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Weeeeeee ~ Typepad is all different.  This should be fun.  I composed an entire post and went to do a final edit on a picture and it crashed my browser and I lost everything.  And now my pictures and text keep posting all wonky.  I don't think I like this.  Someone may be resistant to change….

Did you all see the picture of my backyard on the last Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion? 

Okay so not really my garden but it should be.  It's how I picture my backyard to look, right down to the scattered rose petals.

I love everything about it and I just poured over the article.  Most of the article in on the interior of the house (which is lovely) but I wanted to see more of the garden and particularly the table setting.

I am totally coveting the stemware on the table.  Unfortunately the product guide doesn't give any information on them

So I got out my trusty google and searched away.

I found these glasses at Ballard Design.  The shape is right and I love the short stem (great for tossing into the dishwasher) but I'm not sure how I feel about insects on my stemware.  I love bees in person but maybe not on something I am going to be pressing against my lips.

It's a tie between the next two – I keep going back and forth.  I love the etching on the Sur La Table glasses below.  The shape isn't as appealing to me as the Ballard Design ones (which have a flatter bottom to the bowl part of the glass). 

But the etching on the last glass, from  Pierre Deux , is a little more delicate.   At the moment they are my favorite.  Come on by and we'll sit under the pergola sipping pink lemonade and smelling the roses.

Speaking of glasses – I made PW's Pots de Creme mainly because I thought they looked so pretty served in the wine and champagne glasses.  I modified the recipe a bit – using scalded half and half rather than coffee (since I'm not a coffee drinker and didn't have any in the house) and I used less chocolate because someone might have gotten into the bag last night and eaten some.

We have driven past this house hundreds of times over the years.  The kids in the family called it the haunted strawberry house because it was surrounded by strawberry fields and there is a strawberry stand just a few hundred feet to the right. 

It’s actually called the Redman House.  It was built in the 1890’s for a man named James Redman.  In the 1930’s the house and surrounding property was sold to a prominant Japanese family.

During a very ugly, never talked about phase in our American history the family was shipped off to internment camps.  They somehow managed to hang onto the house and returned to it after WW II.

I don’t know when it fell into such disrepair.  It was red tagged by the county after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake but a group of investors bought the house and land and have had plans ever since to restore it.  They aren’t making very quick progress.

I’m always a little surprised to see it still standing when I drive by.

I was trying to get a shot of the Castroville sign without a port-a-potty in the picture but the traffic was heavy because of the yearly artichoke festival.  If you love artichokes thank a Castrovillian.

We had a really fine day of driving through Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.  We wanted to check out an area called Corralitos.   We just drove semi aimlessly.  Where ever the road took us. 

We ended up Nicki’s house were she had an absolutely divine dinner.  I can’t wait to recreate it myself.  She served grilled chicken with buffalo wing type marinade, served with a blue cheese sauce and salad made with fresh, grilled corn, tomatoes and avocado.  It was very Summery and delicious.

She could have just rested on her laurels at that point but she finished the meal with a lemon icebox pie that we ate out on the patio, watching the stars come out.   

It really was a perfect weekend.

Rick and I decided to escape the heat and take a weekend drive near the shore.  We are going to head out early on Saturday morning (alas – not in the car pictured above.  That belongs to my brother in law Doug.  We’ll be in my standard issue, very boring Honda) and go over the Santa Cruz mountains and wend our way behind Freedom and Watonsville in an area called Corralitos. 

We are still on the prowl for areas to live closer to the ocean and our loved ones.  Of course the housing market decided to be uncooperative so we’ve delayed our plans a bit but we are still looking, getting the lay of the land, so to speak.

This is where I hope to have lunch:

This is the view from the outside eating area at Seascape.

After our drive (and perhaps a stop or two at some favorite shops) we are going to head over to my sister’s house where we will have a wonderful meal and spend the night.  Maybe sit outside and look at the stars.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! 

I’ve decided to make a change on how I manage my links on the sidebar. 

When I first started this blog I used my list of links more like my own personal favorites (like you have with your browser) rather than a way to share other sites with anyone visiting here.  I have found that lately there are many blogs that I visit regularly that haven’t made it to my list – mostly because I’m too lazy to update it regularly. 

I remember how thrilled and validated I felt the first time I saw my own blog listed on another blogger’s list of links.  I must have gone to her site ten times a day just to see my little blog name in print.  Imagine my chagrin when after about two days she removed it.  Talk about deflated. 

What I am going to do is list reciprocal links.  If you give me the honor of listing my blog on your list of links then I want to return the favor. 

The links listed now are the ones I know about – if you have me listed and you don’t see your blog listed please leave me a comment or drop me an email and I’ll add you.  I find that I discover some great new blogs (to me anyway) from comments left here.

I have them broken out it categories that are pretty self-explanatory.  Bon Vivants is where I put blogs like mine – that cover a multitude of topics.  And look at Gourmands – poor Mimi must be pretty lonely out there, all by herself.  If you have a food oriented blog let me know!

I think there are a ton of wonderful, lesser known blogs out there that we are missing out on.  I’m hoping that this will shine a little light on them.