This Week's Ramblings #10

Another fast week has gone by!  

Seems like August blew through like a fast wind!

Posts

I started this week with a post about a little decorating I did on the fireplace mantel which I called Mantel Madness!  Please check it out "here".

I had some fun putting together a Tablescape this week you can see "here".
I want to thank everyone for so many nice comments- it boosts my morale a lot.  I was surprised how many people have either lived in or visited Michigan and had special memories from them!


Flowers

 A quick snapshot of the flowers from my tablescape.   The white hydrangeas already shriveled up so I had to toss them.  The last of the perennials for the summer!


Random

I saw this barn on a little road trip and had to take a picture.

I love red barns and the color of this one attracted me.  It's almost burgundy.  I'd love to paint our little barn that's behind the garage a color like this and add a couple of windows.


Love

Little Teddy is my desk buddy.
He's supervising me as I post!  LOL...
He knows how to chill!


Weekend

It's raining today and it looks like we'll be seeing more of it throughout the weekend so I think we'll be indoors more than out.   Perhaps I can catch up on some things inside.

Have yourselves a

Summer Reflections

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen for her "Farewell to Summer" tablescape challenge. I chose to reflect on some of our State's favorite summertime kind of fun!

   Besides Michigan's claim to fame with the "Motor City" we are a state that also relies on heavy tourism.  Not only is Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes, we are a state loaded with many inland lakes, rivers and streams.

Reflecting on Summertime

I began by hanging a fishnet to my umbrella and made my centerpiece by starting with  a 6 ft. garland made of driftwood pieces that I draped around at the base of the umbrella  The table top is a "water glass" so we'll pretend that it is our water.  I surrounded it with accents to reflect my thoughts.

Fishing is a favorite pastime along with canoeing and we have seagulls too (big beggars)!

 With Labor Day a few days away everyone will be heading up north for their last family hurrah before school starts in Michigan!

Lounging around on Adirondack chairs, campfires, boating, water skiing, grilling and camping are wonderful ways to create memories.

Ducks, Loons and many other kinds of wildlife are enjoyed

 I added some cut flowers from my gardens and used these cottage styled candle votive holders for a vase.

Using my striped plates for a pattern pop I added a layer with a creamy white dish to allow my new salad/dessert plates to be highlighted.

I came across these in Mackinaw City recently.  They are handmade by a Michigan artist.  She put a little heart up where Mackinaw City is located in the state.

 The napkins are casually gathered using my rope knot napkin rings.  Keeping it casual.

The last official month of summer is still beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed my Summer Reflections

I will be joining 

Between Naps on the Porch for

Tablescape Thursday

and

Cuisine Kathleen 

for the

"Farewell to Summer" tablescape challenge

Mantel Madness

So last Friday I did a post and left a hint of a project I've been working on. 

 While I worked on this I wished I had a friend to share these moments with and bounce ideas off one another.  So I chose to write to Ron at The Uptown Acorn and he was the lucky recipient of a bit of my madness!

 I pieced together some samples of my attempts.  Ron kept me on track with certain things like keeping the tall pedestal urns on the inside of the arch inset.  

 These open at the top

The urns were found at a little boutique store.  I liked the unusual shape the the hint of green that they were designed with.

In the middle of my mantel madness I saw a post from Nancy's Daily Dish as seen "here".  Our mantels are quite different but the tall candle holders reminded me of my tall pedestal urns and I have two little Staffordshire style dogs so that inspired me.  In my case I couldn't put the tall pieces on the ends like she did but moving them inward worked better.  I always look for "formulas" for layouts etc., and this one hit me just right.

I'm getting a larger glass riser for underneath this lidded urn.  I decided It looked better up a tad higher and the glass picks up on the lanterns- adds a little glam.

 I've had the lidded urn for a while but hadn't considered trying it on the mantel.  The little dog statues were from Nell Hills when they still had their on line shopping offered.  I don't live anywhere near their stores but I wish I did!

So this is what I ended up with.  

Some nighttime ambiance

 Thank you Ron for sharing your thoughts and taking time to do so!

I'm joining
Between Naps on the Porch for
Metamorphosis Monday

Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home for
Amaze Me Monday 

A Stroll Thru Life for
Inspire Me Tuesday

Ivy and Elephants for

What's It Wednesday

This Week's Ramblings #9

I'm finally done with the storage organizing.

  What a difficult task to make yourself do! It's no fun going through all your things, but I did get a chance to get rid of a lot of extra stuff.  There is more than shown here but I didn't figure it was important to show.  I kept thinking about aging and how other people end up having to go through your things if you die and that I didn't want to leave an out of control mess for them!  LOL... morbid aren't I!  Seriously though if you watch some of those episodes of hoarders it's enough to motivate you to clean up your home!

I only did one post this week and that was about my Soapy Apothecary

which you can see "here"

 I'm enjoying my Hydrangeas right now

Stop by my other blog and visit  "here"  This blog is focused

on my gardens

 I'm working on the mantel again...found some lanterns that inspired some change.

I'm considering ideas for fall decorating

I've noticed a lot of "green" accents vs. the usual heavy on orange look.  I was at Pier 1 and saw a fair amount of green too and I also noticed glitter is back this year.

 I snapped some pictures at Michael's. They used a fake/carvable pumpkin and carved out the family name and leaves and added the leaf cut-outs as an accent above, sprayed it with a bronze paint, laid it on it's side and attached a small wreath to the stem side.  I could see this outside on top of a chair, flower pot, crate etc., with a flameless candle put inside to light up the name.  You could carve out a small opening in the back and just pull the carved out piece back in after you put the candle inside.  I think I'd do this in some different colors but either way I thought it was a nice idea for an entryway or porch.

It's too early for me to decorate for fall but I am thinking about it.

So that's my ramblings for this week!

 

Rainy Morning Pics

This morning I decided to pop out early and take a few pictures of my hydrangeas. It rained all night and I think the colors look richer after a rain.

I added fertilizer that's for hydrangeas hoping to see more blue but I seem to end up with pink for the most part.    The limelights are just starting to bloom.

Little wispy touches of soft lilac and variations of pink

Just to the other side is my Cityline Paris hydrangea.  So far I only get a few blooms each year but I keep hoping for a full pop of color one of these years!  This stays compact and doesn't need any trimming.

A close-up of the flowers that are starting to 0pen up

While visiting my mom a few weeks back I noticed this gazing ball in the garage.  She told me to take it so I did and I like how it reflects things around it.  

I also spotted this rusted rooster in the garage which I couldn't resist.  

Nearby are the Annnabelle hydrangeas which are a mix of new to old blooms.  I should cut some to save!

I removed the orange lilies and put in the new lily that I posted about the other day.

It's just loaded with flowers- I look forward to seeing this come up each year.  

One of my favorite views looking up the steps from the driveway at the hydrangeas.  

(oops I forgot to remove the grass I pulled!)

Just over a week ago I noticed a bad case of powdery mildew on my begonias.  We had a lot of cool nights and they just didn't dry out well enough.  I cut them back severely and they were treated to try to stop the mildew from continuing.  I'm seeing new leaves so hopefully they will recover quickly and start to bloom again.  Time to fertilize again.

This one didn't show signs of the mildew but I treated it anyway. 

Down below is my favorite double impatiens plant.  I love the delicate pink color.

Well it's raining again so I'm heading back in!

I'm joining Fishtail Cottage for
Tuesday's Garden Party