A few weekends ago I got to enjoy another tea luncheon with one of my friends Crystal. We were joking that we felt like we belonged to a group called "Southern Ladies Who Lunch". We were spending the day together working and talking about Baby Gardner (She also creates several lines that are sold on the website.). And, we wanted to wear our winter tea hats before the winter season was over. So we pulled out our wool dress hats and headed to Maysville, Ga to the Burns-Tellford Tea House. Which has quickly become one of my favorite spots to enjoy a hot cuppa.

The food at Burns-Tellford is always delicious and always different! On this day we were delighted by the presentation of our sandwhiches. It appears to be an old (probably no longer in working order) Chocolate fondue fountain (or beveral fountain). They creatively repurposed the beautiful serving piece.
Tea in Maysville is always enjoyable a lot in part because of their recipes. These savory scones were to die for! They were delicious with Fresh Rosemary from their garden
Here I am in my RED Wool Tea Hat. Enjoying the opportunity to dress up. And, with a tea lunch being Ostentatious is the goal :) check out my necklace ~ Strangely I received A LOT of compliments every where we went!

As promised, here is our group photo of our 2010St. Patrick's Day & Birthday Celebration. Even though the night didn't go as we all planned, we had a fabulous evening in the end. And, notice how Matt is doing his own immitation of 'Alice in Wonderland'... "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date."

The Day after SPD we have wiped the sleepy out of our eyes and moved passed the previous evening! Our SPD didn't turn out quite like we had planned but in the end we had an enjoyable night with friends celebrating 2 Birthdays and of course St. Patty's Day!

The original plan was to all meet at the Tilted Kilt to enjoy some festive food and atmosphere. 2 hours later we found ourselves still standing in the lobby waiting on our table for 12. The good news is everyone agreed to change locations. We ended up at the Kani Hibachi house & our evening took a much happier, satisfying turn! Ultimately the evening was tons of fun and we got to celebrate as we planned~ just in a different location. Hopefully we will be able to share our group picture later-- it was not taken with my camera so I am waiting for a copy.

This story begins with a conversation...
Matt said, "What do you want for your Birthday this year, Julia?"
Julia pauses, sighs and responds "Ya know, I really, really, really want a FUN girly day getting my makeup professionally done & then a shopping spree at the MAC counter"
Matt, "don't you already have all the makeup you could ever want OR use?"
Julia, "OMG, Seriously? You asked me what I wanted & I told you want I wanted (not needed)"

Of course, Julia got what she wanted PLUS a whole lot more! Here's how the rest of the story unfolds...Connie agrees to accompany Julia to a 10AM MAC counter appointment. Fun, FUN!!! Here's Julia hiding half her face because "it isn't put on yet". The makeup artist started with my eyes then finished by applying foundation/ concealer. Not my best angle or moment to take a picture. But, it's all about the memories.

Connie, at this point is enjoying the experience. But, the day is young and there's a lot more in store for us!

After our shopping spree we headed to the Nordstroms Bathroom to ooooh and awwweee over our purchases and makeup. We were sitting on the lounge couches with women walking in and out~ probably wondering why we were taking photos in the bathroom!


Off to Starbucks, we need caffeine...more pictures of our makeup in the daylight:


After Starbucks we met Monica & Tricia at the something or another (can't remember the name). Monica, generously offered to take professional pictures of us until we could no longer smile. And, she certainly held to her word & snapped away! At the end of the day she had taken 300+ pictures! And, we all braved the cold, wind, rainy weather! Luckily between the rain, cold, wind, etc the sun would peak out. And, we would race to a spot for pictures until we either got bored or the rain started.

Thank you my dear sweet husband for the most wonderful girly weekend ever! And, my Birthday is still a month away! Isn't he the best?!! YES!!!

The second day to my girly weekend we went to see the movie "Alice in Wonderland" at the Imax 3D! What a beautiful movie & message! I can't wait to see it again!

Again, thank you to my husband, to Connie, to Monica & to Tricia & to Tracey!! Celebrating my birthday with out it even being my Birthday is something everyone should do as often as possible!! Cheers!
PS: More pictures of our girly day to come once I am able to upload some of the pics that Monica took of us. I can't wait!!!

Adoption Update

Yesterday our agency announced they received referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on April 11, 2006

One week closer to our LID! Congratulations to those families who received their referrals.

Are you on thebabygardner.com email list? If not, go now and sign up! Today the most adorable email came through to my inbox and I'm one of the artist highlighted! Hehhehe...to get any special coupons you have to be on the mailing list! I will put the links at the bottom of this post. But for now, check out the cute images:


The body of the email says: "As promised, we've created two all new party themes with more on the way! This month we're introducing our Bundle of Joy (gender-neutral) Baby Shower Collection and our Garden Party Collection.

But we're not solely focused on party planning. Check out all of our new items including these adorable favorites:

Plan A Vintage Garden Party: From invitations to cupcake toppers to party banners and more -- we've got everything you need to host a fabulous vintage garden party. Our Garden Party Collection is handcrafted and perfect for birthdays or other special occasions.

Be A Super Hero: For pretend play or any day! Our Super Hero Cap is vintage-inspired and designed for every little one who longs to fly.

In Like A Lion: Check out our Vintage Toy Lion Photograph. He's an original print signed and dated by photographer, Christine Edwards. Pair him with our Vintage Toy Elephant Photograph for a great wallscape in the nursery or playroom."


The Baby Gardner
w: www.thebabygardner.com
blog: www.thebabygardner.com/blog
fb: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Baby-Gardner/65816859152

I WANT it all! The Baby Gardner is full of uniquely creative vintage inspired baby items!

Day Four: Costa Maya, Mexico **Our Favorite Port on this cruise vacation**
Excursion: Chacchoben Mayan Ruins
Port picture: Mile long bridge from boat to port (not really, but it has the reputation as the longest port bridge)

Mayan Ruins of the Yucatan: Chacchoben (which is the nearest town.) It is a Maya word meaning "Red corn."

When you know the history of a site, it makes the visit far more interesting. In 1972, Dr. Peter Harrison officially reported the site to the Mexican Government. Chacchoben was settled about 200 BC, so it is quite an old area, but the current buildings date around 700 AD, still very old.

The building behind Matt, in the above picture (behind the tree, LOL)is the tallest building at the site and was unavailable for climbing, although others said a month ago you could still go to the top. The main reasons that ruins are usually blocked from climbing is because they are either dangerous, are deteriorating, or because people have vandalized them.

However, we gave it a go and here we are going back down...holding onto the wall...one step at a time...sloooowwwlllyyyy

Introducing the Baby Shower Line I created for the Babygardner dot com site! Pure vintage cuteness!


This is the last of the lines that I have completed for the site. However, I am currently working on a boy birthday party line that has the cutest little vintage cowboy image. I'm just getting started on it so it maybe a month (or so) before I'm able to share anything with you.

I am so proud to be a part of The Baby Gardner web site! Deanna has the most creative & unique items available. Simply put, I am honored to be one of the artists on her site! If you haven't already checked out her site give a click on this link:

http://www.thebabygardner.com/productpages/showers/joybanner.html

Have a Blessed Day!

Garden Party Line at The Baby Gardner
Another one of my party lines was unveiled at the babygardner dot com! I adore this line. Reminiscent of my love of tea. I can so see hosting a party for Baby Emma with this line! It's so "Julia" :) LOL.


The line highlights the most adorable vintage flower hat girls. And, includes Celebrate Banner, cup cake picks, crepe paper flower corsage & Favor Bags. Each set is purchased separately. Adorable! :)

To view the line upclose visit the store at: http://www.thebabygardner.com/productpages/birthdays/gardenbags.html

Day Three: Belize
Excursion: Altun Ha, Mayan Ruins
Port was a tender, here is a pic of us on our way back to the ship, saying farewell to Belize...chopy water!


Archeologists believe Rockstone Pond, the literal translation for Altun Ha, was first settled somewhere around 250 BC, with construction of the buildings beginning in 100 AD and continuing throughout the Classic period that ended in the 10th century. Some 10,000 Maya lived in and around Altun Ha, which was a significant trading center as evidenced by the large amounts of jade and obsidian excavated here in the early sixties and seventies.

Spanning a 25 square mile area roughly an hour from Belize City, Altun Ha is made up of two central plazas surrounded by towering temples that enclose the palm strewn land. The larger of the two plazas, Plaza A, is the site of a mysterious tomb discovered beneath one of the temples called Temple of the Green Tomb. Jade, jewelry, flints and skins are among the three hundred remnants that were unearthed here.

The Temple of the Masonry Altars is Altun Ha's largest temple and is thought to have been the focal point of the community's religious activities. A single stairway climbs the temple to an altar perched at the peak. Inside, several tombs were discovered that are believed to have kept the bodies of Altun Ha's high priests. One of these digs yielded a priceless piece of history in the form of a 15-centimeter high, jade head of the Maya Sun God, Kinich Ahau.

Though not much else has been excavated, there are also several other areas of interest at the site, notably another temple at the eastern edge that was found to contain artifacts from the great city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico.

Altun Ha is not the easiest place to reach if you're traveling without a guide.
And, we got totally soaked from the down poor. Our guide informed us it was their "Rainy Season" :)fun times

I am so sorry we have been MIA. But, I have a few items to share with you all. I have been VERY busy, burning the midnight oil creating several different items for sale and the baby gardner dot com site. Last night a few of the items went "live" on the site.
Also, there are several more product lines that I have been busy creating that should go up on the site soon. Once they are up I will share those links and pictures too! :) For now, take a gander at these beauties...

Tussie Mussie:


Turn the Tussie upside down, make some minor adjustments and here you have a vintage inspired Birthday Hat:

Read Deanna's Blog post about Tussie Mussies with this link:
http://thebabygardner.com/blog/2008/08/13/heres-a-tip-add-a-vintage-touch-to-moms-hospital-room-door-on-delivery-day/

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

I apologize for the delay in sharing pictures from our recent cruise. Finally got around to uploading all the pictures and sent them off to print. Here's more...

Day Two: Roatan, Hondorus
Excursion: The Best Of Roatan
Port Picture:


The Bay Island of Roatan in the Carribean Sea is surrounded by various cays and smaller islands. It is a true paradise off the northern coast of Honduras, Central America.
Blue skies, wonderful turquois waters, and a warm sun will welcome you to Roatan, an island with various beaches, distinctive for their quietness, and crystal clear waters that will make you enjoy the sea as if you were in an enormous natural swimming pool.

Several ship wrecks remain just off shore. Here are a few interesting pictures we took while on our excursion:


The coral reef that surrounds the island is considered to be the second biggest in the world, and is a source of permanent attraction and entertainment for those who enjoy scuba-diving. The necessary training to join in an adventure in a marvelous underwater world, with all the appropriate safety and help. Those that do not want to participate in very deep diving can go snorkeling, which offers a view of marine life one will never forget. In this picture the light blue strip in the water is just part of the LARGE reef!!

Roatan Island is 33 miles long and 4 miles wide. A paved road crosses the island on 75% of its length. Just by riding in a car along the road can become a very relaxing experience, since the beautiful landscapes you an enjoy are truly impressive.

Punta Gorda
This is the community where the Garifuna ethnic group first settled. Their arrival to the island in 1797 is celebrated every year on November 12th, with an eye-catching festival. Tourists can appreciate the cultural inheritance of the Garifuna people in this place, in one of its most natural expressions. experience of contact with the Garifuna culture, attending shows offered by Yubu, where tourists can transport themselves to ancient times through native dances and the sounds of the Garifuna drums.

Matt and Ed, exhausted and hungry on their way back to the ship:

We are home from our NCL, Western Caribbean Miller Family Cruise vacation! We had a fabulous time! The ports of call: Roatan, Honduras; Belize & Costa Maya, Mexico! Our final destination was canceled because the ocean surges were too rough for tendering to the Bahamas (The Great Stirrup Cays)- so we were not able to do any snorkeling on this cruise. However, we enjoyed 3 other excursions which we will post more about later.

Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of Matt and me standing on the top edge of the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins - notice how we are gripping the ledge :)

Matt, as a kid, used to enjoy latchhooking. He hadn't done a latchhooking project in years and Julia's friend Connie brought him a kit that had been sitting in her closet for years, with one row partially finished. He finished the kit and the results are below. He's thinking of buying a bigger, more complicated kit to work on after the New Year.

Last night a fellow Twilight "Mom" and I participated in the Hot Topic New Moon Autograph event. We each paid $30 which bought us a New Moon special event t.shirt (Tricia is sporting hers in this picture-I'm saving mine for opening night), & 2 posters (one signed by the two vampires). Their signatures ended up being scribbles and totally illegible...hopefully one day I'll remember who the signatures were from!
Here we are standing in line for our turn to meet the New Moon actors.

We stood in line for approximately 2 hours. And, we were not the oldest in line, but almost! :)Here is just a portion of the line which wrapped around outside the mall entrance door.

Following the autograph event was a free evening Q&A in the outdoor amphitheater (and, it was chilly!) Q&A picture

The two actors were:
Edi Mue Gathegi: who plays vampire Laurent in Twilight and dies in New Moon
Jamie Campbell-Bower: Vampire Caius who is a new vampire not in Twilight but will appear for the first time in New Moon

This past weekend Matt and I went to see the movie "Where the Wild Things Are". I slightly remember the book when I was a little girl. So, I dragged Matt to it Friday evening. We both enjoyed the movie, not that it was worth paying full price, but we were inspired by the movie to create our very own living room fort!

OMG, As a child I remember creating forts out of bed sheets & dinning room chairs! LOL...good memories!

We didn't do a great job with it, but we had fun attempting to make a "roof" over our blow up mattress, LOL...yes, we went high tech and took the opportunity to inflate our camping mattress in the den. Check Matt out peeking through the door portal

At first glance, Penny and Sierra didn't want anything to do with the fort. Eventually they ended up on the mattress with us.

However, Nacho was ALL about getting comfortable under the fort "ceiling fan roof" (instead of moon roof- get it? LOL we left a gap to get air under the covers)

As the night progressed our "roof" started falling inward, so with a little help from Matt's foot we could keep the roof intact (at least until his leg got tired :) LOL

We highly recommend in your spare time, to create your very own sheet fort! If for nothing else but to enjoy the silliness and brighten your day with smiles and Laughs

This past weekend, at Tribble Mill Park, we brought two cameras with us our SLR film camera (& the digi- we already shared those pics with you on our last blog post). Today, we picked up our developed B&W pictures from Wolf. Here are some of our favorites...

Matt took this one of me on the swing set- he's pretty good behind the camera lense!


I really like this one of Bingo Patudo, he has soulful eyes:

Finally, the best (and, that's not saying much) from a series of timed pictures we attempted:

What a beautiful Saturday here in GA! Matt and I had to get ourselves out of the house & away from any crowds. So, we packed a picnic lunch, loaded Matt's hand held GPS with coordinates & headed outdoors to get fresh air in our lungs and miles on our tennis shoes.

There was a chill in the morning but as the progressed the sun warmed us up to the low 70's. Matt and Bingo at the start of the trail that lead us 3+ miles around the lake.

We were searching for three caches called "The good, The bad & The ugly".
Check out the moon in this picture!

Like I said - - It is a BEAUTIFUL day today!!

Here's Matt headed down for the first cache of the day:

Walking along the serene trails, we spotted a deer along the fence line...and a squirrel lacking any fear:

Happy Chihuahua's
Penny...
Bingo...

And, Matt graciously took a break from caching so we could take a group photo with our cameras timer:
One final pic of me with the dawgs...on our way back to the car: