7.31.2009

once more.....











I don't know if i told you.....but i've decided to get married





all over again.





Let me know if you agree....





after viewing these photo's.
{and you are ALL invited.....}































































































seriously......
what a difference 11 years makes. I'm not saying i didn't love my wedding......but photography,style and overall effect has changed......
so i think i'm going to ask the hubs if he's all for a "quickie"......in our backyard.......
oh girls.....
i didn't mean that sort of "quickie"........
you all have such foul minds.........
All photo's are from this FABULOUS site......Once Wed.
xo














7.30.2009

how the French kiss

Our trip to Cali was a blast, and with so many pics.....i thought the easiest thing to do was to collage it for you. I am also linking a lot of the places where we dined and went wine tasting, since a lot of you emailed me for recommendations.

We flew into San Jose...which is about an hour south of San Francisco. Normally we drive over to Monterey from the airport and drive the coast down though Big Sur, but we got in a little late on Thursday...so we just drove the highway down to San Simeon. I HIGHLY recommend if you ever are driving thru Big Sur that you stop at Nepenthe and enjoy a glass of {overpriced} wine with a fantastic view of the ocean.

We stay in San Simeon, which is a teeny tiny coastal town with not much going on.....except for a fabulous beach condo that sits on the beach. We love coming here.....well.......the first being we have a FREE place to stay {thanks mom and dad}, but also because we LOVE the wineries that are situated on the pass from Cambia to Paso Robles.

We normally hit about 4- 5 wineries....always trying a few new ones but always going to these:

*Justin



*Adelaida



*York Mountain






We met up with old friends from when we used to live in the Bay area....and I also got to meet a new friend..darling Allegra with her cutie Ashton.

Alright........as you can see..we are wrapped up in blankets......I swore i should have brought my snuggli....would have been so cozy...and {pepto bismal} pink is so ravishing on me.

It's cold along the beach in July....just so you know.......and one more thing.....lots of wine=lots of calories=at least a month of dieting.

I'm just saying.

but maybe you have a better metabolism than i do.

oh....and the 2 trips to ' In and Out' sure doesn't help.....

and i don't eat beef.....that just goes to show you.....

i'm sure it was all the wine......actually i'm positive it was the wine.










I'm just going to let you in on a secret right now. We love to eat......and we love to eat because other people are making the food. Bryan was spoiled.....with 4 nights of people cooking for us......actually 3 nights because i did cook one night.....and i normally don't cook.

Robin's in our FAVORITE restaurant. We actually dined there 2 out of the 4 nights.....and one night we sat in their garden while a jazz band played. We had tapas with different wines ......and even watched Natalia come out to the garden to pick fresh herbs and edible flowers for our food....

o.k...i don't really know if Natalia is really her name....it could be Bertha for all i know....but Natalia sounds very sophisticated......and she thought i was a lunatic for following her around to get a picture.......so the least i could do is give her a good name.





Alright....... so i am saving the best for last.......

alright....it's not the best.......but it sure was cool....

while we were driving around...we came upon an R.V. dealership.........

with about 15-20 Airstream's.....all of them new....all of them beautiful.

I swear to goodness....i thought i saw Matthew standing in front of one......

but when we pulled up....he was gone.

*sigh*

oh well......i still managed to tour a few of them......and told Bryan that we NEED one.

not want one......but NEED one.

I mean......Bryan KINDA looks like Matthew.......at least he does when i close my eyes.




oh....one more thing....don't ask me how i came up with the title of this post.
I just thought it would be funny if someone googled 'how the french kiss'...they would stumble here
and read all about my love of Airstreams...and Matthew...and of course....wine.
xo






7.28.2009

green door

Hello girls.......


Let me tell you what a little couple's therapy does for one's soul........


for 5 days a year.....we {the hubby and i} get to sneak away to a home my parents have on a beach halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.


We sneak away with no children.......


yup.....no children............


of course i call everyday.......


and my wonderful mother watches my children.......for 5 days straight........


she doesn't complain to me.........she manages just fine.......and i don't care if someone is dirty or if my home is a mess......


because i have 5 days with my hubby to myself.





Marriage is hard.....oh, i know.


but it is so important to carve time out and put the children aside......to make time for one another.



A true test in marriage came out when we were wine tasting with some friends....and we came across this adorable little house.


I jumped up and down with delight.......because i was going to get our picture taken here......and he just laughed.


How can you laugh at me?........but he said......i'm laughing because the minute i saw the doors....i knew you had a plan.....

....he could have rolled his eye's {and he probably did}, but he was being supportive in a way that i wanted him to be.....

and that means alot.





Marriage is a two way street..........or two doors if you must have the actual visual here........when one door is open.......the other might be closed........sometimes both doors are open...and sometimes they are closed....


hmmmm.


don't know where i'm going with this....


sounded so good and profound there for a minute.......


i just say....keep the doors open......then all is well....

did that sound good?....sounds good over here.......

and Bryan just said.....open doors are really good......

so there.

Open doors are good.

But i sure love the look of these closed doors!








"what is it? My dear?"




"Ah, how can we bear it?"




"Bear what?"




"This. For so short a time. How can we sleep this time away?"




"We can be quiet together, and pretend- since it is only


the beginning-that we have all the time in the world."




"And every day we shall have less. And then none."




"Would you rather, therefore, have nothing at all?"




"No. This is where I have always been comming to. Since my


time began. And when i go away form here, this will be the


mid-point, to which everything ran, before, and from which


everything will run. But now, my love, we are here, we are now,


and those other times are running elsewhere."
{A.S. Byatt-possession}




7.24.2009

the skinny....

Happy Friday girls........

I wanted to share some super exciting news with you while I am away in lovely San Simeon, Cali.....

I had heard thru the grapevine......that my favorite shop was thinking of naming some jeans after me........

and i thought to myself.........are they kidding or what?!

Seriously?!

after moi........

i mean it was just a rumor after all........

so i just waited.....only checking in from time to time at my local Anthro.......

till i received the call from my good friend Lindsay...who works there.

She said.......you better get your bottom in here ASAP!.......

I'm so sorry for the bad photo's......as i was such in a hurry to get in there before i left on vacation...that i forgot my camera and had to rely on my cell........

but it is in fact true.........

I present to you.......

the newest addition of jeans to the Anthro family.......

The Kasey....Skinny Jeans........


...and they even spelled my name right........and i am SO flattered that they named me the 'skinny' jean instead of the 'wide leg' .
Thank you Anthro.....you made my day!
xo

7.22.2009

traveling girl....

Well girls.....









I'm off to rendezvous .....with a man....




it's a funny story......




only if you have time of course.




I met him 14 years ago....




and we've been seeing each other ever since.....




of course some things have changed.....




I've since had 3 babies.....




I've lived in 3 states.....




I've moved every 4 years......




I'm a good 10 lbs heavier { but who's counting..}










...this man treats me with respect...




he's a family man......




and he's made it thru 3 large layoff's with his company....




this sweet man has a name....




but i call him "babe". {and not after the pig movie...}




So we are off for a mini rendezvous......




we do this once a year.....for 4 nights and 5 days.....




we like to call it "couple's therapy"......




and we go to Cali......to a house on the beach....




but 20 minutes to wine country.....where we meet friends for a day of wine tasting...




and you know how i like my wine......especially a good pinot grigio........with a little "babe"




for dessert.....just making sure you are still reading;-)











...and Lola wanted in on the pic....with my new {old} grey suitcase that i found.......and i got her out of the 'little house on the prairie' dress and got her into this one.....improvement ....by far.



And you can follow me to Cali on twitter...here








See you soon!

Oh...if you have any FAB book recommendations...throw them at me...because in between wine tasting and eating at In & Out Burger...i'm going to need a good book.....





Oh...and the winners of the Lola b's loot ....{did you think i forgot..}



*Wendy of Shabby Nest...



and



*Annonymous.....



if you could just email me and i will get on it.



oh....darn....don't know who annonymous was....



so Rachel from little bit vintage.....



email me.



xo


















7.21.2009

The fair.....

This is our third summer here in Illinois.....and our best one to date. The weather has been fantastic....70's and mild 80's......not the normal here.
Normally....the humidity kills me......making my hair look like i stuck my finger in an electrical socket and my cute clothes sticky with sweat.
Not this summer......
I have actually really loved living in the Midwest the last 6 weeks......
{ask me again in another 6 weeks...o.k.?}
Anyways.....for the last few summers we have scrounged whatever money we could find in the sofa's and pockets and i even looked in the dryer vent .......yahoo.....found a five dollar bill sitting in there.....
and headed to the fair.
It's not an inexpensive event....let me tell you.......

I had a great shot of my family....but then i noticed the lady in the upper right hand corner........
i'm still trying to figure out how to edit people out......{i also didn't know it was legal to wear a tire around your waste}..........
i know....i'm not nice.......


















The children had a blast.......and every year Lola has to ride the elephant. EVERY YEAR!
...and she loves it.....
and this year she talked Fin into hopping on for the ride........
it doesn't look like he loved it......but he sure had fun....








....he even found me.......
...and he whispered to me that i indeed need a pedicure.....






*WARNING*
...these are some pictures of some fair eye candy for you.......














I really only wanted to show you a few......because what i saw at the fair should NOT be allowed.
But we had a fabulous time.....we always do.....
and the corn dogs were out of this world!
xo







7.20.2009

backroads.......







Good morning Monday!




Let me tell you what a relief that today brings for me.......today starts the rest of a relaxing summer......




i hope.......




whew....




I had my open house on Saturday........and i could not have done any of it.... without the help of my friends.




These girls did not need to be asked to help....they just did.........my besties......these girls. I'm tickled to have such wonderful girls in my life........




thank you... Tracey....Marti.....Sharon...and....Amy .....xo. ...i really smashed all the pics together for you........i really only wanted to do one post of Saturday for you...































One of the biggest surprises was meeting Ashley and her mother Jerri....they drove all the way to my home from West Virginia......




They have been long time blog readers of mine...and it was so wonderful to finally meet them!




I even got to sneak away Sunday and meet up with them for brunch......mimosa's included..... at this fabulous place...
























































































































































This concludes the summer show.




I loved meeting all the new faces and look forward to doing one more event in late Sept or early Oct.




I am temporarily closing my online shop for the next few weeks so that i can re-group....re-focus....and just relax.




My children will appreciate having me back....




or not........





and i might even be able to wean myself off of the Tylenol p.m.




xo