Rod Confronts Melanie (.Video)

I've been ticked with Melanie the past day or so.  Because of her antics, I had to do an unplanned video.  Doesn't she know I have a lot to do with this wedding coming up?  Anyway, this is the best I can do under the circumstances.  Her office is a tad bit incomplete.  I would have had her shelf a little more stocked had I known this was coming.

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Trouble in Paradise (New Video)

Wow, I got this video done in record time.  On top of that, I uploaded it from my former real estate office and it took all of 2 minutes to download versus the normal 2 hours.  Needless to say, I was more than elated.  I can now spend the rest of the weekend catching up.  Hope you enjoy!

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Rod and Danielle Sample Cakes

In the previous post I introduced the Morettis.  This is the tasting room of Amore, Penelope's bakery. She being of Spanish descent and her husband of Italian descent, they thought the name Amore, meaning love, was perfect.  The Spanish word for love is amor and the Italian word is amore.  Everything she bakes and everything they do, they try to do with love.

"Hello, hello.  Come in.  I was just about to turn on the coffee.  Hello Adele.  This must be the happy couple."  (Penelope)

"Hi, Penelope. Yes, this is Roderick and Danielle." (Adele)

"So nice to meet you two.  Congratulations!  Well come in and have a seat.  Let me run and get your file." (Penelope)

"Okay. I must say you have a wonderful wedding planner.  She is very thorough and a pleasure to work with."  (Penelope)

"She has been my lifesaver through this whole process." (Danielle)

"Based on the conversations Adele and I had, I selected four different flavors for you to choose from.  Today, we just need to decide which flavor or flavors you want incorporated into your cake.  So if there aren't any questions, I will run and get the cakes." (Penelope)

"I hope you guys brought your appetites with you." (Penelope)

"Oh my.  I think I just gained a pound."  (Danielle)

"Adele are you sure you only want to sample the one piece?" (Danielle)

"I am very sure.  I can't fit into my clothes as it is." (Adele)

"So what I prepared are four different cakes.  We have what I call strawberry shortcake.  This is regular yellow cake with a strawberry jam filling and white icing that is light and fluffy like cool whip, but it won't melt like cool whip.  Next is the traditional marbled cake, with a secret ingredient.  This can come with a layer of chocolate icing just under the traditional white icing.  Third we have the red velvet cake, which can be a crowd pleaser.  Last but not least I added German chocolate cake.  This is not your traditional wedding cake, but I know it's a favorite of Rod's"  (Penelope)

"Ok honey.  What do you want to taste first?" (Rod)

"That red velvet is calling my name." (Danielle)

 ..

"Hmmm.  That is incredible.  Try some and tell me what you think." (Danielle)

Meanwhile, little Sydney has become a little impatient.

"Sydney Marie!" (Adele in her stern voice)

"What do you think you are doing?" (Adele)

Rod and Danielle are happily continuing with the taste testing.  It might be harder than they originally thought to choose the perfect cake.

"Honey, you have a little chocolate on your face." (Danielle)

"Well what are you waiting for.  Take it off." (Rod)

"Might not be safe for me to do that.  You better use your napkin." (Danielle)

"Hmmm.  You are probably right." (Rod)

"Did you think I wasn't going to give you any cake?  You little cake snatcher." (Adele)

"That is something my twins would do.  Say mommy, "I just couldn't wait,"" (Penelope, chuckling)

"I guess I should have known better.  Anything within their reach is fair game to them." (Adele)

"Did you say you had twins?" (Adele)

"Yes, two year olds, Lola and Lanzo. " (Penelope)

"I can't even imagine." (Adele)

Rod and Danielle are in their own little world.  I can't hear what they are saying.  I would like to think they are still talking about cake, but I doubt it.  I don't know what Penelope put in those cakes.  Maybe it's just all of that chocolate and sugar.

 

Penelope turns her attention back to Rod and Danielle and tries to help them make a decision. They end up selecting three, a different flavor on each layer.  The German chocolate cake did not make the wedding cake.  Don't worry.  It was so good, they bought one from her shop to take home with them.  Maybe Danielle will feel safer at home with Rod and the German chocolate cake. 

If you would like to enjoy your own piece of sample cake, you can find them in my Etsy store.  .  

Danielle Has Mailed Out the Wedding Invitations

Danielle recently finished the guest list and sent out the wedding invitations.  Adele talked her into putting together a little video to remind everyone how it all began.  Your wedding invitation is included.

Rod and Danielle's Love Affair

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Special thanks goes out to Charlis Foster for creating the beautiful wedding invitations and other wedding stationary.  She does regular wedding invitations, too, if anyone out there is getting married.  Contact information available upon request.

After The Bachelorette Party

"Rod, what are you doing here?!" (Danielle)
"I didn't know I needed a reason to be here." (Rod)
"You don't.  I just wasn't expecting you." (Danielle)

"I wanted to make sure my lady got home safe." (Rod)
"That's sweet of you.  Are you sure that's the only reason you are here?" (Danielle)
"Well, I also wanted to make sure you didn't bring home any leftovers." (Rod)
"If by leftovers, you mean men, I wouldn't have brought them here with my mom and the kids.  I would have gone to their place." (Danielle, smiling)

"Oh really?" (Rod)

"Wow!  I think I need to go away a little more often."  (Danielle)
"How much DID you have to drink tonight? (Rod)
"I'm going to check on my mother.  I shall return." (Danielle)
"Hurry back." (Rod)

"Mom, what are you still doing up? (Danielle)
"Hello sweetie.  You know I don't sleep well.  I'll take a few catnaps throughout the night and I will be fine.  How was the party?" (Mom)
"It was wonderful.  Leslie did a really good job.  I wish you would have come.  They would have enjoyed meeting you." (Danielle)
"My bachelorette party days are over.  But I can't wait to meet all of your friends." (Mom)
"Did the boys behave."  (Danielle)

"The boys were fine.  Jacob was a little fussy before bed, but he fell asleep pretty quickly.  And of course Julian was Mr. Helper." (Mom)
"Glad to hear it." (Danielle)
"And poor Rod was a wreck.  I don't know what he thought you were going to be doing at this party." (Mom)

"That's funny.  I must say those Salsa dancers were pretty caliente!  I don't think my hips will ever be the same after that."  (Danielle)
"Well you may not want to share that with your husband-to-be.  His imagination was already getting the best of him."  (Mom)

"Well goodnight, mom."  (Danielle)
"Goodnight sweetie."  (Mom)

A Bedroom, A Story, A Project and A House

This is Rod and Danielle's new bedroom.  It is just a mock up that I put together this morning.  So nothing is really completed.  I thought I would live with it for a moment to see if I like it.  So far, so good.  If you recall Danielle had a black and white toile bedroom.  They decided to remodel to make it a little more manly (but not much, as you can see).  The comforter still needs to be sewn, but first I have to find something wonderful to put on the other side.  I like making them reversible.  The other side will be more manly.  The headboard fabric is leather.  It's been waiting for me to do something with it.  The pillows will be finished.  The brown pillow I added is missing in action, but it will return.  We will discuss the lamp a little later.  Hanging on the wall is one of the pictures I got from the thrift store a couple of weeks ago.  It is perfect!  It is a tree which symbolizes growth.  As the Taylor and Harper family comes together, growing together as a family will be very important.

It's 5:30am and Danielle has been lying awake for about 10 mins.  She has a busy day ahead of her and even though she has the day off from work, she wanted to wake up early.

She is waking up alone, but she knows this will only be for a little while longer.  Rod stays over on occasion, but hasn't completely moved in yet.

She does get a little excited when she sees his house slippers sitting by the bed.  She intentionally leaves them peeking out so she can see them.

Rod did move his dresser in about a week ago.  A simple gesture to indicate what would soon be happening.

Danielle usually spends time in the morning reading her devotional bible.

She learned from her first marriage, that no matter how much you love your spouse, there are times when a little devotion goes a long way towards keeping your sanity.

Danielle can hear a noise just outside the door.  She knows it's Julian.
"Good morning, handsome."  (Danielle)
"Mornin' mommy.  Whatcha doing?" (Julian)
"Reading my bible.  Would you like to climb in?" (Danielle)

She barely got the words out before he was comfortably beside her.  She had to admit she would miss these special moments with her son once Rod moved in.  She would have to remember to go snuggle in his bed from time to time.

They chit chat a little about everything.  Danielle tries to keep a pulse on him when it comes to the wedding, Rod, and Nicole.  He seems to be really excited about it all, and she just wants to make sure he stays that way.  After about 20 minutes, Julian announces that he is hungry.

After checking in on Jacob, Danielle and Julian head downstairs for breakfast.

The sun is streaming into the kitchen. (That is real sun).
"So how about some oatmeal?" (Danielle)
"How about some cereal!" (Julian)
"You have eaten cereal for the past four days.  I think you should try something different today." (Danielle)
She is careful not to use the word healthy, even though she is trying to slowly introduce them to that concept.  It hasn't been well received, yet.  

"But mommy, I like cereal."  (Julian)
"I know you like cereal, but you can't live off of cereal. " (Danielle)
"Why not?"  (Julian)
Danielle knows this is going to be too long of a conversation and she has to get her day started.  She gives in and let's him have cereal.   Once it is done, it will be awhile before she buys more of the sugary kind.  He can't eat, what she doesn't buy.

I recently bought this material.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it.  The print is really too big to use for clothing.  

At the last minute, I cut out some placemats for the kids.  I think I will laminate them to make them spill proof.  I then got the idea to use the material for a shower curtain in the kid's bathroom.  That is the plan.  Let's see how long that project takes me.

Speaking of taking a long time to do a project..... When I bought these air freshener lamps from the Dollar Tree almost two years ago, I had some thing like this in mind.  Well today in a matter of ten minutes it was done.  The whole time I had these lamps, I thought the bottom part was glass.  No.  It's plastic.  LOL!  I cut out the bottom with an exacto knife; drained the remaining liquid out; removed the white piece in the center; cleaned it out, added the small shells Ms. Leo had me buy for the beach trip; and temporarily sealed the bottom with polymer clay.  I think you can forego cutting the bottom and remove the top piece.  For some reason, I couldn't remove the top.  Of course it came off after I cut out the bottom.  You can put in other things like sand, etc.  The plan is to make this a working lamp.  I am getting myself in the proper mindset to do that miniature house.

This is an overview of how Danielle's house is coming along.  I recently added the shelving which gave me a 2nd floor and storage on top.  Right next to the master bedroom is the unfinished master bathroom.  There is a lot more decorating to be done.  I am considering adding two windows in the bedroom.  I also started fiddling with adding stairs on the first floor.  My doll clothes are organized in the shoe boxes on  top.  This freed up a shelf in a bookcase I made, where I plan to build another dwelling.  I will be adding a similar shelving unit above the Taylor house for the master bedroom and Kenaz's bedroom.