Diana and Orie in TEXAS: May 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

thoughts....

For my birthday this year my husband not only took me on a fantastic birthday getaway but he also gave me a great present....I am now the sole proprietor of my very own business! Orie filed for my business and set up my tax id number.....hello market...here I come! Do you think he's trying to tell me to start making some money again?!?!?!

Plans are in the works to purchase my very own monogram machine and then I will start purchasing some baby items and gift items.....so fun!

I have played with names for my business for a long time....being inspired by all of these Facebook business pages I think now is the perfect time to jump in full speed ahead!!!

So....some thoughts and some help....

Forever....I have loved the business name diana dreams.....because I am ALWAYS dreaming and very rarely act on these dreams....and I am always dreaming of something new and different....gosh why was I not diagnosed with ADD as a child?!?!?!?!?!

But now I am loving the name....all things sweet and baby.....because that is my number one rule for baby items - especially clothing....it doesn't have to be expensive, smocked, from a great designer or anything like that....it just needs to be sweet and baby....and I would only gather and sell all things sweet and baby.....

What are your thoughts?

I'm also working on some logo design - very unsuccessfully....I just don't seem to like anything I am coming up with....more thoughts?

I'll keep you posted on what I decide and hopefully all the great things to come!!!!!! Until then....

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Birthday.....

Yes...I celebrated another birthday....which really isn't a big deal for me....I don't dread another birthday, getting older, or any of the stuff that you hear some people talk about when their birthday rolls around.

I love my birthday! May is a great time of year for a birthday because it's usually quite pretty and nice outside (where I love to celebrate!) It's also a great time of year for the inkling to get away on vacation....and that's just what we did!

Orie and I hopped off to Lakeway Resort and Spa just outside of Austin, Texas. It was perfect!

After a blah weather forecast I was a little concerned about my birthday trip requests....relaxing, sunshine, a pool, maybe some shopping and some live music.....but nothing stopped us in Austin!

We had some rain when we arrived the first evening but it was just a misty drizzle and we still were able to relax and enjoy the pool a little while that evening. The sun came out the next day and we soaked up some sunshine and pool time the whole day....my only break was to the spa to enjoy my pedicure....a happy birthday from the V and K families!

That evening we headed to dinner at Jack Allen's Kitchen...it was delish and it's a good thing I had just received the phone call that I passed my glucose screen test because we enjoyed an amazing dessert that evening!

On my birthday I woke up to my birthday banner hung in our room thanks to my sweet husband....and breakfast on the balcony...it was quite lovely....and I remembered how spoiled rotten I am! We spent the whole day at the pool having the best time! That evening we enjoyed a great dinner in Austin at Chez Nous - recommended by my sweet friend over at Pink Slip Gourmet. It was AMAZING...and so fun and French! Pre Baby Ideas we had thought about taking our France trip around my 30th birthday....so this was the next best thing!!! It was also super convenient for where we wanted to go later that night....6th street for some live music!

We strolled around after dinner...probably walking off our amazing meal....and then we stumbled upon The Bat Bar....when we asked what kind of music they had the bouncer said I don't know but it's a vocalist/guitarist, a guy playing the cello and a violinist.....you can't beat this in my opinion....I just love anyone who can play the guitar and sing and then when you add in some strings....it was Heaven! We enjoyed their show and would highly recommend it to friends....they play on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 until 10....check them out on your next trip!

Lakeway and Austin was the perfect way to spend a vacation and celebrate my birthday....thanks Orie for spoiling me rotten....I am the luckiest girl in the world to get to celebrate my birthdays and life with you:)

Enjoy some pics!

birthday presents....

view of Lake Travis from our room...

view from restaurant of one of the pools...

view of our pool and the live music...

they say the lake is down 20-30 feet....wow!

part of the resort...

arrival...a pic on our balcony

orie and di at jack allen's kitchen

the sweet deer that joined for breakfast...

my birthday breakfast on the balcony

Orie enjoying the sun....he got some color this time!

Di enjoying the pool day and sunshine

live music by the pool was such an unexpected treat!

our happy birthday banner!

getting ready to open presents and then head out to Austin...

a pic outside the resort...

fun at The Bat Bar....I love this pic:)

A sweet treat....

Do you ever get to spend the day with an unexpected sweet treat?

I recently did.....

I offered to help a friend with her kids one day while she was out of town....it was so much fun! This sweet boy...CWT...is pretty special...he's sweet, gentle, goes with the flow, let me dress him in my favorite outfit and even kept his sandals on for a little bit (just for my amusement I am sure!!!) It was a great way to spend the day and so fun to think about when William will be this age moving all over the place and really interacting with us!

I'll come back and play with you any time CWT....you were a joy!

Mother's Day Weekend

We certainly had a lot to celebrate last time we were home....

It was August's Baby Shower....Debbie's Birthday....Mom's art show....and Mother's Day - all rolled into one......needless to say this kid was tired at the end of the trip!

After Kat's baby shower we headed over to the Karpeles museum for mom's art show. It was great...there are so many artists who take under Robin Clawson and most of them had work displayed....some really great stuff....Kat claimed one of mom's instantly and then she sold two additional pieces from upstairs. It was a fun outing for sure....and I'm pretty sure it makes mom proud when we love her work! If you're interested in seeing some of her stuff let me know....she does personalized pet portraits and lots of other amazing pieces....let me know what she can do for you!

That evening Orie and I joined Debbie and Big Orie for dinner at East Ridge for Debbie's birthday. It was a great evening....complete with a great meal, presents and strawberry ice cream cake....what fun....Happy Birthday Debbie...I know Orie was super excited he got to spend the whole day with you too!

On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day! We were off to church that morning with my family and then lunch at Southern Trace....we were quite a big group with our family plus Mama Tee, Ange and Sally who were all in town for the weekend....what fun it was!

After that we stopped off at Debbie's to visit for a bit for Mother's Day with her. She had a nice morning with her mom and sister and they had a nice lunch at Aunt Linda's....it's so nice to be able to celebrate with everyone when we head to Shreveport!

What did you do for your Mother's Day celebrations?

Kat's Baby's Shower

Another perfect weekend was had in Shreveport!

We celebrated sweet August and Kat with a baby shower....her hostesses did such a beautiful job....everything looked great and August got some beautiful and practical gifts....such a lucky little girl...it's fun to spoil a little girl rotten!

Check out some pics from her big day....think pink!

the hostesses

beautiful flowers....

tasty treats

petit fors

look how pretty?

another view....

her pages and personalized canvas....isn't it cute? she's a shreveporter...message me if you are interested in her work!

brooke, kat, amanda

a sea of pink!

yeah...that's us....mom with her three girls

another adorable sign.....ready for her birth date, height and weight....

sally and mom

enjoying the party...

more fun at the party....

and a little more fun at the party....

sally and kat...Godmother and Godchild

pink flowers are so fun!

di and kat...i was in charge of recording....good think i know the names of all her sweet little things:)

ange and mama tee enjoying the party...

august's sweet little saque from aunt jen...

carie and di

august is ready for the beach next Memorial Day!

pink pink pink!!!!

kat with mama tee

the grandmas!!! tess and Li-Li

every girl needs pink bloomers!

and a car seat of course!

kat's hostess gifts....

kat gave this to ethan when he was born...."if you think i'm cute you should see my aunt"....we love recycled gifts in our family!

Monday, May 9, 2011

What Were We Up To This Weekend?

Friday, May 6, 2011

a rare treat....

Yesterday I was at my neighborhood grocery store buying our ingredients for Cinco de Mayo dinner and as my bag boy was bagging my groceries he asked if I needed help out.....stopping for a moment to think (not really whether or not I needed help but probably stopped because I have never heard this in my grocery store...) I politely told him that I have it but thank you. He offered again and when I said I really think I can get it...he said no problem I'll just bring the cart back in for you. I guess this is sweet bag boy's nice way of saying I want to help you even if you refuse so now I will pawn it off as simply bringing the cart back.....!

It was the nicest treat ever....he pushed my buggy out to the car....helped open my lift gate....loaded all my groceries (I think 3 bags!) in the back and then closed my lift gate and said have a nice day and walked away with my cart. I felt like I was at the Uptown Brookshire's!!!! It was quite fancy!

So Dallas area groceries....hop on the train with this bag boy service....such a nice treat!

Monday, May 2, 2011

L-O-V-E

Easter in Florida

Easter in Florida should be on everyone's to do list....it is the most amazing time of year and to be there for Easter is just peaceful.....I love it! Jen has decided that we should do it every other year....every other so that we don't disappoint the little children who hop over to Tess and Papa's house for the Easter egg hunt....

I spent a week on the beach soaking up some rays, some relaxation and lots of C and E time.....We had delicious meals that Kat prepared...celebrated an almost over the hill birthday....did some outlet shopping....quality family time....a few game nights and then a great church service at St. Simon's.....with a gorgeous Easter day following....what more can a girl ask for?.....well, having her husband there would have been a real bonus:)

Enjoy some pics from our fabulous week....Jen was the real photographer so I hope to share some of hers as soon as I get my hands on them....

The V family at Baytown Wharf...