Hit the lights...

It occurred to me today that I am a cliche'...I am the dreaded neighbor who halls out boxes of slides from the family vacation.  Ack!  Not to worry folks, the Frenches are staying put for a while.  These will be the last vacation pics for quite awhile.  Good for you, not so good for me.

Anyway, these photos were taken on our last evening in Whistler.  Honestly, one of my favorite evenings in my 34 years.  It had rained all day, the little ones were restless (especially our little angel) and we were all a little bit grumpy due to our impending departure.  We decided to check out one of Whistler's many lakes on a whim...thank goodness!  The rain cleared, a rainbow appeared, sea planes landed, moods lifted and giggles and awe were enjoyed by all.  I get chills thinking about it.  These are the memories I dreamed of making when B was a a glimmer...

I am pretty sure it is not too hard to become a Canadian citizen.

I am the type of person that researches potential travel destinations relentlessly.  I like to know as much about a particular area before we invest time and money into a precious holiday.  On this last trip, however, I decided to fly by the seat of my pants.  I had heard wonderful things about Whistler, BC and I knew that it was chosen to be the site of the 2010 Olympics...that was enough for me!  I was not disappointed.  Whistler is a mountain wonderland.  I am not sure my photos could possibly do it justice, but you can't blame a gal for trying....more to come!

My coast.

Through comments and conversations I have come to realize that people who love the ocean and its beaches are very loyal to their favorites.  I understand this totally and completely for the first time.  I have found a beach of my very own, the one that is most special to me.  Manzanita.  I love its combination of rocky cliffs, majestic pines, sandy beach, and ocean waves.  It is the perfect mix of small mountain town and quaint coastal village. It is my favorite, for now....

Can you feel it?

It's actually ironic that I should go to the beach with my parents, considering the beach is one of the things that took me away from them.  We have been in Oregon for 4 years.  Oregon is home to us now (after many tears, and discussions about moving back to Minnesota).  I believe it was the right decision and I honestly could not have said that 8 months ago.  However, when my family leaves to go back to the midwest and B doesn't understand why they can't play just a bit longer, or when he goes upstairs to where they slept....the questions come back.  Does a state filled with everything we appreciate equal home or is it our loved ones?  I think maybe we have two homes...  

So many words to get to the point.  I am sad my mom and dad left (so is B).  However, I love Oregon so much it hurts.  The beach is my geographic soul mate.  On this visit it was the textures that grabbed hold of me.    

Many beach posts to come....Don't say I didn't warn you.....

Wordless Holiday: Part II

hmmm...maybe going completely wordless on this one wasn't such a good idea.  We were in Sunriver, OR.  Sunriver, is a resort community in Central Oregon, just outside of Bend.  It is a truly special place.  It has that old fashioned, family resort feel (kind of like in Dirty Dancing, without all the grinding).  The falls are called Tumalo falls...

Wordless Holiday (a 2 parter folks): Part I

tutulu

We are off!  We are heading to Sunriver with the ladies.  Wheeeeeeeee!  We leave this morning and get back on Sunday.  I may be a bit scarce for awhile....or maybe not(I am not quite sure what type of technology we are dealing with).  Have a wonderful holiday!  

Howdy!

Hey friends, we are back!  I had such a wonderful time.  Spokane is a pretty little city.  Unfortunately, we brought the gray, rainy weather from Portland with us.  Honestly, it really didn't seem to matter all that much.  We stayed in a perfect hotel, slept on the most comfortable beds in all the land, had wonderful food, went to movies, and had all types of girlie fun.  Here are a few pics from the show:

I can't wait to catch up on all your blogs...so I will be back tomorrow with a fresh "I heart..." list to boot.

byeeeeee!

We are off!  We are going here and will be back Sunday.  What does this ladybug have to do with this?  Absolutely nothing, I just like him.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and will fill you in when I get back!

The Gower St. bistro

I am almost done discussing our time at the beach.  I figure I need about a week to get over its perfection.  

It is not uncommon that a French family vacation should revolve around food and this one was no different.  There are many wonderful eating establishments in Cannon Beach, but hands down my favorite is the Gower St. bistro.  My mouth seriously waters just thinking about it.  Absolutely everything on the menu is flawless(trust me in 5 days we tried about everything) and the surroundings...simply fetching.  Honestly,  like being transported overseas to a beautiful French bistro.  

It's all in the details.  I am hoping to mimic the gorgeous tile and rustic wood floors in a home of mine one day and those bee glasses!  I love them!  You can purchase them here.

B's favorite?  That's an easy one...the carrot cake.  I am not a big fan of filling my kid to the rim with sugar, but it was vacation and hey there are carrots in it.

Mr. French's favorite?  The margaritas...a French bistro that makes a mean margarita...that's my kind of place!

My favorite? Everything!  The food, the atmosphere, the sweet waitstaff and everything in between.

....maybe I like it so much because it is the only place where B still seems small.

I Heart Monday.

I heart Monday...lalalalalalalala.....

I heart this ball of fire and gases...welcome back old friend.

I heart this luggage.

I heart this cushion.

I heart the picket fence in front of my house.

I heart these jaunty pants.

I heart this sweet clutch.

I heart this blog.

I heart smelling this outside my front door.

I heart this rug.

I heart this dress and this top.

I heart these shoes and always will.

I heart this piece of fine crockery.

I heart these springy napkins.

I Heart Monday

Don't you just love Mondays?

"I Heart Monday"-installment 2:

I heart this wallpaper/art (found via Cookie's Nesting blog). 


I heart this toybox for B.

I heart this bag.

I heart this sweet blog (found via Bloesem).

I heart this dress.

I heart this