Birthday Treats

Do you buy yourselves birthday gifts? I do.  And sometimes it isn't even my birthday hee hee hee...I found a lovely bin full of fans in  a shop in Niagara Falls.  I've been meaning to get myself one for ages and ages and this paisley number was just the ticket... for...you know...those moments when I get a tad overheated!!

Speaking of getting overheated.....

Awwwww....aren't they just the sweetest??  How could I not buy this pair of salt and pepper shakers!?! And they're hugging....!!  They're so symbolic!! I mean...Michael and I fell in love with just one HUG!!  What did you think I meant??

The owner of the store was so funny...everything was 100%, as in, 100% ceramic!!

100% real stone earrings!! Like that's something rare! But yes, I still bought them...I mean....they're heart-shaped...and we were in Niagara Falls!! A friend called us while we were there and asked if we'd gone to a drive-in wedding chapel??  Ummmm, that would be a.....NO!! A 100% NO! Yes, my friends, we are living in sin...

Gifts from Michael to expand my mind!!  Books and movies, movies and books!! My favourite gifts!

100% real leather candle holder!! 

The "sun, moon and stars" hold special meaning for Michael and I so I thought, why not? 

Yes, there is one born every minute!!

Also at this store Michael espied with his little eye this interesting garment and made me try it on in the sweltering heat and OMG it was so CUTE!!   I could just imagine myself wearing it in MUCH COOLER WEATHER with black leggings and knee high boots!! So he bought it for me, just like that!!

When the store owner heard it was my birthday he gave me the above very expensive 100% stone frog incense holder for FREE!! He really shouldn't have.......but he did... telling me that the frog symbolized longevity and a few other things that I've since forgotten.

My beloved daughter bought me my very own pair of TOMS shoes for my birthday!! I've coveted her pair for quite some time and I love this denim pair. For each pair of TOMS sold they donate a pair of shoes to a needy child so it's really two gifts in one!!

 Oh, and Sunday I did a wee bit of shopping in Niagara-on-the-Lake at my most favorite store - 10,000 Villages!!  I bought a gorgeous ceramic bird bath for PEI and...

 FOUR of these gorgeous plates at 50% off!!  (now I wish I'd bought eight!)

And since I was taking photos I took one of the pot and petunias Kazi got me for Mother's Day.  She also took me out for dinner so I could get to know her boyfriend better and meet his parents. That's a huge step for her so I was duly grateful!

So yes, you could say I was spoiled!!

Niagara Falls - Friday Night

 Home again, home again, jigitty jig! It's so lovely to go away and leave your problems behind even for just a couple of days. This is the lovely B&B we stayed in - I sat out front to drink my coffee and read each morning because it takes Michael much LONGER than me to get ready!! It's true!!  My one complaint about this place is their coffee - TOO weak so we'd head to Timmy's for some REAL coffee after our complimentary breakfast.

 As we were travelling around Friday evening looking for a restaurant to have dinner in I snapped this "sky" picture out of the car window - I'm amazed at how well it turned out (and I'm not going to show you all of the ones that DIDN'T turn out!)

We ended up eating at the Tandoori Hut but this picture of my butter chicken really doesn't do it justice!

 See? I'm smiling as it was DEEEEElicious!

And it wasn't so much a hut as an actual restaurant, thankfully! Though we were the only customers?!? but perhaps that was because it was around 8:30pm? We'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The restaurant was Michael's choice...can you tell? It put a little "kick" in his step!

Afterwards we went next door to get a...........NOPE, just kidding!!  Though you never know....

We sort of saw the fireworks - they were on the OTHER side of the Skylon Tower so we had to make do with our partial view.

 We strolled around inside the Skylon Tower and found a really nice shopping area - designed for tourists but not junky like most of them are. I forgot to take pictures of my purchases so I'll do that and post them later.

We explored a bit more then it was back to the B&B for some R&R. I love the headboard of our bed - made from two large antique windows turned sideways and backlit creating a soft glow in the room. The bed was very comfy and I slept well - sometimes I don't sleep very well when I'm away as I miss my own bed but no problems here!

More later!

Time Marches On

Bye bye March! Can't say I'm sad to see you go! Though I do miss your weather.... stupid me exchanged my dark and disgusting winter clothes for my brighter more colourful spring and summer wear in my closet. So then Mother Nature stuck her tongue out at me big time for my silliness and sent snow and ice pellets - serves me right I guess. Today I have my front door open anyway just for spite - it's a good thing (sometimes) that I have my hot flashes to keep me warm. I REALLY don't want to have to turn the furnace back on -
NO WAY! 


Just got my natural gas bill and although I budgeted $70 it rang in at only $51.62!! So another $18 for me! Natural gas heats my home, my hot water AND dries my clothes - very economical! I almost put the word "my" at the beginning of that last sentence but thought that might confuse y'all a little - it's not MY natural gas!! (heehee)

So I'm closing March's budget and have April's all ready to go. Although I complained about March being a spendy month I ended up with $16 left in my chequing account and $10 in my wallet plus I paid an extra $88 to my credit card so that when June rolls around I'll have a credit large enough on the card to pay for our new TV that we bought in January. The $16 got added into April's budget and the $10 went into my sealed pot.

I do have a confession to make, however. I did make two other purchases that I will now be working on paying off, hence I've joined Francesca over at the Tasmanian Minimalist in her NO FRIPPERIES APRIL challenge. We are going to TRY to not buy anything but necessities for the month of April. Now, this is going to be hard, especially if the nice weather makes a comeback as I'd like to purchase some new sandals, but I think I can wait until May.

So, my two other purchases....

• I sort of found myself in Winner's a couple of weeks ago when the weather was actually HOT and somehow some new clothes found their way into my cart - I don't know how it happened, really. And just to assuage my guilt I bought a couple of things for Michael and Kazi too!!! (oops)
• This one I'll blame on SFT over at SFT's Travel, Mortgage Freedom, 101 and Life Goals blog! After reading about her anniversary plans and the wonderful inn she stayed in and the lovely meals etc I decided I deserved (there's that bad word - deserved) a birthday weekend away in May! I did some checking around on B&B websites and found the PERFECT ROOM in a simply gorgeous home in Niagara Falls.  The rooms all have names and this room is called THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE STARS which has very personal meaning for Michael and I. When Michael and I first met and he came to stay at my trailer in Bayfield he asked me about the decorations I had attached to the lattice of my porch: a large metallic sun, several stars in different colours and a moon. I told him that at the trailer I have the Sun, the Moon and the Stars as opposed to when I'm in the city and I can't even see the stars at night! So when I saw the name of the room and it's low off-season price I knew it was meant to be! 

Isn't it simply divine??  I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it LOL!!