{Etiquette Tips by Replacements Ltd. by Etiquette Coach Jill Slatter}

Just love to share with you this video from Replacements Ltd. 

Miss Slatter does a great job and I only can emphasize this kind of approach. Wish more of this could be done! Those that don't live in my immediate area, for attending some of my 'Learn from Mariette' etiquette classes, can always pick up some great tips from this classy lady! Enjoy video below.

{My Escada Outlet Score & Exotic Plants}

As you may know by now, my favorite fashion label is Escada as it fits me like no other. Since a size 4 most of the time ends up on sale at the Premium Outlets or at Last Call by Neiman Marcus, I'm very lucky to snatch them up at great bargains. On April 6, Catherine from the blog Corner of Cat's Mind did a post about  her being a size 4 now. 'The slimmer you are, the more clothes you can buy on sale'. See link to this below post.

That's me next to the Southern Magnolia... in a linen Escada top over cotton Escada jeans with Chanel sandals from Last Call by Neiman Marcus.

That Southern Magnolia makes for a great back drop to the yellow.

Showing you the exotic seeds from the Southern Magnolia...

This is me standing next to our exotic agave that came as a tiny starter from Valle de Bravo in Mexico when we were at the lake house with our boss/friend Agustin and family during one of our consulting trips. Photos are all from summer last year...

Here I am standing next to our exotic Anthurium Plowmanii Fruffles for which I got the name from dear blog friend Ger from Hoorn des Overvloeds.

This tropical plant was huge for transporting into our greenhouse!

A truly exotic gift from friends Heinz & Maria from Ristorante da Maria and Via col Vento Dublin.

This exotic Anthurium Plowmanii Fruffles is positioned near our bird feeding area under the tall dogwood tree. It is visible from our breakfast area.

Related link:
{HELP NEEDED Identifying this Plant!} | previous post by me about tropical plant
Kiss My Skinny...Ankles | blog post by Catherine of Corner of Cat's Mind about: The slimmer you are, the more clothes you can buy on sale

{Our Bird Cages from Exotic Indonesia}

• Living and working in Indonesia did give us many opportunities for exploring exotic places and also for finding unique gifts to bring home with us. 
• On November 29 of 1999 we did go to a huge market for birdcages. Pasar Ngasem west of Kraton Palace in Yogyakarta, was the place to go to! BATIK DARMO Sangkar Burung & Aneka Kerajinan.
• Speaking the language is always helpful in finding out where exactly to go for certain items. In one of our hotels in Yogyakarta those birdcages were hanging above the buffet line in the restaurant. It was at the Hotel Santika Jogja. 
• Most people have no idea  how exotic Indonesia really is!

This is the one hanging in our Veranda...

Also did get one for dear friend Becky.

Those were the days we could still travel with additional luggage; not as many restrictions then!

Two large ones, now finding me two smaller ones... One for my sister Diny  and one hangs in our Living Room. Links are shown below post.

How I would have loved to take lots of them home but when flying, there is a limit!

Asians in general do keep birds in cages so the choice is big!

Does any of you have a bird or a bird cage for decoration?

This makes a nice Indonesian corner in our Veranda (see link below post) with the Bali wood carved statue and the Balinese silk batik, framed on the wall. The larger bird cage just hangs from the ceiling down, in front of my hand crocheted curtains.

The blue Delftware houses show that we made many trips back and forth to Indonesia; 21 times we went for work on KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines.

The smaller one, hanging in our Living Room, see link below post.

This is available here in the USA from Cost Plus World Market... and you also find them here on their FB Cost Plus World Market's Page. We came home with our bird cages on the plane; four of them and we paid probably a fraction of the sales price elsewhere with our Rupiah 250,000 but that is also several years ago. It was at the time we were still millionairs... see post about that below as well!

Related links:
{Our Veranda} | previous post by me where you can see the large bird cage
{Our Living Room} | previous post by me where you can see the smaller bird cage
{Winter Sale | At the time we were Millionaires} | previous post by me