For The Filthy Rich

The UK Company Heyland and Whittle claim they are Purveyors of Fine Soaps to the Gentry and the Filthy Rich. Check them out HERE. So, for my Well Born and Well Bred friends, I like to gift their lovely soaps, especially when I find them in these adorable gift boxes, and at half their listed price at my local Home Sense. I usually pick up several if I see them and hoard them in my gift cupboard until the perfect occasion and/or friend arises.

Given that my girls are fresh on the cusp of a Royal encounter with Prince Harry in Nassau READ ABOUT THAT HERE, and it is the Queen's Jubilee this year, not to mention the Olympics in Britain, I'm most attracted to Things Of The Flag lately..(yes, it is still my flag). I love this box of fragrant assorted soaps in their Hope and Glory Line. 

I also picked up some Six Packs with delightfully Royal names such as Sweet William, Britania and Hope and Glory and Jubilee. God Save The Queen.

I posed them with my stag horns, just so they could feel the connection to the British Countryside from whence they came...OK so that's a load of Codswallop. I LOVE THAT WORD. My Granny and Granddad used that word. If you haven't heard of Codswallop, you can read about this delightful word HERE. Then you should start using it. Especially if you're from Texas. It would sound great with a Texas accent.

I rather enjoyed playing around with photographic options. I feel they are quite photogenic. Now which of my FILTHY Rich and Gentrified Friends shall I gift these too?. 

Fashion Item of The Week

Heart and round pearls set into a beautiful cast brass setting.

I have a THING for jewelry, as do most women. I particularly love large, chunky necklaces, multiple bangles and bracelets. If it jingles, rattles, shakes and clangs, it's for me. Because I tend to wear neutrals, I like a bold piece of jewelry to give my outfit some interest.

My daughter bought me this gorgeous necklace for Christmas. It is part of the Jessica Simpson line, available at department stores all over the country. And very well priced. I believe it was about $30 which is great considering, it is of substantial weight, great quality and is loaded with pearls, charms, chains and beads.

One of our travelling companions while we were on Holiday is a jewelry designer. She always enjoys seeing our baubles when we meet for dinner. She said for her to make something like this would cost hundreds of dollars. Just the cast brass pieces would cost a lot, them the jewels etc and the labor would make it a pricey piece. She can't compete with factory pieces. She did however, think it was well made and nicely designed.

I love the details on the 2 main bits, the heart shaped pearls alternating with round, the scrolled edges and the smaller piece with the rhinestones and pearl. Charming in more ways than one.

The Return

I'm home. Back from my Girls Week away and savoring the memories once again.  Each year, there's a new set. They range from unique, sentimental, riotous, sometimes sad, crazy, bizarre and dramatic. One of our mums commented how she just loved to sit and watch the daughters with the carefree antics of youth.  We stayed at a couples resort. Great way to relax without roaming children and drunken teens. Apparently, many at the resort though we were "Couples". There were some stares and back glances. I guess they were trying to figure out who was paired with who!

We took trips by boat to the private island for lunch and a beach for those who preferred topless. We all dined together every night and savored the cuisine of all the restaurants. We enjoyed a birthday dinner for one of the girls.

We may have taken over the piano in the Crystal Room one night......

We arranged for a City bus to go Off Road for a tour of the island. We saw the steps that the slaves climbed from their ships to the holding areas. We saw local bars, houses, Anna Nicole Smith's grave, homes of the rich and famous, Indian caves, and bought beers from the factory to dink along the way, heeding the advice of the tour guide to "lower your beers" when police were spotted.   

And then, there was the Giraffe. "Henry" came as a joke, and grew a life of his own. People wanted their photo taken with him, they danced with him, staff put him behind the bar, women kissed him, some men had a real attraction to him, the Michael Jackson impersonator took him on stage with him, one lady took a big HATE on him (huge drama) and I may have started a conga line with him. Oh MY!

Now we are home digesting the week and filing away the memories. In other news, the Foster Dog has left. He has gone to his Forever Home as they call it. The Raz Man and Boy child did the drop off last weekend. He was lovely, but may not be suited to a home like ours with a cat. There was an incident while I was gone. Unseen, but it was overheard. It sounded like the dog choked up, or choked on the cat. When the Raz Man came to check it out, Dog was already sitting in shame on the time out mat, and cat was traumatized severely enough to stay in hiding for 2 days and even after was shaky and terrified of everything. So reluctantly we say good bye, but next Foster Dog has to have an established good record with a cat. Being on parole just won't do next time.

Their Prince Has Come-The Girls and Prince Harry

Our girls took the bus to Nassau today in hopes of catching a glimpse of Prince Harry, in town for the Queen's jubilee.  There was a speech......followed by a walkabout.

He's a handsome lad isn't he.

 And then....... he made eye contact with them....

great excitement.

Pictures from my DIL Tracy. That's her sister and my girl with the camera.

Staying Out of Trouble

Greetings to all. I am away on my annual girls trip with the 3 mums and 5 daughters, although this year one darling daughter couldn't make it and so we have a "filler" in her place. We opted for a couple's resort, because we find them quieter and it keeps us all out of trouble. Which I thought I had been doing until I read a favorite blog of mine and discovered there had been a big misunderstanding. Apparently due to a co-incidental conversation about Google ads and the subsequent bombardment of this persons blog with ads for Google, someone thought I was using a fake blog name to launch unwanted ads on the comment section. A warning was issued and  I may have been reported to Google before the misunderstanding was realized.  Anyway if you deleted my blog or stopped following, please be assured it was not me. I am on an island with limited Internet (non existent until today) with only my favourite girls and a giraffe from Kansas.

Girl Child is acting as my press person with regards to this event and wishes to make no comment at this time.

Peter Rabbit

Lindt make the best little treats for Easter. You've probably all seen the little foil bunnies, but the chocolate carrots are my favorites. You'll notice these are bilingual carrots. It's the law in Canada to label everything in both official languages...I've laid them out on a pretty little pressed glass plate, and I'm sure the'll be gone before you can say Peter Rabbit.

February Found Money

Last month the Raz Man and I decided to challenge ourselves to find an extra $2012.00 in 2012 to invest in our Retirement Savings Plan at the end of the year.  We certainly could have sliced our grocery budget, travel budget, and judging from all the wine bottles I returned this month, we could certainly cut the wine budget. The purpose, however, was not to find it within our pay cheques, but from other sources,  In our case, this should be called Lazy Ass Money because we have many ways where could save and/or make money, but we lack the time and motivation . We're just too plain lazy a lot of the time to make the effort to make money.

Last month I signed up for Ad Sense with Google because if you blog a lot, I figured you may as well make money on it. We also sold a washer and dryer, that previously we would have let the delivery company take away for free when they brought the new ones. 2 little things make us $121.15.

This month, The Raz Man raised the most $$ by listing and selling his Kayak on Craigslist. We should have shipped this to Florida when we had a chance, but it was sitting in storage unused and likely never to be used now the cottage is sold. He got full asking price of $350.00. My Ad Sense revenue went down a bit this month and I only make $10.21. I used to leave my wine bottles out on recycle day and a gentleman would come and take them.I never thought much of it, but assumed he was homeless or in need of cash. I later saw him outside his quite large house in a great neighborhood, and I realized he was smarter than me. He was out FINDING MONEY. So I took an embarrassingly large number of bottle to the Bottle Return and got $15.10.

So February ends with a whopping $375.31 in FOUND MONEY. Total so far in 2012 $496.46.

For March, I am looking at ways to up my Blog revenue, as well as selling some furnishings and mistakes that have been sitting around. I have an appointment with a consignment store tomorrow.

It would be great if you linked up to any Found Money ideas you have BELOW

Fashion Item of the Week

I have a thing for short boots and spend pretty well all of Fall and Winter in them in lieu of casual shoes. I'll spend good money on shoes and boots because I have good feet and want to keep them that way, plus my feet are complainers....and I have found that no matter what the make, style or construction, I have never had luck with cheap shoes. Plus shoe size is consistent so they don't succumb to my diet woes.

These cognac studded boots are my newest favorite boots. They are made by Frye, super comfy, fit true to size,and are fully lined in lovely soft leather. The buckles and studs make me feel like going roping this weekend in them . 

Buckles, shiny studs, stacked low heel....what's not to love.

OUT TAKE....Foster dog curiosity....

An Old Fashioned Birthday Cake

For my big brothers birthday, I baked him a good old fashioned chocolate cake. Made with cocoa, buttermilk and espresso (you can use regular coffee), This cake recipe is my go-to cake for chocolate lovers and comes from The Barefoot Contessa's cookbook. It's called Beatty's Chocolate cake and is by far the most tasty chocolate cake in my recipe repertoire.  It's also a very easy cake to make so you should give it a try. After you add the coffee, the batter is very thin, but don't fret, it rises like a dream and will be absolute perfection. You can find the recipe HERE and impress your own crowd.

I'm a big fan of the simple old fashioned birthday cake. Just a thick spread of chocolate butter cream icing, and my favourite decorations....Hundreds and Thousands.

Flowers In The House

I hadn't seen the sun in a week, so when I spotted these petite daffodils at the grocery store on Friday, I snapped them up. I thought a splash of yellow would bring some sunny rays into the house. Plus, I knew it was the week for Jane's FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE gathering on Monday. At $1.49 for each little pot, I bought 3 pots and re-planted them all into my # 3 Burleigh bowl.   

This morning, the sun crept out and graced the living room with it's beautiful gentle Spring rays, highlighting the beauty of these simple little daffs.
 

Foster Dog Update.

A friendship/acceptance is starting for form between Hunter and Hannah Cat.

Girl Child told me to stop writing about the dog....but I just can't. He's just too full of adventures and sweetness not to take his picture and rattle on like a proud Mamma.  The first rule of Fostering is not to get too attached,  but let me tell you.  Girl Child has failed miserably on that front.  She spent a good part of reading week at the house and this boy followed her everywhere and she him. Well behaved boy that he is, he refused all offers to sleep on her bed.

He no longer escapes from the laundry room when we go out. The door is firmly locked and we pick the lock to get him out. He will eat the cat food if he thinks I've gone out and left him alone, and he has forged a quasi friendship with Hannah Cat. He really is such a lovely, well trained and lovable dog. I'd keep him if we were planning another dog. 

You may notice his bandage on his foot. He had a brief stint at another foster home right after he was surrendered (horrible term for it) and the alpha dog in that house didn't take to him and gave him a few sharp bites, one cutting his eyelid, which I noticed and bathed and it has healed, and the other that I failed to notice on his foot. A bite can be nasty on the skin, and this has festered and he is left with an infection and sore foot. He's twice been to the vet and is now on antibiotics. He's twice removed the dressings the vet applies. Last night I gave it a warm salty water compress, then pulled out my tool box of bandages and found an extra tough stretchy, sort of sticky, tensor bandage and have wrapped it snugly so he can't chew it and hope now he's on the mend. He may not be mine, but he's making an impact, snuggling his way into our lives and hearts. I do hope he finds a loving home soon.  For more info on Fostering a Labrador or Adoption, see www.lab-rescue.com.

Finally a bandage he can't get off.

Weekend Plans

Mystery cake..likely going to be chocolate served on my pretty Tiffany Blue cake plate.

We had a short week this week here in Canada due to the Family Day Holiday. They are calling for snow, but since we've only had a handful of snow this year, I'm not buying it. It's raining right now so let's hope the temperature doesn't plunge.  This weekend will be a fairly quiet one. I am going away next Wednesday so I will be busy getting my suitcase ready and work completed so no one notices I'm gone. Foster dog if not adopted by then will be spending his days at the Raz Man's office. He's been a few times and left his calling card both times.

One of my man gifts complete with homemade wrapping and Celtic cross clay tag.

For the most part, I keep track of birthdays and always throw a party, buy a decent gift, and bake a huge cake, but this year for my eldest brother, I basically skipped it. It was 10 days ago, and other than a "hey happy birthday" call, I did zippo...zero..nothing. So guilt crept up and I am hosting a family dinner in his honor on Sunday.

Masculine dining table....this was his last years supper.

I think I may barbecue something, that is if we don't get the foot of snow predicted. Other than that, all I know is the cake will be chocolate. Last year I bought him a candle.  A really good one, in a nice tin with a manly aroma of cigars and leather and bacon. The rest of the family thought it was a ridiculous gift for a man. Which sparked a discussion on whether men like to be given candles. Bro had to admit it was a great gift since he was sitting at my dinner table. He's a hip dude. He cooks, has a nice apartment with lots of art and bits from his travels.  I thought it was a good gift. I guess I should ask the male readers what they think. Tom, John, Mark.....is a candle a decent gift for a fella?

Birthday cake clay tags I made.