It's here!

The call came before 8 a.m. this morning. The geek squad was on its way. We had the mount and cables, and they had the plasma set and everything else. We had a flawless installation and a friendly crew. Now we just need to learn how to switch it on!

The before ...

Our geek squad crew, Chris and Matt ...

Learning what button to push!

Finished and even found the Christmas music channel!!!
Merry Christmas!

New Television

We purchased our new TV yesterday from Best Buy - a 51" Panasonic Plasma HD set. It will be installed by the Geek Squad next week. Yesterday I contacted Bright House about adding cable TV. So it looks we are on our way ... stay tuned!

UPDATE: 12-13-2012 .Geek squad shows up this morning to install our new TV - sans wall mount. Seems the newbie salesman did not sell us the wall mount we had picked out at the store with all the other equipment and services. Allan and I are on our way back to the store this morning. Allan is not happy.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: 12-13-2012 We are now rescheduled to be installed on Wed., Dec 19th.
We now have our new wall mount PLUS miles of new cable, blue-ray disc player and proper surge protector. All thanks to Maxie at the Tyrone Blvd. store!

Christmas in Florida 2012

Decorating for Christmas means using what I have and only adding the necessities. Like lights! Lots of lights!

Mom gave this to Allan one year!

My cherished ornament collection

My Santa table

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Our Piano

 

This piano has been in our family for 55 years. My mother bought it from our landlord when we lived in England. The lady had been a concert pianist living in India. When the British occupation suddenly ended, the only thing rescued was this piano. It ended up in our cottage on Valley Road.

It moved all over the world with us. I was lucky enough to have custody of it for 12 years. Yesterday it moved back to Mom and Dad's place. It will remain there until Kate has a permanent home.

Allan and I will now have space for a wall mounted television in our living room. We have not had a TV in this home since moving here. We plan on spending a few weeks looking at and researching all the popular sets and features. We hope to have it installed before Christmas.

This is currently were we plan on hanging the new set.

 

My Thanksgiving table display

 The sofa is now where the piano was. McGee likes lying in the sunshine.

Our new living space!

Allan's Birthday

Allan got the surprise of his life on Thursday night - his birthday. After shooting pictures all night at The Bronze Lady boutique at John's Pass, Bill called us inside and surprised Allan with a beautiful dark chocolate cake with everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him!

Now it was his turn to be on the other side of the camera! He secretly loved it, I'm sure. Even though he seemed a little embarrassed and blushed bright red! The cake was delicious, by the way, and the left over is in the fridge!

Family Wall

Want to freshen up this small family portrait gallery with a new gallery wrap taken this summer at our family reunion. Will be replacing the large picture over the lamp with the family group photo that Caroline took on the beach. Love looking at my family while I'm sitting in my room!

Election Day 2012

Today is Election Day! Everyone needs to go out and vote! Calling all Democrats, Republicans, Independents, etc. Your vote counts! Some races are that close! Tomorrow is too late. VOTE!

New Garden

What started as an attempt to control a big mess of weeds and remove an old wood fence, has ended in the discovery of a new little garden on the side of our house. Weeds had over run the area and a desperate phone call to our yard guys resulted in them pulling up most of them. Next, a friend and I knocked down the old wooden fence and laid 12 bags of pine bark chips as ground cover. I scrubbed the old bench and placed it in the center of the garden. I also planted three free crotons.

I can't wait to see what it transitions into next. I'm happy with this new little nature space!

5000 Miles

On Saturday, right where 275 and I-4 meet, my Nissan Rouge turned 5000 miles old! We were on our way to Orlando to celebrate a birthday. We met up with Rabon and Claire (the birthday girl) at her family's lake house. We toasted Claire and feasted on barbeque with about sixty invited guests and family members. It was a beautiful clear evening!

2013 Patio Furniture Arrivals

All the staff at the Bronze Lady came together this past Monday for an early store meeting and quick photo shoot. Some new items purchased at the Chicago Patio show have started to arrive. We all love the size of this new breakaway daybed and can't wait for all the new items to arrive! The 2013 patio season has begun!

Inside Halloween

In looking back at old posts, it occurred to me that I never photographed any Halloween decorations. I have quite a collection. This post will show my inside stuff and the next my outside.

 I still remember the first store bought item - a small ceramic carved pumpkin purchased in Tallahassee when Kristin was a baby. Still use it today! Have it displayed on my pie safe with the cute witch my mom bought me several years ago. Candy corn lights complete the look!

The black cat and ghost on the fence was given to me by a neighbor. Love it. Put it with my black spider bowl and fabric pumpkin I made ages ago. Stuffed a leaf garland into the spider bowl and finished with orange pumpkin lights.

Of course, I have a haunted birdhouse!

Only new thing I bought - on sale at Joanne's for $15. It's hanging over the piano!

Jewelry Box

Moving right along in my Get It Organized Now plan ... is my jewelry. So many little boxes stuck in so many little drawers and cases all over the house. Never could find it or never knew what I had.

Saw this terrific jewelry armoire on line at a great price with free shipping. It got here in four days. It was well packed and all I had to do was attach the four legs and the mirrored top.

I Love It! All my favorite jewelry is all together in one organized place. I love the side panels that allow my necklaces to hang - no more knotted chains! The drawers and panels are all felt lined, too.

I plan on donating all the stuff I no longer wear to the CCW rummage sale at our church in January!

On a roll ...

The clean up your act bug has me organizing yet another space - my home office! I found a great storage cabinet with woven baskets at Pier 1 today. Now instead of everything piling up on my desk, I have a drawer to put it in until I can deal with it. I love the new look and will enjoy my newly designed space!

Rainy day project

Nothing like a rainy day project - especially a closet organization project. Found this shoe cubby at Lowe's for under $50. Brought it home, put it together, and voila! It corralled 25 pairs of my favorite casual shoes. Freed up some floor space for some big tote and duffel bags. No more shoes lying around and empty boxes piling up! Plus, I can see at a glance what I've got to choose from!

The Art of Autumn

Here in Florida, fall is still months away. But the colors, shapes, smells, and textures have been on my mind. Yesterday I finally gave in and got busy. I dragged out my beautiful, dark colored oriental rug and laid it down in the entry. I cleared off the top of the hand-painted chest. Next, Mom and I took off down 4th Street.

It's too early for Halloween, I was focusing more on fall harvest items. I love pumpkins, fall leaves, spicy scents, dried berries, and nuts.  Found almost everything at the neighborhood Pier 1.

It might be 90 degrees outside, but fall is showing its brilliant colors inside our home!

From Nebraska to Wisconsin

Melanie and Adam and the four boys are living and thriving in Milwaukee now. They have a new home and a big new church. They have lots of new friends and neighbors, and even family living nearby. There is lots to do and see. They are far away from remote Gordon!

The boys like to run, jump, throw things, and climb trees. They like toy guns, super heroes,  and any kind of ball. They eat all day, play hard, and go to bed early.

We enjoyed our visit. We have a new love of frozen custard. I need to practice up on Scrabble. And Allan liked Milwaukee beer!

Family Gathering 2012

 

We Are Family

After over a years worth of planning, our family came together on an island on the Atlantic side of Florida to celebrate our parents sixtieth wedding anniversary.

We came from near and far. All of us.

 It was the biggest family reunion our family had ever had. We were 53 strong.

There were new babies and spouses to meet. Stories to share. More memories to make.

Big family meals. Group picture session in matching t-shirts. Afternoons on the beach and pool. Even a family video.

Nobody wanted to leave and go home.

A little bit of Tuscany

The painters finally showed up last week to paint our house. I got to choose the color. Allan and I looked at paint chips on a recent trip to Lowe's. I knew just what I wanted. Isn't it great! A pretty yellow/gold with umber tones. Looks like Tuscany to me!

Memory Lane

 We're working on a pictorial family history to present later this summer at our family reunion. I am going through and picking out the family slides while Mary Jo is digitizing them and Allan is loading all into his computer. We are putting them in order and will begin to edit them and add text and sound.

The thing that stands out is how close a family we were. And how fortunate we were to have each other. We felt loved and protected. We shared adventures and outings that continue to this day. We were taught that family time is special and important.

 We were an Air Force family and traveled the world. We enjoyed meals and swimming at the Officer's Club at various bases. We went to Armed Forces Day celebrations and worshiped at the base chapel. We shopped at the base exchange and commissary and sometimes went to base schools. All but one of us was born in a military hospital.

 We lived all over the United States and two overseas tours to England and the Panama Canal. We loved to move. The most exciting assignment was to Florida. Who knew all those years ago that most of us would end up still there!

The bag started it all!

My three daughters got together recently (okay, so over the phone ) to decide on a special Mother's Day gift for me.  Melanie was attracted by a store's display window, but I think there's more to this story!

Anyway, I received the beautiful Brighton handbag shown above.

I LOVE IT! Everyone I show it to LOVES it!

So, of course, I needed some new shoes to go with it. Not just any shoes would do. Since the new bag is going on the cruise, too, these shoes would have to match, and also match any new clothes I buy for this trip. I will need a new travel dress. Oh, and a new swimsuit, capris, tops, hat, etc.

Seems this new bag started something!
Oh, the shoes are Lindsay Phillips Switch Flops Brenna in cork.

Hmmmm, seems to me I remember a cute little summer shift at SteinMart. See you later!

Look what came in the mail!

Sometimes it pays to read the ads that come in the mail. Our local Nissan dealer was having a special factory event and sent me an invitation and a gift card. Two hours later we were driving this baby home. Even has a sun roof and navigation. I couldn't be happier! A new car!!!!

My Style

Make up, hair styles, fashions - I think it comes with age and experience. Since I've found what works best for me (finally) it is a lot less time consuming and money wasting. Some things I've learned (in no particular order):

1. Find a good hair stylist and get your hair cut often. I wasted a lot of time on this - when the right person was right under my nose! She's cut my mother's and sister's hair for years! She knows my hair and uses great products and I don't even have to tell her what to do. I look forward to my appointments and feel great afterwards!

2.Keep your makeup simple and minimal. I found a great concealer, foundation, blush, eye shadow, and mascara at Target. I use Chap Stick and Burt's Bees lip shimmer in Fig. I use CoverGirl face powder on my nose, forehead, and chin. I don't use foundation on my forehead or chin. I take my old makeup that I like with me when I buy new makeup - sometimes they change the formula or color. I have never used soap on my face. I like most Olay cleaning products and moisturizers. I always wash my face at night before bed. Always!

3. Since I work at the beach now, my fashions are mostly casual. I always have a nice pair of jeans in denim and white. Capris in white, black, navy, khaki solid and a great print or two. Dress pants in black and white. I love to shop for tops and sweaters. I almost always shop for clothes to wear to work, and when they start looking old or worn, I recycle them to wear around the house. Dresses I buy when I need something for a special occasion. This year I did buy a new dress for Easter. I buy most of my clothes at SteinMart, Macy's, and Dillards. I always use coupons and wait for sales. I am a size 8 and look for styles that are fitted and tailored. I love aqua, coral, and lime green colors for summer.

4. Shoes and handbags are a new obsession for me. Currently LOVE Lindsay Phillips switchflops and ballet flats. Also have new aqua and coral wedge sandals that I got for my birthday. Love Vera Bradley bags and accessories. Recently planned a wardrobe for a business trip around a new pattern called Limes Up. Four days worth of business casual around one handbag!

5. Jewelry. My new favorites are Brighton, Bonn Bons, Silpada, and stuff my kids send me! I am not a fan of Pandora - just don't get it! Allan gave me a beautiful Bonn Bon bracelet for Christmas. My everyday bracelet is my Brighton charm. I do love bracelets, especially with beads and charms! I wear mostly silver.

Getting ready for work in the morning is a pleasure instead of a chore. I learned what works best for me and I make time to shop wisely and plan ahead. I don't always buy, but I do look in stores
and slowly add things every season. I donate things I no longer wear to local Catholic charities. I always look forward to my next shopping trip!