Howdy-do Sugar Pie Darlin’s! I hope y’all are having a happy-as-peach-pie summer! Thank you for being so patient with me and my few ‘n far between blog posts! This summer has been so busy for me especially with my daughter at home. My goodness, I can’t believe she is going to be turning 13 in just a few weeks! Yes! Summer Rose is going to be a teen-ager! My baby’s growing up! So this mama’s got to grab those precious moments with her whenever I can!
I’ve also been, de-cluttering and reorganizing room by room (little by little and slowy but surely!). It’s amazing how things just accumulate into too much stuff. Even though it’s good stuff, I just feel the need to simplify! I think it’s a nesting thing that happens to me when I think about Fall just around the corner. Oh dear me, I think I just heard some of you sweet gals moan…”What?? It’s the middle of summer, what are you thinking about Fall for?”
I also think I heard some of you darlin’s squeal… “Oh Yay! Fall!… my favorite season!! Hot Cider, pumpkins, crisp air, apple pie and the first fire of the season”. ;D Well let me just say, I am perfectly happy enjoying the rest of this summer season, with all of the delights and blessings that come with it! Sweet and juicy Farmer’s Market fruit, flip-flops, warm breezes, jam-making, picnics at the lake, family walks at sunset and so much more! Perhaps it’s the Girl Scout in me, but I like to be prepared, that’s why I think ahead. We can enjoy the present and look forward to the future at the same time! I know that as soon as September hits, I’m gonna be taking down my bins of Autumn decor and I don’t want to place my adorable pumpkins and fall leaves on top of clutter. So I’m gettin’ ready! Gettin’ my house all Spic and Span! I’m also gettin’ ready to welcome my 2nd grandson into the world! He is due anytime now!! So in a nutshell that’s what I’ve been up to…just living this WoNdErFuL life!
Anyhoo, as you know my last post was all about my son J.J. and daughter- in-law Tiffany’s scrumptious wedding…but that was only one day out of a whole month that I spent out in sunny Californy. I went to so many fun places and met so many fabulous gals that I gotta share all of this wonderfulness with you! So grab something yummy to snack on ‘cuz I’m gonna take you junkin’…and then to a Sugar Pie sista’s house for some real Sugar Pie…and then to the “Happiest Place on Earth”…and then to a county Fair to see the Ca-Yoot-est (cutest ;) down-on-the-Farm Silo playhouse…and then to one of the most fabulous shops in Old Town Temecula! Gals are ya ready? Let’s go!
The photo above is the drive into Palm Springs where my hubby and I went to have dinner at one of our fave Mexican restaurants, Las Consuelas in Palm Dessert. We were celebrating our 33rd Wedding Anniversary (wow time flies when you’re havin’ fun and raising 4 kids!). We sat outdoors under the stars and had a very romantic supper!
I was so happy to find out that The Vintage Marketplace At The Oaks was having an event in Rainbow, CA., just minutes away from where I was staying. Oh my! Talk about “Eye Candy”!
Vintage delight around every corner!(Squeal!)
Yippeeeee! My all time favorite vintage gal-friends were there! Sara and Abbey of Sweet Magnolia’s Farm! These gals are the queen bees of taking time-worn treasures and turning them into the most-adorable-love-it-so-much-ya-wanna-marry-it goodies for the farmhome! They have lots of darling farm-goods that they sell on Etsy, so do check them out if you love that homey-farmey-chippy-shabby-tattered-plain-and-fancy look for your home. Come take a look-see!
Miss Farmgirl Abbey (on the left) in the middle of all that adorable-ness!
Okay…can I just live at this table? So darling!
Here is my dear friend Sara, Miss Sweet Magnolia’s Farm-girl herself! How cute is this bucket with a chalkboard painted on it to label what you’re gonna put inside or to write a sweet verse or fun word!
How blissfully lovely!
This is what I brought home to grace my farm kitchen!Thanks Sara and Abbey!
Do you recognize this AdOrAbLe gal??? It’s the famous Melissa from Huckleberry Prairie!!! It was so fun to meet her in person! I follow her darling blog and she follows mine. We happened to be at The Vintage Marketplace at the same time and recognized each other right away. What a small world! She is such a doll! And so is her baby Layla…what a little dream come true! I also got to meet her sweet and gorgeous mom and sisters…so fun!
Be sure to mosey on over to Melissa’s place! Huckleberry Prairie! She has so many darling ideas! Her joy for the Lord, her family and home is truly heartwarming!!
Christy Repasy the famous painter of all things gorgeous is the gal who heads up The Vintage Marketplace At The Oaks. I love this oh-so-darling canvas print of the rose-adorned cowgirl boot under fluttery layers of the darlin’ petticoat!! It’s titled Sweet ‘n Sassy. Christy painted the original! Wow!! And do you see the framed print of roses in the background? That’s her amazing artwork! Christy’s canvas prints are available at her Web Site Chateau de Fleurs.
A sparkly sweet idea…store craft glitter in salt and pepper containers and place them on a silver tray!
This little darlin’ is DeBran from Triple Scoops with Sprinkles blog. DeBran actually went to high school with my daughter Ashley back in the day. She is now a very busy mama of three with one more blessing on the way! I am so thrilled that she and a few of her friends follow Sugar Pie Farmhouse. Well, when DeBran found out that I was coming to Temecula for J.J. and Tiff’s wedding she came up with a very fun plan. Wanting to surprise her friends, she invited them over for dessert and about 30 minutes after they arrived I came-a-knockin’ at the door! What fun it was to walk into the room to meet these Sugar Pie Darlin’s! There were lots of squeals and hugs!
Here they are! Such adorable girls! From left to right there’s Jaime, Kati (Kati’s blog is Kati’s Kookies) Maria (Maria’s blog MJ’s Daily Happenins’) then me, and lo and behold Melissa again from Huckleberry Prairie ( I didn’t know she was friends with DeBran!! Now I was the one to be surprised! And so happy to spend more time with her!) Next to Melissa is her sister Jessica (her blog is Party Love), then of course our sweet hostess DeBran from Triple Scoop with Sprinkles!
DeBran made two pies! A scrumptious Berry Pie and a real honest-to-goodness Sugar Pie!! OH. MY. GOODNESS! They were so amazing! I was so honored that this busy mama would go through the effort to make these pies! We sat at the kitchen table and gabbed like gals do and ate that yummy pie! I had the best time!
DeBran shared her Sugar Pie recipe with me and now I’ll share it with you!
Farmhouse Clothespins: I wanted to bring the girls a little something, so my daughter Summer and I decorated these clothes pins. I use clothespins every day to clamp snack bags or frozen food bags shut, and to hold notes or photos on the fridge with a magnet glued to the back etc. Since I was far away from home and my craft supplies, we had to make do. We ripped muslin into strips for the knot-bow, then glued lipstick-colored buttons on top and decoupaged some very important words.
I chose these words to be a sweet reminder of how to strive for a happy home. Stay faithful to the Lord and your family…be thankful for your blessings…living this way intentionally will make your heart joyful…and a joyful mama makes a happy home.
And speaking of happy, my sister and I took our kids to visit the “Happiest Place on Earth!”
Standing on Main Street USA, is Ford, my sister Sherry, little Sophia, Summer and me.
I think more than the rides and the cute characters, I LoVe the architecture! The details are so beautiful!
If they ever let me live there, I have dibs on this little main street cottage!
While we were sitting there, Miss Mary Poppins strolled by!
I’ve mentioned this before, but for any new-bees, it’s worth repeating…back in the day when Walt Disney was alive, he and his wife had a little apartment above the fire station and when they were staying at the park they would light the lamp in the window to let the guests know they were there. He had a birds eye view of main street and loved watching families enter the park with huge smiles and bright eyes filled with wonder! The lamp is now lit at all times in his honor.
Thirty three years ago, on my honeymoon night, my hubby and I stayed at the Disneyland hotel. We rode the Monorail one time around (a space-age train that circles the park). I was in my wedding dress and hubby was in his tux. We got to sit in the front and people waved at us like we were the princess and the prince!
Me and my sister Sherry (Glamarella JUnk)
Are ya ready for some more fun?!! Let’s go to the fair… at the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds!
I’m always amazed at the smorgasboard of food at the fair! Weird food! Here they serve Deep Fried Snickers!
Chocolate Covered Bacon? Really?
This is the one I couldn’t believe or figure out…Totally Fried Kool-Aid. Huh? Hilarious!
How about a ride on the Sky Lift? It’s like a ski lift…no seatbelts just a skimpy bar across the length of the bench! Of course once you’re on it, you’re on it! There’s no turning back. These are my legs…see how high up we are? I was wearing flip-flops so I had to be careful that they didn’t fall off! Oh boy! Yeah, that was my first and last time on that thing!
Ahh, the Agri Fair…that’s more like it!
Summer posing with Thelma Lou the cow…
Some cute barnyard chicks…
Love her hairdo!
How adorable is this silo playhouse?!
Ain’t that just darlin’?
I’m pretty sure I need a windmill like that.
Pure sweetness
A trip to Temecula always has to include a visit to my dear friends shop The Farmers Wife! Come look inside and you’ll see why…
As I was browsing all of these delightful goodies looking to bring something home I chose this darling chicken dish towel below…
I had this flour sack towel in one hand and the book “How To Raise An American” in another hand…
Well, Miss Pat the “Farmers Wife” so sweetly took them from my hands and wrapped them up for me as a gift! What a darlin’!
A few years back Pat and I were were in a Bible Study together and let me tell you, she should write a book! The wisdom in her heart is breathtaking and her adorable personality is hilarious! I really could sit, listen and laugh with her all day. She needs her own blog so everyone can get in on the fun! Just look at the cute chalkboard sign on the wall ” We’re like prunes, as time goes by, we’re gettin’ wrinkled, but a whole lot sweeter!”
If you ever go to Temecula CA. be sure to stop and shop at…
TheFarmersWife 28459 Old Town Front Street #125
Temecula, CA 92590
(951) 506-1606
I also had the fun of dining out with my cousins. We grew up together in a nice-a-Big-a Italian-a Family! (Some of our cousins couldn’t be there…there’s a whole lot more!) We were getting together to plan a very fun trip to Italy next spring! Among riding a Gondola and seeing the amazing points of interest like the Sistine Chapel, we are going to Sicily, to the birthplace of our Grandparents. We are going to find our roots and learn more of the history of our family.
Our grandparents, on their honeymoon in Coney Island, New York. The year, 1914. In the following years, my grandmother gave birth to 8 children. My grandfather became a minister of the gospel. I have so many wonderful memories of sitting around grandma’s table with my extended family eating the most delicious spaghetti and meat-a-balls! Then grandma would bring out a huge tray of all kinds of homemade Italian cookies. My Grandpa was a softy when it came to his grandkids. He always had cherry Life-Savers in his pocket and was so happy to hand them out to his “Dolly’s”. Oh honey!
I had a lot of fun! But it sure is good to be back home! I hope you enjoyed your arm-chair tour of my adventures in So. Cal.!
Thanks for stoppin’ by for some California Pie!
Thank you as always Sugar Pies for your wonderful comments! They keep me inspired!
God bless your darlin’ hearts!
P.S. Come join me on facebook!
Also the last day to purchase my e-book Watermelon and Fireflies is August 15. If you are interested go to the end of this post :D
63 Comments 
Add a Comment
