Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

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And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Show and Tell Friday

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I thought awhile about whether I should share this here or not because I'm sure some of you are going to think I'm absolutely crazy!  You may remember I  bought a new-to-me car in January and shared it on Show and Tell.  I loved that car but my dream car has always been a Jaguar.  I even cut a Jag out of a magazine to put on my inspiration board, right next to my cute little dream house with the white picket fence! (Yep, I read and follow The Secret and it works)

Well, a funny thing happened...my credit union sent me a key in the mail and said come to our Tent Event and see if your key unlocks the Mercedes and if so, you win! Well, I think I mentioned years ago on my blog that I actually did win a car before by having the lucky key so I thought maybe, just maybe, it will happen again!  Anyway, I figured I would go to this tent sale early on a Saturday morning and try my key. When I got there I had to walk past all the cars they were selling to get to the place for a chance to win the Mercedes.  I walked past this Jag and fell in love!  The salesgirl asked if I wanted to test drive it and I said "sure"!  Honestly...I had no intention what-so-ever of buying it, I just thought it would be fun to drive it! haha...well the rest is history!

I'm now the VERY PROUD owner of my dream car!  I must say, I have never done anything like this...I never purchase cars on the spur of the moment.  Every car I've ever had in the past, I've had for 9 or 10 years...until the cost of repairs were greater than the car's worth!  I think this was just meant to be...It's a 2003 (which made it affordable for me) but it only had 42,000 miles on it and it's in perfect condition!  Now I just need to get my personalized license plates transferred over.

If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. Please read the Show and Tell Guidelines for step-by-step instructions on how to participate.If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog. If your link has been removed, please re-read over the guidelines before re-posting, or e-mail me with any questions.Thank you! I look forward to seeing everyone's posts...it may take me awhile to get around to visit everyone since I work full time but I'll do my best to get to your blog as soon as I can!

Random acts of kindness

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(Photo Mosaic is from some of my photos and my Flickr Favorites)

Last Friday I had to take a 2 1/2 hour drive to complete some paperwork on a new purchase I made.  (I'll be sharing more about that on Show and Tell tonight...don't get too excited for me, it's not a house).  On that trip I had to cross a toll bridge and when I pulled up to the toll booth the toll taker told me that the person in front of me had paid my toll! It took me a minute to grasp that a total stranger would do that!  I was so shocked that I almost drove off but luckily I thought to pay for the car behind me!  I'm telling you, it seems so small, but random acts of kindness like that are so wonderful when you are a part of them.  This weekend I will be crossing that toll bridge again and I'm going to not only pay my toll but for the stranger behind me also! 

Cabbages and Roses and a giveaway

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I love everything about this bathroom! Please click here to go over to my product review/giveaway page to read more about this. 

Yummy Salmon Burgers

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This weekend Lauren and I went to Whole Foods to get a few things.  I'm on a nonfat Greek yogurt, honey and fresh blueberry kick right now and I had to stock up for the week!  So, while we were walking by the meat counter we saw salmon, cilantro and garlic patties and Lauren and I both said Mmmmmm at the same time!  They were formed into round patties but putting them on a regular hamburger bun just didn't seem like it would do them justice so I bought some sourdough rolls and reformed the patties to fit.  I grilled them up last night and added some tarter sauce, tomato, purple onion and lettuce and served them on the toasted rolls and it was the most amazing sandwich I've had in a long time!   It felt like we were eating at a restaurant by the beach.  I get in such a rut sometimes....making the same things for dinner so it was nice to find something quick and easy and so good! 

Show and Tell Friday

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Welcome to Show and Tell Friday! This week I decided to show what I have on my coffee table right now.  I try to change it out often but I really like this display so it may be here longer than usual.  

Vanilla scented candles, shells and roses...

Also on the table are two more of my favorite things, my large silver flea market-find tray and my beautiful apothecary jar that was a gift from my friends at Vintage & Vogue. 

I also have shells, candles and roses on my dining room table...

I'm loving the beachy romantic look! 

If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. Please read the Show and Tell Guidelines for step-by-step instructions on how to participate.If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog. If your link has been removed, please re-read over the guidelines before re-posting, or e-mail me with any questions.Thank you! I look forward to seeing everyone's posts...it may take me awhile to get around to visit everyone since I work full time but I'll do my best to get to your blog as soon as I can!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

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Yesterday was my Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary!!!  As I typed that I just realized that my parents had already been married 15 years before I was born...wow!  I don't know what is happening to my memory, for some reason I thought their anniversary was today, the 19th!  Oh well, better late than never....Happy Annivesary Mom and Dad!!!  I love you!!!   

Just minutes away...

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Lauren and I were out and about last weekend and I decided to take a short little detour home.  Just 5 miles from my little apartment is all this beauty!  We drove to Villa Montalvo (Saratoga, California).   

 It's a beautiful old mansion that is open to the public.  They have art shows and music concerts and it's also available for weddings and private events.  There are even beautiful gardens to walk through.  We didn't stop though, we just drove through...

 and Lauren snapped photos from the car...

 Isn't it beautiful? 

 The area around Villa Montalvo is beautiful too...

 There are gorgeous homes here...

 This one below was Lauren's favorite.  She said she wants to live there when she grows up! She's putting a photo of it on her inspiration board...which made me so happy!   

 More beautiful homes...

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After we left Saratoga we drove a few miles away to Los Gatos to look at more beautiful homes.  These aren't as grand as the Saratoga homes but oh-so-charming!!!   

I always end up driving by one of my favorite homes, the one with the white picket fence below.  I would LOVE to see the inside of this....   

 I never get tired of driving by beautiful homes! Something about it just lifts my spirits!

Regarding yesterday's post....I laughed when I read that some of you thought I had climbed the tree to put the lights up. Haha...I think my tree-climbing days ended decades ago!  I just used a ladder to do it and wrapped and wrapped and it didn't take as long as you would think! If you do it, just make sure you use Outdoor lights!

Even more mood lighting

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A few weeks ago my landlord had our trees pruned and it's amazing the difference it made on my patio.  It really opened up the patio area once those low-hanging branches were cut!  It inspired me to pull out my Christmas lights and wrap the branches.  It will be so wonderful to sit out there in the evenings with all the white lights!  It's looks so magical now!

Show and Tell Friday!

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Welcome to Show and Tell Friday!  This week I'm sharing some of my small lace pillows.  These are a huge weakness of mine!  When I see these at flea markets I have a hard time passing them up.  They are just so sweet!  The figural one above is one of my favorites!

They aren't just for babies...they are the perfect size for a dining room chair. It adds just a little romance to the dining room...

I usually keep them on my side chairs that I have on each side of my hutch, which you can sort of see in the photo above.

Exciting News!!! I had this post already written and saved when I received a comment from Andrea at Opulent Cottage that she saw me in the HGTV newsletter today.  I went through my email and found the newsletter and clicked on "Outdoor Updates for Little or No Cash"  and found out my little patio was listed on HGTV's website under "Outdoor Rooms on a Budget: Our 10 Favorites from Rate my Space"!!!  My patio is #9.  That photo was taken a couple of years ago and it looks much nicer now.  (you can click on that underlined text above to go take a peek...I know there are still some people that don't know that so I feel I always need to mention it).  What made this even more perfect is that I have that first pillow I showed you on my patio settee so it tied in perfectly with today's post!

If you are joining in on Show and Tell Friday, please remember that your Show and Tell needs to be something from your home or garden. Please read the Show and Tell Guidelines for step-by-step instructions on how to participate.If you would like to join in, please enter your name and leave your exact Show and Tell blog post link, not just your blog link and as a common courtesy link back to my blog. If your link has been removed, please re-read over the guidelines before re-posting, or e-mail me with any questions.Thank you! I look forward to seeing everyone's posts...it may take me awhile to get around to visit everyone since I work full time but I'll do my best to get to your blog as soon as I can!