Blondes & Brunettes

 

Megan & Brandon

I have been looking for a frame for this picture of my boy & his girl.  Yesterday, I found this one at target and absolutely had to have it.  $4.99 !!! At first I thought I could only have it out at Christmas, but then the more I looked at it I thought it could go through Valentines Day….then I thought, why not through spring and summer & fall.  The colors are perfect for all the seasons of trees!!   Are they the cutest couple EVER!!!!  xo  I am so happy – because they are so happy!!

 

 

 

I stopped at the video store last night, after Target, to get a movie for hubby and I.  I felt like a comedy and remembered that this was a cute movie….but didn’t really remember much about it.  I ADORE VINCE VAUGHN.  Actually, if I were younger and single…..I would seek him out.  I love his expressions: he is manly and childlike all wrapped up in this large teddy bear frame.  YUMMY!!!!  This movie is HYSTERICAL.  I am going to buy it.  It will rank right up there with A Christmas Story as a yearly viewer.  BTW: Peter Billingsley aka Ralphie (click here), is executive producer on Four Christmases.  :)

 

 

 

 

My sweet Aunt Winnie (click here to read about her in my Red Door Christmas post) sent me these pictures of my mom & dad from the 50’s.  My mom, a BEAUTIFUL platinum blonde and my dad – well, GORGEOUS!  and that baby in the picture …..me.  My mom was 18 and daddy was 19.  Crazy, huh?  Daddy passed in 1974 at the age of 38, mommy is 71 now.

 

 

 

And lastly, this blonde is me and the brunette, hubby.  This was a Christmas party we were attending, about 8 years ago. I am no longer blonde, hubby no longer brunette.  UGH.   I was 45 and hubby 52!  Crazy, huh? .. if only we could turn back time.

All my life I wore bangs, except as a teen and the last 2 years.   I have been thinking about cutting my bangs again, what do you think ?  (click here to see me now)

Hope you enjoyed my Blondes & Brunettes! 

Have a beautiful week! ~Cheryl

Christmas Decor Part 2

Since my last post, I have added to my “simplicity” Christmas decor.

Please come in for a tour.

I look forward to coming home at the end of the day and plugging in the Christmas lights and lighting the candles. They both add that special glow to these cold winter nights! …. and the scent of the holiday candles warm the soul (pumpkin, sugar cookie, apple & cinnamon ~ yum!) I found a cute little Santa towel and Christmas cookbook that I added to the vignette.

I also decided to add a couple of my “restaurant” Dickens Village houses to the mantle above the cook top and sat them in a cushion of “snow”.

The two restaurants are Wong’s Chinese and Italian Ristorante!

What I love about the Italian restaurant is the little side yard with the swing gate. Wouldn’t you love to sit there with a glass of Merlot?

At Wong’s, I picture myself living in the third story apartment. I have always had a fantasy of living above a restaurant in a big city! Always.

The fireplace mantle

First on the tour, are the Fire House, firemen and Spot! All knee deep in snow.

Ready for any emergency that may arise!

Fresh roasted chestnuts, anyone?

Auditions being held tonight!

This little lad is lighting the way to the Inn.

Come out of the cold.

The Innkeeper will get your bags for you!!

Another little touch that I added were these ribbons to the shades on the chandelier. It looks so lovely at night with the light on. So much so, that I am thinking of getting red shades!!

I want to thank all of you that gave your suggestions for decorating “my” vintage ice skates (from my last post). I appreciated all of your great ideas!! I decided to go with the red ribbon for the laces and add a pair of white & red fuzzy socks. Aren’t they just adorable??? LOVE THEM. I don’t know what took me so long to think of using them as my winter decor. But I just love them. I have so many wonderful memories involving my skates and now I can look at them throughout the cold months.

I am going to leave them propped on this bookstand sitting in one of the cubbies of our entertainment center right above the TV. I want to look at them ALL the time!!! Therefore, they will not be going on my front door ~ which some of you suggested. It was a great suggestion, but I want to be selfish and have them where I can see them!!

I thought I would also share the dining room. Simplicity at it’s best! A Christmas wall hanging and a sparkling tabletop tree. That’s it. Just a touch of Christmas.

And lastly, we got lucky because our neighbors across the street decorated like this ! The picture does not do it justice….but it is soooo pretty to look at! I zoomed in so you could get a better look!

Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed the little Christmas tour. Please take good care of yourself during this season of hustle and bustle!

Enjoy the day.

Don’t wear yourself out.

Give yourself a special treat each day!!

suggestions: a hot bath, a cup of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, buy a new lotion, sit in front of the fire, listen to Christmas music, buy a new warm scarf

~you get the idea~

be good to yourself

Have a beautiful week ~ Cheryl

the beginnings of Christmas decorating……

I don’t know about you, but when it is time to take out the decorations for Christmas, I get “stuck in my thoughts” about what I want to do. Of course, I would love to run out and get all "new" ~ just because I get tired of decorating with the same things each year ~ even though they bring such great memories! Over the years, I started with my Santa collection, and then moved to the Snowman collection and then to Dickens Village (it’s a girl thing, right?). So, I truly do have some great pieces to display. But my taste changes, as I am sure yours does too….. and new, beautiful styles come out in the stores each year. I love all different styles and color schemes for Christmas and that is what is so exciting about seeing everyone else’s holiday decor. I wanted to share the beginnings of my holiday decorating with you. Simplicity.

As with any seasonal change, I like to start with the kitchen island. It is the center of the house and my island is large enough to allow a good-sized grouping (vignette). This one started with a little wooden sleigh to get some height, and then I added a Santa candle holder, black wire basket, shabby crystal tea light holder, measuring spoons, bottle of wine, cookbook, kitchen towel and country living sign.

I enjoy mixing my everyday items with my Christmas items. Then I don’t have to part with my favorite things that are out all year.

I just adore these pewter spoons that my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday one year. The next little vignette is with my red Southwest cookbook, a pair of wooden ski’s and a snowman. Simple, but festive!

I love anything that has glitter on it because of the way it catches the light. One of the reasons that I bought this little green tinsel tree last year is because you don’t need the lights on for the tree to sparkle in the daytime.

And if you have things in your home (bunny rabbit or white roses) that you don’t want to put away during the holidays, just add a bow, a wreath or pinecones!

Now, I need your help with something. Last year I saw a few decorating ideas for vintage ice skates, but for the life of me ~ I can’t remember what they were. I have this pair of skates (they are mine) that I have had since I was probably 10 or 12. If you have read my “about me”, you know I grew up in Michigan. I used these skates to skate on the local ponds that froze over as well as in my own backyard. My father, every year, turned our backyard into a skating rink. He would go out every 1/2 hour or so, day after day, and spray a light coat of water on the grass until we had a thick, slick, ice rink! A cherished memory.

I don’t want to damage the skates in anyway….just adorn them! Any suggestions or links to pictures would be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to displaying them this year! Here is a picture.

I did a lot of stopping with those toe stops~

And a lot of falling ~ proof in the scuffs!

This is the inside flannel.

I appreciate all comments and ideas ~ have a beautiful holiday weekend !

~Cheryl

pastel morning ……. crystal clear day

I woke to a pastel painting with the moon in the sky and the fog on the ground!

It was my day off, and I was headed to my favorite place…..

take the trip with me and see what I got.

As I leave my country surroundings, passing the farms, buffalo, horses and cattle… I finally get to town. Once in town the closest mall is another 30 minutes away and we must go over the lake.

Even though I travel over the lake each day to work, I go over a different part of the lake and the senior care center I work at is on the lake shore. But to head to the nearest mall we will take a quick jaunt on the freeway. Coming from California, traveling on the freeway to go anywhere is the norm ~ so when we first moved to the Dallas area and our realtor told us that the people in our community seldom go “over the lake” (as if they were going on a huge excursion)….. we laughed and laughed at the small town mentality. Well, three years later, going over the lake and leaving the community has become a “huge ordeal”. Who’s got the last laugh now? Hubby and I are such “creatures of habit”, as my sweet sister-in-law once told me! So, today, is “big ordeal” day!

Oh, but let me back up just a bit…..

On the way to the freeway, there are so many beautiful homes on the lake. Today, I wanted to share one of a hundred of my favorites. I love the contrast of the stone house with the metal roof and the up & down wrap around porches!!! Thought you might like it too!

And while stopped to capture the picture above, I couldn’t help but to look up! Always remember to look up!

Blue skies and pine cones!

Shades of red and sunshine!!

Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

by William Wordsworth

Ok, back on track. I, so easily get off track while driving to town. So, across the lake we go…

whoa, this may be hard on the eyes at 60 miles an hour ~

Impressive. See how I focused on the car behind me in my side mirror? (To be honest, it was not intentional ~ cool shot ~ if I say so, myself)….. And I tell my son not to text and drive!!! Such a great example I set.

We made it. Over the lake and back on side streets. Phew!

And here we are………

This is a great outdoor mall with every store you can imagine. It is like a little village that you drive around in. Someday, not today, I will show you around. Summer is best ~ when all the flowers are in bloom.

And, what is my favorite store, you ask…….?

Barnes & Noble, of course. And it is not the first time it’s picture has been found on my blog!

And what was I here for?

PW’s cookbook!

and who was it for? ……..

My son’s girl! Favorite color purple.

Why did I buy her PW’s cookbook?

Well, when I first found PW, and started to read her love story, it captured my heart and I spent the next 8 hours reading each chapter until I finished. My hope was that “this Birthday Girl” above, would not only enjoy some “cowboy” recipes to learn to cook up, but would get caught up in the love story as well. Those of us who are familiar with PW, know that she is hysterically funny, a great cook, an accomplished photographer, and so much more ….who, on top of it all, adores her husband and loves her (in her words) 4 little punks!

In other words, she puts us all to shame and we keep going back for more!

She is an inspiration for all women. That is why I felt her story was a great gift for this young woman.

Have a beautiful week!

ox ~Cheryl

halloween night

This was the first Halloween in over 30+ years that I did not stand at the front door handing out candy. When my boy was little, his daddy always took him house to house while I handed out the candy. I loved dressing up and frightening the children!

I love Halloween. As my family and friends know, it is probably my favorite holiday. It is one day a year you can dress up and be someone else besides yourself and just have fun! As a child I used to bring home two full pillowcases of candy, mom always made my costume and I just loved running around in the night getting scared by monsters behind the bushes!! I hated when there was no one home at a house handing out candy and I must confess, we didn’t let them get away with it (bars of soap & toilet paper were very popular growing up in the 60's & 70's).

I stayed true to my heart and never disappointed a child who dressed up for Halloween and walked the neighborhood looking forward to picking up their treats! And I stayed true to my mom’s efforts with my costumes, and always made my sons Halloween costumes.

I have so many fond memories of Halloween Parties hubby and I threw over the years :)

Of course, due to all the real life frightening things that happen in this world, children now go to parties, church events, malls, etc to do their “trick or treating” ! So, because of the lack of children coming to the house, hubby and I decided to go to dinner and take in a movie!

We went to see Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx. I thought it was great. Jumped out of my seat at least 4 times and the poor man sitting next to me must have thought I was a bundle of nerves. You see, as I have gotten older, I scare a lot easier than that little girl running around the dark streets at night looking for the scare!

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Now, my sweet friend Becky from Farmgirl Paints (please stop by and give her a visit), asked that I share more pictures of myself in my blog. I have always photographed terribly, and as I age it is getting worse!!! UGH!! But here it goes. I tweaked the colors of the last 3 sunsets for fun! After dinner (Mexican, of course), hubby and I went down to the harbor to the theatre. The sunset over the water was fabulous!

Have a beautiful week! ~Cheryl

and the winner is……

Thank you for your entries for my year anniversary giveaway. Using the random generator, the winner is Judy, of Just a Little Something for You!! Please visit Judy’s blog and say hello!

Judy, please email me with your information and I will get your goodies out to you shortly!! Congratulations! ~ Cheryl

one year “blogiversary” giveaway !!!

 

 

For the coming season I would like to present a

 Christmas Giveaway!!

Two kitchen towels. Red & White ~waffle weave with snowman appliqué.

Two vintage pillows with red ribbing. One Santa, One Snowman

Two snowman ornaments.

One gold Florentine picture frame.  Opening 3.5 x 5 inches.

One Christmas coffee mug!!

 

I hope this is something that you all will like.  It is my thank you for following my blog and giving me so much joy in showing my photos of my everyday life, recipes, and everything that makes me smile about this beautiful state of Texas!

But most of all, I have been blessed to have met some special friends .

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment and please let me know, over the last year, what you have enjoyed most about my blog (or what you would like more of) ~ so that I can continue to have your visits be enjoyable for you.  Thank you for taking the time to stop by.

I will let this giveaway run until Saturday, October 31st, midnight, central time! 

~Cheryl~

Thank you!

Thank you.

I wanted to thank each of you who sent your well wishes to me. I am beginning to feel much better. The fatigue that I had is lifting and my spirits are lifting as well. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your kindness and concern.

~Cheryl

under the weather

Bless our Texas home

Been under the weather.

Brighter days are ahead.

how i know when it is autumn in Texas ……

The cows cannot eat in peace and the grass starts turning brown.

It is so cute, these birds follow them everywhere!

The fields are yellow… and

the sky is blue!

Pumpkins are everywhere.

The nurseries are decorated ……

and mums are about to bloom!

The colors are magnificent.

and cameras are in hand…

Just in case someone is right there for you to capture!

And did I mention, pumpkins are everywhere. Pumpkins of all kinds!

But most of all, the sun has that special Golden Glow ……..

and the sunsets never disappoint.

How do you know it is autumn where you live?

Have a beautiful fall week ~ Cheryl

so much to say, so little time …

My son and his girl went to Seattle and Portland on their first vacation together and for my son to meet her father. These are 4 of his 400 pictures!!!

This is the souvenir they brought home to me………

Since it is Monday, and my day off ~ I vowed to take the time to enjoy the morning sun and post in my blog. You know how I love the morning and evening sun coming in my house. My new mug is from the “first” Starbucks located in Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA. The perfect gift for me :) Thank you Brandon & Megan.

My snack.

Actually, this is my breakfast today….but normally it is my sweet-tooth snack.

Frozen banana slices and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter! YUM!

Now, this can’t be an everyday thing, because of the peanut butter.

270 calories, and 16 grams of fat.

If you cut the peanut butter to 1 tblsp, then you only have 8 grams of fat, which is about a third of the fat you should have for the day. And believe me,1 tblsp is PLENTY! But for photography purposes, I had to go with the 2 tablespoons :)

While deciding to photograph this treat, I was looking in my kitchen for a plate and I found these cute little plates that I bought on sale months ago for $5 ~ I forgot I had them.

CUTE!!!!

I could save the rest of what I have to say for another post, but I have been meaning to share these (below). I picked them up a couple of weeks ago with a Barnes and Noble gift card I had from the girls at work. Barnes and Noble is always my request if anyone insists on gift giving!

I know you all have seen Tara’s book on many of our fellow bloggers blogs, but I want to share as well. Tara is one of the first blogs I found that just blew me away. Her humor, her photography, her love of her family …. And to top it off, she wrote this book … I think she deserves all the recognition we can give her!

Lastly, for today, I want to share with you what I am doing for my heart. Oatmeal. I have been meaning for sometime now to eat oatmeal each day to counter-act all the bad things I do to my heart, caffeine, lack of cardio, stress etc. My mom swears that she lowered her cholesterol by these three things daily. Oatmeal, an orange and fish oil tablets. I have incorporated the oatmeal into a smoothie with orange juice, soy milk and a frozen banana. I semi-freeze it and drink it throughout the day at work. It is my mid-morning snack, my lunch and my afternoon pick me up.

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

1 frozen banana

3/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked)

1 cup orange juice

1 cup soy milk

Put in a blender until smooth. Freeze for one hour.

Health Benefits of Bananas ~ Click to Link to Statistics! Better than an apple a day!

Have a wonderful week ~ Cheryl

oh yea, Cowboys 31, Giants 33 – UGH!

who doesn’t love a cowboy …

I forgot to tell you girls (in my last post) the best thing I love about the fall. It is the start of football season :)

I’ll be spending my Sunday afternoons with Mr. Tony Romo and his boys for the next 4 months!!! He’s the MAN!!

1st game: Cowboys 34 Tampa Bay 21 Way to Go Boys!!!!! We are on our way to Super Bowl !!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boxjock78/3040336220/