Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Daydreaming

So the summer season is quickly approaching and I've been yearning to have my very own beach condo. I'd love to buy one on or near the Alabama Gulf Shores. Will my husband spring for one this season, probably not. We are currently working on some real estate at the moment so I doubt pressing for a beach condo would be a very good idea at the moment. However, there's always next year (big sigh). One day I will have my beach condo.

When I was a girl I had a few friends who had parents with beach condos in Santa Cruz. I grew up in northern California. Oh how I envied them having access to the beach all summer long. I told myself one day I would have my very own. I've already decorated it in my mind. Want to see? Tell me what y'all think.

I would use this natural color sofa
These two colorful throw pillows in red coral of course

A wonderful throw for the sofa to cuddle up in after spending a day at the beach

Natural rug to put under my coffee table

Funky piece of coral art for the coffee table. I would stack up a handful of hardback landscaping books on sea life

Really great red coral artwork for the wall above the sofa

And chocolate brown drapes for to adorn the windows




So now y'all have taken a tour of my beach condo. Of course, it's only in my mind for now, LOL.

Historical House Wednesday- Three

Today is another Historical Home Wednesday and I'm really excited to share this one with you. I've chosen the Beauvoir house. The Beauvoir is located in Biloxi, Mississippi. I can't tell you how many times I've driven by this home or taken out-of-town house guests for a tour. The house belonged to Jefferson Davis.

Jefferson Davis is best known for serving as the President of the Confederate States of America (between 1861-1865). However, he had a very interesting life filled with many achievements. He was a West Point graduate, fought in the Mexican-American War as a colonel, was the U.S. Secretary of War for President Franklin Pierce, and served as a U.S. Senator representing the State of Mississippi.

Here is a picture of Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina Howell. However, Varina wasn't his first wife. Davis was married to President Zachary Taylor's daughter, Sarah Knox Taylor. President Taylor didn't approve of the match at first. However, in June of 1835, the two married at her aunt's house near Louisville, Kentucky. Tragedy struck when they were visiting his oldest sister in Saint Francisville, Louisiana, when the newlyweds contracted malaria. Sarah died three months after the wedding on September 15, 1835. He moved to Mississippi where he spent the next eight years as a recluse. He was heartbroken after losing the love of his life. He spent that time studying politics, government, and history. Although, he met Varina Howell (granddaughter of New Jersey Governor Richard Howell) in 1844. A year later they were married at her home in Natchez, Mississippi.

The couple had six children, but only one survived young adulthood and married. Davis experienced much tragedy in his life. He lost his first wife, five of his children to illness, and lost the Civil War. On May 10, 1865, he was captured after trying to sneak pass Yankee soldiers dressed in Verina's clothing. The Union charged Davis with treason, though not tried, and stripped him of his eligibility to run for public office. After they tried publically humiliating the man, they robbed him of his personal possessions. However, Southerners empathized with his defiance, and still hold much pride and admiration for Jefferson Davis. His ideals made him a Civil War hero to Southerners and his legacy has lived on.

Beauvior was the last home Jefferson Davis owned. The house was built by James Brown, a wealthy plantation owner from Madison County, Mississippi. It was originally built as a summer retreat for his wife and 13 children. Hard times hit after Mr. Brown passed away and she was forced to sell the house at auction after being forced to pay taxes due on her husband's estate. Frank Johnson, a land speculator purchased the home and sold it Sarah Dorsey. When she first looked out from the large front porch she said "Oh my, what a beautiful view. That's what I'm going to call this property: Beauvior!" French for beautiful view.

Jefferson Davis was friends with Dorsey. He stayed with her and used the pavilions to write his books and papers. He fell in love with the house and wanted to purchase the home from Ms. Dorsey. She agreed and set up a payment plan of $5,500.00 to be paid in three lump payments. However, she died shortly after receiving the first payment and he was surprised to learn that she left the house to Davis in her will.

Look passed the pavilion and you can see the Gulf of Mexico. The house sits literally across the street from the beaches. It's a gorgeous view and I can see why Jefferson Davis fell in love with the property. It's so relaxing rocking on the front porch. They have several rocking chairs on the porch. It's so wonderful to look over the Gulf while relaxing. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have lived on the property at that time. I would love to have an office like this one. AMAZING!!!

Varina, Jefferson's widow, sold the property to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans with two stipulations. The first was that the property be used for a Confederate Veterans Home for veterans and their widows at no charge. The last widow was transferred to a private nursing home in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1957. The second stipulation was to sale the property as a memorial to Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Soldier. It has been honored as so since 1993.


There is a Tomb of a Unknown Confederate Soldier on the grounds of Beauvoir.The remains were discovered in the late 1970's by Rick Forte, Chairman of the Combined Boards of Beauvoir, on a battlefield of Vicksburg, Mississippi. A Tomb was created in honor of the Unknown Confederate soldier. The soldier's remains were buried in a cypress wooden casket in 1980. It reads on the side of the tomb, "Known but to God."

Tina Turner

I don't know about y'all but I've always been a fan of Tina Turner. She has an amazing voice. It's strong and raspy. I think she's a fantastic entertainer. And she's still working her stuff at 71. Can you believe Tina Turner is 71? She's rocked the music industry for over 50 years. Not only does she have an impressive voice but she has amazing legs. Wow, I could only dream of having such amazing legs.

One of my favorite songs she sings is the theme song for Golden Eye. My husband and I are huge James Bond fans and I have every 007 movie and sound track. Tina Turner's Golden Eye theme is one of my favorites.



Tina Turner was born on November 26, 1939. Her given name was, Anna Mae Bullock. I can't see Tina Turner as a Anna Mae. She grew up in Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist Deacon and factory worker. Her mother also worked in the same factory.

Tina didn't have an easy childhood. Her parents divorced and she and her older sister, Alline, were sent to live with their grandmother. Her older sister eventually moved to St. Louis. After their grandmother's passing Tina moved to St. Louis to live with her sister. Tina was sixteen at the time.

Alline was working at several nightclubs through out the city. This is where Tina met Mississippi blues musician, Ike Turner. She began singing for his band, Kings of Rhythm, at the age of 18. She was known as, "Little Ann."


In 1960, after a singer failed to appear for a recording, "A Fool in Love," Tina stepped in and the song was a big hit. The song reached #2 on the R&B charts. Ike changed her name from Anna to Tina. They got married in Tijuana, Mexico in 1962. Anna Mae Bullock became Tina Turner.

Through the 1960's and 1970's she rose to stardom. She began singing with some of the most famous musicians in the industry, such as Mick Jagger. One of her biggest hits was, "Proud Mary" she covered off of Creedence Clearwater's Revival.


Ike Turner was the band's manager and musical director. The band eventually split up after heavy drug use and violent behavior from Ike. They often had back up singers come and go because of this. Tina admitted to feeling isolated and being abused during their marriage. After a violent argument before appearing on the "Dallas Statler Hilton" she left Ike. She had thirty-six cents and a gas credit card in her pocket. She stayed with several friends hiding from him.

She began performing on her own after learning she was responsible for four acts that she canceled due to her split up from Ike. She had a slow start but by 1984 she began climbing the charts with hits like "Private Dancer." She also starred in Max Beyond Thunderdome.

In 1991, she and her ex-husband, Ike, were entered inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 1995, she recorded the theme song, Golden Eye. The song was a huge hit among the U.S. and several European countries. Ike died on December 12, 1997.

In 2008, Turner performed with Beyonce at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. It was her first major public performance in years.






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Gorgeous bedding

I've been searching for new bedding to go with my antique bed. Well, I came across a set that I'm just drooling over. Now I have to figure out a way to convince my husband that we absolutely need to purchase this bedding without tipping him off on the cost. It'll take some fancy footwork to pull this one off but I have been surprisingly successful in the past. Practice makes perfect, right?

Look at the details....(sigh).....it's breathtaking.

Historical Home Wednesday ~ Two

For this Historical Home Wednesday I have chosen The Monticello House. The Monticello House is just not any historical home but belonged to one of our nation's great Forefather's, Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson was the our nation's 3rd President (1801-1809). Thomas Jefferson should be recognized as one of the strong pillars we owe our independence and freedom to. He fought for our independence, he suffered for our independence, and he worked hard for our independence. He was an ordinary man with extraordinary accomplishments.

Here are few examples:

• He wrote the Declaration of Independence


• He drafted Virgina Statute for Religious Freedom (he stated this was one of his most significant achievements.


• He drafted a Bill for More General Diffusion of Knowledge. Jefferson quote- "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."


• He served as the first United States Secretary of State


• He served as the United States Vice President


• He doubled the size of America "Louisiana Purchase."


• He founded the University of Virginia.

What makes the Monticello a special home is that the interior decoration reflected Thomas Jefferson's vision and ideas. He, himself, designed the house. They say it was built from the description of the books of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. It sits on a 850-foot summit in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap. The name, "Monticello", is Italian for "little mountain." Thomas Jefferson built his home on a hill outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It looks over the gorgeous valley.


Did you know that the U.S. had a two-dollar bill in circuit? We did, from 1928 to 1966. And the Monticello appeared on the back. The current bill was discontinued. However, a current bill, in 1976, retains with Jefferson's portrait (painted by John Trumbull). You can pick up these dollar bills at the gift shop at Monticello.

Historians believe the construction of the house began in 1768.Jefferson moved into the outbuilding "South Pavilion" in 1770. When Jefferson was serving as Minister of the United States to France, he had an opportunity to see some of the gorgeous architect. He admired them greatly and soon began changing the design of the Monticello. The renovating continued throughout his presidency (1801-1809).




Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, and Monticello was inherited by his eldest daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph. Due to financial difficulties led Martha to sell her father's beloved Monticello to James T. Barclay, a local apothecary, in 1831. Barclay sold it in 1834 to Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish American to serve an entire career as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. Levy greatly admired Jefferson. During the American Civil War, the house was seized by the Confederate government and sold, though Uriah Levy's estate recovered it after the war.





Today the house is owned by a non-profit organization, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. They purchased the home with funds raised to not only purchase the property but also restore the house to the original touches. The Monticello is the only private home in the U.S. that has been designated as a World Heritage site. The World Heritage Site also includes the original grounds of Jefferson's University of Virginia.