Wow, these gorgeous roses were awaiting me as I walked through my front door today. Ethos, also known in the twitter world as recreate presented them to me in celebration of our 29th anniversary. Many memories and milestones have passed since we first met 33 years ago this month at band camp.
I feel pretty special today..
One of my favorite summer drinks:
Make your own lemonade or by my favorite store bought brand, Simply Lemonade . Mix in just enough Finest Call strawberry
puree mix, (your favorite will work also) to flavor the lemonade with
strawberry, the color should be a pretty pink. Color granulated sugar
with red food coloring to make it pink, use a lemon wedge to rim the
glass. The sugar hardens over time, so if you are entertaining guests
you may want to rim your glasses about 30 min to an hour early. Serve over ice.The
sugar on the pink rimmed glass mixed with the tartness of the lemonade
makes your taste buds dance. Get more creative ideas at Watercooler Wednesday at Ethos.
Village Real Estate was one of the few companies to see a sales volume increase in 2008 and a signficant gain in market share.
Village's sales volume increased from $99 million in 2007 to $101 million in 2008. Its market share rose to 2.4 percent from 1.65 percent, catapulting it to fifth place after a ninth place ranking last year.
Village broker/owner Mark Deutschmann says the company's selling niche in the urban core is working, and today's economy with its rising gas prices is helping fuel interest in downtown life.
"There is plenty of business to be had," Deutschmann says. "We've been getting multiple offer situations in our Midtown markets."
Village agents share their success stories in meetings to keep agents upbeat.
Deutschmann says he thinks some customers are attracted to a local company that cares about the urban lifestyle and spends money in the community.
Another company strategy is replacing underproducing agents with ones who have two years of experience and at least $2 million in production. Village cut about 25 agents last quarter.
I've moved just one block away to Village Real Estate Services.
Village is about new ideas. We are adaptable to a changing marketplace, and we strive to sharpen our skills in implementing new approaches as we pursue our business and social objectives. Our aim is to build stronger, more progressive communities and to find new ways to create community-oriented and neighborhood wealth. Read more here.
Recently, my daughter and I decided to give our culinary palettes a divine treat...Gigi's Cupcakes. This was totally an unintentional delight. The day before the Country Music Marathon we couldn't find parking in downtown Nashville. So we dropped off my husband and younger daughter to collect their race packets and before we knew it we were at least 20 blocks away at Gigi's. I enjoyed the Midnight Magic Chocolate Chip as she indulged in the Miss Princess. What a guilty pleasure we were enjoying when my phone rang...it was the marathoners wondering where we were. With a mouthful of frosting and chocolate cake, I had to confess.
To my amazement, cupcakes are the rage. You can order them online for almost any occasion to be shipped just about anywhere.They are replacing traditional wedding cakes, appearing at baby showers, and being used as "cheer you ups" just to name a few of the wonderful ways folks are enjoying them. Beautifully packaged they make a great gift for anyone. What a throwback to the fifties, eat your hearts out, June Cleaver and Donna Reed.
This fall the Curious Cupcake is opening on Main Street in Historic Franklin. Just three blocks from my home and two blocks from my office. My taste buds can hardly wait. My self control will be challenged.
What a great way to make someone smile, enjoy a cupcake with them! For more creative and delicious ideas go to Watercooler Wednesdays at Ethos.
Having traveled Interstate 24 many times in the past few weeks. I have been so thrilled to see the wildflowers in bloom in the median. These beautiful creations make an otherwise dull trip into an artistic canvas full of color. I have copied the words of Lady Bird Johnson, who wanted to share her love of wildflowers with all of America....
"My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth."
"My special cause, the one that alerts my interest and quickens the pace of my life, is to preserve the wildflowers and native plants that define the regions of our land-to encourage and promote their use in appropriate areas and thus help pass on to generation in waiting the quiet joys and satisfactions I have known since my childhood "
"Some
may wonder why I chose wildflowers when there are hunger and
unemployment and the big bomb in the world. Well, I, for one, think we
will survive, and I hope that along the way we can keep alive our
experience with the flowering earth. For the bounty of nature is also
one of the deep needs of man."
"I have always been a natural
tourist. Lyndon used to say I kept 'one foot in the middle of the big
road'. Wherever I go in America, I like it when the land speaks its own
language in its own regional accent."
"Though the word
beautification makes the concept sound merely cosmetic, it involves
much more: clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal
and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and
wilderness areas. To me…beautification means our total concern for the
physical and human quality we pass on to our children and the future
"The
environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it
is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves,
but a focusing lens on what we can become
"A I look back
across a span of more than seven decades, I'm grateful for the joy that
nature has given me and for the lifetime of experiences that led me to
believe that I might repay a part of the debt I've incurred for beauty
enjoyed."
"Wildflower landscapes can help us save water.
Wildflowers also can save time and maintenance money. They may even
bring money to cities and states. Wildflower trails and flower
festivals improve local pride and bring in tourists. But, as I've said,
we need to know much more about how and when and where to plant them to
get reliable, predictable, consistent results. We need that knowledge
if we are to preserve wildflowers and to choose them as complements to
traditional manicured landscaping."
"When I was a little girl, I grew up listening to the wind in the pine trees of the East Texas woods."
Join me and others around the watercooler at Ethos today for more art and culture.
Head to the new O'More Sensory Garden Sunday afternoon for an O'More Publishing Book Signing Event with
refreshments and entertainment. Featuring author Charles Robinson
dancing in full regalia and reading from his book, Silent Voice of Creation. Come out and enjoy the sunshine from 2:00 -4:00, Sunday, May 4.
See you there!
There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths,
which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to
them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the
roof, and then fly away.
~Henry Ward Beeche
For more beautiful poetry go to the watercooler at Ethos.
I've had this French Provencial chest on our backporch since we moved into our current home almost 2 years ago. The poor thing started out as a second hand purchase and was part of a complete little girl's bedroom suite. This is the only piece that has been saved over the years. It has many coats of paint on it and has served as a dresser, server for the dining room, a chest in the hallway and then was placed outside on the backporch. I felt it was time to give it new life and bring it back to the bedroom where it belongs. So, I went to the local Harpeth True Value Hardware store and bought a distressing kit by American Heritage. Here is the result...
for more cool ideas visit Watercooler Wednesday at Ethos.
