Castello di Amorosa, Napa Valley Winery

Last weekend I went with my sister and mother to Napa. We stopped at the Castille De Amorosa Winery for a little wine tasting. Check out there web site: http://www.castellodiamorosa.com/ Dario Sattui had all the brinks sent over from Italy. It has taken him fourteen years to build but it looks like it has been there for hundres of years. This is my all time favorite winery in Napa, stop by the next time you are in town and I am sure you will be amazed as well.

My Dream Vegtable Garden

I have a very small yard with a lot of fruit trees planted by the previous owner, so there isn't enough room or sun to grow a garden this large.... buy I can still dream.... may be some day?

Show and Tell Friday

Cindy at Romantic Home is hosting Show and Tell Friday. I have never done this before but it looks like it will be fun, Check it out.
For Show and Tell I have taken some photos of my favorite collection..... my Cookie Jars that sit on the top of my refrigerator. They always put a smile on my face when I see them. My favorite is the Lamb with the saying written on it "For Good Little Lambs Only". The Fryer has a cute saying too "Thou Shall Not Steal", my mom had one of these when I grew up.
There's No late night snacks with these guys on guard!

Taste of Morgan Hill Festival

This year my Mom and sister Tracy worked together to create this beautiful Black and White quilt with embroidered Victorian ladies wearing hats. They entered it in this years Taste of Morgan Hill Quilt Show and it Won 1st Place!! Yahoo! The men at the show loved the quilt so much they created a special First Place Prize called the Jim Bob Award-The Mens Choice Award.

My sister Claire also entered a Christams Quilt that she made, isn't it cute? I love this one too, I dont know how it did not win a prize as well.....may be the next show?


My sister Claire also has two collector cars which she put in the show.
This is her 1956 Victoria "Vicky" for short. This is just about every mans dream.


She also showed her 1968 Chevelle. Apparently it has a big engine so it goes really fast....men seem to love that about this car! Doesn't my sister know how to pick'em or what?

In the afternoon we took a break from the heat and had some wine and cheese at the Wine Reserve, yummmm!

Thomas Kindade has his reproduction plant in Morgan Hill and I was told that he used this church as a study in one of his paintings. If you have ever been to Morgan Hill you can see why, it's very quaint. By the way ... he also gives tours of his shop. I think you just have to call ahead for an appointment.

Morgan Hill has a lot of great shops and resturants, one of my favorites shops is Magpie. If your ever in town stop by I am sure you will love it too.

Autumn

Well the kids are back at school and here in California we are just starting to see the first signs that Fall is on its way. I am looking forward to all the fall colors. October with its Pumkins and Gords its probably one of my favorite times of the year. Here in California, the weather is just perfect for me. Its still warm but the evenings are much cooler....no rain yet!

Back to school!

Apple for the teacher?

Patrick Amiot Metal Sculptor

Check out some cute folk art that Patick Amiot has been making in Sebastopol California. Many of his customers have been his neighbors, who proudly display is art in there yard for everyones enjoyment. Patrick takes old used metal parts and recycles them in his art work. If your ever in town take a stroll down Florence Ave and see is amazing work.

Riverside Mission Inn

We loaded up the truck and moved my daughter back to Riverside where she will start her second year at UC Riverside later this month. She went back a little early to set up her apartment and start her new job. I am so proud of her!

My favorite place in Riverside is the Mission Inn. Its an origial mission that has been turned into a Hotel. It is so beautiful. The maids even dress in traditional black dress and white apron. Its amazing!

Back to School Dorm Rooms

My daughter is starting her second year at UC Riverside. This year she is going to share an apartment with a friend. While looking for bedroom decorating ideas I came across some dorm room decor photos. The dorm rooms in these photos are a lot bigger then the rooms that my son and daughter had but in any case it has some great color ideas...... wouldn't you agree?

My daughter is excited that this year she will have her own room and gets a larger bed. I love the color combination in this room, it has a young look to it.

Isn't this beautiful? A white bed.... being single with no kids is probably the only time in a persons life when they can have a white bed and keep it white!

This years favorite flowering plants

I was recently laid off work so in between looking for new business opportunities I have had some time to work on my garden. While weeding the flower bed I have been really enjoying looking at the beautiful flowers that I planted this year. About four weeks ago I planted the State Fair Zinnia. These goreous plants grow to 4-5 feet high and the blooms are spectacular. I orginally purchased a six pack but did not get them in to the ground fast enough and lost three plants. The three that I planted were a little scrappy looking when I planted them but they rebounded once in the ground. I cant believe the show of blooms that they have provided in such a short time. I will definetly plant more of these next year.

I also planted the Eden Climbing Rose earlier this year and it immediately seetled into the flower bed and started blooming right away. This is definetly my favorite rose in the garden.

I came across the Irish Eyed Susan that is the sister to the Black Eyed Susan. The green center and the light yellow pedals are outstanding. I hope that it will come back again next year. If not I guess I will just have to go and buy somemore.... a must have in the garden!

My Black Eyed Susan just keeps blooming and blooming....

I was very excited this spring when my Echinecia "Purple Cone Flower" came back. I have planted some previously but they did not return so I was excited when this one came back.

I also planted some Shasta Daisies last year that came back but stayed really small....they probably needed some fertlizer??

I need a Break....

Good News!... My son turned 21 today. I cant believe it were has the time gone? He came back home from summer school at Cambridge University and immediately got a job at a law firm. My daughter will be going back to school in a couple of weeks. She was very fortunate to have recieved three job offers when she returns. I will miss them when they go back to school!
Check out the photos that Cindy at romantichome.blogspot.com posted of Monterey.... they are so beautiful. It makes me want to run away to the beach right now!.....hmmm... I think I will wait til the weekend. I hope Ya'll have a great weekend too!

Movie Review - Julie & Julia

I loved, loved, loved how Meryl Streep played Julia Childs and I could definetly relate to the character Julie who wrote the blog. Amy Adams did a great acting job but the movie portrayed her charater Julie as whiney and self absorbed. Julie cried or complained through the whole movie. I suppose that her personality was to be off set by Julia Childs cheery funny personality but instead it put a real damper on the movie. Nora Ephron has directed and procuded some of my all time favorite movies and I am disappointed to say that she got this one only half right. The Julia Childs charater was outstanding but Julie the blogger charater was a big downer. I would give the movie two stars out of five.

Julie & Julia Blog/Movie

I cant wait, tonight is the premier of the movie Julie & Julia. The previews look great. I will be going with my sister to see it tonight. In the previews her friend tells her that her blog is going to be made into a movie.... later it shows her talking to her husband and she says "I have things to say I can write a blog".... I think we can all relate to that? By the way there are a lot of Promotional giveaways. Trip to Paris from Cinemark and more... check it out.

Susie Bell Photographer

I just came across these photos by Susie Bell and just fell in love with them. Aren't they great?