Art Institute of Chicago, 2017

I spent the entire morning in the Art Institute of Chicago, drooling over exquisite art, particularly the impressionist and modern rooms.  Amazing pieces with so much history! The color, design, composition, and technique displayed in these timeless works are an inspiration to me as an artist and encourage me to not give up on my creative dreams.

I particularly liked the paper weight collection and the miniature rooms, which are fascinating replicas of the grand rooms of stately houses from England, America and Europe. These are new exhibitions from what I remember from my former years in Chicago.

Here are pics of my favorite pieces. ENJOY!

Happy Mother's Day👭 2017!❤

I had the best weekend, ever, celebrating Mother's Day with my favorite people: Anna, Braxton, Rachel, Alex, and Bill!🌹

We started out Friday night with dinner at one of my fav restaurants, Outback, where the Alice Springs chicken wins major awards. We then made our way to Dairy Queen (chocolate chocolate dip cone🍦), opened a slew of gifts (new Coach bag), and ended things with movie night - Moonstruck, starring Cher and a young Nicolas Cage.

Saturday was a full day with Rachel, my little shopping queen, at the Outlet malls, where we hit almost every store and came away with lots of goodies. I can still outshop my 19 year old! Had to drag her into Papaya at the end of the day where tons of bargins awaited. Then a little celebrity stalking in Canton, and we called it a day.

Sunday was brunch at my favorite diner, Thumbs Up, in Roswell. Undoubtedly, the best French toast in the world. A trip along the Chattahoochee River was followed by mani-pedis. Exhausted typing this, but it was so much fun. I am one blessed lady!!

I am so thankful for my mother, mother-in-law, and grandmothers🐩, all of whom nurtured me and helped me to become the woman I am today. And now, I am so thankful to be a mother of three wonderful children who are terrific, accomplished people and who actually like me and want to be around me!  That means I did something right! With the Lord's help, of course!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!!❤ The world would be a sad, lonely place without us mamas loving on our babies!

Here are some pics from the weekend!

UGA Graduation 2017! 🎉

This weekend was all about Alexander France, who graduated from the Terry business school at the University of Georgia in Athens!

The cold weather surprised all of us here in Atlanta, who had just settled into a late spring. I had literally pulled my pansys out of the front pots and planted my vinca and begonias, when the weather took a turn. Boots and stockings in May? Winter coats and blankets to a college graduation in Georgia? Unheard of, and yet, the thought of sitting outside in the cold rain for several hours made us rethink our celebratory outfits.

We heard one of the best commencement speeches from keynote speaker, Ernie Johnson Jr., who inspired all of to stop and embrace the blackberries in life. We also heard a great speech from the class representative, which was just as inspiring. Fireworks and a snack at Wendy's rounded out the evening.

Tonight was spent with Alex's family at Buco di Beppo feasting on chicken marsala, salmon, pasta alfredo, and ceasar salad plus a delicious chocolate bundt cake. What a wonderful time getting to know his brothers, cousins, step mom and grandma. A great family. We are blessed to have this young man in our lives.

We are so proud of all of Alex's accomplishments! We know God will bless him in all his endeavors, and that he will be a huge success in life. Bill and I look forward to seeing all of the great things the Lord has in store for him. ❤