice cream + homemade root beer + teenager run fireworks show = Neighborhood block PARTY!

Every couple of years our street gets a permit from the city to close both ends so we can party in the streets. This was our first time since we've only been here 1 year.

We already knew most of the neighbors but it was great getting to know the ones we didn't.

Here are just a few shots:

this is a homemade rocket launcher that launches paper tube rockets. It pays to have a scientist on the street! The kids were all over this thing - launching them and trying to catch them.

They invited the teenagers to orchestrate the fireworks show. It was quite a production - not the fireworks but watching the boys argue over what order the fireworks should go in. 

A lot of bull...

So Mike turned 50 this year and I think felt a bit panicked about checking things off his life list because he booked three major events this year.

The 1st was to run a marathon. He ran the Paris Marathon in April.

The 2nd is running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

He talked Ski into doing this with him (not a hard sell there) and the two of them flew off to Spain yesterday. 

They are running the 1st day of the festival which begins Monday morning. This is not such a good day to run because there are twice as many people running - 3000 as opposed to 1500.

Here are some images I got off the web - hmmm... I wonder if it's too late to increase his life insurance. In this first picture I think this guy is going commando. I hope Ski and Mike have enough sense not to wear a kilt and go commando although it does pretty much guarantee that you'll get your picture plastered all over the web!

If they survive this, then they are headed to France to see the Tour de France. That's the 3rd one of Mike's life list items. Fortunately it was just to see the tour and not actually be in it. 

Family Room Pictures

Here's the sectional and a close up of the fabric. I wanted something pretty neutral and durable but with tapered legs to give the room a bit more formal and masculine feel. Since the color is too close to the wall color we're painting the wall you see in this photo a deep chocolate brown.

Mike really wanted a lazy-boy (doesn't every man) and I was very resistant to that. But in the end, I figured that giving him what he wanted it might help me in other areas of the house where we have a difference of opinion on what should be done.

I picked up the recycled aluminum round table from Pottery Barn and the stainless steel and leather steamer trunk from Restoration Hardware.

We mounted our TV over the fireplace which has been so nice and looks way better than the huge entertainment center that we used to have in this room.

I still have to style the bookshelves with some vintage finds and we're going to add some additional molding to the fireplace and above where the TV is so that area doesn't look so blank. We may also paint it chocolate brown.

Over the weekend my planters arrived and our new front door mat. I picked out the plants and Mike helped me get them planted. 

We want to replace our front door with some cool vintage door and I found a 100 year old BANK door that has frosted glass and the word BANK etched on it. It was solid mahogany and the right size and I was so psyched until I realized the hinges were on the wrong side and so the word BANK would be backwards when you walked up to the front door. BUMMER! I'll keep looking though because we think this door just doesn't fit this house well.

 

Re-decorating

For the past couple of months we've been working on re-decorating our family room.

The furniture we had from our old house didn't fit so I ordered new furniture.

I'll try and post a photo tomorrow of where we are with the room - there is still a lot to be done.

Today I was on-line trying to choose pillows for the new sectional that we bought.

Here are the choices:

I need to select 3 or 4 pillows - which ones do you like?

I know it's hard without seeing the sofa, so I'll try and add a photo of it tomorrow.

Mmmmm...cherries!

One of the big benefits of this new house is our cherry tree.

Growing up, we had multiple cherry and other fruit trees that would provide delicious treats throughout the summer. 

We had an apple and walnut tree at our last house but cherries far surpass either of those for me.

This year, with all the rain our cherry tree has been overloaded with delicious cherries.

Our neighbors love us because we've been delivering baskets up and down the street of dark, rich, juicy goodness.

Of our two Yorkies, Portia is the one who loves being outside, especially if Mike is outside. She's a daddy's dog. Her favorite thing to do is lay on the warm driveway and take a little nap in the sunshine.

Free Photoshop Elements Tutorials on Digital Scrapbooking

If you've always wanted to learn how to digital scrapbook or just use that version of Photoshop Elements that you have lying around here is an easy and FREE way to learn how.

Two Peas has me record a new lesson each month. The videos are 10-15 minutes long - so you can buzz through them in a weekend and you can watch them as many times as you want.

So far there are 10 lessons. Here they are:

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Lesson 9

Lesson 10

Happy Scrapping!

H1N1

Last week Rhonna brought her kiddos up and Kate and I met them at Les Madeleines for lunch! I love Rhonna - she is SUCH a fun person to be around and her kids are delightful! 

All her kids are repainting their rooms, so we came back to my house to see if we could sell Sol on the orange color I have in my studio. Spencer was nice enough to snap a couple photos of all of us out by the rose garden.

So you may be wondering...what does this have to do with the H1N1 virus.

Well, we left the next day for Ski's graduation and a couple days into our Chicago trip I started getting sick. I've never been so glad to get home to my own bed!

I spent most of Monday in bed with the chills and a fever.  Rhonna e-mailed me on Tuesday to say that she had been sick also, had gone to the doctor and been tested and it came back that she had the virus.

Now Spencer is upstairs in bed sick, so I'm guessing this is probably what I had as well. Mike and Mick left yesterday on a 4 day canoe trip down the Green River so I'm really hoping that neither one of them comes down with it. 

Anyone out there had it yet? 

Ski's Graduation

We spent the past 4 days in Chicago for Ski's graduation from the University of Chicago. He arranged for us to stay at his professor's house who lives a few blocks from campus.

The 1st night he took us out to a sushi buffet. Mick and I are not big on sushi so we ordered something else but it was fun to watch Ski, Spencer and Mike go at it. You were given a menu where you checked the items that you wanted to be served. The trick is, not to order too much because you have to pay for whatever you don't eat. 

On Friday we went to the Science and Industry Museum which I highly recommend...especially  if you have a bunch of smart science geeks in your family. We spent most of the day there and finished off with a trip downtown for some shopping at H&M. We also stopped by to pick up some cupcakes from MORE. YUM!!! We highly recommend the salted caramel and passionfruit meringue.

That night we went out to dinner at the Chicago Firehouse with Ski and his girlfriend Laura. The food was fantastic. Mick and I shared a trio of filet mignons that were crusted in various things like blue cheese. TO DIE FOR! And the bonus for the evening is that I don't think we scared Laura too badly.

Saturday was the graduation and it rained hard for most of it.....which wouldn't have been so bad except that it was outside. I know that Ski was pretty miserable but it was a very neat experience for Mike and I to see him get his diploma. I didn't get a shot of him in his cap and gown due to the rain and also because there wasn't supposed to be any videoing or photography - although I did get some video and this shot while standing in line to go in.

Later that evening we went downtown to the restaurant TRU. It was a truly memorable experience! We were led into the dining room where 5 members of the waitstaff were standing reading to seat us all in unison - we totally failed that one! 

Then they come around with your napkins on a silver platter and give you a choice of selecting black or white - this can be a tricky decision since you don't know if later it will impact what or how you're served.

When serving or removing the courses, there are at least 3 of the waitstaff that surround the table and they serve or remove the plates in unison moving clockwise around the table until everything is served or cleared. They can only pick up one thing at a time, so sometime they circle the table several times.

It was like performance eating! Very entertaining!

And...best of all, the food was impeccable...surprising...interesting in how it was presented and most of all, utterly delicious! There were a couple of items that had roe (fish eggs) in them that weren't my favorite but other than that it was outstanding. 

Ski ordered venison and it was baked in a chocolate cake-like crust. Spencer's soup arrived as just a bowl of lobster and crab meat and they waitress appeared with a carafe and poured the steaming soup over it then garnished it with a special foam. 

It was pretty obvious that we were not high-bred city folk but we had fun with that too. Especially when Mick spilled on the white table cloth and they came over with a white napkin and laid it out to cover up the stain. Mick also had one bout of spewing water when someone crack a joke midstream.

Again...if only I had brought my iPhone...well, Ski might have stood up and walked out if I had started taking pictures. :o)

It was pricey but if you're ever in Chicago looking for a memorable dining experience, I highly recommend it. 

All in all, we had a marvelous time.