Another Tablescape Thursday Post....

Be sure to check out Susan's blog over at Between Naps on the Porch for other tablescape Thursday ideas.

Are you hungry for a bite of breakfast before you head out for a busy day of work? I've set this table for two using my French cook accessories. Down here in south Louisiana, the word "French" is a synonym for rich, spicy homecooking. A chubby cook stands at attention with salt and pepper shakers ready....... The candle tart in the warmer makes the kitchen smell of cinnamon.... And a hot cup of Community Coffee jolts the sleepy-eyed one awake........Would you prefer a delicious cheesy egg omelet or some sweet, melt-in-your-mouth French market beignets sprinkled with powdered sugar? Hungry, anyone?

Hope you have a great Thursday! Thanks for visiting!

A Glass of OJ, Anyone?

Thanks to Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality for giving me the opportunity to participate in Today's Thrifty Treasures. Last Friday I saw a listing on craigslist for an antique shop that was closing so I called the number. Everything in the shop is half off so I made a trip over on Saturday. Picked up this neat cheese box and the pink carnival glass juice glasses for a song...... At $10.00 for five glasses, that's $2.00 per glass. I have two carnival glass platters from my great Aunt Clara's estate, one in green and one in the same pink color. Looks like the beginning of a new collection..... The dessert plate pictured is one from my Colclough china collection. Makes a cute little statement in my kitchen window, don't you think? And to see a REAL thrifty treasure, scroll down to the last post to see the black glass chargers I got from the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby last week for $1.50 each..... original price was $15.00, so I got 6 chargers valued at $90.00 for $9.00! That was some bargain, don't you think?

My Christmas in July Tablescape

With the heat index soaring to new levels here in south Louisiana, I set out to design a Christmas in July tablescape without a trip into that furnace of a place called the attic.............. So here goes... Click on the pics to enlarge them for more detail.....

I started out with two nutcrackers from my collection and the little black lantern I purchased at Old Time Pottery when I was down in Foley, Alabama. To that I added two hurricane globes and candlesticks from my mantle and some gold faux grapes that I use on my Christmas tree every year.
Since I've been fawning over Christmas dishes for years but haven't taken the plunge, I used my cheapo white china and the pretty green plum plates with napkin rings from World Market and some vintage napkins I purchased at an antique shop. To add a touch of red, I used more faux grapes that also decorate my tree every year. Below you can see a pretty silverplate server that was a gift from my great aunt Daisy, the original lover of fine things in my family.

The napkins have a damask look about them and I lucked up into finding a pristine set of 6 for $2.00 each...... The black glass chargers were a real find at Hobby Lobby last week for $1.50 each. The original price was $15.00 so I snapped up $90.00 worth of chargers for $9.00! Doesn't that equate to a 90% off sale?

Here's a better look at the glass chargers. They are black with swirls of white in them. I can envision them on a Thanksgiving table with autumn colors as accents...... The pretty champagne flutes were a gift from my mother one Christmas. Being the resourceful woman she is, she made friends with the ladies who work at Tuesday Morning and always called ahead when she saw a great deal on something pretty. They'd oblige by putting several of whatever she had her eye on aside for her. So each Christmas us girls would receive some little "pretty" to unwrap along with a generous gift of cash. It's really sad that my mom's health has declined to the point that she rarely asks to visit Tuesday Morning any longer.....

Below you can see my Christmas gift from my best friend Kim. We found the red toile Twelve Days of Christmas china drastically reduced at Dillard's last year........ I bought her the chip and dip set and she bought me this large serving bowl. Unfortunately, the place settings were all gone but Kim persevered and called Dillard's stores all over the area until she was able to locate service for eight. She drove quite a few miles to collect those dishes and I'm kicking myself for not doing the same.....

Here's another glimpse of the silverplated server with my "new to me" serving piece from that antique shop I mentioned earlier. It was tarnished and tired when I picked it up but a little elbow grease combined with a lemon juice and salt scrub produced a beauty worthy of any table.

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas in July tablescape. Happy Holidays! ;-)

Another Tablescape Thursday....

Time for another Tablescape Thursday post! Doubleclick on any picture to enlarge it....

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday, most graciously hosted by Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch. This week I decided to highlight my assorted collection of Colclough china. Years ago when I married into the Colclough family, my mother-in-law told me about a now defunct china company that produced this china. I searched and searched in antique shops and at auctions for the china and found a few treasured pieces. Then the days of internet and Ebay arrived, and I quickly added an asssortment of patterns to my collection. It sure was more fun to have to search high and low for it...... I have quite a collection of cups and saucers and dessert plates. Thrown into the mix is my latest find from Goodwill, a pretty serving bowl with a fleur de lis pattern around the rim. It was so pretty that I couldn't pass it up, especially not for $2.99!

I used my mother's milk glass plates, goblets, and salad plates as well as some pretty glass bowls that also came from Goodwill at 59 cents each..... The pretty paper napkins came from Tuesday morning.

And the pretty orchid that was a Mother's Day gift serves as the centerpiece.

My favorite Colclough piece is the cake plate pictured below. The pattern is called Crinoline Lady and it's my favorite. Had I discovered it first, it's probably the only pattern I'd have bought........

I hope you enjoyed my post. Hop on over to
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/07/welcome-to-48th-tablescape-thursday-and.html to view more spectacular tablescapes!

Three or More Tuesday

For my Three or More Tuesday post, I'm highlighting some postcards that I picked up in Charleston, South Carolina while visiting my son when he lived there. They were very inexpensive and after being framed, they created a budget-friendly grouping that always reminds me of the colorful history of that quaint city.

Here is an example of the beautiful ornamental ironwork that the city is famous for....

I love the angle of that photo. And this one shows one of the beautiful old churches in the downtown area. We stayed at Mills House Inn and ate at Jestine's Kitchen while staying downtown. We had read about it prior to visiting and found the food TO DIE FOR...... If you ever visit, don't forget to make a stop off there and be sure to try the pecan crusted fried chicken.

This is one of the elegant old houses in the battery area. There are such strict ordinances in this area of the city that when a homeowner wants to paint his home, he must first petition the society and is given three choices of paint colors to select from......

And here is the John Rutledge House, one of the many beautiful homes located in the downtown area.

There is an open air market located in the old slave quarters nearby, where slaves were auctioned off to the highest bidders. The best way to view the area and learn about its history is to take a carriage ride. There are a number of companies that offer carriage tours that originate at the old slave quarters. Charleston is a truly beautiful city and I'd like to visit again someday. Hope you enjoyed my post and have an awesome Tuesday!

A Late Tablescape Thursday

Welcome to another Tablescape Thursday graciously hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch! Doubleclick on the pics to enlarge them to full screen size. My post is late (once again!) due to a small electrical malfunction. ;-) I purchased the green salad plates this week at Tuesday morning at a Buy One, Get One 50% Off sale and ended up paying $3.00 each for them. Aren't they beautiful? Today I popped in at a different Tuesday Morning location and found similar plates with a pineapple design on them marked down to $1.99 each! Had they not been the exact same color, I would have snapped them up. There was a cute pineapple shaped serving bowl and gravy boat to match them and it was all on sale. The floral arrangement was purchased a couple of years ago at the Canton, Mississippi craft fair. It was a splurge and I passed and admired it several times before I convinced myself to buy it and I'm so very glad I did......

The glass serving platter was a freebie from a garage sale my friend and I arrived late to and everything was marked FREE! To be totally honest, I'm not sure if it's a cake plate or a serving platter. It's got an unusual curve to it. What do ya think?

You can see my collection of Colclough china in the cabinet behind the table. I'm going to do a tablescape with it soon. I've been collecting dessert plates and cup and saucers for about 10 years now. The china cabinet belonged to my mother. My older sister was using it in her house and when she moved to a smaller place, my mother offered it to me. I hope you enjoyed my Tablescape Thursday post. Pop over and visit other tablescapes at
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/07/welcome-to-47th-tablescape-thursday.html.

Girls' Trip!!!

My friend Kim and I took a much needed girls' trip up to Tunica, Mississippi over the weekend. We headed out on Friday morning and drove up to Hollywood Casino. After an afternoon of gambling, we drove over to Harrah's and ate at the Paula Deen Buffet. Kim and I are both big Paula Deen fans and Kim and her husband have visited The Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah and have taken the Rags to Riches Tour. I tell you, that food was to die for..... I'm going to search high and low for that Squash casserole recipe. Kim brought her favorite Hoecake recipe home. On Saturday morning we drove up to Memphis and visited Graceland. Here's a shot of us in front of Elvis' private plane named Lisa Marie after his baby girl.
This is a car that was used in one of Elvis' movies, can't remember which one.....

Here is the front of Graceland. Elvis paid $100,000 for the house and acreage in the late 50's. It's been kept exactly as it was when he died in 1977. The second story is closed to the public in respect for Elvis. Talk about a blast from the past. Who would have thought that people would pay good money to see green shag carpeting and royal blue drapes with gold fringe?

Blue was Elvis' favorite color and there are many blue touches throughout the house. Flash photography wasn't permitted so most of my photos didn't turn out very well. You can see some extremely tacky stained glass and those royal blue drapes in this shot......

This is a picture of us in front of the Batmobile at Hollywood Casino....... We played hard and lost either a little or a lot money depending on which day you ask us............

And on the grounds of Graceland..........

We ate some awesome BBQ beef at a restaurant there. I had a little trouble squeezing into those black shorts!On Sunday morning we drove back over to Harrah's and ate the breakfast buffet at Paula Deen's (yep, it was well worth a second visit and it's showing on my waistline) and then headed home to reality. What a great time we had!

Tablescape Thursday - Click to Enlarge Photos

Thanks again to Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursday. For my second tablescape, I've decided on a beach theme to celebrate the long lazy days of summer. The three best things about teaching are ......... June, July, and August. Hey, can you tell what I do for a living? ;-)

The starfish, shells, lantern, and apothecary jars were purchased on my last beach trip to Destin. The fish plates are from a Fitz and Floyd pattern I've had for years and the placemats and napkins are from a hand stitched set I purchased for a song many years ago on my honeymoon in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The candleholders were recently given to me by my best friend Kim. She said they match better in my house than hers and I certainly wasn't gonna dispute that..... Aren't they beautiful? By the way, can anyone help me with layout issues? I'm having trouble inserting narrative between my photos. Does it work better to upload the photos first, then go back and insert text? Post me a comment; I'd love to hear from you.....

It's All About the Red, White, and Blue.....

What better way to celebrate our nation's birthday than with a sleepover visit with my two precious grandbabies? It's kinda hard to see but their aunt KK graciously painted their toenails in the patriotic colors of red, white, and blue. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Tablescape Thursday - Click on Pictures to Enlarge

My tired and chipped Mikasa English Countryside set has been BEGGING to be retired for a while now so for my very first Tablescape Thursday, I'm highlighting my new everyday china. I absolutely ADORE the Lenox Butler's Pantry pattern but it was way out of range of my modest (well, make that nonexistent) budget so I've been keeping an eye out for a similar pattern. Lo and behold, I stopped in at Ross to waste a little time and saw the perfect dishes for the perfect price. For $30 I got place settings for 8! Not a bad deal, huh? Once I got the dishes home and unpacked them I discovered two cracked coffee cups so I packaged them up and brought them back. There was one 4 place setting remaining in a box that was coming undone so the clerk discounted it another 30%. That's 12 place settings (minus 2 coffee mugs that don't really matter) for $40! Hey, what do you think of my cheapo china? Does that make me a redneck???

Be sure to hop on over to Between Naps on the Porch to visit other Tablescape Thursday entries and be sure to congratulate Susan on her blog award!

Scrapbooking My Little Heart Out.....

There's something about heading into my scrapbook room and forgetting about all of my troubles and cropping away that really clears my head...... I'm really bad about always being the one behind the camera and not ever having shots of myself to scrap so when I saw a class entitled "All About Me" I signed right up and used shots highlighting my life.... first day of school, all expense paid trip I won to Kennedy Space Center, becoming a grandmother, seeing my last born child graduate from high school....... CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM.