Santa Cruz Mountains wine tour

A few weekends ago, Paul and I ventured south for a visit to my aunt and uncle's house in the Santa Cruz mountains. Having essentially grown up there as a child, I love visiting their house because it really makes me feel like home. Anyway, our visit coincided with my cousin Alison's last week in California before her trek to Denver, where she's starting her residency. (side note: she just graduated from med school at USC. Go Alison!) In true Fulton Family fashion, we thought it would be appropriate to celebrate by going wine tasting. Sure, I knew there were some pretty good wineries in the Santa Cruz mountains - but I didn't realize how great they were (or how pretty the views were!) Here are a few shots from the day:

The view from Loma Prieta Winery



Burrell School



The grad!

Summa-time!

It's finally summer here in Vallejo. All of my plants are finally starting to thrive! Strawberries are turning red, tomatoes are growing, and cucumbers are flowering! The radishes are getting bigger, and the sunflowers are growing taller. I love it when the weather gets this hot - it means fresh yummy veggies are on the way!

Russian River

Paul had a few days off this week, so we decided to break in our recently acquired new (to us) tent. The weather has been clear and warm, so we decided to go to the coast. We ended up at Casini Ranch campground (on the Russian River near Jenner). It was spectacular. We were the only people on the far side of the campground, and we were right on the river. This was Coco's first experience in the water, and she loved it. Here are a few pics I took:







Yeah, it doesn't look like we had any fun :)

Before and After (aka, what I did today!)

Our great neighbors gave us these chairs a while back. While they are very sturdy and great chairs, they needed some desperate TLC. Today I thought I'd update one of them for my craft room. A $3 can of spray paint and a piece of already-owned fabric later, and I have a rockin' new chair!


Before shot


Spray painting away...


Taking off the staples


Tools of the trade


Ta-da!!


Isn't it cute? I got the fabric years ago at a store in Portland. I'm so glad I kept it for this project!

FUNemployment Update

Cadence is 4!
Well, today marks the first real week of my unemployment. How have I spent the morning so far? Yelling at my chickens. Yes, you heard that right. One of my girls (I think it's Rafiki) seems to think she's a rooster. That, or she's just very vocal. Every time another hen gets ready to lay an egg in the nest, she marches up into the coop and yells/crows at them. Maybe she's jealous they are laying an egg? Maybe she just wants them to play with her? I'm not sure, but it's getting annoying. Almost makes me wanna make chicken soup. I mean, I have 3 more adorable chicks just waiting for a spot in the chicken mansion. Rafiki better shape up or she's gonna make a nice coq au vin!

In other news, I signed up for the dole today. Marie graduated from medical school, and Cadence had a birthday party on Sunday (more pics to come). I took a fun workshop at Papersource on Saturday with my friend Marcelle (read about that here). I'm filled with so much crafting inspiration it's making me antsy. Which leads me to the task for the day: clean up the neglected craft room. I can't seem to produce anything in a messy space. Ready, set, GO!

The end of an era....

So folks, today's the day. My last day here at the NWP. I've been here for 3 and a half years, and I have to say, it's a pretty bittersweet goodbye. I've learned so much here and have made so many incredible friends from across the country. I've been inspired by teachers who are deep in the trenches, serving kids (our future) with passion. I've also had wild nights with these teachers - from 4am snack runs in cabs to running to catch a flight because we're late, and many (many!) shenanigans in between. Thanks for that, friends!

I'm so so excited about the next chapter of my life. There's lots of things in the works, and a summer full of fun and sun as well. As the great rapper Tupac says, "life goes on!" Yes,it will!

Staff retreat...what??

TLN ladies in Little Rock, AR

Me in Tubac, AZ

Silly in Austin

Spike and I in DC

Babies galore at the staff picnic

Pig races in Montana

Best boss ever

My first (and probably only) trip to Disneyworld

BBQ in Austin with Babs

Paul Oh (my work husband) and I in Boston

Kareen and I at the Christmas gift exchange

Casey and I in Kansas City

Summer sewing

How About Orange has compiled a list of skirt tutorials for ladies and little girls. I think my favorite is this one by Angry Chicken. She says it takes 5 minutes, but it'll probably take me a few hours. We'll see!!

The awkward stage

It's true - my babies are growing up so fast! Only 2 weeks ago, our new chicks were cute little fluff balls...


And now, they are awkward teens...






They are named (in no particular order...) American Honey (or Moscato or Christy Swanson), Lemonade Cookie, and Ginger.

Outdoor Inspiration

If you've been reading my blog recently, you probably know that I've been prepping the soil and growing starters in anticipation for an awesome garden this summer. Paul and I have spent the last week digging, tilling, and planting. I will post those pics this weekend, but in the meantime, here's an inspiration board I created for my dream outdoor set up. Now granted, I'll never have the money to purchase this stuff, but I can still dream, right? (click on image to see a bigger version).


Everything is from CB2 and Crate & Barrel

Tea towels!

Whip up has compiled a list of resources on how to make your own tea towels here. This sounds like a fun project I could do this summer. Maybe screen print my chickens on towels? What would you do?

Birthday ideas

My adorable niece Cadence's birthday is coming up, and although we already picked something up for her at Makerfaire, I really want to make one of these for her. You can get the free tutorial at Grosgrain. Check it out!

Makerfaire Recap

Here are some of my favorite shots from Makerfaire. I'm so glad that Paul and I made the trek to San Mateo. There were so many cool demonstrations, crafts and talks, and I left feeling inspired by so many things. We had the greatest time, and can't wait until next year!

hand knit breakfast hat!

Diner doggies

train that went around the fairgrounds

Marshmellow man made out of Legos

The view in Expo hall

Paul chowing down on a polish sausage

Drummers big and small