School Days...School days

School started today for our kiddos, they reluctantly let me take a few pictures. What is it with some kids and having their picture taken? I managed to take a few nice ones to remember the day by.

I also redecorated by painting one of the walls in our dining room, a few days ago, with chalkboard paint. Not 

a  look for everybody, but I love it!

Our kids love it also, and ask me all the time to let allow them to write on it, and I will.

This was only the first coat, I painted two.

Found a perfect quote for back to school and put it on the wall:

I decorated the dining room chandelier with a few school ornaments I bought in Kmart, they were from Martha Stewart's Christmas collection a couple of years ago.

I realize the lightbulbs are different, but they're still good; as they burn out I'll make them match. I'm just embracing imperfection, I guess!!

The chandelier really stands out against the black, this is the view from the kitchen:

It's also a great backdrop for pictures:

A few more pictures:

Envelope I decorated for Jason's teacher

Card I made for Jason's teacher

There you have it, a bit of our day.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day yourself!

Hugs,

Rosa

Summer Vacation 2010- Part 1

This Summer, we decided to take our kids  on a fun yet educational, road trip. We packed our suitcase and headed west to the beautiful and breathtaking, Allegheny Mountains. Our destination spots were: Altoona, Cresson, Gallitzin, and Tyrone, all in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania!. We kept the trip a surprise for our two sons; we wanted to see the surprised look on their faces when we arrived at our destination. Our two boys, like their Dad, LOVE TRAINS!, and this area  is a railfan's dream come true as far as train watching is concerned. And boy were they excited!.
In Altoona, we visited the world famous Horseshoe Curve:

Kittanning Reservoir







Below is a westbound trailer train, led by a NS C40-9W and a Conrail SD-50. You can visit this area from  April to November. If you've never been there, is a beautiful place to visit. You don't have to be a railfan to appreciate the majestic
views.

We visited The Railroaders Memorial Museum

Cute kitchen...totally my style!

We went to Gallitzin:

Watched trains:

In Part 2, I'll post about the remainder of our fabulous trip.

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures so far.

Big Hugs,

Rosa

One Lucky Birthday Girl

Yesterday was my birthday. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. The day started by opening birthday cards from my hubby and kids. They gave me gift cards to Barnes and Noble, Panera Bread (Yum!), and Bath & Body Works.
My husband took me out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory...speaking of which, I always order the same things:
the Avocado Rolls (appetizer), Shrimp Scampi and Steak Diane with mashed potatoes ( so good!!). By the time I'm done eating, I don't have room for their delicious cheesecakes.
Afterwards, we went to Barnes and Noble ( I left the gift card at home), however, I did buy three magazines. Then we proceeded to Target (love that place!).
Vince had secretly called a few of my closest friends and relatives to come over later in the evening for cake and coffee. I had a wonderful time with all of them.

In my Birthday Finest

The Birthday Cake

                                  

 

My sister and her boyfriend

Having Fun

Nice Tatoos

My beautiful Family

It was overall, a very happy day!

Thanks to all of you who visit my blog, and have a wonderful day, wherever you may be!

Hugs,


Rosa

Everything's Coming Up: Red,White and Blue

I hope that if you live in the USA, you had a wonderful, fun, and safe 4th of July!. We celebrated the holiday with a BBQ and pool party, with family and friends. Everybody seemed to have a great time.

This post won't be too long, I just wanted to say hello and leave you with a few pictures of our day. Enjoy!!

I was so inspired by the Summer issue of Martha Stewart (ticket wedding cake), I just had to create my own! I LOVE IT!!

It was really easy to make, Yay!!


I bought different props to take pictures of all our guests as they arrived, I'll be printing and giving a copy to each family so they can have it as a favor from the day:

This is  my family and I

We also had confetti poppers for the kids

The chocolate fountain was a big hit with the kids ( and the grownups, too!)

And we ended our festivities with sparklers, I ordered them from Sparklers Online . We had sparklers galore!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, until next time, stay happy and healthy!

Hugs,

Rosa