Farewell, Tasha Tudor

Involved as I was with wedding festivities, I just heard the news. Rest in peace, dear Ms. Tudor, you were adored by and inspired so many.

The Big Day - Part 2

Well, we did it, we pulled it off! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, a complete success if I do say so myself. Guests continue to rave about the hair & make-up done for the wedding party which helped to transform us all into pin-up material, the FABULOUS food, the memorable first dance of the bride & groom, etc. etc. The pictures are trickling in, don't have any from the actual ceremony but here are a few more from the pre-wedding beauty session and one of the first dance.

The bride and groom are off on their honeymoon, the rest of us are exhausted but happy, am looking forward to a couple of days to rest, regroup and relive the magical evening!


Chatting with the Groom and sippin' on some pre-wedding bubbly


My dear friend Jersey who I met "in person" for the first time after 7 years of e-mail friendship!


getting dressed at Grandma's House

The First Dance - inspired by John & Uma in Pulp Fiction

The Big Day - Part 1

Today is THE DAY! We have all been up for hours, sipping coffee and orange juice, chatting and relaxing in between last minute wedding chores. I will share some pics as we go along, from an impromptu "girls only" lunch on Wednesday to the rehearsal dinner last night:


Kali's NJ cousin Jackie, Bambi & Kali


The Pampered Bride....wonder what she's thinking?


Wearing the hat we made at the bridal shower, isn't it adorable?


The proud Mama of the Bride and her handsome honey

Counting Down

In less than 36 hours my little girl will become a married woman, the bride-to-be a real bride. It still boggles my mind, especially when I look back on pictures of her as a little girl such as this one. Kali was a bit of a tomboy when she was young, hated dresses and frou-frou girly things. (I clearly remember the "black basketball jersey" years..shudder...) This was one of the rare occasions when I got her in a dress, but only because it was Halloween (her favorite holiday) and she could enter a costume contest (she was rather competitive) and carry my silk wedding flowers. Sigh..she was so beautiful, and even then I had tears in my eyes as I imagined her real wedding day sometime in the distant future.

Well, that day is here, and amidst all the hustle and bustle of planning and tending to last minute details, I'm taking some time to reflect on the bride herself..the beautiful, wonderful human being that she is.



I am so proud of her for many things - her obvious beauty only a small part of it. I am in constant awe of her courage, her strength, her poise and charm, her loyalty and commitment. She is a true friend, a devoted daughter and sister, she values family above all else to the point of having the Hawaiian word for it tattooed on her body! It is these qualities that she will bring to her marriage, these qualities that will persevere and hold her marriage together during even the tough times. Kali has seen divorce up close and personal and though I'm sad for that, I also believe it gives her an honest view of marriage, the trials and tribulations as well as the comforts and joy. She is going into this union with open eyes and an open heart, and I truly believe that she and Kevin will be one of the couples who make it.



Congratulations, Kevin, I know that you realize how fortunate you are to have this amazing woman by your side tomorrow as you say those oh-so-important vows, and forevermore as your wife. I couldn't have chosen a better mate for her than you, and though tomorrow solidifies the union you are already a part of my family. I adore you both and look forward to watching you grow together in strength and love.

On My Hearth: Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

I bought a bag of bell peppers at Costco last week and don't want them to go to waste, thinking that something in the crockpot would be a good idea since we will be running around all day with last-minute wedding errands.

Doing a Google search lead me to this awesome new-to-me blog, A Year of Crockpotting. So cool! I love to use my slowcooker but often lack the inspiration, think I'll be visiting Stephanie quite often in the near future!

I'm copying her recipe here exactly as she wrote it, but note that I'll be substituting veggie crumbles for the ground beef to make this vegetarian-friendly.

CrockPot Stuffed Peppers Recipe

The Ingredients.

--enough peppers to fit your crockpot. I have a 6qt oval Smart Pot, and six nestled perfectly in the stoneware

--1 lb lean ground beef

--1 cup cooked rice

--1 can flavored tomatoes (I used fire roasted, Italian would work. If you don't have flavored, add 1/2 t italian seasoning)

--1 t gluten free worcestershire sauce

--2 T ketchup

--1 t black pepper

--1/3 cup water


The Directions.

in a bowl, mix the ground beef and rice with all the stuff (except for the water and the peppers)

wash and clean out the peppers. Save the tops.

Stuff each pepper with a good amount of the ground beef and rice mixture

Nestle the peppers into your crock and put the little pepper tops back on.

Pour in 1/3 cup of water around the bases of the peppers

cook on low for 6-8 hours. I cooked these for exactly 8.

Madeleine Peyroux - I'm All Right

I rented Madeleine's latest cd, Half the Perfect World, from the library months ago..I loved it sooooo much, renewed it for as long as the library would allow and then when my overdue fines racked up higher than the cost of the cd, I bought it. *blush* Well worth it, believe me! It hasn't left my cd player ever since, perfect music to cook to, dance to, dream to....

There are Those Days...

when you wake up in the morning, guzzle a quick cuppa, down your vitamins, shower and brush, paint your face and then you put on the shortest skirt, lowest neckline, dangliest earrings and highest heels that the corporate world allows. You leave your hair wild & crazy, squeeze some mousse through the damp strands and rush out the door. Donning your Jackie O glasses that make you feel like a movie star, you put the top down on your red convertible, turn up your favorite music and drive a bit faster than you normally would, throwing caution to the wind and taking chances that you might attract the attention of the local po-po and find yourself with a big ol' speeding ticket. You zip off to work, humming along, seemingly happy and carefree on this summer morning.

You do this because you know that this will surely be the highest point of your day, that it will definitely go downhill from here. You know that in a few short hours you'll be sitting in a sterile doctor's office with your ailing mother and terrified father, listening to words that you dreaded hearing, never thought you'd ever hear, certainly not at this stage in your life. You sit there, trying to smile, crossing and uncrossing your legs, pen poised above notepad, prepared to ask the all-important questions: "How bad is it?" "How long has she had it?" "How far has it spread?" "Where do we go from here?" and then..before you can ask the question that you hadn't even dared to utter, the doctor turns to you and says, "Will she die from this, I'm sure that's what you want to know, right?" And you gulp and feel the tears well up and the room is silent and you're afraid to even look at your mother who is of course the "she" that he's referring to...and then he says,"possibly, probably, but we don't know when." Then the kind doctor who doesn't pull any punches tells her that it's up to her now, that she can't give up, that she has to be strong..and then, I quote, "You have got to quit FUCKING SMOKING."

And there you have it..you gather up your things, shake the doctor's hand and leave with a pile of lab reports, phone numbers and a lone prescription that hopefully will alleviate some of the discomfort she is already feeling. You meet your children for lunch, guzzle a chardonnay, keep it light, force some laughter and try to ignore the giant elephant in the middle of the restaurant: CANCER.

You say goodbye to your family, jump back into your shiny red convertible and ignoring the fact that the sky is filled with black clouds and rain is eminent, you put down the top, hike up your skirt and sing at the top of your lungs while tears stream down behind those big black sunglasses. Because this is what you do...despite the horror of it all or perhaps because of it...you LIVE. That's all we can do, each and every damned day - JUST LIVE.

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Yesterday we celebrated Fathers Day with most of our blended family including Beren's girls, my dad, Kali's dad, and Kali's cousin who just arrived from NJ for the wedding.

We had a nice lunch at a favorite Italian restaurant, shared pizza and laughter, tried not to think about Mom's absence and the fact that she was not feeling well enough to attend.

Today is my Dad's birthday, yet instead of partying and blowing out candles we are going to be sitting in a doctor's office discussing Mom's condition. I am hoping that we leave there this afternoon with some good news, a bright spot so that my dad can enjoy his special day just a little bit.

Happy Birthday, Daddy. I love you.

Kali Kills Bill

Being a huge Tarantino fan, my wonderfully twisted daughter decided to do a Kill Bill theme for her bachelorette party..shaking head...what a hoot! Lily & Bambi wrote "Pussy Wagon" on the back of the cars that transported all of the gals out on the town. Mom and I joined the youngsters for a yummy sushi dinner at one of our local hot spots and then went on our merry way, allowing the rest of them to party on until the wee hours of the am. I daresay our bride-to-be might be feeling a tad hung over this morning but she had a fabulous time with her girlfriends!

A Fun Meme

I am puttering around this morning, happened upon this fabulous new-to-me blog, Farm Style by Clare. She did this amazing Meme so I decided to pour myself another cup of java and try it myself. A bit time-consuming but so worth it!



Go ahead…make your own! Here’s how:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.


1. What is your first name? Evelyn
2. What is your favorite food? lobster
3. What high school did you go to? McArthur
4. What is your favorite color? Candy Apple Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Richard Gere
6. Favorite drink? Chardonnay
7. Dream vacation? Paris
8. Favorite dessert? key lime pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? loved
10. What do you love most in life? family
11. One Word to describe you. Passionate
12. Your flickr name. Rapunzel

Thank you to the following Flickr members:

1. Evelyn Nesbit, the first supermodel, 2. lobster, 3. Sunrise Over South Beach, 4. just cruising........, 5. Pretty woman, 6. Chardonnay!, 7. Paris, l'amour..., 8. Cupcake, 9. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam, 10. bless from above, 11. Sugar rain, 12. Aelse #9