“Never regret a day in your life: good days give happiness, bad days give experience, worst days give lessons, and best days give memories. ~Anonymous
Joe and I got married on October 11, 2003. We are celebrating 14 years this week. Our wedding was at the Mission Inn Riverside, California.
There were 112 guests in attendance. It was a wonderful day.
I’ve been thinking about how quickly those years have traveled by.
Of course I’ve also been thinking about how fortunate I have been. Gratitude.
After an Italian honeymoon we returned to California where Joe & I purchased our first home together. It was a 1926 gardeners cottage known as The Honeymoon Cottage because of a young couple Yeager’s who lived there for a brief time after they married. The house was located on Rumsey Dr. in Riverside, California. It was a house that I had fallen in love with years earlier (before I even knew Joe) and often drove by it on the way home from work. I dreamed of one day living there. The Honeymoon Cottage sat right in the middle of Rumsey Dr. surrounded by trees, birds, squirrels and much larger homes. It became a home filled with love, joy, laughter and wonderful memories.
Within that same year another home was purchased 900 miles away. (a gift from Joe) In a small town on the Oregon Coast which I had driven through one summer (before I knew Joe) and remember thinking how magnificent it was and what a wonderful place to one day live. Yes…the years have passed quickly along with many changes. Beginnings and endings
Today I’m taking a moment to celebrate all those (yours and mine) wonderful anniversaries of the heart. Moments we are fortunate to have experienced and now look back on with a heart of gratitude. Memories of the heart don’t go away…we carry them with us always. Those memories of special friend’s and family past and current ones which have touched our lives and given us the opportunity to share love through the passing of years.
Blessings…
and on a different memory
The plein~air group is just about to end for the year. changes in weather Here is a clip from my last painting excursion to Cape Arago on the Oregon coast. I thought you would enjoy it.
https://youtu.be/KRcbtgBYt1Y
☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
here’s what I’ve been cooking in the cottage..
In celebration of all our anniversaries I prepared a wonderful salad. I’ve got to tell you it was fabulous. I always know when something is yummy…because it doesn’t last! I followed the recipe exactly. It is from Michael of Inspired by Charm.
FALL HARVEST PASTA SALAD
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1 pound multi-colored pasta
3 cups broccoli, chopped (about 1-inch pieces)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup poppy seed dressing
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the sweet potato pieces on a large baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and then toss. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil & cook the pasta according to the package directions. You’ll want the pasta to be al dente. Drain the pasta, allow it to cool, and place it in a large bowl.
To the bowl of pasta, add the roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli, dried cranberries, pine nuts, and red onions. Toss with the poppy seed dressing until evenly coated. Crumble in the goat cheese and gently stir again until combined.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Stir before serving, adding more dressing if needed. Enjoy!
🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃
I’m loving the ability to create movies with my photos have you created one?
Here is one showing a few memories of this past week.💕(beach walks, gardening, organizing my kitchen, and loving my pink roses😘)
https://youtu.be/oyDxjYuwiYk
Thank you for such a memorable post, filled with remembrances of the heart!
Hi Joe!Thank you
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
Hello Barbara,
Thank you for stopping by. Sorry it took a while to replyyou know how lovely the weather has been here on the coast…it keeps me outside (however I think it is about to change) I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for your kind comments. Xo
Marcia,
Absolutely beautiful . …Happy Anniversary to you and Joe…….thank you for sharing….the recipe sounds wonderful . ..
Your friend,
Carol
Hi Carol!
Like I mentioned to Barbara the weather on the coast has been so beautiful that after I publish I go outside and play. Unplug from everything. Thank you for the good wishes. Let me know if you make the salad. It really is yummy and did not last very long.Take care. Xo
Happy Sunday sweet friend!
Happy Anniversary to you and Joe! What a beautiful wedding you must have had! I love the Mission Inn! You truly were a beautiful bride and Joe quite handsome… You make such a lovely couple!! The best part is being best friends!! I love the altar at the Mission Inn and so wished to have been married at a mission. We wanted to be married at the San Fernando Mission but unfortunately it was ruined in the earthquake and thus we were married at our parish church Our Lady of Lourdes in Northridge where we used to live before moving to Laguna Beach… My baby sister who was born my first year of college was married years later at the Mission once they had it renovated it….Yes, born my first year of college… I even drove my mom to the doctor to find out if she was pregnant… I thought I had seen a movie like this once before!!!! I am so blessed because she and I are so close….. almost like mine…since I was never blessed with any babies…
Your honeymoon seemed like it was a grand adventure… I enjoy seeing all the photos of those wonderful days… Such beautiful places in the world to share with one another… I do love traveling and so blessed that my dear Daniel does too…. We truly are blessed women with our husbands…. Joe seems so dear….
I love hearing the story of your lives… such fun to hear of your adventures and the moves to all of your beautiful homes… but of course it is the people who live in it who make it so special… The heart of the home…. What a beautiful gift Joe gave you… Your darling cottage along the beautiful and enchanting Oregon Coast… I enjoy all the photos you post of it…. I love the scenery….
Well, sweet friend… blessings to you and Joe and with gratitude that we have become friends… We have so many blessings to be thankful for….
XOXO
Jane
Hello Jane,
I am humbled by your kindness. Seriously. Thank you. I’m sure you can’t believe how quickly the years have flown by since you married. I really wanted a fancy formal wedding. It was important to me. There is so much joy in the memory of it all. How lucky you are to have such a special relationship with your sister. I can’t help but think that there is a movie out there that I too had seen about a similar story.;)
On a different note….I am just returning from a Octoberfest at the church I attend. It was so much fun! They had all this food that I don’t eat (sausage)
It smelled sooooo good! I brought extra home for Joe.
I’m sure you are enjoying this time of year being that it is your favorite too. Take care my friend. Hugs. Xo