The GAP sale started today

I should NOT have gone shopping today, with all the bills we have thanks to all our travels this summer but I had a $10 rewards cert I wanted to use before it expired so I went in anyway...Here are my finds: (7 shirts, 2 coats, 2 scarves, 2 jeans, and 2 work pants all for $230)I'm not too sure about these tops/coats...any advice?? I asked Dominic and of couse he doesn't like them (please ignore the fact that I tried them on with my dress I just didn't want to change)
This one is a lot pricey, $45 and that is making me lean toward return
This sunny yellow one is cheaper at $15.... what should I do people?? When I came back in to take a few extra shots I found this...
I think it's her way of saying keep these mom

I Heart CVS

I'm officially addicted to the newest drugstore in town, CVS. I have so much fun reading blogs, getting together my coupons and getting a ton of stuff for next to nothing. Every so often another store has a great deal too...here are my bargains for today...Target is the cereal, tylenol and facewash and CVS is the toothpaste and cottonballs. Total spent $5...that's it for everything...see why I'm addicted!

Peonies

I have been waiting for months for some peonies here in Cali and they have finally arrived...Dominic bought me 2 bunches while we were out shopping yesterday and they have truely opened up over the last 24 hrs...take a look

don't eat the tomato

What is this, an overgrown weed garden??? Of course NOT! It's Dominic's idea of growing tomato plants...we're calling it 'wild' or 'not trained'. Sort of reminiscent of growing grapes. Here is the fruit of his labor
And in the back is some wild herb...guess we'll have to taste it to find outEclair's favorite spot in the garden
The succulent plants are recovering from the rats

Can't forget the newbies our new basil and a pepper plant. Hopefully they all make it and give us some yummy meals along the way!

Daddy's Day!

We love our dads so very much and wish we could be with them to celebrate today, but unfortunately we're down in Cali enjoying the sunny weather. In honor of this day and our fathers we wanted to share some memories of dear ol' dad.

Lets start with Chris.

Dad always treated me like I could do anything and not like some girly girl.

He taught me how to skin a deer, I hung on to the skin for tension while he worked at getting the rest off.

He taught me to NOT throw like a girl (thanks dad, Dominic loves you for this one and will take pointers when it comes to any girls we may have)

He taught me how to change my oil (this was a requirement before I could get a driver's license)

He bought me many tools and made sure I knew how to use them. This one came in handy when we bought our lovely house as we have completely redone all the outlets, lighting fixtures, and I even disconnected the hot tub on my own. So many people have told me that I am the luckiest girl because I'm never afraid of doing 'guys stuff' and I have you to thank!

I must say the number one thing you've tried to teach me is patience and I'm still working on that one but it's coming along more now that I'm married

-Shawna

And we can't forget Tim:

My biggest memories with my father revolve around sports. Mariners and Seahawks games in the Kingdome and later at Safeco anf Quest. Sonics games, fishing at Whootan Lake, Chelan and out on the Ocean. He made the trek to Seattle to see all my games in High School. And made many trips out to Ithaca to see me play in College. He taught me to compete and to always push myself to be the best that I can be.

I also had the privlage to work with him at the store for a couple of years, and I know that nobody is more dedicated or works harder than he does. My dad is a fighter, which has helped him survive many life-threatening illnesses. The day he was diagnosed with skin cancer he told me in his office "Many times in my life I have lost, But I have never been beaten." I have taken those words to heart and know that is the best lesson he ever has given me. I strive to never give up in anything I do. I love you Dad, sorry that we couldn't be there to celebrate with you. Happy Fathers Day!

-Dominic

Surgery day, more remodel, and my splurge

Dominic had a small cyst removed from his chest on thurs and here is the resulting scar. Doesn't it look like it's sad :( can you see the bruising at the bottom. Yeah, that's where eclair keeps trying to jump on him (which she usually does and is no problem) but with that bruise it hurts and she gets yelled at. Per eclair, "get better soon daddy so we can play like we used to"
and just in case you thought we were neglecting her..here is our baby playing

Just wanted to show off the lovely dress/cover-up that I got last weekend. I LOVE IT. This is going to be the best purchase of the summer, which is a good thing because of how much it cost.

Since I have been begging Dominic to see Sex and the City we went on Saturday, and I had a free movie ticket so it only cost $8 (and that's the matinee price for ONE). Definitely a good movie, I say so because the hubs liked it. We had a bet going about the number of guys that would be in the theatre (I think he was worried he would be the only one) and there ended up being 8 which was about 1/3-1/4 of the whole place. Rumor is they're working on a sequel....can't wait!
Last but not least, we finally finished up the handles on the bathroom vanities...here's a shot to prove it (Now if only I could get to the touch up paint on the trim) I personally think they look fantastic, they're from Ikea and were like $2/each. We did need to get some longer screws for the drawers but that was cheap too. Luckily I have a very patient hubby who managed to get them all on even when the holes were off by like 1 millimeter. This has been one of the few projects without any fighting so far!!! GO US!

I would like to recognize Eclair!!!

Eclair had one of her bet nail trims EVER today. She didn't even start whining until we were on the last 3 toes (mind you she only has 16 since all her dew claws are removed) YEAH ECLAIR
Here she is enjoying her treat sized lamb hide. Actually, now that I look at her pic, she's already devoured the entire thing.

lazy weekend

Well folks, last weekend I sent my husband off to Santa Barbara to see Jim, Jeff, and Bryan. He had strict orders to wear sunscreen, which he listened to after the sunburn in Coronado, and take pictures. Unfortunately he didn't take ONE! UHHH what to do with him....so all I really have to show you are the internet shots of the courses he played. Those crazy men played 36 holes of golf in one day. Luckily, after the experience, Dominic says he would stop next time at 27. And to answer the question which is currently plaging you...YES they got carts the whole time. This means that they didn't have half the exercise they could have but I guess the cart had to stay on the path so they still got some.

The first course was Glen Annie.

Please just admire this clubhouse for a second....it blends right in with the scenery and has a modern asthetic at the same time...oh I wish he has REAL photos...

and a course shot, this is 18
At the second course, the Sandpiper, they played a twilight round

Dominic got home yesterday around 4 and we had an early dinner and just caught up on TiVo the rest of the evening.

Now, what did I do???? What does a good wife always do while her husband golfs?? SHOP! I headed to my favorite spot, walnut creek and enjoyed a full 9hrs of shopping. I even picked up a little surprise for Dominic, a one size fits all silicon pot lid. That poor man is forever grabbing the wrong lid and getting it stuck on the pot, won't ever happen again! and it's dishwasher safe so I don't have to hand wash lids anymore....PS, we could use another one...

I also scored some more reuseable bags

Mary got the pink one for me for christmas and I just love it. They all have carabeeners so you can buckle them to anything and they open up into a good size bag, probably carry about 2-3 regular plastic grocery bags worth of stuff. Best of all they easily fit into my purse so I should never need plastic bags again!

Please don't be surprised if you get a bundle of these as a gift this next year, I just love them so much I want everyone to have one.

So, as you can see all we did was spend money this weekend...guess we'll be eating in all this week to make up for it!

We're thinking about you Nick!

Dominic's uncle Nick had surgery this week and we've been thinking about him so much. His situation brings up organ donation for the second time in less than 2 weeks, my grandfather donated skin and tissue after his passing. Please everyone consider checking the organ donor box on your driver's license and be sure to let your loved ones know about your choice. This really is the gift that keeps on giving and the number of people that one individual can help is just awesome! WE LOVE YOU NICK!!! GET BETTER SOON

inspiration

If we all did this how successful we would each be..and how much would we be encouraging others to be successful??? oh the possibilities

a game of cat and mouse, err rat? and another wine run

As many of you know already we've been battling some roof rats for the past several months and I think we've finally rounded the bend and MAY be coming to an end....from the looks of our yard yesterday the neighbor cat may be helping. Check out all that fur this must have been some fight!

Rather than sit around we decided to spend another weekend enjoying all that california has to offer and headed back up to lodi. Hey, our stash is getting VERY low. We went to the visitor center next to Wine and Roses (for anyone interested, this is where we're going to stay for the upcoming Harden-Rooney wedding and they have a great restaurant, check out that brunch menu) The visitor center has a great little overview of different ways wine is grown and the tasting room boasts wines from many of the wineries in the area. One of our tastes led us to retry Jessie's Grove which we found better, but still not near as good as some of our favorites. Many of the color flower shots are from the drive to this winery. We also headed to Housley's Century Oak and of course Jewel. We were running low on our favorite Viognier and had a shipment to pick up. Now for the pictures, the sign on the first one says 118 years old...that's a zinfandel stump

These are baby grapes...just wait until early fall they'll taste scrumptious