Earthquake cancels flight...uuggh

Today Richmond, Va experienced a 5.9 magnitude earthquake. There has not been an earthquake anywhere near this magnitude since 1897! The tremors were felt as far as NY.

Happy to say there was not a lot of damage nor any known casualties from the quake. Unfortunately, the airport was closed and all planes were rerouted. Our flight to JFK was cancelled as they also evacuated that airport.

So tonight we sit at home eating take-out Chinese when we should be on the way to Venice..uuggh!

We are booked for another flight tomorrow afternoon.

Please don't let Hurricane Irene change those plans.

Tomorrow we try this again.

My sweet husband tried to lighten things up by saying "That wasn't an earthquake. It was just Sherry's big, heavy suitcase being thrown on the conveyor belt".

Wish us luck!

Hugs,

Sherry

Open House Party

Hi friends!

Thank you so much for all your kind comments and best wishes on our trip. Hopefully by the time you read this we will be half way to Venice.

Ann @ On Sutton Place will be hosting the Open House party starting tonight at 7:00 and for the next two weeks. Please head over there to link to the party and see what great homes she has for you to tour.

Thanks Ann!

Join the party at On Sutton Place.

I'll miss "talking" to all of you and reading my favorite blogs but I decided to leave the laptop at home! This trip is all about us escaping our normal routine and spending valuable time together.

xoxo,

Sherry

We leave tomorrow for our second honeymoon and I am so excited to get this trip started!

In a recent post I said I would tell you how WE are able to travel cheap. Cheap may not have been the right word to use because there is NOTHING cheap about travel to Europe now.

Here is how we travel economically.

Steve and I were self employed for twenty five years in the mortgage/financial industry and our clients were located all over the United States. It was not unusual for us to be in three states in one week or flying from Florida to California each week. We probably averaged three hundred days a year traveling. It wasn't an easy way to make a living but we did this to secure a comfortable retirement.

You can imagine the airlines, hotels and rental car rewards we have accumulated. Over the years we have put these rewards to good use in twenty two countries and this is how we are able to do our upcoming trip on a budget.

Here is a breakdown of our savings.

Two business class airline seats = Free

Five nights Hilton Venice luxury room = Free

One Night Marriott Venice airport = Free

11 night Cruise

Savings of $400 by monitoring Internet sales and then using AARP card.

Total saving of $10,800

Yes, there are still meals and souvenirs to buy, tips to be paid and many miscellaneous cost associated with a trip abroad.

. We don't drive expensive cars, rarely eat at fancy restaurants and designer clothes are not our thing. You'll find no original art, valuable antiques or high-end electronics in our home. If you are a regular reader of my blog then you already know I rarely pay full price for anything I am the first to admit I am THRIFTY!

Traveling is our luxury.

Our trips allow me to spend quality time with the man I love doing the thing that makes us the happiest. The memories we have created are priceless and I wouldn't trade even one day for all the luxuries in the world.

I'll be back in three weeks with a giveaway...maybe something from Italy or Greece?

Reminder:

Ann at On Sutton Place will be hosting the Open House Party in my absence. Please join her on 8/24, 8/31 and 9/7 . Thanks Ann!

arrivederci and avt'io

Sherry

Open House Party

Welcome to this weeks Open House Party!

The link to join the party is at the bottom of this post. Thank you all for participating and I always look forward to seeing what you have to share.

For the three weeks I am on vacation Ann @ On Sutton Place has graciously volunteered to host the Open House party. Please visit On Sutton Place starting the evening of August 24th to join the party.

Ann, thanks for hosting!

Today we will be touring the beautiful home of Sarah @ The Yellow Cape Cod. I just recently found this wonderful blog and fell in love instantly with Sarah's style and home. Obviously I am not the only one loving her home since Romantic Homes~Bedrooms and Baths magazine is featuring it in five seperate articles in the upcoming Fall 2011 issue.

Sarah, congrats on a well deserved honor!

Enjoy the Tour.

Sarah has a small office upstairs but she wanted an office where she could meet with clients of her interior design business. In just five minutes she can turn her dining room into that office. What a great idea...see photos below.

Below are pictures of the children's rooms.

I hope you will hop on over to The Yellow Cape Cod to take a more in depth look at this beautiful and creative home. Sarah, Thanks for participating in the Open House party.

NOW ON TO THE LINKY PARTY....

Thanks for dropping by and please visit Ann at On Sutton Place for the next three weeks Open House party.

Hugs,

Sherry

New Friend

It's always nice to welcome new friends into your life.

I have a lovely lady friend that has moved into our home and I hope she stays around for a very long time.

My friend is not much of a talker but she listens well.

I have to admit when we first met I was a little jealous of her great shape but we have got past that now.

I have noticed she is a little rough in places, but aren't we all?

She is really fun to have around and I have enjoyed having another lady in the house.

Yesterday I pulled out my jewelry and we tried it on with different outfits.

My friend is not much of a talker but she does listen well.

She doesn't have a lot of clothes but you gals know I love to shop.

Let me introduce...

Miss Penelope Rose

Right now she is a little naked!

I have to go shopping for lace and other pretties to doll her up but I couldn't wait to introduce her to all of you. Having Penelope Rose around will be a lot of fun...sort of like a grown ups Barbie doll!

I have wanted a vintage dress form for a long time but you know I am really ~~cheap~~ cost conscience. I am happy to say that Penelope Rose was quite a bargain!

On another note..

We leave for our trip to Venice and the Greek islands in eleven days!!

I am really excited, and somewhat stressed with working on last minute trip details. Now we are dealing with everything that needs to be handled with the sale and closing of the beach house. It is suppose to close while we are on the cruise.

I hope you will bear with me if my post and comments are limited until we get back from the trip.

Is anyone interested in taking over the Open House party for three weeks while I am gone? My email address is on the sidebar.

Thanks,

Sherry

I'll be joining the fun at:

Savvy Southern Style

French Country Cottage

The Charm Of Home

Common Ground

Open House Party

Welcome to another week of the Open House party.

The link to join the party is at the bottom of this post. I look forward each week to seeing what you have to share and I truly appreciate your support of my party.

First, I have another stunning home for us to tour. Christie @ Three Pixie Lane has opened up her gorgeous home for the party this week. Not only has Christie decorated their home beautifully, she also creates some of the most amazing and unique parties.

Enjoy the tour!

Did you notice the beautiful wood ceiling and floors? The toile curtains had me at "hello"!

I had to throw in a few pictures of her home decorated for Christmas.

This Christmas mantel is one of my favorites!

You will have to check out more of the inside of this darling shabby shed.

Christie even decorates her son's tree house with such charm.

Please visit Three Pixie Lane to see more of this fabulous home. Thank you Christie for participating in the Open House tour.

Now on to the party..

Thanks for your visits and the sweet notes you leave me.

Hugs,

Sherry

YIPEEEE!

We got a contract on the BEACH HOUSE yesterday!

Thanks to everyone that left good wishes when I posted about our home going on the market. I know your positive thoughts helped bring us a buyer quicker!

One down and one to go....now we need a contract on our Richmond Home.

Positive thoughts appreciated!

xo,

Sherry

Thrifty International Table

Hi all! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Hubby and I visited Mount Vernon yesterday and we had such a great time. Washington's home was wonderful but I enjoyed the film and museum even more. Of course, I left home without my camera! You'll just have to take my word for it that it is a great way to spend the day.

I did a little thrifting on Friday and purchased some NEW dishes. They still had the stickers on them from World Market . The salad plates sell for $4.99 each and the dinner plates were originally $6.99 each. I purchased six dinner and six salad plates for $2.50...yep, that is $2.50 for all of them!

I had to play with my new dishes so I put together an INTERNATIONAL TABLESCAPE. The antique olive jar is from Greece, the scalloped dish and new plates are from Portugal and the tablecloth was made in France. My friend Gina at Gina Ceramics made the gorgeous Italian tile. Everything else on the table is from Italy including the salt (sale) jar I brought back from our honeymoon.

New twenty one cent each plates.

I can't let you go without telling you about the blue and white French Country tablecloth. I purchased it at a garage sale recently for $1.00! I almost skipped all the way home.

Thanks for visiting and I would love to hear about your ~~cheapest~~ most cost effective finds.

I am joining the fun at:

French Country Cottage

At The Picket Fence

Blue Creek Home

xo,

Sherry