Rock "N" Roll Chicago 1/2 Marathon

Today my daughter Brittany and her best friend Justine ran in the Chicago 1/2 Marathon. The race started at 6:40 am this morning. It was a early morning for all of us but, boy was it worth it. She was so nervous as this was her first time running more that a 5K. But with her friend Justine by her side who by the way is a seasoned runner since Junior High School, off they went. Justine stayed with her the whole time even knowing she could of ran the race at a faster pace. Now that's true friendship. I was so proud of both of them. It was so emotional seeing her cross the finish line just knowing she was okay and that she did it. Over $3 Million dollars was also raised for different charities in one morning. How cool is that! I would like to share a few photos of the day with you. I am so proud of you Brittany. Way to go Girls!!

chateau de chenonceau~The Engagement

This chateau was my favorite. My daughter Brittany getting engaged in Diane de Poitiers garden made it a memory I will always cherish. The chateau de chenonceau was built in 1513. Chenonceau owes a large part of its charm to women. Diane de Poitier was the favourite lady to King Henri II to whom he donated Chenonceau. On his death the chateau was given back to the queen by Diane in exchange for Chaumont-sur-Loire. Known as the ladies chateau you can see elegant touches that grace this manor. It was so quiet and beautiful with a light rain falling on the day we visted. You just stand in each of the rooms and just think back to who stood in the same place as I was standing so many long years ago. You can just feel how it must have felt to attend a ball as you pass through the ballroom. Flowers adorned every room. The arrangements were absolutely amazing. Tyler took my daughter for a walk in the gardens. He had been carrying the ring around with him since we left looking for just the right moment to pop the question. As they made their way around the beautiful gardens he grabbed her hand and told her he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. By now she could see where he was going with this and that he was so nervous so she asked Tyler are you asking me to marry you? When he said yes, to lighten the moment she said Can I see the ring first? That's my Brittany. Of course she said yes! CONGRATULATIONS BRITTANY AND TYLER!

Loire Valley~Paris Trip Day #4

We were up and out early today. The tour guide picked us up at our hotel at 8 am. We headed to the Loire Valley with our first stop at Amboise. Amboise is a medieval fortress for royals during the reigns of King Charles VIII and Francois I (late 15th~early 16th century). Leonardo da Vinci visited here often and his tomb is placed in the chateau's chapel






Our next stop was Chateau du close luce built in 1471. The chateau de clos luce was located 400 meters from the Royal Chateau d'Amboise. Le Clos Luce was bought by Charles VIII in 1490 and was a royal and summer residence for two hundred years of the Kings of France. Of all those who entered the gates of Le Clos Luce, the greatest genius who was invited by King of France was Leonardo da Vinci. He moved into the chateau in 1516.










































I will

continue tomorrow with the rest of the Loire Valley. The next chateau I will share with you now holds some very special memories for our family. To be continued......

Sip "N" Shop Tea Party

Just wanted to share some pictures of my Tea Party that I held at Tres Belle Boutique yesterday. This was my first time holding this event. For the most part it went pretty good. Would have liked to see more of a turn out, but had lots of fun with everyone who attended. Not everyone wore a hat. We had a little fun with some of the hats though. My friend Celeste brought her Sheboygan brat hat for a little fun. My air conditioner decided to act up so my friend Dave decided to get in on the fun with his hat entry while he was there making repairs. At days end we had alot of fun and spent some great time with some of my best customers.

Paris Trip Day #3

Today we are headed to the Paris Flea Markets in the morning and then Versailles in the afternoon. I was very disappointed that I didn't get much time to browse around the flea market longer. We needed to meet everyone back by a certain time so we would have time for Versailles.

Versailles was beautiful but very expense to see everything that was there. The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it.

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We ended our day at a mexican restaurant(yes mexican in France). Food was okay I like ours better, but they had ice in our drinks. I missed ice so much while we were in Paris. Such a little thing we take for granted. Off to bed early for us tonight. We are headed to the Loire Valley in the morning.

Bon Soir