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August 27, 2015

Romantic Dining by the Bay

Last Sunday we had brunch at a local restaurant located by West Grand Traverse Bay.  It started raining while we were there and has continued on and off all week.  I got inspired once again to do another nautical or beach themed tablescape while staring across the bay.

I thought about a romantic interlude of a young couple.  
She arrives wearing a plain but elegant navy blue dress adorned with a long pearl necklace. He's just come from work and looks handsome with his sleeves rolled up and his suit coat tossed over his shoulder.  They decide to go for a quiet walk along the sandy beach exchanging stories about their day.  The sound of the soft waves lapping makes them feel like they're in a world of their own.  They have plans later in the evening so the return to have an early dinner.  She removes the pearls and gracefully lays them across on the lantern.

Salad plates with the shape of Michigan are featured...a local favorite Cherry Vinaigrette dressing will top their spinach salad.

A heart denotes the love for their state...

Candles are lit...

Soft music plays in the background...

Rose Compass nautical stemware adds to the ambiance...

 A favorite local wine will be enjoyed...


His voice soothes her mind as they enjoy some conversation.  She stares at the soft glow of the candle as she romantically dreams about their future together.

Memories from visits to Mackinac Island fill her thoughts.  They both dream of living somewhere like that some day.

A broiled whitefish dinner will be served with parmesan duchess potatoes, asparagus tips and a warm loaf of freshly baked bread.

Time to enjoy!



I will be joining 
Between Naps On The Porch
for 

August 24, 2015

The Cruising Sofa!

Let's do a little history of where this sofa has been in this house...
Mind you I have a nickname of being the furniture shuffler!

The leather sectional started out downstairs in the small family room I created using a nautical theme.  It stayed that way for a few years but sadly it barely got used so then I decided to turn this area into a bedroom which I never did do a post about.  The ship's wheel table is in storage and the curio cabinet is in a new spot but still in this room.  I did a little post once in this room before it became a guest room as seen "here".

So the sofa cruised to the upstairs to an unused bedroom that I had vacated when we took her all of her bedroom furniture and I penned it the "den" as seen "here".  
Sadly it sat again with no use.....  
Dan thinks I should use this room as a craft/sewing room which would be nice but I really think we need it for the extra bed.

Our daughter's old sofa set was looking pretty sad so convinced her she needed this!

On Saturday we cruised down to her place-  which is 180 miles south of us.  I forgot to take a picture (which is rare for me).  It really was amazing how we got all of that into our company van (with a friend's help).  There was zero room for anything else and our seats were as far forward as could be.  Let's just say that when we arrived we had to unbend ourselves!  Thank goodness she had two young guys that stopped by to unload it for us.



 She lives in a home that was built in 1885 which has very tall ceilings and pretty spacious rooms.  I posted about helping her move in 2013  "here"
The bay window is part of the living room area. It's just a rental home and not a perfect by any means but it's in a safe neighborhood and the landlord has been a good one.

 It fits in with plenty of room and looks great.
She had a wool throw and some pillows to add which all worked out nicely.

I used a few things she had around and showed her how to use a tray to make a display.
The teal colored ceramic vase was a handmade gift she just received for being in a recent wedding (she stuck the little picture in there after I was gone).  Since I forgot to take pictures I asked her to take some and send them to me.  These smart phones are a wonderful thing!

No more cruising sofa!

Joining
Between Naps on the Porch
for
Metamorphosis Monday

Ivy and Elephants

August 20, 2015

A Touch of Provencal

Continuing on with the late summer sunny golden tones...
I've gathered flowers from the garden in the morning...

The Black Eyed Susans are in full bloom around here right now.  I chose a few cuttings from my Limelight Hydrangea for an accent and used my sunflower pitcher...

 I laid the napkins out on an angle under the plate to get the most out of the design from them.  They ended up working well with the denim overlay and the fleur de-lis plates.  This is the fun part about tablescaping.  Mixing things together and being surprised at what works!

I layered two chargers for texture and color.  I wanted the texture of the rattan but it was absorbed by the blue so I lifted it with the white charger.    

These chicken plates came from One King's Lane a while back and the same with the fleur de-lis coffee mugs.  I've used them several times.  The rooster glasses came from Pfaltzgraff a few years ago.

We're experiencing rain and thunder today and it's kind of dark.  I had to put the camera on manual and use the tripod to get these pictures taken.  This causes the outside to look almost burned out but that's how it works.  I'm just glad to get what I got!

FYI- this is using the automatic setting on the camera.  Learning how to use a manual setting can be a big help. 

I didn't put out wine glasses because I thought of this as being a brunch.  
I prefer wine with dinner or afterwards. 
 Au revoir my friends!

Joining
Between Naps on the Porch
for
Tablescape Thursday


August 19, 2015

Late Summer Front Door Basket

I changed the flowers in the door basket for a late summer look.

I just posted about adding sunflowers "here"  and "here" to my interior decor and wanted to stay with the cheerful golden yellow tones for this late summer display.

 I kept the chevron bow I put on there in June as seen "here"

Creamy white chrysanthemums, a golden lily and golden sunflowers.
There is next to no space between this door and the storm door so I have to create these with a very thin profile.

I puffed the bow back up but as you'll see in the next picture it becomes compressed.

We have a deck that surrounds two sides and part of it is by the entry door.  It's a raised ranch and I'm down on the driveway taking this on an angle.  That's a big tree reflecting on the glass in case you thought the glass was dirty.  Darn, when I closed the door I didn't realize the bow shifted.  I'll have to fix that! 

I'm joining 
Ivy and Elephants
For



August 17, 2015

Late Summer but still in bloom!

Summer is going by way too fast. I suppose we all say that every year don't we!

I went for a walk around the yard…found this Walking Stick hanging around on a screen….

A little while back I found some plants growing out of a couple of my planters (thanks to some chipmunks that like to plant seeds everywhere) so I replanted them in the ground.  At the time the hydrangea wasn't so large so it seemed safe to plant here because there is a fair amount of sun in this area.  This one has decided to go vertical and latch onto the hydrangeas.  

This is the other one which I'm re-routing with stakes so it won't take over my fairy garden.  I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a pumpkin plant but it only flowers but no pumpkin.  Either way I enjoy watching the vine grow.  

This tricolor sweet potato plant is super slow but doing well.  I imagined it to grow and perhaps even fill the top of the roof up but I suppose I should have provided a bridge of screening material for it to latch onto.  

Nearby is this this 2nd year lily still blooming.  It's a very stout plant.
Sunny Azores, Oriental Lily

 The limelight hydrangeas are blooming.  I really cut them short last fall so I'm grateful to see any kind of bloom.  They grew as big as before.  

 A disappointing year for the Endless Summer Hydrangeas.  These are the only two blooms.

This Cityline Paris Hydrangea has a nice shrubby shape but I only seem to get 2 or 3 blooms each year.  

Out front the Pinky Winky Hydrangea is blooming.  The blooms are better this year than before but I'm still not thrilled with this one.  It never has the fantastic pink/white combo like the pictures show.

This hibiscus comes up each year but flowers so late its rather disappointing.  We put lava down around the front of the house back in the 90's.  I'll never use it again mostly because it's a stinker to have to dig around.  You have to rake all the pieces away from where you want to dig which can be time consuming.  

 The Cone Flowers (echinacea) have been blooming away for a while now.  I like that these stay relatively short.

These deep pink coneflowers are flopped over laying on the Black Eyed Susan's.   I need to tidy up and dead head out here.  It was sweltering the day I took these with my phone camera.  70% humidity and it was around 92 degrees.  

 I just added these variegated Sedum plants and the orange Lilies to this new garden I started last year as seen "here".  The lilies are almost done blooming but I liked their coloring with the Sedum so I bought them anyway.  Next year it will be even better!

 In the center you see some twigs by a store tag--- that's all that's left of the Heliopsis (Tuscan Sun) after the bunny feasted on it earlier this summer.  I leave the store tags for a while until I am familiar with where each plant should come up.  The Russian Sage is floppy and laying all over the place- not too happy with it.  I'm guessing it needs more sun.  There is a broken over white Cone flower you may be able to notice.  I put two of those plants in too.  They were about done at the garden center but I know next year will be great.

 These cone flowers were put in last year.  I'm tickled at how well they came back.  Something has been eating the leaves but not enough to worry about.  These smell delightful.  You can actually smell the fragrance as you approach.  They are called "Secret Affair" and I highly recommend them!  Behind them you can see the other Heliopsis plant that the bunny didn't get.

Way to the left is the Helenium "Sneezeweed" plant. (Deep golden w/dark centers)  It's not too impressive.  We'll see if it can pull it's own weight and stay alive here.

Our grass is overdue for a cut.  Dan is my lawnmower but he had to work on our work vehicle so the lawn has to wait.  There are some mums coming back from last year too but I don't think they'll flower until September.  This garden has largely been neglected this year and looks a bit disheveled.

 I took these pictures after that big storm.  These are portion of the sticks and branches that were all over the yard.  
 Dan still has more weed killer (the vinegar mix) to spray- as you can see not all of it has been treated yet.  We've already gone through 4 gallons of vinegar mix.   It seems like a fairly environmentally friendly way to control weeds so I'm for it.

A quick fire to clean it all up.

This planter has gone wild but I love it. 


 The wagon has progressed.  There were some white wax begonias planted in there too but the impatiens have taken over.

The Wandering Jew has spread out very nicely. 

I guess that's a wrap!







 

ABOUT ME



Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back! Liz
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