The Princess Diaries

Dear Diary,

In August, my mom and dad took me to California

to see the rest of my family.  I was very excited to

get on the airplane, because I knew when I got there

I would be able to put my Belle princess dress on,

see my California grandma and she was going to

to take me to Disneyland. 

I could hardly wait. 

My mommy told my grandma

that we would be landing at 9:00 am. 

So my grandma

(after being up very late the night before with bunco)

jumped out of bed, got ready for Disneyland and headed to LAX. 

Boy was she surprised when

she got there and found out our plane didn't arrive until 10:15.

  No problem for her though...she found

a Carl's Jr, right outside the airport and had her 

missed morning coffee.

 

At 10:15 in excited anticipation she began her circle of the airport and soon got the call from my mommy that we had landed. 

By this time I had put on my Belle dress

and was waiting to see my grandma. 

Grandma couldn't see us, and got very confused....

why were we outside Southwest terminal when we flew American. 

That's when mommy said....

you know we're in Ontario right?

Uhhh NO...

grandma was at the wrong airport. 

How silly is that?

So mommy, daddy and I sat on the floor

to eat a chocolate bar and waited

quite patiently for

grandma to drive from LAX to Ontario.

Boy that candy bar was good though.

When she got there, she was so happy

to see me.  She sure hugs a lot and

was very excited to head to Disneyland.

So was I.

We did lots of fun things, and one

of my favorites things was the new Ariel ride.

I think daddy was pretty tired

from our trip, but he

loved it too.

I think my mommy likes Disneyland almost as much

as I do.  She didn't wear a princess dress though,

I wonder why.

During the parade,

I got to see every single princess.

Even Rapunzel. 

Grandma said when we come

back to Disneyland with the rest of the family

she will buy me a Rapunzel dress. 

I can't wait.

I also went to Minnie's house. 

Did you know Minnie's house is my favorite color

"PINK"

She was sad when I had to go and gave me a

"BIG HUG"

By this time I was kind of tired

and I knew

I would come back with my cousins

in a day or so.

So mommy, daddy, grandma and I headed back

to my grandma's house to see Pop Pop

I think I may have fallen asleep on the way home.

So Dear Diary....my first day

in California was great and I think I get to see

my cousins tomorrow.   I can't wait.

I sure do love California and getting

to be a Princess.

See you tomorrow.

Love

Princess Bella

When the Moon Hits the Sky....

Oh my...August was such a busy month for me it melted into September.  And by melted I mean I came back to
triple digit temperatures and well....melted. 

The weather was glorious while it lasted though.  In August we celebrated my mom's August Bunco
"Under the Tuscan Moon" 

The evening didn't go exactly as planned

(does it ever?)

but it was glorious just the same. 

We spent the entire evening in the
"Porkadillo"

and it couldn't have been any more perfect. 

Kevin had brought in a wheelbarrow full of wood that is still there, waiting to be called upon,

to warm our first cool fall evening. 

Ours was perfect...as is.

Welcome to our dining experience...

Everything is ready in anticipation of Diana's guests...

 Our gorgeous April Cornell sunflower

tablecloth was our inspiration.

Yellow dishes...sunflowers....and

Dean, ready to lend a song

 

 Mom's yellow dishes

always make an appearance for August bunco.

We paired them with green and brown napkins adorned

with a raffia tied sunflower

Fun and festive

You can't have Italian without Red Pepper flakes

to spice things up.

and of course the Vino

I always love do get the Chianti in these

basket bottles.

It makes me feel Italian

All we need now are a few guests

My friend Tammy made our invitations and our

bunco score sheets. 

Everything was so cute.

Menu:

Appetizers

 

Vegetables and Fiesta Dip

(with Jicama of course)

Kristi's fabulous Bruschetta

Main Course

Italian Chopped Salad
with Balsamic and Olive Oil dressing

Roasted Red Pepper Eggplant Parmesan

Sausage, Cheese and Basil Pizza

Pine Nut and Feta Angel Hair Pasta

(another one of Kristi's fabulous creations)

Dessert

Italian Cheesecake

(do I dare say it??? another

delicious creation by Kristi,

and did I mention she is

the most fantastic partner to work with

when we are having any sort of party?)

Kristi....did we take pictures of that delicious food or did we just eat it, as soon as it came out of the oven?

Tammy and me

We ate, drank, talked, laughed and

maybe played a game or two of bunco.

What we didn't do was karaoke.

but that just gives us an excuse for another

party.

Not that we need an excuse of course.

Bunco only started my August festivities...next up

Stacy, James and Bella come for a visit.