San Francisco International Gift Fair

Carl and I arrived in San Francisco on Friday in the pouring rain. I wish I had taken pictures of us when we finally checked in. We were soaked!

It has been a long four days. The show was much slower than we expected but we meet some great exhibitors, got some great feedback on our booth and got some good orders. Here are a few photos of our booth. Next time we will paint the walls and be sure to have more merchandise so our booth is packed with stuff.

We also updated my website--thanks to my wonderful friend Josephine. The website reflects what is being presented at these shows. You can download my catalogue to see exactly what we are selling.

I am now in the San Fran airport waiting to get on my red eye to New York. I will update the blog soon with photos from NY.

Until then....

Carl setting up the booth.

Diane in the booth on the first day...

The aprons got a great responce at the show!

Below is a photo of my pillow in a display that the buyers walked past to get to the show.

More to come....

Diane Gets Ready for the Big Show!

Diane continues to be busy preparing for her shows in San Francisco and New York. She'll be out of town for two weeks spending long days selling her textiles to store owners. She is four days away from her first show. Wish her luck!

Happy New Year ~ Italiano Style!

On New Year's Eve we spent a wonderful evening with our good friends, Aniello and Antonia. Aniello made some amazing seafood dishes--mussels, lobster, shrimp, scallops. Antonia provided dessert, noisemakers and sparklers. We added a couple bottels of our favorite Italian Champagne--Banfi rose.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

We launched on September 6th from Snohomish, Washington, for an evening hot air balloon ride. Our good friends Bonnie & Richard joined us. We started out with some fear but once we reached 1000 ft (305 m) the height didn't really matter. We had great scenic views of the valleys between the Cascade Mountains and the waters of the Puget Sound. We finished by landing in a field of horses.

We started in the evening near the town’s airport. All around us were ariplanes taking off, helicopters buzzing around and parachutes landing. We all helped blow up the balloon.




The balloon itself costs about $35,000!








Look how big this balloon is compared to the guy inside!








We leaned way out to get this photo (not really).








True love!

Whitewater Rafting at White Salmon near Hood River

We went whitewater rafting this past weekend with our friend Kate. It was an absolute blast! We have no photos from the actual rafting as it is advised to leave valuables in the car...not in the water. We did get some great photos of the area and of the wine tour we did the following day. It was a great weekend of relaxing and screaming:) Enjoy the photos...

A sign we saw during a bathroom break. We couldn't resist taking a photo.

This was taken from the car. Notice how close the water is and notice the wind surfers!
A cold drink after a day of rafting at the Walking Man Brewery.

Did we really go down a 14 foot waterfall a few hours ago?!

Steven and Diane at a winery near Hood River

Gorge White House had a wonderful Dahlia farm....
I am trying to figure out how to rotate this.....sorry

This was taken in the cabin we rented. The cabin was called the "Rooster Cabin". We thought Kates mom would love this photo!!!

We saw this on the drive home and couldn't resist!!

Madrona Tree

Our poor Madrona tree. Although the tree is dead and a bit haunting, it was sad to see it go.This was the last photo I had taken on Friday. They ended up cutting the large branch you see here. Now all that is left is a 20 foot trunk. They will come finish the job in a few days....hopefully.

Weekend in the mountains

This past weekend we went to the mountains with our friends David and Jane. Our dear friends, Bonnie and Richard, let us use their cabin for the weekend. We had a great time hanging out by the campfire getting to know one another. Here are a few photos from the weekend.

David made it across the roaring creek. When it was time to jump back he had a dilemma. He made it back fine with limited water in his shoes!

Steve contemplating life.

Diane and Jane taking a break from cooking and enjoying a beer while the men.....

enjoy a cigar by the fire.