OUR WEEK SO FAR

Here is a sampling of what's been going on at our house this week:

happy arrival hugs     FAMILY GOSSIP CATCH-UPS     prezzie-opening      

ALTERNATING  CROW-CAUSING AND SULK-INDUCING ROUNDS 

OF OUR FAVORITE CARD GAME,  SHANGHAI

      serious shoe shopping     AN OLD CHUM REUNION AND GAB FEST     hill country 'splorin'

     HOME INVASION AND DEMOLITION    imported-bagel ecstasy   BATHROOM JUGGLING

     synchronized book-reading     SUNRISE SAVORING     energy-restoring cat naps     

PLENTY OF EYE-ROLLING OVER LITTLE SISTER'S NEW OBSESSION WITH STEP-GETTING

and best of all...

AN ENTIRE AFTERNOON OF WEDDING-TALK AND GENERAL GIDDINESS!

                

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE STUDIO

Guess we'll have to take a break from the sibling revelry reports. I only took one pic of the sisters yesterday, and for some unknown reason, they don't want me to post it! Can you believe it?

The good news is that I finally figured out something really fun to do with those funky little flowers I started sketching on the insides of old security envelopes about a year ago, when taking that 21 Secrets class.

I just love the way the patterns show through the water colors, adding so much great texture to the petals and leaves. Anywho, I needed something like an ATC (artist trading card) to tuck into a little pocket in the back of the last Circle Journal that showed up at my house. I did a sunny water color wash on the small piece of paper the owner had provided, and was rummaging through my supply cabinet, looking for some sort of embellishment to add to it, when I came across these flowers that I'd all but forgotten.

I stamped the back side with one of my hand-carved stamps, then signed off with something like "Sent to you from a wee little studio in the Texas Hill Country", et Voila! My very first ATC! Good thing I finally found a great use for those flowers and envelopes too... 

seeing as how sister-in-law Priscilla brought me a butt-load of those boogers last time she came to visit!

GIRLS GONE WILD: BOERNE

Yesterday the sisters and I spent the whole day in Boerne (pronounced Bernie), a little German town on the outskirts of San Antonio.

One sister goes wild over all that sparkles and glitters.

The other gets a bit crazy when there are too many fried sides to choose from.

Me? I positively swoon at the sight of authentic French market baskets, and break into a gleeful jig whenever I stumble upon a Little Free Library.

Especially one that resembles an old British telephone booth!

We are a wild and crazy bunch, yes we are!
 

THE SISTERS ARE HERE!

And, as you can see, things are already gettin' pretty rowdy!

SO THIS HAPPENED

Yesterday was quite the busy day here at Casa de Seasonality! First Contractor Man showed up bright and early to put a protective covering down on our floors, and to remove the stove and oven.

Shortly after he left, Cabinet Guy arrived -- to pull out all the drawers and cabinets between the refrigerator and pantry.

Which is why everything that was in those cabinets and drawers is now cluttering up any clear space that was available in the rest of the house - and that wasn't much!

Once Cabinet Guy had done his thing,  Mr. Electrician and his gang arrived. They had to rewire that space next to the refrigerator, in preparation for the combo oven/convection microwave that will be going in soon.

Supposedly, Cabinet Guy is coming back today to install the new cabinets in that space. However, shortly after everyone left we started getting flash flood warnings. Then Contractor Man called to say that if it was raining too hard, that could put a major kink in our schedule.

It started raining like a son-of-a-gun around 10:00pm, and twice during the night we were awakened by loud alarms on our phones. Needless to say, I was tickled pink to see that it had stopped raining by the time we woke up, and that our low water crossing was still passable. Especially since my sisters arrive today, and we would prefer not to be stuck on opposite sides of the creek. How long it stays passable remains to be seen, as there's a good chance that it will rain again all night tonight.

Now, here's the thing. I wasn't too concerned about my kitchen being torn up while the girls are here, seeing as we usually eat out a lot when they come anyway. And, since I couldn't do any cooking this week, I didn't buy any groceries, or place an order with The Bountiful Sprout. Soooo, if we do get stuck here at home because the low water crossing is flooded? Well, we could get mighty hungry before all is said and done!
 

A NOT-SO-CHEEZY RESTAURANT

A few weeks ago Hubby told me that he'd made reservations for Mother's Day brunch at a cheezy restaurant, but he wouldn't say where. I figured he was taking me to some new dive he had discovered. I was wrong. Later, instead of saying cheezy, he accidentally said something that sounded more like Chez-zy, and I started thinking hoity-toity French restaurant. Wrong again. Son Austin called from Houston while we were on our way there. When I told him about some of Hubby's hints, he said "Ooh! Ooh! I know exactly where he's taking you. It's my new favorite brunch spot!" After he described a certain specialty of the house that we just had to try, I said "Sounds like I'm going to need to work in more than just 10,000 steps today." "Yeah, you are!"

Welcome to Chez Zee!

Located on Balcones, in N. Austin, it's little bit French, a little bit cheezy, a little bit color-mad, and a whole lotta fun!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love twinkle lights? Also, check out that fish credenza against the wall, just to the right of the two waiters -- only one of at least a half dozen MacKenzie-Childs pieces that I saw scattered about the two main dining rooms, and which I assumed were the inspiration for this Candy Shop color scheme. Though it is sort of a French bakery-style restaurant, it is anything but uptight. In fact, I can't think of a more family-friendly place to spend Mother's Day.

Out on the patio they had clowns to paint faces and make balloon animals, while you wait for a table. Plus, there were plates of tiny muffins and beverages! Once inside, there was a traveling magician going from table to table, and a gentleman playing a baby grand piano -- only he played much better songs than those organists at the cafeteria used to play, when I was a kid!

So, the specialty of the house, which our son had referred to, is a Creme Brulee French Toast. (Groan!) When the waitress noticed that we were struggling to make up our minds, she asked if it was our first time at Chez Zee. When we said yes, she asked if she could bring us each a sample of the famous french toast, which might aid in our decision making. John opted to try his with the special rum sauce, but I went for maple syrup.

As you can see here, Hubby liked it so much, he went on to order the French Toast platter for his meal which, thankfully, included eggs to balance all that sweetness. Not me. Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't just like it. I loved it! But those free samples they brought us? They weren't just the single bite we were expecting. We each got an entire one of those wedge-shaped layers you see above. By the time I finished that, not only was I slipping into a diabetic coma, I wasn't even hungry anymore! And then they brought us these.

A basketful of fresh, warm, flaky croissants. Really good croissants. With strawberry butter!

For my main course I went with the Surf & Turf, just one of at least a half dozen Eggs Benedict varieties they offer.

The one on the left was served over a bit of beef tenderloin and creamed spinach, while the one on the right sat atop a melt-in-your-mouth crab cake. And those cottage fries? Ooh-la-la! They had just the merest hint of rosemary, which is a very French thing to do.

You'll be happy to know that, once we finished this repast, we went straight to the mall and walked for almost two hours (walked, not shopped), and neither one of us ended up wanting any dinner!

That boy. Can he plan an adventure, or what?