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...

Shamrocks for One

What do you do when all of the balls you've been juggling start falling to the ground ... all at the same time ... and the beautiful St. Patrick's Day tablescape you'd envisioned doing for Tablescape Thursday just can't happen?  That's what my week has been like. LUCKY for me no one was coming for dinner! I'm still going to show you something really pretty, but I'm keeping it simple.   Does it get any more simple than a single place setting on a vintage tray ... photographed in the only GREEN room in my house?   This beautiful fine bone china was handmade in Galway -- yes, Galway IRELAND --by Royal Tara. The pattern name is Trellis Shamrock. I found four 6-piece place settings at auction a few months ago. They came with the ... Keep Reading...

Another Mood Swing

Welcome to My Place to Yours! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend where you live. The weather here in East Tennessee has been beautiful ... and our daffodils finally began to smile at us. Renaissance Man worked in the yard much of the weekend ... and I worked on taxes.  Ugh!  I did escape for a little while, though, to trim back a few rose bushes ... and to play with Little Man for awhile this afternoon. I definitely feel another mood swing coming on! The last time that happened, I went from cool, light, and airy ... ... to warm and textured.  I told you what that was like HERE. Now I'm reverting  -- to cool ... and light ... and airy. And please ... Bring on the flowers! This Dutch Masters-inspired ... Keep Reading...

Spring Cloche Party: The Nest

This little nest is only 2 1/2" at its widest point ... and barely over an inch tall. I found it about four years ago when my youngest daughter and son-in-law bought their first house. It was hidden in overgrown shrubbery  -- a reminder of a Springtime past ... and a hope for Springtimes to come. Last Easter, Renaissance Man's then 89-year-old mother came from Texas for a three-week visit. I knew it would likely be the last time she could make such a long trip, so I wanted her to see some of her treasures ... ones she had already passed on to our family.  I displayed her set of demitasse cups and saucers  -- with their sweet pink and gray flowers -- on a large pressed glass plate that once belonged to her ... Keep Reading...

Precious!

Last week when I did THIS "every place setting is different" tablescape ...  ... I started thinking about the only other time I ever remember doing a tablescape with mismatched place settings. (Not mismatched DISHES, mind you, but every place setting different.) The event was the 2008 Festival of Tables at my church.  (I posted about the 2010 event HERE.) Since I was also the speaker for the evening, sharing about Renaissance Man's and my involvement with Hope Unlimited for Children (which I told you about HERE and HERE), I decided to do my table using the theme of children around the world.  My table was called Precious In His Sight. Unfortunately, I wasn't blogging then and hadn't learned tricks like ... Keep Reading...