It is a cold morning...

and tender tropical leaves are yellowing,

desperately waiting for

the sun to warm them.

Tropical Tranquility...

Thankfully, he has now arrived, and is doing just that.

Now it's time to warm my soul by reading all your blogs.

Fun with paint...

I went on RateMySpace today hoping for a little get up and clean inspiration...instead I painted my master bathroom's water closet. Ooopsie.

I used all left over paints and ended up with a color I'm really happy with.

I started out with this color:

Glidden's Cool Dip in daughter's bathroom

(ignore that print - it's temporarily there...which means it'll be there for years and years and years)

mixed in two plops of Martha Stewart's Shiraz (from front door), and one plop of Behr's Tate Olive (accent color in family room) and ended up with this shade:

greyish-pale-robin's egg but not really blue

It goes nicely with the Glidden Sea Sponge in the main area of the master bath and bedroom. We had painted it a chocolate brown color that made it too dark/dank/depressing. I love chocolate brown rooms, but it just didn't work in this little closet of a space.

Great way to use up leftover paint. Some might even call me green.

Have you ever mixed up your own paint colors before? Or do you have any favorite paint color stand-bys you use regularly?

Excuse me, Mr. Turkey & Ms. Fall, you have mail...

Here is what Li was working on while chatting with her family in the Republic of Georgia on Skype:

She blows me away with her creativity and sweetness.

Here's my first attempt at One Pearl Button's pen project that I saw on Living Locurto:

Don't look too closely...

I also attempted JustaGirl's grateful garland but...um...it's not exactly photoworthy just yet. I'll post it after some tweaking.

Are you getting crafty with your Thanksgiving decorating?

58 degrees in sunny FL means...

snuggling in front of this:

burning logs are so darn pretty...

and enjoying a few of these:

more s'mores please...

Now that it's actually pretty chilly around here it is dawning on me that I should probably start planning our Thanksgiving meal.

Snew's Dad is coming down to Spring Hill to watch her perform in the FMBC's, and we'll be having our Turkey Day festivities on Sunday so he can participate. She's really excited!

I'm also working on a variation of JustaGirl's autumn leaf garland where each leaf has something you're thankful for written on it...except I have no ribbon...so we're having to make some adjustments. If you haven't checked out her blog yet please do, sooooo many great ideas.

What're you doing to stay warm?

Give a girl some ribbon...

and it becomes the gift that keeps on giving.


You might remember the pretty ribbon FawnDear had tied my prize with, and you might've noticed that it made an appearance tied to the little witch hat sign on this post...well, it's found yet another new home.

Here's our entryway topiary decorated for Fall:

with dollar store bittersweet vines and a pretty bow...

Close up of ribbon...

I've got Azorean beef stew simmering in the crockpot (has cinnamon & all spice in it...delicious), and Li just baked some chocolate chip cookies...it almost feels like fall around here...almost.

Thank you to Restyled Home for inspiring me to get out there and decorate my urn!

Dreaming of...

I'm also dreaming of winning Jewel Street Designs' giveaway. Wouldn't those just be perfect to wear on my mini-getaway to Sarasota?

What indulgences are you dreaming of?

pssssst! I'm on Twitter, are you? Tweet me sometime!

Veteran's Day...

First and foremost, a thank you to all who have served, and are serving, this beautiful nation.

Thank you.

Snew had the day off today so we went over to Pine Island, which is just a few minutes from Spring Hill, for a bite to eat at Willy's Tropical Breeze Cafe. It is this adorable little beach cottage building surround by a deck with picnic tables, located right on the beach on Pine Island, that serves the yummiest food. It is shocking how good the food is. Beyond fresh, beyond yummy...beyond words. Just perfect. And unexpected.

Willy's Tropical Breeze Cafe, Pine Island, Hernando County, FL

Snew had a hot dog, I had coconut shrimp (best I've ever had anywhere...try it, you'll see) and Josh had crab cakes (o...m...goodness they were delicious). Sitting there in those beautiful surroundings while enjoying a delicious lunch with two of my most favorite people was a perfect way to spend an afternoon with my baby girl home.

I'm the wind beneath her wings...

Here are a few more images:

View...

Palms and covered picnic tables...

Didn't spot any sea turtles today...



But there were lots of Sandpipers...

How'd you spend your day off today?