My sister and I had the joy of spending part of last week with our parents ... making new memories. Some of those memories centered around tablescaping -- so today I'm sharing a tablescape that includes a few family pieces. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you've heard me say before that we don't have many family pieces -- but the ones we have, we love! With Mother's Day in mind, today's tablescape began with china that belonged to my paternal grandmother. Grandma's china was not something she got when she and Grandpa "set up housekeeping" in 1932 but rather something she picked up somewhere along the way. We chose a tablecloth I gave my Mom several years ago. It's a sheer fabric with flocked flowers. The golden ... Keep Reading...
You Don’t Have to Like War to Be Grateful!
In the early moments of today, I heard the news. Osama bin Laden is no more. Many of my fellow Americans are waving flags -- or raising a glass -- in celebration. Rather than feeling celebratory, I find myself quietly thankful ... so very thankful. Before September 11, 2001 I thought I knew what it meant to be a proud American. I proudly flew Old Glory on patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July. The rest of the year I flew "fun" flags to celebrate the various seasons. But on the morning of September 12, 2001, with a heavy heart, I hung the Stars and Stripes ... with no intention of replacing them with "fun" again. The "fun" flags still hang in the attic -- a jumbled mix of seasons. It's probably ... Keep Reading...
Fanfare & Wind: Trumpets & Tornadoes: Curtsies & Courage
Well, did you watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton? I certainly did! Last week I had the privilege of visiting family in Texas. While staying with my sister, she and I drove to our parents' house and spent a couple of nights with them. I wasn't surprised to see that my Mother had already "set the stage" for the Royal Wedding. We were greeted with a tabletop vignette featuring a vintage teacup and saucer (given to her many years ago by a Sunday School teacher) and a hat she wore several years ago to a granddaughter's wedding in England. Even Daddy had gotten into the act and taped one of the Royal Wedding TV specials for us girls to watch. We enjoyed that because the way our schedule ... Keep Reading...
A Royal Heritage
Are you counting down the hours until the royal wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton? What is it about royal weddings that make some of us smile and get a little tingle in our tummy? If by some chance you haven't yet discovered Laura Ingalls Gunn's Wedding Wednesday posts at her blog Decor to Adore, you really don't want to miss them. Such fantastic royal wedding trivia, traditions -- and lots of great photographs! Renaissance Man doesn't understand all the hoopla. In fact, I think he's glad I'll be in Texas visiting my sister on wedding day. He thinks I'd want to "chat" with him about all the details. Wrong! I'd really just want to be left alone in front of the TV to soak them in ... maybe with a plate of tea ... Keep Reading...
Resurrection Power … Still Happens
Happy Easter! If, like me, you've been celebrating Jesus' victory over death, then resurrection power has been on your mind. Last week, while in Brazil, I got to experience resurrection power firsthand. No, I didn't see a person raised from the dead, but I witnessed the hand of God as something virtually dead was given new life. I want to tell you about it. Some of you may think that's a really strange thing to say, but ... if I'm going to be authentic and have integrity with you, I have to be who I am -- viewing things through the lens of my own life experience. The reality is that one of the "puzzle pieces" of yours truly is shaped like Brazil. If you're new to my blog and are wondering What's up with Brazil?, then I encourage ... Keep Reading...
Happy PINK Easter!
Oh, it's so nice to be sitting here at my own desk and writing my blog rather than in an airport or a hotel ... but I have wonderful news to share with you about our recent trip to Brazil -- and I'm hoping to do that for Met Monday. Today, because I'm still trying to catch up at home, I'm going to share last year's Easter tablescape with you. Keep in mind, it was pre-blog days (which means pre- learning camera tricks), but I hope you might still enjoy it. There were three of us around the table last Easter. As I told you HERE, Renaissance Man's then 89-year-old mother was visiting us from Texas -- almost certainly the last trip she would ever make to our home in Tennessee. I wanted her to once again see some of the ... Keep Reading...
Your Refrigerator: One or the Other …
It may seem like a strange thing to think about, but refrigerator doors have been on my mind for awhile. For the most part, every one I've ever seen in a home setting falls into one of two categories. What about yours? Is it clear or cluttered? empty or embellished? bare or bountiful? void or voluminous? austere or art gallery? This is my Mother's refrigerator. It really does look like this ... all.the.time. I don't ever recall it being littered covered with anything. Ever. Most of the time, I'm right there with her! But some of you will remember that my grandson has lived near me. What most of you don't know is that Little Man and this Nonna (and Poppa when he's home) have spent ... Keep Reading...
Tiptoeing Through The Tulips En Route to Brazil
As I write today's post, I'm sitting in the Chicago airport next to Renaissance Man -- waiting on our flight to Brazil. As my oh-so-kind regular readers already know, we're going to see the children and staff of Hope Unlimited for Children. I've told you about them in two of my favorite posts; favorites because they stretched me to share for the first time in Blogland some of my deepest thoughts and emotions. You can read them HERE and HERE if you like. When we left home several hours ago, I wanted so badly to cut a huge bunch of tulips and take pictures, but there was no time. Today's tablescape was done last week when red, yellow, and orange were the predominant colors in the tulip bed. This morning, the tulips in bloom were ... Keep Reading...
Two Faces of Beautiful
Welcome to My Place to Yours! I'm glad you stopped by for a quick celebration of Metamorphosis Monday. This was My Place four months ago ... And this is My Place today ... The dogwoods are in full bloom here in East Tennessee ... and they're beautiful against the blue sky. Yes, it was really that blue. These are unedited pics! We have five of these gorgeous trees in our yard. All of them have white flowers. Their lace-like appearance in the landscape is one of my favorite things about Springtime.< Do you have dogwoods where you live? Are they white like mine -- or pink? Leave a comment and tell me! I hope you have a wonderful week! I'm ... Keep Reading...
Another Festival of Tables
Tablescaping events hosted by church or civic groups have become common in the South over the past decade. (How about you Northern friends -- and friends from other countries? Do you do anything like this?) In past posts I've showed you: the 2010 Festival of Tables put together by the ladies of my church; a Winter Warm-Up held at my sister's church; and the Precious in His Sight table I did for my church's 2008 Festival of Tables. Because this has been a wild and crazy week here at my house -- and I haven't had much time for tablescaping -- I'm going to show you the rest of the tables from the 2008 Festival of Tables. Unfortunately, I don't remember what most of the table hostesses named their tables, so I'm just going to give ... Keep Reading...
Blooming Bricks and Mortar
Welcome to My Place to Yours ... and another celebration of Metamorphosis Monday What a beautiful, but windy, weekend we had here in East Tennessee! It was a productive one at My Place, but unfortunately much of my time was spent indoors working on taxes -- but they're finished! Renaissance Man, on the other hand, spent time where he most prefers it -- outside working in the yard. Because he's a traveling man (as I told you HERE), he is always grateful for time to do that. If you've read much of this blog, you know that we live in a house that is over 100 years old. Almost five years ago -- after months of renovation -- we moved in and continued the work. Eventually we began to tackle the yard. A lot has been done, but ... Keep Reading...
An Encore Presentation
I'm not sure how we made it to Tablescape Thursday again already ... but I'm so glad we did!!! Welcome back -- if you've been here before ... and WELCOME to My Place to Yours if you're here for the first time! I certainly hope you enjoy your visit ... and that you'll come again often. When I was here last, I shared this sweet cup and saucer with you -- and told you I'd show you more today. Click any picture to enlarge. I will. But first you get another sneak peek at the table ... And while I give you just one more peek ... You may remember recently when we took our field trip to the Replacements, Ltd. Museum that I hinted to my friend, Lisa, how I'd love for her to do a ... Keep Reading...
Looking Back … Looking Forward
Happy Pink Saturday to all! I always love your visits. Today I'm looking back at a few pinks from the past. The satin glass perfume bottle, the painted tray, and the cup and saucer have all sold recently in my Etsy shop. I loved them when I owned them, but I've been spreading the joy! The pink bead necklace belonged to my Mother's maternal grandmother (my great-grandmother, Nannie) and is a treasure I'll keep ... always. I'm also looking forward to some pretty pinks I'll show you in my Tablescape Thursday post next week. You won't want to miss it! I hope you've been looking forward to your weekend ... and that it turns out to be one you'll look back on with ... Keep Reading...
Daffodils & Blue
Happy Spring to everyone! Were you as ready for the season to arrive as I was? Some years I'm content to let Spring arrive whenever it decides to. Other years -- like this one -- I want it to hurry up! Finally ... it's here in all of its "blooming" glory. I'm so glad. This week's tablescape uses several of the Spring decorating "elements" I showed you HERE in a recent "mood swing" post. Blue and white Flowers from the garden Today it's daffodils -- and I first told you about ours HERE. Bright white linens Bunnies Butterflies Layering is also an important part of this tablescape. You'll see it in the dishes, the linens, and the candles. I also added a "soft" layer of color to the vase -- ... Keep Reading...
Do You Know About This?
A couple of weeks ago I received this newsletter telling me about changes ... Is this company a household name in your family ... like it is in mine? Carbona has been around "forever" ... well, since 1885 ... but I only discovered them about a dozen years ago. I certainly wasn't around when this ad debuted! (The "cannot explode" was the selling point. Before Carbona, every other form of dry cleaning solution had been highly flammable ... and the horror stories were many.) This is the product that first got my attention... Carbona Stain Devils I heard about it on the radio. Apparently, ALL stains fall into one of nine categories ...so Carbona offers ... Keep Reading...
A-Tisket, A-Tasket
It's not green and yellow, as the popular 19th century nursery rhyme says, but it IS a basket. What's inside it is green and yellow -- and pink ... finally! I told you HERE that our flowers were just about to burst forth -- and I could hardly wait to share them with you! Well, today we start ... and if the garden grows as it has in years past, I'll be sharing them with you for many months to come! The basket ... it's nothing particularly special. I remember in the early '80s I filled it with a dried flower arrangement -- the kind I wouldn't dream of having in my house any more. Eventually it sat in the attic with other rarely-used baskets, almost getting donated several times ... but somehow always making the ... Keep Reading...
