June Note Card Party “Florida’s Horse Country”

We enjoy seeing the beautiful horses here in Florida and I thought they would make nice note cards.

“Ocala, Florida is considered the Horse Capital of the World. Learn more HERE. We are one of only four major Thoroughbred breeding and training centers in the world. They are Newmarket (England), Chantilly (France), Lexington (Kentucky), and Ocala. Also, Florida follows only Texas and California when it comes to the total number of horses (all breeds).”

These were taken through the windshield of my car on the way back from the mall.

And these are the wild horses in Payne’s Prairie.

Read more about them HERE 

and see more photos online, HERE !

I’m joining Vee at a Haven for Vee

for the Note Card party!

And for my regular readers, would you please click HERE to see the post I did this morning. I don’t usually do 2 posts in one day and don’t want you to miss this one! Thanks!

Thrifting for Art?

Do you expect to find fine art at your local thrift store?

How about this 50 cent purchase?

They might be considered ‘quirky’ art.

 

After all, I love anything made out of shells.

For 50 cents, I can afford to buy quirky. If I can’t find a perfect place to put them, I’ll just donate them back to the thrift store.

But what about $5?

I walked right up to this little painting at the thrift store and it was love at first sight.

(it says Art Guild, Brooklyn, NY Fine Oil Painting)

And $5 is a great price….the frame would cost more than that. I love shopping at Hospice Thrift store. It’s such a good cause and you know your money is going to help others right in your own community.

This is the wall with doors going into my walk in closet on the right and master bath on the left.

Of course I love my beautiful swan, made by Raggedy Angie. I’m not sure I like the scarf on my jewelry armoire though.

 

And I bought this painting for the frame but I've kept the pretty lady…for now.

I’m joining Coastal Charm for

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday,

Brenda at the Cozy Little House

for Tweak it Tuesday

and Creative Cain Cabin.

Have you found any art at your thrift store lately?

A ‘Sweet Ride’!

 

‘Happy Father’s Day’

to all of the special Dads, especially

my sweet hubby, sons and son in laws!

Wish we were all riding in ‘style’ today!

(photos taken of a vehicle at the park)

Enjoy your special day!

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday,

Seasonal Sundays,

Sundays in my City,

Mosaic Monday,

and Amaze me Monday!

My Happy List…while I catch my breath!

We’ve been traveling again so I am catching up on emails and blog visits!

I stopped at Ricki Jill’s and saw her happy list so I thought this would be perfect for my ‘Welcome Home’ post! All in random order!

1. I’m happy and thankful to have 2 homes. I love them both! But I’m a summertime girl and love the summers in Florida! I also love to travel back and forth…up and down the road! lol

2. My hubby is a good driver and the trip is lots of fun. We stayed at the Hampton Inn again and I am ‘happy’ to report that we had another towel animal in our room and it was not a pig…it was a swan! My girlfriend Chatty Crone was curious about that and so was I!

3. It is green here and the horse farms are gorgeous. Thanks Vee for complimenting my mountain banner. I have changed it again with a photo I took about an hour ago! lol I hope you like it!

4. Cell phones and computers….it’s so nice to stay in touch with family and friends when we travel.

5. I am happy I brought back some of our pottery to put in our entertainment center. I’ve been playing with the arrangement today! (and doing laundry!)

6. And I’m happy for all of YOU…you stick by me even when I travel and disappear from blogland for a few days.  (what did I MISS?)

(Horse photos and banner pic were taken this afternoon.. here in Florida.. through my windshield!)

What makes you happy today?

Are you loving the summer time weather?

Have you ever seen a sweetheart flower?

Do you know what it is?

It’s a wildflower your sweetie gives you when you’re hiking together!

I know….I am totally spoiled!

We sure saw a lot of pretty wildflowers on our hike and then when we got to the greenhouses, I took these photos of the flower beds there.

Here’s another sweet flower, a beautiful gardenia.

 

My girlfriend Sharon from Alabama sent me this photo. She and I are penpals and good friends.

I’m joining Beautiful Sunday,

Seasonal Sundays,

Sundays in my City,

Mosaic Monday,

and Amaze me Monday!

These violas are for YOU!

What you might not see if you walk too fast!

Well…sometimes I DO walk fast but not usually when I have a camera in my hand. I try to walk for 30 minutes for exercise and then stop back by the car and get my camera. But sometimes….hahaha…I just can’t help myself.

So now we’re walking at the park….

on this trail.

You can tell the leaves are green and thick all along the way. I am walking this trail with the creek on the right hand side, when I glimpse a mountain through an opening in the leaves, I stop for a quick photo.

One quick photo…I love seeing the mountain framed by the blackberry vines and honeysuckle.

But when I get home and zoom in, I see this!

(the two photos above are the same photo, one is cropped)

So a couple of days later when I am walking again, I zoom with my camera and take a closer photo.

I’m taking part in Donna’s photo challenge.

I use a small Canon S 100. It’s a great little camera to carry everywhere you go!

When you view your photos on your computer, do you zoom in to see how crisp and clear they are? Do you ever see an image that you missed when you actually took the photo?

Surprises along the way!

Have you ever seen anything cuter than these baby ducks?

We’ve had so much fun seeing them at the park and watching them grow!

And look at the outrageous blooms on these azaleas?

They are right at the front door of the library!

I’m joining Katherine’s Corner for Favorite Things

and Jann for Share Your Cup !

Are you having a good week, too?

Put on your dancing shoes? Or hiking boots!

We hiked a well maintained trail in our Asics!

Oh how we love the mountain trails at the NC Arboretum.

And what was in full bloom?

The Mountain Laurel!

 

It was gorgeous!

The trail winds around Bent Creek and it was so clear, we could see fish swimming!

Looks like a handsome man ahead…

probably leaving me behind!

(I didn’t put frames and spend a lot of time altering these photos because we have a slower connection here at our condo. It really was this beautiful!)

Mountain Laurel up close!

Hope you enjoyed our hike!

So which would you rather do?

Dance or Hike?

Mountain Mermaids

What do you find when you thrift shop in the mountains?

A Mermaid of course!

Oh, and a boat! heehee!

I’m pleased to have a couple of ‘new’ things to take back to Florida when we go. I put them on top of a wooden bowl that I turned upside down just for the photos.

And I did my photo shoot in front of the shelves we have below the bar that separates the kitchen from the living room. It’s small….it’s a condo! And we LOVE it! (here’s a photo of the kitchen from my photo archives, a few more Fall things on the shelves)

I have so many of my favorite things on these shelves…thrift finds and gifts, books and bears. I can sit in my recliner in the living room and enjoy them all.

I bought my mermaid and boat at Lulu’s Consignment shop. It’s my favorite place to shop and it’s less than 2 miles from our condo! Almost TOO close…if you know what I mean! lol

I’m joining Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Brenda at the Cozy Little House for Tweak it Tuesday and Creative Cain Cabin.

Do you like to display some of your favorite things altogether to enjoy?