Too Much Cake!

 There has been a lot of merry making and cake eating so far this summer. So many birthdays in July.  My son actually said," I am getting tired of going to parties". It is sort of true.  If only we could reschedule some of these anniversaries to February or March. Valentines and Saint Patrick's Day only have so much too offer, especially if you don't have a special some one to write love letters to and don't drink. Conversation hearts and corn beef are certainly, less desirable than Thanksgiving Dinner or Chocolate Easter Bunnies,

These two cakes are from Guarino's Bakery in Norwood MA. They are a staple at any of our holiday "get togethers". The cake on top is just a traditional cake with sugar icing,  perfect for kids parties.  However, the cake below is an Italian Rum Cake. It has vanilla and chocolate custard between rum laden cake and strawberries, then rolled in toasted almonds. A thin slice with a cup of tea is just the thing. My parents have been getting me this kind of cake since childhood. Sort of a weird choice for a little girl but maybe they thought the rum would do a hyperactive child with an anxiety disorder good.

 This little cutie, below, was smelling the sweet smelling roses in my parents yard. The whole air smelled fragrant and the bees were very busy working the flowers.  The kids actually discovered a big bee hive and thought it would be a good idea to poke it with a stick...."so the honey would come out".  Fortunately, an adult stopped them before anyone got to close.  A bee attack could really put a damper of the days events.

 You can see a bee in the center of this beautiful yellow lily. Sounds like a poem, There are also a ton of orange tiger lilies but I thought the huge yellow ones were exquisite.

 Here we see a organic chocolate mint cake a lovely friend brought.  My "adorable" teenage son personalized it with his finger even though it was intended for me. I have to say it tasted a little too good to be all natural but I took their word for it.

 These completely "all artificial coloring and flavoring" cupcakes were for my eighteen year old and his friends. I thought he would be so embarrassed.  Instead, they all fought to get the purple Cookie monster cup cake. Go figure.

 Having my birthday in July has always been kind of a bummer.  As a child I never had the class room birthday party with school friends.  My parents always threw a barbecue and the neighborhood kids would come over.  The neighborhood kids were my closest friends so in reality I have nothing to complain about.

 I love party favors, especially vintage crepe paper candy cups. This was a birthday for a teenage boy so I was pushing it to begin with by putting these little baskets on the table. The boys proceeded to dump the candy from the cups into their mouths in one mouthful. Of course.

Below, you can see I filled over a hundred water balloons  so the kids could cool off.  The past two weeks hung around the ninety degree mark so any relief was welcome. I figured the heat was nothing a couple kiddie pools filled with water balloons and a sprinkler couldn't fix. They had a blast...but there still managed to be crying.

 Finally, I am just posting this cute little pirate. You might even hear me groan AAARRRRGGGHHH, just like a pirate mommy. That is because it means I will end up pushing my little guy around in that little boat with no wheels for at least a half hour, it's a killer.  I always try to encourage him to dress up as a superhero instead. At least our Bat Mobile has wheels and actually runs on a battery. Oh well, they are only cute and little once.

A Lovely Summer Break

 We had a very nice little vacation in Marshfield this past week.  The weather was more cloudy than sunny but still warm enough to frolic at the beach. Cloudy, cool mornings with the children were spent coloring in coloring books, blowing bubbles, painting rocks and playing hide and seek.

 We did a lot of exploration at the tide pools and found crabs, starfish and plenty of periwinkles and giant clam shells. Below you can see a good size crab that caused quite a stir with my boys. It turned out to be dead which was relief because one of the boys stepped on it. Had it been alive it would have packed a powerful pinch. In the past, we have found lobsters in the tide pools, no such luck this year.

 We stayed in an a classic knotty pine cottage. It was owned by the same family for sixty years.  They had lots of really classic retro throwbacks in the kitchen.  The metal bread box was adorable not to mention some of the pans and Pyrex casserole dishes.

 These 1950's rooster motif plates and bowls were adorable. I could imagine there were hundreds of tuna sandwiches and bowls of ice cream served up on these festive chinaware.

 There was nothing tacky about this Old Salty Dog sitting on the fireplace greeting guests. They used to sell these sort of statues at the Marshfield gift shop along with inflatable beach toys and penny candy.

 The hydrangeas were in full bloom everywhere. I just love how the house accents were painted to match the seasonable flowers. So pretty.

 Here are some very nice ornaments my sons made from collected sea glass and interesting stones and jewelry wire. They came out really nice. Trash to treasure!

 I did a little bit of needle work and felt crafts as I tried to unwind in the evening.

 Here are the little cousins in the their adorable matching swim suits. They had so much fun jumping over the big waves.

 The week winded down with a beautiful sunset. I should have lifted the screen but forgot it was there when i saw the beautiful colored sky.

 I packed the suitcases......and yes, I am also a sucker for vintage luggage. Someday I hope to own a complete set in hot pink.

 I came home after an exhausting week of fun and relaxation to find this happening in my garden. (Pictured below) I panicked because it went without being watered. I was pretty happy to see it was still thriving on it's own. Not sure if it will be a cucumber, zucchini or pumpkin.  I love surprises.