I love this quote from Walt Disney for this week’s Monday Quotes. I took this picture in October while driving through the mountains outside of Chatanooga, Tennessee. It was a dreary day, but I thought this image was haunting and beautiful and seemed to have a dreamy quality that fit well with today’s quote. I hope this is the start of a wonderful week for everyone and I wish you all the courage to pursue your dreams!
♥ ♥ ♥
Filed under Inspiration, Monday Quotes, Musings
Happy Monday! Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses. Even with all the ups and downs in her life she still believed that anything was possible.
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Filed under Inspiration, Monday Quotes, Musings
Today’s stop on my travel bucket list is Paris, France. I have idolized it since I was young and watched movies like Gigi, An American in Paris, and then of course there was Sabrina! I’ve dreamed of walking up the Champs Elysees, 
watching the traffic circle the Arc de Triompe, seeing the Eiffel Tower and of course spending hours or days wandering through the Lourve.
But what would Paris be without the parks, palaces and food? I had a friend who spend one entire day only drinking champagne and eating cheese and chocolate from one place to another – how much fun would that be? Of course we won’t talk about the calories involved.
Besides where to spend time in Paris the decision would be when to go. Paris in spring time sounds the most romantic to me, but I’ve heard summer is the best time to go.
Beyond Paris there are other sights in France I would like to see, like the Palace in Versailles and wine country. So I’d have to save a few days of my trip to explore other parts of France. By rail or car nothing is very far in Europe, which is definitely a benefit.
Have you been to Paris? Is it on your bucket list? Next week, we’re taking an “Alaskan Cruise.”
Filed under Bucket List, Inspiration, Musings
The new year has brought a bunch of new “series” for my blog. I’m happy to introduce you to Friday’s Bucket List and for the first “trip” we’re going to Tuscany!
Tuscany has been a long time dream of mine, and I hope to make it there in the next year or two. The wineries, the gorgeous scenery, the food, and the people.
Seeing movies like Love Actually, Letters to Juliet and Eat, Pray, Love only served to fuel the fire and cemented Tuscany firmly on the bucket list.
Taste Trail in the Val di Merse — Gently rolling hills, olive groves, and vineyards! What could be better? This area is located in the southwestern part of the province of Siena between Tuscany and the Maremma coast. It’s enclosed in the valleys of three rivers, the Merse, the Cecina and the Elsa. Tell me you don’t want to hop on a plane right now too?
Wine Trail of the Pisa Hills — Through the Tuscan countryside filled with small downs and trails through farmlands, hills and valleys. Just imagine riding a bike through this beautiful area. Near the sea shore and more small towns with great wine and food. There is definitely a pattern here right? Just about any time of year would bring a varied and beautiful landscape to enjoy.
Olive Oil Trail of Monti Pisani — This visit would take you through the Pisa Hills which divide the plains where the cities of Pisa and Lucca are located. The trail itself would take you through the Pisa side including the towns of Buti, Calci San Guiliano Terme, Vecchiano and Vicopisano. Besides olives, also grown in this area are chestnuts, mushrooms and honey is raised.
I’ve enjoyed my research for this little trip through Tuscany, and now my mouth is watering for more. Next week we’re off to Paris…ooh la la!
I hope you’ll share some of your bucket list vacations – which of course will most likely add to my list! But for now I must say Ciao!
Filed under Bucket List, Musings
Since it’s the start of a New Year I thought I’d begin a new series, Monday’s Quotes. Each Monday I’ll add a new quote along with a photograph. I hope you’ll share some of your favorite quotes and I’ll post them here.
Today’s quote is one of my favorite and similar to the Serenity Prayer. It reminds us that we should only focus on the things we can change and make a different with, and not worry about the rest. It’s not always an easy idea to hold on to but I think one definitely worth trying for.
Go ahead and share this post or the image if you’d like, but please don’t remove the copyright information.
I hope this year brings you lots of peace, love and happiness.
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Filed under Inspiration, Monday Quotes, Musings
2013 has been an incredible year, lots of ups and downs and ins and outs, but overall it definitely finished on the plus side of things!
I want to thank my readers for all the support that you’ve given me and my books. All of the wonderful reviews and messages, they mean the world to me.
To my friends, you all have been great, supportive, encouraging and even slave drivers at times–cracking that whip when it needed to be done.
My family is the best, my children – Jackie, Andy and Sarah – I don’t know how I’d get through life without you. You make me laugh and cry and fill my days with joy. I’m so proud of the three of you and my two son-in-laws, John and Ian. We have a truly wonderful family.
Special thanks go out to Shira and Tom. Without the two of you I’d never have gotten through the low points of this year. I love you both so very much.
I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. May it be filled with all the joy and love you can imagine. I’m looking forward to all the new adventures coming our way and I can’t wait to share them all with you. Goodbye 2013 and Welcome 2014 – it’s going to be a blast! ♥ ♥ ♥
Filed under Books, Children, General Posts, Inspiration, Musings, Writing
It’s finally here–Christmas! All the preparations, shopping, cleaning, and traveling are hopefully done, and y’all have some time to relax before the presents are opened and food is eaten…and naps are taken. Oh yeah, lots of naps!
As I look back on this year there were lots of highs and lows, for a while the lows were winning, but towards the end of the year the highs took over and I have so much to be thankful for. Gazing at my twinkling tree and looking at the presents stacked underneath sent from my children it is easy to get a little teary eyed about not being with them. I miss seeing the joy on their faces on Christmas morning. But all children grow up and mine are leading wonderful happy lives – how could I ask for more?
I know this is a hard time of year for so many, so I’m wishing for you all to have a day filled with happiness and love – whether with family or friends, remember none of us are really alone! Merry Christmas! ♥ ♥ ♥
Filed under Children, Inspiration, Musings
I’m so happy so many of you came to visit my blog yesterday for the JK Reader Appreciation Blog Hop. I really can’t express how much I appreciate all of you and your support since my books have been published. I wish I could have awarded prizes to everyone but alas that is not possible. I used random.org to select the winners. So without further adieu here they are:
bn100 and Tracey S.
Congratulations to you both and you’ll be receiving an email with the information about your cards soon.
I want to thank everyone again for participating! I will let you know when my book, Embracing Her Desires, will be released. You can also find out on my Facebook page, Twitter, web site or just follow this blog. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
When I lost my twelve year old teacup poodle in April and two months later my sixteen year old cat, I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring any more fur babies in to the family. We still have one large mutt named Puppy and two cats, Pumpkin and Sylvester. The house has plenty of furry babies already. But none of them were “my” snuggle partners.
So of course the inevitable happened. Instead of finishing up my Christmas shopping this weekend I fell in love with a little Yorki-Poo puppy, who has since been named Lulu. She totally fits her name–half Yorkshire Terrier and half Poodle–I swear she is made out of springs.
The nine pound ball of silky cuteness walked in the front door and instantly won everyone over. No adjustment period needed. Of course now we have the fun of housebreaking, but she’s smart and I’m hoping she’ll learn quickly.
I look forward to sharing many more Lulu adventures in the future, because I just know there will be many. What furry loves do you have? ♥ ♥ ♥
Filed under Fur babies, General Posts, Musings
Now that we’ve gotten through Thanksgiving it’s time for December and all that it brings, which means the start of the holiday baking season and decorating. As we move through the month I’ll several of our traditions and our favorite holiday recipes too.
I’ve been known to decorate every room in the house at Christmas. From wreaths on the outside door to Santa soap dispensers and snowman towels in the bathrooms. How much decorating we actually do changes a bit from year to year, but our Christmas cookie baking never changes (usually we make 7 or 8 different types).
Cookies, hot cocoa, Christmas music and tree trimming–It makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon. After we moved to Florida from New Jersey it was much warmer, so we turn the A/C down low to put us all in the mood. We usually have one large tree set up in front of the living room window and it is covered with different ornaments. Every year I would buy all the kids a new ornament for the tree. Eventually we outgrew the tree, so now the ornaments get rotated from year to year.
These last few years I had to adjust my decorating because we have a very mischievous cat in our midst. His name is Pumpkin and he likes to climb things and knock things over. So I’ve only been putting up this small tree. As you can see it’s too small for him to climb, and we’d put the presents on the floor underneath it. This year I’m determined to go back to our full sized tree. I miss it, somehow it just didn’t feel like Christmas without it.
After I have it up I’ll add the picture to one of the future blogs. But in the meantime, what is your tree trimming tradition? Do you do it before Thanksgiving or afterwards? Do you do anything special or just dive right in?
I’m sharing my recipe for one of the girl’s favorite cookies–Meltaways. They love making them as much as eating them. I think it’s because with the dough tinted red and green it’s more like playing with play dough, especially when they were little. I always have to make a double batch of these if they are home. If you try the recipe, let me know how you like them.
Oh one other thing, even though over the years I have started celebrating Christmas, I am Jewish and I celebrate Hanukkah. I didn’t celebrate my first Christmas until I got married, as the children grew up we continued to celebrate both holidays and we have traditions for both. I’ll be posting some pictures of my menorah as the nights continue and share some of those traditions as well.
Lynne St. James 