My first Tablescape Tuesday!

Hi everybody! I've been absent from blogging for awhile (my explanation is in the post under this one) but I have been lurking on Tablescape Tuesdays @ Between Naps on the Porch for a couple of weeks. Now this is a blog party right up my alley! I don't have the talent that Susan does but w/ y'alls influence & inspiration, one day, maybe...just maybe.

This is a Halloween table I did last year when our grandson Caeden (he's 6) had a sleep-over near Halloween-time.

I used a glass charger, black plate, then a BOO! print out & then topped that w/ another glass plate. I added a paper Boo napkin to a black & white cloth napkin just to tie into the theme & dress the paper napkin up some.

For the centerpiece, I used a black feather wreath encircling candy suckers under a cloche & then added candy containers w/ "spooky" titles. I got the downloads from MarthaStewart.com. I just printed them out & stuck them on w/ double-sided tape. A few ghosts completed the centerpiece.

For dinner, we had "Blood, Eyeballs & Worms". I used Bucatini pasta, added olives to meatballs & used a jarred sauce.

For dessert, because Caeden is a fruit lover, we had pears dipped in white chocolate & then decorated w/ candies to resemble skulls...chocolate chips for eyes, licorice piece for nose & jelly beans for teeth. I placed them on sticks & then embedded them into a juice glass of jelly beans, as a way of presentation.

Caeden soo enjoyed his spooky dinner, even if he did pick the olives out of the meatballs. (I knew he would!)

Now I'm off to see what fabulous tables y'all have created @ Between Naps on the Porch

Looking forward to meeting everybody & playing w/ y'all on Tuesdays....thanks for the invite!

It's good to be back!

Gosh! I know we didn't get to know each other well enough for y'all to miss me in my absence but I sure missed y'all. But my life got totally crazy this summer. My eldest son, Clifton was badly burned at our automotive shop on July 3rd. He has second & third degree burns over 43% of his body (even 4th degree on his right hand, which required amputation of a couple of fingers) & has had to undergo numerous surgeries for skin grafts. He spent over 3 weeks in ICU & then another 3 weeks in the acute care ward @ one of the best burn hospitals in the country. I spent all of that time, living out of a hotel in Dallas, so that I could be w/ him when I could & then he came home w/ my husband & I & we cared for his wounds & his needs. When he came home, just 6 weeks ago, he couldn't feed, dress or toilet himself but that's all changed now....now he's almost self-sufficient again. With the exception of driving & he plans to start that soon.

Clifton has no health insurance but because of generous donations from friends, family, customers & even complete strangers, he has a substantial account to pay for his rehab & therapy sessions. Hopefully medicaid will cover his hospital bill, which is in excess of $1,000,000.

He is doing miraculously well. It's hard, painful work for him & it must be done daily to avoid contracture & loss of mobility but he's determined & he has great inspiration in his new son. Noah Christopher was born on Sept 18th, one month to the day from when Clifton was released from the hospital. We prayed so hard that Clifton would be able to attend the birth of his first child & that was just one of many prayers, that God has answered. Noah has been just the spirit-lifter my family needed! Clifton's accident has had a profound impact on my whole family's lives & at times, we were filled w/ despair & concern. But Noah's birth & Clifton's rapid progress (rapid as far as burn injuries go...he still has a long, hard fight ahead of him to be able to do all that he used to) has brought hope, optimism & confidence in Clifton's future.

I wanted to share a slideshow of Clifton that my daughter put together. He is, bar none, the finest, bravest man I have ever known & I can't tell you how proud I am to be his mother. http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=6557e533ec52cd558364d6&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

I also wanted to share a funny story that happened the day Clifton was let out of ICU & was allowed ice chips for the first time in almost a month (fluids, especially water, are no-nos for burn patients). I had given him a couple of spoonfuls of ice chips & was filled w/ such happiness, watching him enjoy a simple pleasure that we all take for granted & it prompted me to ask, "Can I tell you something?"

I go on to say, "Son, you are the finest man I have ever known....I am sooo very proud of you!" to which Clifton replies, "can I tell you something?" My eyes fill w/ tears, in expectation of the warm, fuzzy moment we are about to share & I lean forward in anticipation. Clifton looks up at me & says "I want some more ice chips." *grins* So much for the warm fuzzies!


Clifton's face was burned & they thought he would need a graft on his cheek but it wasn't necessary after all, thank God. His face will show only minimal scarring, mostly under his chin. It wouldn't even be too visible to people if he weren't 6'6"!


I took this picture right after Noah's birth. I can't see it w/out tearing up & thanking God for my blessings.






Clifton has moved back to his & Stacie's home now & I only drive him to therapy 2 days a week & soon I won't even need to do that, so I am eager to get back to some normalcy & hopefully, a return to blogging, cooking, decorating, spending time w/ the grands..........my life.

Happy Father's day

I had planned on making a tribute post to my wonderful husband but I came down w/ the creeping crud, the grands had last week, so I don't feel up to it today. But this photo shows you just how high he rates w/ the grands. Caralyn obviously doesn't want anyone intruding on her time w/ her Grouchy!

I have an old copy of this print that I bought years ago. I plan on giving it to my son when Little Noah is born in September.



Not much on our agenda today but relaxing. The kids & grands will be coming over for dinner later. I've agreed to low-key it & do it the way Chris likes it done. No fancy table, eat on paper plates, hamburgers from the BBQ (our sons are doing the cooking!), etc etc. *sigh* I guess it IS his day. ;o)

I went shopping again!

Hi y'all! I've been very busy the past couple of weeks. I'm still trying to get the rest of my studio furniture painted & my daughter has gone back to work, so I'm keeping the grands for the summer . Life got really hectic, very suddenly!

But don't think I haven't taken the time to hit the thrift stores...of COURSE I have. I just don't do it w/ the grands in tow. ;o) I do it in the evening for relaxation & a reward, after their mom has picked them up. I tried to take them w/ me once....NEVER AGAIN! You have to park Coleson (he's almost 2) in the center of the aisle & block everybody off or else he will pull everything off the shelves. Connor (who's 10 & you'd think would be the easy one) has to have a running dialogue kept w/ him, the entire time & I can't think/shop like that. Caralyn falls in love w/ every single object she sees & has to have it, because she "just luuuvvvvs it!" (wonder where she gets that from? *grins*) & Caeden keeps me updated on everything Coleson, Connor & Caralyn say or do. *rolls eyes & sighs a deep sigh*

Luckily I live w/in 10 minutes of a Goodwill so it's no biggie to jump in the car & scope out a reward, for me not beating my grandkids, that day. (I wouldn't really...I was never on board w/ spanking, even w/ my own kids but there are days they are sooo lucky I'm anti-spanking *winks*)

So I've gone thrifting, I just haven't had time to blog about my trips. I didn't get all this in one trip...it was probably 2 or 3, maybe even 4, but still a great haul!

I've already painted this teacup stand white but haven't found a place for it yet.

Brown & white toile curtain panel (probably destined to be a tablecloth or pillows for fall), rhinestone tiaras (wish they weren't gold but I'll rub most of it w/ white paint).... I'll add some tulle to fou-fou them up some. I got all 8 for $2! I love the old tincan tramp art chair....it will get a coat of white paint. I also love the french paperback....it has a 1920's date on it but I'm not sure it's that old. The pages are a nice shade of yellow though. The title reads The Pastoral Symphony in English.

Sweet needlepoint pillow.

This silk rose pillow still had a $25 price tag on it...I paid $2!

The "alabaster" lamp is actually plastic but you'd never know it unless you picked it up. Love the el-cheapo candlestick w/ built-in snuffer...it'll look great once it's painted...you guessed it...White! Not sure what I'll do w/ the iron hooks but I'll use them somewhere.

Love the upper portion of this lamp (especially the ruffled shade! I think it'll look much better once I steam it) but the bottom is tacky. I'll paint the silver part ivory & maybe even the marble base...I don't know if I'm feeling the painted roses on it. (did I just say that?) They just look cheap to me.

Isn't hubby lucky I don't run off to Neiman's to reward myself?

It's Monday but it's Sharing the Wealth day

I spent the weekend @ my son's & his girlfriend's house, planting flowers for her birthday. I wore myself out (Texas heat is awful & we were hotter than normal this weekend) & never even thought about my blog or Sharing the Wealth Saturday. My son & I did it together & it was just like old times! He was always my gardening buddy but he's 27 & super-busy & it's been a long time since we worked a garden together. *sigh*


Anyway, I'll share garden graphics today since that's what I spent the weekend doing. This one is too sweet & very apropos! If I were to use it in a project, I'd probably edit the label out...it's too bad it's there on the title.

remember that you can click on any image to enlarge, before saving to your computer

I'd also like to turn y'all on to a website I found a while back. She is extremely generous w/ her graphics, has it all organized & there's a vast assortment, as well. Go check it out but plan on spending some time there. Karen's Whimsy

Show n tell

What fun! I haven't done show n tell since grade school & that was a verrry long time ago. ;o)

I'm in the midst of moving my office/studio from one room to another & I am painting an assortment of furniture, that I have bought over the years & saved for this purpose. I sure wish I had painted as I had bought. It's a bigger undertaking than I had imagined. Over the past few weeks, I've painted a hutch topper, an old desk & a huge armoire (inside & out!)...all with very dark stained finishes, that bled through. So several coats were required even w/ using Kilz...I swear by that stuff! The walls of the room I painted Antique Fan Pink by Vespar @ Lowes & it's a fabulous color. It's rich enough to be bold w/out being overwhelming. You don't walk in the room & think, "Well it's pink!", you just think, "What a great color!". It's almost the shade of pink depression glass but it's not quite as bright.

I still need to do a long drop-leaf table, another hutch topper & a dresser so it will probably be a couple more weeks before I am done w/ the whole room but thankfully both the table & teh hutch-topper have been previously painted so they won't be as big a job.

I am about finished w/ the armoire & I'm all done w/ my desk area. All I lack on the armoire is putting on the crystal knobs & adding a thin piece of trim, around the wallpaper panels. The wallpaper wasn't quite as wide as the door so instead of doing the whole piecing & seaming bit, I just centered them & then I'll tack on trim around the edges.

Wish I had thought to do a before pic on this piece. It had a very dark stain & on one door, the finish was ruined. I'll hang more stuff on the sides to make use of the space.

I strung white lights through the decor on top of the armoire & of course, they stopped working as soon as I got everything all arranged. They're back on now though. *rolling eyes* I have some stuff in the boxes but I can't remember what now so I guess I'll have to label them. Nevermind the popcorn ceiling.

We added shelves to the inside of the armoire & decided to wallpaper them instead of painting because it was a lot easier. I chose to go more for function than looks, on the inside. I envisioned it looking a lot neater & more attractive but I under-estimated how much stuff I have. ;o) I tacked plastic baggies of trim & misc stuff on the inside of the doors & used plastic shoe boxes, glass jars & tins to contain the rest of it.

I made use of the clothesrod already in the armoire & made a ribbon holder out of it. There were rods, on the bottom of the armoire, meant to rest shoes on & we moved them up to the clothesrod to use them also.

Hubby said I've ruined it by putting too much stuff in it. He says it looks "junky". I told him I had to, that I had a lot of stuff. He said I needed to "get rid of some it". *sigh* He's just never gonna get it.

As you can see, I underestimated the amount of ribbon I have too! These rolls have the small holes though so they won't work on the other rods anyway. I'll have to come up w/ some other way to store them.

I'm very, very happy w/ the way my craft closet turned out & it was worth every bit of work. As soon as I finish painting all the other pieces of furniture, I might actually create something.

It'll be this week before I am able to see all of your storage methods & ideas.... I can't wait! Head over to Cerri's @ little pink studio to see the other submissions, should be lots of great inspiration!