My mom has the most wonderful decorating style. It’s classy, it’s eclectic, and — most importantly — it’s fun. She owns a beautiful old home in the hills of San Rafael, overlooking the city and surrounded by trees, and she decorates it with antiques and lace and everything fancy.

Perhaps the best time of year at her house is Christmas. She fills every nook and cranny with elves, stockings, garlands, and nativities. I have many a fond memory growing up of helping her find places for about 100 elves all over the house. She’s toned down the elves since I’ve moved out, but still jam packs the place with more Christmas spirit than old St. Nick himself could claim.

By the way, it isn’t just the table that looks good enough to eat; the meals she serves on it are just as beautiful, and just as delicious, thanks to the efforts of her and her boyfriend.

I love you, Mom, and I love your style!

The hubs and I went to Red Rock Canyon today for a scenic drive and some photo ops. The desert is growing on me. I got some good pics from the turn offs along the road – I can’t wait to go back and get some from along the trails. May have to wait a few months for the weather to cool down, though. Maybe by then we’ll have a better camera. *crosses claws* Anyhow, here are a few of the pics. Click them to go to my Flickr set and see the rest, as well as larger sizes.

Shopping in Vegas
Originally uploaded by Shards Of Blue

We went to walk the Strip yesterday, but ended up spending all our time in two of the massive indoor malls there, the Fashion Show Mall and The Forum Shops mall. Fashion show was fun, but it’s the Forum Shops that made a real impression. It is connected to the Caesar’s Palace casino. The theme inside is one of ancient grandeur, with huge marble statues of ancient gods and heroes surrounding great fountains. The shops are all of the highest quality architectural and decorative design and kept me ogling. I don’t even know how large it is, exactly, only that it must span blocks, and is two and even three stories in some places.

Say it ain’t so! I spent the day out in that thing they call the Real World, and when I finally got around to logging in tonight, it was during their planned outage. Wow, a whole day without SL! Nuuuuu! XD

Got a new wallet today at the local Coach outlet during their Memorial Day sale. Yes, I finally own a Coach product. I’m not huge for designer names, but I do like the Coach style and the knock-offs just don’t cut it. My old wallet (a knock off, hehe) was getting ragged so I went on a quest to find the Right wallet to relpace it. I went into nearly every leather, shoe, and purse store in the outlets and gave them all an honest chance. The Coach store was one of the last stores, and at first I thought it was yet another bust, but then, I saw it! *cue music* Shiny white with black trim and blue interior lining, with the right layout of pockets and coin purse. It was not only the only thing I saw all day which I liked all aspects of, it was also one of the cheapest items in the store – not that that is saying much in Coach, really… Yay for a pretty new thing! Sparkly, shiny!

We also bought the hubs two new pair of pants and saw Star Trek for the second time (with free passes, w00t!). Yup, just as good as the first time; can’t wait to own it. :D Oh yeah, and I started out with eggs benedict for brunch, noms! So overall, I had lots of fun with the hubs and later also a good friend of ours. The day was certainly well worth braving the Memorial Day crowds and the heat.