Today, I’m thankful for family and friends, and i’m especially thankful that in six more days hubby and I won’t be homeless….
We close early on our house next Wednesday and then the work begins. We have 937 boxes to unpack. Okay, so I’m stretching that a bit, it’s actually 652!
Anybody wanna help???
Country Music Stars, Steel Guitars...
Hubby turned 71 this past August, and it was a wakeup call for us. We’re getting older, and we've had several conversations this summer about why we are in living here when our family is in Lexington and Nashville, Versailles and Franklin to be exact. We love the Lexington area, it’s a beautiful place and we always enjoy our visits there so much, but this old country girl’s heart has always been drawn to the hills of Tennessee. Mild winters, southern hospitality and beautiful scenery, everything I love. Well, the diners with sweet tea, beans and cornbread are an added bonus, too.
So, after a trip to Florida in early September, we came back thru Nashville, hooked up with a great realtor, looked at houses and on Labor Day, we bought a home in Spring Hill, just a stone’s throw from Franklin, twenty minutes or so down the road from John, Deanna and Lexi. Then we came home and put a for sale sign in the yard at our condo, and sold it on the same week on Thursday. It’s been an absolute whirlwind, but we feel that we made the right choice for our golden years and we are so excited about moving to Nashville! Every time we tell people where we’re relocating to, without fail, they break out in a huge grin and start telling us how much they love Nashville, too. People are moving to the area at the rate of eighty-five per day, we love that Spring Hill is more rural, and we have easy access to shopping without having to fight traffic.
We’ve decided to abandon the condo life and the pricey HOA fees, and instead we bought a model home in Spring Hill that will work well for us. Everything we need, including the master bedroom is on the first floor, but the upstairs has a loft that we can use as a sitting area with media center, a bedroom with en suite, two more bedrooms and another bath. We’ll use one bedroom as a playroom for the grandkids, another bedroom with twin beds for them and the bedroom and en suite for family and guests. It will be so much fun when Ryan and Lindsay visit, we were always so cramped in the condo, we often stayed at our neighbor Marti’s, so now we’ll have plenty of room for everybody to spread out.
Foodie Jan is excited about having a big kitchen again, our family always gathers in the kitchen and now we will have plenty of room without being cramped. And since it was a model home, it has great landscaping, too, well, maybe a few changes will happen cause that’s just the way I roll. :)
We won’t be able to move into our house until December, so everything is in storage and Ryan and Lindsay invited us to stay with them, so we’re relocating to their house for a short time. We’re looking forward to spending extended time with Abby and Ben, giving Lindsay a break so she can get her holiday shopping done, and before you know it, we’ll be Nashville bound.
We didn’t expect this late(r) in life relocation, I always just assumed that my next home would be Shady Acres, but we’ve been here fourteen years and you think differently in your 50’s than you do in your 60’s and 70’s. I’m excited to get to decorate another house, we’re both excited about exploring the hills and hollers and the country life and we’re glad we didn’t wait any longer to do this, moving is always stressful and this has been quite a challenge.,
This is the Pizza of my boy’s childhood, they loved and still do. It was always $.99, and it was a classic. Mother was a fan as well, she would bake one and scarf down the entire thing. Well, the guys still love it, Ryan has Ben eating it now, Lexi isn’t a fan yet, John is hopeful, but what happened to it???
Gone is the familiar red box, the 10.9 ounces of pure processed delight. It’s been replaced with a cellophane bag and it’s now a rectangle.
WHAT, WHAT??? A RECTANGLE!!!!!! Pizza is supposed to be ROUND!!!!!
This just isn’t right, you don’t mess with holy grail. It’s still $.99, the price hasn’t changed, but c’mon Totino’s, it’s just not the same anymore...
I love Wendy’s Chili, and yes, I know they use their leftover hamburger to make it, that doesn’t really bother me, and it tastes closer to homemade than other chili I’ve tried in restaurants. It’s surprisingly low in calories and I’ve always loved it over a baked potato.
I make really good chili, but I wanted to try a Wendy’s Dupe, and I found my way to MamaLovesFood. Her adaptation looks good and the comments were positive, so I’m going to try it. I'll cut it in half though, this makes a boatload and hubby and I can’t eat that much chili and I don’t want to freeze it.
So hop on over to her site and check out her recipe, looks like a winner to me...
Picture from MamaLovesFood website
I was watching Mellistin YouTube videos about fall this afternoon, and I thought about all of the things I love about it. So here are my 5 favorite things.
1. My birthday, it’s in November, but as soon as crisp weather arrives, I know that it’s coming soon. Why at this age I still get excited about my birthday, I’ll never know, but it’s the one day that I get my favorite meal, and it usually isn’t something my family likes, but it’s something I always look forward to.
2. This is something I never get to experience anymore, but I love, love, LOVE the smell of burning leaves. But because of burn ordinances, burning leaves just don’t happen.
3. Boots and wraps, love both of these, it’s so nice to cover up this old body after the summer months, and there is nothing better than a great pair of boots, I’ve always been a boot girl, mostly Uggs these days, but they work for me.
4. Chili, Vegetable Soup, Apple Pie and Beef Stew, not necessarily in that order.
5. Wiener roasts, s’mores and hayrides. We went on a hayride last weekend, and had s’mores, so all that’s left is the wiener roast and I’ll be a happy girl.
These are my favorites, I bet you are thinking about yours now, too
My Old Kentucky Dinner Train, oh this is perfection, a 37 mile train ride through Kentucky complete with fine dining.
I would book in a heartbeat, but not this year, too much going on in my world to make it happen. But next year? Sign me up, this on the top of my bucket list.
You want to check it out, too - here’s the link, enjoy...
I just couldn’t resist posting this. It’s apple time ladies, and it doesn’t get better than this...
My buddy, V sent me this picture last night. It was too good not to share.
Isn’t this everything that’s just perfect for fall? I’m always ready for the season changes, apples and pears, jeans and sweaters and boots and crisp fall air.
It’s coming soon, I’m ready, aren’t you???
I am totally in awe of Melissa55 on YouTube. This woman is sixty-one years old, has never had botox, lifts, fillers, nothing! I’ve talked about her before but if you haven’t watched her, I think you will enjoy her.
She is just amazing, how does she look like this at her age???
As for Vitamin C Serum, I use it, but I buy directly from Timeless Cosmetics, very, reasonable, but I don’t have issues with gluten so I don’t have to spend as much money as she does.
Just thought you might all enjoy watching her this morning, all of her videos are so good, but then I’m a huge fan of charming southern women, and Melissa is the cream of the crop.
Abby’s summer visit was last week. She’s almost seven now, and it’s all about silly faces, giggling and nicknames.
P-Pa is now “Peeps"
Grammie is now “Grams"
Maggie is now “Mags"
And finally, Boo-Boo Kitty is now “Boobs"
We had a great visit, she built a horse at Build-a-Bear, we went to see The Secret Life of Pets, which was a huge hit, we went to restaurants, she played in my office and was on the computer Googling everything she could find out about horses. She now drives the golf cart by herself, with Peeps behind her, those little legs are so long she can work the gas and of course that was an absolute thrill for her to be able to do it.
She’s also brutally honest, here is a snippet of one of our conversations:
Abby: Grammie, you look really pretty today
Me: (warm fuzzy feeling) Thanks, Abby
Abby: Ya know all those wrinkles around your eyes?
Me: (warm fuzzy feeling quickly evaporating) Oh-oh, here it comes...
Abby: When you smile your wrinkles are really, really deep and they kinda turn up and it looks like you have extensions on your eyelashes
Me: Uhhh....
Abby: You really should look in a mirror Grammie, you have lines all over your face, not just around your eyes
I just cracked up when she said this, there is no filter at this age and it’s so refreshing.
Visits are too short, families live too far apart, but we appreciate every single moment we have with our grandkids. They are all amazing little souls and the joy of our lives...
A little nostalgia this morning for a favorite summertime treat. I always ate frozen Snicker Bars as a kid, probably because there was no air conditioning and the chocolate would melt. I remember them being so hard, you practically broke off your teeth when you bit into them. I also loved frozen Baby Ruth’s and my all time fave, Zero Candy Bars.
Update to 2016 and my old(er) age, when I avoid sugar 80-90% of the time. Frozen candy bars have been on my mind lately, so I went to CVS yesterday, bought Mini Sugar Free York Peppermint Patties, came home, stuck them in the freezer, and oh, my...
These are just as good as if not better than the frozen candy bars of my childhood. Something about the frozen mint, it just does it.
So, bring out the kid in you, pick up your favorite candy bar of choice, freeze it and dig in. It’s a cheap thrill. ~ Jan
I have such a nice family and we had a long overdue family picture taken Mother’s Day. Our favorite photographer, Adam Brennan, took great photos of the kids and grandkids. I’m a firm believer that nobody over fifty should have their picture taken, we are always our worst critics, but Little Miss Merry Sunshine should reboot and just be glad that hubby and I are still kicking!
And now it’s July 4th weekend, the days fly by, my sweet little grandkids are growing so fast, family is coming home today and life is good. Have you had a family picture taken lately? Carpe Diem, one of my favorite sayings.
And by the way, another favorite Judy Dench got her first tattoo at age 81. Yep, she put “Carpe Diem” on her wrist.
I personally would have chosen a better font and maybe a better tattoo artist, this looks pretty blurry to me. But kudos to this lady for doing it her way. I’m not a fan of tattoo’s, except for that Tweety Bird I always wanted on my butt in my younger years, thank goodness I didn’t do that! At this age poor Tweety would probably be hard to even recognize.
Enjoy your holiday ladies, wherever it takes you, and Carpe Diem, seize the day! ~ Jan
The woman looks amazing. Still fresh and natural, she just doesn’t seem to age, and she doesn’t look like she’s gained a pound since high school. Wow...
I’ve been a low carber for a few years now. I’ve floated in and out of it this past year, but find that when I live in the moment, eat pasta, pizza, sugar, of course it’s wonderful, but then I have to take Nexium because I get heartburn at night, I feel sluggish, I gain weight, my face gets totally blown up, so then I revert to low carb again. Do I lose weight on low carb, not really. I lose maybe ten pounds and then I stall out, it’s age, metabolism, inactivity, it all works against me, but the payoff is I feel better when I eat this way.
And then last year Atkins rolled out their 40 carb program, I haven’t tried it, I’ve always stayed between 20-25 carbs, but this looks very doable, so maybe I’ll see how my body responds. It makes more sense, more vegetables, a bit more fruit, all things good.
This morning I was reading in People Magazine about how that self absorbed Kim Kardashian has lost 60 lbs. eating Atkin’s 40, and while I can’t handle the woman, I did think her food journal was interesting, I’ll link to it, some of you might enjoy the menus.
A little food for thought about a new approach to Atkins, not as restrictive, it might appeal to you...
Here’s the link to her menu’s, lots of other 40 carbs menus online as well, just Google it...
Bon Appetit! ~ Jan
I was browsing fashions of the 60’s and found this very same McCall’s pattern that mother used to make me a tent dress with a front pleat. She made it for my senior after prom and used rust and white hopsacking polka dot fabric.
Talk about a walk down memory lane. Wow...
We’ve had so much rain in May that everything has filled in nicely. The hostas in the background are huge this year and hubby installed underground irrigation for me, so hopefully it will keep things looking good when the dog days of summer arrive. I have so much shade on the patio these days that I can’t grow herbs, so I just tucked them in among the flowers, along with a cherry tomato plant in the concrete pot.
I bought a new rocker from Grandin Road for the area by the front door. I love to sit in the morning and watch the horses in the field in front of us, and I’ve had a iron bistro table and chairs sitting there for the past few years. There is nothing more uncomfortable than those darn hard chairs. This is comfy and It reminds me of a bentwood rocker I had in the 70’s.
Just a peek at what things are looking like this month in Heavensville. The back patio is thriving, too. I’ll post patio pictures soon.
I remember as a child, mother would take me to her friends houses in the summer to look at their flowers. Fast forward to 2016 and we just post pictures on the Internet.
It’s a gorgeous day here, low humidity, temps in the high 70’s, oh if all summer could only be like this. It’s always fun to see other peoples gardens, just thought you might enjoy this… ~ Jan
I’m a huge fan of nude lips with just a little bit of color, and I’m a peach, not a pink girl. I love strong colors on everybody else, but on me they just look harsh, and everytime I apply a strong color, I immediately wipe it off and apply a nude tone, those deep shades just don’t work with my complexion.
The Mature Ladies of YouTube are loving Tom Ford’s Spanish Pink lipstick this season, but ouch, it’s pricey, $52 at Nordies… It’s such a great color, a peachy, slightly pink natural lipstick, everything I love except for the price. So I was on the hunt for a drugstore dupe and I found it! Rimmels Notting Hill Nude! And it’s under $10. Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!!!!
It doesn’t have the fancy packaging, or the embossing that Spanish Pink has, but it’s a great dupe and the color is dead on. I ordered it online, and I love it.
I also bought Revlon’s Apricot Fantasy #120, which is a pearlized lipstck, it’s similar as well, but a bit lighter and it’s so pretty, the apricot is softer than most peach lipsticks, it’s a winner for me as well.
And, I was watching LisaLisaD1 review lipliners on YouTube, she is really liking Revlon’s ColorStay Nude Liner - and since I’m a big fan of the ColorStay line so I bought it as well. Another winner! It’s dark enough that you get a nice outline, but it doesn’t say, “oh, you lined your lips."
So that’s it from Heavensville this Memorial Day weekend, just sharin’ the good stuff.
~ Jan
I grew up on Good Seasons Italian Dressing. It was mother’s favorite, so we had it weekly. Finely chopped lettuce, diced celery, onion and tomatoes, all tossed with Good Seasons Original Italian Dressing.
Fast forward to now, we have a favorite Italian restaurant, Angelo’s, we go there often and they immediately bring you their house salad, black olives, lettuce, onions and tomatoes, tossed with Italian dressing. Oh, and a basket of warm garlic knot rolls, can’t forget those! Anyway, I love their salad, and my buddy V and I decided that it tasted like Good Seasons.
A few weeks ago when we were there, I asked them if I could buy a bottle of the dressing, and they poured a wine bottle full of it and gave it to me, which was very nice. Then the server proceeds to tell me that it’s just Good Seasons Italian Dressing!
I knew it, V and I were right! No wonder it tasted so good! And now that it’s salad season, some of you might like to revisit this great dressing as well. Sure you could add some fresh herbs to it, chives, parsley, oregano, but I think it’s perfect just the way it is. They have several varieties now, but I like the original Italian.
Fresh made salad dressing is always better than bottled I think, so pick up a cruet kit when you’re at the grocery, give it a try, I think you will enjoy it, too.
It’s a good thing ~ Jan
No more gaping blouses, collars that stay down, temporary hemming your pants, all using this water soluble glue stick - isn’t this a great idea? I saw this on People Magazine this morning, and found this video on QVC.
This product is not available right now on QVC, but you can get it from Joyus.
Two sticks are $22, it doesn’t break the bank, and no more gaping blouses. Whoohoo, works for me.
Yes, I really did buy this wreath for my front door, but wait, wait, let me explain. LC is a go with the flow guy, he’s always in a good mood, very agreeable, up for anything, except when it comes to gardening. Poor guy, he just detests it, but I love it, and 99% of it I can’t do, so he does it for me. And his normally sunny disposition turns a bit south, because yours truly wants things moved yearly, and it’s always a huge ordeal. It’s never just a couple of things that I want planted or moved, it’s always this big production and he does not enjoy the process.
And when I saw this wreath it was so funny, I just cracked up, luckily he saw the humor in it as well and it now resides on our front door. But it could be misinterpreted if people come to the door that aren’t familiar with his intense dislike of gardening, they might think that he’s just a grumpy old man, period. But do I care what other people think? At this age? Not really.
You have to admit, it made you smile, women get this, they really do.
And happy gardening to you, too. ~ Jan
© all the latest from Nashville ya'll, AllRightsReserved.
Designed by ScreenWritersArena
