From time to time my daughter-in-love, Nancy shares recipes with me. Nancy often finds recipes online that sound interesting, then adds or subtracts depending on what she has available or on hand. Recently she made this yummy black bean salad and shared the recipe with me. I noticed it has an ingredient I've never tried: Trader Joe's Island Salsa. Have you ever tried it?  If you don't live near a Trader … [Read more...]

Last week I mentioned that Lilly Pulitzer had come out with a line of dresses that was figure-flattering for all body types and surprisingly budget-friendly. I'm not sure if this is the first year these have been available or just the first year I've noticed. I think it's the first year they've had them available because I'm obsessed with their fun summer prints and often check their site during the … [Read more...]

Welcome to the 509th Metamorphosis Monday! Good Morning! I had hoped to post a lot more while traveling across Egypt. Unfortunately, fast WiFi has been sadly lacking in many of the hotels. It reminds me of the days of dial-up--remember those? Ugh. I wish I could fast-forward technology right now so every hotel in the world would have high-speed internet. Dreaming! Fortunately, I was finally able to … [Read more...]

Aloha! This is the theme I just loaded onto my phone, thanks for giving me the little push I needed! Thanks so much for all the wonderful tips and ideas you left in the comments of my last post! Sooo appreciated! I can't wait to share Maui with you for Metamorphosis Monday! If you're not already, be sure to follow on Instagram where I'll be posting photos regularly during this trip. You'll find the … [Read more...]

How are your Thanksgiving preparations going? I'm not hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year, so I've been busy working on other things, including getting the wreaths up on the windows.   Hanging the wreaths is usually the first bit of Christmas decorating I do each year since it's pretty much my favorite Christmas decoration of all.   One of the best parts about hanging … [Read more...]

A month or so ago, I was in Marshalls and came across these lanterns. I love shopping in there this time of year because they always get in the cutest holiday goodies and you literally never know what you'll stumble upon. I'm not sure if these will end up in a table setting or on one of the porches for a little Christmas decorating. They may just show up in both.   These lanterns came with … [Read more...]

Do you have a drawer somewhere in your home filled with these? These were all in two small drawers in my family room. They date all the way back to the 80's and contain so many memories like birthdays, baseball games, ski trips, beach trips, scouting award ceremonies, swim meets, Christmases, trips to Disney World and Epcot, and a lot of "firsts" like the first time my son rode his bike without training … [Read more...]

It's so beautiful outside today!   Grab that glass of iced tea and let's head out to the porch!   I had several ideas about things I could share with you today, but then I had a better idea. I'm always a little worried that I've missed a question you may have left in a comment. It would be easy to do because if I'm away from my home on an errand during the day, I'll often pull … [Read more...]

I'm not going to say I'm unscammable, because no one is, but I try to do everything I possibly can to avoid being hacked or scammed. I never click on links I don't recognize in emails. I have my phone number listed on the National Do Not Call list and I don't answer telephone calls from unknown numbers. I have long and complicated passwords for everything, as well as two-step verification for everything … [Read more...]

Yesterday I had plans to post taking you on a  fun antiquing trip to A Classy Flea, followed by a historic home tour or two, but fate had other plans. The last couple of days my friend, Linda, has been visiting along with her aunt, Diane. You may remember Linda from when I shared the week we spent together touring over 13 historic homes across Louisiana and Mississippi. (See some of the tours I've posted … [Read more...]

I haven't been shopping for tablescaping goodies in a long time. Today is the first day I have felt like getting out since I became sick with whatever it was I had. On my first trip out into the real world, I treated myself to a visit to Marshalls. It felt so good to get out of the house and just be normal again...well, as normal as I ever get. ;) I found some cute things for summer entertaining and I … [Read more...]

On Monday evening I drove into Atlanta to visit a store inside Phipps Plaza.   I purposely drove in late to avoid the end-of-day, going home traffic. I finished my shopping just before the store closed at 8:00 PM.   As I was leaving, something caught my eye.   We get a finite number of sunsets in our lifetime. So much beauty and it's completely free. Stop and … [Read more...]

We've had the mildest winter so far here in Georgia. As I type this, it's 67 degrees outside. That's one of the things I've always loved about living here, winters are usually a mix of cold temps with surprise weeks thrown in when you would swear spring had arrived. Georgia weather always keeps you guessing. Despite this beautiful sunny day, I know the cold temps are coming back. The last few years I've … [Read more...]

Each January for the last two years, I've put together a winter survival list with my top 10 favorites for surviving winter. Instead of waiting until we're deep into winter, I thought I'd share my faves now as the cold weather and winter looms ahead. I think what got me in the mood for this is the drizzly, cold overcast day I awoke to today. I'm actually kind of enjoying it, though...makes this heater … [Read more...]

Each week when I take Max to Georgia Veterinary Specialist, we wait in the "cat" waiting room until it's time for him to go back for his chemo treatment.  The walls in that area are decorated with some great kitty cat art.  Yesterday, I snapped some pics with my cell phone to share it with you.  I saved my favorite for last. Pete the Cat looked vaguely familiar to me, but I wasn't sure why.  It turns out … [Read more...]

Over two years ago I created a post and asked the simple question, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"  The comments/answers were wonderful, insightful and inspiring.  I know we all use that word "inspiring" a lot these days, but the comments truly were inspiring.  If you didn't get a chance to read that post and the comments, you'll find it here:  What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not … [Read more...]