A Woman's Decision

Beginning with today's post, I'm taking a break. There are a lot of things going on in my life, just like all of you. It may be a week, two weeks or a month. We'll see what happens. I just need to get some things done I've been putting off for a long time. But I truly thank all of you who follow and/or read my blog.
*

Several weeks ago, we all read about Angelina Jolie having her breasts removed. I'm not fond of her, but I salute her decision to take a very pro-active stance on her body. I'd do the same thing. In fact, I did many years ago.

I'll not go into the details as it's very personal and it wasn't cancer but I made a decision for health reasons and would do it again in a heartbeat. Breasts are not the be all/end all to some women or men. I doubt seriously that many men, and I do mean men, not the narcissistic idiots that come out of Hollywood, marry women for their breasts. I know my hubby didn't. I've talked on this matter before on one of my blog posts. Some women are identified by their chests; I'm not one of them. Be happy with what you have. There are health risks to women with larger breasts. There are also other considerations with that also. I chose to do what I did and was extremely happy with the results.

But I'm glad it was brought to the forefront for women. Don't be afraid to take a pro-active stand on your health matters. Listen to your doctor but make your own decision. He'll inform you but he shouldn't be the one to make a decision for your own body. I'm certainly glad Miss Jolie did what she did so she wouldn't leave her children without a mother. Children need their mothers as much as they need their fathers. Wise decision, in my opinion.
*

A very colorful entrance to an adorable place somewhere in Europe. France and Italy are pretty similar in their homes, all very lovely and fascinating architecture. This is a darling place though.

I love gorgeous arrays of pillows as art. I'm thinking of having Love Bunny make me shelves for the family room to display pillows I've made. I need to make more room in my office, where most of them are stored, and in my craft room. I'll be cleaning that out soon. Yeah, yeah, I know, you're heard that before, but this time I mean it as it's getting seriously trashed in there.

Another exceptional place for an al fresco dinner.

A stunning bunch of lavender. I'm not fond of the smell but its medicinal value is wonderful for burns.

An array of vintage hats. How wonderful that this owner was able to get so many with flowers on them.

I'd love to have this small vase. I know exactly where I'd use it.

I love impatiens for their strikingly vivid colors.

Don't we all wish we could create a cute vignette like this? I'd just love to have that old ice cream parlor chair!

Looks like British Colonial decor to me.

Just a bit of lace juxtaposed with peeling windows.

A place to sit and dream while surrounded with gorgeous roses.

These are French-enameled measuring cups. Cute!!!

A beachy-type decor. I do love the colors.

I just loved the stairs in this old home. I doubt I'd ever feel safe going up and down on them. I need a handrail as I'm a klutz, but I love the look. The stone fireplace is also a plus in this house.

A way to decorate a canning car. Just put earrings on it and it's an instant vase.

*

Tidbit:

The Houses of Parliament have nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases, 11 courtyards, 8 bars, and 6 restaurants—none of them open to the public.
~*~

A Beach Story

Soon, within the next day or so, I'm going to show you some of the couture items I've been looking at on the internet. I've gathered about 320 photos of gorgeous couture from all over the net. I had been posting about 18 photos on each post and have cut back to 15 each post recently which should start about the middle of July. (I was thinking it was too much for y'all and it might become boring for you.) As I've said before, I schedule them out for weeks at a time. I like to keep ahead of the game. ;-) And I've started posting every 2 days instead of almost every day or at my whimsey. It was just getting to be a hassle because of things that are happening in my life at this moment in time. (Okay, I'm having surgery the middle of July and didn't want to say anything until it was over. But as you'll read in a post for July 10th, you'll understand why. I'll be fine, no cause for concern.)

Anyway, I'm going to post the couture blog posts in between. After viewing them and salivating, I thought it was kind of mean to not show them to all of you AND I just was lazy in not wanting to take the time to grab them, edit them in Photoshop, resize them pixel wise and them upload them to Photobucket and then make a blog post for them. That takes a LOT of time. I am thinking that I'll just post them with no stories or comments, just the photos, to save myself time. However, I've been known to change my mind. In other words, I can't shut up! While I am a very good listener, I'm a very good talker also. But, trust me, you will not want to miss seeing these gorgeous dresses and gowns. They are beyond belief. You'll see. I'll need a few days just to get them ready to post on my blog. You will absolutely not be disappointed. If you are, your money will be refunded. Cheerfully! :-)
*

As I mentioned earlier in this post (I think), I'm not fond of the ocean. Here is the story.

One year when we were in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, hubs and I got tired of the pools at the hotel and decided to hit the beach and ocean. There were many people on the beach that day. He's brave and fearless of the ocean so he went in first on the small alcove of beach. I tiptoed in later. We went out to about my chest or neck area and when I had my back to the ocean, a huge wave came in and knocked me off my feet and tossed me around quite a bit. I truly couldn't tell which way was up. When people talk about this now I know exactly what they mean. I looked for light but couldn't see any. Finally, my face hit bottom sand and I knew then which way to go up to the surface. It scared me like nothing ever had before. You are truly disoriented as to direction. Don't think it can't happen to you because that's what I thought. I poo-pooed people that said that.

He helped me to the beach and many people were standing there to help in any way they could. I had wretched my back a bit and was tender for a while. He led me to the outdoor shower and I had so much sand in my bathing suit that I couldn't get it out even after we went home. In fact, I had sand coming out of you-know-where for weeks after that. Yep, it got into every crevice it could. This is not an exaggeration!

This is the hotel we stayed at there.

So I have a very healthy appreciation for the ocean now. I stay away from it as much as possible. ;-)
*


This reminds me of Greece with the pretty white walls, sparkling water and abundance of flowers.

Somewhere in France or Spain probably, but I truly don’t know. Just from the stone walls, tiled roof and the shuttered windows, that would be my guess.

An elegant and inexpensive way to creative a bit of relief from the hot sun. Beautiful surroundings made cozy and private.

That curved wall gives the home a lot of character. Exquisitely private setting.

A small kitchen cabinet but arranged to add cuteness even without a lot of space. Having no doors just adds to a lovely display.

A tiny hideaway.

This homeowner/apartment dweller made use of a very tiny space to grow her herbs and have a breezy perch to sit.

If it’s pink it’s got my attention. Love the pink beadboard wall. The whole area reminds me of candy.

Another idea for old buckets and hanging tea lights.

Gift for a friend, perhaps?

Lucky homeowner who snagged this vintage beauty.

Going on vacation. ;-)

A beautiful pathway down to a beach.

Cute.

A back porch made happy!

Another quaint cottage.

Now this brings back memories of my grandmother’s house. We had an old glider like this when I visited her while growing up.

I’m betting Greece with the white-washed stone wall, bougainvillea, tiled roof and gorgeous blue sea.

~*~
Linking up with WOW today.