Happy Happy Birthday!

I love the Mission Inn. It is the most beautiful place in town. My daughter, my grandson and I and the hubby took his mom to lunch here for her 87th birthday next week since I will be away. She is doing so well and looks so good for her age and since losing the love of her life 6 months ago. She loved it and the food was pretty good too!

Here we are:

Showing her around...the architectural detail is so pretty and the flowers and decor. I just love showing everyone around.

This is the chair that was built for President Taft when he visited in 1909. As you can tell...he was a big man! All the presidents since Roosevelt have stayed at the Mission Inn. Kat and I have a photo of us in this chair. Check that out here!

This little guy just loves being with his grandma, grandpa, great-grandma and mommy!! Actually he was laughing so hard because we were trying to get him to make the snoring sound like his daddy makes. He thought we were pretty funny. We think he's pretty funny when he does it!

Showing Mason the parrots.

We had to have a birthday cupcake at Casey's Cupcakes around the corner from the Mission Inn. They are pretty good!!

Lenie makes aprons and she thought this one was pretty cute!

See those cupcakes....they call my name BIG time!! I tried the banana one...yummmmmo!! The carrot cake one and the ....are all good!!

A little gift for my sweet mother-in-law.

A new photo album full of family gatherings since last year. She loves to look at them and show her guests.

She and my daughter have a special bond...they are so sweet together just like when Danielle was little. Here they are just visiting and my daughter receiving a little bracelet that her grandma let her wear when she was little at her grandma's house.

Special times....I love these times.

Make time to be together and enjoy these times...you never know if you will get another chance. Make up with a loved one who has hurt you or wronged you. It's not worth it to be mad for long. I know it's hard...I've been there and going through a hard one with a loved one. I'm trying to work it through. Pray for me this week when I see this person.

Saturday Fun!

Karen from Some Days Are Diamonds are real life friends.  We've known each other since we sat in our son's kindergarten orientation together over 19 years ago.  Both of our sons became best friends during their elementary and junior high days.  We don't see each other that often since I moved 8 years ago.  Thanks to blogging we are catching up again and now she joined facebook too.  So it was fun last weekend when she came out my way to check out an antique store in town.  We ate at the Mission Inn for lunch.  It's absolutely a beautiful place to visit and to learn about Riverside's rich history.  It's an old hotel built to look like the missions of California.  At Christmas it is decorated with over a million lights and is something to see.  Enjoy our day together and enjoy a little tour of the Mission Inn.

We went here after lunch.  This is across the street from the Mission Inn.

We actually went here first.  This is the store Karen wanted to check out first.

She found something she liked!

Old lace!
Thought of my mom when I saw these.  She loves hearts!
I love a fleur de lis!
A little bit of Paris!
Vintage clothing...this mannequin scared me as I came around the corner.

Karen wanted this old journal.  It was $140.  Beautiful!
I have a dresser just like this from Dwight's grandmother that was refinished.  It's gorgeous.  Had to check out the price to see what mine might be worth.  Not bad!
This was a beautiful door.  I wish I had a place to put it!
Karen has a friend looking for an old bike to put in her garden.  This was $125.  
Another cute piece.  Our prices out here are so high compared to what we see from you girls in the midwest.  Karen is on a trip right now hoping to find some bargains to share with all of us.
The Mission Inn entry.
This chair was custom made for President Taft when he came to visit.  All of the Presidents since Roosevelt have stayed at the Mission Inn.  President Nixon was married here.  Obama is next??
My turn...Karen liked this chair because it makes you look skinny.  :)
Just a few photos of the courtyard which is so pretty architecturally and with all the flowers.


The patio outside the chapel.


Just some pillows we saw.  I liked both of them.

Cute salt and pepper shakers.
We thought of Rhoda at Southern Hospitality when we saw this...she loves bunnies!
Karen likes soup tourines.

A pretty hat stand.

A postcard from 1909.  
Beautiful perfume bottles.
I thought this was pretty.
I love daisies and tea cups.

Karen is hoping to find one of these this summer on her travels.
Pretty colored glass.
An interesting chair.
Thought my husband and son would get a kick out of this!
Did you know they made pink mixers way back when???
Karen's mom had these same canisters in her kitchen.  A sign that she was there watching over us.  Karen's mom was a sweet lady and we both miss her.  A fun day, lots of catching up...we talked non-stop at lunch and all the browsing through the antique stores brought back childhood memories of days gone by and so much history that we love to explore.  Thanks Karen for a fun day and for lunch.  Next time it's on me!

P.S.  It was hot that day too!!