Day 2~ My morning coffee in my Starbucks Christmas mug. Can you see Santa eyeing my coffee in background.
I hope your Christmas preparations, shopping and decorating are enjoyable. I am off for the weekend in Seattle with my one of my sisters(we’ll miss you Jess!) and my cousins for our annual Christmas girls weekend in the City. Here’s the post from last year.
I’ll be back on Sunday night with Countdown days 3 and 4. Until then have a great weekend!
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I think this time of the year is the most difficult for me. I sit and wait with anxious anticipation for the renewal that Springtime inevitably brings, but it is such a slow march to those slightly warmer spring days. I start to long for the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the pretty pink buds on the cherry blossom trees that soon will be bursting into a froth of pink petals and blooms. Oh…it feels as though it will never be here. All it seems to be is day after day of rain and grey. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rain as well, but after the holidays are all put away and done with, I really need a good dose of sunshine and light. How about you, has this winter taken its toll on you? It really has been a crazy one all across the country. I think we are all ready for longer days and the warmth of the sun.
Here, is my go-to quick fix for the days when I have the winter doldrums. First, I try to give the house a quick clean-up. Just dusting, vacuuming and putting the clutter away. Second, I head out to the grocery store for a few items including some spring flowers to bring home and place in a pretty vase. Third, I light some fresh(floral or citrus) scented candles. Forth, I brew up some fantastic Jasmine tea…soooo good! Then, I put on some happy tunes and do a little baking. This time it’s Grandma’s Banana Bread. It's always a hit with the whole family. Not to mention the fact that it feels so good to use up a few of the bananas that are slowly taking over my freezer.
I've tried several kinds of jasmine tea in my search for the perfect one. I believe I have found a match in this one. I found it at Uwajumaya. The "pearls" are good for at least three steepings, so while it is a bit more expensive than some of the other teas you are able to stretch each single serving into about three.
Now, my winter time blues are gone. I have some yummy bread to eat while I look at my pretty tulips on the table, and daydream of the coming spring.
I hope the sun makes an appearance in your neck of the woods very soon!
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I wasn't able to post over the weekend due to the fact I was in the city with my favorite girls for our annual girl's Christmas weekend. We spent the entire two days shopping, talking, eating, talking, people watching, talking, drinking coffee, talking, and taking in a movie...oh and some more talking.
Seattle is absolutely beautiful and bursting with holiday excitement. I just love the way the city feels and looks this time of year. I hope your weekend was filled with the fun and excitement of the holidays that are fast approaching.
Day 4 of the Christmas countdown~
The city streets sparkling with lights.
The Allsaints Spitalfields window. Amazing store!
Day 5 on the Christmas countdown~
Good morning Seattle! The view from our hotel room.
Breakfast at The Dahlia Bakery.
Chocolate with peppermint candy-cane frosting.
Who doesn't love Red Velvet cupcakes?
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Paws
I will be back with days 6 and 7 very soon! Until then, have a wonderful day!
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*Note*~ This was originally posted on Friday of last week. Somehow it was deleted. I am not sure what happened???
Orange and aqua, one of my favorite color combos.
Speaking of favorites of fall...going to tea has to be one of my absolute favorite things to do. It seems as though this time of year and through to the holidays, call for late afternoon tea with the girls more often than any other time of the year. Of course, I wish this could be an everyday occurrence. Taking time to sit and talk in a relaxed and lovely atmosphere. Enjoying a good cup of tea and wonderful company, what could be better?
Last Friday was my niece, Miss G's Birthday party. She held court at one of our favorite tea rooms, the Queen Mary. Of course, for Miss Liv this meant getting all fancied up in her favorite "poofy" dress, completing the look with a marabou feather boa and frilly headband/hat. She felt quite fabulous!;-)
The girls all enjoyed the Childrens Afternoon Tea, complete with Orange Creamsicle Tea. The ladies, myself included, enjoyed the delicious Formal Afternoon Tea. I ordered my favorite tea of all time the Organic Jasmine Pearl. It is so delicious!!! I can't even begin to tell you how good this tea is.
If you ever find yourself in the Seattle area, and in need of excellent, traditional tea and delicious food. I highly recommend the Queen Mary.
I hope you have a beautiful fall day!
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I can't believe the school year has already begun. Where did our summer go? Here in the Seattle area, we barely had one. I am holding out hope for a beautiful fall. I can already smell that wonderful autumnal scent that fills the air this time of year, all of those spicy-earthy scents...so delicious. Speaking of delicious(like that segue;-), after Jake and Liv's first day of school was over, I took them down to our favorite little cupcake shop. It's not pretentious or super fancy, but they sure do have delicious cupcakes. This is the second year in a row that we have headed down to the cupcake shop to celebrate the first day of school. I think we will make it a tradition. Who doesn't love a tradition that includes cupcakes?(~.~) Oh, and I just found out about this show on the Food Network. I can't wait to check it out! Seriously, is there anything more fun than cupcakes? Well, maybe watching my kids enjoying the cupcakes is a little more fun, but only a little.;-)
One of these days, very soon, I hope to make it into one of the Trophy Cupcake shops here in the Seattle area. It looks simply divine!
photo source~ Martha Stewart online
After our stop for cupcakes and milk, we passed by the Comic Hut shop. They always have such great window murals. Jake decided to strike his best superhero pose.
On to some other delightful things. I have just recently started digital scrapbooking and oh my goodness!!! I am already completely addicted. I have always wanted to give it a try, but was so intimidated by the word digital. I just downloaded my first kits from Kitschy Digitals, by the amazing Danielle Thompson, and a few from Pugly Pixel's blog. I just recently found her blog and have fallen completely in love. It is full of beautiful photography, ideas, tips and wonderful tutorials, plus she is crazy generous when it comes to designing and putting together the cutest freebies. I used both Kitschy Digitals and Pugly Pixel's digital kits to redesign my blog header. Needless to say, I think I have found yet another addiction to add to the many I already suffer from.
Here is one of Pugly Pixel's latest freebies. Are these not the cutest!?!!!
I have just recently started blogging again after quite a long time away. I simply refuse to give up on this little blog. I certainly hope now that both of the kids are at school all day, I can find a little more time for blogging. Only time will tell. My days seem to fill up and fly by way to fast!
XO~Bekah
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There is nothing I love more than going out to dinner with my family. Good food, fun conversation, and sweet little faces, what more could one ask for. These were all taken a while back when we all went to the Old Spaghetti factory down at Pier 90 for dinner one night. The light coming through the windows, while we waited to be seated, was perfect for taking a few shots of my beautiful nieces and sweet girl.
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Both of the kids were in school today. Jacob started fourth grade yesterday and today Olivia started kindergarten. I was quite sad when I dropped her off this morning, just thinking how quickly the last four years have flown by with Jake and now she has started her school career. I start to think about all those little things moms think about when their kids start school. Worrying about all the things she will be exposed to and how small her little world has been up until now. Hoping that I have read enough, played enough and loved enough. I send them off each day with a kiss and a prayer and hope that I have done all that I could to raise good, kind little human beings, who will hopefully contribute to this world in a positive way. I want them both to grow up to love God and to love and cherish their family. These were just a few of the thoughts I had today as I sent my kids off to school.
Jake's shirt is suppose to look wrinkled however Liv's isn't. Oh well it all can't be perfect, can it?(~.~)
She was so excited!
I just can't believe how much he has grown in 4 years!(and how much our living room has changed..yikes! Please excuse the filthy mirror in the kindergarten picture, it's not like that anymore, I promise.;-). Oh, how I love this boy! So sweet and kind, he's turning into a real gentleman.
Alright, so enough about the back to school blues and on to a few fun items. First, while I was out junking(a plus of the kids being back in school) I found this super cute sewing basket. It's the prettiest pink and green and the fabric on the inside is in perfect condition. It's actually quite large and has little legs. It was such a steal at $3.99! It even still has the original Singer tag still attached.
The last thing for today is what's waiting for me on my coffee table, the new Romantic Homes and Victoria magazines. They look like they are full of fall beauty. I can't wait to dig in!
I am hoping to do a couple of summer in review blog posts next week. I didn't blog at all this summer so I though I would share some of the little trips we took and a few of the things I did while on break. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
XO~Bekah
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So, this is my first time doing a post using TypePad's new "Blog it" feature. It seems fairly easy and straight forward. I only hope that it makes blogging easier for me. I have such a difficult time keeping up with the blog and flickr. This feature seems like it will make it easier to combine the two if I need to.
I posted this photo on flickr today and talked about my love(some might say addiction;-)) to Diet Coke. Ohhh...how I love the stuff! I've tried to kick it but I just can't seem to live without it.
Anyhoo~If anyone out there reads this and has any tips or tricks on the "Blog it" feature, please let me know. Have a great day and enjoy!
XO~Bekah
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I have been feeling rather melancholy lately due to the fact my little baby girl just graduated from preschool and will be entering kindergarten next year. Same goes for my darling boy, he is turning into such a wonderful young man right before my teared up eyes. I can't help but get a lump in my throat at the thought of them growing up so fast. The school years are just flying by and no matter how hard I try to hold on to each and every moment they slip by just as quickly as they came. Well, enough of that, I just need to put my big girl pants on and be happy for each and everyday I am blessed to have with these two amazing little people.
I am in the midst of packing us up for a weekend at our family's beach house. I love to go and spend time on the beach with the kids, looking for beach glass and shells. Of course I get so excited for all the photo opportunities it affords me. So, be on the look out for my next post filled with some beachy goodness and I am hoping to have a few of my latest and greatest thrift store finds to add. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and don't forget those wonderful Father's you have in you lives!
~Bekah
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Well, I have started one project with my newly thrifted fabrics. I found the perfect vintage pattern that has a totally mod look, it will be the perfect match for this pink flower and paisley fabric. The fabric is very light weight, so it will make a great little summer dress for Olivia. I finished the front last night and hope to have the rest done soon(yeah right!).
I am making the sleeveless collared dress on the far left.
I have had my sewing machine since high school, but I am still not very comfortable with sewing clothes. One of my goals this summer is to make several things for Olivia. Let's keep out fingers crossed.(~.~)
Last night I had the urge for some cupcake sweetness, all I had on hand was a box of funfetti cake mix(I am such a sucker for funfetti) and a tub of Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting. I added a little vanilla and some orange zest...mmm,mmm, so good!
Of course, I had to use Martha Stewart cupcake papers and sprinkles too!;-)
Go ahead take your pick, I promise they are delicious!
This last photo was an alternate for my Whispery White Wednesday entry on flickr today. I found the Lefton hands at the junk store, about a month ago for 99cents. I just love them and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to photograph them. They are actually a vase, but I think they make a great catch all for jewelry.
Thanks for stopping by! I love to read all your comments, it's such a great feeling to know you enjoy some of the things I put on here!
(~.~)Bekah
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