You Making Party?

I've spent a good portion of mid to late morning outdoors today.  It IS a big deal!  I'm not a gardener or a yard-girl.  I feel bone tired ..like The Lady above but very satisfied and all I did was weed.  I'm most thankful that I have a gaggle of girlfriends from different parts of the country.  Pictures show their efforts in the yard and every once in a while I get inspired. 

I dream of living by the sea...

                                                 (photo by Sandi)

 or to have a forest in my backyard!

                                                                                             (Photo by Deborah)

Then again, to have a green thumb.  Period.

(Photo by Jennifer)

Oh, to traipse through the snow...in THIS setting!

(Photo by Mary)

But, here we are in suburban Texas.  My yard lacks personality; therefore, I must make up for the lack in other areas.  With Easter round the bend and company coming...I gotta spruce up the place.  I hope the weather allows us to have a

Tracy Porter-inspired-outdoor-brunch Sunday morning.

We'll bring out the 8' long Home Depot table.  Cover it with an old, shabby rug, bedspread or several table cloths.  I'll move two wicker arm chairs from upstairs to the head(s) of this table.  And, since I'm all about the hi-low in clothing, decorating AND entertaining....my table will sport:

• 
  
  Plates from Dollar Tree
• 
  
  Crystal from my Mom
• 
  
  Bamboo flatware from Big Lots interspersed with Mom's sterling
• 
  
  Monogrammed cloth napkins from Ballard Designs           
• 
  
                    (Photo by Kelly)
• 
  
  A BIG centerpiece inspired by Kelly above and...
• 
  
  Nell Hill rattan chargers (they dress up my $1 plates!)

Hospitality IS my thing.  Yards and gardening, not so much.  If I don't get to everything in the yard I hope my guests won't notice.  I'll have to make my table extra special so the focus is on it! 

Recently I met the owner of a restaurant to reserve their room for an event.  A waiter with a really thick (unknown) accent said to me:  "You making party?"  I knew what he meant.  And loved what he said.  And thus replied:  "I am!"

It's Tuesday.  I'm (pretending to be a) gardener, browsing through cookbooks, swapping recipes with friends....all because I'm making a party!  And I so love a good party!

Happy Easter!

xoxo

Men in Pink!

                      (1/2 bro, Dad, Stepmom, Moi)

I love a man in a pink shirt!  That, (again), may be due to growing up in Preppy Land, U.S.A.  My most-dapper-Dad dons pink better than most!  The beach shot above is in Long Island last summer.  My 1/2 brother and Dad look so hip...to me!

Dad and Stepmom took a bunch of us to Turkey in '07.  It was a GREAT time...exploring ruins, climbing all sorts of hills, snorkeling in beautiful waters.  And a few times at night we DID dress for dinner.  On this night; the men...wore (mostly) PINK! 

(My Guy, 1/2 Bro, # 2 Son, Bro)

Aren't they handsome?

Just wondering, do your guys wear PINK?

Stand...Apart!

I'd call myself eclectic.  Example above is a gift of nature from a friend.  Okay, it's a mossy rock.  #1 Son laughed aloud asking me if I now collect pet rocks.  He lives with me (or did) and still thinks I'm off, a bit.  Quite often I can tell by a person's face when they walk in they don't quite get my decor.  Once someone asked:  "where did you get the idea to use so many types of fabric?"  I don't like doing what everyone else is doing in their home.  I like it to be different...perhaps stand apart.  I think some of that stems from my upbringing on the East Coast.  The most beautiful rooms are those that are personal, colorful and cozy. 

My library is eclectic as well.  I need variety.  There are stacks of books all over my home.  By my bedside are four that give a clue to my eclectic personality:

There are others like me.  I found them on line!  You see, Tracy Porter's books had struck a chord.  And two and a half years ago her blog opened a whole new world.  I "met" like souls and we became addicted to thrived from her inspiration videos.  A trademark of Tracy's is her London Wall or some call it a Gallery Wall: a hodge podge of all you love slammed together.  I was all over that.  Our little powder room pretends it's in London.  Again...it's obvious that some enter our powder room  (with a purpose) and exit bewildered.  I can see it. 

If I could siphon a personality, a writing style and the way to view life, it'd be Dominique Browning.  Around the House and in the Garden and Paths of Desire are dog-earred, highlighted and (worshipped) adored!

I am over-the-moon to discover this morning, SHE has a blog entitled Slow Love Life.  And yes, I drank too much coffee and spent too much time reading it.  But I devoured...it all.  It was delicious! (I've pre-ordered her book on Amazon and it will not get here soon enough).  She most definitely stands apart.


I've become more eclectic in my attire too.  Just the other day a friend remarked:  "My aren't you the funky woman?"  Is that a good thing?  I don't know.  I wore straight jeans, rolled up, a long tunic-y thing rather close to a bathrobe and some (admittedly) funky shoes.  55 is half  a year away and it's all good.  I totally dig this age -  this season of life. 



A new addition to my home is The Pink Woman.  She arrived at my door step two days ago from an artist in North Carolina.  Please, let me introduce you to her:

I loved her the moment I saw her - she lit up the corner of my living room.  I called my friend (screaming) thanking her profusely.  Oh, and I learned the most interesting tidbit.  "Art should not be matchy-match; otherwise it is just part of the decor.  Art should stand alone."  Ahhhhhh.  Stand apart.  Stand on one's own.  That's where I aim to go...

No fear of what others think.  Be true to myself and my God.  That's it.  What a glorious way to live!  And should you come for a visit; I'm okay if you don't "get" my home.  You're most welcome anyway!

The Wondrous Works of Women!

(Please sing-song this to the tune of Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.")

Muckin out stalls, y’all. Cooking up a storm, yea.
                  (courtesy of Chatelaine Ranch)

Teaching the children life.

Women do it all well.

               

Paintin’ for a vignette today.

 Running the PTA.

Watching the folks grow old…

Run the office and keep it afloat.


Offering your time for free, sit with the elderly.

Read to your kids daily.  Women do it all well.

Cater to every whim, for parties or even him…


Design and decorate...
                  (Courtesy of five-ten-fifteen)

   

Brew the beans to percolate.  Women do it all well.

Make a menu and grocery shop...

                                                                                                  (Courtesy of Ciao Bella)

Buy the gifts, shop till you drop.


Purge the pantry, start a compost. 

Begin a blog and outdo most!

Women do it all well.
       
Paint for joy and paint for peace. Offer your art to all in need.

Run the kids hither and yon, smiling and blessing years beyond…

Women do it all well.


Make a party and a crème brulee, the star in you sings in every way.

Here’s to chicks in all walks of life, keepin’ the faith, steady through strife.

Women do it all well.

(I know a woman behind every description in this ditty.  In fact many of you fall under many categories.  I love me my girlfriends.  They rock!  Cheers!!!!!!!!! )

xoxo

Ta-Da!!!

Vava & Friend (still!)

I hate heights....and it's not a laughing matter.  My Guy and I were adult guests at Frontier Camp a couple of summers ago.  Young Life's mantra is "...it's the best week of your life."  (You wouldn't think so by the look at those faces, huh?).

We were fired up.  We love Young Life.  The kids.  The staff.  And, Frontier Camp's setting was uhhh....not so bad.  You can check it out right here!  We were told that we "get" to do everything the kids do.  Yup, I was fired up.  I didn't go to a YL camp as a teen - always wanted to, but it just wasn't in the plan. 

Don't forget, I am VERY afraid of heights.  The first day we "got" to rapel; but even before then, we had to get there.  It was a gruesome climb.  My Guy told me later he was thinking to himself, "how am I going to get Vava down from here?"

We were maybe 16 in our group....and I gladly waited until almost the very end. In the meantime, I prayed a lot.  I asked the workers "what if???"  Have they had someone refuse to go down?  They informed me it'd be much harder climbing down, than rapeling. 

It was not fun.  I used muscles to hold onto that rope that came outta nowhere.  In a picture I actually look like I HAVE a muscle.  Every bone, fiber, muscle, sinew in my body was in action.  It was not fun.  But I did it!  Ta-da!!!

That big ole swing is called The Screamer. Everyone else in our group participated the first moment they could.  I was NOT going to do it.  But, as time went on, God was talking to me about oh, so many things.  Fear was one.  Fear of what was going on with #2 son, fear of our future, fear of...heights.  I thought I just better get over it.  Thankfully, my friend and I bit the bullet together. Every time I look at our faces; I roar!  I can't get over how FEARFUL we look. 

Other activities put fear in me as well.  A hike up a mountain to 13,000 feet that took FOUR hours (1 way!) nearly sent me over.  As we started the trek, I would have the urge to hurl, every 15 minutes.  Altitude sickness. 

          (At some points, on our way UP, everyone in the camp (500/600 of us!) were on itty, bitty trails.)

One sight kept me going - two YL counselors carried a young lady unable to walk all the way.  And while doing so, she moaned, and THEY were cheering her on.  "C'mon, we can do it.  We're making it to the top."  The 3 of them were a sight to behold.

I did make it.  It took 4 hours.  Our entire group was gathered at the summit and our leader was praying over us.  It was breathtaking and inspiring. Ta-da!!!

The trip down was a bit quicker.  I let My Guy go....he'd been by my side on the way up and I was slowing him down.  And, then in HIS place, a YL counselor, some college dude and dude-ess, put me in the middle of them.  The 3 of us slipped and slid down the mountain side.  We made it.  Ta-da!!!

I've got a "Ta-Da List" going now.  Sounds healthier than a Bucket List, right?  One of my to-do's on my Ta-Da is to jump out of an airplane.  I came close last month.  Some of the "kids" at My Guy's office did it last month; but we couldn't make it.  If you think the picture of me on The Screamer is a scream, wait until you see me when I am jumping (thrown) out of a plane.

Oh...I overheard My Guy telling someone on the phone...after we got back to reality:  "It was THE best week of my life!"

A friend of mine posted today how she was a black sheep (in a good sense), that is - being true to yourself, not afraid of what others think or do.  I love that!  Fear-LESS.

As I've blogged about already, 2010 is exciting to me in many ways.  Being authentic, fearless, living life to the fullest is on my list.  Let's get cracking!

What's on your Ta-Da List? 

A soulful, selfish, slacker, staycation of a Saturday!

Let me share what my day consisted of today.  It was out of the norm as My Guy went into work. So...

• I was up early (did not sleep worth a hoot.  Hormones maybe??  TMI?  Sorry!) 
• Up early - had some quiet time.
• Went to the gym...worked out hard.
• Got caught in the downpour...
• and went into Starbucks anyway- had to use up some of my gift card!
• Rented two chick flicks, not one but TWO!
• Took a hot shower
• Took the dogs upstairs to comfy sofa
• Watched Flick #1
• Dozed off, spooning with Duke on comfy sofa
• Watched Flick #2
• (I'm still not watching TV; and on a rainy Saturday, do not consider a movie "TV."
• Thought it better to eat "dinner" early than late.  Had a peanut butter and raspberry jam on HEB's (delicious) 12-grain bread.
• Took a hot bath accompanied by a (small) glass of red wine.

I'm waiting for My Guy to return with a movie.  Then I'll take HIM upstairs to the comfy sofa and we'll watch something comedic.  The dogs will not be spooning us.  IF they try to, I'll act shocked.

I do so hope each of YOU get a slacker Saturday, Sunday or someday very soon.

A Soldier Returns!

Like I mentioned before, a hug, from a son:  mmm, mmm good!  This is old news BUT I'm blogging for posterity.  So my fam will have photos & notes.  I've never been a scrapbooker - this is much more my "thang."

This is the first time we saw #1 Son upon his return from Afghanistan (November 06).

The brothers.  I spot emotion on my soldier's face.  Look at the way the woman is kissing her man.  Be still my heart!

...and then - what every soldier craves:

The first Bud!  Always thought this would make a GREAT Budweiser commercial! 

Love our soldiers, don't you?