When I was planning my "formal" retirement party back in August, I had decided on a color scheme of turquoise and ivory. I wanted to have some special plates to serve the Sacher tortes, so I went to the local thrift store & Goodwill to see if I could find something appropriate in either glass or plain ivory. What I found instead was a set of plates rimmed in turquoise that looked perfect, so I bought the set ($3.00 for six plates) and used those to hold the tortes, rumballs, etc. It was a real low cost way to jazz things up a little.

When I brought the plates home after the party, Bob and I decided to keep them rather than re-donating to Goodwill. Shortly afterwards I bought some placemats from the Dollar Tree that look great with the plates. On Friday I was in Big Lots and found some glasses I HAD to have. I have been looking for juice glasses to brighten the breakfast table and VOILA these also match the plates! I love it when a plan comes together -- on the cheap!

On a completely different note, Billie gave me an assignment on Friday. It went something like this ... "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find an alternate option for Sister's Weekend located in the general DFW area". So, instead of working outside today (good grief, the thermometer says it's only 60 out there!), I've spent the afternoon looking at B&B's in the plains & prairies region of Texas.

My best bets so far are:
http://www.lakewhitneybandb.com/
This has rooms from $95.00 to $135.00. It has a pool and it overlooks Lake Whitney. It's fairly close to Hillsboro which provides plenty of shopping & dining.

http://www.letsgocountry.com/
This is located in Waco and has rooms from $120.00 to 150.00. It's a 127 acre working farm that is very highly rated as a B&B.

I'm still looking, so more info will follow. What I'd truly love to find is an inexpensive place where we can be pampered. Sounds good, huh? I'll post new discoveries as I make them.