Cousins!

There was, of course,

 another bit of cuteness present for the day.

Daniela knew from the beginning 

 that this cool dude was to be adored,

 and by the end of the afternoon, 

 the feelings were mutual.

With delight that contagious,

 the rest of us had to get in on it too.

It's not often that we get to be all together,

but whether we were cousins, siblings, aunts and uncles,

a parent or a grandparent,

we all were pretty glad.

Let's have a Princess Party

And then, because I always leave town the morning after I throw a cottage party, there was a princess party I had to get to,

 to celebrate a special little girl.

 Gathering with all of her fairy tale friends,

 Princess Daniela flitted her way

 from treat to treat,

 all while attending elegantly to

her adoring public.

 This sweet four year old

 delighted us with her dance moves

 despite the weight of her crown,

 and gave her family an opportunity

to eat some good food

and spend some quality time.

Perhaps the most surprising moment of the day

 was when I discovered the still-in-existence of this childhood memory,

 which--upon thorough investigation--

 appears to have belonged to Keith.

At the end of the day,

if this girl questions whether or not she is loved,

 she doesn't have to look 

 any farther than this.

But my guess is that the question will never cross her mind.

Let's have a Cottage Party

Sitting out in my delicious yard 

as Spring was springing on its way, 

I thought:

1) Don't you think this pond needs some lights?

and

2) Our one year anniversary is coming up...!!

There needs to be a party, in which to celebrate my love.

So this week I bribed Kyra with dinner,

and we tackled string upon string,

 and obstacle after obstacle

[with a high amount of hilarity]

until,

Voila!

Beauty,

and quite a bit

 of extreme delight.

My yard was party ready,

just in time for the arrival of my celebratory friends.

My dearest ones

 gathered for appetizers

 and [what I have determined is] the "house drink" of this sweet place,

 helpfully prepared by this drink master.

The night was rainy,

 so we scattered about,

with plenty to do and talk about

 until dinner was ready.

When the fajita bar was ready to go,

so--hooray!--was the rain,

 so we wandered outside 

 and were glad for some tree cover when it decided to return.

Eventually the rain won, 

but inside was just fine with us.

 We entertained ourselves,

 and spent the rest of the night laughing together in my living room.

And when all was said and done, I thought:

No better way to celebrate than spending time

in all the charming spaces this cottage has to give.

Best Cottage Party of the Year!

Until the next one, that is.