Happy 1st Birthday Red Roses and Crystal Hip Hip Hooray!

Well my dear lovely readers I made it!
Today is exactly one year since my foray into this blogging biz and can I just say..I have learnt stuff I never ever realized I could learn!
Blogging has taught me very valuable skills and brought insight into human nature. The blog love swirling around me is amazing (now if I allowed anon/unmoderated comments it may be different but I don't have the inclination to deal with nasty folk). This is my Happy space.

Blog Love...the friends I've made are exceptional women, both in real life and online and for this I'm truly grateful. Another thing I've learnt is that fellow bloggers/readers 'get it'. They understand the appeal and what keeps us churning out our thoughts in this crazy world of technology. Now I've experienced many thoughts of 'why why why am I writing a blog'? To this day I'm not totally sure and have no idea if this foray is going to be a permanent part of the rest of my life but for now it's a hell of a ride and when I look at my little blog I see something I've created and feel just a tad proud.
On the whole this caper has been a thoroughly enjoyable hoot but I have witnessed the vicious side of blogging when a dear real life blog friend endured cyber bullying over many months. Nasty vile vicious stuff. A valuable life lesson...be mindful of wolves in sheeps clothing.



Now for something especially wonderful, as well as my bloggy birthday this weekend my family celebrated my dear Mum's 84th Birthday. Love my Mum to bits because she is a real trooper and she taught me the meaning of stoicism. My little family spent the morning visiting at her care facility with cake (only one candle, thought 84 might be overdoing it and set off the smoke alarms) and presents.
Family is very precious.

So once again thank you one and all for tuning in to my ramblings.
To my family and blog pals who give me encouragement.. you Rock!
Reaching this milestone has made me Happy.

Hugs
Annie xx

A Bon Voyage Soirée

I had the pleasure of hosting a little gathering of blog friends to raise a glass and farewell our friend A-M who is venturing to New York next week to attend a blog conference and take in the sites of this grand city along with a side trip to the Hampton's...swoon.
So...between myself, Faux Fuchsia, The Distressed Mother and A-M of The House that A-M Built (these beautiful ladies are on my blog roll over yonder) we ate for the nation, sipped mellow French bubbles and chatted and laughed until long after the cows came home.

I love to entertain family and friends in my home. Plus it gives me the chance to serve tasty/naughty delectables. A sure fire winner is Baked Brie served with toasted sourdough bread, quince paste, cranberry sauce and flaked almonds. To die for!

I dashed off a few quick photos on my phone during festivities and here they are. Even my precious little pooch likes to participate and glam up.

A truly lovely evening....

Annie xx

Morning Tea and a Pretty Chair

Today a friend and I enjoyed a lovely morning at the WAC.

Coffee, tea and cakes in the retro cafe were consumed after wandering through the myriad of shops looking for treasures.

 I purchased a sweet chair from Sandy's shop 'Paint me White'. 

I spied this telephone on my wanderings through the antique centre and remember when my parents bought one of these trendy (at the time) telephones when I was a child. I thought I had the grooviest parents!

And here is the quaint fold-up chair in the shade I'm loving right now. I placed it in my living room for now but do feel it is the perfect size and design to be situated anywhere in my home.

Much fun was had playing around with cushions and books and best of all it will be a versatile addition to my home.
Thanks Sandy, your wares are lovely and so very reasonably priced.

Isn't it fun bringing a new furniture addition into one's abode?

Annie xx

High Tea and a Jubilee

Today was spent celebrating the Queens Diamond Jubilee by having a couple of friends over to raise a glass of bubbles and toast the health of Queen Elizabeth.

Cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches, cake and chocolates. Even the precious Royal Albert tea set was hauled out in honour.

Experienced an almost catastrophe when the pineapple upside down cake split when I turned it out. Desperate measures call for what I affectionately call a cake girdle ie. whack a piece of ribbon around the cake and hope for the best.

Here's A-M, yours truly and Faux Fuchsia getting into the good stuff. Darling daughter took the pic.
The pooch is never far from the action.

A lovely day and isn't it nice to celebrate a happy occasion. Now if only I could throw myself on the sofa and the butler bring me a G & T!


Annie xx

Pink Slippers and Rumination

Rumination

1. To turn a matter over and over in the mind.

2. To chew cud.

How in the devil's name is this word and it's meaning associated with a photo of pretty pink slippers you ask?

My gorgeous new slippers are the perfect foot attire when sitting in my rocking chair to Ruminate. Mr red roses informs me I ruminate a lot. Maybe chewing some cud might be beneficial although I'll keep that up my sleeve for desperate times.

For several weeks (probably more) I have toyed with the direction of this blog and how I need to proceed. Often I have wavered with throwing in the towel like all bloggers who are finding their own unique path and not because I run dry of ideas but dithering over HOW often do I want/need to post. The direction I'm journeying along has become apparent to me and herein lies a dilemma. My creative side is nudging me to be more prolific with posting with emphasis on a photo to convey my thoughts because I'm no wordsmith. Sure I can string a sentence together but if I'm honest I find composing time consuming and laborious and I truly admire bloggers who write so eloquently (and probably don't do a gazillion drafts with endless checks in the process).

Changing to a different format like Tumblr was considered but my kids and a couple of wise fellow blog friends advised I can still mould my blogger blog into what I desire and I ran the risk of losing my connection with my blog readers which didn't appeal.

A part of my blog journey has been to answer all comments because I appreciate and value the effort my readers take to do this. There are literally thousands of blogs circulating so to capture the dear folk who stop by RRC astounds me. The rapport I've built up with many of you since commencing the blog last August has brought me untold joy and I certainly don't wish to lose this camaraderie.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if I step up my input into this blog I may not have time to answer comments as frequently, sometimes not at all? Also I want/need to find time to follow and comment on my favourite blogs which is important to moi. Truly there just isn't enough hours in a day and I suppose we each need to discover what works best for ourselves.

Even as I waffle here about this issue I'm feeling overly dramatic but I would be sad if any reader felt I had lost interest in what they had to say. Far from it, I read every comment twice before publishing and again after publishing. Your words make my day!

Finding the quirky angle or beauty in a photograph brings me a silly amount of joy and I'm revelling in this. Who knew! 

The Instagram app on my iPhone has become addictive due to the fact it is quick, easy, followers can easily leave a comment or push the Like button. Instant gratification which has lead me to question the merits of blogging for me personally. So much so I find I'm taking photos that could be displayed to perhaps better effect on this blog. I'm no photographer as such..heck my hand-me-down SLR is still on auto, I don't use any whizz bang features or tricks and I still haven't learnt how to crop. *Note to self...Read the Manual Annie.

Finding something to snap helps me focus on the beauty in my life and surroundings plus it's also a great stress reliever and stress is front and centre in my life at the moment. My husbands workplace is going through very turbulent times and I have a health condition I need to get my head around. 

I do feel like I'm waffling now so I hope you get what I'm saying. Basically I'm going to attempt to bombard you with more frequent succinct posts which hopefully are entertaining.

Well that's the plan! I live in hope.

Now if all this talk of Instagram wets your appetite please don't ask me how to set it up to link to your blog from your smart phone because I took the lazy easy option and asked my incredibly smart son to install it! However you can visit here where Beth has written a post on how to set up the gadget-thingamy-whatsit.

For those not familiar with the workings of my Instagram sidebar just place the cursor over a photo and a brief description appears then click on the picture for an enlarged vision. Each day I usually place a couple of pictures of whatever takes my fancy. 

Fun fun fun!

Righto then I'm off to boil the jug for a cuppa and contemplate reorganising my wardrobe. A far bit of cajoling is happening to get my daughter on board to do the deed for me!

Take care one and all...

Annie xx

A Pretty Heart all Wrapped up in Blue

Yesterday I received a beautiful gift from Jane, a dear blog friend. Jane is a talented and crafty lady.
Handmade gifts are extra special don't you agree?

Thank you Jane for creating my 'heart from the heart' and I do believe it will look right at home in my precious favourite room.

Annie xx

Wednesday Wanderings

This beautiful potted Japanese azalea sits serenely on a quaint street in Narita Japan.

I chose this picture for my dear blog friend Patricia who is travelling on a challenging journey but a journey she is facing with strength and courage.

Patricia has been a loyal follower and commenter on my little blog since the beginning and I truly value her heartfelt uplifting comments and warm wishes. 

Patricia appreciates all blooms and the beauty in life. 

Thinking of you sweet lady and sending tons of hugs your way.

Annie xx

Sorting and Sifting...

My friend A-M popped in to help me fine tune this here blog. Who knew there's a ton of info to grasp when one ventures into blogland. Learning never stops, doesn't matter how old we are.

 Well we set to like only women can and created miracles (after tea, cake and chatter of course).

Very nice mani there A-Me and I so want the ring! 

Of course this set off a chain of events for yours truly because I realised my system left a bit to be desired if I was to become an efficient Miss and create posts in a timely fashion without trawling through squillions of pics. Hence over the last two days I've spent, oh about six hours sorting hundreds (felt like thousands) of photos into new folders...click...drag...click...delete...and so on until I had morphed into a robot.

Do you update your photo folders etc on a regular basis to enable easy blogging?
Must say I feel quite chuffed now it's organised, just wish I could be enthused to attack a pile of paperwork that's staring at moi.

But not right now. I need a drink!
xx

Friends and Eating out

Today was overcast and raining and perfect for holing up in a trendy cafe with my blog friend A-M. of 'The House that A-M Built'. We solved the problems of the world and more. In fact I think we could talk underwater if pressed!
A-M's blog was one of the first I followed many moons ago and it's now a daily ritual.  How she conjures up fabulous posts every day just amazes me. Really.
The photo above shows my huge salad and that is A-M  hiding behind her sticky date pudding. Both of us are camera shy. And I wish I'd chosen the pudding too.

My day seemed to revolve around food. My husband and I went to our favourite Thai restaurant for dinner and so my warm and toasty Goat cardigan made an appearance to combat the night chill.
As I'm new to blogging and thus mastering this taking a photo of myself and the outfit I'm wearing situation, the photo below took quite a few attempts before I was happy with the result. My husband was downstairs wondering what on earth was taking me so long to get ready..
Oh just fixing my lippy dear...

Curry puffs, chicken satay, prawn red curry and coconut rice followed by deep fried ice-cream with caramel sauce. Beats me why the ice-cream never melts.

Don't you adore going out for a meal?  No dishes to wash or dishwasher to stack.
Gotta love that!
xx