Latest Addition to the Menagerie

Daddy continues to (re)live his childhood through us...since I've done SUCH a great job with my homework, I got to pick out a pretty new canary from Magnolia Bird Farm. Dad went to get new finches (lavender, fire and yellow-breasted) and I got "Squirt". He's bright yellow and has a BEAUTIFUL song. He starts with his beak closed with a rolling sound then opens up with a cheerful aria. Squirt likes the apples and carrots that Kate & I feed him.

Big Night

Big Dinner Night at the deLancellotti's. Anya had been planning for this all summer - based on the movie, Big Night, with Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rosellini, Minnie Driver, etc. Anya made a Timbale (as in the movie) which means, "drum" in Italian. It was a delicious "piatta del giorno" or "main dish". We spoke as much as we could in Italian and talked about future travels there! GREAT evening!

The Movie that inspired the dinner theme..."Big Night"

Lucas & Kate had their own version of "Big Night" with Grammy & Lucas' friend, Paolo.

Anya prepares for a delicious meal.

David gets the wines and appetizers ready...

Donatella & Gianluca getting some fresh air...

David & Michael discuss things to do in Sicily, especially the town of Cefalu.

Anya's Big Table...

...and one of her gorgeous creations...

Chef Jeff's DELICIOUS Nectarine & Blueberry Crostada...

My new favorite...

et voila! le Timbale!!! presented by Anya & Joanne

Beautiful Timbale...

Elio, Robin & Tristan

Donatella inspects one of the MANY bottles of delicious Italian wines...

So there were some serious technical difficulties trying to get the projector to work, but we finally worked it out by dessert so that the movie could play during our feast...

The Big Sleepover after the Big Night...Lucas & Paolo opt for the lower bunk.

Endless Summer '09

More summer fun...Labor Day kicked off at Big Corona beach with the Starks, the Bevacquas, the Bairds, & the McCollum-VanHoosears...

Lucas & AJ's kelp barge is getting reclaimed by the tide...

Adam & Annie prepare for our beach dinner...

Lucas & Daddy watch for the green flash just as the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean.

Sienna & Jon watch the sun go down...

Our new favorite brunch spot...Cafe R&D at Fashion Island in Newport...Kate is sporting some new pearls she bought today...

My loved ones :o)

Lucas attemps to float a penny on top of the fountain...

Last Weekend:

We beat the heat today by heading to Laguna Beach to visit our friends who live there. We are SO ready for the cooler weather...fire season has started as several are burning in the Angeles National Forest today. Hopefully we'll get a break from this 100 degree plus weather we've been having for the past week!

If he knocks over my sandcastle, he's going right back in that water!

I think I have sand in every nook and cranny of my body!

I can't look...did the wave get my brother???

Santa Fe Redoux

Victoria & I rendevous'd for a weekend in Santa Fe to boost the decor of their vacation rental. We had a GREAT time and found that we work very well together!

Upon arrival, we had a freak hailstorm greet us. It was SO cool to see such wierd weather...especially coming from southern California!

This is a picture I took of the entry from this past February - the place looks awesome in snow!

First we had to get some healthy faire for the kitchen...we bought some goodies at the Farmer's Market at the Railyard.

Here was our blank slate...time to get started! Main House living room - the new furniture arrived on day 1.

Vic contemplates the seating placement.

After ALOT of running around town, looking for bargains, we get the living room dialed at about 12:30am Monday morning.

We focused on the main living spaces with the limited time we had, but found a few items for some of the bedrooms...The Kachina dolls were adorable so at the Farmer's Market so we had to get them for the kids' room.

We didn't do anything yet to the master suite upstairs...It was in pretty decent shape. Maybe we'll get some new bedding when we return next February!

View from the deck off the Master Suite.

The Casita (Guest House)

Living/dining room...we decided to put the dining table on this wall...

...it just felt better.

Fireplace wall with TV - new hutch, but still needed some "umph".

The dining table on the back wall seemed lost in the corner...

...so we swapped the dining table & couch to better fill the space...

The bedroom was in need of some updates as well...so the old bedding got replaced with....

new bedding that had more of a Santa Fe feel. We also found a cool triptic that told a poem in Spanish from a local artist at the Farmer's Market Art Fair, named Ganzo. We LOVED the story & the pieces.

...a nightime shot...

...and one of my favorite details - a tin rooster.

...and a daytime shot.