Hello Summer!

Weekend Wrap Up

Hey gang. How goes it? Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I enjoyed mine.  Friday night we didn't get to have a campfire as it was a bit breezy, but lovely just the same. So we sat out on the patio and some of the neighborhoodlums wandered over, Gerry and Sandee to be specific.

Sandee headed home because she was beat after a long day and a road trip, so G, Gerry and I headed inside for a little youtubing. We played some serious throwbacks and great craic!

Saturday, we spent some time in the yard and then I headed to my niece Cait's baby shower. She has a little less than a month to go before baby Olivia Marie arrives.

It was a perfect day for the festivities.

I even won a prize. We had to cut a length of ribbon as long as we thought Cait's baby belly was around. Well, first everyone was telling me I was going way too long so I went short. Then they were all chiming that I'd gone way to short and it would never fit around. Lo and behold, mine was bang on!

My niece Maddie (on the left) came in second with only a tiny gap.

I got to take pictures of some pretty cute munchkins at the shower, including baby Teddy, our niece Nicole's (center above) best friend Abby's latest cherub. We've watched Ab grow up and now she's a mom twice over. Where does the time go.

Cuteness alert! Just look at these toes!

When I got home it was a still a beautiful evening out.

 
G had cut down our dead (insert sad face here) apple tree. It was completely hollow inside and we had milked it as long as we could. So, G built a campfire and threw some of the trunk on.  The flames shot right up through the middle.

Sunday was another glorious day. I spent it working on the pool, which I predict I will be in by the end of today. When I wasn't doing that, I was in the garden. Planting two more potatoes, doing some more mulching, mounding up around my potatoes so they produce more spuds.

Everything is looking good, including the beans.

The cardboard and leaves combo is doing a great job of keeping the weeds down. Can I get an amen on that one?

The weekend ended with great World Cup match against Portugal, who is ranked higher than the USA.  Well, we let them score on a weird bounce of the ball off our defender's leg as he was trying to clear it away from the goal. That was in the first 5 minutes. Bummer. We didn't let it bring us down though. We played great, and our player Jermaine Jones came back and put one in from 64 feet out. It was monstrous. Then, we score another great goal, a real team effort ending with Clint Dempsey hip checking it in. It was classic. We were looking good. We were looking great. And then came 5 minutes of injury time added on. Down the the last 30 or so seconds and we couldn't stop Portugal from scoring. Talk about deflated hearts. That close to a big win. Ugh. But at least we came away with a tie and not a loss.

Then there was sunset meadows to soothe my woes. 

Ah, that's better.
And all was right with the world.

What's on your plate for the week? Mine has lots of collateral design, ad design, some email marketing design and revisions. Full plate for sure.

Make it a good one!

Ciao for now,

Don't Miss The GIVEAWAY!

Time is Fleeting

Hi gang. This giveaway rocks my socks off.  Thanks to all my sponsors:

Kristen from MiloandMolly:  blog, twitter ; Duni from PeriDotbyDuni: blog;

Angela from Garden and Sea: blog, twitter, pinterest; Paige from Little White Chapel: blog, twitter, pinterest , flickr; Bonnie from {PaperKeeper}: blog, twitter, facebook; Leona from Lee'sWhimsy: facebook; Amy from MaisonDecor: blog; Garrett (aka G-Man, Gar, dh) from Lia Artisan Concrete Designs: website. They're awesome for supporting Mercantile Muse, helping me celebrate my blogaversary and making this giveaway the bomb.

If you haven't entered yet. DO. IT. NOW. It's only open for 5 more days and you don't want to miss your chance to win really awesome stuff.

Look, I'm not lying. I'm shouting from the rooftops and sitting here wishing I could enter my own giveaway, but alas I can't. Well I could, but it wouldn't be right. Right? So it's up to all of you.

How many ways do I have to say it? Go to the giveaway now and earn as many entry points as you possibly can. As long as you want to win all of that goodness, that is.

Before I move onto other things, did you join the party yet? It's just a little fun thing we do here on the Muse. If you have an online shop or blog, link up! Meet new people. Have a ball.  I already have my eye on a few links to feature in my party roundup post on Monday but I know there are more to come. If you don't have a shop or blog, it's a fun way to check out new shops and blogs.

Ah yes, back to 'time is fleeting'...........Today my niece Caitlin/Cait/The Bim, is getting married to Jon. We love Jon. He fits in just fine and more importantly he loves Cait.

It's seems like yesteday that Cait was draggin' her scuttlebutt around the floor refusing to walk.....or was scowling at you with Bim-attitude.

Today however, is her day. Well her and Jon's day. Today Cait becomes Mrs. Smith.  Woohoo to Bim The Bride !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly people, how do these things happen? How does time go by so very fast?

Here's to the milestones of life that make you look back and say........wow, time really is fleeting.

Make it a great day in your corner of the world. Mine is sure to be filled with love, laughter and lots of dancing.

Ciao for now,

Bridal Fun

Ready For The Aisle

My niece Cait, my sister Gloria's daughter, is getting married in a few weeks. Yesterday was her bridal shower.  We gathered in the beautiful wine loft at The 401 Tavern and enjoyed their lovely sangria. Always fun before a wedding to meet some of the people you'll see on the big day.

Cait's the first one of our family's 'next generation' to get married. Exciting Cait, right? Her fiancee Jon proposed on the beach. Cait was beside herself. Couldn't have imagined anything better. Jon gets two thumbs up on that one. Another two on the ring.

We played some bridal trivia games which were a fun way to get to know the bride and groom better.  First up: how well do you know the bride?

Ashley, 'The Introducer', sister Glo, sister Di and

our friend Deb answering their trivia questions.

Next: How well does the bride know the groom?

Cait quicky realized this game was not going to be all tea and crumpets, and is is rightfully suspiscious.

bridesmaid Crystal and highly suspicious bride to be

My niece Nicole, Cait's sister and maid of honor played Pat Sajac, while her friend Crystal played Vana White. Nicole would ask the questions of Cait, while Cait was thinking of her answer, Crystal held up the answer over Cait's head for the audience to see. Once Cait answered, Nicole played a video of Jon on the ipad answering the question. If Cait's answer didn't match Jon's, she had to put something silly on. It got ugly quick.

(sorry the pictures aren't the best, but you'll get the jist of it)

First question.......wrong. Bride to be must don some really bad red white and blue guitar sunglasses.

Uh oh. Looks like Cait went downhill fast.  Biggo floppy hat, purple hair extensions, hello kitty scrubs, two really bad scarves, gingham hillybilly shirt.

All and all, a good time had by one and all.  Especially the bride to be.

I hope Cait liked her box of goodies and I wish I'd taken a picture. I found a great old vintage wooden advertising box and it was filled with goodies including planters, a garden greenman wall hanging, and votives from Lia Artisan Concrete Design. It really looked sweet.

Besides the bridal shower, our weekend was full. Friday night we were down to Mama Leone's 38th summer opening. Good food and fun. Saturday, we made a couple of small bets on the Preakness. I was one horse shy of winning a superfecta! I would have bought you all lunch. Promise I would have.  Did anyone see the race? Wow. 'I'll Have Another' stole it from Bodemeister, just like the Derby. This horse could really have a shot at winning the crown. He's something else. After the race, we had a campfire out back and neighborhoodlums Sandee and Gerry stopped over for awhile. They could smell the campfire. It was a beautiful night out. In fact, it was a beautiful weekend. 

I know it's Monday and I was supposed to pick some 'things I found at the link party' today, but the bridal show recap bumped that until tomorrow. Be sure to stop back to see if you were picked. If you have a shop or blog and haven't added a link yet, you can do that here.

Ciao for now,

Save The Date. Check That Off The List.

A June Wedding

No. Not me. I already got married in June a long time ago. This year, it's my niece Cait and her fiancee Jon!

I designed the save the date cards and the invites. Cait, her sister and maid of honor Nicole came over so we could prep them for mailing last week. The Bride To Be is in the middle.

Cait and Jon are getting married at the same chapel that Gar and I were married in........right across from the ocean. Hence, the beach theme.

We were all pretty happy about how they turned out.

Now we just have to finalize the invites, rsvp cards, etc. Then we'll be ready for another stuffing party.

Not sure what Garrett is cracking up about. Perhaps that we were doing all the work and he was just watching?

Lucan couldn't have cared less about the Save The Date stuffing party.

He was couch-bound.

Sunset Meadows

Last night Garrett said, "You should see the sunset. It's a big fireball."  He was right.

The sunrise put on a show this morning. What a pretty sight to wake up to.

How's your Monday treating you so far? Mine is good,but I sure would like to check a few more things off my list. Better get back to it.

See you on the flip side,