I’ve been doodling again… see if you recognize this spot in EPCOT’s World Showcase.

Stay tuned….

EPCOT’s Norway Pavilion… complete with Stave Church, Viking, and Restaurant Akershus, among other things.

This is a wonderful spot in EPCOT where you will find some very interesting and unique architecture.  The beautiful Stave Church is the centerpiece of the attraction, drawing you in with its height and rich wood design.  You can experience Norwegian cuisine at Restaurant Akershus or get some wonderful pastries from Kringla Bakeri og Cafe.  Its other attractions include the Maelstrom, a water ride where you can experience the sights and sounds of Norway (be sure to watch for trolls!); …

…music from the group SPELMANNS GLEDJE™ dressed in traditional Scandinavian costume playing accordion, recorder-flute, guitar, bass, and fiddle; and the Puffin’s Roost shops through which you can stroll and browse.  (Be sure to notice the beautiful flowers and grass on the rooftop behind the musicians!) 

Blessings!

I have been working hard at the drawing board again, and you get the first look at my fun.  This is the UK pavilion at EPCOT.  It is a really lovely spot with lots of English delights such as Twinings teas, Burberry cologne, shops with nutcrackers and dolls, and lots of shortbread.  There’s a fish and chips restaurant and pub settled at the edge of the World Showcase Lagoon.  And, in the lovely garden area of this pavilion is a bandstand where you can find a band called The British Invasion playing Beatles tunes. 

This is such a wonderful spot to wander through as you make your way around EPCOT’s World Showcase.  Here are the actual photos.

As you may have guessed by now, I am working on a series of vignettes from EPCOT’s World Showcase.  There are ten countries showcased around the waters of the World Showcase Lagoon.  Among these are Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Morocco, Japan, the U.S.A., Italy, Germany, Norway, and Mexico.  I will be making my way around with my pencil and paper.  And this fall I will get to be there again in person… 

Oh my sweet bloggy friends… you all gave such thoughtful answers to my mystery drawing, and I couldn’t keep you in suspense any longer.  Vee from A Haven for Vee commented that she would love to be in EPCOT.  Miss Peach of Miss Peach Meowz said she thinks it is the wilds of Canada, and Lorrie of Fabric, Paper, Thread said that it looked like it could be from her neck of the woods (also Canada.)  Then Experiment_627 (DIS) hit the nail precisely on the head (I wouldn’t expect less from a fellow Disney lover), “The Canada pavillion at Epcot! Mmmm, Le Cellier filet…. “ 

Yes, it is Walt Disney World’s Canada pavilion in EPCOT.  And now I will tease and tantalize you with some photos from our trip last year. 

These are the gardens which greet you as you are coming into the Canada pavilion, and they are patterned after the beautiful Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC.

The centerpiece of EPCOT’s Canada pavilion is a replica of the Château Laurier hotel in Ottowa.   This is an aesthetically majestic piece of architecture, and it houses the real treasure of this part of EPCOT, the wonderful Le Cellier restaurant. 

This restaurant is nestled in the bottom of the beautiful chateau and is fashioned to look like a wine cellar… hence the name Le Cellier. 

This is the famous pretzel bread that so tantalizes restaurant-goers at Walt Disney World that they cannot help themselves and must go to Le Cellier.  Seriously, it is some of the best bread you have ever put in your mouth.  But with or without the pretzel bread, I suspect Le Cellier would still be the most popular restaurant at EPCOT.

Then there are the wonderfully flavorful appetizers like this dish of Prince Edward Island mussels below.

But the true piece de resistance for me…

… is the Mushroom Filet Mignon.  It is just one of several steak dishes for which the restaurant has become so popular.   But, lest you think that is all they have to offer…

… now that is SOME MORE fabulous s’more!  And then there’s…

… the vanilla and maple creme brulee sampler.  Scrumptiously delicious (is that redundant?  Not where this dessert is concerned!)

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Thanks so much for all who joined in the mystery fun.  I hope to have another picture for your mystery enjoyment very soon!

Well, the spring articles for Charm & Grace are officially out and ready for your perusal.  I must say that this issue is the best yet, and I do hope you agree.  There is much beauty awaiting as we travel through gardens of England, the Cotswolds, and visit the home of C.S. Lewis.  There are lovely photographs from Paul Noah (you’re getting a sneak peek with the pink dogwood blossoms at left) in our Spring Fling article on organization.  Our recipes this season, with a nod to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, are all about eating those “greens.”  And be sure to look at our Featured Finds to see my new “artwork only” website.  I’d love to know what you think!  All in all, this issue is sure to fill you with thoughts of spring and all its wonders.  Come on over to Charm & Grace, and make yourself at home.

As for the archive meme, Bebe from the beautiful and inspiring Peaches and Dreams has tagged me with this interesting challenge.  So here goes:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Family:  We, as a family, have so much fun traveling together… we really love to go to historical places like battlefields and museums and find ourselves making excuses to go new places just so that we can do that.  But, the one place we are absolutely NUTS over is Walt Disney World.  We have been every year for the past several years and these past couple of years have spent 10 days soaking in all the pixie dust we could handle.  When it comes to Disney, we just lose all sense of moderation.  We have found ourselves saying, “There’s no way we’ll go back to WDW this year,” and then around September we begin to eat our words.    There are a couple of blog posts that give a hint about that here.

2.  Friends:  I have some wonderful friends, and a lot of them I have made since I started this blogging thing.  I still feel very new at blogging, as I haven’t even been at it a year yet, but I really enjoy the relationships I have made through this crazy e-world.  And as it relates to friends, I have recently had the opportunity to draw houses for two very special friends, Valery and Lisa.  And that has been an unimaginable blessing!  I have shared those two sketches with you here.

3.  Myself:  This is the hard one, since I really can’t ever think of very much to say about myself (I wonder what that says about me…)  Anyway, since I just completed a meme challenge where I told seven random facts about myself… here… I’ll just let that do the talking.

4.  Something I love:  Well, I love all kinds of things… all the things that are charming and graceful (of course!)  And, I love so many people… my hubby, my children, my mom, dad, mom-in-love, dad-in-love, step-dad, extended family, …and my friends.  But most of all I love Jesus, and without Him I wouldn’t be where I am right now.  I wouldn’t have the family and extended family and wonderful friends… and I wouldn’t have even the “things” that I do.  I love Him for loving me first, even when I was unlovable, and for making it easy for me to know Him, even though it meant torture for Him.

5.  Anything:  This one is easy …for any of you who have been reading here long, you know that one of my favorite things is Victoria Magazine, published initially by Hearst Corp. from 1987 through 2003.  Having subscribed to the original from 1987 through 1999, I have kept every one of my original copies through six moves.  And, thanks to Ebay, I have even added to the collection some of those I was missing from the years after my subscription ended.  It really was and continues to be the inspiration behind the Charm & Grace web magazine.  Every month I looked forward to getting my issue because (largely thanks to Nancy Lindemeyer and some of the most excellent photographers in the world) I knew it would be filled with beauty throughout its pages, in both images and words.  And now, we are very fortunate that Hoffman Media has given us the gift of bringing Victoria back to us.

And now I must look around and see who I can find to tag.  How about….

Lorrie at Fabric, Paper, Thread (getting you back, girlfriend )

Rebekka at Maple Sugar (yummy deliciousness …yes, that is a word)

Clare at Vintage Home (because I am fascinated by all things English!)

Just so you know, girls, this is a no obligation tag.  Since I just did a meme and tagged others, I am going to leave it at three.  But if there are others out there who want to do the meme… please do and leave a comment here.  I promise I will come look and read!

Happy spring!!!

Well, after a wonderful ten days in the land of fairies and make believe, we are back to reality.  How wonderful that the temperatures have taken a plunge and are ushering in some welcome autumn air. 

We wandered through the “World” for ten days and really enjoyed our time.   It is wonderful to be able to escape to so many different countries all at once.  EPCOT’s United Kingdom, a lovely little cluster of old English looking buildings with a quaint garden courtyard in the rear, is a favorite spot. We love to wander through the shops there looking at the different teas and smelling the delightful aroma of Burberry cologne.

Another of our favorite spots is EPCOT’s France (just a few steps over the bridge from UK).  The beautiful fountain pictured here is modeled after those at Versailles.  The film Impressions de France is a very special and nostalgic treat for hubby and me, as we were just newly engaged the first time we saw it.  It is rich with spectacular scenery set against the backdrop of some of the most beautiful classical music you will ever hear.  In the 90+ degree heat and humidity of Florida, it is a welcome break to walk into this lovely air-conditioned theatre and bask in this lovely sensory feast.  For us, it is a must-do (and we try to do it several times during our stay.)

Think this is Hawaii or some lovely tropical isle?  It’s Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a tropical oasis filled with lush vegetation and waterfalls around nearly every corner.  We had a wonderful meal of shrimp, grilled turkey, pork, chicken wings and the most wonderful bread pudding (with bananas Foster sauce and vanilla bean ice cream) I’ve ever tasted at O’Hana, the Polynesian’s family style restaurant. 

It was a wonderful trip; even so, we are glad to be home.  We are ready to plunge into fall and are certainly ready for cooler temperatures and even shorter days.  The leaves are beginning to change and that lovely “seasons are changing feeling” is filling the air. 

Here we are in week 3 of 100+ degree temperatures, and I am ready to see the thermometer go south.  My plants are struggling at this point to survive, with only a sparse rain here and there.  Even the summer tea punch has lost its ability to cool me down.  This is pretty drastic.

What, you may ask, is the photo on the right all about?  The photo is of some lovely artwork done with towels and washcloths by our wonderful Mousekeeper, Rosa, at our Disney hotel on our last trip to the World.  These “towel animals” began to appear the second day of our trip last year, and each day she added a little more and a little more… until by the end of the trip we had a whole group of them complete with a pool and slide!  For a little taste of pixie dust, click the photo for a slideshow.

You might also be asking why I would have a photo of this on my Charm & Grace blog.  Well, any self-respecting blogger has to take a vacation every once in a while.  So we are off the find some pixie dust in the next few weeks and, frankly, I can not wait!  I thought I’d share a bit of our pixie dust with you from last time, and hopefully I will have more to share with you after we return.

Here’s a little more pixie dust… a beautiful sunset photographed while strolling along the World Showcase in EPCOT.