This Stop Willoughby

It's Sunday again, so you know what that means. That's right, the flea market! I got some great goodies today. Wanna see? Yes, it's another candle holder. Yes, I already have dozens and dozens of them, you don't have a problem with that, do you? I didn't think so! This guy caught my attention right away. He was at the second booth from the entrance along with a lot of other great stuff. He's rustic and rusty and I absolutely love him. I didn't even negotiate the price because he was only $3. Doesn't he make a fantastic guard for the hydrangea? I can't wait to put a candle in him tonight! If you're a reader, you know expensive hard cover books can be. The original price of this book was $28.95. I got it for $2 and it's in perfect condition. Score! My daughter got the cutest kids' baking set for $3. It has a cookie sheet, spatula, whisk, tart pans and some other stuff. The whole set was brand new and unused, still shrink wrapped inside th...

We celebrated my Dad's birthday tonight with dinner, drinks and dessert on the back porch. It was a beautiful evening to be outdoors. When it got dark, we lit all the candles and the lanterns on the porch. The light looked so pretty that I wanted to get some pictures. This is just a few of them. Candle lantern hanging from a porch post. Another candle lantern. This one is sitting on an antique chair. We have a pub table with a gas heater in the base. I love the colors of the flame. Happy Saturday, everyone!

We were going to have Mexican food for dinner tonight, so we decided to make margaritas. Our plans have since changed and we're having grilled chicken, instead. No need to make different drinks, though. These margaritas will be fantastic with any grilled food. They're a little sweet and a little sour, perfect for summertime get togethers! Alla vostra buona salute! Italian Margaritas 1 oz. amaretto 2 oz. sweet and sour mix 1/2 oz. tequila 1/2 oz. triple sec Mix all ingredients together and pour over ice into a salt rimmed glass. This recipe yields one drink. Our margarita glasses are quite large so we had to double the recipe for each glass. Enjoy responsibly, please. Happy Friday, everyone!

We had to cancel our ten day vacation to North Carolina at the last minute last year. It was disappointing for all of us because we love to travel. Truth is, we'll go just about anywhere at anytime if we can. Whether we travel by plane or by car, there's always an opportunity to create lasting memories. Some are warm and fuzzy, others you just can't help but laugh at. Here are a few of my favorites: ~My husband had to go Texas for a few weeks on business, so we made plans for my son and I to visit him there for a weekend. I knew we were in for an interesting trip when we got to the airport to find that they were having a power outage. They had emergency generators keeping the computer system going, but there was no air conditioning and it was a sweltering day. Our flight was delayed by an hour and a half, and once we boarded the plane, there was trouble getting clearance to enter the runway. We were seated next to a man who smelled terrible and got angry when he had to let ...

For the first two years we were married, Mr. Willoughby and I lived in an apartment in the city where I grew up. It was a nice place, but a little outdated. Our refrigerator was the kind with the tiny freezer that you have to defrost every few weeks and there was no dishwasher. It had a huge living room, though, and a decent sized bedroom. We were happy there except for the fact that we had no balcony and there was no common area outside where we could barbecue or enjoy sitting outdoors. We finally made the decision to move when our air conditioner (a wall unit) froze up and started pumping hot air into the living room on a 90+ degree evening. Our search for a new apartment didn't take long. We found a great place in Bloomfield Hills. If you're not familiar with Bloomfield Hills, it's a wealthy area with a mixture of high end homes and mansions, for the most part. We couldn't believe that we found an affordable apartment there, but we did. It was a little smaller than o...

It's not quite summer yet, but it sure feels like it. The weather is warm, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and the salesmen/women are back to knocking on doors. I don't care if I'm in the middle of cooking dinner or just sitting around doing nothing, it irritates me to go to the door to find a salesperson. We live in a small town where most of the homes are older, so home improvement companies are always in the area knocking on doors and handing out fliers. I can't tell you how many times we have been offered a free estimate on replacing our siding (which is old) or our windows (which are new). In 1996, a few months after we moved into our house, a pair of vacuum cleaner salespeople knocked on the door. They wanted to come in and give me a demonstration of their product. They also had a free gift for me to keep just for agreeing to the demo. The free gift was steak knives. Call me overly cautious, but the idea of letting strangers with sharp kniv...

Before we had kids, Mr. Willoughby and I used to love to take day trips. Not just in summer, but year round. We would get out a map and then one of us would close our eyes and point to a spot. As long as it was within a distance we could travel to and from in a day's time, that would be our destination. The less we knew about the city we picked, the more exciting it was because we never knew what we might find to see and do. We once drove to a small town on the Michigan/Ohio border to find that all the businesses had anti-gang signs on their doors. Who knew that small towns had gang problems? We didn't stay there long. One of our favorite places to visit was Iargo Springs in Oscoda, Michigan. It's a beautiful area on the edge of the Huron National Forest. There is a staircase of 294 wooden steps that take you down to where the underground springs come together to form coldwater streams. The Au Sable river, popular for canoeing and kayaking, is nearby as well. On our last vi...