Living in Georgia

 I had such a crazy start to Fall and the weather was SO HOT this year, that it took longer than normal to get the fall decorations out and set up. But it's always fun to change up the look of the house.  I love to make my front porch the most inviting I can, as it's the first thing guests see as they come to my house. Even if it's just someone dropping a package off, I hope it brings a smile to their face.  And I'm constantly changing / moving / rearranging things as I come across something I like or see someone else's ideas.  The buffet in the formal dining room.  This is typically where our mail typically gets tossed on the kitchen counter. I'm always trying to find a way to keep it clean and clear of the clutter. It's hard but I thought putting up some decor might help. (P.S. -- it doesn't, sigh)  Getting the Fall decor up and out gave me the perfect opportunity to pair down the clutter on the shelves in the for

 Oh Europe, you have our heart, but we hemmed and hawed about catching an earlier flight home - ten days without the boys was wonderful but we were definitely starting to miss them. In the end we decided to keep our evening flight so that we could take in one last stroll through the city street (and eat a bit more cheese).  It was a rainy day but I came prepared with an umbrella and it wasn't too bad.  We walked by the Anne Frank house again, bought some souvenirs, and took a few last pictures.  We loved all the canals (oh to see the water every day!) and the tiny streets.  We loved the crooked houses and the black ones that indicated the plaque had hit.  We loved our little hotel in the heart of a residential area. Oh, and did I mention we loved the cheese? But we also loved three little boys back in the States and couldn't wait to get back home to them.

 I was very excited for day two, as we had passes to go see the Anne Frank Museum. You can see it in the background behind Jason - the brown building.  We tried to get in last time we were here but they were all sold out. We had a little bite to eat at this cafe while we waited for our tour time.  It was such a moving experience and I'm so happy we got to experience it.  We spent the rest of the day wandering around, trying to see everything we didn't get a chance to see the last time we were there. Oh, and we ate a lot of cheese at every cheese shop we came to.  We had lunch across from the Rembrandt Square.  Our European tradition became a pre-dinner snack of cheese, crackers and a local wine. Then it was back out for our last night, dinner and bar hopping. This was the hallway in our hotel - it was so beautiful. We stayed in some really great boutique hotels on this trip.

 When you have limited time in Europe you have to take the early flights. Thank goodness for yummy coffee in the airport lounge. I absolutely LOVE the cafe latte's in Europe, if only I could recreate them at home.... We took an early flight from Prague to Amsterdam to spend a couple days before heading back to the States. We spent just over 24 hours there the last time we were in Europe so we decided it would become our exit country. This time we had almost three full days!  Took the train from the airport to the city and got out of the station to this beautiful sight. It had been super hot and sunny in Vienna and Prague but much cooler and damper here. But we grew up in Seattle, no worries.  We checked into our little boutique hotel, grabbed a bite to eat and then found a canal cruise to take.  It was so much fun and a great way to see the city and learn lots of interesting facts.  It's all so beautiful.  After the