The GA Aquarium, Or, My State Is Cooler Than Yours Because: This!

An extraordinary friend recently treated myself and the Cute Gremlins to the GA Aquarium.  Have I mentioned my love for all things Oceanic?  Once or a thousand times?  I thought I might have.  

Anyway, I haven't done any major photography in a while and capturing many hued, million-scaled sea dwelling critters looked like fun.  It was more challenging than I imagined, what with the many layers involved.  The light from above (regular room lighting) combined with the light within the tanks reflected off of the glass, the water, the rocks, the plant surfaces and the animals themselves.  Heck, even some of the actual fish gave off their own light (the neon tetras, etc.)!!

But even if the photos aren't "show worthy", I am still happy with the way a lot of them came out.  Here are 5 of my favorites.  If you'd like to see more, you can see the entire set on my Flikr album.

If you have not been to the GA Aquarium, PLEASE get there as soon as you can!  It is amazing! 

Photo (and facts below) from the GA Aquarium Wikipedia page

They have sea otters, river otters, whale sharks (the ONLY place in the USA that has them!), a Pacific giant octopus, leafy sea dragons, African penguins (photo above), manta rays, reef sharks, beluga whales, dolphins (who perform in a beautiful show, "Dolphin Tales", several times daily), a loggerhead sea turtle (photo above), butterfly fish, clown fish (Nemo!), big fish, little fish, red fish, blue fish... wait.  That last bit is a Dr. Suess book.  But there really are literally more than 120,000 of the critters spanning 500 different species, in EVERY color of the color-wheel, swimming/floating/splashing in over 8.5 million gallons of water!  **flailing Muppet arms**  It's wonderful!!!! :)

What's your favorite "Aquarium" type of animal??

Krispy Kreme

ATTENTION: Best doughnuts in the world.  

Come to Atlanta.  

Get one when the "HOT" light is on. 

There is even an app for your phone to tell you when and where to find it.

Your taste buds will thank you.  

That is all.

Thought I'd Share

As promised in my Gratitudes list, I am sharing this fabulous free printable day planner sheet that I started using last August.  It was created by Dani at Life's A Journal.  Follow the link to save the file, or use this one and blow it up to paper size.  Awesomeness.  You are very welcome. :)

Good Reads

It's been a LONG day already.  I was up at 6 a.m. with the kids, got them to school, finished a project, started another one, went to bible study for 3 hours, had lunch with my Grandmama and visited her til 3 p.m. and have been catching up on random stuff at home for the last hour and a half.  Got to herd the cute gremlins to the car and go to the grocery store in a minute.

For today's Go Here Thursday/Book Review Thursday, I found this website where you can locate your local library and state library systems.  And then you can go there and get this series:

The Binding of the Blade series, by L.B. Graham is a fantasy fiction series very much in the same ballpark as Lord of the Rings.  There are dragons and other mythical creatures, talking Warrior Bears and epic good vs. evil battles.  I'm on book 4, Father of Dragons, and so far, each book has left me wanting to get the next one as quickly as possible to see how everything turns out.

If you do go read this series, come back and tell me what you liked the most about it!

I Heart The Art Of Brittney Lee!!!

"Bookworm" is just one of the many glorious works of art by California artist Brittney Lee (all images in this post are copyrighted by her.)  I adore her work and encourage you to GO THERE and check it out!  Read more below!

Before I post this "Go Here Thursday", this is my disclaimer:
I sent an email almost a month ago begging this artist to give me permission to use her images in a post like this one* so I could shamelessly plug her art and her Etsy shop and how obscenely awesome she is in general.  As yet, I have not received a reply.  There are several possible reasons for this:

1) She doesn't know me from Adam's house cat (trash the email without reading it).

2) Since #1 is in effect, my email isn't in her contacts list, so it went to her spam folder (trash the email without reading it).

3) Maybe she DID read it, but is otherwise so bogged down in all of her awesome paper craftingness, that she

• a) forgot to reply that "it would be an honor to be featured on The Modest Peacock", 
• b) forgot to reply that "outside of her own blog and her shows and stuff, she's actually something of a shy hermit and would I please leave her alone", 
• c) wrote a reminder to herself on a sticky note to reply "how awesome it would be if I featured her on The Modest Peacock", but then a huge gust of wind blew through her studio window and the sticky note blew away and got lost forever, 
• d) before she could hit the reply button, some horrible power outage or computer virus wiped out her email and she can't reply because she doesn't know my email address!  Oh noes!!! 

Whatever the case, I decided to throw caution to the wind** and feature her anyway.***

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the art of Brittney Lee!  Please GO HERE TO HER BLOG and treat your aesthetical and optical senses to some amazing sights! (After you finish reading the rest of this post, pretty please!) :)

I found her blog while surfing through some other sites, but once I was there, I studied every single image she posted, moving backward until her very first post in 2005.  Here, for all you chronology nuts, here is a link to it, so you can start at the beginning and move forward, if you want to.  I've done paper crafting before, with quilling and paper piecing/die cuts and what not.  But this amazing lady makes even my best attempts at paper art look like a preschooler's!

I've tried to pick only 3 of my favorites of her work.  But I couldn't.  Seriously, I love ALL of her work soooo much and I'd give anything if she actually WOULD answer an email and let me commission one of her mermaid paper cuttings (Like the one above) to hang up in my room once it gets finished.  Maybe once the bead-board is hung up, I'll start stalking her with an email every day send her polite emails every few weeks so she knows it's not spam, and one day get my wish!  I'm even adding it to my "dreams and aspirations" list on my main page right sidebar.  :)

I finally did pick 3 paper cuttings and 3 drawings that I super super super LOVE, to showcase this amazingly talented artist who is more or less living the art dream job that I wanted when I was 14.  (See below.)

Seriously, all you people who knew me way back when and wanted to know "what I wanted to be when I grew up"?  This lady.  Or, rather, drawing and creating the art that she does.  Her style is what I have always wanted to achieve, I just didn't know what to call it.  I love each and every nuance and expression.  Brittney Lee, you have surpassed Glen Keane and Andrew Stanton on my Heroes list.****
You've probably met/know these animation/art giants, so you know that this is high praise indeed!

Dearest readers, after you have been to her blog and have wiped the drool off of your keyboard, please also GO HERE to her ETSY SHOP, where you can purchase prints and notecards of some of her designs.  :)

My personal FAVORITE pieces:
(Paper Cuttings/Sculptures)
Y'all know I'm a Harry Potter fan.  Look at the cutie pie in the middle with his head turned sideways!!!  Squee!

Her blog post about this amazing piece can be found here.

And of course, I had to show off her peacock.  Isn't he just gorgeous!!!

The blog post on this one can be found here

And my 3rd favorite (though I have MANY more!) is this fantastic Dragon.  Smaug from LOTR?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Either way, he is magnificent!

Blog post for this and other beauties can be found here

(Now for the Drawings!)

I LOVE HER MERMAIDS!  This one is (one of, if I was super forced to pick, but really I love them all!) my favorite:

The post for this beauty can be found here

And you all know how I've longed to see Paris...

Blog post for this magical drawing can be found here

And since I'm going to see Wicked next month, who can resist her quick study of the Green Girl, Elphaba?  I love it! :)

Blog post for this Ozian inspired art can be found here

There are so many, many more (did I mention that already?) that I love!  I hope I get to meet Brittney Lee someday.  Rock on, girl!  From your #1 stalker fan! :)  More blog posts!  More Etsy shop!  More, more, more! :)

*Or, you know, maybe... actually THIS one.

**Because I'm lame and have been busy and didn't have anything else lined up that I was half as interested in.

***I'm already rather poor and I gave proper copyright citing; please don't sue me.

****Quick top 10: #1: Jesus, #2: My Dad, #3: My husband, #4: My sister-in-law, Heather, #5: Sheila Richards, #6: Brittney Lee, #7: Kristin Chenoweth, #8: Mary Lou Ross, #9: Andrew Stanton, #10: Glen Keane

Please Help!

It's GO HERE THURSDAY!

PLEASE GO HERE and help us out! 

Tomorrow is the last day of J93.3's (WVFJ) fall Share-a-thon!  Please show your support for this radio ministry by calling 888-933-9330 or donating online.

"Wait," you may be saying, "I don't live in Atlanta!  Why should I partner with YOUR station??"  Well guess what!  You don't have to be an Atlanta resident to listen and enjoy the benefits of this wonderful ministry!  You can listen online on your computer or with your smartphone from anywhere!

Y'all, this listener supported radio station has, on some of my darker days, been the glue that holds me together.  Prayers on the air.  A prayer hotline with real people on the other end who listen and believe God with you to ask Him for miracles in whatever you may be dealing with in your life.  They do so many community outreach works that it's just incredible to see God move in a mighty way!  (If you are wondering, this is the station I heard the ad for the Love Worth Fighting For Conference on last year.)
(For my experiences at it, see this post and this post.)

And, oh yeah! The music!  They keep a steady stream of uplifting, positive music by great Christian artists going that just wraps around your soul and you are so encouraged and can't help but praise God's Holy name!!!  It's amazing!  I cannot say enough good things about this radio ministry.

As a not for profit, they need the financial support of listeners.  I have heard wonderful stories from people whose lives have been changed and blessed because of this station.  You can catch the latest happenings on their Facebook page and see what the Lord is doing!  PLEASE call them or go online and make a donation.

This morning I called to become an MMMP (More than Music Mission Partner) with $30 a month.  Yes, the economy is uncertain.  Yes, we work hard to make the ends meet and sometimes can't seem to even find the ends.  But God's resources are not limited and when He laid it on my heart to step out in faith and then I DID, I can't begin to tell you what kind of positive changes I see happening with my life - all over the place- just today!  We don't have much, but He has always provided and I am so happy to have given just $1 a day to help keep that music coming.  And you know what else?  When I called, it was part of a $5,000 challenge, meaning that someone was offering up a $5,000 IF and only IF enough listeners called in within an hour to make up the $5,000.  And you know what?  We did!  That challenge gave the station a total of $10,630!!!!  WOW!  We helped "match it, meet it and EXCEED it!"

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I have never championed a cause like this or asked you for one thin dime.  But this is SO important!  Just one $30 a month donation helps the station reach 200 listeners!  When was the last time your generosity impacted that many people??!  The station currently (as of 9 pm tonight) needs 980 more MMMPs to make their Share-a-thon goal.  I think they've had over 500 sign up so far, so it shouldn't take long to make it happen!

Please help by giving them a gift.  They have loads of volunteers at the phones, so it only takes a couple of minutes.  888-933-9330.  Thank you so so so much and God Bless!

Worth Fighting For (Part 1)

PART 1: How it all came about

Alright, y'all.  My mom has taken the kids to play at Chuck-E-Cheese and I'm taking advantage of the quiet to catch up on the posts I missed this week due to crazy schedules.  I'll write a short "This is what you might have missed in your feeds" post that includes links for all the other posts later.  Right now, I have to tell you about this conference!!!

It was going to be my "Go Here Thursday", and it will probably still get a tag as such.  But the focus this time is going to shift from "Hey, I think you should do this" to "I have to share this awesome thing that the Lord did!".  It's long, (so I'll break it into 2 parts) but it's from the bottom of my heart and I hope something in it touches your life and gives you hope and a smile.  It's more personal than most of my posts, and there are friends (you know who you are) who would caution me to not publish some of it.  But I can't tell the happy ending without the story of the hard part, so thank you for your concern, but understand that I prayed and thought and edited this carefully before hitting the Publish button and it's exactly how it needs to be.

Last year on J93.3, I heard this commercial for a conference by Feed Your Faith ministries called "Love Worth Fighting For" featuring Christian actor/speaker Kirk Cameron and musician Warren Barfield.  It was coming to Marietta, which is fairly local, and promised practical, scripture based, solid support and encouragement for a Godly marriage and moving things from the way they were, closer to the way they should be.  This all came in the wake of my own marriage being more or less in ruins and I was desperate for anything that could possibly help save it.

We went and it was fantastic.  We were up at the table meeting Kirk Cameron and thanking him for the event and he asked us if we had seen the movie Fireproof.  We had, about six months before then, but this was a really sensitive point for me, because not long after we had watched it and cried and promised to do better and love each other, some catastrophic choices were made that left me broken and hurting inside.  I didn't want to talk about it because I felt like saying "Yes, but it didn't help at all!"  I didn't say that, of course, but I was having a hard time staying composed.  Kirk was so perceptive to the fact that there was so much happening there that wasn't being said out loud.  So he asked us if we had done the Love Dare book from the movie (knowing full well from me falling apart what the answer was).  We told him, no, we hadn't.  The truth of the matter was that we had only barely scraped up the money to go to the event.  We had nothing left to buy any more books, whether they would help us or not, but we were embarrassed to say so.  What happened next blew me away:

He reached into his wallet and handed us the money to buy it right there at the next table over.  "From me," he said "but for each other.  I hope things work out with you guys.  Let me know how it goes."

I was astonished and grateful.  We thanked him and headed home.  Fast forward a few months and the book was still sitting on the nightstand where we left it.  We were in counseling, but with Jake's job taking him out of town at a moments notice (or sometimes no notice at all), I often went alone.  He needed to be there.  He needed help and therapy to fix what was wrong (and more issues came out later in a big blow-up-in-your-face kind of way that took us backward more than a few steps) but I felt like I was the only one doing any sessions or caring about it at all.  Almost a year passed, but the wounds were still raw and I would pour my heart out to God daily and ask Him why I had to deal with this mess.  One night I got this answer: "I'm sorry and I know it hurts.  I love you.  Watch Me make something amazing come out of all this.  Trust Me."

I thought about the Love Dare book, sitting there on the nightstand day in and day out, unopened.  I decided that instead of waiting on Jake to do it and be changed and suddenly be Super Spouse, that I would do the Love Dare for him and see if God would do something with me and change my attitude.  I got to the second day and then more or less had a nervous breakdown.  "I CAN'T," I yelled at God.  "IT HURTS and he's not even HERE for me to do these acts of love and kindness.  THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"  I yelled some more things at God and more or less threw the book in a pile of other marriage and self help books that I knew Jake had ignored and left to collect dust.

Even in my rage against Him and Jake and life in general, God held my heart close.  I cried and cried and cried and He kept reassuring me way down in my spirit "Then don't do the Love Dare if you can't.  There are other things I can give you.  You have everything you need, but you have to trust Me and let Me move."

I asked Jake one night if, since we were having such a hard time making the counseling sessions, we should try to go to the conference again.  I didn't know what else to do.  He said yes, to see when they would be coming this way.  I looked for tour dates, but the closest one was in Opelika, Alabama.  Still, Jake's parents live in south GA and we could have made it work.  So I watched and prayed and wondered where the ticket money would come from.

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2 hour drive one way. Doable, but a hassle.

Then, in the week after that blow-up-in-our-face thing that happened, God provided a miracle:  I got an email from the event enews updates that a new date and venue had been added: Douglasville, GA.  God brought the conference TO US!

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20 minute drive.  Much Better!!!

What's more, it was the week of our wedding anniversary!  The event was exactly 40 days away.  The Lord was speaking to my heart saying "Do you need anymore proof that My hand is all over this??"  He also answered the question of tickets: a wonderful friend of mine, who has been so supportive of my Lucy Jane endeavors, ordered 3 more stuffed elephants in order to send us to the event.

I was so nervous this time.  I kept fighting to push away doubts.  We had done this conference last year; why would this time be any different, or help in any way?  Jake had to miss our anniversary on Sunday, because of work.  He called me twice from Birmingham to tell me Happy 7th Anniversary and he couldn't wait to get home for the conference (he had cleared that day with his bosses in order to make sure he came to the event).  I'm going to leave you in suspense here.  What happened at the conference, night before last??  Part 2 is coming right up!

The Fabulous Fox

Happy Thursday, my loves!

This morning was the first day of school for 3 of my 4 cute gremlins.  Gremlin #4 and I will spend the day together cleaning up the house, running errands, and checking out what is left at Borders before it leaves our mall forever.  (50% off on photography books?  Yes, please!)

This morning after they had boarded their new buses safely, I checked my email, FB, etc. and found a great deal on tickets to something we had been wanting to do for 3 years now.  So I got them.  Happy 7th Anniversary to us! (A month late.  Hey, when your schedules are like ours, you take what you can get...)
Next month, we will be going to Atlanta's Fabulous Fox Theatre to see:

WICKED will be the 11th time I have been to see a show at the Fox, and all but one of those were musicals. (The exception was when we went to see "An Evening with Tim Conway and Harvey Corman".  We were probably the youngest people there, but we didn't care.  I loved the Carol Burnett show!)
Other musicals I've seen at the Fox:

1997, 2001, 2005 and 2010

1999 and 2001

1997 and 1999

1999

Ok, so "Stomp" isn't technically a "musical".  But it was a great show!

I want to take you back to my first memory of the Fox.  It's one of the most special memories of my whole life.  (And that's saying something.)

Picture a 15 year old high school sophomore, from a small town in West GA, head over heals in love with a boy.  Not just any boy. The boy.  Now picture that her parents have just given her permission to go on her very first date.  Ever. With him.  Boy's grandparents volunteer as ushers at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, a fine arts venue that she's grown up hearing about, but has never been to herself.  Boy saved up all his summer job money and got them 5th row center orchestra seats to see Phantom of the Opera.  (Dad comments later that the only way he could top that date was to marry me.  Which, 8 years later, he did!)

The street entrance to the Fox is pretty unassuming, although the architecture of the buildings sides are amazing and eye catching, with domes and arched windows like something straight out of Aladdin.  There's a marquee, of course, and the box office, but there isn't much outside to indicate the utter opulence that awaits the theatre-goer once they proceed through to the lobby.

Outside Atlanta's Fox Theatre

There are mosaic tiles everywhere.  Floors, ceilings, walls, you name it.  The bathrooms have gold gilding everywhere.  They look like Turkish baths and they aren't even called "bathrooms".  They are "lounges" and there is plush everything everywhere.  Velvet fainting couches and armchairs, enormous mirrors, and thick burgundy colored carpet that softens your steps, except where there are sections of those tile mosaics; a riot of color set in a sea of crimson.  That's just the lobby and lounges.  Once you get inside the actual theatre, it takes your breath away (again).

 These photos do not do the interior one shred of justice.  See that blue "sky" in the picture above?  It has twinkle lights all through it so that you are standing under a night sky, gazing up at the stars!  Stars!!!

Now, photography of any kind is not allowed inside the theatre during the shows.  This is an understandable standard procedure practiced by thousands of venues everywhere.  So you'll have to go back to using your imagination, with those two press photos as a reference point.  Imagine me, completely awestruck by all of this gold and red plush grandeur, sitting in (arguably) one of the best seats in the house, as the famous chandelier - which is an intrical part of the Phantom story and show- rises from the stage during the overture and rests 60 feet above, directly over my head.

This is the show chandelier pre curtain rise.

Imagine also, my horror and delight as it "falls" as though it might squash me altogether, at the end of Act 1 and "crashes" onto the stage!  There was nothing like it in the world.  That first experience at the Fox was like nothing I'd ever known.  It was a magical, glittering, wonderful night that I will treasure always.  "Boy" became "husband" and we saw Phantom every time it came to the Fox after that, including it's last run EVER last July.  I cried like a baby from the first line to the last note.  I sent a letter to the theatre's manager, telling them how much we loved seeing Phantom at the Fox and how sorry we were to see it gone forever.  I got the nicest letter back, thanking us for being Fox patrons all these years and inviting us to please continue enjoying other shows.  "Oh, don't worry," I thought to myself as I put the letter in my scrapbook. "I intend to!"

If you are ever in the Atlanta area, PLEASE GO HERE!!!  The building itself has a long and rich history; there are guided tours you can take as well.  If you are at all able, come and see a Broadway musical here.  You will not be disappointed!  As for me, September 22nd just can't come fast enough! :)

...YEP, Pretty Much!

Today's Go Here Thursday is sure to put a smile on your face!

Check out this favorite clip of mine:

And then GO HERE to Tim Hawkins' website for more hilarious clips and goodies!  This is the same guy who did the Chick Fil A song from the Music Monday a couple of weeks ago.

You can get comedy DVDs, check out the event calendar, and more! Have fun!

Dinner AND A Show!

Husband is going to have to be working out of town on our 7th anniversary.  It's on a Sunday.  The job is around 2 hours away, just over the state line.  But they won't let him come home.  This sucks.  So last week, we celebrated early by taking an hour after the kids were in bed and going on a dinner date.

If you are ever in my area, GO HERE!


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As it was a date, and as there was also a chef making big flourishes and setting a lot of things on fire, I didn't get any photos.  But I ordered the shrimp and steak, DH got the steak and scallops and it was all FANTASTIC!  Together, our date ran us about $50, which is pretty steep for us.  Since it was an anniversary date, however, I think it was a very well spent $50.  :)

Source

Here is their website.  Please plan a night out if you can!

Cool Off With A Coke (And Watch How They Are Made!)

(Source unknown)

If you are like me and make your home in the Northern and Western hemispheres, it's HOT.  It's possibly even hotter (and, due to the humidity, stickier) than it was a month ago when I posted a Poetry Wednesday specifically about the high temps.  It's the kind of hot that leaves everything in its grasp wilted and limp.  Nothing gets done, even indoors with the a/c on, because the heat just sucks all the energy out of you and leaves you exhausted.

And then you realize how thirsty you are.  Bad things happen when a body when it gets dehydrated, so it's important to keep taking in lots of fluids.  But you get sick of water all the time, right?*  So what do you reach for?  Here in the south, the answer is obvious and automatic:

AN ICE COLD COKE.

But where does it come from?  How does it get from random ingredients to your hand?  Well, it's a pretty amazing journey, and it begins right here in my hometown.

In the heart of Atlanta, in a little area called Pemberton Place, The World of Coca-Cola sits at the corner of Baker Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive, and opposite the Georgia Aquarium.

Source

Here you can find out all kinds of things about the origins of Coke, how it's made, where in the wide world it gets sent to, and more.
You can see an entire museum of advertising merchandise, from early 1900s ads like this one:

Source

To amazing things made from the aluminum cans themselves, such as this locomotive:

(Source unknown)

And this fantastic Red Baron bi-plane:

(Source unknown)

And in my Google search for Coke can sculptures like the ones in the WOCC museum, I also found this, which made my photographer's heart go pitter pat. :)

(Source unknown)

The World of Coca-Cola is open most days from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and is only closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas days.  The tour takes around 90 minutes to complete, but be sure to allow plenty of time for the tasting room, where you can sample all kinds of Coca-Cola products that are served around the world!

Finally, here are 3 of my favorite Coke commercials. :)

*Actually, if you still want water, Coca-Cola bottles Dasani water! :)

The Swan House and Other Lovely Things!

Today's Go Here Thursday theme is swans!  I have a couple of really good ones for you!

First, if you live in, or will be visiting the Atlanta area, go see The Swan House at the Atlanta History Center.

The Swan House
Photo (c) by Kerri at Atlanta Daily Photo blog

Built in 1928 by the Inman family, this 4 bedroom mansion has a swan theme carried out in nearly every part of the interior (around 30, according to popular count; perhaps a few more or less.)

Nearby is the Swan Coach House, a restaurant, gift shop and art gallery all rolled into one.  Lunch is available at the restaurant for a few hours daily, and the gift shop features a ladies boutique, an amazing jewelry selection, and home gifts.  The Swan Coach House is also a popular venue for weddings, receptions, private events and afternoon teas.

The Swan Coach House
Photo (c) Marian Black

You can find out more about The Swan House and the Swan Coach House through the links above, and also by visiting the AHC's Blog and Facebook page.

Also go here to the Franz Porcelain website, where you can browse unbelievably beautiful pieces of porcelain art like this Swan Teapot:

So beautiful!

(Franz Porcelain also has a peacock pattern!)

The teacup is my personal favorite!

And finally, keeping with the theme of swans, here are two of my favorite harp pieces:
"The Swan" from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens, performed by harpist Keziah Thomas.  Go to her website (link above) to see a full list of her repertoire.

The Theme from "Swan Lake" by Tchaikovsky, performed at two tempos (I couldn't find any information on the harpist.)

Tea Time!

Happy Thursday, Dear Ones.

Just a quick "Go Here Thursday" post today, as I've been working on the housework and laundry and getting dinner for the children all day.  Being a mom is awesome, but it's also exhausting!
Getting to it, then-

Instead of a place to visit, today's GHT is a recommendation for something I get a year's worth of for Christmas, from my Aunt:

July/August 2011 Tea Time Magazine*

I first found Tea Time by absolute chance, in early Sept of 2010, as I was taking a short cut through the book/card/magazine aisle of the grocery.  Tea Time is bi-monthly, so it was the Sept/Oct issue on display and what caught my attention (aside from the GORGEOUS china pattern) was 1) Ideas for a Pink Ribbon themed tea and 2) Tearooms to visit in Southeast England.  I'd been pining for my trip across the Pond and while I knew it would be many months before I could go (and it is many months still), I keep a running list of things I'm interested in possibly seeing when I do finally get to go.  Here is the china that was featured on the cover of that issue, by the way.  It's called "Dhara" by Phillipe Deshoulieres

So so so pretty!

I shop with a list.  If it's not on the list, or we don't absolutely need it, it doesn't go in the cart.  But that day I did something I don't normally do - I clutched the magazine to my chest like I'd just discovered buried treasure, hurried to the check-out, and bought it.  To say that it was worth my $5.00 is a gross understatement.  Each and every page is a complete mental vacation on one hand, and such an inspiration on the other.  For months afterward, I have found myself making shopping lists, mental notes and all sorts of lavish future plans for hosting tea parties that feature the exquisite things I found in those pages.

Being the fall issue, there was an abundance of information on hosting Mystery/Detective themed teas.  There is even a recipe for an unbelievably cute cookie shaped like magnifying glasses!

How cute is that?!

Other recipes in that issue include (but are not limited to)

Parmesan-rosemary Scones

Curried Squash Soup

Goat Cheese and Tapenade Sandwich Stacks

Roast Beef and Horseradish Tea Sandwiches

Bacon and Roasted Garlic Arancini (risotto balls)

Pear Cheesecake Bites

There is also this yummy goodness, called "Sugarplum Dobosh Cake"

Oh my Lands, Y'all!  Seriously!

My Aunt had been gifting me a subscription to Southern Lady Magazine - which I loved.  Tea Time is made by the same people who make Southern Lady.  After my Sept/Oct issue find, I unabashedly begged her to swap to Tea Time for Christmas.  She graciously agreed and thus far I am the super proud owner of half a dozen issues, each one seemingly more beautiful than the last!

One thing that I love about the magazine's layout is that it isn't just randomly thrown together.  The content always changes, of course, but there are distinct section headings that I adore:

Lorna Reeves, the Editor, shares a letter to her readers in Editor's Letter.

Readers share back with Dear Tea Time

There is a Tea Events Calendar, which features tea events in several states. (sometimes much to my chagrin.  Like the July/August issue I got yesterday that features the 4th Annual Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, KY. I wanna go!!! [but can't this year] :P)

There is a sort of "best of" merchandise page called Necessary Things that features cool products.

The Perfect Cup gives advice on how to make a great cup of tea, from the type of water you use, to caffeine content choices and more.

Turning The Tables shows ideas for place settings, decorating, themes and more.

Tea Wares highlights a particular item and gives a history and information on it.  Teapots, different kinds of spoons (tea, iced-tea and sugar, to name a few), tea infusers and teacups have all been featured in the issues I own.

The Tea Diaries is a one page personal story from a contributor that tells of tea time memories with mothers or daughters or grandmothers, birthday teas, girl's day out, etc.  Sort of like the "Chicken Soup For... " stories, but always about tea. :)

The Fine Print is a page devoted to books that feature tea.  Tea dictionaries, histories, mysteries, fiction, etiquette, handbooks and recipe books.

Of course in every issue, there is a Recipe Index, Advertiser's Index and Reader's Resource pages where you can take what you've seen and go get it/do it for yourself! :D

And peppered throughout these constants is an endless parade of articles (usually themed for the season) and photos and recipes.  The November/December issue features a full out Dickens themed tea for Christmas, replete with roasted goose, chestnut stuffing and plum pudding!!! Sighs of happiness.

Please GO HERE: to the Tea Time Magazine Website where you can get a subscription, plus check out all sorts of extras and online only recipes and features.

Also, living in the south, I was so pleased to see this page of the website devoted to taking tea in Atlanta!

If you are an Atlanta local like I am, you could also use that as your Go Here Thursday! :)

Enjoy.

*All photos, except for the Dhara china, belong to Tea Time Magazine.  The Dhara china photo was found here.

Pining for the Seaside

After last nights storms, I wish more than ever that I lived by the ocean so that this morning I could go see what washed up on the shore.  I need the beach.  No, not "a place to get away from it all".  I NEED to eventually make my home there.  I am physically better when I have spent a few days breathing the sea air.  When I come back, I feel my sinuses closing up again about the time we get to Macon.  When I visited Marilyn in Destin, FL, I found myself gulping great quantities of air, as though I could somehow store it in my lungs to live off of when I get back home. :(

So for today's "Go Here Thursday", I give you:

Jekyll Island is situated just below St. Simons Island (whose praises you have heard me sing before, and will hear again.)  From Brunswick, you simply take Glynn Ave. south until you cross over to the island and Jekyll Island Road.

View Larger Map

Jekyll is best seen by bicycle tour.  It has a million and one things to do, all on the one tiny island, but my two favorite places are The GA Sea Turtle Center and Jekyll Books at The Old Infirmary.

Sea turtles are my favorite ocean animal.  The Sea Turtle Center helps rehabilitate injured or ill turtles and releases them back into the wild.  It is an AMAZING place.  I told my Gran about it, and she said she would like to see it, so there may be a trip to Jekyll in my summer plans soon, after all. :)
The admission is only $6 for adults, and the proceeds go right back into the center to help with the operational costs.  I can't wait to go back!  Here are a couple of sneak peeks:

*****
Jekyll books has absolutely everything in the way of books, magazines, gifts, and beach decor.  It's fantastic.  I need at least 2 hours to browse through everything in its 14 themed rooms when I visit!  There is even a pirate themed room!

I'm ready to go pack my beach bag now.  Towel, sunscreen, swimsuit, blanket, lounge chair and a purchase from Jekyll Books before I find my spot in the sand and I'll be all set! :)