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Thank you for all your comments, calls and e-mails, I am deeply grateful.
This month has been a roller coaster. I am getting caught back up so if you are waiting for an e-mail or call from me I promise it is coming. I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday...

My Grandmother passed away. Tomorrow we will be celebrating her life, remembering her kind, gentle and humble spirit. Her passing was a blessing after years of illness but it hurts...a lot. However, there is comfort in God and for that I am so thankful. I couldn't think of a better way to honor Nonny and praise God for his promise to us than the Prayer of Saint Francis...

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.**The final years of my Grandparents life were hard on everyone but especially my Mother. Watching her care for sick parents was heart breaking. I am saying a prayer for all of you who are caring for your parents. Judy Goldman wrote a wonderful article in Real Simple that really hit home for me. I recommend reading it....

"Near the end of her life, I could not see beyond my mother’s childlike stare, the confused disorder in her eyes. I could not feel anything but the ache of having to be my mother’s mother. After she died and I had finally shaken off the last shiver of the disease, I was able to remember what she had been like before Alzheimer’s.

I could see her turn her wrist to adjust her watch. There she was, at her dressing table, leaning into the magnifying mirror, plucking her eyebrows. I could see her dipping the tiny wand in the brown Mercurochrome bottle, painting my bruised knee orange. She was the grown-up. And I, again, was the child."

-excerpt "Losing My Mother", full text HERE

I am not going to lie, it was hard to get the ole brain working this week after a long vacation. It was one of those weeks that called for a diet Grapico...every...day. I love D.G. So, I can't muster up a full post but I did want to share with you my newest love along the Grapico line....Essie Bahama Mama.Looks great; it is not purple, not pink, not deep red, it is somewhere in the middle. Also, I love this room is different than most you see, on the fun side to get the weekend started...
Image Houzz

I am 99.9% sure I have posted this picture before but I came back across it and it is inspiring me today...Image Midwest Living

Love Love Love
Southern Living 2010 Louisiana Idea House

I love this picture.

West Elm.

While I still have a ways to go to catch up I did make it through my e-mails and 2 questions kept coming up. The first was what is the wall color in my dining room...The answer is Benjamin Moore 978 Raccoon Hollow. The other question was where to find the Ikea table online. Well, I wish I had an answer but I can't find it. Here is a picture of the information on the tag though if it helps.....
Hope you have a fabulous day.

I'm back from 10 wonderful days in Peru. My Husband and I love to travel and we had been saving for a big trip. A lot of locations were discussed but Peru was on the top of both of our lists so away we went. Joining us were my younger brother and Dad (on either end in the picture below).At some point I will make a complete list of all the places we went but I have a lot of catching up to do first! With over 1,000 pictures these are just some I picked but probably more are coming. We started off at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world which is home to a whole community living on an island made completely out of reeds.
We took several train rides, most on the Hiram Bingham through amazing and mind blogging landscapes ( I will be back with better pictures).
We stayed at the most wonderful hotels like the Monasterio (below), Casa Andina and The Inkaterra...
Met so many interesting locals along the way...
Saw very remote places that constantly reminded all of us how lucky we are to go on trips like this one...
Snuck in a date night in Cusco, a truly hidden gem of a city.
But the whole reason we went was....Machu Picchu, ruins hidden the Andes Mountains that are beyond words.
I have been so blessed to travel to some amazing places- Africa, Patagonia and all over Chile (my Dad's home where that whole side of the family still lives), Europe and more and I can say that Machu Picchu is indescribably special. There is nothing I can type here that could begin to describe the spirit of this place.
We spent two days there and the second day we went really early to catch sunrise over Machu Picchu, I will never, ever, forget that moment. Ever. Watching the sun come up (over mountains 8,200 ft in elevation) onto ancient remains was moving and emotional...
The remains were astounding and on there own would have been impressive. However, the very remote setting surrounded by the Andes made it that much more unique (picture taken from high above)...
The trip covered Puno, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, Machu Picchu/Aquas Calientes, and ended in Peru.

I would recommend this trip to anyone. Peru is a wonderful country full of unique and special places. More to come at some point but I wanted to share were I had been. Now it is back to the real world, sigh.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

I love tile?Yep, love it.
Would love to see this in person...
Next week I will be back from our getaway! In the mean time I hope you all have had a wonderful week!

Images Artistic Tile

One of the earlier posts I made on this blog was called, "Love the One Your With" and pointed out some things I love in my own house. It is human nature (and doubled if you read blogs) to want to change your house or wish for more. Sometimes it is good to sit back and focus on what we already have that we love. So I decided to do a guest blogger series with this theme and I am so pleased to start with Laura from Bright, Bold & Beautiful! By now I am sure you know I think Laura is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S, of course as an artist but also as a dear blogger friend!

Thank you Marianne for including me in this lovely series! I guess you can say that I really do practice what I preach... In every room in my home, there are bright, bold, and beautiful colors... found in my upholstery, wall color, and yes, my watercolors!

This photo is my favorite corner in the main living room. With the bright yellow wall color as the back drop, the tropical watercolor paintings really stand out.
In the same room, my abstract watercolor painting with rich jewel tone colors makes a statement above the mantle.
In my dining room, I painted simple florals and framed them all the same for a symmetrical look around the mirror.
Last, but certainly not least, my art studio is where I get my inspiration.Thank you Marianne for allowing me to invite you into my home!
Wow, thank you Laura! That was so fun, especially seeing the studio, I love to see where creative people work and I dying for a big work table.

For more from Laura be sure to visit her blog, Bright, Bold & Beautiful and her shop on Etsy!