Did you say, "I'm off the wall?" NO! What's on Your Wall !

If you'll look on the right of the china hutch wall, you'll see the tea pot and cup that I got at the Bombay Company a couple of years ago. I loved it, but as you can see, it looks a little lost.






I had grabbed a couple of matted frames with pictures I didn't care about at a garage sale.
Taking the picture out as well as the glass, I had the idea of framing the porcelain tea set. At first I didn't like the fact that it didn't fit inside of the mat, but after playing with it, I loved the idea of it coming out. I thought it gave it more depth.





Went back and bought another set for the right of the hutch!









Here's a view of it from a photo in my recent post: My love affair with Blue and White.


Thanks Barb from Grits and Glamour for sponsoring this great event!

My Dearest Makeover

Thanks once again goes to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting my favorite event of the week.... and believe me, that blog title of hers has got to be fiction, because this lady can not possibly have time to nap on that beautiful porch of hers. She is a busy bee...



I suppose my favorite hobby HAS to be decorating. It's something I can not possibly ever tire of doing. I love all aspects of it. The joke at my house is if all the rooms have been decorated, then it's time to move to another house! I have done all sorts of rooms and have helped friends and family tackle their decorating dilemmas, however, I have to say that out of all of them, my favorite has to be the tiniest and most simple room that I decorated a couple of years ago.

I have been a volunteer for a battered woman's shelter and was asked if I would makeover a tiny room, no bigger than a storage closet. It was to serve as a children's counseling room. A place for the little ones to go to while their mothers were being counseled in a separate area.

With some monetary donations from my bookclub members and a lot of elbow grease and shopping trips, I was able to make over the storage closet into a cheerful little room for these little ones to play and talk to a caring individual.



I wish I had taken more BEFORE pictures , but other than office supplies , a chair and an utility shelf with some toys, the other walls were just white and barren.





BEFORE




My first mission was to find a soft yellow paint to bring some sunshine into the room. I don't know if any of you have ever used yellow paint, but there's a fine line between cheerful and obnoxious when you are dealing with yellow. After many comparison of yellow paint shades, I was happy to have found this one. It was just perfect.

AFTER


A neighbor had bought this little table and chair set to donate to the room, but it was in a small box in about 25 pieces. After assembly and a coat of varnish, it was the perfect size for the toddlers. The bean bag chair was for the kids that were a little older.






I bought a Kitty Calendar at the dollar store and framed the cutest ones . The little pencil coat hanger came from a garage sale.






The storage cabinet came from my house and was perfect for keeping games and coloring books tidy.




I found this little cute poster at Michaels and couldn't resist.





The counselor needed to have a small desk for a computer and paperwork and a sales at Staples was what I needed to be able to purchase this desk . Thanks to my hubby for putting this baby together.... 101 pieces and 3 hours later....







I was so happy to find this little fun and colorful rug at Lowes to cover up some of the ugly gray office carpet. It really brightened the space.




I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to use my skills and time to contribute in some way to this most deserving organization. This was really a gift to me.

A simple yet elegant dessert...

Hi ladies,

A couple of you asked for the recipe to this elegant but pathetically simple dessert and I'm glad to share it.

Buy or make an angel food cake tear into bite sized pieces and put half of it at the bottom of a clear trifle bowl. (If you don't own one, buy one , they are less than $12 and well worth it.)

On top of the cake, spoon in half of a regular sized can of pineapple tidbits and mandarin oranges, about a cup of shredded coconut and 1/4 cup of nuts (I used almonds).

In a separate bowl, mix a regular sized box of instant white chocolate pudding with a tub of Cool whip. Use half of this mixture and spoon on top of nuts.

Repeat all layers ending with the nuts.

Better when made ahead of time , to let all flavors meld. (Don't we love that!)

Bon Appetit!

Friday Foodie

First Foodie Friday hosted by the notorious Gollum. Check out the rest of this great bunch of foodies on her blog.... Designs by Gollum.



Hi friends, here is my attempt at Foodie Friday, although I'm not much into cooking, I am crazy about eating...





and highly addicted to tablescaping..(thanks a lot Susan...)




This was a lunch I prepared for my Book Club ...



Fresh strawberries and grapes, banana nut and lemon muffins...



Tea sandwiches...chicken salad, tuna salad and most importantly, pimento cheese (y'all know you'll get kicked out of the south if you don't serve pimento cheese at every event, don't cha?)


Watch out, this little blue bunny is eyeballing the salad!



Nothin' better than tea sandwiches, a group of friends and gossip, errrr...I mean discussion of the book of the month, of course!

Sit down and have a cucumber sandwich. Now, how about some "electric lemonade"? ( I made it especially for Lynne . Y'all know it's her favorite.)





This is my favorite salad to make. Salad greens, feta cheese, green onions, cukes, pecans and dried cranberries. Sometimes I'll put grilled chicken in it.


For dessert this was easy and delicious. Tropical Trifle.



Thanks for visiting me on the first Foodie Friday event!

A trip back in time.

Here are a couple of snaps that I took while revisiting a Botanical Garden in Winter Park, Fla. where I grew up.

Hubby and I spent many a lazy sunny afternoons here while dating.
Doesn't it look like a painting?




Winter Park is known for it's lush Spanish Moss draped oaks and peaceful lakes.




Also very popular are the Coleus. { Not sure I got the spelling correct on that.}
Such brilliant colors... a feast for the eyes.




Wouldn't you love to climb this tree and nestle in the furry ferns?



Oh... the Palmettos. Just love their fan shape and they remind me of S.C...







Just looking up at this beautiful tree ...




Hope you enjoyed your tour of Harry P. Lue Gardens in Winter Park, Fla. (Just minutes away from Mickey )...



Join Susan at A Southern DayDreamer for more Outdoor Wednesdays.

How to Impress Your Overnight Guests

Ladies, are you like me?!?
I truly love to have friends and family come and stay with me, but the pressure I put on myself to have the house perfectly clean, beautifully decorated and delicious meals served one after the other... well....... I'm not gonna lie..... it FREAKS me out!
So I have a little trick to show you...
I figure if you distract them a little and the first thing they see when they walk into the guest bedroom puts a smile on their face, maybe they'll overlook the floor boards that weren't dusted....
So most of you are familiar with Tablescaping... stick with me here...this is Bedscaping...
This little guy will greet your guest and they will be so "tickled" with him, that they might not even want to bathe, for fear of having to tear him apart!
So, I will take you through the steps of creating your own little distraction...



All that is required is one bath towel and one hand towel:







First, take the bath towel and fold it in half width wise.





Then take the two edges and roll them each until they meet in the center:





Take the towel, not disturbing the rolled edges that you just made and fold it in half.







Stand up the towel with all four rolled edges on the bed.






Next you take the hand towel.... crease it with your hands so you can see where the center is.






Start rolling the towel from the top center on each side until they meet in the middle...







Flip it over to the back carefully ....




Fold down the straight edge about 2 to 3 inches....




Separate the ears carefully and roll up the trunk and gently place it on the legs/body.





Then, find some sunglasses and make the coolest little fellow to greet you guest on top of their bed!








TAH-DAH !!!!! There you have it!



Okay, so I might have exagerated a little....maybe it won't solve all of your entertaining dilemmas, but at least you will have a skill that will get you hired on a cruise ship!


Now take yourself over to Susan's Between Naps on the Porch to look at more transformations!