my first day baby sitting!

today quinn arrived around 

12:30pm

i (clumsily) removed her from the car 

and woke her up....

:/

well i was thrilled that i did! quinn and i ate 

lunch and chatted up a storm!

we laughed and giggled just like her mom 

and i do....

after lunch we both felt a little tired

so we headed upstairs to lay down....

the light in my bedroom was so nice we

had a photo shoot....

i read the giving tree...

one of my favorite books....

quinn enjoyed looking at the pictures

and even commented on how sweet the story was....

after reading quinn was truly tired

and fell straight asleep.....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

what a fun afternoon....

how i love this precious child...

it's oscar night!

Best Picture:	Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter's Bone
Actor in a Leading Role:	Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, James Franco
Actress in a Leading Role:	Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams
Directing:	Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit

since i can't eat cake....

i dig into my refrigerator to look for lunch...

i am cooking baked chicken,

with my special dry rub,

i just adore rubs on meat...

and a big bib salad with avocado

and radish....

and a champagne vinaigrette dressing

with blue cheese crumbles....

yum!!

this all will be served in a beautiful handmade

wooden bowl i bought in thailand...

and of course lucy is always here to 

help me... 

all i can think about is.......

photo by john cullen

provance aioli....

last week i was watching Anthony Bourdain

in Provence...

i decided to have an authentic Provence dinner....

getting ready...

 i prepared boiled cod with a bay leaf...

boiled artichokes...

carrots and green beans...

and made a huge bowl of aioli...

i served a french rose...
from cote du rhone...

Lucy was eager to help clean up....

what a fun night!

never forget to look up.....

never forget to look up....

you could miss something beautiful...

(ceiling and photo unknown)

 Drayton Hall Plantation

The Vatican

 big face Buddha in the temple Wat Pho 

Bangkok, Thailand

 Koh Phangan Island

Thailand

sunset in Montalcino, Italy

The Eiffel Tower

Paris

 this was a monk standing way up high

looking down at us.... 

Angor What Cambodia

 this little guy peered at us below while we ate

dinner in the Serengeti in Tanzania Africa

The Louvre

 this was the ceiling 

in a restaurant in Tulum Mexico

 i marveled at the craftsmanship 

of this hut while laying in bed

in 

Tulum Mexico

beauty comes in all shapes and sizes

none too big or small...

rainbow colored roses...

hmmm.....

 pretty or not????

these rainbow colored roses were first created

by two dutch companies.....

they split the stem 4 ways and the flower 

absorbs the color...

i kind of like the way they look tyedyed....

i think these flowers could be fun

used in the right place....

reading glasses........

i believe the time has come for

me to get glasses....

:(

i have had 20/20 vision my entire life...

now, life after 40...

how do i choose something that not only looks good

but is hip with the times

but classic as well....

here are some i like.