~Aloha Kauai~

                                                                     (Wailue Falls)

 Were off to the beautiful island of love "Kauai" Hawaii.
This is our first trip to Kauai, my Grandma was born and raised on Kauai and my Mom was also born in the islands.
We will be visiting family and spending our time being tourist. Mom will be our tour guide..
So until we meet (blog) again Aloha!

~Weekend for the Dog's~

 Look who came for the weekend...Lola, Sadie and Capone they  came over to play in the pool and celebrate the first day of summer and ( it  was way to hot for  little old me ) this was the first weekend of heat in the central valley!  anyway,  these sweet babies belong to our daughter Bernadette and boyfriend Seth.
 Meet Capone  he is a 5year old, 120 pound yellow lab. His Mom was a therapy dog and Dad was a search and rescue dog. As for Capone he is just a big "lover" who loves to swim  and play fetch!

 Capone had a blast, he needed a long nap after playing in the pool with Seth..

 Isn't Capine so handsome, I think so..
 Meet Sadie, also know as Sayders...She is a 6 year old Red Fawn Boxer.Sadie is very much the protector and loves children!! She also will lick you to death LOL. Sadie still thinks she is a lap puppy.

 And now for the Mama of all Mama dogs...Meet Lola also a Red Fawn Boxer. Lola is now 10 years old and is the Mama to Sadie. She is also very protective and watches over the children in our family! Lola was shipped from South Carolina when she was just a pup to Bernadette. Her little face is getting so gray now. Bernadette calls her the old girl.  I remember going to the airport to pick Lola up, she was just the cutest little thing with the longest legs! Well Lola girl we all have to get old.  Lola is so sweet and just follows you all over the house. She is a real southern bell.
 These three love each other, and have become quite the team.

Forever watching over the family! They bring such joy!

~ Seeded Glass in the Kitchen~

 I have found through 36 years of  being married to Gary that compromise is one of the key's to a happy wife...that would be "me" LOL.
Gary and I have been working on our kitchen now two years a little bit at a time.
Gary loves the Oak cabinets in the kitchen and did not want to change them, also I must tell you the cabinets were custom made for the kitchen when we bought the house, but my heart has always belonged to white cabinets, I felt the Oak cabinets gave a very heavy look to the kitchen. Our compromise was to add seeded glass to a few of the cabinet doors. So it was a win win for both of us. I am happy!

 I also took the doors off from above the sink since it was dead space of me. I can't reach that high up without a little foot ladder. So I decided to take the doors off and put some of my vintage blue bowls that belonged to my Grandma  on the shelves..I did this while Gary was out running errands...LOL he came home and didn't even notice I took the doors off until days later..I have a very observant hubby LOL

 This is a photo of the kitchen the day we had our home inspection..My sister Margo came along with us to see the house. I love her decorating sense she has a very keen  and creative eye ( I love my big sister XO)

 It took me for ever to decide on hardware for the cabinets, finally I found some I really liked through overstock.com they have oodles of hardware to choose from and at a good price I think.

We still have crown molding that is being installed to complete the kitchen and also bought new appliances..I can't wait to show you! They were special order and will not arrive until sometime next month. Maybe the crown will be completed then too...I'm hopping.

May your week be full of sweetness!

This week I'm joing in the following blog parties

Mary-Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday



Susan-Between Naps on the Porch metamorphosis Monday



Shannon-Cozy home Your Cozy Home Party Tuesday



Kim-Savvy Southern Style WOW us Wednesday



Bunny Jean -Bunny Jean Decor and More Bunny Hob Wednesday






Cindy- My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday



Courtney- French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday



Sherry-The Charm of Home Home Sweet Home Party Fridays



Meg-Nutmegplace Show Off Saturday

A Little Bit of Spring & Mr. Bunny

  Easter Blessing's to you all... and happy Spring, it's beginning to look a lot like spring has sprung around our little cottage.. I just have to tell you, since I have been  bursting my buttons not only cuz I have been eating way to many goodies, but also because I won Mr. Bunny  after putting my name into the hat over at Jeniffer's blog  "The Old Painted Cottage"  I won the burlap bunny made and created by Laurie from "Bella Inspirations"  and Mr. Bunny is even cuter in person! I love him to pieces. I have been smiling from ear to ear every time I look at him. Thank you so much Jeniffer and Laurie you two girls are so sweet and I feel so lucky and honored to have Mr. Burlap Bunny living at "Home is Where the Heart is".

 He has the cutest whiskers and adorns a tie and crown around his neck..very stylish indeed for a french bunny.

 Every Easter I bring out the bunny head candles..I know it sounds so morbid, but I think they are so cute.

 We can't forget the true meaning of Easter and what the palm leaves represent.

 Spring has given us new life and flowering tulips. I adore white tulips, did you know if you drop a penny into the water it will perk up your tulips.

My Orchids are in full bloom, I think they are one of the most beautiful flowers God has created for us.

 Now I know so many say NO NO to "faux" flowers but I really like them and have them throughout my home along with fresh flowers.

 I love  how the sunflower brightens up a room even if they are "faux"

I am looking forward to spending some time relaxing and reading my favorite magazines and gazing out into the back yard, listening to the waterfall and watching the new baby birds leaning to fly and landing on the rocks to sip 

 water. Its so darn adorable. I pray this week brings you all peace and your hearts are filled with joy.

 

~Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies~

Happy Monday to you all !

Recently a very special girl who we have known since she was just a young'n and now is a Mommy and a new bride Mrs. Benson. Jaclynn and Dan were married in Las Veges.

 They celebrated with friends and family in a reception at their home with home made goodness! The dessert table was full of yummy deliciousness. The ladies all helped fill the dessert table. I made carrot cake whoopie pies. While the batter was put into the oven,

 I took the time to sit  and sip on a hot cup of tea and thumb through one of my new magazine's.

 It helps to make the time go by while waiting for the timer to go off on the oven.

 So all the top and bottoms were baked and it was time for the filling, I sure do love my kitchen aid how in the world did I ever live without this beautiful baby!
 Just look at her whip that pie filling around..

 And the filling is done and ready to spread on the whoopie pies.

 Gary came into the kitchen to help me fill the bottoms of the whoopie pies and put them together and to lick the
 bowl that was full of vanilla and cream cheese filling..the filling was soooo goood..

 And here they are in all there yummyness.

 The whooopie pies turn out so soft they just melt in your mouth!

 We wrapped them up and took them to celebrate with Jaclynn and Dan.

 Our daughter Desire' baked chocolate cookies and snickerdoodle cookies.
 Jaclynn made the cupcakes they were too pretty to eat..and our daughter Bernadette and boyfriend Seth made the vanilla and chocolate mini pies.

The dessert table was a feast for the eyes and the hips..I hope your weekend was as yummy as ours was.
Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies recipe HERE

I used spice cake and omitted the shredded carrots. I also doubled the recipe.

Have a sweet week...

~Bali Ho~

 Aloha and Welcome to Bali Ho~Last October 2011 we took a family vacation to Oahu Hawaii and stayed at Bali Ho, its a georouse and amazing home that belongs to a Doctor who our daughter works with. You can read about this beautiful rental here Bali Ho 

 A private driveway leads you through the hand crafted gates.

 Once behind the gates you are taken in by the beauty of the ocean and private beach. We even had our own pathway. You can see our flip flops and our grand kids sand toys.

 Pathway to our beach

 Our home for the week on the beach...I still dream of the sound of the waves.

 Looking back onto the house from our beach. The balcony has a walk around and the views were so pretty! We slept with our sliding doors open every night.

 See the walkway to Bali Ho.

 Aleena our grand-daughter coming out to the beach.

 I must say that walking in the sand is very tiring...I was so pooped out!

 The sunsets were created by God! they took my breath away!

 Just look at all the orange in the sky as the sun set. I don't think I can even finds the words that describes the beauty.

 We have many visitors..

 Gary spent many a long hour taking naps in the hammock, the hammock was right out our bedroom door.

 Bali Ho is very close to Turtle Bay located on North Shore Oahu..We were blessed to have experienced the turtles coming onto the beach..there were several and many came in twos...this guy was right in front of our house just taking a nap.. He didn't  move and look very sad..Our grand kids thought he was dead..We told them that the turtle was just sleeping and would go back into the ocean when he woke up.

 Just look at the size of this guy..amazing creature...

 This is a night shot our turtle was on the move...back into the ocean he went...

 So I know taking a picture of a phone booth seems silly...but I haven't seen a phone booth since I was a kid. No kidding!

 Aw! such beauty from
 the Floria that was  in full bloom.

 Driving in our car, the weather changed and we had tropical rains..

I long for Hawaii and the sunsets..the peacefulness of the ocean and the sand between my toes, and the drinky-poos...yummy!!!

So guess what Gary and I did today? We booked a trip for May to the island of Kauai Hawaii!

I can't wait...so do you think I can lose 35 pounds in a Month LOL....

Linking up with the following girls..

Mary-Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday

Susan-Between Naps on the Porch metamorphosis Monday



Shannon-Cozy home Your Cozy Home Party Tuesday



Kim-Savvy Southern Style WOW us Wednesday



Bunny Jean -Bunny Jean Decor and More Bunny Hob Wednesday



Honey-2805 A Potpourri Party every Friday



Cindy- My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday



Courtney- French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday



Sherry-The Charm of Home Home Sweet Home Party Fridays



Meg-Nutmegplace Show Off Saturday