What I Buy Wednesday

Last week, I showed you my new pink coat. Well, on Sunday, I wore it for the first time. I told Butch I wanted to do a photo shoot on the front porch. After all, the granddaughters do photo shoots all the time! I figured I could too. Mostly because I'm showing off my coat!

I had fun doing it and I love my coat!! Butch was a good sport about the whole thing. Side note, I was actually a model for about 5 minutes when I was a teenager. There was a show called the St. Louis Hop---sort of a local version of American Bandstand. I had a job modeling for Penney's on that show. My brother, Ronnie made fun of me by doing a funny impression of my walk! But I guess the jokes on him! I still have it!! Just kidding, but it was fun.

I've been buying like crazy because, well, it's almost Christmas time! Nothing I can really share right now. But I have something good for next Wednesday! You'll just have to wait and see.

Travel Tuesday

We're taking the family to Disneyworld for Thanksgiving. We put Sandy and Mindy in charge of the planning. We are a family that is way over the top when it comes to Disney. Putting Sandy and Mindy in charge was perfect. For them it was frustrating---a lot! Literally, things are changing every day. They would find out one thing one day and then find that it changed the next. We're not sure what we're going to experience once we get there, but we're sure to have fun no matter what.

Anyway, we came back from the beach on Saturday since Mindy and Sandy had "the big reveal" about our plans. The guys in the family are like, "Wait, what? Big reveal?" Like I said, we're a bit over the top! We all met at Stephanie's--and there was champagne involved!

We each got a gift bag:

Mindy and Sandy arranged for those who could not attend--to have their gift bags and join us with a Zoom call. Sandy started by telling us what we were going to be doing. Little by little, they revealed the contents of the bags.

We always have family t-shirts. We're to wear ours on Thanksgiving for a good family picture. They gave us the itinerary for the trip with all the details including the best rides and restaurants in each park. We'll meet every morning--ready to go--by 6:45. The new "genie" requires that you "sign up" for the rides you want to ride that day--promptly at 7 a.m. If you don't do this, you will not be able to get a spot and time for the best rides. There is no longer any standing in lines. 

Mindy got "magic bands" for each person. She put a lot of thought in to exactly the right one for each person. I got Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo---in pink--of course. The magic bands are linked to our credit card and are used for everything--room key, park entry, ride entry and to charge food and souvenirs. The bands are also linked to each other so that we can schedule things together. Sandy and Mindy are planning to meet with the concierge as soon as they arrive to make sure they fully understand the whole new program. 

The badge on the lanyard is a passport to go around the world at Epcot. It comes with a little sharpie so you can mark each country and what you ate or drank there. Because our family is so competitive, there's a prize for the person who experiences the most countries. There is also a scavenger hunt that we'll be doing too.

The little snack bag is Pepperidge Farm goldfish with little Micky heads--just for fun! These girls thought of everything and did a great job building the excitement. We can't wait. 

It will be interesting. Gone are the days where you just buy a pass at the gate. Now everything has to be carefully planned. Sandy and Mindy could definitely be those "guides" who get paid to plan trips for people. They are truly Disney experts. And we're so glad!! 

Me on Monday

Yes, this happened! I had to wear a heart monitor for a week and then go in for a couple other tests including the treadmill "stress" test. 

I'd been having some problems with dizziness. My Fitbit indicated that I had a low heart rate---very low. After all the testing, I'm happy to report that with my excellent carotid arteries, my heart is healthy and strong!! Yes, I have an extremely low, resting heart rate--41 while sleeping and 52 when awake. I asked the heart doctor if that meant I can say I have the heart of an athlete! Trust me, at nearly 70, I know that technically that's not true. But I guess all this walking has really helped. Anyway, the doctor laughed and said that I could say, "I have the heart of an athlete!"

I have the heart of an athlete y'all! Yay me!! 

It's That Time of Year!

Yep, with Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, that means Christmas is right around the corner! That also means that we are inundated with catalogs and email blasts. 

I never mind getting the Fortnum and Mason emails. They are always so colorful and fun. I just wish I could be in London to take advantage of purchasing a few of these darling ornaments. They are so cute--miniatures of their actual tea room china and goodies.

The teapot and cups in their signature aqua--so pretty.

There's this signature tea tin. Just so darn cute. I have a couple of these in my cabinet with their signature teas.

This clock is on top of the building. It's beautiful and ornate, but I do not recall that it is aqua. It blended in with the old architecture of the historic building.

This cute teapot is the exact shape of the one I bought when I was there a couple years ago. Mine has the Fortnum and Mason logo on it. In fact, I have a teapot ornament similar to this--that Stephanie surprised me with on that trip.

Who could resist this tiny tiered tray of cakes and sweets? They are just as pretty as the real ones in the tearoom. 

Then there's this:

I would love to have this little red Christmas tea tin. So adorable! 

In fact, I would love to have ALL of these ornaments. I would put them on my kitchen window sill and enjoy them all year round! Unfortunately that shipping from England just makes it to expensive to splurge!

Just another reason--or 10 as to why I need to get back to London! Hopefully in 2022.

A Few Pics from the Beach

By the time you are reading this, we are on our way home. It wasn't enough time. It never is. I always say I want to go to the beach and stay until I'm tired of it. But even a week goes by too fast. This time we got here on Monday and left this morning. Originally we were going to stay until Monday, but life got in the way. We have things to do in Nashville so back we came. Next time, we're staying until we get bored. At least that's the plan. In the meantime, here are a few things from this trip.

1. A few trips ago, Butch decided to start fishing down there. Right now, in November, the water is pretty cold. Still, he waded out so that he could cast in to a deeper channel.

And then we wait! Unfortunately, he didn't catch anything today, but the weather was so amazing that it was a great day to sit on the beach. 

2. Speaking of fishing, my brother, Matt sent me this. I think it's genius!

This will be perfect for our happy hours on the beach and sunset watching! I can't wait to do it! Which leads me straight to the sunsets.

3. On the first day here, we went down to the beach for a sunset and nearly missed it due to the time change. I didn't realized it was already starting to get dark.

Still pretty even if it was short! But not nearly as good as the ones that Mindy and Justin saw down here in October:

These pictures look like postcards! 

4. And then there was last night. Our final night. One thing about the beach, since it's vacation, we seem to have happy hour every day!

So last night, we headed to the beach with our gin & tonics in hand for one final sunset.

Unfortunately, when we turned the camera around for the selfie, the sunset didn't photograph well. 

We stayed long enough to see the moon and the still colorful sky. We've decided that we are going to make a habit of this. With the addition of the "snackle box"--that could account for dinner! Sort of a picnic on the beach. 

5.I walk just about every day. It's such a nice change of scenery. I saw this 1956 Chevy one afternoon.

As I made my way around the neighborhood, I came upon it again sitting in a driveway. The owners were there, so we chatted a bit. They are from Bowling Green, KY, which lead to a discussion about the 1959 Corvette we recently sold. Bowling Green is the home of the Corvette Museum. Butch has been there, but I have not. Now I'm putting it on my list. Bowling Green is only about an hour or so from Nashville. That would make a great geo-caching trip for a day.

We did a little of everything this trip. There's always a little work, but way more fun. We had lunch at Stinky's Fish Camp, Goatfeathers and Blue Mabel's. We bought and cooked fresh shrimp at Goatfeathers. We went back to pick up some of their smoked tuna dip. I'm hooked on that---so good. We cleaned a little. We went shopping on the one rainy day. I found several Christmas gifts. I stitched---a lot! I hadn't stitched in months, so it's been a lot of fun to get back to it. 

Basically, we did it all but still there wasn't enough time. Now it's back home to the chaos, noise and mess of the remodel! Reports of that coming soon!

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

1. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

What a cute idea for any cheeseball! You could just use a little of the cheeseball as the "glue" to attach the head and eyes. 

2. Speaking of "just in time for Thanksgiving"--I'm thrilled that Sandy wanted my mother's sterling silver flatware. 

Growing up, we only used it on holidays. I'm sure Sandy will use it more often as she likes to set a beautiful table. You know how I always say "our kids don't want our stuff?" Well, NONE of the other grandkids wanted it--nor did my brothers and sisters. I got it by default. Now I'm happy that Sandy will keep it--pretty appropriate since she is the oldest grandchild.

3. I've never seen a tag like this before. 

Definitely a good idea. I hope people pay attention to it!

4. A couple weeks ago, Butch took Mitchell to a Titan's game.

Considering he's our only grandson, I'm happy that they have something to do together. He's taking the older grands skiing in February. Plus he occasionally (meaning not very often) golfs and hikes with Mitchell.

5. I thought this was a pretty genius idea.

--Using a curtain rod to "hang" stuff. It's a great use of wasted space.