Inviting The Perfect Party Guests:

Who doesn't love a baby shower? Who doesn't love one even more when the occasion includes some of the best food nibblies in town? These were not only wonderfully artistic and photogenic, they were a feast for the eyes and tummies, as well!

The cake was five layers of rich chocolate, with chocolate buttercream filling! Yes, I said FIVE lawyers! That's enough chocolate per piece to give even a seasoned chocoholic a rush! Ummm.......

                                                                                           Made  by Anna DeLoach
There were beautiful matching cookies. . .



 
                                                                                             Made by Anna DeLoach
Sweet, chocolate covered strawberries. . .
beautiful and delicious!

Chicken salad puffs...
baby-sized, or course!

A veggie garden (to lessen the guilt from the chocolate). . .

Crab cakes, sausage bites, sushi, green beans, sticks and stalks. . .

Parmesan sticks, shrimp, spring rolls,
and a platter of brie. . .

Cheese and tomato kabobs. . .

Cheese and fruit

Cucumber water, tea, and sangria were found at the beverage station, and complimented this feast perfectly! The hostess, (and mom-to-be's sister) did a wonderful job in planning and presenting the perfect baby shower and way to say, "Welcome to the world, little baby boy!"
 

bm

How to Splash Away a Rainy Day

We were visiting with grandchildren last week, and enjoying a beautiful day outdoors, when it started to rain. They showed us that just because the rain was falling - it didn't mean the fun has to stop.

There's plenty of great outdoor stuff to do on a rainy day, but first you need to put on your rain gear. Then...

you can make footprints...

or do a little Celtic rain dance.

You can water the dog...

or even taste a frog.

We had lots of fun outside on that rainy day...
  And then the sun was spotted, coming back out to play.

I'm Here..... I'm Here!
I haven't forgotten how to type. Really!
I've been enjoying Spring and being outside planting. The new deck project has also been consuming a lot of time and I've found myself just standing there staring at the space and waiting for a design to pop into my head. Thankfully, it happened unexpectedly one day while I was stand and staring, so now we are digging and building. I should be taking pictures, but then I'd have stop and fetch the camera - then fuss at myself for tracking dirt into the house - then I'd have to mop up the tracked in dirt and that always leads to more cleaning. Looks like I'd just rather be outside working.

Celebrating
Just because some days are sweeter than others...

Lemme See That Badge, SMAC-Daddy. . .
Mr. K, or as I sometimes call him, “SMAC-daddy” (Stud-Muffin Arm Candy) never ceases to amaze me. He is one of those people who will accomplish whatever goal he sets his mind to. Once an idea seeds in his head, he makes it happen. My personality is more on the cautious side and I have to examine 12 dimensions around the idea, then go over the pros and cons, then mull it over for a while, then consider all the “what ifs,” and then put it on the back burner because my brain is exhausted. It once took me two years to decide what color to paint the outside of my house!

SMAC Daddy, on the other hand, just makes it happen. Last year he thought of an invention and within a few months he had hired a cad artist to render it, patented it, and had a proto type ready to present to manufacturers.  Just in the past several years, he’s received a variety of degrees and certifications. (One, in “lean” is obviously a perfect fit for him!)  He has even learned another language - just because he wanted to!

A few years ago he felt a calling to do something to be able to use his experience in life to help others. Last week Mr. K graduated the required training in this latest goal accomplishment and was sworn in by a Judge and received an official badge.  I'm proud , I'm amazed , and I'm always in awe.

Meanwhile….
I’m considering changing the color on the outside of the house again. (This might take a while….)

 This Old House - Take 204
32 years ago, when I was in my early 20's, I bought a "redo" project house. Every room needed to be gutted, re-walled, re-floored, and re-done completely. I was young, and I was either stupid or a freakin' genius. For the first few years my nerves were frayed and my patience challenged. A decade later, my first daughter was using the living room as a tricycle track. (Which came in very handy on rainy days!) It was only when she used the tax auditor lady as a breaking wall that I put the boot on her little indoor wheels. I was young but I had became a veteran of living in remodel chaos!

Eventually every room was finished. By that time, though, the first rooms finished now needed to be redecorated. Then the next, and the next and then going back to the first again, and so on and so on. Before the paint brush has a chance to dry, its time to use it again. Keeping up with the little stuff is the fun part, and so much easier than that original insane endeavor.

Well, now it's January, it's too cold outside to play, and I'm getting a big itch to redo something - again! The rooms here at Casa Kidd have gone from light to dark, to light again, from bland to extreme to subdued, and all around the world and back in their themes. My last redos were just for empty nest therapy.

I don't know what I have planned yet. I have a few ideas. I'm just ready to strap on my paint holster, put the cord in my teeth, and come out with both barrels blasting! (Oops! I think I need to be put on True Grit watching restriction. . .)