Palm Beach style icon Lilly Pulitzer has passed away at 81 years of age.

Palm Beach style icon Lilly Pulitzer has passed away at 81 years.  May God give comfort and peace at this time to her family and closest friends during this time of loss.

Photographer Erin Manning & SanDisk Offer Tips on Taking Great Baby Photos!

This time of year brings so many great opportunities for photos. Whether

it is the holidays~ the snow, crazy weather with snowdrifts and snow angels

that many have  been bestowed with this season~ the beach vacation waterfront 

photos we all so love~ the family at home lovingly interacting with each other~ 
or the toddlers and babies capturing the hearts of all around them...we 
sometimes need a little help and advice from those with more experience

than ourselves in taking & storing the best photos possible. SanDisk SDHC

Memory Cards and Photographer Erin Manning can help us with that.  Today I

would like to share with you a short video which includes tips on taking those

great baby shots you love and hope it gives you that edge in your photos that

you have been looking for!

These tips are from photographer, author and educator Erin Manning, as she  provides her Top 3 Tips for capturing better baby photos. Erin gives you  advice on setting the scene and getting close to the baby for those perfect  images, as well as using a SanDisk Ultra SDHC card to make sure she never  misses a shot. Disclaimer: “I participated in this campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for SanDisk. I am a current consumer of their products, and will receive product samples in thanks for participating”

Blessings Unlimited....

  Join Us and Be Compassionate!

Blessings Unlimited has recently partnered with Compassion International  and their Child Survival Program to make a difference in the lives of women and their children in the Dominican Republic.

The Blessings Unlimited goal is to create Project Centers around the world, beginning with CSP 25 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Partnering with local churches, this program helps empower mothers to give their children a fighting chance for healthy development with the supplies and training provided through your donations.

Blessings Unlimited is very excited to be a partner with Compassion's Child Survival Program. The Child Survival Program is a proven way to help babies and moms in poverty survive through life-giving relationships with trained specialists who provide both physical and spiritual care. Please join us in our efforts to rescue babies and moms.

For only $20 a month you can help sponsor a project center designed to rescue, nurture, and teach young children.  This center cares for an average of 47 babies and moms each year.  They receive medical and nutritional assistance, ongoing health care, literacy and economic training,  food & supplements, parental education, social support, and loving support of a local church.

Join me and others across our nation and help empower mothers to give their children a fighting chance for healthy development.

When you make this decision and enter through my personal link you will also receive a free Compassion International T-shirt with your sponsorship.

Find your voice and learn how you can make a difference today! Together, in Jesus' name, we can break the cycle of poverty.

My Blessings Unlimited ~Operation Blessing Brigade

Please feel free to also contact me if you would like to host a fundraiser this month for Compassion International. This can be done in your home, via catalog, or online. Just click on my link and let me know how you would like to be involved.  Wishing you a blessed weekend!

*   In addition, any purchase you make of the following items, a portion of proceeds will go to help support Compassion International!  Just click on item you would like.

*   A Be Compassionate Tshirt 

    ....for other sizes just click here.

*  You Make a Difference Tokens

*  Compassion Card Set

Graciously,

Cathy

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Just Imagine....

As many men and women here in North America are searching for more work from home options, and at the same time, wanting to make every hour we spend doing so more valuable, we need to carefully consider the options before us. For this reason I would like to share with you today the opportunity to join me in the following company.

Just imagine.....

Imagine an opportunity to change
the face of a Nation...
Imagine the opportunity to add income
to your family through flexible hours.
Imagine leading a team to
financial freedom, new friendships,
and opportunities to travel.
Imagine yourself as a 
Blessings Unlimited Consultant.

Combining your work & faith
is an incredibly rewarding way
to live and make a living. Visit
http://myblessingsunlimited.net/OperationBlessingBrigade
to find out more. Please contact me today for more info! Whatever your location~Hawaii, Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, the Carolina's, Texas, ... whatever state you reside in..., I am looking for fulltime & part time consultants across the nation to join my team. Prayerfully consider a Work From Home Option that gives you the opportunity to encourage and possibly change the lives of many!

Well, I just had a big shock. As I came to my blogs to add a Pinterest button to them, I found many of my posts from this year are missing! Now I have to decide, do I spend a ton of time I do not have trying to figure where they disappeared to, or, just go forward from here.  After very short deliberation, I have decided on the latter. To new beginnings! My social media sites are where I spend most of my time anyway, and most of you know me from there.... so hopefully you find some great posts in the days following this update. The weather here in the south is crazy this year, but wonderful.  The days when we get the ocean breezes are best of all as it keeps down the heat and enables you not to turn on the a/c during the winter months here! Natures cost efficiency...love it!
If any of my readers happened to make it to Palm Beach County Finlandia Days, PLEASE leave us comments... would love to hear from you. Looking forward to sharing with you some great products-fashion, home decor~think COASTAL LIVING~, beauty, art & culture, health & wellness spots~think SPA~, travel locales, restaurants,  food & beverage, and more, in the coming days.  For now, I will leave you with this:  
 Local Palm Beach artist Trish Gable has been busy at work building up her hand-painted tote collection! If you are interested in either commissioning your own tote or seeing what she has in stock, please let me know.

Have a wonderful week!

Graciously,
         Cathy....

The Sands of Time...

July 31, 2011

The Sands of Time…

Today I want to wander a little from the beaches and drifting sands of my usual meanderings, to share something from my heart…

Many of you know a little of my story and that I am battling for my life now for more than 4 years.  Each day is a gift..sometimes filled with heartache & pain and sometimes filled with the joy of Palm Breezes, Ocean air, and the excitement one feels when you experience sand between your toes on a warm southern day.

Time seems to be flying past us faster than the speed of light these days…don’t you sometimes feel that way? It seems like yesterday that I was holding my youngest daughter in my arms, marveling at her precious little face and hands and what a miracle she was. Now, I look into the faces of her 4 children, ages 5 through 15, and I weep… Time…how did you slip past me??? Where did you go? How did I not hear you open or close the door?...Time ~ a gift from God Himself…like Grace…undeserved…unmerited…time doesn’t ask our permission to come or to leave…Time has it’s own schedule… This morning my heart cries out to share the Love of God with you...whilst I still can.

Please know you are loved by God. He created you, specifically you, for His pleasure, for His purpose, for His fellowship. Get to know the Living God who loves you with an everlasting Love! He longs for your fellowship with Him!

Today I want to leave you with a special photo and commentary, done by a beloved and dear friend of many years,  Matti Sirvio. He is an accomplished internationally known artist and a man who truly serves God and man with all his heart and soul. I hope it blesses you! The photo was taken in Finland in February 2011. The commentary was written about the same time.

 

“…continuing surprises”

Surprises should not surprise us.
They are an exciting part of life that helps us to fight familiarity
and false security.
When something unusual and unexpected happens it gives us
an opportunity to get back to the basics.
What is the purpose of life? What are my priorities?
Why do I have a believing heart?
So many things that engage our time don’t matter at all.
Surprise, God is still God.
Nathaniel was really impressed by Jesus’ knowledge of him.
Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree.
You shall see greater things than that." John 1:50
Jesus let him know that this was just a little foretaste of what was to come.
Two things continue surprising believers, the depth of our own corruption and
the never ending source of God’s Grace.
Every genuine believer has at least once in his life felt that he has not
deserved the grace of God anymore.
This thought, of course, is an oxymoron, as Grace cannot
be deserved in the first place.
I don’t think that God can be surprised by anything due to his
omniscient character.
Nevertheless, I think that He must be amazed by people’s absurd unwillingness
to enjoy the abundant resources of His grace.

**************************************************

Have a blessed day and week ahead.

Feel free to leave comments. I love to hear from all of you! And please know I am grateful for each of you who take a few moments from your day to read this. Thank you!

(please also feel free to share this article via the buttons below if you wish to.)

Because of Grace,

Cathy

Bloglovin! Follow this blog with Bloglovin!

 Trying out a new Blog reader called Bloglovin  ! So easy to read! Thanks to Laura Trevey from Bright, Bold, & Beautiful, who is now using it and how I found it. You can find Laura's awesome site in my lower left Favorites area.

Please stay tuned... some great reviews & swag will be up for coming up in the next few days to celebrate my birthday tomorrow and the New Year!

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2010 Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaways UPDATE ! Winner being confirmed.

Greetings folks. Hope you are all having a great weekend... warm and toasty beside the fire, or cuddled up with your loved ones, or basking in the sunny breezes somewhere! Just wanted to let you know that I am waiting on confirmation from the HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY WINNER of the Handcrafted Beaded Hostess Flatware set from Stephanie's Beaded Closet, and when the winner confirms,  I will post... Drawing was via Random.org... And I have great news, so please keep checking back, and also send your friends here daily. I just heard from another great sponsor and will know in a couple days about their great swag bag, sure to be a blessing.

2010 Holiday Gift Guide UPDATE !

Hope you all had a wonderful and cozy Thanksgiving day with family and friends...gathering together to bless each other, sharing encouraging words and thankfulness with those around you. Battling serious illness for along time, one is usually grateful for each new day. And then last week I busted my left foot...so needless to say I am behind on everything. So, once again, I am brought to a new level of having a grateful heart for the simple things in life. 

That said, I am behind in everything...especially blogging. So to be fair, I am extending this SWAG GIVEAWAY until next Friday , December  3. This set could be a beautiful gift for yourself or a friend or family member. And the artist , Stephanie, is amazing with a great heart and so much talent. As soon as her website is finished I will be featuring it on this site. Until then, please feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing anything from her. Please also feel free to browse some of the great sites I have included on the bottom left of my blog.  And please let them know I referred you!... Be blessed. Each day is a great gift from God for all of us! The love of friends and family is the most valuable thing we can have!

**See SWAG Entry requirements below.

2010 Holiday Gift Guide & Giveaways !

Can you believe the Holidays are upon us already? Where did the time fly to these past six months? For those of you that follow me on TWITTER,  you know that has been my main form of communicating. Thank you for migrating over here!  ( And thank you for your continued & appreciated prayers as I battle life-threatening illness..) And for newcomers, I look forward to bringing a bit of joy and blessing to you in some form, as I share reviews of  Palm Breeze Living...Travel, Hotels~Resorts & Spas, Food & Wine, Art, Music and Film media, Fashion, Home Decor, Beauty, Green Living, Upscale Children's products, and so much  more..why not  check out my fave blogs and websites..!
I am truly blessed, as a former Northerner, to be living in the South.  Granted, I do miss the the "white Christmas" of the northern states or Scandinavia when I lived there, but the wonderful folks here also bring in "snow" at Holiday time to bless us all..especially the children. I will try to do a special on the "imported snow"  in the next couple weeks.  But here in the South, we have so much to be thankful for in everyday living. Shopping here is so much fun, even if just window shopping, and a great way to meet new friends. Here is an example!...

..notice the fans on the roof..our outside walkways at City Place, Palm Beach !

And here is another fave Palm Beach shopping area...Sailfish Marina  on Singer Island..

For the holidays and all year round, both locals and tourists to the Palm Beach County area, can also find something for everyone at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island. On Thursday nights from 5 to 9pm all year, artisans come together to offer their products to all who venture down to the marina for a night of fun, food, outdoor music, and shopping. You can choose to eat inside one of the many Singer Island restaurants, or choose to get one of the most incredible Grouper fish sandwiches you can find, right there on the waterfront vendors walk...( and best thing yet, on Thursday nights only, if you buy from the Marina outside vendors, it's only $3.00 for that grouper sandwich!! yes, you read right!...so hurry down if you are in the area!)

Which leads now to my first      HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE SWAG GIVEAWAY !!

Here is Stephanie,  a local artisan and one of my new friends from the Marina. She and her colleague do amazing, beautiful handcrafted and beaded wire work and so much more. She has a vast array of home decor items and kitchen items with gorgeous beads and wiring. You can see just a small array of what she produces here in the photo...it includes serving plates, bowls, cutlery, flatware, wine glasses, vases, and so much more. They sell not only here, but also in craft shows around the state. She has kindly donated a beaded 2 piece flatware set, just in time for the holidays. In the photo you will also see a card holder I received from her. ( if anyone would like to  place an order  for any of these items or beaded wine glasses, please let me know in the comment section and ask for more information, and I will pass the message on to her.)

As mentioned, the business card holder is in the photo to show you her artistry, but it is the 2 piece handcrafted artisan, beaded flatware , that is the SWAG in this giveaway. Aren't the blue and green stone beads gorgeous?! Who wouldn't love to own this? This Swag Giveaway is only a week long and will be mailed immediately upon verification of winner.


** Each task will give you the amount of entries it states.  Remember, please leave separate entries as stated in the comment area. Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on Thanksgiving night, November 25, 2010. Giveaway valid only in USA(Sorry!)...

~ Comment on this post- 1 entry  (**May be done daily)
~Comment on any article in my other blog - 1 entry
~Follow on GFC..(Google Friend Connect)..on sidebar.- 2 entries
~Follow on Twitter - 2 entires
~Tweet about this Swag from our Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway - 2 entries(can be done 1 time daily)
~Subscribe - 2 entries
~Follow my other blog..http://insearchofthebest.blogspot.com - 2 entries
~Add my button to your blog - 4 entries
~Refer a sponsor and let me know about it. If they decide to sponsor this blogs Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway, you get - 5 entries
~Refer a new follower, who then follows on GFC , or twitter..let me know who it is and you get an 1 additional entry for each.

Until  then, have a blessed and heart warming thanksgiving. And keep checking back...(HINT~ Subscribe to updates for the latest SWAG news and Gift Guide news!..and extra entries! You just might be seeing Beauty products, Sandals, Fashion, Swimwear, Resort Wear, Gourmet Food & Wine..and???? ) I am working with sponsors right now on both Reviews and Giveaways for the HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!

And not to leave you without having a bit more of a taste of PALM BREEZE LIVING... enjoy a few more shots I took at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island, Palm Beach County, Florida !

**Disclosure: photography~ my own copyrighted property . I received a gift of a Business Card holder to review, and a 2 piece set of Handcrafted Beaded Flatware for the Holiday Gift Guide Swag Giveaway.

COMING SOON! Seaside and Resort Living Reviews!

You know what is said about the best laid plans... so it was when the idea of this blog came to mind. But serious illness has taken its toll over the months, which precluded even the best plans. My hope is that we will be able to begin this new journey in the weeks ahead, so that each of us can be transported to a place where we can sit back, take a deep breath, and feels the palm breezes slowly brushing through our hair and giving us that whisper of air we sometimes so need!
Looking forward to a summer filled with product reviews~ including , but not limited to ~ hotel, homegoods, furniture, home and garden, health and wellness, and apparel reviews...and the simple ramblings of seaside living...(and maybe a little Napa Valley thrown in here and there!!)

Please check back soon! the next few weeks will include the following reviews: bathing suits, sandals, flipflops, resort wear, easy living and active wear, and much more!