English Country Rooms

For this Pink Saturday's participants, just click on the logo below and go to Beverly's Blog where you'll see all the participants. It's my favorite thing to do on Saturday, and Beverly is just a sweet person to know.

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For Pink Saturday I'm going to show a painting a dear sweet friend of mine painted and I bought a couple of years ago. She has gifted me with several of her beautiful roses paintings also. She does beautiful work. Her name is Lorena. I believe she incorporated pink into the Christmas stocking in a dazzling way. Just love it!

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The holiday season is almost over, and it's calmed down here quite a bit, so I'd like to try and get back on track with blogging. I spent the Friday before Christmas in bed and didn't get out until Sunday night when Love Bunny cooked the whole turkey dinner for me. We believe I got food poisoning from a bad jar of salad dressing I used on tuna salad a few days before. I'm fine now though. And his dinner was superb. I did mash the potatoes for him however.

I'm sick to death of food at the moment. I ate my way through about 2 boxes of chocolates, a pumpkin roll a friend surprised me with (DELICIOUS!), numerous Milky Way Simply Caramel bars, cinnamon rolls, a Dutch apple pie, a pumpkin pie, Coldstone Creamery LARGE (Is that one called Gotta Have It?) chocolate ice cream dish, Olive Garden Black Tie Mousse pie, Applebee's Triple Chocolate Overload cake, pumpkin cookies, a popcorn and nut mix with chocolate drizzle, a cake that sent my taste buds into survival mode with all the sugar in the frosting and a Jack in the Box Chocolate overload cake also. My sugar level is right up there with the National Debt, trust me.

So with that being said, let's view some pictures of some English homes I love. I incorporate English, a touch of French, Traditional, Romantic, Shabby, Chic and a bit of ME thrown into the mix in my decorating. I always have thrown in a bit of ME, but certainly over the years my styles have changed. Just view the rooms without me saying too much about them. Pictures speak louder than my words ever could.

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And just for your information, I'll have more pictures this week with more thoughts on 24 and Jack Bauer very soon. ;-)
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Roses and Fancy Plates for Pink Saturday 12/24/2011

Welcome to Pink Saturday just before Christmas 2011. It's a special time of year because we celebrate the birth of our Savior and I love watching the hustle and bustle of it even though we've given up on gift giving except for the 2 youngest grandsons and our sweet Miss Caroline, our first great grandchild. We'll see her in about a month when we go over to visit with our little munchkin for a week. Here is a picture of her with her mummy, her aunt and new cousin, Ethan. They actually have the same hairline but different color. He sure is a doll. His mummy is the prettiest physician I've ever seen. Isn't she lovely?
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But as always, I thank Beverly for each Pink Saturday and her sweet willingness to help me give away 12 aprons because we are trying to get rid of unnecessary stuff. Thank you again, Beverly. She is one of the sweetest and kindest bloggers I know.
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I decided recently to bite the bullet and get rid of some china plates I've collected over the years. Let me assure you this was no easy decision. I absolutely adore these plates but it's time to get rid of them. Now, I've thought of taking them to the thrift store or giving them to my daughter to do mosaics with them (She's insistent that I give them to her) but before I do that I'd like to see if someone else who won't cut them up would like to have them. I won't give these away but if you see any plate or set of plates you'd like, email me and I'll give you the thrift store price, but you must consider the cost of mailing them to you. That can be more than the actual plate. If there is no interest, they go to California with us this spring for my daughter to cut up. I don't plan on being around when she does it as I can't watch it; I'll cry. :-(

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Butter pat plates.
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I love this plate and will find it hard to get rid of if someone wants it.
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A rose covered honey pot. Not many of these around.
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Love Bunny bought this for me at an estate sale as a surprise but I don't use it.
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Anything you see ABOVE this picture is available, not anything below here. I'm keeping just enough plates to furnish a table for my family. And if we have any more great grandkids then they get the Melmac plates. :-) I refuse to hold onto stuff anymore. Letting go and getting rid of so much "fluff" is more important. Both my kids and granddaughter have more than I do and don't want any more stuff. It goes!

Just a few crystal stemware for us to entertain "lightly".

Just enough dishes to do the same.

These are the dishes I had crammed into that china cabinet.

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Thoughts on the Season

I love this time of year but not for the obvious reason of gift giving. Hubs and I gave that up several years ago. As a matter of fact, this is the farthest I've come to decorating this year and it's December 20th already. Hubs got the tree down from the garage attic two nights ago and finally set it up last night. I have neither the desire or the energy to decorate it yet. It's that simple. I wouldn't decorate at all because it's just the two of us and no one is coming this year but my sweet Love Bunny loves having a tree. It makes no difference to me as my heart is in the real reason for this season of the year. I adore the feelings of Christmas not the commercialization of it. Ooooh, don't get me wrong; I've eaten my way through Wal-Mart's candy aisle three times now. Then there's the Christmas day and the day after Christmas when things—candy!—go on sale. Hold me back, please. It'll take me months to even care about food again. I sit here trying to get up the nerve to go in to cook dinner even though I have absolutely no hunger at the moment. Food just seems obscene to me right now, but I did promise hubs fried potatoes and tuna salad, one of his favorite meals. Sigh.

Anyway, these are pictures of how far I've gotten today. Read on for more of the reason.

Just a bit of eye candy for you while I tell you the reason. I think I'll sit and make more ribbon roses while watching Netflix. Again, read on...

24 and Jack Bauer!
I love that series. Since we don't have a television and don't want one I subscribed to Netflix for a free month and a friend told me about the series 24 since she knows I love action movies and not chick flicks. I have never seen it until about a week ago. I watch it every chance I get. I'm in season five with three more seasons to go. Give me a hero who follows his own dictates and kills every bad guy in sight and I'm in heaven!

But I do have some comments on 24.

Since my brother-in-law is a retired FBI agent I can assure you the female agents do NOT run around in high heels.
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The two original female leads were pathetically bad actresses and should have been written out of the series way before they got killed. They showed about as much emotion as a bag of dog food.
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Jack Bauer's writers must have a "thing" for tall, emaciated, no talent women. Makes one wonder.
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There are way too many women in authority roles: CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit), etc. That does not happen in real life and the ones in the plots were nothing but insecure women making real women look like career-grabbing hussies. That is not true in real life.
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Agents don't run around with their windows down when guarding the President. Just not done.
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The agents spend way more time on the phone than necessary. Why don't they just say, "If you'd stop calling me, I'd be able to get some work done."
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Is there a women in CTU who hasn't slept with Jack Bauer or Tony Almeida? Ooooh, puleeeeze.....
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The most used statement in the series: Let me make one thing clear.
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You've got to have a death wish to be around Jack Bauer.
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I'll have more later but all-in-all I absolutely love the show!!!
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Pink Saturday 12/17/2011

The winner of the last apron is
BJ of Sweet Nothings
Congratulations! I think she's won 2 now.

Pink Saturday Apron Giveaway #12

First of all, the winner for last week's apron is:

LV of Thoughts from Meme's Corner

Congratulations!

Join all the pink lovin' chicks on Beverly's blog today. Thank you again profusely, Beverly, for helping me give away these aprons to bloggers who will appreciate them. It was most generous and very kind of you to do this.



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This is the last apron to be given away. I'm done! I trust they all went to good apron lovin' homes as I put my heart into each one of these. Originally, they were for sale but these didn't sell for some reason. They are adorable in person. ;-) So in the effort to declutter our home I thought I'd give them to bloggers who appreciate this sort of thing. I love aprons and wear one all the time when cooking or crafting. Trust me, I'm a slob when it comes to those 2 things.

This one is actually canvas like a butcher's apron so very sturdy. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post right here. I'll draw a name during the week and post the winner on next week's blog. I actually notify the winner before I post it here. But since Pink Saturday actually debuts on Fridays and we go to Applebees, Olive Garden or Outback on Friday nights, nothing is going to interfere with that! Good luck, chicks.

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A few thoughts from this past week.

About 3 years ago a pizza/Italian sandwich shop opened up about 2 blocks from us. We went in and had sandwiches when it opened and I was very unhappy with the service and didn't particularly like the food. (I am very, very picky about my food.) So I told hubs I wasn't going in there anymore.

Well, he said it's been getting great review on their Philly Cheese steak hoagies on his iPhone. Yeah, you can get rating on your iPhone for restaurants. So he wanted to try it again since it might be better after 3 years—actually, he just kept bugging me until I gave in at a weak moment. I kept saying no. But the other day I decided to show him who knows best. We went there for lunch. Service was long and pathetic and not good in the least. Hubs agreed with me. I knew I would be right and I told him. But it was a sandwich out and I love eating out, but we definitely will never to there again.
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Then a few days later we went to a place that had liver. Now, I won't even have liver in my house but I relented for hubby's sake. I had a BLT with fries. A real treat for me but the BLT was horrid also. I think hubs trust me now when I say I told you so! He won't ask me to go there ever again. ;-) However, this waitress must have been new because we've never seen one that had all her teeth and no tattoos swarming all over her body, arms and face.
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We're still both on WW program, but I bought a pie to take to a Thanksgiving party. It missed a slice when we took it so I told hubs the gremlins got into it. I lied; it was ME. Why can't we have pie before the main dish? I've always liked that idea so this time I did it. The hostess just giggled at me when I told her I needed a pie fix early that morning. I love pie for breakfast!
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I'll be back soon with what's happening in the Living Beautifully household.
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A Spiritual Melody for Sunday 12/4/2011

Just some beautiful music for a Sunday around here. Enjoy.


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Pink Saturday Apron Giveaway #11

Ooops, almost forgot to announce the winner. It's

Yvonne of La Petite Gallery.
Congratulations!


What is Pink Saturday? Go to Beverly's blog and check it out. You just might want to participate at some point if you haven't already. No matter what, you'll enjoy perusing the bloggers who share their pinks with us.

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This week's apron is a wedding cake top and tiny pink rose bouquets on the bottom with a pink polka dot ruffle. Just leave a comment on this post here and I'll pick a name during the week and announce the winner on next week's Pink Saturday giveaway. Yes, it's just that simple, chicks.

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Pink Saturday Apron Giveaway #10

The winner for last week's apron is:

Chubskulit

Congratulations, Sugar!


Please visit Beverly's blog to see all the other participants today. Thank you, Beverly, for doing this each week. We all appreciate you enormously!
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This little pink stripe and cake apron is this week's giveaway. Leave a comment here on this post and your name is entered. During the week I'll draw a name and announce it on next week's giveaway.

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All of us have rituals in our lives—daily routines, which we adhere to religiously. At least, I do. One of them is my toilette every morning. It goes something like this:
Turn on shower.
Potty while shower is warming up. This may vary depending on how much liquid I drank the night before. ;-)
Get in shower.
Wash hair.
Condition hair.
Wash face with a special brush bought for just that purpose. This once got out of sequence and I washed my face twice.
Wash body with Dove extra moisturizing body wash.
Wash, ummmm, other areas with another washcloth.
Wipe face gently with another washcloth getting in ears.
Get out and dry off and wrap hair with one towel.
Use other towel for rest of body.
Lightly moisturize face.
Shave 10 lip and chin hairs. (Okay, I admit it. The hairs are too light to have them taken out with a laser so until a laser is developed to take out light hairs I'm stuck. The wax just doesn't work for me. Confession!) More than I tell most friends. ;-) And, Martie, if you're reading this DO NOT spread the rumor around the office!! ;-)
Put styling gel on hair.
Blow dry hair upside down. (Secret to fluffy hair.)
Brush teeth.
Moisturize with Oil of Olay (intense stuff for my age group!)
Another Oil of Olay treatment of which I've forgotten the name at the moment. (Another sign of advanced aging.)
Brush teeth
Put on foundation, powder and mascara.
Fix hair. Spray hair.

Now, if anyone of these is out of order it throws me off. Once I brushed my teeth out of order and before I knew it, I was brushing them again!

Another instance:
Sitting down to read, I usually pick up the book and then turn on my reading lamp. This is such a habit that one day I picked up the book and turned the light switch and turned it OFF. I simply didn't expect the light to be on but it was. I then turned it on.

I am just simply a creature of habit.
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I realized we can make a difference when we are unhappy with a situation.

I learned that Scentsy was discontinuing my favorite scent that I have in warmers around my house: French Kiss. I loooove that fragrance. I was devastated (I mean devastated!! I cried right there in my Scentsy dealer's house.) and my Scentsy distributor said to call or email them. I did. They are NOT discontinuing it!!! I was beyond thrilled. I immediately ordered 6 room sprays and will order a brick of it so I never run out.

I also wrote to Pepsi about a horribly bad 12 pack I purchased. It was NOT at all like my regular Pepsi. I contacted them via their website and have heard nothing from them. On the other hand...

I contacted Hagan Das about a flavor that was beyond my wildest chocolate dreams—Mayan Chocolate. It was fantastic—deep dark chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. Best chocolate I've ever eaten.

Well, I did hear from them and they said it wasn't a very good seller so they discontinued it due to that fact. I simply cannot believe it wasn't a good seller. It was out of this world fantastic! Sob.... I suppose I didn't make the compelling case I thought I was making.
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I've decided while on Weight Watchers I'm going to make chocolate a FREE food. Works for me.
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I have a bubble in my tummy so I'm leaving the room for the moment. ;-) Until next time.
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Reality Around the House 11/23/2011

Reality. Claudia has been posting about this on her blog. The reality at my house is this:

A desk that never seems to be clean. No matter how hard I try there is always something on top. My camera is in my hands at the moment otherwise it would be sitting to the left of my iMac just to the right of my JBL Creature Speakers. My Canon is always there to grab at a moment's notice to run and snap photos.

The filing cabinet behind my desk doesn't get much better than this. Trust me. Hubs says I need to clean up my files and reorganize them and I just may do that during the holiday season to give me something to do since we no longer buy gifts for each other or kids, just the grands and great granddaughter get something. I absolutely loooooove not having the stress of Christmas shopping. That painted shutter and office chair cover in the corner will be given to the thrift store or sold on eBay. I hate to part with either one but it's time. I'm being brutal on getting rid of things in this house.

I'm supposed to be exercising each night in here but I've been so busy doing other things that it's fallen by the wayside for a while.

This message board needs some serious cleaning up but I just never feel like taking off and filing the things on there. My earphones for the phone I use frequently so I can talk and type at the same time.

Our master toilet room. Hubs stacks our supply of toilet paper so high I can't reach it. He thinks he's being cute, but actually it makes more work for him because when I need another roll I have to call him in to reach it for me. ;-)

These are just some of the pillows I'm going to get rid of. There are several more in my bedroom and to the right of this photo out of sight.

More storage boxes to sort through. I recently threw away a plethora of old photos of vacations we've taken. They weren't digital and were horrible plus most of them were views of beaches or mountains or landscapes that nobody in their right mind would want to look at even IF I had the desire to show them, which I don't. The most boring thing for me is to visit people and have them drag out photo albums. I usually just try to ignore the albums and keep talking. It's torture for me!

Our master bath shower. There are always 3 washcloths on the door.

My supply of Nair sits on the corner tub in our bathroom because after the last leg shaving I had 11 bandaids and 2 4x4 gauze pads to staunch the flow of blood. I'll never, ever shave my legs again. I buy Nair 4 at a time and when I start the 4th bottle I put it on the shopping list to buy 4 more. I'm tired of bleeding!

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We did go to the movies on Monday night. The movie we chose was Tower Heist and was really funny. It was strange to see Alan Alda play a bad guy though. I would recommend it because we laughed a lot.

The tickets were free but the snacks were out of sight!!! A small bag of popcorn and a small drink cost me $10.75. How do y'all manage to take kids to the movies? A family of four or five could easily be a $100.00 tab including small snacks. A small candy bar for $4.75. Holy moly!

On our drive home we saw a lot of homes with their Christmas decorations up. I told hubs he was NOT putting ours up because I didn't want him to put stress on his neck. He kept telling me he was and I kept repeating he wasn't. He finally called me a grinch. I said, "Make that Grinchette and ya got it right, bubbie." You know who's going to win this argument, right? ;-)
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