The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an amazing array of ever changing views that take your breath away. This was an early morning sunrise walk (we did see some sun) – I thought this was a magical hour – so much BLUE. What you see one minute will be gone and replaced with something totally different. Each view so beautiful – where we stayed there was no TV. Absolutely didn’t miss it, didn’t even think about it once. Matter-of-fact once we arrived home we didn’t turn a TV on for over a week.

Labor Day is almost upon us! Do you have a special recipe you like to make this time of year – especially for Labor Day, or are you just chilling and not worrying about it? I’m in dire need of a good recipe to make to celebrate a day off for my husband, ha ha… I’ve been out of the loop cooking-wise for the past few weeks… But I found a recipe for something that sounds perfect and extra tasty!

Bees are so important, so to see them busy as can be on nearly every flower we passed – well, it made my heart so happy!

Charleston, SC – with so many alluring vistas – from natural parks to oceanfront beaches – marshes and wildlife – stunning flora and wonderful scents wafting through the air – it’s a magical place to be! I feel fortunate to live in such a beautiful place that has so much to offer. I’ll give you a few of my favorites (in case you’ve never visited Charleston before)…

What a thoughtful gift to drop off – a nice surprise. As y’all know, I happen to LOVE flowers of all kinds, and orchids are so special. Most require minimum care (at least in my experience) and will bloom again in time (have patience!) – A stunning combo of colors between the leaves and the flowers. This is a small orchid, so I’m giving it ice chips…

What’s the hurry, right? I think we can all take cues from nature and slow down and enjoy this life that is zipping by so unbelievably fast. It feels as if the leaves were just falling (our southern spring) and then the hot days of summer were upon us. Now it’s the end of July (well, tomorrow!) and school supplies are on sale…

Who doesn’t love the California coast? The views are stunning – so different from the east coast, equally beautiful, just a different kind of beauty. It’s amazing how our country has some major differences in scenery – how fortunate we are…