90's Concert in the Park

We love the 90's!!

So happy it's summertime... nothing better than our neighborhood group of girls gettin' together with the guys and enjoying some refreshments, finger foods & live music! :)

Can't believe TL and I have lived in our new house for almost a year now.  We've met so many fabulous people, and we feel so lucky!

Lone Eagle Grille

While staying with my MIL and her friends in Incline Village {Tahoe}, we ate dinner at a lake-side restaurant called Lone Eagle Grille.  The food was delicious, the company was fabulous, and the views were spectacular!!

{gorgeous night!}

Our visit to Lake Tahoe

We are so lucky to live so close to Lake Tahoe! {Only about an hour and a half drive}

We definitely don't take advantage of going as often as we should.

What makes Tahoe so beautiful {besides the lake & mountains} is all of the little villages & towns surrounding it.  Beautiful homes, hotels, & lodges, cozy restaurants, & the people are very friendly.

TL's mom invited us to come along with her and her friends for the night & it was fun!

TL and I ended up driving the long way to see them because it was a perfect sunny day to see the views of the lake. 

{the dog was up a little staircase off of one of the shops in Truckee}

{Downtown Truckee}

We rode our bikes around Incline Village & Donner Lake.  We also explored around Truckee & Northstar - all of the places are just gorgeous!

Who's been to Tahoe??

We can't wait to go back!

European Vacation, London!

London is absolutely one of my favorite cities I have ever visited.  TL and I vowed to visit it every time we travel to Europe after our first visit on our Honeymoon.  It's full of history, beautiful landmarks, the Royal Family, and vibrant & friendly people.  Not to mention, amazing food - pub food!  And we ate our fair share of it while visiting :)

We were there just 2 weeks before the big Royal Wedding, and it was easy to see the city was in full swing preparing for the big day.  It was all the buzz around town.

We stayed at the Park Lane Hotel, and it was fabulous.  It was right across the park from the Palace and had beautiful views of the city.  Filled with an old time charm, I felt like I was visiting london in the 50's. It was also close to The Tube, which we loved riding around on.  We were only in London for 3 quick days, but it was amazing!

I spent a big chunk of time doing a little Birthday shopping at Harrods, oh my, it was fabulous.  I also visited the Burberry store and a few other big hits on our walk to Harrods.  I only came away with a few little items, but it was fun to look around.

While we were there, we also saw a Broadway Play... Les Miserables!  It was something we didn't do on our Honeymoon stop in London, and I was so glad we did it here.  We had our friends, C & K with us in London, too - and it was a blast!

{The fabulous view from our hotel room}

Oh, dear London, I can't wait to visit you again someday!

Happy Graduation!

As many of you have read before or know already, I have a very large family.  We all were born and raised in the same small town.  My dad has 6 brothers - and we are so fortunate to have my grandma & grandpa with us still to witness all of the fabulous things happening in the "cousins" lives.

3 of my cousins graduated from High School this year.  2 from my dad's side, and 1 from my mom's side!

On Saturday, our family (& many of their friends) gathered together to celebrate!

Kendal is going to Oregon State University & Erica to Johns Hopkins University!

My grandpa is one of the most special people on the planet... look at how proud he looks.  He adores the big family he and my grandma raised ;)

I'm pretty lucky to have such a fabulous large family!  Even though the years have separated us with collages, jobs, relationships, ect... we still know how to get together and celebrate ;)

{this is just a small group of us, together, there are 23 cousins... and that's not counting all of those who are married in now!!}

I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

{ps. loved all your comments about the peonies... aren't they the best!}

Happy Weekend!

'Tis the season for peonies!  Trader Joe's has some beautiful little bunches for $5 and TL knows there is nothing I love more in our house than fresh flowers :)

I love having them on our kitchen table.  I look at them while I am working and enjoy them so much.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

On tap over here: 3 graduation parties, time with the fam, Father's Day and getting outside as much as possible in the beautiful weather!

{Enjoy the sunshine}

Ladies that Lunch Bunco

I love my bunco group... we always have a great time together :)

This month's theme was 'Ladies that Lunch' and on the menu: Panini, finger foods, wine, and sangria!

I didn't get any pics of the actual bunco. Set my camera down and forgot, oops ;)  

Thanks, Michelle, for hosting... it was a blast!

Do you have a bunco group??  Any fun themes?

Concert in the Park

It is officially summer-time, and this year, I am welcoming the sunshine with open arms!

It seems like we have been stuck in winter since it began more than 7 months ago.

In our town, a little series called "Concert in the Park" started up this last weekend.  It's free, family friendly, and a fabulous time!  My girlfriends and our guys got together, packed a picnic and enjoyed the 80s music on the lawn.

{my friend Erin's sweet little girl Cameron, she's a doll}

How are you celebrating summer? :)

Our visit to the Chateau de Versailles

With Paris being a bit crowded, we decided to take a day train trip over to the Chateau de Versailles.  We were so glad we did!  Right when we arrived, we got off of the train and saw this big building on the corner.  We were sold, it was beautiful and we thought that was it!  Thankfully, some sweet tourists from San Diego stopped to take our picture and said "you know the Chateau is across that street and down, right?"  Uhh, no.  We didn't.  But once we started walking up to this place... 

we were wildly impressed!

The Chateau is absolutely breathtaking!  The front is covered in gold.  We didn't want to go inside once we saw the gardens.  Acres and acres of beautifully landscaped park.  It was one of the largest and most beautiful gardens I will probably ever see!

In the middle of the 'backyard' - there was a beautiful man made lake.  We rented a row boat and rode around.  The weather was hot - over 80 degrees, which we hear is unseasonably warm.  We both got a little farmers tan ;)

Map of the gardens, courtesy.

The Chateau from the front and the back.  The gardens weren't complete, but I loved the thousands of tulips!

I was a terrible boat rower, so TL did most of the rowing ;)

The Neptune Fountain was spectacular.  It only goes on once per day for about 20 minutes.  The incredible thing about these fountains is the piping and their age.  They've been original since the Chateau was built in 17th Century!

We walked at least 3-5 miles that day through the passage ways.  Everywhere you turned was another fountain, garden, or sculpture.

If you ever get the chance to visit Paris, I strongly recommend taking the 30 minute train ride over here.  It is magnificent!