Vignette Friday

Welcome to Vignette Friday, hosted by the very talented and creative Artie, from Color Between the Lines!

Today I am showing off my dear friend, Toni's, lovely arrangement that she recently did in her cabinet.

I love how she mixed the white with the iron...

..and with a nod to her living in San Diego, incorporated sea-shells from her travels..do you see the darling key in there, too? It's so fun wandering around Toni's house, she puts unexpected little surprises in her arrangements.

There are some amazing vignettes linked over at Artie's..be sure to pop over and visit!!

Have a great weekend!

Tablescape Thursday

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday! Hosted by the lovely Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  A couple of weeks ago Steve took me to check out model homes, knowing how much I love looking at the decor. He's so good to me! ;-)

Two of the houses we looked at had fun tablescapes so I snapped a few pics to show you! (I'll show you the other house next week.) I just love these aqua colors and thought how interesting to use the candles on each place setting..

Aren't these plates gorgeous? I just loved how everything..the napkin, candle and place card holder was grouped together on the plate.

There some lovely tablescapes ready for you perusal over at Between Naps on the Porch.. be sure to check them out!

Have a great day!!

TableTop Tuesday

I just got back from a week in Southern California..still got a lotta laundry to do and general catching up and re-grouping, but I wanted to join everyone at Marty's A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.

Marty graciously hosts Tabletop Tuesday where you can show tabletop displays, vignettes and accessories.

This morning when I checked there were over 60 participating!

If you haven't figured it out yet, this is our master bathroom...this is a "candelier" made with punchbowl cups attached to a chandelier holder. I put vanilla scented tea lights in them and draped a garland of prisms from an after Christmas sale.

Here are some closeups..all garage sale finds or family heirlooms...

The bottles were Steve's grandmother's and I embellished them with bits and bobs from her sewing box and glued her earrings on the lid..

A gift from Steve...knowing how much I love baths, he thought it perfect for this room!

(Such a great guy!)  ;-)

I think this container is suppose to hold plants..I love the way fluffy white towels look all rolled up in it!

Thanks for visiting! And thank you so much to all who commented on my 'Snippets' last week. I had fun pre-posting them for while I was away and I really appreciated your encouraging comments!! When I get settled back in the swing of things here I plan to visit you soon!

Be sure to visit Marty, where she has all the participants listed. There are some FABULOUS ideas for decorating! I can't wait to go thru the list myself and get some wonderful inspiration!

Blessings to you!

Snippet 8....

Snippet 7..

"Sacraments to life are made when we pursue any chore or activity with creativity and sincerity". Jenny Doh

"So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."               {Galatians 6:9 NLT}

Snippet 6..

"Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind."

{Henri Frederic Amiel}

Snippet 5..

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty." {Uchtdorf}

Snippet 4..

See the beauty in the everyday

Poetry in the ordinary

Holy in the common

Snippet 3..

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Henry David Thoreau from the "Conclusion" to Walden

Snippet 2...

“Don’t let the fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—

Whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. You are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place. Lift up your chin; walk tall. God loves you.”{Uchtdorf}

Snippets of my home..

Hello Friends! I am going to be away from my computer this week, but thought I'd pre-schedule postings..just little 'snippet-pics' of my home with a little quote to ponder. I pray it will bring encouragement to you...Have a lovely week!!

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. - {Roald Dahl}

Vignette Friday

One of the (many) blessings of having a blog is all the new friends one can make when participating in a 'blog party'. Artie from Color Outside the Lines found me by way of Susan at Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Party and invited me to participate in his new endeavor 'Vignette Friday'. I would have never known about his fabulous blog had he not commented in mine. You MUST visit him...he is extremely talented and shares wonderful interior decorating ideas!

So for Vignette Friday, I thought I'd show you the change in our bookshelves in our family room.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

More simpler and streamlined and, oh yes..more books! ;-)

This old typewriter is set in with pictures of my mom in her wedding dress..Steve's parents that says 'lovers' on the back ;-), and a vintage type pic of our youngest son, Caleb.

I've started collecting antique wine glasses..the green ones are new, tho..a 50th birthday present to Steve and me from our sister-in-law. The silver tray was a recent garage sale find for $2.00!!!

I like books set every-which-way, instead of all stacked in a row..I think it makes it more interesting to look at.

It gives our family room more of a homey and cozy feel..I got two thumbs up from the other members of the household, also!

Check out all the other vignettes at Color Outside the Lines!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Tablescape Thursday..French Twist

We have a little section in our backyard that's just off the formal dining room. We never use that area, and I wanted a little change from the usual spot where we eat. Steve moved a lavender plant over into the corner to hide the hose and voila~a French theme was born! ;-)

I grabbed the ivy topiary off the fireplace hearth to use as centerpiece..

and flanked it with oil lamps made from wine bottles.

The flatware was Steve's grandmother's..I like the rustic feel it added to the table.

French toile napkins are being held by a rustic 'pot' napkin ring. Slices of butter sits on ice in the covered silver dish. I used little glass compote dishes to hold the cucumber salad at each place setting. Plastic plates, plastic black chargers and plastic wine glasses~oh,  so convenient for outdoor dining!

The fountain made a soothing sound as we dined...

Be sure to visit Susan's blog Between Naps on The Porch to view many wonderful Tablescapes!

Au revoir!

The Green Pea

When I was visiting with my dad and Leilani, she mentioned that the town of Escalon was nearby. I remembered being in touch with a blogger that had a store there, and asked if we could go visit. Leilani and my dad are always up for a drive (and an adventure) so off we went.

This is The Green Pea, THE most darling store full of vintagey goodness!!

And this is Sandi, the very talented owner of The Green Pea. She was so sweet and kind and gracious..a pleasure to meet and visit with! I also had the pleasure of meeting her wonderful husband, Jim, the muscle behind the creation of The Green Pea..... Here are some more pics of her shop:

She decorated EVERYTHING..see the balcony on top? There are darling vignettes all along the balcony:

Even the 'necessary room' was cute!! ;-)

Whilst I was tootling around the gorgeous shop, her friend, and fellow blogger, Becky from Sweet Cottage Dreams popped in. What a treat to meet her, too! Becky is just darling and has such a sweet spirit about her..I felt so blessed to meet two kindred spirits!

More pics of Sandi's store:

Like I said, she didn't miss any opportunity to decorated even the high ledges..I had to hold my camera over my head to shoot this darling display..

..and this one, too, that was on top of an armoire.

What a joy and a treat for me to meet these two lovely ladies.

Be sure to look up The Green Pea in Escalon if you're traveling through Central California..it is really worth the trip!