Retirement party for Battalion Chief Alvin Blades

Chad and I attended a nice retirement party for Battalion Chief Alvin Blades at Villa Sorriso. It was a crowded house. Every guy on duty came down to congratulate Al. The street was lined with fire trucks, fire engines, and RAs. It was quite a site to drive up to. The Pasadena Fire Deptartment is definetly a brotherhood and they embrace all the family members. It was a nice feeling to look around the room and see so many familiar faces smiling back at me. After Calvin made a speech all the guys in service from the surrounding towns called in on the radio to wish Al the best of luck and congratualte him. It was really cool to hear.

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ETSY

Have you every heard of Etsy? I am now an official addict. Etsy is a website which focuses primarily on providing the general public with a way to buy and sell handmade items. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee. Some of the wonderful things they sell are jewelry, handmade soaps, clothes, dog collars, homebaked treats, quilts, woodworking, candles.

I just opened my shop http://fiveoclocksomewhere.etsy.com/. I have yet to make a sale, but I am hoping one will come soon. There is also a link on the side of my blog with some of my listings.

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Tiparos

The best cheap Thai food with friendly personal service. I love this place! Chad and I have been going to Tiparos for years, probablly 10 years, and he has been going there since he was a kid (although it was called something different). It is not fancy, but the food is always the same and we are never disappointed. They do not have a liquor license, but they are happy to open your beers or provide wine glasses if you bring your own (no corkrage fee). It is family owed and run and the service is always friendly and fast. I especially like the Panang Curry, Angel Wings, and Spicy Squid. The Tom Kah Goong soup is also delicious. I highly recommend this restaurant - you won't be disappointed. We took Pete & Kim here Wed, and they enjoyed it. (2486 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA)

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Weekends go too fast.....

Where did the weekend go???? It was super hot, but that didn't slow me down. Saturday I rode in the morning before it got too hot. Kylie was great. Chad and I then went to the Make Music Festival in Pasadena. Sidewalks, parks, courtyards, alleys, building lobbies and other unconventional performance spaces were spontaneous musical stages. We heard one particularly good band called Switches. They were a British rock sounding band - we bought their album Lay Down The Law. After hearing them, it was time to cool off with a beer (or two) at Gordon Biersch. Then it was off to Missy's pool to meet Kim and Pete. After cooling off there we went for Sushi at Noda with Charlie, Woodman & Jon. We ended the busy day with a drink at Magnolia. One of my favorite spots for a cocktail. I like the outdoor setting. It is located on south Lake across from Borders one block north of California. It's very small, and there's a huge tree in the middle of its courtyard where the bar is with firefly lights all over it. Reminds me of back east. I love the textured wallpaper, the cool lights, and the clear furniture.

Sunday morning I rode Kylie, like usual, then I went out to see Mazzy and gave her a bath, let her run around in the new covered round pen, and walked her around a few miles. I took her up to the big barn and put her on the cross ties for some more grooming. The stallion was going crazy and she was a little freaked out at first but settled right down and was happy to be primped. I really think she is going to grow up to be a great horse (at least I hope). One of the dogs there, an Australian Sheppard "Jenny" had puppies with a chocolate lab, and they are adorable! They all look like chocolate labs, not at all like their mother. I am so tempted to take one home, but I guess I do not need another dog. I sat in the pen with them as all 7 of them crawled all over me – I was in heaven! I have a weakness for chocolate lab puppies! They were fat and squishy and made cute puppy noises. I’m curious if they will grow up looking more “mixed” than they do now, because you really cannot tell they are anything but chocolate labs. Sunday evening I spend a few hours reconditioning my Antares saddle, and it looks great! It must have been SO dry, because it is now a beautiful chocolate brown and before it was tan. Mazzy will be happy to be sporting such a pretty saddle!

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Let your heart run wild with Secretariat...

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Vote for me....."On the Rise" Awards

Here's the scoop:
1."On the Rise" designers are generally those that are not household names - yet. You would not find their designs in department stores or mass merchants.
2. Eligible designers must have an online presence in order for us to view their designs, either via their own site OR a third party online boutique.
3. Nominated designers may or may not have appeared on StyleBakery.com or Ravinstyle.com. It is not a requirement.
4. You do not have to vote for every category, but please include as much information as you can, especially links to the sites where we can view the nominated designs www.fiveoclocksomewhere.us (this will save us endless hours Googling your nominations!).
5. The deadline for submitting your ballot is July 31, 2008.
6. All voters will be eligible to win a $500 gift certificate to ravinstyle.com. One winner will be chosen at random.
7. Only one ballot per email address may be submitted.

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Vegas

Chad and I went to Vegas this weekend. We went out to see Rich, Chad's friend from Maryland and his girlfriend Katie. We drove out Saturday after my lesson with Mary (a rare, special treat to actually get a lesson from Mary!). The car ride there was only 3 hours, and it was hot when we got there, about 110 degrees. We went to dinner at Il Fornaio at New York, New York with Rich and Katie. The food wasn't very good.

After dinner we went to Zumanity by Cirque du Soleil. It is the first "adult-themed" Cirque du Soleil show, billed as "The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil." It was amazing, and we had great seats - about 4th row! Jaw dropping acrobats/contortionis, we were laughing out loud, the music was great. After the show it was off to play Roulette, and I won $400+!!!! Yippee! We didn't leave the table until after 3am. The city that never sleeps. In the morning we weren't feeling too good. We went over to the Palms with Rich and Katie for lunch, and I put $5 in one of those 5 cent machine, pushed the button once and won $44. Cashed out and called it a day. It was a long ride home, still feeling pretty hungover.

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Flag Day

We went out for sushi at Kabuki for Dave's birthday. We will have to do it again, because I do not think I made the best menu selections (sorry, Dave). We started with Dynamite as an appetizer, which I thought was good (baked clams, scallops, mushrooms & veggies). We then had eel sushi, spider roll, salmon sushi, Octopus (Chad), Ikura (Chad), baked scallop on california roll, a stack roll (forgot what was in it, bu it was pretty good), lobster roll (heavy creamy sauce was not too good on it). We then stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert. Sinful!

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When I am old.....

"When I am Old...
I shall wear turquoise
And a straw cowboy hat that
doesn't match and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my social security
on white wine and carrots
And sit in the alley way of my barn
And listen to my horses breathe.
I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night
And ride the dappled mare
Across the moonstruck meadow,
If my old bones will allow.
And when people come to call, I will smile and nod,
As I walk them past the gardens to the barn
And show, instead, the flowers growing there.
In stalls fresh-lined with straw
I will learn to shovel and sweat and
wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel.
And I will be an embarrassment to my only child
Who will have not yet found the peace in being free
To love a horse as a friend,
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With muzzle and nicker and patient eyes
For the kind of person I will be
When I am old."
PATTY BARNHART

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Santa Barbara - Wine Tasting

After a hot delicious frittata delivered to our room for breakfast, we finished getting ready to go on our wine tasting adventure in Santa Ynez. We were picked up by the grapevine shuttle and had a relaxing drive up to our first vineyard, Lincourt. The setting was beautiful. Originally a dairy farm, the 30 acre property retains the rural charm and simplicity of an earlier era. The quaint tasting room is located in the former farmhouse, a cute 1926 Sears Craftsman kit home. The wildflowers were so beautiful sprouting up between the vines, orange poppies and purple lupine.

Our tour guide, Erica, took great care of us, and dropped us off with our lunch at Bridlewood next while the rest of the group went to Firestone. Bridlewood is my favorite winery in Santa Ynez, and I was happy to share it with my friends. Cece spoiled there with four "off the menu" tastings since we are wine club members. No wonder why I love that place so much! I stocked up with some great Syrahs (2003 Blue Roan Syrah, 2004 Reserve Syrah, 2005 Rose, 2005 Arabesque). We then walked down to picnic by the ponds and horses with our gourmet sandwiches from Panino and a bottle of wine. Could it get any better than this? The driver then came back to pick us up so we could meet up with the rest of the group at Firestone.

Our third winery was Fess Parker. Another unbelievably beautiful place. Our last stop was Curtis Winery. We purchased several bottles of wine there (2005 Heritage Cuvée) , and cracked a few open for the ride back to Santa Barbara. The ride home, was definitely a different experience than the ride there. Wine was flowing, music was pumping, and everyone was letting loose. Needless to say, by the time we got back to Santa Barbara everyone was feeling pretty good.

We headed out to Chuck's Steak House for dinner. It was average. It had a casual Hawaiian, tiki atmosphere. Kim and I shared the King Crab Legs, but to be honest, the evening was a little foggy :-).

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Santa Barbara - The Wedding

We drove up with Justin on Friday morning to Santa Barbara. We met up with Kim and Pete at the White Jasmine Inn Bed & Breakfast where we stayed for the weekend. Chad and I were in the Santa Ynez room, Justin in the Hideaway, and Kim & Pete in the Nouveau Suite. It was a quaint, relaxing place with a great breakfast delivered to our room each morning. A perfect location to the heart of down town Santa Barbara, so we headed out to State St for some lunch. We went to Madison's where the food was mediocre, but I had a good Bloody Mary. We then headed back to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was on Summerland Beach. It was s spectacular day with crystal clear blue skies and a gorgeous location. Captain Don officiated the ceremony, which was short and sweet. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Alvarez!

After the ceremony, we popped open a few bottles of bubbly and enjoyed the beautiful views of the ocean. It was then off to a wonderful dinner at Ca'Dario, a fantastic Italian trattoria. To start off we had CARCIOFO RIPIENO - Cold steamed artichoke, stuffed with artichoke hearts and bread, topped with chopped tomatoes, garlic and basil. Yummy! Our wine selection was Pinot Noir, Laetitia, Arroyo Grande Valley. I had the shrimp and scallop risotto special which was amazing! Chad and Pete both had the SPAGHETTINI CON FASOLARI - Thin spaghetti with fresh clams, garlic, chili flakes, parsley and white wine. Then Tiramisu for dessert. I would definitely recommend this great little bistro.

We finished off the night with several more bottles of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne.

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PMC Playdate with Susan

I had a busy week at work so far because it is forecast week. Not too much time for jewelry creating or for the horses. Susan came over last night for dinner and a PMC playdate. We created a very cute three disc pendant. It is not totally complete yet, she is firing our bails at SGBC, so I will post pictures as soon as I get it put together. We each used six different textures, one on each side of the three oval discs. We torch fired them. Ooo-la-la they came out great. I'm wearing the "fern" leaf by itself today. I think that one is my favorite. The bad picture is from my camera phone. It was great to combine our creativity and share our textures. Looking forward to doing it again!

Santa Barbara tomorrow. Yeah!

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