Sunflowers, Daisies and Lasagna!

An early evening dinner is planned and I've got the table set!  I chose my burlap tablecloth and added my wood chargers to create a semi rustic feeling. 

My Mikasa Italian Countryside dinnerware is mixed with some golden colored salad plates from Pier 1 Imports. The stemware is Le' Cheap from Le' T.J. Maxx!

I chose my gold plated flatware from Wallace to enhance the warmth of the table setting and to add a little sophistication!

My flower arrangement is partly from my own garden and some from the grocery store..I went out for sunflowers and found a mixed arrangement that I added some of my Shasta daisies too and a splash of orange with my Cone flowers! 

I found these sweet hurricanes by Mikasa out of a group they call Cottage Lace

They are fairly large and even though they look like a votive they called them a hurricane.  I found some natural beeswax candles too, which worked out well because of their color, organic look and they were fragrance free!

 I'll be serving a Caesar Salad, Lasagna and some delicious dinner rolls from a local bakery that are just like homemade!

Of course we'll have wine with our meal and top off the dinner with some Decaff Coffee and a Lemon Chiffon Pie with Gingersnap Crust from a recipe at Bon Appetit

Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments!

Please also note a wonderful giveway at 

click below

Vignette Design

I will be joining  
Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursdays
Check out all the lovely tablescapes posted by so many talented bloggers!

Lana Austin: Motif

After visiting this lovely blog Lana Austin: Motif and 

drooling over many many pictures I finally picked

this one to post from her blog.  

She is a very lucky woman who has moved to 

Italy for a year with her family.  

What a wonderful opportunity!  

She has so many wonderful postings, it's like taking 

a vacation just seeing them!  

I hope you can take a 

moment to visit her blog and enjoy 

some of her wonderful postings!

She's also offering a wonderful

givewaway- check it out!!

I used the word Infuse in the name of my blog 

because I feel we are  always being "infused" with 

so many elements in life. 

Things like great food that we 

ooh and ahh over, fabulous architecture, 

great theatrical events, etc.

(I can go on and on with examples)

 I seem to be being infused with little bits of Italy which started in 2005 with our exchange student from Naples.  My son's new bride is 100% Italian and some of their family actually flew in from Italy and we were blessed with their presence at the wedding.  I hope some day to be able to travel to Italy and see our "Italian daughter" Roberta again and meet her family.  Seeing this blogger's postings has reminded me again of the rich cultural heritage that Italy has to offer and the warm and wonderful people they are!

This is Roberta (My Italian daughter)! 

You can see Mt. Vesuvius in the background...she lives 

in Naples and this is one of their balcony views! 

Arrivederci!

Garden Blogging

Stop on by my garden blog...Lately, gardening is pretty much all I've been thinking about!
Click on the link below and it will take you there ! 

http://sitwithmeinmygarden.blogspot.com/2011/07/favorite-tiara.html

Favorite Tiara!

Amber Tiara Hosta....one of my favorites!  

This is a favorite hosta partly because of it's unusual leaf color  but also because I do enjoy the flower it produces!

I really love the variegated tone of the 

flower and the lavender purple color 

of them! It's a relatively fast grower 

and I've split it off and doubled what 

I originally had in a short period.  

Overall it's about a 12" tall plant.

 Forgive my indulgence on this hosta, 

but I do enjoy it!  My hostas don't get 

chewed on too badly, but I am told by 

a reputable source that SLUGGO

by Monterey Lawn & Garden 

works the best!

 Now on with more lilies!

 This is a new one I picked up last year 

 called "Sunday Gloves"

This one is called 

Siloam Sue Mills

It's a large flower and shows

off nicely at a distance.

This little cutie is called

Razzamatazz

This one was new last year

too and it's called 

Crimson Pirate 

I'm going to be removing all my daylilies 

from this location and trying a little 

something different.  They are struggling 

along because they don't get enough sun

here. I end up with more green

plant than flowers because of it.

As soon as these are done flowering

I will be moving them.

I'm going to stick with hostas on the hill

and I'm going to be calling it

"Hosta Hill" from now on!

I picked up 6 new Hostas today

called Fujibotan.  They have a nice

deep green leaf color which should

make a nice backdrop to the

Japanese Forest Grass, Hakone

that lies in front along the edge of

the stone wall.

I hope your flowers are all coming along 

nicely and that this awful heat spell

that has his most of us hasn't ruined

your gardens!

Gladiolus at my Mom's house! 
I'm linking up with

 Rose Vignettes- Fresh Cut Friday

I'm linking up with

 Fishtail Cottage- Flora Thursdays

Leader of the pack!

These lilies are making a nice impact this year and in fact all the lilies are starting to bloom around here, so for now they are the leader of the pack!  This variety is called Orange Buttons.  They are the first in this row of lilies I have planted that will all be in bloom soon!

My Endless Summer Hydrangeas are starting to flower and I always enjoy watching the various stages of each flower as they develop.  

 Soft lavender tones, pinks and blues will all be represented!

I always give them a shot of a slow releasing organic fertilizer in the spring and they seem to be healthy and full of blooms. (Espoma, Organic Traditions, Soil Acidifier)

  Back by my fountain area I planted these Mosaic Lilac Impatiens...I love their old fashioned coloring and the movement of color in them.  I use impatiens to outline the border of this garden area each year.  With all the shade we have these work out wonderfully and since I plant 4 flats I like something that's reasonably priced!

I have been enjoying my "tapestry" of plants that I combined in this corner of the garden where the path meets the patio.

The Jack Frost Brunnera put on quite a show this spring and as you can see they provide a nice plant to enjoy afterwards!

 I'm enjoying this little corner I created and I am so glad to see them all filling in and realizing the vision I had! Coral Bells and Hostas- so easy to plant and reliable!

 Last year the voles had eaten my lilies at the beginning of the pathway. I planted new yellow lilies to replace them.  To my surprise some of the white ones made it back this year and are now blooming too!

And finally

Alyssum

The "Easter Basket" mix Alyssum I planted suddenly spread out and are starting to fill in next to the new Boxwoods I planted earlier this spring.

I hope your gardens are growing well too!

A Tuscan Themed Wedding!

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I'm back from the recent wedding of our 

son and his lovely new bride!  

I have a collection of pictures from 

an iPhone and my trusty little digital 

camera!  

I'll have to wait a little longer to see the  

professional versions!

With Angela's family being Italian they 
put together a lovely Tuscan themed 
wedding to honor their heritage!

I'm sharing a few pictures I took 

before the reception got underway!

The reception took place at this lovely 

outdoor location called Brandywine Manor House under this elegantly appointed room.

The color theme was blue, yellow and 

white and there were many sunflowers as 

accents everywhere!

The tall centerpieces came off the stands 

and all the floral centerpieces were given 

as a gift to one person at each table.

Each table had a number and the guests

located their names from one of these 

cards and identified their table from there!

Isn't it neat how they prepared all this! 

The tray had a combination of moss and

ivy with sunflowers tucked 

everywhere!

I snapped a shot of this birdcage they were 

using for the gift cards to be dropped into!  

Cute idea!

This is a long shot of the table where the

bridal party sat with a view of the

bar area at the end.

I loved the cake they had and the lovely

pewter bride and groom centerpiece!

The cake stand was awesome too!

Angela also had a "grooms" cake made!

 She plays the violin and he plays the 

guitar, so she had these two metal statues

representing each of them placed on 

the guitar shaped cake!  

Isn't that the cutest!

It was a great day and one

I'm still living over and over

in my mind. 
It's still hard to wrap my
mind around the fact
that 27 years has passed
since our son was born and
where we're at now!  
Dreams do come true!

I'm joining Between Naps On The  Porch- Tablescape Thursday