Cruise Memories

Our weeklong cruise was sooooo relaxing and lots of fun.  So much fun that I'm not ready to let go of it just yet.  So I took the "drink of the day" souvenir glasses and made a rather cheesy tablescape.  First tablescape ever using plastic glasses!  LOL

We'd never cruised on Royal Caribbean before and really loved it.  The food was excellent and the passengers were more our type than those we encountered on Carnival.  The Carnival folks were UNDER THE INFLUENCE before the ship even set sail!  Royal Caribbean attracts people from all over the country.  I felt like the lone ranger in my LSU t-shirt.

A tablescape in January with shells?  Why not????  Retired folks have all kinds of privileges that regular folks don't.  :)))

I'm going to experiment a bit and see if I can reproduce some of the drinks we had.  I'm not a cranberry juice lover but several of the drinks used it as an ingredient and they were superb!  Here are a few examples:

Tropical Sunrise - Smirnoff vodka, peach schnapps, and Chambord Black Raspberry liqueur shaken with cranberry and pineapple juice

Blue Caribbean - Bacardi rum, blue curaçao, and pineapple juice served on the rocks, topped with a splash of Sprite

Pirate's Punch -  (My favorite)  Orange and pineapple juices, hand shaken to combine the subtle hints of vanilla and caramelized sugar found in Captain Morgan Original Spiced rum, with a sweet splash of grenadine and blackberry brandy

Mango Montego - Jose Cuervo Gold tequila and sweet island Oasis mango with a tangy twist of triple sec and sweet and sour

Caribbean Sunshine - Smirnoff vodka, triple sec, orange juice, and Sprite otherwise known as "Sunshine in a Glass"

Nutthin like kicking back and soaking up the sun in a lounger with a refreshing drink!!!

If you've never cruised before, I'd HIGHLY recommend it.  It's a great value for the money.  We paid under $300 per ticket for 7 nights.  That was all inclusive except for alcohol and soda.  Johnny and I are  tea drinkers so we didn't miss the soda.

We sailed on Navigator of the Seas.  In the late summer and fall, this same ship sails the Mediterrean and then makes a transatlantic voyage back to New Orleans.  It's a gorgeous ship.

Here are some shots of the promenade, where all the action happened at night....

There was art everywhere, when paintings up for sale to stained glass sculptures.

The dining room encompassed three stories with balconies overlooking the main floor.

Marijoi, our head waiter, told us she has a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and her husband, a bar tender, has his degree in Marine Science.  We figured that they must make good money at what they do onboard.

Stay tuned for part 2...... shore excursions....


Linking up with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Happy Sunday!

Terri

Haven 2013

Are any of you blogger friends thinking of attending Haven 2013 in Atlanta in August?  I'd LOVE to go but feel a bit timid going on my own.  I'm looking for someone to share the expense of a room and possibly ride with me from Louisiana to Atlanta and split the gas expense.  I may fly if tickets are cheap enough so comment even if you're only looking to share a room.  Any takers?  There are only 43 openings left so I need to act quickly.....

Thanks,
Terri

Time to Celebrate!!

The retirement paperwork is done and the hard decisions are made.....  I'm keeping two of my life insurance policies and letting one of them go.  In light of the cancer diagnosis in my history, that's a scary thing to do but a policy that only cost me $15 a month when I was working will cost $251 per quarter/$1002 per year in retirement!  That's a lot of moolah!

And now it's time to CeLeBrAtE!!!!!!  Johnny and I are taking a seven night cruise on this gorgeous Royal Caribbean ship called Navigator of the Seas.....



You have no idea how hard it is to find water shoes in January!  I'm borrowing a pair and we ordered some for J online.  Sure hope they come in on time....  We need them to climb Dunns Fall and play with dolphins in Jamaica.  Woohoo!!!  Someone told me that dolphins smell so I'm not sure I'm gonna kiss one.  :-/  

We'll also be stopping off in Grand Cayman and Cozumel and are still mulling over the available shore excursions there.  It rained cats and dogs when we were in Cozumel the year before last so all we did was shop and attempt to stay dry.  J packed two of those inexpensive rain parkas from Walmart and we could have sold 200 of them right there on the dock.  Everyone was asking where we bought them!  

Check out the rock climbing wall on this ship.....


Isn't that awesome???  The view from the top must be breathtaking.  I'm soooo excited about this trip!

Have a relaxing Sunday.....

Terri

Dreaming of a White New Year.....

Happy New Year to all!!!!  I have EXCITING news!  I'm officially RETIRED!!!!  I plan to blog more and attempt to increase the number of followers to my little blog because I'm starting a small business (I'll be adding an Etsy link) to keep me busy and bring in a little extra revenue.  Details to come.....

Here's my first tablescape for 2013.  Can you tell I'm dreaming of something white to accompany this cold weather?  Sure doesn't happen often in hot and humid Louisiana but one can dream, right????

I used my aunt's Friendly Village Johnson Brothers china that I bought from her estate.  With the white accents, it takes on a totally different look than it did at Thanksgiving with the accents of green and gold, doesn't it?  After I took the first pic, I shopped the Christmas tree and added some white tassels.  Wish they'd photographed as well as they look on the table.....

Here's an up close look......

That GORGEOUS mercury glass piece in the center was a Pottery Barn gift from my BFF and I just can't bear to put it away just yet!  Scattered in the midst of that beautiful design are small deer figures so I used two deer Christmas tree ornaments to continue the theme.  I love the way it turned out!

One deer is running.....

And the other is leaping.....

My sweet daughter and boyfriend who's here visiting from South Carolina are driving out to cook dinner for me and my honey tonight.  It most DEFINITELY won't be deer.  They're cooking shrimp and grits, a South Carolina specialty!

So it's off to the grocery I go.......

Hope you're New Year is off to a great start!

Cheers!
Terri

Sharing with
The Shabby Nest
http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.ca/2012/12/frugal-friday_28.html
Nifty Thrifty Things
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/2012/12/nifty-thrifty-sunday-90.html
Life on Lakeshore Drive
http://www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com/2012/12/last-bouquet-of-talent-party-16-of-year.html
I should be mopping the floor ( New Year's party )
http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/12/mop-it-up-mondays-48-new-years-eve.html
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-57/
Savvy Southern Style
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/01/wow-us-wednesdays-99.html
Embracing Change
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.ca/2013/01/creative-inspirations-linky-party.html
The Vintage Farmhouse
http://www.thevintagefarmhouse.com/2013/01/creative-things-thursday.html
The 36th Avenue
http://www.the36thavenue.com/2013/01/free-printable.html#more-10463
No Minimalist Here
http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.ca/2013/01/open-house-party.html

Fresh Pine Wreath

I had a hunkering for a fresh wreath to hang in my dining room window like all the pretty wreaths I've been seeing across blogland, so Johnny and I drove over to Lowe's last night hoping to luck up and find one.  There were some wreaths marked down on clearance, but the greenery was dead and brown.  So for the first time in FOREVER, J and I walked out without purchasing a single thing.

I'm a hardheaded old fool, though.  I cooked all day long.  Stuffed pork tenderloin, broccoli rice casserole, fresh green beans with new potatoes, fruit salad, and red velvet cake.  And every time I stopped off at my kitchen sink, I noticed the old pine tree in my yard.  Hmmmm......

Decorating is much much more fun than cooking so one tall ladder later I found myself making a simple wreath.  It's certainly not perfect, but considering what I had to work with, not bad.  I bent a coat hanger into a circular shape and then used florist's wire to tie the pine pieces on.  What do you think?

Here's a close up shot.  I'm just loving the soft green in my newly repainted dining room and the Belgian linen drapes from Restoration Hardware.  The room seems so much lighter and airier since we painted over that deep red.

Johnny surprised me with the dinner plates to match my Twas the Night Before Christmas salad plates that my BFF gave me year before last.  I just LOVE them!  And that same BFF gave me the most GORGEOUS mercury glass piece this year.  Isn't it the perfect nostalgic touch for those toile dishes?

Merry Christmas!

Terri

The Ups and Downs of Life

I know I've been neglecting my lil old blog lately.  I've been on a whirlwind ride of emotions from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.  My health is good but the future scares me silly.  I feel great most days.  When I have those random unexplained nights where the hot flash monster won't allow me to sleep, I struggle with exhaustion and brain fog the entire next day.  I'm returning to MD Anderson on January 22nd for a check up.  That's what life is like post-cancer, it's measured from check up to check up in 90 day blocks of time.

But retirement beckons.  I have 10 more days of work!  Losing the stress of a job that could keep two or three people busy every day will be a positive thing.  I love the wonderful folks I work with and will miss them dearly, but not the stress and the never-ending feeling of never being caught up on my work.  I'm planning to do something FUN on a part-time basis, something crafty and creative.  I have a few ideas that I'm tossing around....  Stay tuned...

We had a great Thanksgiving.  Every holiday gets a bit easier, the whole "sharing the kids with the ex on special occasions" deal.  Here are my two sweethearts hanging by those Thanksgiving turkey cupcakes that Kait and I made.  Those two love their chocolate!

Now for me, on the other hand, it was that luscious Berry Chantilly Cake from Whole Foods that was calling my name.  I've given up sweets (cancer loves sugar) but sure did indulge in a big slice of that yummy cake after dinner.  YUM!

I gave the girls a "Santa in a Box" kit that included a hat, glasses, beard, and Christmas book and they had fun with it.  That's Haylee with Kait.

And here are both girls, Haylee with the Santa hat and Brooke wearing Kait's LSU Santa hat.  Kait graduates in May!!!  Woohoo!!!!

Thanksgiving got packed away and out came CHRISTMAS.  I kept the same color scheme for my tree this year except I added some white garland to tone down the bling a bit.  I love how it came out and sure wish a picture would do it more justice.  The lighting in my family room isn't the best.

I've been yearning for Night Before Christmas plates to match my salad plates but just didn't see room in the budget to buy them.  So Johnny bought them for me!!  Of course, I have to wait to receive them so I'm using my plain white china with them.  I'm still without napkins, haven't found any just like the ones I envision anywhere, so will probably make some.  Here's what I have so far....

So what do you think?  I'm thinking a plaid red and green fabric for the napkins.  Or maybe solid green with berry napkin rings.....

Here's my promise to myself.  I WILL get out of bed every day and thank God for his mercies.  I WILL not dwell on the what ifs.....  I WILL enjoy my good health and work toward ovarian cancer awareness in every way I can.  Knowledge is POWER!  Merry Christmas!!

Terri

The Finishing Touch

I have this bad bad habit of starting a project and then moving on to a new one before finishing up the first one......  I knew I wanted some artwork over my bed and a nice neutral chair next to it but had trouble finding what I saw in my mind's eye so it's gone undone.  Well, low and behold, Johnny and I were in Lowe's of all places and found the perfect pictures to hang over the bed.  We wanted something  light and upbeat to counter all of the antiques I've acquired.  Whatcha think???

It's amazing what a little artwork can do to warm up a room, isn't it?  Here's another shot.....

I'd seen the chair at World Market and decided to wait until it was marked down to purchase it.  And on the way home from Savannah I got an e-mail saying that all chairs were 30% off so I called the store and asked them to hold me one.  I had a 15% off coupon for my birthday month so when I went in I asked if they could apply that discount as well and guess what??  They were happy to do so.  So a bit of patience got me that chair for half the price!  I LOVE a bargain, can you tell??  Here's a shot of the chair......

I'm so happy with the lighter brighter look of my room!!!!  Thanks for visiting!

Terri