Some Florida Fun with Laura and Kim!!

Hi y'all! LOOKIESEE! Recognize this charming 1920's bungalow? I know you do!! But why do I have Kim's darling Daisy Cottage on my blog? Well remember I told y'all I was taking a wee bit of a blog break? Yes indeedy I did ~~ and a little mini vacation, too! I had to go to Florida for some family matters and was so very blessed to meet two of my sweetest Floridian blogging friends, Kim AND Laura (Lallee's Cottage)!!!! We had never met and I was so thrilled to have the chance to meet these two beautiful and talented women who I have been blog buddies with for quite some time now. Oh ~ and lets NOT forget getting to have the grand tour of Daisy Cottage and also meeting Miss Maggie!!
Kim had a wonderful WELCOME sign for Laura, my son Spencer and I. My son was along on the trip and just enjoyed himself so much! Now if only adorable Shannon had been there so they could talk about what teenagers talk about!
Laura and I had a little photo opportunity with Kim's blessings. Daisy Cottage is not only as precious as can be in all of Kim's photos, but even more amazing in person!!!!!! Each room is artistically put together with treasures that Kim carefully arranges in lovely vignettes. My son even noticed how wonderful the rooms smelled with all of the pretty candles burning.
Love this little postcard with a message about a cottage. Even though it was a cloudy day outside, light still streamed in through the windows and played off of the bold colors on the gorgeous plaster walls of this delightful little cottage.

Remember this? This is the birdhouse that Penny made for Kim!!!! It is just fantastic and the details are amazing! Penny, I am still saving up for mine!!


Each room has amazing treasures tucked in here and there.....from these pretty vintage aprons displayed on an old wood hook to......the little chickens sitting on the old cake stand. ...Oh and wait...there is Maggie! How can I possibly leave her out? This little princess was the icing on the cake for our visit!!!! Of course, she wanted some attention, too. Sorry Miss Maggiesweetiepie, I got your photo blurry.
Kim has a wonderful variety of chalkboards here and there with sweet messages written on them.
....In case you forget where you are...
Kim's fantastic kitchen where she made all of us a lunch of...
...delicious steaming hot croissants fresh out of the oven, delectable hot chicken salad, and sweet strawberries. For dessert (not photo'd) was her wonderful Chocolate Chip Cake served with chocolate coffee! We visited over our lunch and got to know each other a little bit better and talked about our families, our homes and our hobbies.
Isn't this just so pretty? This is the gorgeous view from the living room looking into Kim's office (to the left) and the dining room ahead.
Kim presented Laura and I with sweet fresh flowers of none other than, of course, Daisies!
Some more photos for you to enjoy...

But wait! Who is this beckoning us to take photos of her?

...ahh yes...little Maggie with her cute Daisy collar!!

Colorful pieces from Kim's "Granny Room"....
...and lots of loving hugs for little Maggie....
...Now off to the back porch where more pretty things await us...

Atop this little red table are Shawnee pottery pieces. Kim said she collects Shawnee because her son's name is Shawn. I cannot think of a better reason, other than they are so very sweet!
I love how Kim used an empty frame to place shells and an angel in.

...Time to go out and do a little shopping...

In the historic downtown section is a wonderful quilt shop where their motto is "We have everything for quilters except more time." So true! The shop is located in an old building with punched tin ceilings and old brick walls.
Ton's of fabric for all tastes.
Laura and I found some lovely fabrics while Kim and Spencer chatted it up.
We had an early dinner at a wonderful Pizzeria in the historic part of town.
I love the historic downtown area with all of the potted plants, bricked streets and palm trees.

Before having dinner, we popped into Vintage!! I loved this wonderful shop and met the owner, Angie, who has an artful eye for buying lovely pieces for her shop. See the aqua trash can below? That came home with me and will go in our bathroom once we are done remodeling. I could have easily bought more items, like the cute aqua tables, too - but those would not fit in my luggage....darn ;(

When we were done getting the grand tour of Kim's sweet town, we went back and visited some more over a cup of hot coffee. Laura also brought Kim and I wonderful gifts! She made us each fabulous crocheted dish clothes - of which neither Kim or I would use as one because they are too pretty. Of course, they are red and we agreed they'd make great doilies. Laura also gave Spen and I a travel package of Starbucks coffees, Chex Mix and chocolates. Also pinned to one of the dish clothes was tiny little Scotty pin - but of course us Scotty girls love those Scotty goodies!!

It was so hard to end the evening, but we all had a beautiful day together. Thank you so much, Laura and Kim, for sharing your day with us and to Kim for opening her home and treating us to such a delightful lunch and tour of her charming home and town. Laura, thank you for traveling so very far, too!!! I wish I lived closer to visit more often! ;)

While in Florida, we took a little drive over to the Atlantic side of the coast. I am amazed at how pretty it is ~ so green and lush!!! The roads are much nicer than here in California! Check out the green lawn on the side. They actually MOW it!

We were at Cocoa Beach....looking for the I Dream of Jeannie bottle or Major Anthony...but only found shells instead. And there are shells everywhere, unlike our California beaches.
The coastline is so pretty and so different than California's. It is the beginning of Hurricane season in Florida, but thank God there weren't any storms brewing out there!! They do have amazing thunder and lightening storms!!
The water was so very warm!
After putzing around, we drove into Cape Canaveral for an early dinner.

These are fish that people caught on a boat tour. Hey, any of you up to going out on a "Night Shark Trip?" I will pass...thank you very much!
...This guy was a total "poser!!" He just whipped his head around and gave me that "hey, I'm sexy" bird look!
A local favorite for great fresh fish!
Fun signs displayed as you enter the restaurant. Not only was our food delicious, but my son had to point out the fact that our waitress was incredibly cute! They chatted it up quite a bit, too.
Some local fishing boats were docked just outside the restaurant's windows where we sat and ate our lobster and large shrimp.
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We had a FANTASTIC time in Florida, despite the rainy days and humidity. The people there, like KIM and LAURA, are just so friendly and nice. It was sad to leave, but hopefully we can return there again real soon!

On the flight home I sat by the window. Outside was an angel! See the wings and the harp it is holding????

I did bring a few small things home....The ironstone butter pats and the shaving mug and brush were from a Thrift store near Kim. The scotty came from Kim's AWESOME Goodwill. The starfish were found at Ron John's surf shop.
...and these are the shells I found instead of I Dream Of Jeannie.....

See the wonderful crocheted dish cloth from Laura that is in the enamelware pot and under my cherry plate from Target? I just adore them!!!!! Thank you, Laura!! They look GREAT in my kitchen!!!!!

See the little black scotty? This is the sweet pin Laura gave to me, too. Rosemary, the silverware in the scotty cup are from the "bargain" section at Target!! Aren't they great?
Well my sweets, thank you for visiting again. Wish I could meet each and every one of you! It was just so surreal to actually meet Kim and Laura. I tell you what, the blogging community we have is full of great women! I feel very fortunate and blessed to have met both amazing women. It is as though a chapter has closed and a door opened for a lifetime of friendship.

xoxo to all of you! Because of you, are world is a better place to live!