Hello all! I hope your week is going well. At My Place, Renaissance Man and I are still busy preparing the exhibit for this space I told you about HERE ... But since I'll probably be busy working on it until the day I die of the event, I'm taking a little sanity break to write this post ... and saying a big thank you that we have a couple of other people working as hard as we are! Projects like this take everyone, don't they?If I could do what I reeeaally feel like doing right now, I'd pull out this tray ... and some pretty dishes ... Then I'd pick some dahlias from the garden ... ... and add the current Southern Lady magazine that just came in the mail ... ... and disappear ... Keep Reading...
By
DE-STRESSING with Simple Pleasures …
I learned this week that Dayle at A Collection of This and That is ending her wonderful Simple Pleasures series ... just as I was thinking how much I'd love to join the party! Even though I've never participated, I've often enjoyed reading about the simple pleasures that she -- and some of you -- have found ... and it's caused me to open my own eyes and look around my own world a little more closely. I'd say Dayle's mission was successful. Unless you are as relaxed as Little Man, I dare say that some (most?) days you're so busy that you have to make a conscious choice to de-stress. Am I right? How do you do that? Do you take a long soak at the end of the day? Pick the green one ... It's great for ... Keep Reading...
By
A New Friend at My Table
Finally ... a tablescape I've been dying to do! Back in July (where DID the past two months go?), I had the fabulously good fortune of winning a one-year-of-blogging giveaway at the beautiful tablescape blog Entertaining Women. The blog host, Cherry Kay, generously gave away a set of 12 (yes, twelve) antique Theodore Haviland pink floral luncheon plates from her vast collection. They're my newest friends in the china pantry! When blogging about her giveaway, she used some of the plates in a "girly" Spring tablescape. After you finish reading this post (shameless, I know), you should click on her blog link above and check it out. It's gorgeous! Oh, all right. Here's a peek ... Notice how the luncheon ... Keep Reading...
By
Waiting To Happen …
It's been over a year since I first walked into this building. I had no idea what I would see. I certainly didn't expect this ... but it was perfect. It WILL BE perfect. It's the space Renaissance Man and I selected for Hope Unlimited for Children's 20th Anniversary Celebration. Source In a few short weeks, we'll be traveling to the beautiful Bay Area of California where the organization was birthed... ... and filling this 8,000 square foot, multi-level Redwood Hall with an exhibit telling the story of Hope's 20 years of ministering to at-mortal-risk children in Brazil. It's a metamorphosis we've been planning for a long time. So long, in fact, that it's just ... Keep Reading...
By
The Tragic Table: Coordinating Meals for Families in Crisis
Hello all, and welcome to My Place to Yours. This week's Tablescape Thursday post is not at all my usual kind of post, but it's where I am this week. If you've been reading my last couple of posts, you know I've been in Brazil; we just returned yesterday. But the day before leaving for South America, a dear friend died of cancer. It was one of those "she did everything right" cases. Over the past few years she'd worked hard to move from slightly overweight to "fit and trim." She had regular checkups. But last January she was diagnosed with an invasive and aggressive cancer that managed to evade the best of tests for too long, and her efforts to find a cure weren't realized. She died at the very young age of 50 and left behind a ... Keep Reading...
By
The Big House
Friday when I awoke, I had no idea how much beauty the day would hold. I didn't know it would include light-filled views ... Brightly-colored placemats ... Stained glass ... ... and intricate mosaics. Quite honestly, when the day began, I expected my emotions would have nowhere to go but down. You see, I woke up Friday morning in Brazil ... prepared to go to prison. Renaissance Man and I were part of a small group representing Hope Unlimited for Children. Our task was to visit a guardless prison ... a prison where detainees police themselves. I didn't know what to expect ... but I went. I'm very glad I did. Why would I do such a thing? ... Keep Reading...
By
Declaring Independence
Welcome to My Place to Yours! It's 11pm in Brazil, and I'm just starting to write this post. Renaissance Man and I arrived in Campinas this morning after a crazy-busy week in the U.S. which left me with no time to do a tablescape. As I left town, I prayed, "Lord, this is the first week I won't have done a tablescape post, and I've really enjoyed doing them. But if a post is going to be done this week, you're going to have to give it to me because I'm getting on a plane and leaving my dishes behind..." Well, as always, the Lord doth provide, and I'm sharing with you a table I experienced today at lunchtime -- a very few short hours after landing in Brazil. Any day that includes cheerful handmade linens ... Keep Reading...
By
Old House Woes: With Gratitude to the American Laborer
Labor Day Last year at this time I dedicated a post to my husband ... with thanks for his hard work and tireless dedication to our family. You can read it HERE. Everything I said then still applies, but this year I find myself focusing elsewhere. Actually, it all began late last May when a sudden storm with hail and high winds left many yards in our small town looking like this ... We were thankful ours wasn't one of them ... but it easily could have been. You see, there was a large, old maple tree in the front yard. 5+ years ago when we bought our house and began renovations, it provided welcome shade in the Spring and Summer, beautiful color in the Fall, and gorgeous "architectural interest" in the Winter. It's the ... Keep Reading...
By
Unveiled: Festival of Tables 2011 – Part 2
Last week I showed you Part 1 of my local Festival of Tables ... and this week it's time for Part 2. Remember, you can click on the photo collages to enlarge them. Click twice to enlarge them again! The first three tablescapes in today's post were done by a mother and two of her three daughters. I love it when tablescaping becomes a family affair! This first table was done by the youngest daughter; she's 13. This is definitely an example of using a collection as inspiration! Be sure to notice the cute Minnie Mouse Rice Krispies treats she gave to her guests! I definitely think she's got tablescaping in her blood... So does the middle daughter. She's 15, and this is her second year to tablescape at our ... Keep Reading...
By
Off The Beaten Path …
I first traveled this road a decade ago -- just weeks after moving to East Tennessee. Venturing out from what had quickly turned into a newcomer's "beaten path," I took a side road ... just to see where it would lead. As the road curved ahead of me, I became more and more enchanted. The bridge over the river ... and a rolling countryside so different from anywhere else I'd ever lived. I loved it. Still do. But as I continued to drive, the eye of this girl from the South began to notice something. Do you see it? It's aggressive, invasive, destructive ... It's pervasive -- and has a one-track mind. It lets nothing get in its way ... It's kudzu ... not so fondly referred ... Keep Reading...
By
Unveiled: Festival of Tables 2011 – Part 1
Welcome to My Place to Yours! I have a special treat for you today. I'm going to show you tablescapes from my local 2011 Festival of Tables. I've decided to show you half of them this week -- and the other half next week. No need for sensory overload on one blog when there's an entire Tablescape Thursday celebration happening in Blogland! This first tablescape may look familiar. I shared lots of pics and details about it with you last week in THIS post. It's the table I did... But today ... and next week ... I want you to see ideas from other tablescapers. Some of them did tables at last year's Festival (I showed you the 2010 event HERE), but some are first-timers this year. I always love it when we have new ... Keep Reading...
By
Clark Gardens – Part 2 : THE FORMAL GARDENS
The change was subtle. In the midst of rustic grasses and casual plantings ... little touches of formality. I was at Clark Gardens Botanical Park in Weatherford, Texas. In case you missed last week's post, I should tell you that Clark Gardens is 35 acres of traditional landscaping right in the middle of rugged mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus. I've already showed you what I called the "rustic" part of the gardens. Today, we're leaving behind the rock, as impressive as it is ... and catching glimpses of brick ... and wrought iron ... and vast expanses of manicured lawn ... Don't these areas feel a bit more formal to you? Fountains -- even whimsical ones -- are on my list of "formal" ... Keep Reading...
