End of the Month Update

I seem to be surviving the last two weeks of my training at Pottery Barn's Care Center. I'm just proud of myself that I haven't given up. The learning curve for me has been pretty steep this last couple of weeks. I have had a couple of meltdowns (crying jags), but it comforts me to know that some of my co-workers have felt the same way. Seriously, my brain hasn't worked this hard in years. Well, they say that learning new skills helps to keep you young. I'm counting on it, believe you me!

I've changed my daily routines completely. I was never an early morning person and now I get up at six every morning. I used to go to bed at midnight or later, and now I'm out like a light by nine o'clock. I'm just a half an hour away from turning into a pumpkin as I write this update.

My grandson turned eight this week and I didn't even have the energy to post about that, but at least I was able to celebrate with him on a trip to the bowling alley. Where has the time gone?

Mostly I am missing my lunches out with the girls, but all in all, I'm enjoying the challenge of learning something new, a.k.a. the computer program Pottery Barn uses.

This weekend is the first weekend I don't have to work on the rental that my husband and I have been working on for the past month, because it's finished, hallelujah! I'll probably post the pictures on Monday.

I'm looking forward to sleeping in and who knows, maybe even having lunch with my girlfriends.

First Day Working at the Pottery Barn Care Center

As alot of you know, I started my new job at the Pottery Barn Care Center today. The woman pointing her finger at me was our trainer. Let's just say I didn't get off to the best start. I thought I was there in plenty of time, only to find out that I was suppose to be at work at 8a.m. and I thought I was suppose to be there at 9a.m. I got teased and probably will never live it down, but management was very good natured about it. The whole atmosphere was very low key and relaxed. Thank God! What can I say? I was born a blonde and, though, I now get my blonde out of a bottle, once a blonde always a blonde. L.O.L. I hope I don't offend any blondes out there in the blogging world. I'm really only making fun of myself. Self deprecating humor has always been my strong suit.
Since the house Mr. Honey and I bought as a rental is still not finished, I'm off to put my painting clothes on to finish painting the powder room. I find myself wanting to decorate the house for the renters out of the Pottery Barn catalog, but I must control myself. He, he!

Tired and Hungry

It's Saturday and I've been working in a frenzied like manner. A while back I posted about a house my husband and I bought as an investment, right before he lost his job. We have rented it (hallelujah) to a young man who will be the youth pastor at the local Presbyterian church. He will be getting married in August, but he will move into our little house on May 1. It's getting down to the wire and we still have so much left to do. Anyway, I have been painting until my arms and hands are literally tingling with numbness. In fact, my whole body is aching. What I need is a hot bath, but I'm hungry and Mr. Honey has made a trip to Chipolte to get us some dinner. Thank God for that man, as he takes very good care of me! It's almost 8 o'clock in the evening. I don't even have any new pictures to show you how the house is coming along. I certainly wouldn't want you to see what I look like when I'm painting, and hot, and dirty, and tired! The house is really coming along quite nicely though, it's really shaping up! Tomorrow Mr. Honey will try and put beadboard up in the bathroom and then I will do more painting. Stay tuned, because when it is all finished and is nice and clean, I will post another photo or two.

Lisa Leonard Designs: A Jewelery Giveaway

Kimba over at a Soft Place to Land shared this fabulous giveaway on her blog. It's not too late to get in on this special giveaway. Click here for more information on how to join in.

Lisa Leonard's jewelery is so special and with Mother's Day coming up I think anyone could find something special for their Mom, Grandmother, daughter or friend. It's even better if you win the giveaway. She will announce the winner on Monday April 20th, so there's still a little time left to enter your name.

Foodie Fridays - April Celebrations

It's Foodie Friday again at Designs by Gollum. Be sure and click here if you would like to participate. Be sure and drop by and see what everyone is cooking up!

My normal Wednesday or sometimes Thursday includes lunch with my girlfriends. Today was a special lunch, because we girls had a lot to celebrate. Usually we go out to lunch, but because this week was so special, one of my girlfriends decided to host the lunch in her beautiful home. When we entered my friend DeeAnn's home we were greeted by a pair of adorable bunnies left there from Easter.

The entryway was dressed with flowers in honor of our celebratory luncheon.

Even the kitchen counter had a bouquet of fresh sunflowers to greet us.

It was our friend Jan's birthday April 17th, and what would a birthday celebration be without cake? Of course we couldn't celebrate without cookies either. Oh girls, I'm just getting started.

Our friend Nancy whose eldest son just had his first baby on April 9th brought cupcakes to celebrate the occassion. The cupcakes were from a darling bakery called Give Me Some Sugar!

I don't know why I forgot to take a picture of the salad, because it was delicious! DeeAnn found the most wonderful peanut dressing at Trader Joe's.

I don't know how DeeAnn prepared this bread but it was heavenly! If I had been alone I think I could have finished off the entire basket by myself.

This was the salsa and chips that we started off with. Yummy! The watermelon below was as delicious as it was pretty. I just love the boat shapped bowl that it was served in.

This is a photo of our dear hostess DeeAnn.

Look how pretty she set the table. The flatware is from Pottery Barn. My girlfriends are all so excited that I start working for PB this coming Monday.

I brought little gifts too. The little note pads had each ladies initials on the front and there were notes and a pen as well. They were by Laura Ashley and I picked them up at Michael's Craft Store out of their dollar bins, shh, don't tell.
My photos don't do DeeAnn's garden justice, but trust me it was so totally lovely to share the afternoon with good friends in this beautiful space!

Here's a photo of Jan, our birthday girl. The fabric on this chair looks like it was made to go with Jan's beautiful top.

Happy Birthday To My Daughter And To The Winner of my 100th Post Giveaway.

Today is my eldest daugthers birthday, so I thought it would be most appropriate to let her have the job of picking the winner of my 100th Post Giveaway. She is the one who got me started on my blogging journey to begin with. Without all of her help and encouragement I don't know that I would have had the courage to get started. Happy Birthday my darling daughter! I put all the numbers of the participants on little sheets of paper, put them in a bowl, and let Amanda pick. She chose A Southern Belle Dishes on Decor as the winner. Congratulations! Thanks to all of you who particiapated! I enjoy all of your blogs and appreciate so much all the encouragement I've received over the last year from all of my fellow bloggers.

Lola B's Having a 200th Post Celebration Giveaway

Have you ever been to Lola B's? She has a fabulous blog. She is celebrating her 200th post with a giveaway and a garden party, so if you've never visited before click here and don't miss out!

Don't for get my 100th post giveaway. Click here for that. Good luck everyone!

My 100th Post and I'm Doing the Happy Dance!

Let's eat cake and do a happy dance!

This is my 100th post and I have good news to tell all of my blogging friends! I got the job at Pottery Barn! I actually laughed, when the man that offered me the job, called and said he wanted to offer me a job. I said to him, " Really? I thought I flubbed that test up". He giggled and said, "Really, would you like to work part time or full time?". I immediately said, "why full time please." I start training on April 20th. Thanks, to everyone out in blogland, for all of your well wishes!

Don't forget to click here and leave me a comment if you want a chance at winning my 100th Post Giveaway. Good luck to all of my darling new friends out in blogland!

I Love Paris

This the first ever Sunday Favorites created by Chari at Happy to Design. We have a chance to repost a favorite post. Please visit Chari for more detail and a chance to participate.
For my first redo I am posting my I Love Paris post. I hope you enjoy it as much as the first time I posted.
This was a very exciting week in Paris. I think we got the last two seats on a flight from London to Paris the week of the World Cup. England's team unexpectedly won the game that sent them to Paris for the playoffs, so thousands of Brit's converged to celebrate their chance at the World Cup.

There were what seemed to be a never ending flow of beer and good cheer the morning of the event. As you can see in the first photo there is a rugby ball hanging from the Eiffel Tower. You see a South African fan in the photo above graciously posing for my photo.

Below you see the Brits put on quite a show for us exhibiting their team spirit.

I am standing in front of a famous Mariage Freres tea house in Paris where my friend Sybil Kretzmer and I enjoyed a most wonderful afternoon of tea. If you are ever in Paris you must go. You can look online at http://www.mariagefreres.com/ , you will be so glad you did.

The photo below I am standing in from of Notre Dame where Sybil, my friend Sue Benham and I listened to a fabulous organ concert in the afternoon.

My dear friend Sybil is standing in front of an apartment building directly across the street from Nortre Dame, where we had been invited to have tea with her friend Lynn Kelley.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding L' Arc de Triomphe because members of Green Peace were hanging a banner from the top in protest of genetically modified foods. Police had the Arc surrounded ready to arrest the protestors, but the people in the streets were clapping and celebrating the Green Peace efforts.

This photo was taken when Sue and Sybil and I were browsing the Paris street market and I came across this lovely St. Patty's Day tablecloth. You have probably already seen my tablescape where I use this very tablecloth. If you haven't click here.

Well, this was my little trip down memory lane. I will never forget this trip and maybe with some Irish luck I may have a chance to return to this splendid city one day.

The Thirty Third Tablescape Thrusday-Lonely Wives Luncheon

It's time for another Tablescape Thursday and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is our gracious hostess. Be sure and visit Susan and check out the list of the other bloggers that participate and join in the fun yourself. Susan will explain how.

My niece lives in Germany with her husband and her three darling children. Her husband is in the military and like all military men he is very often deployed to other places and not home for many months at a time, so my niece, being the darling that she is, decided to get some of the other military wives, whose husbands are also away months at a time, together for a "lonely wives luncheon". You get the drift. Anyway, when I heard she was going to have this luncheon, I decided to send her some dishes that I had used for luncheons with my girlfriends and thought it would be a good time to pass them on, to be enjoyed by my niece and her friends. The flowers you see above were used for her centerpiece. Aren't they fabulous? I love all the colors.

The plates came in boxes of fours and each plate was a different color and had different scenes and phrases on them. The plate above says, I'm worth it. Others phrases said things like- All in a days work, etc., very appropriate for women whose husbands are serving our country. These women have made sacrafices too.

Look how beautifully my niece set the table. If you click on the photo you will see her spring Easter eggs hanging from her chandelier. At each place setting there was a little frame with a Bible verse for encouragement for each guest.

***If you want to be included in my 100th post giveaway click here and leave a comment. Good Luck! I will announce the winner on my daughter's birthday April 14th.

Blue Monday April 6,2009 A Belated Happy Birthday to Lady Katherine and my Cousin Jill

It's Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's and I've gotten a very late start! If you're getting a late start too join in here, and then maybe I won't feel so bad. L.O.L.

This is also a belated Happy Birthday tea for Lady Katherine and to my cousin Jill whose birthday I also missed. "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date", what else can I say? I hope Lady Katherine and my cousin Jill celebrate their birthdays all month long! Care for tea and birthday strawberries? They are quite delicious! Notice that the new Artful Blogging magazine just happens to be blue for the occasion. The teapot once belonged to my sister and the blue and white dishes to my mother, who are celebrating with us from heaven. If you drink too much tea please feel free to use my very blue powder room.

I purchased a new dress form, shown below, to hang my jewelery on. I just love it. It was a bargain at the Home Goods store.

I decided to put my Eiffel Tower on the other side of the sink to balance out the black wire dress form that you see below. I love it in here.

Just in case you're wondering that bowl on the counter is for my cat's water. She only likes the freshest, cleanest water.

I purchased a new dress form, shown above, to hang my jewelery on. I just love it. It was a bargain at the Home Goods store.
I hope you all have a week full of nice surprises and unexpected blessings!

I'm a Nada Farm Chick

I've joined Nada Farm's Chicks . If you've never visited Nada Farm Life you really must. She's" a faith-filled, freedom fighting, tree huggin, market shoppin, idea seein, people lovin, animal kissin, life giving, dirt digger". Those are her words and I like her!

I've moved the giveaway on my blog to announcing on April 14th, instead of the 20th. Don't miss out.

100th Post Giveaway-Paris Style Plates and Mugs

I can hardly believe I have almost reached my 100th post! A huge thank you to all of you who read my blog and have given me so much encouragement to keep at it! In honor of my blog anniversary, just four posts away, I decided to give away some dessert plates and mugs like the ones I used on a previous post, click here. These dishes have a decidedly Parisian theme. All you have to do is leave me a comment, and if you are not already following my blog, just add me to your list of blogs that you already follow. I will post the winner on April 14th, my daughter's birthday. Good luck !

Lunch Out For Foodie Friday

It's Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum so click here if you want to get in on the action!

This week for Foodie Friday I went out for lunch at our local Raquet Club. Spring has sprung in my town and the results are evident in this profuse exhibition of lovely yellow roses. This was the backdrop for my lunch with my lady friends. Can you think of a better backdrop for girl talk? We all ordered the same thing for lunch, taco salads with dressing on the side. The only exception was that two of us had Bob Lynns (a lovely drink named after the tennis pro of the club) to drink, and two of us had diet cokes. My friends declined on having their photos taken. Boo!hoo!

We do lunch once a week with hardly an exception. I look forward to this lunch every week, but since my husband got laid off, I need my girl time even more. There is something soooo therapeutic about women sharing their lives. We could really talk for hours, but this particular week I had to get to a job interview at 2:00. I was so glad to sit in the beautiful sunshine and get myself relaxed before the interview. Of course women know how to cheer each other on and I really appreciate that. I made it through my interview and will take a computer test next Wednesday to see if I get the job. I hope my gals will be able to go to lunch next week too, because I hate tests and I'm really going to need their support on that day. I'll get my hair done that morning, and you know how when you have a good hair day everything seems to go better.
This taco salad was absolutely a perfect Foodie Friday treat!!

Tablescape Thursday April 2, '09

It's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. Susan is our gracious hostess, so, if you have never visited Susan you can click here to join in on the fun.

I love hydrangeas, and I love this butterfly pot, that once belonged to my mother. This arrangement helps to Springify my living room.

My daughter received this beautiful china as a wedding gift. It is Pastorale by Royal Worcester. It is very lovely and definitely a Spring delight. It is on loan to me, temporarily, so that I can share it with you. I tried two different centerpieces. The one you see in the picutures above and below are silk hydrangeas. You may recognize the napkin from my St. Patty's Day post. They were purchased along with a tablecloth which matches, also on the St. Patty's Day post.

Then I decided to see what it would look like with my bunny cookie jar. I think the bunny cookie jar will be a favorite of my grandsons for obvious reasons and yes I will have to fill it with cookies!

What do you think? Do you have a preference?

You can see that these dishes are from England.
P.S. Some of you know that I applied for a job with Pottery Barn. I made it through the interview portion and I will be taking a test next Wednesday to see if I will be hired.