Some Things Never Get Fixed

Waiting for the TV repair man to fix the TV and I spot the missing door handle on the wine cooler.  If it isn't one thing it's another. 

Corralling The Kitchen Clutter

This is my worst hot spot. I have a hard time keeping this area looking neat and clean. 

The solution I am trying out to the clutter is my favorite Spode Blue Italian Platter. 

It looks nice but I fear for its safty. I am such a clutze any more. Forever moving around quickly and getting a lot done was just the way I moved. Age is catching up with me and when I go at my old pace I break a lot. It is so hard to slow down. 

Happy New Year

Time To Get Moving

Good morning. Well, the last of my injuries from Christmas day are finally beginning to heal. The house is still covered in Christmas decorations but this morning I felt good enough to start the undecorating. So far I have the tops of the cabinets done. They still need some work but at least it is a start. The rabbits and roses are starting to reappear after their rest in the basement. OK, I know the faux foliage on cabinet tops is way over but they work for us so they are back up. They are clean and not your run of the mill ivy (which I really kind of like anyway, if done right, but it seems to have really gotten a bad rap here in blog land).

On top of the glass front cabinet you get a close look at the faux parsley in a Tiffany blue and white cachepot. It is clean and has a good deal of texture. The lavender plant needs a blue and white cachepot. That will be added when I find one that works. The chalk ware rabbit, in front of the tole tray, is happy to see the light of day.

This black berry plant, with its curling tendrils, softens the top on the opposite cabinet top. The beat up tole painted plates match the big tray on the other side of the room. It does not look beat up from a distance. Well, not much anyway ;) The rabbit with his French horn is tucked in the back to evenly distribute the rabbits around the room.

This blue and white, Crab Tree & Evelyn, wreath softens the corner by the pantry. That funny looking thing in the back, on the cabinet top, is another rabbit that lost its mate over the winter. The little couple below is keeping him company.....

The stairway project is moving along. I have found one Milken carpet that looks like a look-for- less alternative to the Stark carpet that I really want. A sample is on its way to us so I can see what it looks like in person and determine the quality of it. The search is still continuing though because even if the quality and look are acceptable, there is not a border to go with it, we will see. Maybe I do not even need a border to get the look that I am after.

Time to get back to work.

Hugs,

Sue

Happy Birthday Cathy

Happy Birthday Cathy! This picture is of the ladies on our Christmas Eve. When I enlarged it Cathy was cut off a bit ;( You still get a good idea of how stunning she looked in her Anthropology's dress.

My hand is still hurting so I can't type much. I hope all is well with you all and that you had a happy New Years celebration.

Hugs,

Sue

Christmas Downstairs

This year the kitchen looks pretty much like it did last year, but come on in and have a little tour of the house with me if you like before I start packing to head up north.

My old Santa dummy board gets moved around a lot during the Christmas season. The garland got a little more attention than usual this year with the addition of clusters of ornaments. The Mark Roberts fairies are still climbing all over the place though. The colored lights and fairies give it the childlike look that we go for around here.


This year John and I have decided that our present to each other will be new floor covering. This nasty beige wall-to-wall carpet has to go.
Santa and the Nutcracker's keep an eye on the action from the top of the entertainment center. I am looking for a little faux Chippendale chair to replace the children's lawn chair that he is sitting in this year.

In the powder room I added some antique ornaments and sparkly red snow flakes to the silver tray that holds items like Lady Primrose hand cream for the guests.

I am loving these Mariposa guest towel holders this year. They are a good alternative to the wadded up dirty hand towel that tends to look pretty ratty when you get a house full of people.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Now I need to get upstairs and pack for the trip north so I better get going. Don't work too hard ladies.

Hugs,

Sue

A Bookish Breakfast For One

Good morning Tablescaper's and Visitor's. Welcome to Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.
A plaid placemat and napkin by Ralph Lauren that came from Marshall's last year for my Christmas tablescape inspired this bookish arrangement.

An old bamboo grapefruit spoon is poised to dig into a fresh grapefruit.

My favorite cobalt blue glasses for skim milk and juice fit in alright.

The cream pitcher and sugar bowl are setting on a book box that I won, along with the black candle stick shade on the barley twist candle stick, from Rhoda at Southern Hospitality in a give-away last year.

The little herringbone blue and white spreader goes with the Spode, Blue Italian dishes that I used here for you today and are a nod to the RL placemat and napkin.

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Happy Tablescape Thursday everyone. Thanks for visiting today. I really enjoy our Thursday visits.

Hugs,

Sue

Majolica Morning ~ Happy Birthday Sheryl

Welcome to another Tablescape Thursday sponsored by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.
In honor of my friend Sheryl at Friendship Cottage who is celebrating her birthday today I set up this breakfast table pretending that she and the girls were here celebrating after a sleep over.

Just a simple breakfast of some fruit, toast with jelly, juice, coffee and maybe some scrambled eggs if anybody is up to fixing them.

Ooops, I forgot the napkins! We are going to need them if we attempt cracking open that juicy pomegranate at the table.

To see more Tablescapes or join in on the fun you can visit Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.

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Happy Tablescape Thursday and Happy Birthday Sheryl.

~

Hugs,

Sue

Happy Fall

Happy fall y'all!
I have been around reading and enjoying some of your blogs but haven't taken the time to blog myself. A lot of reasons for it but I won't boar you with them. Anyway, I'm back, decorated for fall and ready to blog away.

When I decorate seasonally there are only a few spots that I focus on. First are the centerpieces for the kitchen and dining room tables. Next come the kitchen counter tops and surrounding areas. The mantle, the space on the entertainment center, a couple of tables in the great room, and the buffet in the dining room get some fluff. A wreath on the front door and that is pretty much it.

In some of my older posts people have asked about where we store all these decorations. Each season our holidays trimmings, other than Christmas, are kept in no more than two storage bins per event. Some bins like fall are bigger than, say, the 4th of July. The bins go on the deep shelves John built in the basement when we first moved in here. There is only so much space so if I add something I have to then get rid of something else to make more room.

The collection of seasonal decorative accessories that we have are the result of years of gathering them and are pretty much edited down to the things that adorn a specific spot. Most of them have some kind of meaning to me and our family. Some are chosen for their height or shape to fill out a display. All are a delight to revisit with the changing of the seasons.

Enjoy this day that the Lord has made.

Stop by Rhoda's today at Southern Hospitality to see more fall decor at her "It's Fall Y'all" party.

Hugs,

Sue

Gathered Treasures

Shabby water stained print.
Tiny pots for mini violets.

A light weight silver pitcher.


Some greens for the picture.



A light weight arrangement for Jarvis to hold to greet guests.

Up close.

Fern fonds to form the base

of this arrangement for

the coffee table

in the great room.

Little moss pads

to put on silver plates and cover with cloches.

Now we need one more silver plate to finish it off.

~Organizing~

Good morning. I have been having technical problems with the computer but I think they are worked out now. In the post below I was trying to write about the new green paint that I ordered from Fine Paints of Europe that is supposed to be a match for the Laduree green that they use on their boxes. Every time I tried to type the cursor turned to a cross and would not let me enter any text..........Today it seems to be working just fine.

I've been around visiting all your lovely blogs but have not been having much luck leaving comments. Some times the cursor works and other time it does not. So any way, ~hi~ hope all is well with all of you. Are you all getting ready for spring? We are around here. I have been working with all my color fan decks picking out paint colors to do some painting. Paint colors are really difficult to pick out for me. I think that is why I like wallpaper so much. You get to see the big pattern and color and if you use multi colored paper it is very forgiving.

Our closet has gotten out of control over the winter. It is so cold in there so not much time is spent keeping it organized until the weather warms up.

Decluttered Cupboard

These little risers really free up space in the dish cupboard. Tea and coffee cups looks so English Cottage cute hanging on cup hooks on shelves but I haven't had any success screwing the cup hooks in. It probably involves a drill to start the hole but my drill skills are lacking.

Hope you are enjoying this warm day.

Kitchen Work Horses

I wish there was a little drawer in the front of my kitchen sink to keep scrubber's and my dish brush in but there isn't. This spotted mint julep cup keeps it handy. It is an inexpensive cup from Two's Company that we used to carry at the shop. It gets a good washing often and an occasional swipe with silver polish but the finish on it is pretty well worn off which I really don't mind.

This blue and white hand soap dispenser is a real work horse in our kitchen. It came form my favorite junktique shop in Petoskey and cost very little. Today while scrubbing around the sink area I replaced the pump that goes to it with one from another bottle of liquid hand soap. This pump works better in it than the one that was in it before because it has a thicker stem that lets the heavy soap come out better.

Before Christmas I replaced my old dish soap dispenser with this new springy looking one. The painting was chipping off of the old one that I had had for about 8 years. These things are really handy and look decent to keep your dish soap in on the counter top. If you can find one I highly recommend them. You crafty girls could probably make them but let me warn you that the gals from the store that tried to recreate them their selves had a hard time getting a bottle topper that would work for them. They did come to the conclusion that the bottle itself was a Miller HighLife beer bottle in case you want to give it a try.

This is a random picture that down loaded when I put in my kitchen work horse pictures so I thought I would share it here too. The tip here is parsley storage. We use fresh Italian parsley in almost everything that gets cooked around here. In the spring, summer and fall it grows in the back yard in pots but during the winter it comes from the market. To preserve it, clip the tips of the stems off when you first bring it home and put it in a cup of water. Then take a large baggie and slit one side of it to make a tent to cover the parsley and pop it into the refrigerator. Change the water every few days and it can last up to 2 weeks if you haven't used it all up.

Have a great Saturday with the ones you love.

Hugs,

Sue

Beautiful Blue

Some blue for you.
A robins egg blue candle nestled in moss on a silver candle stick.

Ruffled bowls, silver, and painted candle holders.

White French bowl on linen in blue and white checked kitchen.

A blue and white corner in the kitchen.

I noticed this morning that my first blog post was February 5, 2007 exactly two years ago today. I think that I really started blogging earlier but deleted some of my earliest posts. Time really flies by fast. Lately blogging has fallen by the wayside a bit. I still enjoy visiting blogs from time to time and love to see every ones decorating pictures but most of my free time is spent following the action taking place in Washington DC on the news and blogs. My reactions are not fit to post here so I haven't been doing much blogging.

Our new wireless set up here has somehow deleted all of my e-mail contacts. If any of my friends or family read this would you please drop me a note so I can get you back into my contacts.

We have a beautiful blue sky here this morning. I hope your sky is blue where ever you are.