summer

Is it here yet? I think so. The weekend was finally one of those beautiful, perfect weekends and we spent it at the lake. Was it relaxing? Not exactly. We thought the peeling ugly wall paper in the bathroom would be easy to take off. Overall, it was.......but then we went on to ugly bathroom wall paper number 2. Not so easy. Add to that priming, painting.......cleaning......phew! But now we can enjoy the lake a little more with two more things off our list! Hubby also built a dock. We did get time to relax and the kids practiced jumping off the swimming dock-they are getting so good at this and can do it for hours! Made a new cocktail-even though I missed our annual Wilton fourth of July contest, I still made the cocktail entry and-I think I will use it next year!!!! Tasty. Summer ball is in full swing and while it takes a little away from lake time, it is always enjoyable to spend a beautiful summer evening watching my son do something he has such a passion for!

I am working on some new things for the fall. Some workshops and Snap Shot sessions. New paper lines are arriving soon and I am excited with what the designers are doing this year! I am also actively looking for retailers to carry my stationery line. Look around in Wilton. Sea Beans has some shawns things and hopefully Wilton Stationers and Open House. If you are at a store and want to see my things there, ask them to contact me!!

Most of all, enjoy this summer. Time goes so quickly. For me the summer brings with it a huge span of time that feels overwhelming. While it allows me to think up plans, I think up too much and I do not execute. So this summer, if you can do just five things, what are they? Write 'em down, call up the peeps, make it happen!

xo

Barcelona

What a beautiful, relaxed, metropolitan, artistic city! The wine was delicious and priced right, the meals inventive and tasty. There are endless possiblities in the terriffic city and beyond!! We had a fantastic time visiting the wineries in the Pendes region. Such beautiful people!

LIFE

I'm back. No, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet-just deep in the end of year activities, sports, life, kids.........only two more days of school left and I will let out a big, huge, loud SIGH of relief! This spring seemed especially brutal with baseball/softball schedules for the kids. Throw in a trip to DC, Barcelona Spain, and Charleston, and a big birthday for hubby and we are TIRED!

The half-caf coffee thing is working out well. I finally got over the headache and sleepiness!!

We continue to make wine, receiving our first real grapes in April from Chile. We now have chilean malbec, cab, and syrah. We have our cab/zin blend chilling out in the american oak barrel. This has been quite an adventure! We are anxiously awaiting our first "blend" that we will release to friends at the holidays. Next up, California cab in the fall!!!

Some really great things are cooking up at shawn. I will have some workshops in the fall, special photo ops for holiday cards and seniors beginning in Augst and you will be able to look for more retail opportunities to find shawns things!

For now, I am counting the days until I can sit in my jammies and drink coffee (half caf) and play clue or monopoly with the kids.

xo

Help, cutting down on coffee!

Here's the deal: too much coffee is not a good thing! That fresh roasted coffee is soooooo goood, but I found myself drinking way too much.....I am reading "The Core Balance Diet" by Michelle Pick. It is very interesting.....of course she is suggesting perhaps I drink too much coffee...so I'm giving it a whirl. Cutting down to half caf. If you see me sleeping in the pick up line at school.....you'll know why!!! Seriously, with all the training I've been doing for the Avon Walk, it is only logical to me I should consider what fuel I am putting into this body!

joe anyone?

We are still making wine-in fact we are making a cab and a zin. For wine, you must be patient. The zin is already on it's way to becoming a pretty good glass of wine, but for the cab, it needs more time. Grapes will soon be in for our experimentation with the "real thing" as the first two batches were made with grapes that had already been part of the way processed. But what has this to do with coffee you might ask? Well the "patient" part of the wine making had my husband wanting to make something else. We LOVE coffee so it is only natural to want it freshly roasted......hmmm, where do you find coffee that has been fresh roasted around here??? After some research we bought a coffee roaster and some green coffee beans and we had our first cup yesterday truly fresh-roasted coffee. It was tasty! Joe anyone??

Avon Walk for a Cure

I am excited to say that I joined a team to walk in the Avon Walk for a Cure for Breast Cancer. It is a two day walk in NYC where I will walk a marathon and a half: 26.2 miles the first day, and 13.1 miles the second. The training will be intense as I've been told it is often more difficult to walk a marathon than it is to run one (I don't know about that!) I am happy to be finally doing something to help put an end to this terrible disease. Please visit my personal page by clicking on the link below. You can even make a donation online. Just follow the link and it will take you to the secure page. Thanks! xo

http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2009/NewYork?px=4368056&pg=personal&fr_id=1850

birthday

The four day birthday weekend started with lunch, bookgroup girls and fresh hand-dipped chocolates from Wilton Treats. Then, I enjoyed dinner Saturday night at my favorite restaurant http://www.theschoolhouseatcannondale.com/ where they had a gorgeous flower arrangement and champagne waiting for me! It finished yesterday with my children waking me up with coffee and breakfast in bed and handmade cards! When I came downstairs there was a beautiful sign that read "Happy Birthday Mom" (handmade by the kids of course). All day I received many phone calls and visits with birthday wishes which, to me are some of the best gifts. I got a new camera lens from hubby....love it! We finished with a homemade chocolate cake that my daughter baked and frosted for me. I really had a special birthday thanks to everyone and their simple, thoughtful gestures. xoxoxoxo