Julie Summer

Julie Summer

 

Julie Summer…….. is…..

Always In Progress…….

(My vintage swimsuit from The Creature From the Black Lagoon, worn by Julie Adams.)

Julie Adams in the Mangroves of Florida

Julie Adams as Kay in The Creature From the Black Lagoon

Julie Adams 5_small Julie Adams 8_small

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Julie Adams CFTBL_small

Ben Chapman with Julie Adams

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passing the Rita_small

Gordon in his Kayak

the wreck of the Rita_small

Could this be The Rita?

Nah, too small.

the Rita 2_small The Rita for Real_small

The Rita from the movie, The Creature From the Black Lagoon

Julie was lovely_small Back in the rita from the swamp_small

Julie Adam’s was quite lovely as Kay.

Julie Adams and the creature_small creature underwater_small

Julie Adams was a very good swimmer and very athletic for her time.  I really do admire that.

I also can’t believe that the “creature” would breathe through a tube for hours underwater.  Most of the time holding his breath. 

I mean, WOW!!

the lovely Julie Adams_small

Oh, and did Julie Adams invent halter tops?  She sure did rock them!

Creature on the boat_small creature net_small

The creature climbing onto the boat.

Creature climbing onto boat

I love this movie, it is an old favorite.  How I do love the classics!

Julie Adams TCFTBL_small

I leave you with this, the lovely Julie Adams in mosquito net.

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Don’t Forget the Sunscreen!

In Florida, Most Everyday is Summer.

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Also check out our………

Click Here for:  Sh.. sh.. sh.. sh.. SHAAARK Week

Who Doesn’t LOVE Shark Week?

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To me Summer was always the time between one house to the next.  We did move around a lot when I was growing up.  It also meant lots of time to myself.  Lots of reading time, lots of reflecting time, lots of preparation time…..for the next school year.

Excellent Book

Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

But for those 3 months I usually had them all to myself.  I suppose that may sound very sad to you, and sometimes I was very sad, but those months taught me how to entertain myself.  It taught me that I am responsible for my own happiness.  I may have been alone but I was never really lonely.  It also taught me independence.  I realized how much more mature that I was compared to so many other girls my age.  I was never afraid to do anything by myself whereas they couldn’t even go to the bathroom alone.  

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Books may have been my best friend but so was my imagination.  We always had a bit of land to roam around on and that meant that we had lots of animals, horses, dogs, cats, ducks, a hermit crab, reptiles, snakes (on the property). 

We also had ponds, row boats, tractors, barns…..

Summer also meant picnics, camping, hiking, vacations, summer camps, horseback riding lessons, baton twirling lessons, swimming lessons, and hey I just remembered, I went from a minnow to a shark at summer camp swimming lessons.  🙂

I think my mother enrolled me in most everything just to get rid of me.  But, I have carried all of that knowledge with me through the years.  And if you think about it, that’s all we ever really have in the end, knowledge and memories.

I loved SUMMER! 

I just hated it when school started!

  But my Summers?  They were enjoyable!!

I hope to fill this blog with lots of fun summer things because luckily for me I live in Florida where we have summer far more than we have Autumn, Winter and Spring.  (wink, wink)

Just a few Favorite, Pretty Things

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Click Here for:  Julie’s Beach House

This was just a fun project to create.  Kind of like my own grown up “Barbie Dream House” except I get to create it, paint it, decorate it, and do whatever I like to it.  I’ve never had so much fun designing something.  🙂

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Meet Miranda, The Mermaid Fish

Click Here to Meet Miranda

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Also Check Out Our…………

Click Here for:  Sum Sum Summertime

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We all Scream…..

Wouldn’t be Summer without Ice Cream!  🙂

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Blog Entries Start Here

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July 13, 2021

Summer Egg Salad Sandwiches

Hard to see the sandwich bread what with my lovely lettuce leaf.

Topped with our homemade pickles and a side of a mini cucumber.

It’s just not summer to me without my tasty salads that I love to eat for lunch. 

So cool and refreshing.

Plenty for my week day lunch!  🙂

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August 19, 2020

Our Mini Cuban Cracker Sandwiches

We love Cuban Sandwiches.  Actually, we just call them Cuban’s, as in ‘Let’s have Cuban’s tonight.’

I found these Cuban crackers online through our grocery shopping so I decided to give them a try.  They are very plain.  Which can be nice because now you have a clean slate to work with.

It was my idea to use these crackers and to make some Mini Cuban Cracker Sandwiches for a nice little lunch.

The Cuban Crackers

They are a nice large sturdy cracker.

We used some of our homemade mustard, Almost Yellow. 

We also used our homemade Bread and Butter Pickles too.

Along with some Ham, Swiss Cheese, Manchego Cheese, and some pulled pork from The Latin Supermarket.

I cut everything into bite sized pieces and Gordon did the assembly while I took the photos.

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This ended up being a nice little lunch for us.

  I also opened a jar of Corn Salsa and added some Blue Corn Chips.

Very Cute and Easy

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The Corn Salsa and Chips. 

The salsa had some very nice heat to it too.  🙂

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July 24, 2020

Ice Cream Sundaes

After we made them, we placed them into the freezer so that everything would freeze. 

Especially the mini Manzanos Bananas.  The glasses also frosted over so nicely.

I had some leftover Chocolate Chip Rice Cakes and decided to place some ice cream in between.

.  They are in the freezer now for a future date.

This is the closest thing that I can come up with where eating an ice cream sandwich is low calorie.  🙂

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The Ingredients:

This is really all up to you and your own preferences.

However, I did want to base them on the retro ice cream flavors of the 70’s.

Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry.

Everything melts too quickly so it’s best to make the sundaes and then place them in the freezer to be eaten later on.

Sugar Free Brownie’s

Blueberries

Gummy Sharks

Cool-Whip

Strawberry Shortcake Popsycles

Various Ice Creams

Manzanos Bananas

Maraschino Cherries

Delicious Summer Dessert

Last night I ate half of mine and placed it back into the freezer for the next time I feel like having more.

Retro Summer!

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July 17, 2020

Ham and Toe Cheese Sandwiches

What a great fun, easy lunch for the whole family!

Why did I name them Ham and Toe Cheese? 

Because inside of this 59 year old body of mine is a 7 year old that needs to be pleased every now and then.  🙂

(See, this is why I need grandchildren.  They would then legitimize my need to do these juvenile things.)  🙂

Feet To Eat is Served

Our Ingredients

These are just simple Ham and Cheese Sandwiches.

…the fun part are the cookie cutter feet!

I just simply bought a Honey Ham, and Provolone and Medium Cheddar Cheese slices.

Also some Pumpernickel and White Bread slices.

Next comes the assembly line…..

Just stack them on top of each other in the order you prefer.

Here we added some of our homemade Almost Yellow Mustard.

I wanted to add a nice garnish but I didn’t want the usual ones so I chopped some grape tomatoes into slices.

We even have some “Club Feet” here. 

Now for the Toe Cheese, Pimiento Cheese of course.

I just spread a little bit on them around the toes. 

Not every sandwich.

Toe Cheese Feet To Eat!

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Now for the Leftovers…..

The leftover Ham and the Cheese from above Gordon uses in his morning omelette’s for breakfast.  Also, the pumpernickel and the white bread feet impressions are great for Eggy in a Basket.

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All you do is to put some butter/margarine into a sauce pan on the stove top on a medium heat and allow the butter to melt.  Then place a slice of the bread down and crack an egg into the middle of the foot imprint.  Allow the egg to cook inside the bread and flip when you think it is ready.  Then cook the other side.

Eggy Feet To Eat!

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August 28, 2019

Cinnamon Toast

(A Poor Man’s/Woman’s Cinnamon Bun)

Fresh Out of the Oven

Cinnamon Toast is yet another childhood treat that I grew up with.  Breakfast on many a Saturday morning.  Probably familiar to many here in America but I do have an international audience as well so I thought I would post the morning memory.

It is so simple, and easy to make.

All you need is a loaf of bread, white or wheat.  Some Butter/Margarine, some granulated Sugar, and some ground Cinnamon.

Get out a Cookie Sheet.  (Hey, if I am going to create a childhood memory then I am going to call the baking tray exactly what we called it when I was growing up.  A Cookie Sheet.  And turn the oven to Broil.

Just place a few slices of bread on the cookie sheet and place into the oven for them to brown a little bit.

Now flip them over so that the browned side is on the bottom.

Next you want to butter the bread.  Then sprinkle some granulated sugar and cinnamon on the bread slices.

As much or as little as you like.

Ready to go back into the oven.

Whenever you cook anything on broil you need to be there to monitor it constantly as it cooks quickly and you don’t want anything to burn.  When the toast is as browned as you would like it then remove from the oven and pile onto a platter to be eaten in front of the T.V. while watching Saturday morning cartoons.  🙂

Scooby Doo, my FAVORITE cartoon!

Saturday Morning Memories

Leftovers can be eaten the following day by just placing the cinnamon toast into a 300F oven for just a few minutes for it to crisp up.  Taste just as good as if you made it fresh.

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July 27, 2019

Flashback to April when our A/C quit on us!

Making Margarita’s

When we bought our home in 2006 the previous owner’s had a new Air Conditioner installed in our home.  Now, flash forward to 2019 and our A/C quit on us!  It happened over a weekend so I didn’t call a repairman until the following Monday. 

Mackenzie and Brodie Making Margarita’s

When it’s HOT, just make the best of it!  🙂

The fans actually did do a good job of keeping us cool.

(And so did the Margarita’s)  🙂

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July 26, 2019

Find the Lollipop  🙂

A Nice Dessert

I just wanted to throw together a beautiful dessert that was quick and easy.  I bought a ready made roll cake from the Asian Supermarket, sliced it into about 1 1/2 inch thick slices, drizzled it with some ready made raspberry syrup, (sugar-free), then I scattered some raspberries all around it, ending with some lovely orchids from my backyard.

The ice cream in the bowls above, is a plain vanilla, but I added some fresh raspberries and some chunks of guava paste from the Latin Supermarket.

Guava Paste is very sweet, chewy and delicious. 

I just chopped it into chunks and added it to the ice cream above.

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July 25, 2019

Just Some Romantic Touches

My ceramic coral with my backyard orchids.

Now add some Chocolate Covered Strawberry’s to a Giant Pink Lollipop!

Now add some Red Roses….

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July 23, 2019

Don’t forget to check out our:

Click Here for:  Silver Springs, Florida and the Creature from the Black Lagoon

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July 20, 2919

Delving into the archives a bit.

Cypress Gardens, Florida Serving Tray

Vintage Cypress Gardens Water Skiers

I have such nice memories of trips to Florida with my grandparents when I was growing up.  We even visited Cypress Gardens a time or two.  I loved the beautiful lady water skiers the best.  I always thought they were so beautiful in their colorful swimsuits.  Not to mention how talented they were on the water.

And btw:  There are alligators in the lake they are water skiing on.  We all grew up swimming with alligators in lakes in Florida.  We knew they were in there, the same way we know sharks are in the ocean, but alligator’s rarely attacked anyone.  I don’t know why?  But they didn’t.  Perhaps because there were less people encroaching into their territory? 

This is what I miss about my childhood, the old cars.  Not because I am a car person, but because of all the happy memories of being with my grandparents, and great-grandparents and all the fun trips those cars took us on.

My son is the car expert and sometimes when we are together he will point out a particular make and model of a car and I will try and find it among the many cars in front of us.  Brodie will then notice my confused face and say, “The blue one Mom.”  And then I’ll respond, “Oh, yeah, the blue one sure is pretty.” 🙂

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I just remembered a funny story from a Florida trip to Daytona, I believe we were in Daytona.  My grandparents had just bought a new car and I was a young teen.  We were staying in one of those beach motels and we were unloading items from the car and taking them up to our room on the second story.  (Back then there weren’t all these condos stacked on top of each other.  Most motels only had two floors.)

Well, when I went down to get more things out of their new car there was a car parked next to theirs that was very similar in color and shape so I mistakenly started removing items from the other car and taking them upstairs to our room.  When I walked in my grandparents said, “Where did you get that stuff?”  I said, “From the car.”  My grandparents then looked at me panicked and said simultaneously, “What car?!”  I then said, “Your car.” 

Needless to say I put everything back into the right car and luckily no one spotted me.  🙂  Did I mention I was a young teen???

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Gordon’s Ambrosia

Vintage Florida Treat

My grandmother made Ambrosia quite a bit when I was growing up.  It’s as if she always had some in her ice box.  (Refrigerator)  And would offer it to anyone that came over to her house.  “Would you like some Ambrosia?”

The above is Gordon’s Ambrosia.  We never wrote his recipe down but it’s not hard to recreate simply by looking at it.  My grandmother’s Ambrosia had at least 2-3 different kinds of citrus, Oranges, Tangerines, and sometimes Mandarin Oranges.  A little bit of sugar and some raw coconut.  I can’t remember if she put grapes in hers.  But Gordon put them in his above and he toasted his coconut.

Just some nice Florida memories.  🙂

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The movie, Evil Under The Sun……

……Recreation Cocktail Party

I have always loved the movie, Evil Under The Sun starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, the famous detective in the Agatha Christie novels.  This particular movie was released in 1982 and starred Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Diana Rigg, Roddy McDowall, James Mason, Jane Birkin, and so on….  Excellent cast!

I love that the movie takes place on a beautiful remote island.  The hotel is stunning!  I also love all the decor and I could very easily live there and do nothing but roam around the place all day looking at everything.

There is one particular scene that I love the most in the movie and that is the cocktail party.

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The photo above is from the movie and I love seeing this hand coming in to take one of the many beautiful cocktail’s in which to choose.

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In this photo Gordon and I did a recreation of the cocktail platter that Maggie Smith, a.k.a. Daphne Castle, pictured below, is passing around the room for her guests to nibble on.

That cocktail platter and those cocktails sum of my favorite parts of the movie.  I also can’t help but love the costumes and jewelry as well.  They are more on the gaudy side but they make it all look very charming.

This is our recreation of the cocktails above.

Just an orange with sausages and cherry’s and a few small things of cheeses and crackers.

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The cocktails were easy.  We just based them on what Hostess Daphne Castle is serving above. 

White Lady, Main Brace, Between the Sheets…..

There is that hand again.  🙂

Diana Rigg as Arlena Marshall Making her Grand Entrance

(Late to the cocktail party.)

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The book is a fun read at the beach. 

Just don’t forget your Chinese sun hat.

I would love to recreate scenes from this movie, and perhaps someday we will, but until that time I have so many things I want to recreate that all I can do it to add it to the list.  The already very loooooooong list.  🙂

Don’t forget the sunscreen!

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White Rose, White Pearls, White Shell

Vintage Cocktail Glass

Silver Vintage and White

Just a few of my favorite things.

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April 26, 2019

Ready to Start Cooking in my Summer “Beachy” Kitchen

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April 19, 2019

Moon Over Miami

Miami Club Rum, Lemon Drop Flavoring, and a Lemon

A Round Ice Cube and some Vintage Photos…. Perfect!

The stretched out Bracelet belonged to my Grandmother, she wore it a lot.

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April 18, 2019

It’s gettin’ Hot in Here!

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April 17, 2019

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April 16, 2019

Do yourself a favor and eat a Pineapple….

You can thank me later.  🙂

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Summer Bathroom

I Love my Bathroom

I have coral that I found in Hawaii snorkeling, Puka Shell necklaces that I bought at The Aloha Flea Market in Honolulu, some Knobby Star Fish that I purchased, some vintage milk glass that I inherited, and some lovely lipsticks, perfumes, moisturizers, etc.

It all makes my bathroom beautiful!

The Shell Box I made by hot gluing scallop shells to a box wrapped in white paper.

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Summer Kitchen

I do have to say that I thoroughly enjoying turning my kitchen into a vintage Florida Souvenir Stand.

That would be Veronica and Brian on the beach at Tarpon Springs for their engagement photos.

Morning Coffee…..

Some of these items in these photos were actually purchased decades ago at Florida Souvenir Stands.

My very Festive Summer Kitchen

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Summer Lunch

Although I really don’t want to make this about food, that seems to be what I am doing here. 

This is a typical southern summer lunch.  Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches and some sort of potato chips.  Here I came across the Lay’s Brand of Pimiento Cheese Potato Chips.  Perfect with my lunch here.

This is a Palmetto Cheese, Pimiento Cheese Sandwich spread.

I have such excellent memories of the women that I knew and loved in the south, making their very own Pimiento Cheese Sandwich spread.  This brand is the closest that I have come to southern homemade.

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Summer Ice Cream Treat

Although this may be difficult for you to believe, I am not a big ice cream person.  I never have been.  It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s so creamy and delicious!  It’s just that I didn’t grow up eating it very often, other than the summers, or at birthdays, so therefor I just don’t think about it.  When so many rush to the ice cream section of the grocery store because it is a big part of their lives, I tend to pass it by.  I may feature ice cream on the website but I tend to just eat a bite or two and then pass it to someone else to finish.

However, when I do eat it I like something crunchy on it and some fresh.  Hence the Bear Naked Granola and the fresh Raspberry’s.

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BAREFOOT WINE

I am a big Barefoot Wine lover!

This is a favorite wine of our family and we do drink it quite often.  It wouldn’t be Summer without it!

If I ever go missing, I would like my photo put on Wine Bottles instead of milk cartons, that way, my friends will know to look for me!  🙂

Our Summer Gifts of Barefoot Wines

Happy Summer!

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My Sugar Free Sweet Treat

This is my all time go to for my sugar-free sweet treat fix!

Sugar Free Brownie’s/Sugar Free Vanilla Frosting

(And uh, Sugared Sprinkles)  Shhhh……

It’s so simple.  Just one egg, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and about 3 T. water.

Mix Together

Place into a Baking Dish and then Bake

When done remove from oven and let cool.

Then spread the Vanilla Frosting over top.

Add some pretty Blue Sprinkles.

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It wouldn’t be Summer without Chicken Salad and Potato Salad

and I do make some very tasty salads……

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Anne of Green Gables

by Lucy Maude Montgomery

Diana Barry:  “I wish I were rich and I could spend my whole summer at a hotel eating ice cream and chicken salad.”

I love the series Anne of Green Gables and this quote has always stood out in my mind.  Probably because I love chicken salad as well.  It wouldn’t be summer without it.

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The Florida Hurricane

A.K.A. IRMA!!!!  (2017)

We needed something a little bright with sunshine as we waited for Hurricane Irma to arrive.  We knew she would be delivering her wrath the following night.  And we wanted to just enjoy a nice treat before all hell broke lose!!

The Florida Hurricane

Garnished with a slice of Florida Orange and our Key Limes

The Ingredients:

3 shots Captain Morgan’s White Rum

2 Tbsp. Key Lime Juice

1 Cup Guava Juice Concentrate

2 Shots Kraken Spiced Rum

2 Tbsp Splenda Sugar

~15 Ice Cubs

Garnish with Key lime and Orange Slice.

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Start by pouring your Capt. Morgan’s rum into a blender.

Here, we froze some fresh Key Lime juice from our own tree in the back yard.

This Guava is a good concentrate to use and I think it makes the drink very tropical.

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Now, add your Spiced Rum.  I have found that this brand (Kraken) is a good one and not too heavily spiced for our tastes.  See what you think!

Now, add about 15 or so ice cubes.

Then, blend the mixture well!

And add your Splenda sugar to taste… I added about 2 Tbsp.

Mix again just to incorporate the sugar.

I (Julie) couldn’t help but notice that this looked like the hurricane that was headed for us.

For the garnish, simply slice into a Key Lime about half way into the fruit as shown.

This will keep the Key Lime tightly on the glass.  Then slice your orange wedges as shown, slicing just up to the center of the orange wheel. 

Place your garnishes on the glass as shown and pour in the drink and you are all set!

Kinda Looks Like a Beach Ball (The Key Lime)

ENJOY!

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RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!!

(I brought this plant in the house when Hurricane Irma was approaching and I couldn’t help but see a connection between it and our fish tank giant squid, AND the bottle of Kraken.)  🙂

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And Oldie but a Goodie (as in 2012)

These old beachy photos were taken in 2012 at the beach condo out on the balcony.

I just wanted to include them here.

My Sarong Collection

I love all things beachy!

The tray, the fish net, the star fish, the sea shells…..

Candles and Sea Shells and my Pretty Florida Dress

A Nice Decorating Book

A Pretty Setting……

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