I'm back from Boise!

Mr. F and I had a wonderful visit with our friends in Boise! We ran 5 miles of the Oregon Trail! We actually saw snow this winter! We had spontaneous dance parties! Before we got on the plane, we saw Diversion Dam!  (If you remember the game Oregon Trail, this did not exist and you had to float your wagon down the river!)We didn't get much rest but it was very very fun! The flights to and from Boise were super quick and easy from Seattle. I got great sunset photos over the Olympic Peninsula on the way home too. We could almost see our house!!

Kate Spade Google themes are delightful!

Do you use iGoogle? If so, check out the customizable themes for the main header! If you'd like your Google to be more personalized, try these darling Kate Spade backgrounds! I just adore the jellyfish!!

By the way, Fantastically Frugal reminded me that Kate Spade is having a sample sale with items up to 75% off! It ends today, February 26th! Click here to enter the sample sale. You will need to enter your first name, email address, and zip code before you can shop. Once you get inside there is lots of goodness to be found!

Give-uh-way at Blissfully Enamored!!!

To ONE lucky reader of Blissfully Enamored, The Taffy Box is giving away a customizable Rectangular Antiqued Pendant with an organza ribbon necklace!! Check out Blissfully Enamored before Saturday night!

I LOVE Vacation

Today was beautiful in Seattle! It was especially nice because it's my husband's birthday and we took the rest of the week off from work! Yay! We went to REI and Feathered Friends for presents for Mr. F, and then we had a fabulous lunch on the beach of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches from Paseo and Talbott wine. This is our view from our Crazy Creek perch on the beach:
 We even saw a Bald Eagle several yards away from us! Tomorrow we leave for Boise to celebrate with our friends! Cheers!

Who's going to win the Gold in Women's Figure Skating?

Kim Yu-Na?  [source: The New York Times]Mao Asada?

I'm personally rooting for the darling American, Mirai Nagasu. 

 [source] She was so dynamic and fun in her short program! I wish her the best of luck!!

You be the judge tonight!

Wishful Wednesday...Dagny Taggart

Check out Kelsey's

topic this week:

'I wish' .... I could play a character's role in a book and it would be __________!

Include the fictional characters name and novel too!

I have many favorite books and favorite characters, such as Richard and Kahlan in Wizard's First Rule, or Dorothy and Ozma in the Wizard of Oz series. I also loved Anne Shirley in the Anne of Green Gables series growing up. In particular, I adored  Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams and Rilla of Ingleside. 

'I wish' .... I could play a character's role in a book and it would be Dagny Taggart from Atlas Shrugged! 

I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand about every other year. It's known as Ayn Rand's last novel about the mysterious disappearance of the world's greatest innovators and industrialists. It's my favorite book because all the characters are fascinating. Hank Reardon, John Galt, Francisco d'Anconia, and Dagny Taggart are full of integrity and idealism. I also enjoy Ragnar Danneskjöld, the pirate with ideological principles. 


Dagny Taggart is the herione of the novel. She is much more than the Vice President of the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad. More than a powerful woman engineer, she's a fair and strong leader, an adventurer with a dynamic personality. Who wouldn't want to be Dagny with her confidence, beauty and intelligence? 


Here are some of my favorite quotes from Atlas Shrugged:


“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”
— Narrator (referring to Dagny Taggart)
Atlas Shrugged (Part 1, Chapter 4, Page 87)


“Don't ever get angry at a man for stating the truth.”
— Dagny Taggart
Atlas Shrugged (Part 1, Chapter 10, Page 297)


“Love is our response to our highest values — and can be nothing else.”
— Francisco d'Anconia
Atlas Shrugged (Part 2, Chapter 4, Page 490)


“No one's happiness but my own is in my power to achieve or to destroy.”
— John Galt
Atlas Shrugged (Part 3, Chapter 2, Page 798)


“To love is to value.”
— John Galt
Atlas Shrugged (Part 3, Chapter 7, Page 1,033)

Win a fabulous headband from Fern & Flora through Sweet as a Candy!

FEDERICA from Bologna, Italy is having another fabulous giveaway on her blog, Sweet as a Candy! You could win this beautiful Fern & Flora peacock headband, if you enter between now and February 28th! I hope I win the Greta in Green headband in honor of her birthday on Monday. Pop over to her beautiful blog this week!

 

P.S. The designer behind Fern & Flora is named Emily! She's also from Denver!

Tulips remind me of ballet ...

Originally uploaded by elseachelsea

Isn't spring so romantic? It's creeping into Seattle, with cherry blossoms appearing and bright green grass growing faster.

These gorgeous green and pink tulips, with a hit of red at the tips, remind me of ballet slippers. The petals arching together remind me of the pointe shoes of ballerinas.

Growing up, springtime meant new little chicks or baby bunnies in our family. One year, my sisters and I each received a baby rabbit for Easter, needless to say we had way more than 3 by the end of the summer! Many years in a row, we would also drive up to La Conner for the tulip festival.

I may just have to make a trip to the tulip fields this year. Last time I went to Skagit Valley for the tulips we brought our feisty Tokanese kitten in the car and she loved it too. What are your favorite spring traditions?

Surprise Birthday cuppies

Surprise Birthday cuppies
Originally uploaded by The Cupcake Tarts (previously Tutta Bella)

I wish I could make cupcakes look like these amazing, sparkling "cuppies"! I wonderful if Trophy Cupcakes or Cupcake Royale can make something like this for Mr. F's birthday on Thursday!!

Saturday in pictures!

It was so warm and beautiful that I took pictures of Lyra and Lily Thomas sunning themselves on the balcony. It's amazing that it's 60 degrees in February! 

Last night, we also celebrated my Mom and my Husband's birthday! It was great to see Janie!

Spring is coming....

41/365...
Originally uploaded by {cindy}

Wow, it's a wonderful 45 degrees out and it's super sunny in Seattle. After an awesome breakfast at the 5 Spot, we're digesting before going for a 5 mile run. I'm hoping to run along the water and check out the majestic snow peaks to the West and East. The mountains have some snow on them, maybe even enough for skiing...

What are you doing on this lovely Saturday?

Heart decoration

Originally uploaded by ColorMeKatie

I moved to a new department and new cubicle at my job, so I decided to copy ColorMeKatie and spruce up my desk! While listening to training on the computer, I cut out pink and green hearts. I also made purple clouds. I already had yellow and orange star Post It notes! While reading several 100 page documents, I jotted down key points on my cute cutouts and then posted them around my cubicle. They look so jaunty and happy! Plus, they're great notecards!

"The Rescue"

"The Rescue"
Originally uploaded by AlysonJonesStudios

Alyson is awesome photographer and photomanipulator! Check out her new work, especially from the last month!

Chocolate

There are no words for how amazing each of these chocolates taste. You need to try them yourself to understand their perfection. Mr. F and I found the Cadeaux chocolates at our favorite wine shop in Ballard, Portalis. A wonderful and sweet coworker gave me the Theo's chocolates for Valentine's. The vanilla caramel dipped in bittersweet with fleur de sel by Cadeaux Chocolates is my husband's favorite, but I adore the Rose Salted Caramel by Theo's Chocolates. The Cadeaux chocolate carmel was a delicate balance of salty carmel and chocolate. The Rose salted carmel by Theo's was instantly salted carmel followed by an insurgence of rose water. Both chocolates make me want to try more from these chocolatiers!  

Have you ever been on a chocolate factory tour? Theo's chocolates has PUBLIC TOURS DAILY [Monday - Friday at 2pm & 4pm. Saturday & Sunday at 10am, noon, 2pm and 4pm. Tours are $6 per person, ages 1 and older.] 


Once upon a time I visited the Baci chocolate factory in Perguia, Italy. The factory is actually called "Stabilimento (chocolate factory) Nestl", because Nestle purchased Perugina some years ago. One of the first things you notice is amazing smell of chocolate permeating the air. When you walk into the building, on the reception/sales desk, sits a silver tray loaded with Baci and other Perugina candy. It's also all you can eat!!!

Go Holly! Congrats on your first Olympic race!

[Source][Source]

Earlier today at Olympic Winter Park in Whistler, Holly Brooks placed 42nd among 78 skiers in the women's 10-kilometer freestyle. She was the third of four American finishers. 

Rank	Bib	Country	Name	Start Time	Most Recent		Finish Time	Time Behind

42

50

United States

BROOKS Holly

10:25:00

Finish

42

27:17.6

+2:19.2

My sister even caught the event LIVE on TV, I'm so jealous! Hopefully I'll see Holly on Wednesday, February 17th, in the Classic sprint or on Friday, February 19th, in the 15k Pursuit (1/2 classic, 1/2 skate + transition time)! Holly's also regularly updating her blog, check it out: http://hollyskis.blogspot.

com/ I'm so psyched I know an Olympian!!

Birthday weekend...

I had a wonderful birthday weekend! My birthday dinner was perfect with the parents, grandparents, husband, my middle sister and her boyfriend. Valentine's today was lovely with a nice dinner out and then watching Men's Moguls and the Figure Skating Pairs Short Program. I loved watching Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig!  [source] Did you notice that the Men's Mogul Gold Medalist, Alexandre Bilodeau, has the same last name as the word of the day, in my last post?

What are your favorite Winter Olympic events?
P.S. GO HOLLY! Check out her blog for her Olympic event schedule!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Word of the Day for Sunday, February 14, 2010

billet-doux \bil-ay-DOO\, noun;plural billets-doux \bil-ay-DOO(Z)\:

A love letter or note.

Source: Ritzy Bee

Source: A Midsummer's Night Dream found at Google Books

Even though William can't be with Viola, with whom he is deeply in love, he dedicates his next play to her. "For she will be my heroine for all time, and her name will be . . . Viola."  

Source: IMDB

Source: The Lovely Rachel at Benign Objects!