Julian Stampcation!

Ohmygoodness! We had a blast! Seven Ruba Sistas went to Shady Acres Ranch in Julian for our annual Stampcation this past weekend!! It was amazing. What a beautiful location and incredible home we were able to rent.  Originally built in the 1900s, it use to be an Apple Packing Shed and has now been converted into a mountain guest house. It's actually between Santa Ysabel and Julian in Wynola. It's less than an hour from Poway so that was the best part... yet we felt like we were a million miles away!

We woke each morning to the rooster crowing, could almost smell the fresh apple pies being baked in Julian, listened to the crickets in the evenings, watched wild turkeys roam the grounds and even saw deer right outside our dining room window on Sunday morning...  

Here's a couple of photos of Shady Acres.

The kitchen dinette area where fresh apple nut bread was awaiting our arrival!

The living area and fireplace was amazing...
I'm sure a great spot for a nice winter night..

but for us, a central location to put all our supply boxes!!

We just loved the country rustic decor...
here's the adorable room that Wanda and Margie shared:

There was a breezeway right outside the back door where we had

our dinner snacks and celebrated birthdays!

All around the grounds were several areas you could sit and
relax and just breathe in the fresh country air.

I was just amazed at the beautiful antique furniture and decor,
so elegant yet made you feel right at home.

Here's the Master Suite where Ruth and Pam stayed.

Kendra and I were so tickled when we got there

we had to seize the moment!

We arrived on Friday by Noon and I think were settled and stamping by 1pm.. we didn't waste any time at all! Everyone had surprise gifts to share with each other... calendars, note pads, clip boards, decorated votive candles, handcrafted boxes filled with chocolates... and oh the food we all brought... from fudge covered Oreo cookies, to atomic balls, popcorn, licorice, chips and dips, crackers, pretzels, cookies, candy... and yes we had the other side of the menu... hard boiled eggs, veggies and dip, cheese sticks, yogurt, watermelon and cantaloupe, apples and bananas... we had it all !

Ruth took one minute out of our 24 hours of stamping to snap this

group photo of the California Rubba Sistas hard at work!

Pam Judee Kendra Wanda Gail Margie

And it was really sweet of Shady Acres to provide us with an Apple Nut Bread and Apple Cider. They even included two coupons for fresh Apple Pies from Mom's in Julian.. which we redeemed on our excursion into Julian on Saturday afternoon! The list of pies is like the scene in Forrest Gump where Bubba is listing the types of shrimp his family prepared... we've got Original Apple Pie, Crumb Cake Apple Pie, Natural Apple Pie, Berry Mountain Apple Pie, Tart Apple  Pie, Cinnamon Apple Pie, Nutty Apple Pie and on and on.... obviously Julian is known for their apples and tis the season in the Fall.

Here we are at the Julian Cafe enjoying lunch on Saturday.

We spent some time in a few of the shops in town

and  found a few treasures

... and of course redeemed our pie coupons!

We spent the entire weekend laughing... or crying tears from laughing so hard... but then we did spend a lot of time just getting to know each other deeper .. I'm so grateful to have spent this time with the girls. We all come from different backgrounds and life experiences, but that's what makes us Sista's and realize the blessing we have been given. I have no one else like them who have a genuine care for each other... there is not one ounce of competition or jealousy or intimidation... just pure friendship and care and concern.

Pam and Ruth... I love you for your incredible example of "sisterhood"...
that's what it's all about.



Wanda, your love for God and others is obvious.
Thank you for your faith, hope and love.

And the greatest of these is love.

Margie you are an incredible woman. 
Thank you for sharing your heart and your life with us.

We adore you.



Kendra I love your kindred spirit...
you seize life and live it to the full..

thank you for always reminding me that there's
no guarantee of tomorrow...

say what we have to say and do what we want to do now
before it's too late.

I love you.

Judee you complete me... really!
We are like twins... I love what you love, You love what I love.

And God knew we needed each other
so our paths crossed... and I am so grateful!

You're like my guardian angel watching out for me
~ hey,  is that a halo in your hair?

We loved it so much that we now want to plan

not just an annual Stampcation.. but bi-annual...

So watch out Shady Acres...

The Rubba Sistas will be back in the Spring!