A Party Weekend

It is a darn good thing we had loads of fun at the two parties we attended this weekend because if I would have had to rely on the market for my fun, I would have been sorely disappointed. Hot. Remind me not to do the downtown market the morning after Cinco de Mayo. Was everyone sleeping in? I think so.

When last we met I was heading to the kitchen for a little baking. As is clearly evident from the photo below, I'm a bit out of practice judging from the various colors of the chocolate chip cookies.

The macaroons, on the other hand, turned out quite nicely although different than they have in the past. For some reason I had trouble getting my egg white to form peaks which has never proven to be problematic before. Oddly enough, while beating said egg white I wondered about a stand mixer. Should I, or shouldn't I? So, what's so odd about that you ask? While talking to Matthew yesterday morning he showed me his brand new Kitchen Aid mixer, which, I was happy to learn, is made in the good old United States of America. Don't you think Kitchen Aid is a brilliant brand name? Matt has been on a wild baking kick, making everything from pizza dough to funnel cake. And, that, my friends, is in addition to his terrace garden which is coming along quite nicely. Now, if only it would quit raining in London and he'd be set. Aside from the shower at the Melbourne Art Festival (wouldn't you know it?), there has been zip in the rain gauge. Send some our way.

As evidence of the gloomy skies, here are some photos taken while Matthew visits the Olympic Park for an early water polo tournament. According to him, the place is spectacular. I can hardly wait for the Olympics myself. Note to self--must have some hand work to keep me sitting still for all the competitions!

The party at Steve and Barb's condo was full of fun, food, and laughter

as all good parties should be! Following the market on Saturday we drove to Jane and Michaels to celebrate college graduations, as in two, Aron and Adrienne. When Jane and Michael married they both had children from their previous marriages--Jane's son is Carter, and Michael had Aron and Adrienne. They are pretty much the poster children for a blended marriage with everyone getting along beautifully. The whole clan was there to celebrate Aron's graduation from UCF and Adrienne from FSU. Although they are different ages, Aron, as is often the case with boys, took a bit more time to get through his studies.

Ultimately the party was for them, but babies have a way of stealing the show don't they? Carter and his wife Lauren flew down from Columbus, Ohio to join the celebration. For the life of me I can't remember the babies name, but I can remember how darling she is!

Trying to figure out what sunglasses are for it seems. Her sweet little hair and smooth skin are enough to make you want to squeeze her to pieces! Here's how she probably looks in Ohio where the sun does not shine quite so brilliantly:

Those darling little toes! After dark the "super moon" rose over the lake:

It was a lovely evening with cool breezes blowing off the lake. Terrific Mexican food, but you probably already guessed that's what they served.

As I mentioned, Sunday was hot and slow. I nearly finished my book, State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, which, despite some pretty glowing reviews, was only okay. I was kept in a state of wonder about those reviews while reading it! One person that came by was Robin Pedero, a highly recognized artist in our area. She sells on Etsy and I discussed it a bit with her trying to find out how in the heck to get people to notice you. During our talk I learned that she was on the site for six months before her first sale which made me feel not so bad about the lack of activity I've had since my first sale. Perhaps it will be six months before the next??? Let's hope not.

You may be getting the impression that I've spent a lot of money lately on plants and up to a point that is true. The Lukas Nursery trip was expensive, but after that, I've gotten loads of my plants from the discount area at Lowes. What I've discovered is that although the plants seem a bit bedraggled, once they are free of their pots they perk up very nicely. For instance, I bought 8 plants with no blooms for $1 each--original price--$4.

Both the purple petunias and the yellow came without any flowers whatsoever and look at them now!!! The baskets came from Big Lots at a considerable discount as well. Once a bargain shopper, always a bargain shopper!! I am so loving these baskets.

For those of you who've not seen the sunroom, my window washing feat may not have seen like much. I'm here to rectify your opinion showing you one corner of the room:

The door alone is enough to make one cringe when faced with cleaning it both inside and out!!

Bill is having some car work done and needs his Momma to come pick him up, so off I go to help one of my darling "boys."