A Rubber Boot By Any Other Name - Ahh, Galoshes!

When did the stylish pair of galoshes first make their debut? Perhaps they have been around quiet a while and I was just never exposed to them? You see, where I grew up there was no need for galoshes - it rarely rained.

However, it seems several pairs have come to my attention of late. Some I would even call cute and sassy.

I spent a few days in Beaufort, North Carolina over the summer and saw oodles of cute pairs while I was there. I guess when you live in a sea town - especially if you're fortunate enough to have a boat then a trusty pair of galoshes is a must. If said galoshes are stylish, chic, cute or downright spiffy then all the better.

Anyway, according to the latest DFW weather news we have received anywhere from 4 - 12 inches of rain in the past 5 days. Senor Reaves and I went out Sunday afternoon for a little "are you ready for some football" action and as my flip-flop clad feet stepped out of the car visions of a cute, dry pair of galoshes danced right in to my head.

So, I decided to share some of my favorite galoshes wishes with you. In fact, perhaps you too should consider a pair for your upcoming Fall and Winter wardrobe. After all, there is nothing like warm, toasty and stylish tootsies on a cold, wet day!

Club Fred....

I'm a little behind with this post but wanted to get these great pictures out there before it is too, too late!

Towards the end of July some friends and family loaded up on a barge called "Club Fred" and spent a few hours on beautiful Lake Grapevine. It was a gorgeous afternoon and we figured we were all due a few hours in the de-stress mode. We had a great meal, listened to some music and some of us even verified our inner child was still in tact by checking out Fred's slide and doing some rather inventive runs, jumps, and dives off the second landing.

Our son in law, Cory, is a fabulous photographer and snapped some great pics to memorialize the afternoon...


Our precious nephew, Taylor.


Splish, splash!


Our fashionista niece, Haley.


Our nieces, Laura and McKae.


Our son in law, Cory. (Not sure who took this pic since he is the photographer!)


Beautiful, beautiful, McKae - our youngest niece.


My brother in law, Gary and my husband, aka, Senor Reaves.


My brother Reece and his family - left to right, Taylor, McKae, Sandra and Reece.


My Daddy with our friends Jack an Janet Byrd.


Dear friends, Mitch and Debbie Horne.


My sweet Moma.


Our daughter Jessica and her precious baby-girl, Cate.


Our nephew, Cody, and his wife Laura.

We won't be spending another afternoon with "Fred" this year but I'm already looking forward to next summer. You see, as we were leaving the dock I heard someone declare an afternoon with "Fred" should become an annual event and my inner-child can't wait for her next opportunity to play with "Fred".

A Basket Full of Sunshine...

Aren't sunflowers HAPPY! They always bring a smile to my face.



I decided a big basket of sunflowers for my dining room table was in order. Kind of brings the feel of TUSCANY right in to my kitchen!



I went ahead and hung last year's Fall wreath on the back porch. So far this is the only Fall decorating I've done. I'm going to have to sweet talk Senior Reaves into climbing up in the attic to retrieve my PUMPKIN collection. He'll be so proud of me!



So excited to see my old FRIENDS the PUMPKINS. Check back soon and you'll be seeing them too.

Wishing you a BLESSED Sunday!

It is almost upon us - Fall! What a spectacular time of year.



So excited to begin Fall decorating...

Here's an indoor look I love...



And how about this one for outdoors...



And Fall cooking...How about some good 'ole southern pork chops with collard greens and fried okra. Oh my!



The Season of The Pumpkin draws near and I for one am giddy with excitement! How about you?

The Boys of Summer

"But I can see you-
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone"...
Don Henley



Oh, a beach town...a beach town in the summer. Can it get any better? Such a simple way of life. Little diners full of folks in flip-flops looking for a home-cooked breakfast, funky souvineer shops and a grocery store with aisles packed chock-full of float toys, chairs, umbrellas and coolers.

Everything and everyone moves just a little bit slower.

On the beach you see little kids run in and out of the surf, laughing with delight as the waves kiss their feet. Buckets and shovels in hand constructing sandcastles in the sand.



The beach draws families, couples, groups of young pretty girls and boys strolling hand in hand.

There are runners and joggers and walkers. Couples with strollers introducing the newest member of their family to this wonderland.

And, of course, there are always a few folks like me who aren't so "postcard perfect", book in hand watching another beautiful, tranquil, fabulous day at the beach pass before my eyes.

There's also pelicans and gulls and kites and an occasional game of volleyball and then there's the surfers...oh the surfers!



For me, the beach is the ultimate "therapy".

It presents me with exquisite beauty - the simple things in life I've mentioned here.

When Don Henley wrote The Boys of Summer I imagine he was referring to romance and a girl. As for me, the words also bring about thoughts of a very different love affair - my love affair with the sea.

..."and I can tell you my love for you will still be strong, after the boys of summer are gone"

In Honor of Julie AND Julia...

A couple of weeks ago Mark and I went to the theater and saw Julie and Julia starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. What a precious movie! Meryl Streep was amazing and I have to keep reminding myself that Meryl is not ACTUALLY Julia - although, I also have to wonder whether the true Julia could have been any more charming than Meryl playing Julia! She is tall and vocal and when one day her husband asks her, "what is it you really like to do?" she responds, "eat" and he says, "and you're so good at it, look at you"!

The movie ended, the credits rolled and I looked over at my husband and proclaimed, "You realize now that I must have that cookbook". Being the sweetie-pie that he is it miraculously appeared in my mailbox just a few days later!

In case you aren't familiar with "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" it is a mere 684 pages long. As it just so happens I have spent several half sleepless nights of late so I've familiarized myself with said book and decided it was high time we tackled the delectable Boeuf Bourguignon.

Boeuf Bourguignon is basically beef stew but, let me you something people, once you have tasted this stuff you will never look at beef stew the same again. Holy-moly was it fabulous. The bacon, the boeuf, the herbs, the sautéed mushrooms, the baby onions, and the entire bottle of Cote de Rhone - oh my, I may have to have another serving! Focus Kim.

Okay, so as the story goes Julie spent 365 days of her life tackling (not to mention blogging about) the 524 recipes offered by Julia in this beautiful book. It was quite a challenge but she pulled it off. I'm in no way saying I could ever pull off such a feat especially considering there are complete chapters on duck, goose, kidneys, liver, sweetbreads and brains; I am however excited to take on the poultry chapter, the eggs, the vegetables and the pork. As you can tell dear reader, Julie, Julia, Senior Reaves and I have a couple of things in common, we love to cook, we love to eat and we're good at it!

So, in the next few days I will be off to Central Market to purchase the perfect roasting chicken. According to Julia it "does not require years of training to produce a juicy brown, buttery, crisp-skinned, heavenly bird". Well, we'll see about that. Until then "bon appétit"!

My Happy Place...

To settle in to a beach chair in Playa del Carmen or X-Pu Ha Beach is a therapeutic experience. To share it with people I love makes it even more special. On our most recent trip down Mexico way we added a couple of new folks to our usual cast of characters - welcome Micah and Taylor! and were minus a couple - we missed you Jessica and Cory!


Mark, Kim and Taylor


Taylor at X-Pu Ha Beach


Cody and Haley



Mark and Gary


Bryan and Micah at Coconuts - Cozumel


View from Fusion Restaurant - Playa del Carmen