Missing SuzAnna's............

Have you noticed I've been remiss in posting the latest from fabulous SuzAnna's Antiques?

Unfortunately my time for visiting there has been limited - the world got in the way so to speak. I so miss having my booth there..............here's a pic from those lovely days for the new followers of my blog.

I was there often, tying on my tags, fluffing my stuff, treasure hunting for more pretty, useful, French and English goodies to offer the lovely gals, and often guys, who stop by to see SuzAnna's latest.

Since closing my booth early last Fall.......I was heading to the sub-Antarctic and beyond.......I've used some of these tags I made for the shop as gift tags, however perhaps I'll hold on to them just in case I can score a little corner in SuzAnna's once I'm spending more time at home again! I like to think I can go back. Although Thomas Wolfe said "you can't go home again" I think you can, and I do it often. SuzAnna's shop, and all the friendly people there, was like my second home.

Coming up this weekend I'll be heading to SuzAnna's where I'll check out, and hopefully have time to photograph, lots of new treasures to share with you. Also, while there I'll be attending a fun workshop with my friend Jeannette, a talented professional faux finish painter. I'm excited about this class called "How To" as it will feature the ins and outs of using tools to fix furniture, and then painting it with the now very popular Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint from England. I've several painting projects of my own awaiting. Will share more with you on this later.

Anybody out there treasure hunting lately?  

The good weather also means neighborhood 

yard and garage sales galore. What have you 

found that you couldn't resist?

Show us your great finds.

Blue Hydrangeas, my big garden love........

This week the garden is bright and cheery following some heavy rainstorms and cooler temperatures, especially at night. I love sleeping with the windows open now the choking yellow pollen is long gone, listening to the rain splash on the leaves of the hickory tree, and then hearing the birdsong of a fresh early morning.......just like this one.

The Moonflower and Morning Glory seeds I planted in the large pot are already growing and soon will be twirling up the fishing line.

Note the blue hydrangeas are coming into bloom. Last year I was so disappointed when hardly any flowers appeared. This was due to a severe pruning the previous year to allow for painting the exterior of the house......I had to cut those two gigantic shrubs back almost to the ground, a painful thing I assure you.

This year they are back with huge blue blossoms - I've even cut some to bring inside while they're so pretty.

These are the Endless Summer variety. If you prefer pink or white they are also available at the garden center. I planted the two in front of the porch several years ago. They bloom right through until Autumn and give me ample blooms for drying later to use in wreaths and plop into vases and baskets around the house. When dried, the mix of dusty green, blue, sometimes even lavender, is beautiful. You can see some in my current blog banner above.

Once a small plant is comfy in your garden spot, part shade is best although mine are in full sun much of the day, they grow to huge bushes laden with blooms within a few years. They do enjoy a good drink, water being their beverage of choice! When the Summer days turn hot and humid here in the south I find myself watering them almost daily as they start to droop by mid afternoon. They are 'clean plants', my verbiage for shrubs and plants which never seem to have creepy crawlies who munch on leaves, or get disfiguring diseases such as yellow spot. They always look pristine from top to toe...........yes, can't you tell, I love, love hydrangeas.

I just popped outside in my P.J.'s with the camera.......here are the shrubs this morning after another rainy night.

Do you grow this shrub in your garden?

Share your lovely hydrangea stories please.

Teatime at the top of the world.........

On our second day in Dubai we were driven out from 

the city center to the coast......

....passing the famous luxury Burj Al Arab hotel, 
built on an artificial island.

A little further on, world-famous Palm Jumeirah dominates the view (only really visible in its entirety from the air).  Built in the shape of a palm tree, with a trunk and fronds, it is the world's largest man made island......... 

....with beautiful villas, condos and apartments, all brand new, elegant, and I'm sure expensive.

At the end of the Palm stands the massive 

Atlantis On The Palm resort - just like the Bahamas 

version - sandstone pink and stately....

.....with posh shops inside, everything 

perfection and gorgeous.

 We gals loved looking (JUST looking) at the bags and shoes of course.....

 ...and here's our fabulous friend Rob checking out the genuine Panama hats....they were fabulous too!

Always time for a Starbucks.

Later, heading back to the city we visited the Camel Museum.....

.....one real camel was munching on the trees......

.....while we opted for riding the quiet, docile kind...Paula and 

me above, Bob ready for a gallop below!

Back at the Dubai Mall and Dancing Fountain   

we had a very important reservation...afternoon 

tea served high above the world!

Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, 2,716 feet, making it almost impossible to photograph the total height from ground level when closeup. The rules are strict, even when you are holding very difficult to acquire reservations for afternoon tea! There is a dress code, no shorts, jeans, bare shoulders, open sandals. Our friend Mark was at first refused entrance because he was wearing white running style footwear - Bob explained that Mark had to wear them due to a disability! That necessitated a phone call, a bit of a wait, then we were given the OK and were able to enter the elevator.

We hopped off on the 123rd floor which the elevator reaches in less than 60 seconds! There are 163 floors total. We then walked down a flight of stairs - all the while gasping at the view from the windows - to level 122 for the entrance to the At.mosphere restaurant.

Looking down on the Dubai Fountain in the Burj Lake........

...on the left is the rooftop of the huge Dubai Mall...

....as you can see, even the towering skyscrapers below 

looked very small from that height!

Mark, Rob, Kim and Paula - all amazed at the amount of food that kept coming!

Teatime.....with so many delicacies.  Sandwiches crammed with fillings such as caviar, truffled egg and cream cheese, marinated tomato, rolls filled with beef, rocket and cheese.  Moving on to the sweets, skewers of fresh fruits, an assortment of warm scones served with cream........all served with a 'mocktail' of fruit juices.........I never did see a cup of real tea!

Bob didn't know where to start..........especially as we'd had lunch just a short time before not realizing the tea would be so gigantic!

However, here we were at the top of the world so to speak.........it did make us silly and giddy.  Paula and I checked the ladies room and had to get a funny pic.

Looking out toward the Arabian desert from 

the Burj Khalifa.

 Dubai is an amazing place. Would I return I've been asked.  

I might consider a short stay if the opportunity arose.It would be nice to see the many places I missed, more so the older, historic parts, having little interest in shopping malls and entertainment venues.It was so clean 

everywhere, the people were polite, and the architecture amazing. 

The Burj Khalifa visible between the buildings.

This is the final post on our recent trip aboard the Queen Elizabeth from Singapore to Dubai, stopping in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India. Five countries, each special in its own way, interesting in its different culture. Colorful, beautiful, spotless, dirty, hot and hotter!  Lovely people for the most part. Surprising in many, many ways.