Five days off and a new pair of shoes!

Sooo...I reallllllllllly like shoes. Back in the day....when I was oh so young and naive...I didn't appreciate their full beauty.

Now............I'm turning into something of a fanatic.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I DID check out farmers market on Saturday...and fall festival as well! But what lies right smack in between those two events?

Miss Meers (oh yes...they have a website)

How can one just walk past miss meers without glancing in their window?!?!? whats that? a sale!?? oh my word...am I really that girl?????

Well....I fell in love...............with these:

Please ignore my scrawny ankles and bumped/bruised skin............these shoes fit like heaven (I don't even know what that means) and just.....had to come home with me.

Of course.....they weren't on sale....but love is love, and you can't fight it. so......they're currently very carefully displayed on my dining room table (keep in mind my dining room 'table' is more comparable to a bedside table for most people).

Thats normal right?

SO....with my confidence boosting and my feet decorated where did I decide to take my fancy new kicks for their first trial run??? Bend of course!!

On a completely random / spontaneous whim...my girlfriend, Sarah, and I made the trek due east and had a BLAST. Visited some old friends....camped.....enjoyed the night life....got harassed by bored cops...floated the river....and ate a LOT of good food.

 Our first evening......feeling very mischevious....wish I had a better pic!

 The morning after.....feeling a little leary about anything with alcohol in it. Ate at the victorian cafe (GO THERE)...the bartender INSISTED we try this drink. Sarah adamantly refused, but he wouldn't take no for an answer...so he made her just a tiny shot of it......

So....naturally we went back the next day for the real deal. :)

 View from the campsite...

View from the river....

There are more pictures somewhere.....I'll have to harass sarah for them, but all in all it was a FABULOUS trip! 

Now.......we're vigorously preparing for the upcoming event of the year: my stepsista's 40th birthday bash in Monterey. My mother and I are the main caterers of the event.

The Menu:

Hor Dourves:

*Homemade smoked trout spread

*Assortment of cheese / quince paste / fruit / hazelnuts

*Crostini as an accompaniment

Entrees:

*Ratatouille (we're using the actual recipe from the movie and its GORGEOUS)

*Homemade Tortellini with a potato/cheese filling and a brown butter sage sauce.

*Smoked Salmon drizzled with melted lemon / dill butter.

Fresh greens with a homemade vinaigrette and sea salt will be served along side all this.

Dessert:

*Spiced cake with a homemade pear compote and creme fresh.

I'm sure I'm missing something.....or a few things. oh well..........here are our tortellinis:

Ideas for  center pieces are greatly appreciated!

I should probably end this post and go get ready for class. ugh. yes....school has started.

Back to work tomorrow...........life is SO BUSY!!

Love. :)