Friday, May 27, 2011

A BIT OF A CATASTROPHE

Hello y'all.  Wow, there has been SOOOO much going on in my life lately that I have not had the time to really do much playing or posting.....Though I have been keeping up with all your posts....Between planning and decorating for the Mother-Daughter banquet (that post HERE) and now for a graduation, and trying to find the time to finish resurfacing the driveway, I have been a very busy girl and....earlier this week I found myself a whole lot BUSIER....busier that is cleaning up after our little...HUGE...catastrophe...

Can you tell what this is?...



...We had a storm come through early Wednesday morning...the strong winds blew over my GINORMOUS red oak tree in the side yard...that wouldn't have been so bad except for not only was it my absolute most FAVORITE tree in the entire yard...but it squished...by squished, I mean completely FLATTENED our two vehicles parked in the drive way...yes, you heard me right...both our vehicles totalled...BY AN OAK TREE...




...this is surely a catastrophe for us....since these are the only vehicles we have but...they are replaceable...after seeing the tree and where it fell, I immediately started thanking our wonderful God that it did not land on the house...as my daughter was sleeping right upstairs...I know without a doubt that it was the hand of God that kept us safe...



...to the left, the house...and to the right, the garage...neither received so much as a SCRATCH...as I said my daughter was sleeping upstairs...she never awoke until it was time to get up for school...my son (because he's still afraid of the dark) was sleeping on the sofa near my bedroom...he also stayed asleep through all the COMMOTION...



...now we are just waiting for the insurance adjuster to come assess the damage...the problem....the adjusters are so busy because of damage from tornados in Joplin, MO and other areas....our appointment for the adjuster to come is not until June 14....two whole weeks...so we are waiting...ever so patiently...NOT....

...anyway, we feel so blessed that our lives and home were spared through this little disaster...and I am kind of excited to be looking for a new car...looking for something a little more gas efficient...I was only two payments away from having the van paid off...so I figured I would be in the market for a new car soon anyway....

I am linking up today to Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home...and I will be back soon with car reports and some pics of the graduation decor...STAY TUNED!!


Friday, May 13, 2011

A LITTLE INSPIRATION...FRENCH STYLE

Though I have very few things in the way of FRENCH style furnishings or decor and my house is not necessarily a beautiful french CHATEAU...I would love to have a house full of all things french...who wouldn't, right?...I truly love the french country style trending right now...but I prefer French Provincial or baroque style...you know, something with a more formal frenchy flair, so to speak



...Over the past few months, I have been toying with the idea of doing a little of this french provincial style decorating in my dining room and living room areas...the key phrase here is..."toying with the idea"...as I know the hubster is not going to willingly agree to fund this little decorating adventure of mine...(I wonder if shedding a few tears, or if giving him a few backrubs and foot massages will work, hmmm....after looking at these gorgeous inspiration photos I found....I just might have to consider those forms of persuasion , lol)...

...let's start in the dining room, shall we...





...yes, these lean more toward the country french side, and I just love the curves and "blueness" of it all...

but, I'm leaning more towards this...



ohhhh so formal...I love the tray ceiling which is in a lovely shade of gold and the beautiful gold damask chairs, gorgeous...but I'd even settle for this (which I believe is a little more on the greek/roman side...maybe even eqyptian inspired design, nevertheless, very beautiful)...


Found at Decork: Modern Furniture and Decoration blog
in case you want to take a look

...I found a few bed and bath items that are just to die for...
Is this bed awesome or what...(kind of frenchy goes hollywood glam)...I could just see beautiful fringed, velvety linens and pillows everywhere...perhaps in colors that would coordinate with this litttle beauty...I so want this little chest...

I love this writing desk...I know you will too and I expect that one of you fabulous furniture restorers out there...is going to have to do something like this...Tre' chic!




...okay, for the bath...could you imagine brushing your teeth here...



I just love the "crown" mirrors...and actually, I'm a lucky girl because I already have a mirror similar to these in my dining room....now onto the living room...







...how's this for french chateau....so relaxing and beautiful...and now for the piece de resistance...drum roll please...



...not really my colors, but I so WANT this sofa/daybed....oh so frenchy!!!

Have a fabulous and inspiring weekend...AU REVOIR!



Monday, May 9, 2011

I LOVE...LITTLE BABY DUCKS

Remember that OLD song?  Used to be one of my favs, oh say, when I was 10...I have more of a sophistocated taste in music these days...but I was reminded of that ol' song today....

...There is a little park close to work where I often eat lunch.  Hoppe Spring Park.  I love it there.  It is a little slice of HEAVEN on earth.  A sweet and PEACEFUL place to have lunch...

...TRICKLING from the mouth of a cave, is a natural SPRING which flows into a little duck pond...from there it flows out to the creek which runs through town on down to the river.  Missouri is chock full of rivers and natural waterways, oh and caves...It truly is a BEAUTIFUL place to live.  I can't say I have always loved Missouri...since being raised in Illinois, I thought the fresh smell and beauty of corn fields were the cat's meow...but I have grown to appreciate the simple GRANDEUR of Missouri's many natural wonders...

...As I parked in my usual spot to eat lunch, I was greeted with an ohhh so cute and pleasant surprise...



...a pretty little momma and her beautiful little baby ducklings...I LOVE...LITTLE BABY DUCKS...don't you?



....awwww, aren't they just TOO CUTE!!!!  Have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

MOTHER-DAUGHTER TEA PARTY

I was ECSTATIC when they asked little ol' me to do the decorating for the annual MOTHER-DAUGHTER BANQUET at church this year...the theme..."TEA PARTY"...I just love tea parties...don't you?...but once the enthusiasm of being the chosen decorater wore off (well that never happened because I absolutely LOVE to decorate for parties)...I  PANICKED...as I have never hosted or decorated for a tea party (I know, I know...for shame)...not to mention...I had very little to use in the way of decorating for a such a party...OR so I thought...but after shopping the house, I actually found quite a few things to use...

...and what I didn't have at home, I thrifted...or borrowed...this is what I came up with...(I do warn you that our church basement is not a beautiful banquet hall...it's not very well lit and is usually used for holding children's church on Wednesday nights...so my pictures are not the best of quality)...but everything turned out fabulous...

...starting with the DINING tables...each table had a DIFFERENT floral centerpiece...the "vase" for each floral was a TEAPOT...




...well, except for this one...it was a ceramic purse...but still fitting for a tea party...











...yes, I know a diverse bunch of centerpieces but each one was beautiful...and to me, the variety made everything that much more beautiful....now for a few dining room shots...






I used pretty tea cups and saucers at either end of the tables as tealight candle holders...they were adorable...


...each guest received a small glass teacup filled with "scripture" tea packets...and each tied with a coordinating bow as a favor...



...now for the serving tables...(I did not get any shots of the tasty little sandwiches, hors'douvres or the drinks and desserts but lets just say we had plenty of everything delicious!)

...this is the buffet table


I just LOVE the sweet little rose bedsheets tablecloths and sheer draperies panels...they worked perfectly as linens for these tables...and


...now the drink table...





...everyone needs a hat to wear...now, onto our sweet little dessert table...




It is a tradition at our annual Mother-Daughter Banquets that we have a special place set up to take pictures of the mothers with their daughters....just so they each have a little keepsake of the event...this year I commissioned one of the men of the church to build me a faux fireplace mantel...which I had intended to use with a small table and chairs set with tea for two...however, I couldn't get the mantel to stand flush against the wall so I came up with an alternative setting using a few of my outdoor pieces...which I thought worked out well...



...(I know AN UGLY FICUS TREE...I really didn't want to use the tree but it was a good fill-in and hid the corner well)...



...the little white cakeplate you see here was made by gluing a pretty white plate on top of a glass candleholder...I paid $1.25 for both pieces and simply glued them together...it turned out so pretty...


...well, I felt so bad for not using the cute little mantel that I had asked to be made especially for this occasion...that in impromptu fashion I set up another little area using the mantel and a few extra things I had on hand...everything turned out so cute....in fact everyone wanted their picture taken here too...



....and for the CUTEST pictures of all........



...and the little maitre'd...



Thank you for stopping by my little "TEA PARTY"...I am sharing this week at these parties...

Making The World Cuter @ Making The World Cuter
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage
Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday @ A Silken Purse
Twice Owned Tuesday @ House Of Grace
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

I'm also joining the Mother's Day Blog Party @ A Holiday Haven
and Liz @ Rose Vingettes for Fresh Cut Fridays

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Monday, May 2, 2011

A PEAK AT WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

I know, I know...it seems it's been forever since you've heard from me...no I haven't dropped off the face of the earth...the truth is...I HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY...planning and decorating for the annual Mother-Daughter Banquet at church...I thought I would give you a little sneak peak...



...STAY TUNED the rest is yet to come...I will be joining Marty over at a Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday and a few others with all the features and HIGHLIGHTS later this week...see you there!!!



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