Puppy adoption

After a very long break from blogging, (more on that later) I'de like to introduce you to our newest family member. 

This is Bently. He's a little bitty Maltese with the most adorable personality.  I've always said that I would never have another dog but, the truth is...I just couldn't pass him up. We actually adopted him from my daughter.  She thought it was the right time in her life for a puppy...well...she's at the ripe age of 22.  Need I say more.  She did love him to pieces but realized it wasn't fair to the puppy for her to be gone as much as she was so guess who stepped in for the rescue?  Yep, me!
I'm sure you'll be hearing more on him later.  He's too cute not to talk about, but for now, he's begging for my attention so until next time... Have a good night!

Family, Friends and VIP's

 Here it is Monday and only three more days til Thanksgiving.

A couple of days ago I landed in Austin, Texas to visit my daughter and my sister and family. I'm so thankful  for a good and safe trip here as well as the time that I get to spend with my family. 

Right away they had plans to get this visit going on a fun track.  We were invited to a party at Bob's Steakhouse downtown Austin.  I was told I needed to be dressed and ready to go as soon as I got off the plane...I about died.  I was prepared for the opposite.  I like to travel very comfortably...workout pants, tee-shirt and tenny shoes.  But this time was different...I did my best and then changed mostly in the car.  Can you imagine?  No, it really wasn't that bad. I was mostly ready so it worked out ok. 

 After picking my daughter up, we were off to the party.

This party was on the roof top patio...So amazing!  All around was tall sky scrapers with fabulous outdoor furniture and fire pits for each seating area.  The atmospher was perfect!

As the night progressed a few VIP's arrived.   Some of which were friends with the people who invited us.  Let me tell you who I got to meet....Drum roll please!  Ok, maybe that's a bit much.  But, the Governer of Texas, Rick Perry and his wife, Anita Perry were there and I got to meet Anita!  Such a beautiful lady and so very nice!  And then, guess who showed up?  Clay Walker!  I met and shook his hand...very nice guy!  He sang at the Formula 1 race on Sunday so I'm guessing that's why he was in town.  That was another exciting thing going on this weekend here...the race.  Their first race was a huge success! Go Texas!

So that leads to today.

My niece is coming home from college and we'll have dinner at PF Changs and call it a night.

With only three more days til Thanksgiving, I wish you all a blessed and happy pre- Thanksgiving!



For Everything A Season

Today, I posted the picture below on my personal facebook page. I wasn't sure the reactions that I would get but one comment I got was "it's not even Thanksgiving yet". Two things...Christmas is  my favorite time of the year.   I always start decorating for it around November 1.  First my largest tree gets dressed, then I start working throughout the month to put everything else up so that it's all done by the day after Thanksgiving. My thinking is, now I can really enjoy the Christmas season and not have the stress of decorating on top of shopping, wrapping, cooking and everything else that comes with this time of the year. The other thing is, I'll be traveling in and out during this time, so my home time is limited. I'm thinking...the pressure of all of that combined would totally be too much for me to handle and do it all in the few weeks before Christmas if I wait til after Thanksgiving. (now I'm whining) 

But that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Have you ever really thought about seasons? How they are arranged in just the right order. They are planned out so that each one sets the stage for the next one. I'm no farmer (just so you know) and I'm sure that there are different times to plow and plant for every kind of seed. But just to express my point, think about it this way...There's a time for plowing...Winter's end. A time for planting...Spring. A time for watering...Summer and a time for harvest...Fall.

So it is in our lives.

Each season prepares us for the next. It's what we do in each one of these seasons that puts us where we want to be in the final one. We want to make sure we do the right thing and keep a positive attitude with our eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel and in due season we will reap our harvest!

 This weekend I had a conversation with my eldest son about his job and what's going on in his life.  He explained to me that he was ready for added responsibility with his job but he's questioning whether his bosses will think he's ready for more right now.  My advise to him was to wait. 

• Wait for the right time and in the mean time keep doing what your suppose to be doing and prepare your proposal to them . (Now he's plowing.)
•  Present the proposal to them.  (Here he's planting the seeds.)
• Continue to do your job the best you can.  (He must water his seeds here)
• The final season...your harvest.  If you've done all that's right and kept your attitude good, you will see your harvest come to fruition.

My inspiration for this post comes from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  "There is a time for everything."

 

The seasons in our lives may not end up being a two month period or even a three month period.  Some may be shorter, some may be longer.  But always remember,  For everything there is a season.  

 

Two Leaves in a Cup and Being Thankful

I brought out my delicate white coffee cups that have 2 leaves positioned just inside the rim of the cup which is what I love most about these cups. It just adds a little bit more personality, I think. 



 With Fall upon us, these made the perfect setting for a quite morning breakfast.
 

Speaking of Fall, Thanksgiving is almost here, can you believe it? Sometimes I think this season gets skipped over really quickly. Take me for instance...I have always loved decorating for Christmas and I usually begin getting my trees out and start decorating the inside of the house around November first.  That way it's all done by the day after Thanksgiving and I can focus on shopping and enjoying the Christmas season.

 



 

But last night, I had to pause and take time to be thankful. Sometimes we I get so involved with day to day activities that being thankful takes a back seat. Maybe I should say it this way instead, while I am thankful, I don't verbalize it enough. And last night I became a little sentimental about the people in my life. 

You may not know that I work for a non-profit organization and am one of the managers there. Any-hoo, We had our annual volunteer appreciation dinner and it made me slow down enough to think. I remember almost five years ago when I took this job as a manager I knew nothing...I mean nothing about being a manager. So I read and read to see how I could be a really good one. I remember reading that when someone compliments you on how nice your store is, that you should always tell them that it's a group effort on every ones part. I thought yep, that's a good idea. The longer I stayed in this position the more that advise became a reality. I really do love and appreciate my staff and our volunteers are amazing people and if it weren't for them, we could not and would not be what we are today.



 

Having said all that, I think it's great to have a season that reminds us to be thankful but I hope that I for one, don't forget to be thankful everyday through out the year.

Hope you have a great weekend!

 



Washington....The Day Before

A few weeks ago I had the chance to visit Washington DC and was in awe of how clean and beautiful this city was.  Seeing all the American flags flying enhanced my feelings of being proud to be an American.   

We even got to see the President of the United States....well, sort of.  As we walked the city streets I kept noticing a helicopter flying over.  Policmen were on every corner I looked at.  A normal activity, I thought.  I mean, after all we are where the President lives.  We began to cross the street and all of the sudden the police were yelling at us and blowing whistles.  Hurry up, hurry up!  Quickly, we got to the other side of the street and asked what was going on?  The response was, oh the Presidents coming.  Sure enough there was his entourage.  We learned that as long as you didn't  step on the street you could take pictures etc.  So I grabbed my camera an started snapping.  Kinda cool huh?



 Yep, there he is!  To be honest alot of emotions were going through my head which I'll politly keep to myself.

As we moved along we saw so many beautiful settings.  My camera got alot of use this day. 

 We made it to the White House.  Such a beautiful setting!

 With election in one day,  I'm wondering who will take up residency here now?

 Some one recently said to me...have you ever thought about the pledge of Allegiance and why we pledge of allegiance to the flag instead of to our country? Something to think about??  Sorry,  started getting a little deep.

 Our nations capital.  I wish I had a better picture but this is the only one I got. The city was busy with lots of people and other activities going on the day we were there.

Here we are standing outside the Lincoln Memorial with a clear view of the Washington Monument.  If only that person had not been there, it would have been a better picture.  Oh well!

 This view is from the back side of the Lincoln Memorial building.  I'm so glad we decided to take a walk around the outside of the building,  we found this gorgeous view!

 Excercise?  We definitely got it this day.  We walked so many miles all over the city, never taking a bus or bike or nothing.  We did take a tram over to the city from Frederick MD but once in the city...a walking marathon!

We made it to the Veterans Memorial wall with all the names of our soldiers who gave their lives for our country.  What a site to see. 

 Talk about being humbled!

 At the end of the day, as the lights come on and darkness fell, we headed back to catch our tram and called it a day.

As this day ends...the day before the Presidential Election, I pray that the right man is elected to lead our country and make this his home for the next four years. 



Dressing Table or Maybe a Desk?

This weekend turned out to be the best weekend we've had so far this Fall.  The weather has been perfect which made it great to be outside working on refreshing a couple of furniture pieces like the one below.

  I've been trying to figure out how to balance my life with my new love of revitalizing furniture.  First there's work, then home life, dog, dinner, house, emails, pinterest...pinterest and pinterest.  Yep I'm addicted, and my blog just to name a few things that require my time.

  Maybe I'll figure it out one day. It's a good thing I'm an empty nester these days, I'd be up a creek if I had kids to take care of now. Something would have to give.  

I found each of these vintage furniture pieces at three different thrift stores. I knew the look I wanted to achieve so I held out until I found the ones I wanted. First came the table or maybe the chair, can't really remember, I've had them a while. Anyway then I found the mirror.  The shape of the table peeked my interest in the beginning and I was thinking...hall table?  But then as I began to really think about it, I thought it would be a darling dressing table, so that's the direction I went in.  However, if one needed a little writing desk, this would serve great as that too.

 

 

 Backtracking a little bit, the drawer pulls in the first photo give the table a definite personality which I love. I thought they were a perfect fit as well as the fabric. Then distressing... I just love that part! Just enough to make each furniture piece look a bit tattered and like it has been well loved.

I looked and looked for a mirror and this one caught my eye. I was afraid it was a little too small but it turned out to be a great size for this vignette.

 

 I'm so pleased with how it all turned out.
 Now, let's see what else I can get my little hands on.
 

I've created a project page so as I get more, you'll be able to take a peek here  

Have a great day!



Inspired by Twigs

 

I came across this picture the other day at Tiny Prints blog  and got a little inspired to make something with twigs. How hard could it be, I asked my self. Not hard at all. I started out looking for fallen branches in our yard  and found a few. Now I need a container.  OK, found one in the house.  Now, something to hold the branches in the basket...yes, I have a piece of Styrofoam.  Last but not least, something to put inside the container to hide all the work that went on to put it together and wa la, potpourri was just sitting there waiting to be put to good use.   Oh and a ribbon to tie the look all together.  And... it cost me nothing to make...nothing, notta, nope.  Love it when that happens.

 

Here's the finished product...

a cute little small Fall display basket.

Have a good night!