My mom

This is my mom. She taught me how to fold towels properly, how to iron a mens shirt, how to make her famous potato salad and so much more. My love for keeping a home and entertaining comes from her. We always had the best birthday parties, happy thursday gifts and holidays. She was there to see me in my recitals and graduations. She is an amazing woman. I am so glad she is my mom. 

Here is an awesome picture of her in 1964. 

visiting Bend, Oregon

Took a little road trip. Me and little Toby. Left Ramon with the girls and headed to Bend, Oregon to see my mom. This was my first long drive ever by myself. Grabbed some Cornnuts (my go to road trip snack), cranked up the tunes and hit the road. It was an awesome drive both ways - warm and clear. I love driving over the mountain - so pretty this time of year.

My main goal while there was to help my mom clean out her garage and get organized. Mission accomplished. I think she went from 20 some boxes to 4. And was inspired to work on some other projects at hand once I left. The two of us are quite a team and can move mountains.

The worst part about the trip was the mosquitos. They are having the biggest infestation in years - I was bitten just walking from the car to the house. And I have the sweet blood they love - I was bitten so much as a kid. They were like zombie mosquitos - circling the house waiting for us to come out. It took us 4 stops to find some herbal pest spray that could go on the yard and garden - and it actually was helpful.

Some of the other highlights of the trip were the deer hanging around the house. A mom and her two babies and a little buck out on his own.

We also had salads with fresh greens from her garden and picked up several flats of Marion Berries just before they went out of season. I made a crumble and it was oh so good.

My mom also helped me finish up my Save the Dates and get them in the mail - we are officially 6 months out - so exciting. My next post will highlight the save the date and the process we went through to make them .

Sparrow Bakery - Bend, Oregon

Mr. Ramon and I took a long weekend to go to Bend, Oregon. This is where I grew up through the age of 14 before moving to Southern California. My mom and her husband moved back to Bend two years ago. They have 3/4 of an acre in unincorporated Bend - fully fenced the pups could run safely in their own personal dog park.

I love visiting Bend - so much of it is the same from my childhood and so much is new and bigger. It has a small town feel and nature is so close at hand. Mr. Ramon spent the weekend golfing, fishing and eating. I spent time with mom antiquing, completing decorating projects and eating.

I wanted to find a great bakery while I was there and share it with all of you. Sparrow is a hidden gem in Bend. The cafe is only part of the picture - Micah the owners passion lies with bread - and about a year ago he opened Bread LaVoy on 3rd street in an old donut shop that I remember fondly as a child. His bread is mostly wholesaled - but at the 3rd street location you can pick up a fresh loaf.

The four of us had a great lunch at Sparrow.  I loved the building immediately with its old brick and charming decor.





I had heard about their hand folded croissants - and had to try them. I am not a huge croissant fan as they seem airy and flakey and a bit boring. These were amazing - heavy and loaded with butter - perfectly crisp and browned on the outside with a moist and chewy center with layer and layers of dough.

My mom and her husband had the soup de jour which was cream of mushroom. They shared the croissant.

Mr Ramon had the Sparrow version of a Monte Cristo sandwich and I had the tuna melt - both yummy!

Here are some other goodies from their case - they all look amazing.

If you find yourself visiting or driving through Bend - stop by Sparrow - you won't be sorry!!