Aislyn and Mackenzie

My niece, Aislyn is a girly girl, but she can also be rough and tough. Here she is posing with a barrette by Tobi at Ivey Handcrafted. We met Tobi at WhoFest in Chattanooga in May. Her work is beautiful! She wouldn't smile for Tobi at the festival, so this one is for you, Tobi. She is also carrying her baby, whose name is Mackenzie (along with 4 other babies named Mackenzie in the stroller by her). She loves dolls, purses, SHOES, dresses, but also likes to run around like a wild animal!

I just wanna play

I would give anything to go run through a fountain, float in a pool or lay in a hammock, BUT I have a lot going on right now. We are expanding the bar at the restaurant, planning for a grand opening, gearing up for Canal Day, and planning a party this weekend for 100 guests. Lots to do!
I'll just have to pace myself and remember to breathe, but I would rather be playing in a fountain like Landen.

Tree Peony

Two weekends ago our town had a Garden Tour and Antique Car Show. It was a busy weekend with a wedding at the restaurant and prepping to go to Chattanooga, I didn't have time to enjoy much of it. Our yard was featured on the tour so I tried to get everything in the ground and looking good. One new member to the garden was a Tree Peony that I purchased at Groff's this year. I hoped it would still be blooming during the tour, but some bad winds blew off the big, beautiful petals. They are just so gorgeous!

Check out Jeffrey's post about the tour here.

Spoiled Rotten in Chattanooga

Last week I went to Chattanooga to surprise my mom. We had a very nice time visiting all of our favorite spots and gardening. The visit would not be complete without spoiling my nephew, Landen and niece, Aislyn.

Shopping Cart Race from Bug on Vimeo.
I'm sure my mom and Annette will be cursing me the next time they have to go to the grocery store with the children.

Floating on Cotton

This was my view for part of today. I'll post more when I have time...I'm sleepy!

Happy Birthday to my Shining Star

Happy Birthday...thanks for all that you do, you are a smart, sexy and strong man!

xoxo

Mother's Day

For those of you who don't know the restaurant business...you may not realize that Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants. We had sat 540 guests yesterday. It was a lot of preparation, but our staff did a tremendous job. I was very proud of them. The day started out a little hectic when I called Home Depot to order a patio heater. They told me no problem and I told them one of my staff would be by to pick it up...here's my credit card info, etc....THEN the store manager told me that they would not accept payment over the phone. How was I supposed to slip away for a few minutes to buy a heater? So Lowes came through. My staff picked it up and put it together. It was a little chilly and I wanted to make the guests that had to sit on the patio warmer and this would do the trick. The assembly started around 10:30am and we didn't get it properly working until 5pm! Ohh well...we have it now and I am sure it will come in handy on cool nights in the spring and winter.

To my MOM: Happy Mother's Day!


I spent most of this cold and rainy Monday in bed...resting!

Happy Belated Birthday Birdie

My nephew, Landen turned 5 on May 1st.
I remember 5 years ago when I got the call that you were born right before midnight on May 1st. Happy Birthday little Birdie!

Sweet Scents

A few weeks ago I found this new fragrance that I just LOVE... Kai.
I purchased the roll-on perfume oil. It smells so fresh with hints of gardenia. Next, I want to buy the body butter!

Progress

Finally, the roof is being repaired from the fire. They worked all day yesterday and today and now we are ready for the metal! I can't wait to see the final product. We have so much going on. Brick work, new front porch, carpentry, cleaning, painting, it's great to see so many things getting knocked off the "TO DO" list! Next week our canopy will be on our patio and then it will be time to plant the flowers and set out all the things for our busy summer months!
Goodbye old, burnt cedar shingles

There's some good crab soup behind that blue tarp.


The plywood is going down


Thanks H.K. Griffith for the speedy work!

BIG SMILES

The Bayard House Softball Team WON!!!! Tonight, those big smiles were showing after their game (8-6). Way to go girls!!!!

Soap Opera Star Sighting

On Saturday night, we were fairly busy. The weather was beautiful at night and people were all over our little town. I was chatting with the guests as they were walking inside when one of the servers, Alicia ran up and screamed...GUS was here! I had no idea who Gus was and why she was so excited. Gus Aituro from Guiding Light had dinner at The Bayard House. He didn't sit in her station, but as she was coming down the stairs and he was walking around...she spotted him right away and said..GUS!!! They chatted a few and she got a photo of them. He is Ricky Paull Goldin in "real life" and as of May we can see him on All My Children as Jake Martin. He was very sweet and I spoke to him before he was seated. Seems like he enjoyed Chesapeake City and The Bayard House...so I hope he'll be back.

I don't know how she spotted him like that. Tom Cruise could walk right by me and I don't think I would notice. She also spotted an actress from another soap last year in the restaurant. Occasionally, we will have someone famous dine with us like a sports player or a news person.

GOOD JOB TEAM!!!

The rain held off for all the games to be played. I went back out to the little league field with the cupcakes for the girls. They didn't win, but they did really well. They played PNC Team. PNC had a lot of girls who have played before and are older. Our girls did great and Coach Hutton was really pleased! Everyone had a great time and learned a lot.
Here are some photos from the game...

Play Ball!!!!

Today is opening day for the Chesapeake City Little League. The restaurant is sponsoring a team...we call them The Bayard House Canal Diggers. My friend, Lisa coaches the team along with her sister, Glenda and cousin, Marlene. They all work or have worked at the restaurant. The players are 8,9, & 10 year olds.
This morning there was a parade to kick off the day's festivities. It was warm and beautiful out.


We paraded out to the ball fields. The girls chanted most of the way "Let's go Bayard House, let's go" *CLAP, CLAP*. It was fun.

They announced the teams on the field, and made a few presentations. All over by 9:45.


The game is at 2pm. The weather now...as I type this.....dark grey clouds. I hope it doesn't rain. The girls are really excited.
Before the game I made cupcakes for the team to eat after the game. Hope it doesn't rain.

GO BAYARD HOUSE!!!!!!!

It's HERE!

Today, Jennifer Weiner's new book,

Certain Girls

hits book stores! I should have preordered from Amazon...instead of driving to Borders...but I might find some other book or item that I can't resist. I have read all of Jennifer Weiner's books and I love them all.