Happy Thanksgiving

I'll be spending the holiday with my visiting family. We'll be dining at the Washington Quay, overlooking the Columbia River, for Thanksgiving. Yea! No cooking, and especially no cleaning the turkey carcass aftermath. It'll be a nice change not trying to clean up in a Tryptophan haze.

I'm participating in a holiday show on Saturday. The event will feature over 200 local artisans. It's always difficult to keep from spending my profit at the show. I'll be back on Monday with pictures to share.

It's been a fantastic ride!

I appreciate your patience in waiting for the reveal of winners. It allowed me the time to gather and invite all the girlfriends over to enter my Parisian Give Away. So lets proceed with the drawing of two winners.

Paw picked by my beautiful assistant Angel.

I present the box with the eligible candidates.

Angel reaches in for the winners

My kitty is Content with her selections, now hands me the names to make the announcement. The winner to receive the Girlfriend (eco tote) with all 25 sweet surprises, is.........A Bite of Country Cupcakes !
The winner receiving the Eiffel tower lamp is.........Decor To Adore!
Girls, email me your addresses so I can get your winnings into the mail.

That brings us to the honorary winners. Hmmmm, what? I've had a few visiting BLOGGERS that have given me the privilege of placing my blog (link) unconditionally on their blog rolls. This gracious act has touched me deeply. I would like to send you a Girlfriend Eco Tote. You sweet girls know who you are, so please contact me too with your info, so I can send you this gift of my appreciation.
Thanks to everyone for your participation in my first Give Away. I promise this is only the beginning of future sweet surprises.



I thought you'd like to see what happened after the photo shoot. Once my kitty came down from the catnip high.

Angel managed to untie her bow, depositing her royal attire on the backyard lawn, faster than you could say Houdini, walking regally back into the house with her royal attitude still intact.

I've listed the Girlfriends Eco Tote in my Boutique. You can find the link in the top right column.

Paper and plastic bags will soon be obsolete in our local stores. Have you've notice most grocers are selling canvas bags? I would like to support these efforts. I've been given an opportunity to provide (from Europe) an eco friendly shopping bag alternative. The price point is between $25-$35USD. Please watch this video and leave your opinions and comments. I need your feedback to see if there's enough interest to pursue this venture.

Sand and Surf

A few weeks ago my hubby said, "Hey, I've got some vacation time I need to use up. How'd you like to go to the beach?"

Well, after I regained consciousness, I jumped into action. Cat sitter, check. Light timers, check. Neighbor on recycling-garbage detail, check. Several suitcases packed later we were on a road trip to our favorite beach in Lincoln City, Oregon. We stayed at the Moon Breaker, a house that has been my heart breaker since it's always booked. Somehow a cancellation entitled us the honor of staying at this beachfront home. YAHOO! This was our first stop....

Factory Outlet Mall

Where a girl's wish list is granted

Okay, I'll admit it. I was a little preoccupied with the shopping, and I forgot to take pictures. No worries; I'll take some as we drive away.... Not as easy as I thought. At least I photographed the most important one.




Isn't it amazing what feats a gal will go through to get a shot for her blog. This was taken at 20mph balancing (in a not so glamorous position), from the front seat, out the back passenger window. My camera doesn't have a S.W.A.T. telescopic zoom lens, so I couldn't get pics of the clothing racks. That's a bit too ambitious for this newbie. We did make time to tour the floral scapes. Spectacular!! Something this Brown thumb can greatly appreciate. To say they were huge is quite an understatement. They're kept like this year round! Which I'm sure is a challenge. Take a look.





The Tillamook Cheese Factory gift shop is very unassuming from the outside, not even a name graces its storefront. But step through its doors and wow! SOOOO much, SOOO fun, fabulous shopping! In the words of my hubby, "I'm on shopping overload!"

I made some new girlfriends at the checkout counter:

Candace and Janace

When I approached these two girls for a picture they were so surprised. I explained it was for my blog. Which neither had ever heard of. After a bit of explaining, coaxing and giggles they turned toward each other for approval. Taking inventory of their hair and makeup, both (looking like they'd just return from the salon) agree to their first blog photo photo opp. "Girls if you go to the library to see this blog post, wouldn't you agree you look divine? Thanks for a fun time! I look forward to seeing you again."

Pat and Candace

Pat did a great job keeping her composure, while getting my packages wrapped up. Meanwhile Candace is terribly distracted by all the laughter and my directing. These girls were charming.

This shop is a must, even before the Tillamook ice cream. Yup, there's ice cream to top off the shopping! What more could a girl ask for? Here's a clip of our cheese tour and the ocean view from the master bedroom balcony.
(Please allow clip to load completely, and then scroll back to the beginning, for your viewing pleasure.)




Glass Blowing Bowls and Floaters
(This is the novice glass blower's second attempt at a bowl. Her first piece developed a hole about twenty-five minutes into in the process. She was moments from completing it and the whole thing was ruined and had to be destroyed. They shattered it right in front of us all! Fortunately the second one was stunning.)

After all that sightseeing it was time for Bubbles and Bubbly, while my hubby rearranged (or should I say, smashed, squeezed, and shoved) the shopping bags into the trunk space (a microscopic crevice) he had created, for the billionth time, just to do it all over again for the luggage when we left. He is the Master Packer! He's had a lot of practice being married to the Master Shopper.

Heading home, and feeling a little guilty for not taking pictures of the scenic drive to the coast, I decided the the solution would be to capture one of the Christmas tree farms, that line the landscape for miles, on my camera. Well, once again, not a good plan at 65 mph! Every pose seemed possible until I'd snap the shot. Then it was a whole lot of, Wow, where'd it go? Was that a tree or did a bug just crash into my lens? Does this camera come with a warped speed option?!?! This is what I caught...I'm not sure if these dwarfish shrubs species are in the Christmas tree family. It's more likely these are the makings for a tumbleweed farm. Remember, it's the thought that counts...Okay you can laugh now...Cause I did.

Though it is always a little sad when the vacation is almost over, there is one place sure to console us, a last stop to the Rockfish Bakery for blueberry coffee cake, pecan bars, brownies, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies.

We ate the giant oatmeal raisin cookie in the car...You didn't think we were able to make the entire ride home resisting the tempting fumes of freshed baked goodies did ya?


The rest of these delights, with a cup of tea, lifted my spirits. I reflected back to the beach, on my favorite street, Road's End, in quaint Lincoln City, already planning our next getaway.

Now it's time to catch a train to Seattle for the Seattle Cash and Carry Home and Gifts Show. It won't be all work (if you can call a buying trip work). We'll get to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, the newlyweds of one year. When I return I'll be announcing the TWO WINNERS of my Parisian Give Away.

This unique CLOSED sign was on a store window in Depoe Bay.

The only thing I'll be PILLAGING and and PLUNDERING will be my credit card!
See you soon,
Sara

Halloween Night

The eleventh hour

We had quite the Halloween haunt with pint sized witches, vampires and ninjas topping the evening off with a grand total of 130 treaters! The action usually begins around 5pm. So, we were a little nervous to find the streets and sidewalks were emmmpty at that time. Since there wasn't a ghost or witch in site, we decided to sit down for a quick dinner. You guessed it. The minute we sat down to eat, the doorbell rang, and so it began. The winner of best costume was a young gentleman dressed up as a magnet covered in baby chicks. He was so funny as he proudly announced his title The CHICK MAGNET. As I was passing out the goodie bags, an unexpected visitor appeared from the crowd, a chihuahua dressed up as a bumblebee. I squealed with delight. She was Bow-WOW Bootiful! I wish I could have gotten pictures of these treaters, but there was something eerie possessing our camera last night. Unexplainable phantoms kept appearing in our pictures. What's interesting is, as we prepared for the nights festivities the camera operated without a hitch. Then it became a ghostly turn of events. Take a look.

The castle and sweet treats are prepared.

Galactic Visitors

Miss Bee

I hope your Halloween night was just as
magical

Here's another hint for my fall tutorial.
A sugar (ice cream) cone.
Stay tuned.