california, family, travel

Legoland, part 1

by casadeberry2 Comments on Legoland, part 1

We arrived in Carlsbad Wednesday evening. My in-laws had rented a minivan and it was super comfy and spacious – we also brought movies for the boys so they were reasonably entertained.

There was a Brewery/restaurant next door with awesome food, so we filled up our bellies and then it was time to wind down for the boys’ night-night. Next morning, it was time . . . for Legoland! But first, some face-painting:
I was surprised to hear how well my youngest did. He’s autistic and not prone to sit down patiently, but he did so well and became a very cute Batman!

The boys loved the level of detail on all the animals and displays – I think that they have gotten a lot of inspiration for their Lego creations.
The elephant was a hit, of course. Both my boys had love for all things elephant for over a year. Now it’s dinosaurs, but elephants still hold a special place in their hearts.

One of my favorite displays was MiniLand. OMG, I loved seeing all these places recreated in Legos. Of course, this was my favorite:
It is part of the Las Vegas area but still, it counts as part of France for me!

After our busy day we had pizza by the pool and then headed back to our rooms. As tired as I was, and knowing that the next day (Friday) would be just as busy, there’s no way I was waking up at 2am to watch the Royal Wedding!!

boys, california, family, travel

Traveling around Southern California

by casadeberry2 Comments on Traveling around Southern California

My in-laws have treated us to a couple of vacations – we’ve gone to Disneyland with them and last week, they took us to Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and the La Brea tar pits.
They rented a minivan so we could all travel together, comfortably, and chose a hotel right across the street from Legoland for convenience.

It was an awesome time. I’ll be sharing pics from our trip this week, and reliving some great moments we had.

history, news, USA

I’m the girl who . . .

by casadeberry3 Comments on I’m the girl who . . .

always speaks her mind, so I’m going to comment on Osama bin Laden.

I’m so glad.

I’m so happy.

I am deliriously joyful that this sick motherfucker is dead.

Obviously, this means about a thousand Osama-wannabes are now jockeying for power and we’ll need to be alert for retaliation and this is not over by any stretch of the imagination, bla bla bla.

Still, I am happy our brave men and women got him.

I am glad this evil man is dead.

I remember watching the second tower being hit by a plane while I was getting ready to go to work. The thousands dead. The grief. The unimaginable sadness.

None of that can be reset. The lost are still lost. The families still mourning their loved ones.

But I am happy OBL is dead.

Have a great week.

gardening, house

On the (new!) fence

by casadeberry1 Comment on On the (new!) fence

Our backyard fence was in a sorry state – it was old, and the wind and rains had done so much damage to it that parts of it were tilting dangerously, and some boards had started to fall off.

We got it fixed this week and couldn’t be happier with the results.

The fence is torn down and we get a really good look at our neighbor’s house 😀

Willie-Boo supervises the workers:

My husband takes a look at the nearly finished new fence:

Isn’t it lovely? I love the lattice top!

This is the longest side of the backyard and there are veggies planted all along the fence. A couple of flower and corn seedlings did not survive the new fence installation but other than that, our veggies are looking good:Now all that’s left is to seal it and we hope to not have fence issues for a long, long time!

green, spring, yellow

Spring setting

by casadeberry1 Comment on Spring setting

We had the pleasure of having my in-laws over for dinner on Monday night – we try to have dinner together once a week, as much as our crazy lives allow!
I recently made a set of napkins out of a pretty yellow cotton fabric – I love them!

Not only are they better to use than paper napkins but the color makes me happy. I paired them with round placemats from IKEA – don’t they look pretty and spring-y?
I only got 4 placemats because I wasn’t sure I’d like them but since I love them I am going to get some more. I made 16 napkins since we host holidays, it was super easy and I am happy not to be using paper napkins any more!

boys, easter, holiday

Easter morning

by casadeberryLeave a Comment on Easter morning

The Easter bunny left a few treats in the backyard:
I love the color contrast of this pink egg and the greenery around it!

My boys did a great job finding each and every single egg.



My oldest was such a good big brother – he shared his loot and helped his little brother find a bunch of eggs.

Then we all pigged out on chocolate eggs, yum!

clothing, French, style

Carine Roitfeld: "Quite Classic with an Edge"

by casadeberry1 Comment on Carine Roitfeld: "Quite Classic with an Edge"

I’m not even going to pretend I am some sort of fashionista or anything, but I do know who Carine Roitfeld is – the fabulous and fierce former editor of French Vogue – and I have been reading that she may have her own clothing line soon! If you saw The Devil Wears Prada, the character of Jacqueline Follet, the French Runway editor who almost replaces Miranda Priestly, is supposed to be based on Carine.

Here are Miranda and Jacqueline, I mean, Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld:
Aren’t those nice smiles? ;D

Again, not that a CR clothing line would mean much to me because I seriously doubt that I could afford anything she puts out there, but still, I like most of what she did at French Vogue and would love to see what her line looks like.

She also has a soft spot for Mario Testino, the famous – and Peruvian! – photographer who has captured so many iconic images, including some of a pair that’s getting married this Friday. I forget their names.

Anyway, if she does a clothing line, maybe she can do a collaboration with Target – THAT would be awesome. A girl can dream.

The title of my post is from a quote by Carine describing her own style.

gardening, peru, potatoes, veggies

Did you know . . .

by casadeberry7 Comments on Did you know . . .

that potatoes are originally from Peru? (just like me!)
Yep, they were first cultivated in the southern part of what is now Peru thousands of years ago. After the Spanish conquest, potatoes became known worldwide.

that you harvest potatoes when the plant part turns brown and dies?
True. You CAN get potatoes while the plant part is green but basically, as long as the plant is green, the potatoes are still growing.

that there used to be about 4,000 varieties of potato in a variety of colors?
Sadly, now the market has focused on a few varieties and even in Peru, there are less than 100 varieties grown now.

Our potato plants are doing great, I am definitely not patient enough to wait until the plants die so I will be feeling around the soil for some baby potatoes long before anything turns brown. My oldest wants lots and lots of French fries from our potatoes but I am longing for some homemade (and homegrown!) mashed potatoes. If all goes well I am going for some rare varieties next year!

Photo credits: Vantage Travel, SF Examiner, Fans del Espanol.

clothes, favorite outfit, spring

Favorite Outfit: Spring Day

by casadeberry2 Comments on Favorite Outfit: Spring Day

I wore something very similar to this on Monday to do the school run and do some errands. It was cool but not cold, and it sprinkled a bit when I went to pick up my youngest but I just put the scarf on my head and my hair didn’t get frizzy.

And no, I definitely do NOT have that bag, it’s like $6000 or something, mine is this one from Tarjay but the one in the pic was the closest Polyvore had. If I had $6,000 to spend on a bag I’d buy one in Paris for $20 and use the other $5800 to have a grand Parisian vacation 😀