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What I read in 2011 and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and cookies!

I'm not a big reader..I do however LOVE to read a good book.  I encourage my girls to read, one loves to read and the other it is like pulling teeth.  I remember being like that when was her age.  My parents weren't big readers so maybe that has something to do with it. But as an adult I love to make the time to read.  I read a whole lot of magazines, do they count? I think not.  Anywho....The NESTER is having a Book List Linky Party and I'm always into finding out what other people like to read or  what they recommend.  I have a couple of girlfriends that are always reading and one passes me on her books.  So without further ado here is the books I read in 2011.

This is what currently is on my nightstand....some to be read and others I've read.

1.  Still Alice by Lisa Genova

    I really enjoyed this book.  My Mother has Alzheimer's so it was     interesting to have the patients point of view represented in this book.

2. Lips Unsealed by Belinda Carlisle

    As a GoGo fan, yes I'm an 80's girl, I can remember my Punk Rock     boyfriend taking  me to see them at The Whiskey, a Gogo {Hollywood} in     1981. I enjoyed book I found it interesting that she had a 30 year drug     problem and her husband never knew for the longest time.

3. The Secret Lives of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

    This was a great read!  Now my youngest is reading it, she is really loving it.      After reading it I had to rent the movie.  I loved both!

4.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

    My friend Pam recommended this book and I loved it.  What a great     interesting, enjoyable book to read.  I love books about the south, I have     family in Alabama, maybe that is why.  My in laws live near the Gulf and my     Dad was from Arkansas.  I hope to see the movie now that I have read the     book.

5.  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

    I liked the book, it was not a favorite but it was good.  I also saw the movie     and I thought it was pretty good.  A good read.

6. Waterside Cottages by Barbara Jacksier and photos by Dan Mayers

    The one and only decorating book I read this year.  I've been busy     decorating for the new house and since this is a beachy look book it fit in     with the Cottage on Cullen St. style decor.  I loved the photos, Dan did an         amazing job and I follow Barbara's blog too, check the sidebar.  

Currently I'm reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, my friend Renee raved about this whole series and I hear from several people the movie is really, really good.  So my goal this Winter break is to finish the book.  

I know I've been a postin' foo...but I was working like crazy in December and the computer went down for good so we had to get a new one, {we got a laptop} and I'm playing around with the posts because it wasn't letting my pictures upload but I think I have it figured out now. Sorry for the

B    I     G        S    P    A   C      E     S    between words, it doesn't show up like that in my box when I'm composing the post...

So what do you my readers recommend to read in 2012?  I'd love for you to leave your picks in the comments area! Please with cheeries on top...

These cookies are by Bake at 350 , check out her website...I love the cottage cookies, she is quite the cookie artist.

 

 

Baby Shower in Historic Neff Barn..

I grew up in the City of Whittier but my family lived in an unincorporated area which was sandwiched between the City of La Mirada so that is most likely why our area was part of the Norwalk-La Mirada School District and not a school district in Whitter. Growing up I spent more time in La Mirada and even worked for the City of La Mirada while attending my local junior College. 

 One of my jobs was working at Neff Park where the founding family's Ranch was located in the City of La Mirada.  The Neff Barn was owned by the McNally's {of Map Rand-McNally fame} they lived in the Big House and during the weekends you could take tours of the Grand House. 

When I was working on the weekends I had the key to the "Big" house {as seen above} because  weddings would take place in the Gazebo and then the reception would be in the barn.  I can remember one time I went there at night  with my boyfriend {now Mr. Incredible} to show him the house.  We pretended like it was haunted and tried to picture us living there if we owned the place or thinking back in time what our town would of been like way back then. Sometimes we used to make out on the front porch...shhhhh don't tell on us.  Mr. Incredible grew up in a house less than a block away and went to elementary school which is next door to the park. 

 Not only that when he moved to the next street over {finally moving out of his family's house,  I practically was living with him I stayed over at his house so much his roommates wanted to charge me rent.  But one, summer day while I was working at Neff Park doing the Summer Day Care he drove up in my convertible VW and had loaded up all my belongings and broke up with me right then and there. I won't go into the details of why...let's just say I was not the only girl in his life at the time.  So we as a couple  have a lot of history of good ol' Neff Park. 

  {here is the backside of the barn facing the park, and in the background is the caretaker's cottage}

                          Isn't she charming?  I think so..I'd love to live there!

This past weekend we revisted the Neff barn where we held a Turtle themed/Barnish Baby shower for my BFF's Daughter, Jessica.  Since it is in a RED BARN I thought it would be neat to have a bit of a rustic feel to the decor, after all it is taking place in the barn, the shower not the birth!   Valley View Farms dairy that was so part of this area's history existed for along time, they closed a few years back.  I can remember the smell of the dairy when we drove past the dairy.

                                {old milk jugs from Valley View Farms}

   Old pictures of the farm hands..along time ago...McNally Ranch

We used some burlap as table runner and milk jugs for the Flower vases.  The Mommy~to~Be wanted use Chocolate brown and Lime Green along with Turtles....

Fairy Godmother Flora {Monica, my BFF since I was 5}..made the Turtle Fruit Salad bowl...is it not the cutest thing?

                                    {Fairy Godmother Flora with her neice}

The cute baby clothesline....yep she is having a boy!

Fairy Godmother Fauna on the right....with my BESTie from High School, we both worked at the Neff Barn at the same time that I did.

  Good Friends and daughters..with their mothers....young and old mingling.

Recipes being shared as they were requested by the whole group..

The Mother~to~be with her cousin reading all the advice the older mother's have for her....

From Left to right.. Mimi {grandmother~to~be} Flora, Mother~to~be, Fauna and Merryweather.  What a great time we had planning and celebrating the new life coming into the world in December!!!  Good Luck Jessica..WE LOVE YOU!!!

Baby Shower Time!

It has been long time since I've planned/hosted a baby shower.  My BFF {remember this post about her}  daughter is pregnant and we are throwing her a Turtle Themed Baby Shower!I feel like Fairy Godmother Merryweather {along with Flora and Fauna} in Sleeping Beauty when it comes to her.  But I better git....I have Oriental Salad to make and toes to paint!  Have a great day!

I'm baaaack..

 I LOVE technology and I HATE technology...computer had a corrupted Windows program and got really, really slow....finally had to call in the Computer Doctor for surgery.  I think she is all better now and I have lots to post about. 

Yea!  My girl Meg won on Design Star....I thought for sure they would run with the "whole crimes against decorating" theme, I thought that was a cute idea. 

I'm also excited for the Fall Season of T.V. to start running their shows this week!   My favorite is Modern Family and I was so excited to see that they won 5 Emmy's.  My BFF "T" is such a Claire Dumphey....from Modern Family.

 
I swear they wrote that one episode where she turns into "Fun Mom"....on my BFF's  life. Here is my best friend.....

 
Don't they look a lot alike?  This vintage Corvette was out in front of a hotel where we were having cocktails at and so I snapped a picture of her posing in front of the convertible.  "T" holds her whole family together, she works full time as a Science Teacher plus is raising 3 teenagers{along with her dedicated husband}.  But that one episode when Claire turns into "Fun Mom" had me going that is so "T".  She plays the bad cop in the discipline of her children and one time she said, "I'm tired of being the bad cop and told her husband you be bad cop, I want to be "fun MOM".. So the next morning the kids all had Ice Cream for breakfast.  Then they spent the whole day at Disneyland. The whole day kind of went like that, but the funny thing was she would say "I'm being FUN MOM"..with a bit of resentment in her voice and all the while gritting her teeth.  It was such a funny story....so here is to you My Claire Dumphey....you keep me laughing with your  Family Life stories....{I've been trying to convince her to watch the show } I'm glad Modern Family is sticking around this season, it always good for few laughs and the end of my Wednesday Night .  

The girls and I also like to watch GLEE, The Middle and Dancing with the Stars. What shows are you excited to watch and are their any new ones that you think might be good to tune into, I'd like to hear your suggestions. Cheers to our new Fall Shows this Season....I'm tuning in!

 

 

Christmas Eve

 
For the last several years we have spent Christmas Eve at my friend Renee's House.  Along with her husband and two kids they love to entertain and they have the perfect house for it!  Remember last year...she has the most gorgoeous home and it just sparkles this time of the year..

 
Here is a cloche which encloses a small sleigh and a picture of her when she was little and her relatives from her Mom's side of the family.  Her home is filled with heart-felt decorations that have been passed down from family to family.

 
My two girls and her son and daughter and another guests' daughter played the WII Dance Party 2 until the WEE hours of the morning.  I made a Cappuccino Cheesecake {which I failed to take a picture of} which I do say so myself was pretty darn good!  Now...I'm kicking myself for not doing it.  I also made my classic Clam Dip...my mother's recipe, always a hit.  We had Ham, Smoked Samon and of course Tamales!!  Yum!  Yum!  After consuming the Cheesecake and 3 cups of coffee when I got home...I could NOT sleep, I still had some wrapping to do but I found myself washing the dishes and mopping the floor at 3 IN THE MORNING!!!!  yep,  3 am!!  Who does that?  Someone who has had Cappachino Cheesecake and 3 cups of strong family...needless to say I was dragging Christmas Day......

 

Beach, Blankets and Bonfires

 
Growing up in Southern California we used to get together with my parents' friends to have a bonfires on the beach.  I cherish those memories as a child.  Today there is so many people in living on the "Golden Coast" that  it is not as laid back as loading up the car with coolers and sunscreen and driving down to the beach in our VW.  It takes planning and coordination {thank goodness for cell phones} In the summer if you plan on getting a Bonfire PIT you need to get there pretty early in the morning to secure one.  Long are the days when you could say at the last minute, "let's go to the beach and roast wienies and marshmallows".  This summer, thanks to dedicated friends we were able to have a couple of them.

Happy, sun-kissed faces.....

 
Collecting sand-crabs....

 

wading in the cold water....

making sandcastles..........
 
Posing for the photographer {that' me}

 
 

making pyramids in the sand or {half} pyramids.....

cuddling under blankets and towels...... brrrrr

Roasting Marshmallows.....

eating s'mores...with PEANUT BUTTER..yep...that's how I make my s'mores...since I was a Girl Scout Camp leader.....that's how we did it on Camp White's Landing on Catalina Island.

cooking "dough boys" on a stick.  You take Pillsbury biscuits and wrap them around the end of a stick and sloooooowly roast them over the fire until they are nice and cooked on the inside.  Add jelly and whip cream where the stick made the hole.....Yum!!!  
 

watching the sun set on the horizon.....memories were made.   

thank you

 
What a great start to my Birthday weekend.  YesterdayI worked a half day and"my homies" at school bought me lunch and a cake to celebrate my 46th Birthday.  They are so thoughtful, even though I'm not really part of the staff at the school they make me feel like I belong there and am one of them.  It was a great lunch, I had Chicken Enchiladas, from the best Whole in the Wall restaurant in these parts.  When I got home..this is what greeted me on my Garden Bench....

 
Can you tell I'm in love with the Lady Banks climbing yellow rose plant?  It has a faintsweet smell to it.   And look at all the other goodies too...a cute shabby chic iron soap dish with a bar of Lavender soap.  Lemon lotion which smells so yummy I want to eat my hands when I put it on.  Thank you Renee!!  I love all my gifts...I can't wait to start planting, Spring is here!

and Thank you "my homies"!!  you guys are the bestest friends a girl could have!!  I'm really lucky to have such great friends..I really, really am. 

More Holiday Merriment....

Every year my friend has  a Christmas Eve Party.  Her house is always decorated so pretty.  You might of remembered

her don't hate me because I'm beautiful kitchen .  Here is a picture of her outdoor patio all lit up.  No one was out there that night because it was too cold.

Let's go inside and look at all the decorations...here is the Fireplace Mantel.

Those are "faux" candles up there, she got them at Costco last year if you are wondering.  Let's take a look at what is under the glass domes because you know I have a "thang" for glass domes AND glitter and vintage ornaments.

 Can you see that picture in the background..that is my friend when she was a baby sitting on Santa's lap.  Is that not sweet?  And we know I have a special place in my heart for snowmen...

She has a village too.  She added those House Boxes  that we got a couple of years ago to her village...I totally revamped mine in Cottagy Style

Here is her snow covered Tree {flocked} it is covered in all very personal and meaningful ornaments. 
 
I don't think my friend has taken all her decorations down and I'm going over to her house so she can take me to my Surgeon's Appt. this afternoon so I'll get a snapshot of her garland and second tree so I'll update this post this evening.  Ok...here are some more pictures of her lovely home.  The garland is above the beautiful apron sink. 

The Merry Christmas blocks are over her stove.

Moving over to the left we head over to the banquette to take a look at the Chandelier...

 

I love this Vintage Inpired children that are playing in the snow spelling out JOY....
 
  Lets take a look at the staircase.  The lighting is not the best in there but I tried to "dabble" in my photoshop to lighten it up a bit.

 I'm sorry if you are all Christmased OUT....I just haven't had the time to post because I have had numerous doctors appointments all last week. I took this picture with the inclination to post them sooner then I did.  I know most of you have moved on to New Years...hey I'm slow...give me a break.

 
For those of you keeping track of my progress on my BC.  {Breast Cancer}...I thought of doing a separate blog to keep everyone informed but it's hard enough keeping up with one so I thought I would just pop in here when there is news to report and I'll delineate the verbiage with the above symbol that way you'll know if it has to do with my BC or my Regular Home..be Inspired stuff.   So if you don't want to read about that you can just know that post is about the BC. 

Ok..here goes.  I got a second opinion last week and have decided to have my surgery and treatment done at City of Hope.  I really liked the surgeon there, she was very thorough in her explanation of what is happening to my body.  I meet with her this afternoon to schedule my surgery.  What I have is Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma.  It started in my milk ducts by has broke through the ducts now and is on the move...becoming invasive.  It's very early and is about 2 Centimeters.  I had and MRI on Tuesday and I met with the Radiation Oncologist on Wed.  Thursday I had another Mammogram on my Right Breast {the tumor is in the Left Breast} because the MRI picked up another "lump" there.  The Mammogram and Ultrasound could not find it but it's very common to have a false reading on an MRI according to my Surgeon.  So according to the report the "lump" on the right Breast is benign.  Now for the plan of attack on the left breast.  I'll have Lumpectomy {taking out the Lump {tumor} surgery this week or next.  They will take a look at my Sentinel Node and if my NODES are all clear {no cancer} I'll have radiation {Mammosite} for 5 Days, twice a day.  When they are taking out the tumor they put a spacer in there, it's like a balloon.  When I go into have my radiation they insert a catheter and radiate from the inside of my boob.  Isn't boob a funny word?   I think so.  Anyways...After 5 days they take it out and my scar heals.  The only thing I really have to be careful is of infection.  I won't have to have Chemo if they don't' find it in my nodes.  So today I'll find out when my surgery is and when I'll begin the treatment.  I'll keep everyone updated on my progress, Ok?  I guess I'll have to make another category over there with the topic BC. UPDATE:  the date has been set and my BC Surgery is going to be on January 15th. 

thank you!!!

 The past several weeks when finding out my "situation" I have gotten the most heartfelt support from all my friends, colleagues and family.  From the bottom of my heart I want to say THANK YOU!!  I appreciate all of you in this very unsettling time of my life.  I would be lost with out you all my dear and wonderful friends....my heart is filled with happiness and love as I type this.  Friends are definitely the flowers in the garden of life!!  
  

Flea Marketing at the Rose Bowl....

here is most of the group that met up on Sunday for a hunt of flea market treasures.  The hostesses gave out prizes in three categories...one for the cutest decorated carts..and boy their where lots of cute carts...

here is a close up Pam Garrison's pouch she has on her cart...too shabby cutielisious...She made her outside liner out of a paisley pink oilcloth table cloth from Target and the inside was made from Simply shabby shower curtain since it already had holes in it for the ties.

Here is Amy Hanna cute ticking striped cart with s vintage label name tag.

I had big plans to make a liner for my cart....but ran out of time to do it {i have been working a lot these days} so suffice to say I did not win the "cutest cart" award.  This cute li'l trio of rosettes stole the show, look at the detail, it was on a linen liner, I love the use of cheesecloth, would of never thought to do that. 

Now look at the bag that one the prize..

Is this bag right up my alley?  yep...i was going to steal it when the owner wasn't looking.

But as you can see she had a very tight grip on it and never let it out of her sight..darn.

Because no one had a rockin' cute apron the prize went to the one who traveled the farthest which was San Diego almost the Mexico border.  Some die hard flea marketeers...I say. 

Now look at the cute Cornucopias they made.  I didn't get a great shot so I stole this from Heather.

Inside the Prize Cornucopia was those darling Nickel earrings that Amy Hanna made.  Loved that!!  Also inside where Vintage Cards.  I can't remember what else. 

There was all kinds of neat stuff there and here are some shots I got with my Gilbert {Canon G9}

The industrial look is very popular these days...and here is one famous "LA Woman" who was buying a bunch of it...

Another booth had lots of Holiday decor up...

 

This booth had a wonderful surprise for the "group" , when you went to visit her you got a ticket to enter it into a drawing for a pillow of your choice.  Now look at all

the great choices she had?  Lots of burlap and linen, stamped with letters or numbers.  I had my eye on a little shabby chic one but to my disappointment my ticket didn't get pulled and went I went back with my new friend who did win my li'l shabby pillow was gone. 

Can you see it there under the black and white damask print?  Boo hoo.

This booth had lots of french linens, hemp and other great material.  I have a friend who just redid her sons room all in vintage Star Wars..I bet she would love to have one of those pillows for his bunk-bed.  They also had Hemp tunics and nightgowns made of hemp.  The dress in the above photo that Jenny Doh is wearing with her cowboy boots came from this booth.  Love that french Cowboy look she has going on. 

 Look at the detail on these bloomers.  They don't make them like they used to, that's for sure. They had small opening in the back....I'm sure you can guess what for.  I thought that interesting.  I'll share what I got on my next post. 

Hope you enjoyed the trip to the Rose Bowl Flea Market and I plan on attending the next one our Indulgent Hostesses plan...won't you join us?