Jacksonville Mini Break

It's so nice to get away for a little while, especially when the trip includes time with a darling daughter. We got up early Saturday morning and drove to Jacksonville to visit Lucy and see the FSU-Colorado game. How lucky are we that just when Lucy starts school there, FSU schedules a game in Jacksonville at Alltell stadium! Last year it was Alabama, this year Colorado.
Jacksonville is a beautiful city with the St. John's river running through it and of course the Atlantic Ocean on the east side to make it breezy and cool.............just right for football.
We like to park on the south side of the river and take a river taxi over to the game. Then you can get dropped of at Charthouse, Ruth Chris, or a couple of other terrific restaurants on the way back. We ate at the Charthouse and had a great view of the skyline all lit up.
University of North Florida is one of the best kept secrets of the University system in Florida.The classes are strictly limited in size and only taught by professors. The campus is on 1300 acres of land with only 150 of it developed, so it's very compact and beautifully landscaped. There are miles of trails through the forests and wetlands to explore and run on or just pick out a bench and enjoy the view.

I Do?

The marriage proposal has become an opportunity for some big time romance. It's the stuff movies are made of and young girls dream about. How many romance novels feature a sweet proposal scene followed by marital bliss? The possibilities are endless for romantic proposals: there's meeting on top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. Or a fabulous surprise weekend in Paris.
The beach at sunset is a popular choice as is the scoreboard during the BIG game for asking that all important question.
All brides remember that special day when their sweetheart popped the question. Here's a story from Florida (state motto: It's not like where you live) that tells what happened when a man asked his beloved to marry him.

Movie Night Ghost Town

Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, and Tea Leoni is not a horror flick. That's what I had to tell my friend when I asked her to go see it. She said,"I don't do horror." Perfect, I told her, it's a romantic comedy heavy on the comedy with a healthy dose of redemption thrown in. Three of us went to see Ghost Town on Friday and laughed til we cried. The banter between Gervais and Kinnear is hilarious and it makes you wonder how they got through a scene without cracking up.
Ricky Gervais plays Dr. Bertram Pincus, a dentist living in Manhattan who can't stand talking to or being around people. The day he goes in the hospital for a colonoscopy his life changes dramatically. Kristen Wiig as his surgeon is very funny with lots of tongue in cheek lines coming from her character.
The dentist has to come to terms with some long buried issues he thought he'd never have to dig up again. As I said, this is a redemption tale but watch out for the twist at the end. This is only the second time I've seen a movie audience applaud at the end, so I guess everyone enjoyed it as much as we did.
Can I pre order the DVD yet? The outtakes on this movie are going to be priceless.

When In Doubt, Include Pink

It's been so hard trying to figure out what to put in the new China cabinet.........kind of like staring at a blank piece of paper ( or screen) and not knowing what to write.

Should I go seasonal and put in the gold plates and some pumpkins? No, too predictable. How about all white? Ummm.....too boring. All of one pattern? Really boring! But one thing I've learned from all the Pink Saturdays.........
throw in a little pink.
It works.Ppsst!

That pretty, pretty princess box is a little SURPRISE for next week.

ssshhh.....keep it under your hat.

And now, please visit Beverly for lots more Pink Saturday.

A Place For Everything...........

China! It's everywhere! Purchased china. Inherited china. Gifted china.
China stuffed into every available space. There were grand plans to build a cabinet in the perfectly placed niche in the dining room, but that keeps getting railroaded by things like college and hospital bills.
So the light bulb went off that maybe we should just find a deal on an old china cabinet...........maybe on craig's list! There are always people moving and getting rid of everything in their house, so maybe one of them has just the right china cabinet at just the right price. And there was.

Taa-daa! Here it is!
The nicest people had this one and were moving to Sonoma County, California to grow olives. They are clearing out and guess who was happy to get their cast offs. Now, I don't want to say what I paid for it, but let's just say it was less than a trip to the grocery store.

UPDATE:

Kari and Kijsa are having a sharing day and they want everyone to show a special spot in their home.

My style is mostly traditional, but I like to throw in something unexpected. The most cherished pieces are the ones passed to me from family, like the mirror and the plates on the tea server in the niche picture above. They were my great-grandmother's and it reminds me of her sweet smile every time I see them.

No Kitchen Should Be Without Flames

Here's the latest thing in kitchen must haves......flames for your mixer.
















Customize the boring old white mixer just like your motorcycle.


















If you're more of a purple person, there are flames for you, too.













Flames not your thing......here are cow spots for the well-equiped country kitchen.



















Shabby chic lovers....and you know who you are.......there's even a decal kit for you. Beautiful pink roses.....this guy thought of everything.














And I mean everything......do you have dreams of being a fighter pilot while making cakes in your kitchen? Dream no more! Live the dream with this shark jet decal set.

If your boring kitchen has kept you from making chocolate chip cookies for your hubby, you can't use that excuse anymore. All these decals and more can be purchased on Ebay and Amazon. Run, don't walk, and get yours NOW!

Pink Wedding

Welcome Pinkettes!
It's every little girl's dream........Wedding Day.





How about a PINK wedding day?


Pink gingham for the pink bride.



Short and sweet pink.

Fluffy pink ruffles look like cotton candy.

Not sure what's going on here.....is she supposed to be Eve?

A Hello Kitty fan's idea of the perfect wedding dress.


An Elizabethan gown for a fairy tale wedding. And isn't that the little girl's dream...............a fairy tale wedding.

Thanks for visiting on Pink Saturday.........and now back to Beverly.

All cakes from The Cake Shoppe.

Tongue Tied

With so much going on in weather, politics, sports, etc. you wouldn't think I'd be tongue tied, but my first instinct lately is to keep my mouth shut. My job has been to keep peace, make my home a restful and happy place, and keep everyone fed.

Oh sure, I'm upset about Tom "Terrific" Brady being out for the season and I'm nervous about the Tampa Bay Rays staying in first place through this tough road trip, but I just don't feel like chatting about it. When I watch the Rays I have to remind myself to breath and it's tricky talking when you're not breathing. Stop leaving so many runners on base guys! Who can possibly block out the political scene.......it's everywhere! I used to get very emotional about politics, but that wasn't good for my blood pressure. Can you believe that the top news story has to do with lipstick
and pigs and we're talking about the United States presidential race? What would the founding fathers think? I'm pretty sure they would not be pleased. The best way for me to handle it is ignore all the petty stuff and just vote in November.

And as for weather, well the "cone of uncertainty" the weather fellas have been using to show us they really don't know what's going to happen has given me more than a few giggles this hurricane season. Cone Of Uncertainty?! Sounds like something in a Batman movie. Tampa has been right smack in the center of the Cone Of Uncertainty for every hurricane that has come across the Atlantic from Africa, but ultimately we've been spared any destruction. The worst thing that happened was our lights flickered one afternoon and a few blooms fell off the white crape myrtles.

Anyway, as you can see, I'm having a terrible time expressing myself. Sometimes I'm just as quiet as a mouse and can't think of a single thing to say. (Sighhhh...............hee hee!)

Viewer profile

We use Netflix to rent DVDs. If you aren't familiar with it, they make suggestions for you based on what you tell them you like. Whenever I check the recommended list or "Movies you'll love" I'm baffled. Do they really think I'll love Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour Uncensored? I caught about two minutes of this guy on Comedy Central once and felt like I'd been assaulted by Bozo on crack. They also think I'll love Hustle:the story of five con artists plying their trade of theft and deception across the UK. The cover shows five unlikely British actors who look like they ply the trade of making commercials. Then there's Crimes And Misdemeanors which should actually be titled Annie Hall VI because they describe this flick as "a fascinating tapestry of interwoven relationships played against a Manhattan setting." No offense Woody but enough's enough. You really should get out more. So what's in my queue, you may ask. Well, there are more television shows than anything, surprisingly enough. There's A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, Extras, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Upstairs,Downstairs for starters. Someone else in the family has asked for Duchess Of Duke Street and The Long Way Around. We've already rented all of Arrested Development. Both versions of the Office have darkened our door, too. Remember when people looked down their nose at TV shows as the lowest form of entertainment? It's beginning to look like the tables have turned.

A Success Story

There's a button on my sidebar you may have noticed...............
Let me tell you their story. David and Nique Mealey married last fall here in Tampa. In addition to being in love with each other, they share a love of golf and great food, so they put their heads together and came up with this great business idea.....Back 9 BBQ.
David found a fantastic cooker on wheels that looks like a miniature tractor trailer and he can tow it anywhere behind his truck. Their plan was to cater sporting and family events with yummy homemade favorites like barbeque ribs, potato salad, and sweet tea.
Then in a flash of brilliance, Nique and David decided to take some samples of their food to a local radio host. His show is broadcast on satellite radio so people all over the country heard him raving about Back 9 BBQ's fabulous Buffalo Chicken Dip.
Immediately they started getting emails from California, New York and all points in between to ship the dip. It is the best stuff you ever put in your mouth and it's available now from their website. If you think you'd like to try it, Nique and David sell it in 16 and 32 ounce containers for a very reasonable price. Every tailgate party should have some Buffalo Chicken Dip.

On The Move

The dining room returned today. All the crafting stuff that's been loaded on the table and floor and buffet got moved out of there and lo and behold.......the dining room lives!
Since Lucy went back to school, it freed up a bit of space in her room (don't tell her!), so I set up a table by the window and hauled all the stuff up there.It may take a few days to get it organized, but I've got my space carved out.

Just call me a nomad crafter setting up wherever I can find a spot.

Now, believe it or not, Fall is on the way. You can officially bring out pumpkins, gourds, pine cones, and colorful leaves and not feel like you're jumping the gun.

It's alright to switch out the summer brights for fall heathers and put the wool rugs back on the floor.

You're even okay to put some Fall color on your front porch.
Even if the thermometer doesn't say so, we can change the season.

Wearing White After Labor Day

DON'T DO IT!!
That's what my mind screams every time I consider wearing a summer outfit or using a straw purse in mid-September. Of course it's 95 degrees outside, palm trees are waving in the breeze and my brain is instructing me to get out the tweed and flannel. I can't shake it even after living in vacationland for 20+ years. It's in my blood. There are favorite sweaters from long ago still imprinted on my memory.
And look at the yummy stuff Nordstroms has already put on their shelves!


And THESE...........

I don't care what Kathy Ireland says.....WHITE is going to have to wait until Easter.