Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  

I'm creating this table up but I won't be able
to use it until I'm back from visiting family
for Thanksgiving.

I set the table with my new 

Ralph Lauren tablecloth (T.J. Maxx)

I loved the rich colors it offered.

I made an arrangement in the center

using two turkey statues perched

on wooden pedestals.  

A wicker cornucopia that I had from a few years back.

I fluffed it up with a few more pieces.

 Front and back views

I can lift these pieces off easily to set food on

the table.  

I found the placemats at Bed Bath and Beyond

and the chargers are from J.C.Penney

Chris Madden's Harvest Group

They look like carved wood but

I believe they are like a melamine material.

These rust colored dishes are from

Dillard's and they are made by

Noble Excellence and are called

Scroll, Terracotta

These leaves are from the same

Chris Madden, Harvest group

 The acorn is by Living Quarters from 

the Harvest collection at Younkers

I brought out these little candle votives

and set these cute little pumpkin

candles on top. I clustered them

with the glassware.

The amber glassware are recent

acquisitions from T.J. Maxx

I always love to see it with the candles lit!

 I love the ambiance that candlelight

creates. These are my new Casa
Cristina collection pieces.

So this will be my Thanksgiving table

(a few days after Thanksgiving)

We're having a couple of friends

over for an evening meal!

I hope your Thanksgiving will be full of great eating and

hopefully some cherished memories

with lots of love!

I'm liking with 
Between Naps on the Porch-Tablescape Thursdays

Happy Thanksgiving

On a special note I want to call out this posting by Yvonne @ Stonegable, please check it out and read her commentary about the holidays.  I'm with her on this one all the way and hope that we all take a minute to let these holidays breathe a bit more and enjoy them. We're not in a race- what's the rush?

Dish Heaven-Closet Transformation

Follow up to yesterday's post about 
my new closet transformation!

I have to admit that when I first found 
Susan's blog BNOTP and saw this posting 
it stuck in my head and it gave me the
inspiration and some ideas for 
what I ended up with!

  Check this posting out from her blog 
from 2 years ago.
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/10/dish-heaven.html

Ya gotta love it!


I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought
various containers and wire racks for
stacking dishes on today.  I'm working
on putting it together and will share
it when I'm more organized!

Closet Transformation

So this weekend I got a project done

by my hubby from my Honey-do list.

Our home is small and is short on

storage.  Since the kids 

are grown and out of the house 

I finally decided to take over my 

daughter's bedroom closet to help me 

with storage for my 

extra dishes and deco items.

This is a shot of the closet with one

of the old wire racks still in place.

It's 58' wide on the inside by just over

24" deep. (There is a set of by-pass doors

on so you are only seeing 1/2 of it open).

I came up with the idea of building in

shelves with a solid surface that would be 

well supported and allow me a lot of storage 

space for dishes and accessories.  

The project evolved over a few 

days after hitting up the stores

for supplies.  We ended up with 

white vinyl coated MDF boards

that are almost 24" deep.  I started

out thinking I would be fine with

the 15" ones they had but after

hashing it out with my hubby we

decided to get the deeper shelves.

 The bottom sections are 15" apart and the third one up is 18" leaving approx. 30" to the ceiling.  I can put tall items on the top like vases or candle holders.

He used 1" x 2" pine strips to go under

the edge of the shelves.  He used drywall

anchors when he couldn't find a stud to

drill into.  He also used a 2" round dowel

to add support for the front area 

of the shelves. Because I changed the

15" to 18" on the third shelf the dowel

we bought wasn't long enough so we

have to get another piece to finish the

third shelf.  

I put one set of dinner plates on a shelf to

show you how how much room I'm going

to have to work with!

That was my "metamorphosis"of the 

closet space!! 

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

and
Marty at A stroll Through Life
for 
Table Top Tuesday

Amaryllis for the Holidays

Well I'm going for it again!

I bought two Amaryllis bulbs at

Lowe's yesterday.

It says 8 weeks till bloom so

I guess I can't count on them 

for Christmas! Darn!

 I was impressed that they came with

their own ceramic pot and for

$8.98 I thought that was a deal!

Of course they usually get a little floppy

and need support but it's enjoyable

to see something blooming in

the winter!

So you get two discs of compressed 

peat moss and dirt 

They instructed me to put the discs in the

pot and add two cups of warm water

to each pot.

Once they absorbed all the water

they filled the pot.  I fluffed a fork

to loosen.

Then I started to sculpt out a hole

for the bulb.

There was way too much soil 

Don't worry I sanitized the counter

when I was done!

 I compressed the soil as I went along

and filled it right up to the top.  

You leave 1 to 2 inches of the bulb

above the soil.

All ready!  Now GROW!!

I put them in the sunniest spot I have

and as you can see we got snow

last night.  It will melt soon 

but for now I'm glad to be inside all

warm and cozy!

 This is one I grew in the winter of

2009/10 

It grew to almost 40" tall

It was difficult to keep it

supported.  They don't usually

get this tall, I just happened to

pick one out that did!

I got a 2nd 

shoot off of it and it bloomed

again. I had this going through

February!

It was one of the prettiest reds I've 

ever seen...I just wished I had it

blooming during the Christmas

season.  

This was last years.  Not quite as spectacular.

I've decided I prefer the reds, especially for the

holidays!  These were sold for the 

Susan G. Komen for the cure, for Breast Cancer

research.  A very worthy cause.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Have you ever grown Amaryllis?  It's

extremely easy! Keep them watered 

and watch them grow!