Thoughts and Things this week - Giving Thanks & Thankfulness

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we now have memories and a few leftovers from the day.  We had all the usual favorites here for our Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey, Dressing, Sweet Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Deviled Eggs, Cranberry Sauce, Fresh Baked French Loaf Bread, plus mini Chocolate Pies and Crème Brûlée for dessert.

Hubby cooked the Turkey out on the Big Green Egg while I prepared the other goodies to go with it.  Our daughter and her husband along with their fur-babies shared the day with us and our fur-baby.  Our other daughter and her family live in Greenville, SC and couldn't join us this year due to her work schedule.  I'm hopeful next year finds us all together in one place!

We enjoyed the warm and beautiful day and our dinner, with some game playing after dinner.  Then a bit of fun for each of us at dessert time by finishing the caramelizing of the sugar on our individual Crème Brûlée desserts, and we also had those mini Chocolate Pies too.  We were stuffed like a turkey by days end, and hubby and I were tired enough to claim it bedtime just after the others left to go home around nine-thirty.

We each took turns with browning and caramelizing our sugar topped dessert.  I have Emeril to thank for the Crème Brûlée recipe, I discovered his boxed-mix at the grocery recently and decided I'd let him provide the recipe for one of my desserts this year.  We altered the recipe at the end by adding white sugar and then browning it with our little butane burner.  (The mix came with caramelized sugar to sprinkle on top.)  It was so easy to make, and delicious! 

I have so much to be thankful for. I'm most thankful for my family, and their love. They're my everything!  They have my heart and my love.  I'm thankful for my extended family and I wish we could all be together more often and share more time together in one place, too!

I'm also thankful for my friends, many of which who have become like family.  It's said that "Friends are the family you choose."  

"Friends fill your Soul with Sunshine and your Heart with Love"

I mentioned being thankful for family, and I am especially thankful to be expecting a very special addition to our family in 2017.  Our sweet baby girl is having a "Sweet Baby Girl!" I can't wait to see "Little Miss Perfect" in that outfit!  This is her first child, and our third grandchild, third granddaughter actually and she is due in May.  My daughter and son-in-law are going to be terrific parents!  We are so happy, so excited, and so very thankful!

I took this photo of our handsome fur-baby boy Aeon, on Thanksgiving day.   I'm thankful that he shares lovingly in each day with us, brightens all of them, and is a special part of our life.  He brings joy and happiness to our everyday and I hope he feels the same about us!  He sure seems to smile a lot so I think he does!

My heart is full, and I'm very thankful!...

Thoughts and Things this week - November ~ Celebrations & Events

November always feels like it's truly Fall, especially here in Georgia!  It takes a while for me to get there, I'm all about Fall for now!  I've enjoyed the Fall decor around my home and plan to continue to through Thanksgiving.

November brings with it much to celebrate.  We happily celebrate birthdays, an anniversary, honoring our Veterans, and Thanksgiving this month!  We have so much to be thankful and grateful for!

I wanted to share a few 'November' celebrations and events on the list thus far. 

***

On the evening of Saturday, November 5th, we enjoyed a night at the Atlanta Opera, attending the performance of "Silent Night."  We claimed it as an early Anniversary celebration by also purchasing the dinner package offered.  We sat at a table with two other couples and enjoyed our dinner, as well as friendly conversation with them.  One couple informed us they were family to the orchestra conductor, her Mother and Brother.  The opera was very entertaining and interesting.  The music, performance, stage and effects, were all captivating and very well done.  A memorable evening and worth seeing opera!    

  ***

November 8th - On my 20th birthday, 36 years ago, I was celebrating my marriage to this handsome man! 

We have shared many adventures together. We've created two beautiful daughters, a beautiful home, a strong friendship, and a good life. Through highs and lows we have stuck together, swimming upstream when we had to, going with the flow as needed, and happily sailing through the great times. 

~Happy 36th Anniversary to my husband, my best friend, and the one I love, Marty. Here's to many more years of life, love, and laughter together, as friends and partners, as the better halves to each other, as husband and wife, as you and me, as us!

Thoughts and Things this week - A September Mourn

Oh "September," we'll be seeing you next year!  So long and good-bye 'til we spend another Summer's end with you!

The old saying "Time flies when you're having fun," came to mind while I was thinking about how fast this year is passing.  It feels as if September was here for only a moment!  Summer faded away far to quickly.

Now it's time to make way for Fall and accept the Fall-ing leaves, and that there will be Fall-ing temperatures.  Time for all that is Fall.  The last of the vibrant greens of summer will fade to glorious hues of autumn.  It will be time to cuddle up and snuggle in warmth.  Time for shorter days and longer nights.  So on this September morn, it's time to remember September as I mourn it's passing all too soon.  September, Summer's last "hurrah!"  My summer lovin' heart will be missing you!  

Thoughts and Things this week - A wonderful "Wedding" weekend!

I am so happy to share this post, we have been in "wedding" mode, and what a wonderful time it has been!

Thoughts and Things this week - A Night at the Opera ...Romeo and Juliet

We had a great night at the Atlanta Opera on this beautiful Saturday evening.  Romeo and Juliet, the story of love and devotion, a tragic love story!  It's been one that I have longed to see, so I have been anxiously waiting for this night to arrive since getting our season tickets last year.  It was a great performance and did not disappoint.  I was almost brought to tears with the ending scene, which left me with the chills and an ache in my heart for the lovestruck pair, Romeo and Juliet.

Many characters took the stage providing lots of visual interest and the singing was captivating as the story was told through their talented voices, sung in french and backed by the orchestra that added to the full emotion of it all.  I am always amazed at the sights and sounds of each opera I've attended.  The costumes, the stage sets, all the wonder of what goes into putting each production together.  Each one different from the others, and unique in their own way!  We always enjoy a wonderful experience attending the Atlanta Opera at the Cobb Energy Center.  I love the Opera!

With my opera glasses and tickets in tow, ready and excited to see Romeo and Juliet.

The view of the stage and orchestra from our seats.

Looking forward to a great opera performance as we enjoy cocktails at the Cobb Energy Center, before taking our seats!

It was a great night at the Opera!...

Thoughts and Things - This week ... A Grand Spring Break

I say it often to others, especially if they are new to the title of grandparent ..."It's a whole new kind of Love!"  Once I became a grandparent I was forever changed, my heart swollen to a new level of fullness.  Filled with immense joy and pride, and immeasurable love...

We enjoyed having the Grands stay with us over their Spring Break.  These two have my heart!  They are quite interesting, entertaining and fun these days.  They each have their own personality and are of course changing all of the time, minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day!  

I will warn those viewing this post...it is heavy with photos...and cuteness!

Thoughts and Things - This week ... An April "Shower" for the Bride-to-be

This day was certainly one to remember, and will surely forever be a great memory.  Saturday was a beautiful day of celebration with a Bridal Shower for our daughter, and her Prince.  Her favorite princess is Belle, so that is how the theme idea came to be.  The theme was "Beauty and the Beast," and it was beautifully done!  The decorations, the food and everything was just so beautiful, all the details masterfully pulled together by her dear Friend and co-worker, along with her Sister and Mother.   They did such a wonderful job!  Thanks to the three of them, as well as our daughter's future Mother-in-law, and two future Sisters-in-law for all that was done in making this such a special day for our daughter.  Above is the table decor for each table.

Thoughts and Things - This Week ... Where does the time go?~Birthdays, Babies & Brownies

Where does it go?  It seems unreal that our first grand is nine already.  She is growing up so fast!  We were supposed to celebrate her birthday with her last weekend, up in Greenville, SC.  However, due the winter storm that stole our plans, we had to postpone.  We managed to try again with great success today, I'm happy to say!

And just look how happy she was about it.  Two birthday-days aren't so bad after all. 

I treated her to my special, fancy Brownie (I prepared two, one with walnuts and one without), instead of the typical birthday cake.  She was very pleased about that too!  A few candles added, along with all of us singing her the "Happy Birthday" song, had her smiling as well.

A wish was made, and then out went the candles!  I think she may have wished that she could eat the whole thing!

She and little Sis posed for a moment, so I could capture their beautiful smiles!  I'm quite sure they were babies just a minute ago!  Nine and five now, how did this happen?

Their momma was just my little baby not that long ago, as well.  Now she is over 21, and like her mother she also enjoys a nice glass of wine.  And now we both can enjoy a glass together!  But, I'm not gonna state our ages!  Well OK, she is uhhhh, 29 ... and me, I am not much older!  OK?  Got it?  

That's our story and we're sticking to it!  ;)

Where does the time go?...

Thoughts and Things - This Week ... Feeling Thankful

We celebrated our Thanksgiving early this year, doing it on the Saturday before so we could share in some time with loved ones that couldn't be here on Thanksgiving Day.  With everyone leading busy lives and going at a fast pace, it's always nice to have a day to slow down and spend quality time together.  Enjoying delicious food and sharing a day of love and laughter, and the many things we are grateful and thankful for.

Just four of us here this year, our youngest daughter and future son-in-law sharing the day with us.  But it was still a grand-sized feast we all enjoyed, with several delicious side dishes to accompany one beautiful slow-smoked Turkey.  The Mister gets most all the credit for preparing a perfectly cooked turkey that was juicy, tender, and so delicious!  I helped in that just a little by whipping up a basting recipe of chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and honey, which he used to baste on the turkey throughout the cooking process. 

We had a delicious meal, Sweet Potatoes, Dressing, Crockpot Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Bean Casserole, Deviled Eggs and Rolls.  Plus the star of the show the Smoked Turkey cooked on our big green egg!  I had a Chocolate Cake on the ready for dessert, but we were pretty satisfied and quite full, so we never got to that! 

The beautiful Turkey being basted during cooking   Cooked beer-can-chicken style, while cooking low and slow at 275 degrees, for about 5 hours on our big green egg.  It was juicy, tender, and so very delicious!  A baste made of 1 cup chicken stock, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and 2 Tbsp. honey, basted on about every 45 minutes kept it moist.   

A few of the side dishes fresh from the oven. (left to right) Sweet Potatoes with melted mini-marshmallows, Macaroni and Cheese, and Cornbread and Herb Dressing.

Leftovers were divided up so we all could have a bit of do-over later on, or the next day.  Speaking of which I think I need to go warm up some of that!

I hope you will have lots of family time together with those you love on Thanksgiving Day, and your tummy will be as delighted as mine was after our delicious meal.  And, may you have more than plenty of love and laughter to fill your heart!  

Also I wanted to add a special message to my Mom who had a birthday yesterday!  

~*~  Happy Birthday Mom!  ~*~

I Love you so much! OXOX

Wishing everyone a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!...

Thoughts and Things - This Week ... Fall Fever

Once November arrived we really began to take notice of the change outside.  Fall is even more apparent around here now with all of the beautiful colors.  The leaves have been falling and covering the areas below, occasionally blowing to a new location with a bit of a breeze or gust of wind.  All the while giving most everything a topping of leaves.

Showers of rain, and leaves, have been taking place at late.  While some days have just been a bit wet and misty.  The freshly cut grass provides a clean slate, if only for an afternoon!  It's a pretty sea of green surrounded by the many colors of Fall.  Although, the grass will be dormant before long, and then I'll surely be missing its green color.

And soon, there will only be the green of the evergreens among all the other trees, which will be bare.  Some of the trees have become bare more quickly than others.  I feel the change coming all too quickly!

My Crepe Myrtle tree really stands out with it's show of fall colors.  Its leaves change color and drop rather quickly.  This tree offers many different looks throughout the year.  It was only about two-feet tall when I planted it, a discounted find from the local nursery, which I hoped would survive with a little tlc and some love.  So far, so good!  The green seen here will be gone all to soon, and will be missed until next spring!  

Seeing the beautiful fall colors while out on a drive makes me wish to be an artist, a painter, and paint the beautiful scenery viewed from all different directions around me.  Like individual oil paintings, each spot of sight is a new, and interesting picture.  I guess I've fallen for fall with being captivated by the look of it, I must have caught the fall-fever!

One thing is for certain, like it, love it or not, we are in the midst of the fall-season.  Fall can be messy, wet, and even cold.  But, it is undeniably ...beautiful!

Thoughts and Things - This Week ... A Day to Celebrate!

On my birthday, 35 years ago today, we said "I do."

That's something to Celebrate!

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That's a lot of

Thoughts and Things - This week ... Travels, Food, Fun & Family Friday and TRAFFIC!

We had a little trip to North Carolina on Friday so we stopped on the way back to stay in Greenville, SC over night.  Some family time together with our daughter, son-in-law and the two grands!  And, we also took our four-legged furr-baby Aeon along with us, who enjoyed spending time with everyone, most especially the grands, and also their four-legged furr-baby Windsor.  

We had a fun evening with them on Friday night and also as we enjoyed watching them do home-made pasta.  They have a pasta making machine so along with using a home made dough recipe, they make fresh pasta.  The choice was fettuccine or spaghetti, and it was agreed by all that spaghetti would be the pasta they would make.  What a fun gadget!  Although this is not a quick endeavor, they have become quite good at the whole process, and are an excellent team working together to achieve what was a most delicious home dining experience.  They did an impressive job!  Some fresh spaghetti topped with a tasty homemade tomato sauce, garnished with grated parmesan cheese, served along with bread and herb/seasoned olive oil, and some red wine of course!  Everything was so good, and the pasta was so delicious!  Definitely my kind of meal, it's Italian!

Thoughts and Things - This week ... Oh G...

Gals - Gowns - Grands - Goodies, and Guys ...Oh 'G'

It's always a good week when I get to see both of my daughters in the same week!   That certainly doesn't happen often enough since one lives an hour away here in Georgia, and the other lives over two hours away in South Carolina.  It's not so bad now that we have many ways of connecting, and even seeing one another, with the help of phones and video.  

My daughter from SC came to visit for a few days, we had a nice time spending one day shopping my favorite Antique/Thrift shops, scoring greatly I might add!  And, I'm pleased to say that I now have some new projects and will be sharing those here real soon.  We topped off our day with a delicious Italian meal at a favorite restaurant, my early birthday treat for her birthday next week since we won't be together to celebrate it then, and later we enjoyed some glasses of wine out on our back porch.  The weather has been quite enjoyable of a morning and in the evenings, too.    

Here's a little peek at some of the thrifty treasures I scored.  I have plans to use them as my home decor very soon, and I have some makeovers to do on a couple of them first before I share them!

The next day we met up with my other daughter so we gals could all go wedding gown shopping with her, and one of her bridesmaids!  Exciting times planning a wedding next year!   We have gone looking at wedding gowns one other time before, but this time...

She said YES to the dress!

Bridesmaid/Friend, Mother of the Bride, Bride, and Matron of Honor/Sister

She sure did, and it's so perfect!! It was a very special moment, filled with many tears and lots of joy! "Even the 'Bride' cried!" I am now even more excited for the big day! 

~ I'm so happy for her!

>>> <<<

I sent some goodies home with my daughter to give to the grands, since they were at school and unable to visit along with their Mother at this time.  

Sometimes it's the little things like "getting a bag of goodies sent from Grandma" that makes an ordinary day, extraordinary!

And, seeing their happy smiles are the sweet reward for me! ♥♥

>>> <<<

This guy, my guy, had a birthday this week!  However we didn't get to spend it together because he was on the trip of a lifetime! ...traveling Route 66 from Los Angeles to Chicago, along with a good friend of ours, via their motorcycles.  They took over two weeks to do the route, spending some nights in hotels and some camping out.   I say "I am the best wife ever!"  He just got home today and has lots of photos and video to share, and numerous stories to tell. 

He sent me this photo when they were at the midpoint.

These guys have been on quite an adventure!

Now it's time to enjoy our weekend, and then all should be back to normal around here, whatever that is?  I'll be back real soon with some makeovers that I can't wait to share with you!

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Thoughts and Things - This week ... August and more...

Hello August!  Although it began with milder than normal temperatures here for us, I know it will quickly be the typical hot August-heat chasing us indoors to cool off.

Yes, I'm back!  I've had some time away from my blog duties at late.   This and that going on, but to make the story short, to begin with I wasn't feeling well at the first of the month as I was overtaken by a virus/bug of sorts.  It took me over a week to feel I'd re-gained my strength, and to feel somewhere close to 'normal' again ...ugh!  Glad to have that behind me.  All better for now!  

I then happily had a mini vacation/trip to Florida last week to visit with my Sister and Brother-in-law, and my Parents too!  My Sister recently moved to Florida from Indiana, and now we live a little closer.  And, my Parents live in Florida also, so they made the short drive to my Sister's so we could all be together.

I'm so glad I got to see them and spend some time with all of them!  Although my visit was short it was sweet!  And, it was especially nice to be able to give my Sis real hugs & kisses and "Happy Birthday" wishes on her birthday!  Now I'm missing them all, greatly.  

{The photo above is of some lovely palm trees near my Sister's home.  They looked just perfect on the morning I was leaving to drive home.}

... ... ...

I couldn't resist adding this photo, because it's too funny and almost true.  

There were a few afternoon showers that definitely had me thinking this!

... ... ...

Yes it is!  I hope to get to share in more 'Sister time' now that we live a little closer to each other.

And, a little Family time is always good for the soul!...

Thoughts and Things - This week ... Food, Fun & Fireworks on the 4th

Hey everyone, I hope you had a great weekend!  July certainly arrived this week, and with that came all the celebrations of the 'Fourth of July' holiday over the first weekend.  I enjoy all the 'glory' surrounding Independence Day.  It's always nice to see so many American-flags waving high and proud everywhere.  It's a beautiful sight!  Hurray for our red, white and blue!  And, for those who protect our freedom and help to keep our nation secure, to whom I am most grateful.   

There was quite a bit of rain on Saturday morning, but the forecast gave us clearing skies for late afternoon and the evening.  We (hubby and I) had a nice cook-out at home just the two of us here, along with our favorite golden retriever Aeon of course.  We chose to stay home and view fireworks from our neighbors, that proved very entertaining.  Our lawn-chairs perched atop our driveway we were able to see and hear fireworks from a few different locations nearby.  Some adult-beverages kept us refreshed out there in our lawn-chairs and also had me humorously saying to hubs that we were "drinking and driveway-ing."  It was kind of funny at the time!  I sure do amuse myself sometimes ... and hubby too apparently, since he found it pretty funny also!

*** 

Hubs was the grand grill master so while he prepared the Big Green Egg outside, I did some other prep for our meal, inside.

I did a simple table setting with a little 'Fourth of July" theme ...just a touch to make it a bit more festive.

A little prep before grilling our steak dinner.  My Stuffed Jalapenos.  Oh and can't forget the wine!

The Stuffed Jalapenos Peppers were cooked on the grill first and we enjoyed them as our appetizer before enjoying the rest of the meal, Grilled Steaks, Sauteed Mushrooms, and Skillet Potatoes along with a nice bottle of wine.  Our dinner was delicious, and those steaks were absolute perfection, cooked and seasoned just right!

Here are links to my Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers and Skillet Potatoes recipes if you are interested. ;)  They're a couple of our family favorites!   

***

After dinner we moved outside for the fireworks.

A neighbor put on a great fireworks display at the cul-de-sac near our house.  It was nice to stay home and still have a show of fireworks.   All from the comfort of home!  Below are a few photos of the fireworks that I captured with my camera phone.  

    

We had food, we had fun, and we had fireworks!

  

***

 Here is a little something extra special:

"Between the fireworks and other festivities, it might have been easy to miss a video posted to YouTube on July 2nd of a patriotically moving rendition of "Amazing Grace" performed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and celebrated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker."

Enjoy!

Source: myfoxatlanta.com

Truly Amazing...