An Award, What I Won and Meeting Janie and Laurie!

I would like to thank Laura Lu of http://hiddenpromise.blogspot.com/ and Lorna of http://laceandivycottage.blogspot.com/ for presenting me the The Lemonade award which is given to bloggers who show an "Attitude of Gratitude"... that they are happy with their lives under any circumstances! I really appreciate receiving this award especially coming from 2 very special and talented people. You should visit thier blogs so you would know what I mean. Laura Lu is a very talented decorator and artist. You should see the table that she painted. And Lorna, OMG! I cannot imagine anybody having 9 children! I had 3 and I could hardly keep up when they were growing up. Talk about an attitude of gratitude. I am so sure there is a lot of that going on in their household! Please take this award if you have seen me visit your blog because I know that you deserve it! Thanks again, Laura Lu and Lorna. I do display my awards and they are at the bottom of my blog.

This blog is not all about awards. I am so happy and blessed for having so many blogging friends. April is truly my favorite month. I think this month this year was my best birthday ever! Please stick around cause I want to share what I just won and pictures I took meeting 2 beautiful bloggers.

We came home late last night from a fun trip to Chicago and I saw packages both in front of the house and by the garage. I've been busy shopping, LOL! But the most exciting package of them all was the box that I got from Leigh of http://lbratina.blogspot.com/. I was so excited, I could hardly wait to open it, in spite of all the other boxes I had to open and the luggage that I had to unpack.

Just look at all these goodies! Oh Leigh, thank you so much for sending me all these. I LOVE ALL of them! Let's see what I have here...a pretty tote bag with lots of happy bows, a package of beautiful dotted paper napkins, a garden tool set (which I am sure will come in handy since I have lots of projects going on in the garden).

I am so sorry the coffee cup's handle came broken but I am so glad it can be glued and that's exactly what I am going to do cause I just love it. It is just so pretty. Our delivery men are not very careful. Do you see the packets of margarita mix? I can't wait to try them. I also got some wildflower garden seeds, yummy candies, packets of vitamin C booster (I need those too after coming from a hectic trip and the swine flu outbreak).
And look at the beautiful gold picture frame! It will blend so well with my decor at home. Also shown here are books: "The Power of a Positive Wife", hmmm.... John would probably want me to read that first, " Puttin on a Grits, A Guide to Southern Entertaining", Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe", "Better Homes and Gardens Trade Secrets" and a cookbook. I am so excited to start reading them. Since we are new to the south, I can really learn from these books.

I also have a new Lip and Body Balm.

Thanks, Leigh for all these fine items! You are so kind and so generous. I love them all.

I have been dying to tell you about our meeting with Janie and her hubby, Alan in Chicago. Here's Janie, aka Blondie's Journals. Isn't she beautiful? They picked us up from our hotel and then we took a taxi to go to West Town Tavern. Alan could not have picked a better place. The atmosphere was perfect, very quaint and charming.

A lovely and happy sweet couple!

Just look at this charming bar!

And here is the awesome foursome! The food was also delicious. I had white fish, Janie had scallops, Alan had pork and John had pasta. Everything looked good and we all enjoyed what was served to us. We had such a good time eating and conversing. It was like we have known each other forever.

And I could not believe how sneaky Janie could be! My goodness, John and I wondered why the waiter brought 4 saucers right after we ate our meals since we have not even ordered any dessert. And that was followed by 2 sweets with candles. I don't know how Janie did it cause she never left the table and she was right next to me. But let me tell you, the desserts were one of the best that we have ever eaten. They were simply scrumptious!

Yummy!

It was time to go and Janie and Alan took us back to the hotel but we had to take pictures one more time. I didn't want to show you this cause I look pregnant in my coat...LOL, but I just want to show you how close we instantly felt towards one another. John and Alan got along so well too.

Thank you, Janie and Alan, for the wonderful evening. We love you! And remember, you promised to be our guests here someday! And we just want you to know that we just had the best birthday of our lives!

Here's just one more story that I would like to share. I hope you don't mind my long post.

I met Laurie, aka Bargainhunting with Laurie, before I even started blogging. That explains why I have not blogged about this. She and her hubby, Danny were on their way to New Orleans to attend a friend's wedding and they stopped by our little town along the way. We met with them in a bar downtown. And here is Laurie! Isn't she a beauty also?

We couldn't stop talking. We had so much to talk about and yet we just met. Our hubbies could not barge in on our conversation so they just started their own. LOL! Isn't the bar pretty?

Cheers!

Laurie even got to meet my 90 year old mother.

I tried to persuade them to stay longer. I would have loved to have them over at home for breakfast and then take them antique shopping but they were in a hurry. I was still very happy they stopped by to meet us. Laurie, next time you come by again, you have to stay longer, ok?

Just like Janie, it was an instant love affair. Isn't it incredible how warm we feel towards blogging friends? This is true even with bloggers that we have not even met personally. I am so thankful that I discovered Blogland. It surely has expanded my world of friendship.Thanks for stopping by. I am always thankful for that!

New Lladro and my Mom's Bedroom Redone Again?

It's Blue and Met Monday time again! Go over at Sally's blog at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ and Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ and check out who all is participating in these 2 fun events and take a look at all their blue treasures and all the transformations going on.

For my blue contribution, I would like to share the Lladro figurine that we just bought on recent Grand Cayman trip. Her name is Karina and she is quite tall at 17 inches. Do you see the Lladro sign above? They don't sell them but they have them in stores so I told the sales clerk that we will buy the figurine if she gave me the sign for free. And she said "Deal"!! LOL!.

I took out the fairy lamp so you can see her whole skirt. Isn't she a cutie? I love the jar she is carrying too!

Thank you Sally, for all the efforts you take in hosting this event.

If you have been following my blog, you must have seen me post this guest room before. We have designated this room for my soon to be 91 year old mom, who

rotates among us 5 brothers and sisters in 4 states. Right now, she is in FL and next month, she will be in Illinois.

Anyway, since I had to make room for the antique French armoire that dh bought for me, I had to move the plaid chair and ottoman that was in our bedroom. Now, you see that this room already has a leather chair and ottoman. I moved it into the other guest bedroom. This is how it used to be.

But the other guest room already had a matching chair and ottoman too, as our bedroom's, so I moved that in my mom's bedroom too.

This is how it looks like now, with the 2 plaid chairs. I placed the 2 ottomans on either side of the chairs. I also replaced the curtains and the beddings. They're not new, I just got them from the linen closet. Here is another view of the before

and the after.

I also moved my sewing machine from the laundry room into here because we bought a small freezer, which I placed in the laundry room. It is a little more crowded than it used to be but I think the room can accomodate everything I moved in here. I figured I can even watch TV here with my mom now with the 2 chairs. You don't see the TV but it's in the corner, across the chairs.

Hope you all enjoyed your visit. Thanks again to Susan and Sally for hosting Blue and Met Monday.

My New Coach & A New Mac Book For a Special Girl!

I love shopping so this event is something I can always participate in. Sunday Shopping Secrets is hosted by another big shopper like me, Anita at http://bridalblooms4u.blogspot.com/. Please be sure to visit her blog, find out what she bought this week and then go visit everybody else on her list and see what they have to show.

I already scheduled a post before I left home for Chicago but I went shopping downtown with my sister yesterday and I wanted to show you the favorite item that I bought. Here it is, a Coach evening bag. It's a new item that was just put out for display in the store yesterday.
I love the soft leather and the color and size is just perfect for my evening parties and dinners. I also fell in love with the strap, just the right length.
Here is a closer view. You can click to enlarge to see an even closer view.

Love how it has zipped extra compartments on both sides.

And now for my originally scheduled post.........

I apologize for posting this today even if the buying actually occurred about 3 weeks ago. I have been meaning to post it but just never had a chance. Better late than never, isn't it?

One evening, the phone rang at home and it was my granddaughter AJ calling from Florida, who wanted to talk to John. Ok, being her grandma, I know her very well. When she asks for John, that means she wants something she knows she cannot get from me. LOL!

Sure enough, she asked if he would buy her a MAC laptop. And I don't think I have ever heard John say "No" to her so of course, the moment we flew in to FL, we went staright to pick her up from school and then went straight to the Mac store to look at computers. We bought what we thought would be good for her, had an additional memory and hard drive put in and here she is with her big smile while waiting for them to install everything we added.

It's ready!
Here is the Mac expert giving her some instructions.
She could not wait till we got home to put the laptop in the computer bag that we bought for her so we had to stop in the middle of the mall for her to put it all together.
Just look at that happy and contented smile.:-) Doesn't she look like a young business woman?

The next day, we went to the airport to fly to West Palm in preparation of our Caribbean cruise. Of course, AJ was anxious to try her computer at the airport.

Surfing the web so seriously!

At the hotel lobby, we sat across each other with our own laptops and decided to download Skype. It's amazing how fast kids pick up on computers. She's never owned a Mac before but she downloaded and set up everything all by herself. They call her "little lola" or "little Christine" for a reason, I guess.:-)

I did the same thing and then, all of a sudden we both see each other's face on our screens. LOL! How cool is that! Now she makes a video call to me whenever she wants to see and talk to me. We live 15 hrs. drive away from each other but it's so nice to feel so close.Thanks Anita for this exciting new event! I enjoy sharing my shopping experience and items with y'all! I hope you enjoy seeing them too.

Blue Transferware for First Sunday Favorites

I have a little free time to sort through old posts so I can join Chari's first ever Sunday Favorite meme. What exactly is Sunday Favorites? It's kinda like a Second Chance event, having a second chance to see what you might have missed when they were first posted. I am glad Chari is giving us that opportunity. This is what I came out with today. This was my 3rd post after I started a blog. Gosh! It seems so long ago but it's only been 3 months. Anyway, these plates are in FL but it seems like I might have to move them to MS. b/c my daughter just bought a house so we might have to sell our home there because I hate to see it sitting empty.

So, without further due......here is reposting an old favorite post. Thanks to Chari for hosting this new event. Please visit her at http://happytodesign.blogspot.com/ to see more favorite reposts.

I can't believe I lucked out and I am able to participate in Themed Thursdays, hosted by KD of Southern Whimsy. My blue transferware are located in our FL home so when I read about Themed Thursday on Debbie's blog and that the theme for the first one is Blue Transferware, I smiled because I knew I would be able to join. It just so happened that I was in FL then, for my daughter's wedding and so I was able to take pictures. I If you haven't visited KD's blog, you should, at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/and enjoy a very talented decorator's work and enjoy her gorgeous blue transferware collection. Treat yourself by visiting the others who participated as well.

This soup tureen started my Blue Transferware obsession. It looks old but I can't read the label underneath so I can't tell you anything about it. I found it on Ebay.

Then, I started collecting Spode plates. This particular one is a vegetable serving bowl.
Spode Regency Series "May", first introduced in 1826
Spode "Woodman"from Blue Collection first introduced in 1816
Spode Regency Series, "Trophies" first introduced in 1825
This plate is Charles Wysocki's "Americana". The back inscription says, "This ware is dedicated to all Americans who feel the greatness and beauty of this country still mindful for the simple pleasures in life, past and present. I just love the details so please click on it for you to see.
Old English Staffordshire, "Home of Mary"
This platter is quite large, about 18 inches long. We use it to serve the turkey on Thanksgiving dinner.
Just look at the details. It has a winter scene bordered by different fruits.
I found this set at Ross (set of 4 place service), pretty inexpensive, and I just bought them to add to the collection.
These Dutch cream and sugar server and a pair of candlesticks holder were purchased from the Caribbean Dutch colony of St. Maarten.
Avon Bicentennial plates.... "Liberty Bell" on the left and "Independence Hall" on the right. I am attached to these plates because I lived in Philadelphia for the first 2 years of my immigration to the US.
I even added blue and whites to the wall. Even my granddaughter is wearing blue in her pictures.

a German jam jarI found this set of serving dishes at Big Lots. They come in handy when I am serving buffet. Aren't they pretty?

Blue Willow mortar and pestle and a gravy server.

a set of Blue Willow platters

These are the only blue and white items kept in our MS home. My hubby likes using them

for soup. mini Blue Willow soup spoons

Lovely dessert bowls, one of my favoritesAren't they just the prettiest things?

This concludes the blue collection tour. I bought his mirror while shopping in St. Augustine, FL. a few years ago. It's hanging above the buffet in the dining room. It's a Mexican tile mirror and I thought it will blend in well with the blue and white dishes. Do you see the 2 framed blue and white tiles reflected in the mirror?

I hope you enjoyed the collection. To see more, please go to Southern Whimsy's post at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/.

Thank you so much, KD, for hosting this event.