Empty Nest – Take Two

I should be in bed.  In fact, I was in bed but I couldn’t sleep.

Today (or yesterday when you read this), I returned from Utah where I deposited my girls back at college.  Thirty six hours after the Wedding Carnival we hopped in the car and drove 13 hours to Utah. We spent the next two days in a whirlwind getting them moved back into their apartments, unpacked, books purchased and groceries bought.

I also left behind my two boys.  One of them now settled in his first apartment with his new bride.

I was exhausted and full of emotion and I should be able to sleep.

Wednesday morning I got on a plane (leaving my car in Utah until I return in two weeks for another wedding celebration) and flew home in a sweet and quick one and a half hours.  I returned to my empty house.

I have to admit, after the craziness and whirlwind of the last couple of weeks it felt good.  The quiet.

After unpacking, I sat on my couch and proceeded to watch four episodes of White Collar and ate half a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream.  Something I never do but I think I earned it and my body and mind needed it.  It needed to do nothing for at least a couple of hours.

But then tonight I thought, “I wonder what Tessa is doing upstairs?”  Then I realized Tessa wasn’t upstairs.  Tessa wasn’t home for the summer anymore.  The noise and the fun that Cali brings with her every time she is home was gone too (she had been home for two weeks.) The busyness and activity of preparing for the Wedding Carnival was over.

My nest was once again empty and quiet.

Once again we are empty nesters.  I know I can do this, I have done it before but it will take a period of adjustment.  When I was in Utah my niece was sending her baby to kindergarten.  She had cried herself to sleep the night before.  I knew how she felt.  I had done the same thing and I would cry later that night when I said goodbye to my baby before returning home to Oregon.  I assured her it gets easier and you get use to it.  You do.   You get use to it.  And there are things about it you will learn to enjoy.  Those couple of free hours each day can be nice. It just takes a period of adjustment.  There will be a lot of adjustments in store for  her in the coming years.

I know I will once again adjust to being a empty nester.  I will get use to cooking for two although I will probably be throwing away a lot of salad.  I just can’t get that one down – making salad for two.  I will enjoy the luxury of not having to cook every night and just grabbing some quick take out.  I will enjoy the last minute weeknight dates to the movies or the symphony at the park like we will do tomorrow.

I will also enjoy throwing a back to school breakfast for my neighbor kids this weekend and hosting some friends for a Labor Day BBQ because I can’t let my nest stand empty for too long.  I can’t let my house be too quiet or too clean for too long.  The noise and the mess make me happy.

I have learned to adjust.  I will always be Logan, Clark, Cali and Tessa’s mother and they will always be my children. I have now added another child to that list – Jessica, my new daughter in law.  They may no longer live at home full time but they live in my heart on a daily and hourly basis.  They are in my thoughts and prayers continually.  I am blessed to be their mother and grateful for the 27 years I had one or all of them in our home.

Empty Nest – I can do this!

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Places to Eat in Phoenix

Prior to our trip to Phoenix for the wedding I posted on Facebook asking for some Phoenix restaurant suggestions.  I only wish I would have had time to check them all out.

I did get to hit a few of them.  We were able to go out to breakfast twice while we were there and loved both places.

Over Easy was a recommendation from the Food Network.  Their Waffle Dogs came highly recommended.  Tessa ordered them and they were yummy.  A breakfast version of a corn dog  – sausage covered in waffle batter.  They were so good.

The Chilaquiles  came highly recommended and they were yummy.  Basically breakfast nachos! A  mixture of tortillas, ranchero sauce, chicken, sour cream and cheddar cheese topped with an egg.

The second breakfast place we checked out was recommended by one of you – Butters Pancakes.  We love pancakes at our house so we were excited to try this one out.

First of all, their orange juice is amazing.  They squeezed it right around the corner from our table so it really can’t get any fresher.

We of course had to try their pancakes.  I got the Bliss Cakes and they were pure bliss – Mascarpone cream, wild berry sauce, vanilla crème & brown sugar oats.  So good.

Tessa tried the S’more Cookie Cakes.  Wow!!!  They were a side to her enormous omelet!!

A pancake covered in Oreo cookie crumbles, marshmallow sauce & chocolate drizzle.  My dad tried the Strawberry  Shortcake pancakes which he kept raving about.  They are covered in Mascarpone cream, strawberry sauce, vanilla crème & brown sugar oats.  We loved everything we had at Butters.

The family dinner/rehearsal dinner we hosted was held at the Arcadia Room at LGO.  LGO is La Grand Orange a local Phoenix restaurant.  Their pizzas are amazing and I highly recommend them!

The weather was, shall we say, warm while we were in Phoenix.  I think the only way to cool off in 115 degree weather is shaved ice.  Fortunately for us we found a Bahama Bucks and enjoyed one of these!

Jim and Logan and a few cousins enjoyed a Diamond Backs game Saturday night.  After the game we met them at Rudy’s for dinner.  Such a fun BBQ place and the atmosphere and the food were great too.  The food is served up in a plastic crate.  Loved it.

So Phoenix people – what are some of your favorite places to eat.  Who knows, with a daughter in law from Scottsdale, I may be making more trips back there and I need to know where to eat!!

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Wedding Rehearsal Dinner – Literary Love Theme

Today I am excited to share with you the Family Dinner that my husband and I hosted in Arizona last weekend for our son’s wedding. Traditionally it is called a Rehearsal Dinner but since Clark and Jessica were getting married in the LDS Mesa Temple there is no rehearsal so it is a family dinner. (If you would like more information on LDS Temples please go here.)  It is an opportunity for the two families to come today and enjoy getting to know each other a bit before the big day.

Planning this party long distance was a bit of a challenge but everything worked out great and it was a wonderful evening.

I decided on a Literary Love Theme because Jessica was a literature major and both she and Clark love to read.

Several months ago I had found this fun piece of Word Art at 13 Pumpkins on Etsy and had given it to them as an engagement present.

It became the inspiration point for the rest of the evening.  I also used the quote on the invite for the family dinner as well as some of the fun engagement pictures they had taken in the law school library by wonderful photographer Tara B.

Fortunately for me we were flying Southwest so we could each take two suitcases for free.  I loaded up our carryons and suitcases with all the decorations for the dinner.  Just a bit of helpful information – security does not like it when you  have a glue gun in your carry on!  You have been warned.

I used books (which I got from my niece who lives in Mesa) to place on each table along with a childhood photo of the bride and the groom.  I also found a bunch of different quotes about love from literature that I printed on the pages of an old vintage copy of Jane Eyre that I found in the Goodwill bins for $2.00.  I just tore the pages out of the book and ran them through my printer.  All my frames also came from Goodwill and they got a coat or two of black spray paint.

I also made paper rosettes out of the pages from Jane Eyre to use as decoration.

I also used some of the pages to cover pint canning jars which I filled with red roses.  I put some of the paper rosettes on bamboo skewers and they went in with the roses.

My friend Cherilyn helped me sew up some burlap table runners which I brought from home for each of the tables too.  For a party favor and a remembrance of the evening for each family I created wallet size copies of all the literary love quotes and had them printed off.  I put them in a little muslin bag that I had stamped with the bride and grooms name as well as another love quote from Mr. Darcy.  I had the stamp custom made at StampOutOnline

The dinner was held at the Arcadia Room at LGO (La Grand Orange.)  The restaurant came highly recommended and they did a great job.  They were so easy to work with and the food was delicious.  We had gourmet pizza and delicious salads.  For dessert there was gelato.   Everyone loved the food and they were so happy to accomodate our special dietary needs!

After dinner we had a family program that was fun and entertaining.  The siblings made a special presentation to their new sibling.  Giving them some momento that they thought might come in handy.

Logan presented Jessica with her own giant Slurpee mug since that is one of Clark’s favorite things.  Cali gave her a bedazzled meat cleaver which was suppose to be a gavel and Tessa gave her a box with a padlock on it for her to store away any photos or other things she doesn’t want others to see (long story!)  It was great and I think the bride and groom loved it.

There was a dance number by Jessica’s siblings and a musical song by my kids.  Cali rewrote the words to “Favorite Things” so that the lyrics included many of Clark’s Favorite Things – so funny!!

The parents also had an opportunity to share a few thoughts and of course a few tears!  As part of my presentation I gave the bride and groom these fun little signs…

There are just certain times when a girl needs to be right!

I also created a display table to carry on the literary theme.

I used more of those pages from Jane Eyre along with some burlap to make a banner for the front of the table.

This table also had a burlap table runner along with a table runner I had made out of the pages of Jane Eyre and then punched the edges to give it a lacy look.

I used some of their engagement photos, more paper rosettes and I covered the letter J and C in burlap. I also created a fun little poster with the names of lots of famous literary love couples.

I also put together another piece of Word Art for the occasion using my Cricut and some paint.

Well of Words also gifted me this pretty sign for Clark and Jessica to remember their special day by.  Be sure and check out their website and all the fun things they do.  Lots of great gift ideas.

All in and all it was pretty much a perfect evening.  It was a wonderful way to start of a perfect weekend!  But most of all it was a wonderful way to celebrate these two people who we love and are so glad are part of our family!

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Ruby Jewel Ice Cream – Portland

The temperatures are rising here in Portland.  We get excited about that because it doesn’t happen too often!

Nothing tastes better than some yummy ice cream on a warm summer day. Don’t you agree?

Today I am sharing one of my favorite local Portland ice cream shops,  Ruby Jewel Scoops located at 3713 N. Mississippi. They also sell their delicious ice cream sandwiches at the Portland Farmer’s Market as well as having a second location in the Pearl at 428 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97205.  So many convenient locations!

At the store you can enjoy one of their wonderful ice cream sandwiches or a scoop of their locally made ice cream. Ruby Jewel has a fun selection of flavors. Everything from vanilla bean and fresh strawberry to caramel with salted dark chocolate.  Their Mint Flake is another one of my favorites.

Not only is the ice cream delicious but their housemade waffle cones are one of the best I have ever had. I believe that ice cream just tastes better on a cone and Ruby Jewel’s waffle cones are light and crisp, not thick and chewy like so many.

Ruby Jewel is a favorite for our family! Do you have a favorite ice cream spot in the Portland area? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Favorite Things 60th Birthday Party

This last weekend we were invited to a Favorite Things 60th birthday party/retirement party for a dear friend.  We have been friends for over twenty years.  We met when she was Logan’s first grade teacher.  Every parent should be so blessed to have their child have such an amazing teacher.  We were twice blessed because she was also Clark’s first grade teacher.

Then we moved and the girls didn’t have the opportunity but we have remained friends over the years and Tessa and I were so excited to be able to join in the celebration!

What a celebration it was.  It was a party lover’s dream.  Anne’s children had coordinated and put on the party and I definitely think her daughter Paula needs to go into the party planning business because her attention to detail and creativity is amazing!  I just wish I had taken my camera to the party so you will have to do with IPhone photos but I just had to share all the party fun!!!

The theme for the party was all of Anne’s favorite things.  She has some fun favorite things.

There was a table set up for each of her favorite things.

Anne is a M & M lover so there was a whole table devoted to M & M’s.  The yummy looking doughnuts covered in M & M’s came from the Portland landmark doughnut shop – Voodoo Doughnuts so Tessa and I had to share one! I loved the big M & M balloons that were hung behind the table and the M & M banner on the front.

Anne’s next favorite things are the Oregon State Beavers so there was an orange and black table dedicated to them. I was loving the orange macaroons.

Next we had the lemon table as Anne is a girl after my own heart and loves lemons too!

I of course had to check out the lemon bars and loved the fact that they were on a bed of lemon jelly bellies.

Anne also loves anything and everything red, white and blue so there was a table dedicated to her favorite color combination.  I think this may have been my second favorite table (favorite table coming up!)

I loved Paula’s attention to detail and this table was a great example. Everything looked like it came out of a magazine and was almost too pretty to eat!!

I need to get me some of those red and blue lollipops for the Wedding Carnival! (They are from Target, I asked!)

Those cute vintage Cracker Jack boxes are also from Target.

The next table was dedicated to Anne’s love of coffee and was full of lots of coffee flavored treats as well as treats that go well with coffee.
My favorite table was the next one.  Anne was turning 60 and celebrating her Silver Jubilee just like Queen Elizabeth who is celebrating her 60th year as Queen so there was a British themed table.  It was darling.

Everything British!

Even a throne for the Queen!
The last area was the main food area and this area was dedicated to Anne’s many years as a teacher so of course was school themed.

As each guest left they could take a little container of M & M’s.

The amazing thing is Paula, Anne’s daughter, planned this party from her home in New York City and then arrived in Portland a few days before and pulled it all together including baking most of the treats herself.  And on top of that she is expecting her first baby in a few months!   A girl after my own heart.

What a fun party and celebration for such a special lady.  We are so glad we could be a part of it and be there to celebrate with you Anne!!

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