Meeting Texas Bloggers and a giveaway winner!

I was happy to meet a group of Texas bloggers yesterday in Dallas. It was a nice bonus to visiting my son and his family.
  Left to right are: Barbara@frenchethereal.net, Carol@ Blueskyathome.com, Laura@ Decor to Adore, Bonnie@livingwiththanksgiving.com, Cindy@Countyroad@407.com and Stacey@poofingthepillows.com

We enjoyed a delightful lunch at Bread Winners in North Park Mall in Dallas. The food was great but meeting bloggers you have known for years through blogging and some for the first time was so much fun.

 Laura@Decor To Adore and I have know each other for years but neither of us could remember how long ago it was or how we connected. She invited me way back in 2014 to do a guest post on her Friday blog series, "My Favorite Five." I decided to dig that post back up and share it today and my favorite five are still the same now in 2018.

I've known Carol@ Blue Sky at Home through tablescape bloghops the last two years and it was great to meet her in person.

Stacey @Poofing the Pillows and I have been friends for at least two or three years and we have so much in common. The time passed way too quickly and I could have talked for much longer.

Barbara@French Ethereal and Cindy@County Road 407 and I meet for the first time yesterday and I look forward to getting to know them better.

I learned so much from these ladies yesterday about blogging and loved getting real hugs from them instead of virtual ones. It was a rewarding day for me. Thank you, girls.

The weather was terrible yesterday and there were others that could not make it because of the weather. I was disappointed but hope there will be another opportunity to meet them. We missed you Jemma and Tanna.

And....much to my surprise Patti@Pandora's Box emailed me this morning that I won her giveaway of the MC tote! Needless to say, I am thrilled. I am having a great week, ladies! I sure do enjoy all the Traveling Tote Adventures of the Mackensie Child Traveling Totes. Read about how the Traveling Totes began here.

Thank you for this great giveaway!

Now, I am reposting "My Favorite Five" from four years ago. Have you ever thought about what your favorite things to do are?

"My Favorite Five"

1. Photography is a passion of mine, however, I am still a work in progress.  Since, I began blogging I have made thousands of pictures. Making family pictures is a large part of my photo cache. I love to record family vacations and photograph nearly all the food we eat, as well as what we do. People other than bloggers think I'm crazy.

    Since, we are all yearning for spring I immediately thought of this photo. It evokes such happiness for me. The french faux bois bench and blooming cherry tree cast it's spell on me in St. Rèmy, Provence. Other favorite photography pics are posted here.

2. Traveling: One of the thrills of my life has been the blessing to travel abroad the last few years. There were many pinch me, is this really me, moments. I don't have words to tell you the thrill I felt traveling through France, England and Italy.   The gondola ride in Venice ( pictured below) was exciting and beyond my expectations.  I think of the many beautiful and exciting sights and experiences we enjoyed on our wonderful trips all the time. Thank you dear husband for these beautiful memories. I could go on and on because traveling is quite addicting. You always want to see another place. I am hoping to organize my travel posts soon and do blog buttons to make viewing easier.

Here are links to a few travel posts:  Paris and Paris, Rome

                                                     
Since, this post was written, my husband and I have traveled to the regions of Burgandy, Dordogne and Bordeaux, France. Also, we cruised along the Rhine River  through Germany, The Netherlands, France and Switzerland. We visited El Salvador this October, meeting our sponsored Compassion Child. You can read about that trip here. This spring we are scheduled to cruise the Danube River.  Every time I think of each trip I thank God for the opportunity and my husband for taking me to these wonderful places. We love to travel. I intended to blog about each destination but got behind. 

3.Tablescaping: My first blog post was a Thanksgiving tablescape which evoked the name of my blog~ Living With Thanksgiving. I love to "play in the dishes" as I've heard it called. Again, it is hard to pick a favorite. It would be fun to see which tablescape you would pick. Thinking spring, I will share this one, and the entire blog post can be viewed here.

Under my header in the navigation bar you can view tablescapes I've done over the years. Since this was written I have participated in a number of tablescape bloghops sponsored by Chloe Crabtree @Celebrate and Decorate.celebrateanddecorate.com

4. Gardening: I enjoy gardening and it has brought me great joy and satisfaction.  My garden is primarily a shade garden dictated by my location. I love all flowers but hydrangeas and camellias are high on my list. I enjoy being in a local garden club and was glad to have the opportunity to complete the master gardener course a few years back. This is my hydrangea garden below.
Under gardening in my navigation bar other gardening posts can be viewed.

5. Flower Arranging: I have so many vases I am running out of room to store them all.  Selecting just the right vase and arranging flowers is therapy for me. A recent post, Flower Arranging is Therapy is a roundup of a variety of flower arrangements I have done. It is a delight to cut flowers from your garden and fashion an arrangement to enjoy in your home. When you have a vision for something and it turns out well, it is very satisfying.  I get my love of flowers from my mother and remember fondly how every flower thrilled her. My hydrangea garden can be viewed here.

Do you see how each interest of mine plays on another? I love to grow flowers, then arrange them for centerpieces for tablescaping. Then, I enjoy preserving the memory with a photograph. Traveling is another passion and I never tire of making hundreds of pictures of each destination and every family outing. Therefore blogging is a large part of my life sharing my interests with those that share some of the same interests. Thank you Laura for inviting me to me part of Decor to Adore today. It was an honor. Bonnie@livingwiththanksgiving.com

I hope you enjoyed reminiscing with me today as well as seeing the great Texas girls I met yesterday. And, I am still amazed I won the Traveling Totes giveaway!
Happy Friday!

                                              

Joining: Gardens Galore  Metamorphosis Monday   Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday  Share Your Style Party  Share Your Cup Full Plate Thursday  Feathered Nest Friday  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country Sunday's At Home