A Pink Give A Way!

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit her for lots of pink inspirational posts!

Yesterday after taking my morning walk at the mall with my sister, I decided to make a quick trip to Dirt Cheap-a local salvage store. It is hard to make a 'quick' trip there....it is easy to spend half the day in there rummaging through their merchandise. Rarely do I leave empty handed and yesterday was no exception.

These garden tools were in a bin and were labeled $1.49 each. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but they seem to be very sturdy and of good quality! They are stainless steel and have a label that states that profits go to breast cancer research.

I knew the minute I saw them that I would have to have both of them and that they would be featured in my pink Saturday post.

As I was typing this post, I just had another idea. Since there were so many available and they are so inexpensive, I would like to give away a set of these garden tools to thank those of you who visit and take the time to leave comments.

So, just leave a comment on this post, and I'll post the winner on Monday. Even if you aren't a gardener, I bet you know someone who is and would love a set of these pink tools!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Pink Saturday.

Family Foto Friday

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Foto on Friday These photo is one of my mom and dad with their first born-ME! My goal is to get all of these old pictures scanned on the computer-if I would do a little each day, I would finally get them all done!

Here's a picture of me in a little cowgirl suit. As you can see, my problem with weight goes way back. LOL I was a chubby little thing even back then!
Thanks for coming by and peeking at my old photos~

A Mississippi Snow

Susan at A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday. Please visit her for lots more outdoor inspiration!

This photo is one of our dog Lucy and my son Jonathan on the deck of our old home. As you can see it does snow in Mississippi.......only every once in a while. Last year we had one snow. This year so far we've had none although New Orleans which is 3 hours south of here had an inch or so!

Lucy was easy to house train, but I well remember how she hated to go outside in the rain. She would just stand at the door, and go out only if absolutely necessary. Lately I've been wanting to get another dog. We lost Lucy after having her 13 years. She was part of our family and is still missed!

Thanks for stopping by. It's raining here today...so the only outdoors I'll get is looking at blogs on Susan's site!

Trash to Treasure: Thrift shop pillows

Due to a head cold and being busy with other activities, I've let Trash to Treasure creep up on me! I haven't been to the Thrift Store or a garage sale in over a week!

So, I looked in my 'drafts' folder and found a post I started and didn't finish. Even though I've had these little treasures awhile, I thought would it would be appropriate to share today! I am so ready for a little warmer weather so I can enjoy my porch again!

This two little pillows were bought on the same day at the Hope Village Thrift Store. They both have a home on my screened porch on the wicker lounger. I really love the garden message on both of them! I think I paid one dollar each for the pillows.

I hope to continue adding to my porch when the weather gets warmer by shopping the Thrift Stores.

Please link your Trash to Treasure below so we can all visit you! Thanks for stopping by!

A Dynamic Perfomance by Drumline Live!

These performers with the yellow and blue costumes were part of Drumline which performed in our town yesterday at the MSU Riley Center.

From the Riley Center website:
The show-stopping new attraction marching band DRUMLine Live brings the black tradition to the theatrical stage for the very first time. Featuring a large cast of colorful and flamboyant performers from America’s top historically black colleges and universities, the production presents the rousing and rhythmic sounds of the great brass past including Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power side by side with the hottest contemporary hip-hop and R&B. A glimpse into an American experience that many have never seen before, DRUMLine Live showcases a historic tradition that is alive with intensity.

This was one of the best shows I've seen. The performers were very enthusiastic and there was lots of audience interaction. If you are interested in seeing if they will be performing near you, click here. I highly recommend this group of performers!


For more Blue Monday posts, visit Sally at Smiling Sally

Thanks for stopping by!

A New Blogger in Town

Do any of you remember when I posted this picture a while back? It was sent to me by Amber, my first cousin. I have been after her to start a blog cause she has such great taste, loves estate sales and antiques too! You can click on the picture to take you to the original post.

Well, she finally started one! She can be found here at Forever Amber. I'm sure she would love it if any of you would like to welcome her to blogging.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Sunday

Pink Fruits

If you've been keeping up with me, you may know that I'm trying to shed a few pounds. One of the changes our group leader wants us to do is be very specific about 'how' we are going to accomplish our goal.

Instead of setting a goal of "I want to eat more fruit," we are encouraged to be more specific. So, one of my goals for this past week was: I will eat fruit with each meal. So, since I have fruit on my mind, I did a search on pink fruit.

Did you know that there was an apple named "Pink Lady?" I haven't seen these around here, but will look for them.

Of course I found watermelon. This is one of my very favorites! Can't wait til summer!
And I found pink grapefruit! Which I have to admit I've not developed a taste for! I probably should try since I found out this important information about pink grapefruits.

"Lycopene is an antioxidant pigment found in tomatoes, grapefruit and watermelon that gives these foods their reddish color. Studies show that including lycopene-rich foods in your diet may help to reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer, macular degeneration and cardiovascular disease. Lycopene may also help prevent osteoporosis and reduce the severity of allergy symptoms"

I found some fruit that I had no idea even existed like this bowl of Lychees! Would you like to know more about them? Click here!



Please visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more inspirational pink!

And don't forget to eat your fruit!

Family Legacy

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Fotos. Please stop by her blog to see the bloggers participating!

This picture is one of my dad and his two brothers. If my dad was still living, he would have been 82 today! He was born on January 23, 1927. We lost him two years ago in December of 2006. Can you look at the faces and guess which one he is?

He is the one in yellow standing on the bottom step. I can see the family resemblance in his face! His mother, my grandmother, died on his birthday January 23, 1955. Although I don't think I have much memory of her, I well remember the day that she died and how distraught he was.

This picture is one of my favorites. Although I didn't know my paternal grandmother well, I think I may have inherited her love of pictures! We have lots of pictures of my daddy as a young child. She must have been a very determined lady to get these three active little boys all dressed up and arrange for a photographer to come to their home to make this photograph.

We have so much technology available to us! I wonder sometimes what she and my other grandmother would think of a blog and computers! Can you imagine how many pictures we would have if there had been digital photography back then?

I don't think my dad would have been impressed! LOL

Thanks for stopping by,

Hooked on Lamps

Julia at Hooked on Houses and Kelli at There's No Place Like Home are both hosting a Friday blogging party. This week I will Show and Tell you some lamps that I'm hooked on!

I have a real weakness for lamps and can rarely pass up a good buy at a garage sale, estate sale or flea market. I counted the lamps in my house and if I counted right I have 30! They are spread all out of course and not used at once! Don't worry-I'm not going to post all of them. LOL


This first one is one I bought many years ago at a garage sale at a local bed and breakfast. I think it was $10.00 which is more than I've paid for lots of the lamps I have! It is one of my most used lamps and is on top of the piano.
This one is on the library table in the dining room. It came from one of those junky type antique flea market stores and cost $8.00.
Here's another 'antique mall' find from many years ago that is on a chest in the guest bedroom. I would love to 'work on' this one and tone down this shiny gold. I do like the shade and style of the lamp.
This one has a beaded shade and was from Kirkland's. It cost me nothing since it was one of my daughter's rejects when she moved! I use it on the computer desk.
And finally, here is one I photographed at an antique store in Collins, Ms. I love the 'double fixture' style of some of these vintage lamps. I'm not sure of the price, but I think it may have been $75.00.

As you can see, my lamps aren't fancy or expensive, but I love the way they add warmth to a room!

Thanks for stopping by,

Yogurt Pie

I'm always looking for low cal solutions to my sweet tooth!

This is a great weight watchers pie....you can use any flavor jello and yogurt, such as strawberry to change it up!

Ingredients

1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust
1 .3 oz package sugar-free Jell-O, lime flavor
1/4 cup boiling water
2 6 oz containers fat-free yogurt, key lime flavor
1 8 oz container fat-free Cool Whip

Directions

In large bowl, dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. With wire whisk, stir in yogurt. Gently fold in Cool Whip with spatula or wooden spoon. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Makes one pie, 8 servings, 4 WW points each.

Number of Servings: 8

Thanks for stopping by!

Outdoor Wednesday: A Bunny Pic

Susan from A Southern Daydreamer is hosting Outdoor Wednesday! Be sure to stop by and visit her for lots of outdoor posts.


This is a pic of a little rabbit on our back porch last summer. I had to take the picture through the glass because I knew if I opened the door the bunny would scurry away so excuse the funny color of the eyes!

It has been really cold here in the deep south, and I'm really longing for some milder temperatures so I can get outside more.
In the background is a prayer bench from an antique store that I use on the porch for plants, bird feeders etc. I bought this several years ago for almost nothing!

I am thinking of painting it white. But the project is going to have to wait til we have a few warmer days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Trash to Treasure: A tiny lamp and birdhouse

Welcome to Trash to Treasure. If you have something that is a treasure to you that someone else didn't want, please link that specific post to Mr. Linky below.

To do this, you need to click on the title of the post, and copy and paste the direct link into Mr. Linky. You can to this by right clicking on the address of the post and selecting 'copy'. The come back here and right click 'paste' into the URL space. Lots of people have just been posting their blog address without a Trash to Treasure post. Thanks for your understanding on this.

This week I went to the Hope Village Thrift Store and found these two little 'Treasures' I would like to share.

First, I found this little pineapple lamp. The large pineapple in the picture is one I showed a while back. The little lamp cost $3.00 and really brightens up the space.
I have a real love for birdhouses, and found this one the same day. It has a place in the bottom to attach it to a dowel, so I may use it outside later, but for now it is on a bookcase in my home. I paid $2.00 for it! Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit the other Trash to Treasure participants!

Anitque Shop Inspiration

Sally of Smiling Sally is hosting Blue Monday. Please visit her for lots of Blue Inspiration! You will meet some really nice blogging buddies!


It seems that I have a 'blogging block.' I haven't had too many of these since I usually have lots I want to blog about!

So, I looked in my 'antiques' folder and thought I would take us on a short window shopping trip of an antique store in Birmingham!

Antique shops are great places to get art. I really loved this oil painting of sunflowers. I think the price was $75.00. Be sure to notice the blue vase!

This same shop in Cahaba Heights had lots of gardening decor. I really have a thing about birdhouses. These are so cute painted in the beachy looking colors! Can't wait til warmer weather!

I really love the way this piece was painted black with a dark red on the interior. I have a cabinet that I bought way back....I'm still thinking about giving it a paint job!

I am going to have to go 'antiquing' again. The photos that I have taken while doing this are fun to go back through. I like to take pictures of things that catch my eye so I can thing about how I can use them here!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Blue Monday!

An Addiction and A Tag!

I have a new computer addiction! Facebook! Do any of you use it? If you do, look me up by my email: diane694 at gmail dot com!

I used to check my email first thing, then I started checking my blog first thing, now I check Facebook! Wonder if I'll get tired of it!

Now for the TAG:


I was tagged by Dawn at Dawn's Daybreak to to this fun tag:
1.. Name five things in your purse.

Juicy fruit gum
Sam's Club card
Nail Clippers
Lipstick
Very little cash!


2. Name five things in your work room.

Scissors
Glue
Pictures
TV
Bookcases

3. Name five things you have always wanted to do.

Lose weight and keep it off
Play the piano well
Have a garden like the ones in garden magazines
Travel to New York City
Go on an Alaskan Cruise

4. Name five things your into.

Spending time with my family
Spending time with my friends
Finding bargains
Computer-blogs, and Facebook
Learning to crochet

5. Five Blogs to pass this on to

Janie at Southern Lagniappe
Kelli at Sassy Southern Mom
Pat at Mille Fiori Favorti
Dot at Picket's Place
Sally at Smiling Sally

A Pink Cleaner

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound is hosting Pink Saturday. Please visit her for lots of pink inspiration!

Did you know that there is a pink household cleaner that lots of people love to use? I didn't know about it until I started looking for pink pictures! It is called Method all purpose Pink Grapefruit cleaner!
Here is the description provided on Amazon.com:

Product Features
* Pack of eight 28-ounce recyclable bottles of non-toxic, all-purpose spray cleaner (224 total ounces)
* Environmentally friendly formula grabs dirt, rather than chemically degrading it; clean your home without flushing toxic chemicals into waterways
* Made with naturally derived, biodegradable surfactants
* Fresh pink grapefruit fragrance and stylish packaging
* All Method products are biodegradable, never tested on animals, and packaged in recyclable materials


And here's the link if you want more info. Method Pink Grapefruit

Have you heard of it? Does anyone use it?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Pink Saturday!

Friday Foto: A Family Picture

Deborah of Pictures Pots and Pens is hosting Family Fotos. Please click on the link to see more posts of family photos!


This picture is of my two children Kelli and Jonathan, my husband and myself the night before Kelli's wedding in October of 1998. This is the last picture I have of us as a family while we were all living in the same household.

Things have changed so much as time marches on-Kelli, still beautiful, has a wonderful husband-Chad, and two precious children that I'm sure you are familiar with if you read my blog very often!

Jonathan has changed lots too....he is now handsome young man and has lost that boyish look! After being in New Orleans for the past year and a half, it was time for him to make another change. He left yesterday for an internship in New York City at Jazz at the Lincoln Center. I've been feeling a little sad and happy (for him) at the same time! He has been home from NOLA for about a month, and having him leave again brings up lots of emotions!

I am so proud of both of my kids! Having them grow and become the person they want to be is the ultimate goal! But there is something about being a mom that makes you want to wind back the clock to earlier times. But I know that wouldn't be fair to them and I wouldn't have those two adorable grandsons!

Sorry to be so sentimental-just comes with the territory of motherhood! I'm sure you other moms out there understand.

Kelli and Jonathan-if you read this, please know how proud I am of both of you, and how much you are loved!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Low Cal Cake

The other night my Alpha Delta Kappa teacher group had movie night. We had so much fun watching Mama Mia on a big screen TV in the home of one of our members.

I am trying out new lower calorie recipes, and made this Best Ever Peanut Butter Cake to take. It turned out great, and no one could believe that it is a Weight Watchers recipe! I made this recipe once before several years ago, and remember everyone liking it.

Here are the ingredients:

BEST EVER PEANUT BUTTER CAKE serves 20
Devils Food cake mix
10 oz diet pepsi (guess you could use Diet Coke)
1 egg white
10 Tbls ff sweetened condensed milk or 7 oz.
2 Tbls peanut butter
8 oz ff cool whip
7 fun size butter finger bars-I just used one butterfinger candy bar for the whole cake. (I was afraid the extras in the package of mini size ones would be too much of a temptation!

Mix cake mix egg and soda according to cake box. Bake in floured 9x13 pan. A few minutes before cake is to be done combine sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in saucepan. Cook and stir on low until creamy and warm. Poke the top of cake with knife and pour peanut butter mix over top. Spread on cake making sure it goes into holes. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped candy bars on top. Cool completely. Cover with cool whip and sprinkle remaining butterfingers on top. Keep in
refrigerator. If you cut in 24 it goes to 3 points

Yield:
"4 points"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 128 Calories; 11g Fat (71.7% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 103mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Fat.

Trash to Treasure: Finials

Welcome to Trash to Treasure! Please add your link to a post that features a treasure you've gotten that someone else didn't want. I look forward to visiting you!

This week I'd like to show you two finials I've gotten recently-one at a thrift store, and the other at a garage sale. This pineapple finial came from the Hope Village Thrift store and cost $4.00. It has a $39.99 price tag on the bottom. There is a small piece broken off about the size of a fingernail on one side. You have to be really looking for it to find the flaw. I think it was part of a donation made to the thrift store from a furniture company that also sells accessories. I'm using it on our staircase now, but may use it in the garden later.
This finial is used as a bookend on my library table. It came from a garage sale and cost $3.00. I really love the coloring and style of this one.
Which one do you like best? Thanks for coming by, and please consider posting a link to a post on your blog.

My Weekend Trip

Sally at Smiling Sally is hosting Blue Monday. Please visit her for lots more blue!

This weekend I went on a 'girls getaway' trip. This blue picture is a clue...can you guess where I went and what this is?


I bet you guessed the beach! We went to Orange Beach to be exact and stayed in this house. The blue creature in the picture is a jellyfish that was washed up on the beach. They were everywhere!
The house has 8 bedrooms and 7 baths and belongs to 9 families. My friend Beth is a member of one of the families. They divide the time among the families, and each one gets 5 weeks per year at the 'cabin' as they often call it.
You are probably thinking, doesn't look like a cabin to me! And it sure isn't. This picture below is a picture of what the original cabin looked like before Hurricane Ivan came along.


I've been friends with Beth for many years, and visited the house in the picture lots of times. After Ivan, the house was severely damaged and they had an opportunity to buy the yellow house for a wonderful price. It was right next door and the property has been sold to build a condo. So, they bought it and moved it several feet, and now have this fantastic beach house that rents for about 7,000 per week during the prime tourist season. Beth and her family plan to rent their week this summer to recoup some of their investment, so it may be awhile before we are all invited back!

Since I'm linking this to Blue Monday, here's a house next door. No one was there this weekend, and Beth says it is often vacant!So, if I haven't visited you in a few days, you know why! I'll get back around in a day or so!

Thanks for stopping by!