Adding Summer Touches To The Family Room

Hi everyone!  It seems that I've disappeared from blogland recently; but not by choice, I can assure you.  Life has certainly changed since our son graduated from college and moved back home -- more dirty dishes, more trash, more recycling, and less time for me on the computer.  We have two desktop computers in this house and two laptops, but my son and I both want to use the same desktop computer.  Sigh.

What have you been up to during these rainy summer days?  I hope you all had a great Fourth of July holiday.  Ours was very nice -- a family reunion on my husband's side of the family, and a cookout at my parents (with homemade ice cream) on the Saturday.  It was a busy four days.

I've been making a few wee changes to our den just for the summer months; I felt it needed some lightening up.

Beautiful Brookgreen Gardens, Part Three

Today, I'm sharing some more images of Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. 

The Amazing Mr. Armitage

Hello, Dear Friends.  I want to say "Thank You" for the very sweet comments you left on my Father's Day tribute.  I always appreciate your visits and your input.

Today, I'm sharing a different type of piece than I normally write for my blog.  There are a couple of reasons for that.  Firstly, I would love to be able to show some more home decorating pics, but right now, our living room and dining room look like an episode of hoarders.  It's quite disheartening.  My sweet hubby helped me take everything out of our linen closet, so that I could do some long overdue purging and re-arranging, and part of that stuff is still in the living room.  Yippee.  (You'll notice the absence of exclamation mark after "Yippee")

Secondly, our son is living back at home now since he graduated from college last month.  He'll be living here until such time that he's able to find a job, and right now things aren't looking too promising on that front.  We're all learning to adjust to our new lifestyle.  He was used to living around all his friends and people his age in a lively, thriving university environment.  Now he's stuck back at home with the old fuddy duddys; i.e., Mr. and Mrs. Forest Manor.  In addition, he's been hogging using my computer a lot, so I haven't been able to blog as much as usual.

So, no tablescapes, recipes, home decorating, or pretty garden photos, etc.  I wondered if this post would be appropriate in a forum of family-friendly blogs where we mostly focus on house and home; but a change can be fun sometimes.

  Sooo...I'm going to write about my latest celebrity crush/obsession.  In addition to his handsome, chiseled features, and blue, blue eyes, he has the most wonderful voice.  I don't often get gaga over actors; I'm picky that way, and I don't like celebrities who have big egos and are always in the limelight.

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Happy Father's Day To My Dad

I think it's so nice that we have a designated day every year to officially acknowledge our Fathers (and our Mothers).  It gives us all a chance to thank them in a more pronounced way than we normally do throughout the year.  But truthfully, most of us know that we are grateful to, and for, our fathers and mothers every day.  I wonder how many of you asked the same question I did once when I was still growing up in my parents' home -- "Why don't we have a Children's Day, since we have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day?"  To which my parents replied, "Every day is children's day."  Very true that is, too.  :)

Las Vegas Bellagio, Part 2

A few weeks ago, I showed you some images of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (from the trip we took in 2006) and I promised to show some pictures of the conservatory and botanical gardens located inside the hotel/resort.

Memorial Day

I've been upset and mad as fire angry for the past week, maybe two weeks -- I'm starting to lose count.  I can't remember when I've been so disgusted with the leadership of our nation.  It's become glaringly obvious that our current administration has very little ethics, scruples, and apparently, no accountability. 

While some families are grieving over flag-draped coffins, our federal employees and elected officials have chosen to drape themselves in the Fifth Amendment.

Because I've been so disgusted, and sad, I almost chose not to write a Memorial Day Tribute.  But then I realized that Memorial Day is really about remembering and saying a heartfelt "Thank You."

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Oh The Places I've Been -- Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas

Hi everyone; I hope you're having a great week!  I'm excited to be participating in The Tablescaper's weekly Friday party, "Oh The Places I've Been."  This week, I'm going to share some pictures from 2006 when I tagged along accompanied Mr. Forest Manor on a business trip to Las Vegas.