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Monday, November 17, 2014

LOOKING & SHOPPING ALL OVER ORANGE COUNTY


This past Saturday, I decided that I needed to get out of the house and do some looking and shopping.  I picked up my friend and wouldn't tell her where we were going - it's a SURPRISE.  I set the GPS and off we went.  My first stop was to "Green Thumb Nurseries".  I had read in the paper that they were all decorated for Christmas with 20 themed decorated trees - WOW 20 trees.  Most of the shops set the trees up, but do not decorate them at all.  I guess it's just to expensive to hire a professional decorator.  This was the first tree we saw as we walked into the Christmas area.  Let me tell you I was not disappointed.  It's theme is Ocean/Beach - the ornaments were stunning - all glass ornaments, not your plastic ones, but very pricey.  It also looked like white coral sticking out of the tree.


The next thing I saw was this display of Gingerbread Houses.  They were very pretty - on to the next display

Oh my gosh... the Carolers were stunning.  Oh so many different ones.  I wanted them all LOL, but I didn't buy one


Another display, don;t they look real?


This tree had every kind of Snowmen that you could possibly think of.  Big, small, fat, or skinny.  The tree was so full of ornaments, it would cost a fortune to decorate like that.


The top of the tree had a lot of snowmen as the top ornament.  I couldn't move farther back as it was so crowded in there.

Do you see all the top of the trees?  They were really pretty with all sorts of decorations on the top.  This tree had a lot of elf's on it - very cute.

I thought this would be very cute for a small child to count the days until Christmas.  It had little pockets that you could put little candy in, money or maybe a note telling them where to look for surprise.


 I almost fell over looking at this topper.  It is the lamp from A Christmas Story.  It had a lot of ornaments pertaining to that movie and others.  Can you see Betty Boob in the lower left hand corner.  This was the lamp that they had in the living room in their home in Cleveland, Ohio.  Susan from Naps on The Porch did a wonderful and interesting post on this home.  Susan toured it on vacation -  check it out.


Just a shot of a lot of the decorated trees.  It was hard to take pictures, as I had so many people and children looking at them.  The children were priceless, their little faces looking at all the wonderful things on the trees, their little eyes so big taking it all in.

One of these trees had birds and little bird houses on it.  Everything pertaining to outdoors.


As we were heading for the cashier - there was Santa.  Not mass produced, but made by a local artist.
I was very good, I only purchased two small red plants for the front porch and 2 herb plants - thyme and sage.

Back on the road again to Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach, CA.  This is a very high end Gift Shop and Nursery. - Stunning trees and decorations.


This was the entrance to the store.  Beautiful real evergreen trees.  The candle sticks were very, very pretty.
If you look to the sides you will see black pockets - these are the rage here - put them on walls, fences and then fill them with what ever plants or vegetables you want.  Are especially good if you live in a condo, townhouse or apartment with a very small patio.  Just line them up on the fence or wall and plant whatever you want in them.  The dirt doesn't run out when you water them.  What a terrific way to garden, no bending over and weeding.

These two wreaths on one side of the entrance and two more on the other side.  Notice the bling crown on the lower one.  That seemed to be the theme here, lots of bling and crowns, crosses, etc.  When we left one of the wreaths had already sold.  The people were buying so many items.  You would have thought that there was a red tag sale going on - no such luck there.

This tree was mostly all gold - very lovely


This tree was breath taking - it had a lot of bling and a French theme.  I had such a hard time trying to take pictures due to the number of customers in there.

More of the French tree.




This tree was all about England - even had some Downton Abby ornaments.  Very pretty.  British guards, red telephone booths, and English Flag ornaments.

This is the Christopher Radco room with all his glass ornaments.  Let me tell you - they were stunning.
They start at $25.00 for a little tiny one.  But they are keepsakes.  The tree to the left has nothing but his ornaments on it.  The room was really dark and hard to take a picture of.

When my son got married I would get them a Christopher Radco ornament each Christmas.  When Kelly was about 2 years old she would go to the tree and any ornament she could reach she would take it off and throw it into the fireplace.  Needless to say many were broken and the rest were move farther up the tree where she could not reach them.  Kids, you gotta love them.

This tree was all in white and crystal, very pretty but lacked some punch. 

Well that was my Saturday, and let me tell you I was pooped when I got home.  There were so many people at Rogers Gardens that it was difficult to walk or look at anything.  I was so afraid that I would get pushed into a tree and break something. That I walked outside and sat on the bench while my friend looked around.  She is a artist, so she was taking in all the beauty in that store.  Neither one of us purchased anything.  The one thing that I noticed that they are not using a lot of ribbon on the trees, just heavy, heavy ornaments all over.  The top of the trees have bows, faux flowers, branches sticking out like a firecrackers is going off.  Very pretty.  They also had chandlers on the tops.  Red is the color this year and lots and lots of bling.  So gals get your bling out and go to town decorating.

We stopped to eat, about 1:00 p.m. at the Kickin Crab Restaurant.  Let, me tell you if you have one of these restaurants close to you - try it.  All they sell is Asian, Creole food and you can have it as hot as you want it.
I am a sissy so I always order mild.  We ordered Garlic Noodles (don't kiss anyone unless they had this also) and a pound of shrimp in a mild Creole sauce with pita bread.  There are paper table cloths and all the dishes are disposable  If you could have seen the mess we made, they even give you plastic gloves to use.  We had it all over as the shrimp is in a plastic bag and you have to take the shell and head off of the shrimp. It was delicious and we must have had 20 shrimp in the bag.  We shared this meal and still took some home and very reasonable.  Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you for going along on this little adventure with me.  It was a beautiful sunny California dreaming day, about 75 degrees.

Happy Thanksgiving.......

Mary

I hope you leave a comment - I love reading them all and hopefully I am answering all your comments.

I won't be linking up to any parties as my computer will not let me do that. Why, I don't know. I am hoping I get a new one from Santa this year - I've been very good.

70 comments:

  1. That looks like so much fun! I love to visit places like that especially with a good friend. :)

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  2. Hi Mary, Love this post and all the great photos you share. There is so much inspiration here. Love the themed trees and those cottage houses and vintage style carolers are a favorite. Your lunch sounds so good. I enjoy shops like this. Thanks for sharing. I have to go back and view it all again.
    Thanks for stopping by Mary. Hope you have a great week.
    Hugs!!

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    1. Thanks so much Celestina, we did have a lot of fun. If you could have seen us after we finished eating, we looked like two pigs with sauce and oil all over our hands and face, but it sure was good.
      The decorations were gorgeous, but so EXPENSIVE. But when you live in Newport Beach you have to have lots and lots of money.

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  3. Your welcome any time - will take you all over.
    Mary

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  4. Wow, what a fun outing, Mary! I especially love the second shop that you shared with us, that French themed tree is so me! And the wall pocket with the real plants is gorgeous! How fun would that be? I also really loved the silver tree. Sounds like so many great ideas. I can't imagine a chandelier as a tree topper, but I bet it was pretty! Hope Santa brings you that new computer:) Oh, and send some of your warm weather our way, it's supposed to be a high of 23 here tomorrow, brrrr!

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind comments. It was a lot of fun Saturday. I finally had to turn on the furnace tonight, even though it was 77 today. The nights get very chilly for us - we are sissy's, aren't we LOL
      Have a great week.
      Mary

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  5. Look like you and your friends have nice time yes Newport Beach is a lot of money there we live closed to there
    beautiful place. I'm glad you enjoy your adventure all the photo are so beautiful
    Home Good have those Carolers stop by any Home Good close to your home they have good price.
    Blessing
    Isora
    XOX

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    1. I made up my mind that this year I was NOT going to purchase any new Christmas decorations. I must have 20 plastic tubs full of decorations. I am pairing the decorations down. It's just to much to decorate 6 trees that I used to do. So, it's bye bye decorations.
      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for stopping by with your sweet comments.
      Mary

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  6. Mary- What a fun, fun surprise for your friend. OMGosh- That is just phenomenal! I can't believe how beautifully all those trees are decorated. What a lot of fun to see them all. Kind of funny that you said red is THE color this year....I have decided to let my red take a back seat this year and do something else. lol That's me -always late to the party. lol

    I have a friend who along with his partner were part of Radko's Christmas Club. There are 650 member and a special ornament is designed for them each year. Dennis spends about 2 months setting his house up for Christmas and one huge tree is FULL of Radko ornaments. It is unbelievable. We always go to a big party there sometime in December and it is a feast for the eyes.

    I am glad you and your friend had fun and a nice lunch. We don't have that chain here. We FINALLY got a Panda Express and thought we had hit the big time. lol

    Enjoy your night, Mary. I loved this post and wish I could have bummed along with you! xo Diana

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  7. Oh how I wish that you were with us also. My friend loves Rogers Garden and she doesn't have a car so I take her to the bank, grocery shopping, dr's etc. Sorry I spelled Radko wrong. When Shaun and Frances first got married I would give them a special Radko ornament each year. Well Kelly was about 2 years old and she started pulling the ornaments off the tree and throwing them into the fireplace. They moved all the expensive ornaments up higher on the tree. I really had to laugh about what she did, as she didn't know any better,.

    OH how I wish you had the restaurant Panda Inn which the fast food came from. Oh the food they have in there is unbelievable. So much better than the fast food, of course it is way more expensive, but oh so good.

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  8. So very beautiful! There is just so much inspiration for Christmas in each and every shot!!! And that photo of the greenery is super fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing this goodness! Nicole

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    1. It is so hard to describe all the beautiful decorations that each shop had. So many many pretties. I think my very favorite was the French tree.
      Thanks so much for stopping by.
      Mary

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  9. I love going shopping with you! I really enjoyed the French and British trees, but the white one also caught my eye, of course!

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    1. So glad that you liked the post Magali. You can come shopping with me anytime. I really loved the French tree also.
      Thanks so much for stopping by.
      Mary

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  10. I have enjoyed your beautiful photos of the Christmas decorations. I just found your blog and am your newest follower.

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    1. Thanks so much Susan for your comments and following me. I will be following you back.
      Have a great Thanksgiving.
      Mary

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  11. Hi and WOW Mary you and your friend must of had a fun day shopping! I love all of these trees you showed us! They must of been fantastic to look at. I love going to those places but I hate the crowds! The restaurant sounds really good! Thanks so much for sharing your day with us. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    Hugs, Julie

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    1. Thanks so much for your lovely comments Julie. Yes, it really was a full day, but I was really pooped when I got home LOL
      I hate to shop when you can't even move around. I was so afraid that I would bump into someone or knock something over, that I just went out side and waited on the bench for my friend. Rogers Garden is really high end lots of $$$$$$$$, but oh so pretty.
      Don't eat to much turkey.
      Mary

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  12. Mary,
    What a fun day and what beautiful trees. Where you stopped to eat sounded pretty yumtastic too. Thanks for sharing your day. Loved all the pretty trees.
    Have a great evening my friend.
    Kris

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    1. Yes, it really was a beautiful day about 76 with lovely clouds. Great shopping weather. Everything was beautiful but oh so EXPENSIVE.
      Thanks for stopping by.
      Mary

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  13. Mary,
    What a sweet friend you are! Setting your GPS and heading on your Christmas adventure. Love the little
    Snowman count down to Christmas and oh my goodness those gorgeous trees and with such creative
    And beautiful themes. When my daughter lived in Shreveport we went to a fantastic store by the name of The Red Door and the magnificent trees too! Such a fun post.
    Hugs,
    Jemma

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  14. What a fun day and soooooo many wonderful trees....love them all!!!! We don't have that restaurant here but it sounds so yummy!!!
    ~Des

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  15. It was a very fun day,but sure was tired when I got home. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment.
    Happy Thanksgiving.
    Mary

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  16. Ooooh! Such eye candy. I must admit that the French theme tree is my favorite. Beautiful!

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. Yes, it really was a fun day. Mt friend is facing surgery soon so I wanted her to have a fun day. We really enjoyed ourselves. Things are so expensive, but oh so pretty. The french themed tree was my very favorite.
      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - I know you will be having a terrific dinner.
      Mary

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  17. Looks like you and your friend had a grand time..so many gorgeous trees...I see lots of things that I have collected over the years....Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks so much Shirley for stopping by. Yes, we did have a grand time and the trees were gorgeous.
      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
      Mary

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  18. I haven't seen so many Christmas trees in one place. Love all the different themes, must cost a fortune to fill a whole Christmas tree.
    Sound like you and your friend had a good day. And you are one sweet friend too.
    Have a good week Mary.

    Blessings,
    Aida

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    1. My friend and I had a great time. We shopped until we dropped LOL. There were so many trees and your right to fill a tree it would cost a fortune. I really love the French themed tree.
      Have a great week. Thanks so much for stopping by.
      Mary

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  19. Wow! What a festive and inspirational post!

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    1. It was a inspirational day with so much eye candy. We had a grand time. Thanks for stopping by.
      Mary

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  20. Mary, this was such a wonderful shopping trip, and I loved go along with you and your friend. So much inspiration in this post. It made me anxious to get out my Christmas décor, but I have to get through T'giving first. I had to look at each tree twice to take it all in. Thank you so much for sharing your shopping adventure. laurie

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by Laurie. Your welcome to come shopping with us any time. There wa so much inspiration and I got a few ideas. I was so good - only purchased to herbs for my garden.
      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - I know the food will be fabulous.
      Mary

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  21. Mary, what a fun-filled day of fabulous, festive goodies! I love all the snowmen and carol singers - so charmingly nostalgic, reminiscent of those days of yore, simpler, more innocent times. Your meal also sounds scrumptious, too bad, I'm all the way across the world, otherwise, I'd be there in a flash!

    Thanks for all the Christmas inspiration; before we know it, Christmas Day will be here!

    Hugs,
    Poppy

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    1. Thanks so much Poppy for stopping by. So glad that you liked the post. Yes, there was so much inspiration with lots of good ideas to copy. I miss the olden Christmas's - I feel it's to commercialized these days.
      If you were here I would take you to Kickin Crab - only seafood, but it was fabulous.
      Have a wonderful week.
      Hugs
      Mary

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  22. Your willpower is inspiring, I would have had bags & bags of goodies! even though I already have 3 bins of Christmas stuff that I never use. What is it about Christmas decorations??!

    Thanks for sharing your shopping trip & thanks for visiting me too! xox

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  23. Sounds like a wonderful day! So much Christmas inspiration! Love that French tree :)
    Susan

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  24. Hi, Mary. Thank you for your sweet comments about our log cabin Thanksgiving; I'm sorry it's taken me this long to visit you back, but I'm so glad I did--those shops are fabulous! We have family in OC, so the next time we go I'm going to look up your blog to get a list together of places to visit!! :) I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving, Mary. ~Zuni

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  25. Hi, Mary. Thank you for your sweet comments about our log cabin Thanksgiving; I'm sorry it's taken me this long to visit you back, but I'm so glad I did--those shops are fabulous! We have family in OC, so the next time we go I'm going to look up your blog to get a list together of places to visit!! :) I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving, Mary. ~Zuni

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  26. Thanks for taking us on another Christmas tour, everything is so pretty, and I get sooo many ideas!
    Wishing you a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  27. Mary, how did I miss this wonderful post? Oh, I loved looking at all the Christmas trees, and I don't think I could even pick a favorite - they were so fantastic. I did love the Paris one with all the green. The carolers were delightful, and I have been wanting to get some carolers lately, but haven't found that special one yet. I loved the elf tree too, that was so fun and whimsical. That lamp in the Christmas Story is something else. I would love to have one of those wreaths with the crown.

    Thank you for taking me along to the Green Thumb Nursery. It is beautiful inside and decorated so festive. So much inspiration here today on your post, Mary. Enjoy this Christmas season, dear friend.

    love,
    ~Sheri

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  28. O, dear Mary...how beautiful this post is..Iloved seeing all the beautiful decorations...I know you and your friend had such a great time.
    I was blessed to spend the day with my girl...we shopped and ate and shopped some more. How I love this time of the year.:)
    xoxo

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  29. HI Mary! How nice to hear from you. I'm ready to see some Christmasing going on at your house! Do you do a lot of decorating? Hope all is well with you.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  30. Mary, what a gorgeous display fo Christmas decor. Great inspiration. Would love to visit that place. Have a great weekend! Maria

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  31. Loved the post Mary, the pictures were fab, not a blurry one in the bunch, the whole post was fun and filled with such beautiful things, loved all the trees and the beautiful decorations...wow it would be nice to have the energy to decorate all those lol...glad you had a great day...

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  32. Mary, I think I'm a little late in visiting, but what an enjoyable day you had. So many pretty trees and ornaments to choose from and I can just picture your little granddaughter throwing the Radco ornaments in the fireplace. You said it, you gotta love kids..Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and are gettin ready for Christmas..Happy Monday..Judy

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  33. Wow - amazing trees, decorations and oh those caroler figurines were so dang cute.

    Happy Holidays...

    Angie

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  34. Such beautiful trees! Thanks for sharing with us.

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  35. Oh, my goodness, just look at all that beautiful Christmas decorations. Love every bit of it. Thank you Mary, for stopping by my blog and leaving your sweet comments. It is always so wonderful to hear from you. I know what you mean about decorating. I didn't do as much as I usually do. I figure what goes up must come down. It is a lot of work, and I have been doing it for a lot of years. I hope you have a most wonderful Merry Christmas. Hugs, Karie

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  36. I feel like I've been on a Christmas tour of lights. I love them all but my favorite is the first one, the white beachy tree. Love this post.

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  37. I did not realize that Green Thumb is a chain. Our store also has beautifully decorated trees, but not as many as you featured.

    I really must visit Rogers Gardens one day.

    Happy Christmas

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  38. How fun to be able to enjoy this with your friend. oI love all of the Christmas decorations. Lots of ideas and inspiration. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

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  39. Hi Mary! Thanks for visiting A Joyful Cottage and leaving the nice comment. I hope you'll return often; I'm now following you, too. Oh, this post brings back lovely memories of all the Christmases I spent in Southern California. My late husband and I lived there for 20 years. Lots of shopping opportunities there, for sure! Hope you had a lovely Christmas and that 2015 is a spectacular year for you. (Cute animated pup on your home page.) xxx~ Nancy

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  40. Hi Mary, hope you are doing well and your week off to a great start. Thank you for stopping by and your sweet comment. We are still cold but it is predicted to warm up by the weekend.
    Hugs and Blessings

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  41. Hi, Mary.
    Just popped in to wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year!
    Hugs,
    Patti

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  42. Hi Mary and I do know you understand about our pets. Hope you're doing well and it's always so nice to hear from you.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelai ;)

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  43. Mary, thank you for your comment on my "lovely" post today. It meant a lot to me, and I think I am a bit old fashioned too. I hope the new year is being good to you. You are one of the loveliest friends I have here in blog land, and I just wanted you to know that. :~)

    love, ~Sheri

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  44. Hi Mary! Thanks so much for popping in to see me. How are you doing? I'm sure you're in the sunshine and we're in the snow.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  45. Hi Mary, I know I have commented on this post before but I just have to tell you how much I love your header picture. Such beautiful kids. It does my heart good to see them..Happy Monday..Judy

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  46. Hi Mary, stopping to say hi and I love your header with your little sweethearts. They are precious. Thanks for stopping by and your kind comment. Hope your having a good week.
    Sending hugs
    CM

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  47. Hi Mary! Hope you're enjoying your nice warm weather! :) Thanks for popping in to see me. How is Phyllis? Tell her I miss her posts. I miss your posts too.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  48. Hi Mary! Thanks for popping in to see me and I would love to see your plates on your bedroom wall. I'll bet it's a pretty sight!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  49. Mary, I wanted to thank you for visiting my blog and for your sweet words about Mister and for commenting about the ranch re-do and my concussion. I appreciate your words more than I can say. xxoo

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  50. HI Mary! Thanks for popping in to see me and hope all is well with you.
    Be a sweetie,Shelia ;)

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  51. Hi Mary! Thanks for popping in to see me and hope you're doing well.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  52. Hi Mary, I just love seeing your two sweeties on your blog header. Stopping by to say hi and thank you for the bday greeting and visits.
    Trying to catch up today since back. We are heading into nasty weather with sleet and cold temps on the way.
    Hope you are doing well.
    Hugs, CM

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  53. Hi Mary! Thank you so much for popping in to see me. I'll be you're basking out in the sunshine getting your tan on while I'm wrapped up in a blanket looking at the snow! :) Have a great week.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  54. Hi Mary! Thanks for popping in and I hope you've had a wonderful weekend.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  55. Hi Mary... came by to say hi.... and see how you're doing. It was nice seeing you in my little white cottage today.

    Blessings

    Cielo

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  56. Hi Mary..I have popped by a few times too.
    I HOPE all is well with you..!!

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