Take a stroll with me to a friends house...

Hey guys, Halloween is just a day away and I want to take you on a walk through the neighborhood to a friend's house....





Please excuse the "heel nippers", they won't bite........




I love walking the neighborhood, I always see something new..........






Just love the double doors with hanging baskets...those ribbons are so pretty!






This is what I wanted to do this year and I didn't get around to doing it. LOVE the monogram!







On the otherhand....this one ....NOT SO MUCH! (Think it's safe to say they lost their minds!)









Here is another favorite...again, those cone floral arrangements are gorgeous!






This "griffin" doesn't look too thrilled to see me...ummmm better speed it up Duchess!






Some homes didn't do any decorating, just look great the way they are.








This one I call the "castle house". So pretty !






Here's a close up of their front porch. (loooove those doors)





Aren't these gorgeous wreaths? This is where my Meals on Wheels buddy lives.






Shhhhhh.....don't tell my B.F.F. that I'm coming to kidnap" little pumpkinilla"....




Love how the tree frames this pretty house.....





Well, I had to get a close up of this one...they might consider calling the pest control company to spray for spiders.....






Just a tree in all of it's multicolor glory.........








Oh, wait.........here's my other BFF's house, let's just call her " Anita Walk " (hint hint)








Doesn't this look like Martha Stewart made it? It's gorgeous! So simple and elegant!







"Come on in", says "Anita"......




She made these cute little owl treat bags for her son's classmates! Isn't she clever?! Soooo cute!





Oh my, there's a lot of hooting going on here! A huge flock of owls just landed on the table!








But that's not all.......... take a look at these "out of this world treats"!! Little alien spacemen, she made from mini chocolate cupcakes, a donut hole and a marshmellow. They're covered in green frosting and their little beady eyes are actually chocolate covered sunflower seeds!
If you would like the recipe go to Duncan Hines.com.






Well, that's it guys..........
I hope you all have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cozy up to the Bar

I just love the Fall season... decorating the table with berries and

pumpkins!!








I have some red and white dishes that I bought at the Charlotte Antique Mart... the vendor said that they came from a convent... it has leaves running around the perimeter. I paired it with my italian handpainted plates with fruit for an interesting mix...












Sometimes we eat on the 'breakfast bar", for a change of scenery...












This plate is "Home Sweet Home" An American Subject . Currier and Ives....

So much fun to play around with different little fall accents...







I made the napkins from dish towels and the white linnen ones with the peek-a-boo battenburg lace came from an antique store.



Have fun with your dishes and whip up some inspiring tablescapes!

You will be sorry if you don't click right "ovah" to the hostess with the mostess...our very own Miss Tablescape, Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch and check out other lovely tablescape posts!

A Floral Metamorphosis

Welcome to Floral Design class!


Our first arrangement was a one-sided design. This is my instructor, the very talented floral designer, Josh, teaching us how to set the shape and height of the design. See the geometric design on the right side of the board? Who knew we would have to do geometry?! One must always work with odd numbers and triangles when designing an arrangement. Here he is starting with leather leaf fern.


The next step is to put in the "line" flower (creates and defines the shape of the design ), which is a wonderfully scented flower called "stock".

Oooops, I guess I forgot to take pics of the next few steps, but I believe he put in the focal flowers next, which are the lime green fuji mums, and then used the daisies and alstromerias (the pink ones). These last ones are called filler flowers.

So there you go...... NOW we had to make one all by ourselves!!

Here we are, trying our best to replicate his masterpiece....

I have to say that it wasn't as easy as it looked. After I was finished, my oasis (the green foam you soak in water ) looked like swiss cheese. I had poked at it so much, changing the positions of the ferns and flowers, it was amazing that it was in one piece.

But....overall, I must say that I was quite pleased with myself !!

Here is mine....

And here is his masterpiece....

So you're probably wondering about the metamorphosis? Well, I loved my arrangement, but had promised my friend that I would bring it to our "neighborhood coffee" she was hosting the following day and she had decorated her home in fall colors.

So I plucked the pink flowers off and went over to my yellow and orange potted mum and snipped off three stems, and placed them where the pink ones were.

Then I spied the pumpkin soup toureen on my counter and substituted it for the grecian urn it was originally created in.

So that is my "first" arrangement ! I know it's not perfect... but I love it!

You know you'll want to check all of the other transformations on Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so what are ya waiting for?

(Please scroll down to the end. I don't understand why there is such a big gap from here to the comment section. I've tried to fix it.... anyone there know how?)













BIG GAP HERE................ why?!?











See you there!