~Fairy Garden Banner~

Since I was working in the miniature garden today I thought I'd make a banner for it.

I used little garden stakes and my leftover French toile from the lampshades I made for the chandelier under the gazebo.

I had bought some vinyl lace for another banner.

The miniature garden needed some cutting back of plants that took over.

 

A fresh coat of paint for the fences and arches...

You can use just about anything you want in a miniature garden.

I had made the little stepping stones 

out of broken dishes.

A little tea set waits for a party.

I used an old finial and basket for a place for my collection of mushrooms.

Can't wait to see if the fairies like it.

~My Outside Chandelier~

I love my chandelier that I found at a thrift store.

Stan wired it for us so we can use a dimmer switch or have more light for a romantic dinner outside.

The area is near all our orchids so we have another view of the garden.

Stan made this fountain out of copper and put a patina on it. The water goes down the leaves 

and lights up at night.

The spanish moss next to the fountain seems as though a river is near.

Fish jumping out of the water.

The chandelier sparkles in the light during the day and at night makes it feel so magical.

Lake Tahoe

We were driving in Truckee near Tahoe and spotted a Farmer's Market.

It was such a beautiful day with all the pine trees around the vendors.

Fresh Peppers

Beautiful Purple Eggplant

Honey Sticks In All Different Favors

A little fishing down the Truckee River.

Hiking in Emerald Bay

Our final destination Eagle Lake.

Just so beautiful.

Our Ixia Flowers

Our Ixia bulbs grew like crazy this year!

Did you know that the other names are African Corn Lily and Wand Flower?

The flower that is produced is so beautiful!

Congratulations Scott!

Congratulations to my son Scott Gabara on his photo making the front cover of the California Diver magazine for the July/August 2012 issue!

We are so proud of you! We can't wait to see more of your work being published in the future!

We love you!

Love,

Mom, Dad, Katie, Carly, and Maggie

~Summer Waldorf Salad~

It's been so hot in San Diego, I thought a Waldorf Salad would be an easy recipe.

 We have fresh apples from the garden that I used for the salad.

I love my Portmeirion Bowl, The Botanic Garden circa 1818 collection. It has such a pretty pattern with the flowers and bumblebee in the center. Perfect for the Waldorf Salad.

I found this recipe from Food Network

 by Suki Hetz

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 medium apple, unpeeled, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken (about 1 large breast)
• 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Dressing:

• 3/4 cup yogurt (preferably Greek non-fat)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• Juice of 1/2 orange (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Serving suggestion: Baby greens, extra grapes, raisins and walnuts for garnish

Coat the chopped apple with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Add the chicken, grapes, celery, raisins and walnuts, and gently combine.

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice and salt. Gently fold the dressing into the salad. Serve on a bed of greens.

Lemons from the garden.

A pitcher of iced lemon water.

A beautiful lunch for a hot summer brunch!

A little rabbit surprised us by stopping by.

~Blue Birds Make Me Happy~

My neighbor and friend, Jackie Jennings made me the cutest birds today.

She loves paper and has the biggest collection of it and all the things you need to make things with it.

She always brings me cards that she makes.

She loves making cards in 3 dimension.

Well anyways, I was a little depressed the other day thinking about how I miss all my children and she surprised me with my blue birds.

She made them with her cricut paper cutter. 

She made me 5 blue birds to represent each member in our family, how cute is that! It made me happy.

Love you Jackie!