For an Autumn Woodland Wedding...

So... My aunt is getting married this coming Saturday at an outdoor venue in the Georgia mountains. You've seen the bird cage I decorated for her to hold the cards on the gift table in a previous post.  Here is her guest book...

Her wedding theme is birds, so I just had to add a bird to her guest book...

And since it's autumn, it had to have falling leaves...

I stamped the inside pages on opposite corners with this cute little bird...

And I had to alter a couple of pens for the occassion!

A little bird told me...

they will live happily ever after!

I'm leaving tomorrow morning and will be back sometime on Sunday. So, I'll see you when I get back!

Tuesday Tea and Talk Shows...

When I was a kid, I watched daytime TV with my mom... Before her "stories" (soap operas) started, we watched a talk show or two. The one I remember most was the Merv Griffin Show. For those of you too young to remember it, it was a talk show that had celebrities as guests and they talked about what was going on in the celebrities' lives... not unlike your typical late night talk show today. But daytime talk shows today tend to focus more on the real life of everyday people. Since I haven't been working, I've started watching one or two on an irregular basis. My favorite is the Nate Berkus Show! It has the obligatory celebrity, but mostly it's about design and fashion and how to acheive your own... no matter where you are in life. I didn't even know who this guy was until I saw him on an episode of "Design Star." (Am I getting too hung up in TV???  or worse... reality TV???)  Anyway... on his website he has a daily giveaway... Yay!

Today's giveaway - a cool toaster!

(Photo source Nate Berkus Show)

So I thought I'd share that with you while drinking my California Tea House Golden Monkey Paw black tea... which I let get cold... (and is in a cup with gold trim so I can't microwave it) oh well... there's more in the pot! Stay tuned for a review of this one on the tea blog!

Happy Tea Tuesday everyone! Don't forget to visit Kimmie to see what everyone else is up to today!

I Let the Cat Out of the Bag...

Or... the bird out of the cage...

This was supposed to be a surprise for my aunt's wedding, but I slipped last night on the phone with her.  She wanted a box for her gift table to put cards in... Her wedding is bird themed, so I thought... why not a bird cage?

Her wedding is October 1 and will be held outside in the Georgia mountains... Her flowers are red, white and yellow/orange bicolor roses and rose hip berries. I couldn't find the silk bicolored roses, so I used the big orange rose hips for that color. There will be birds on the napkins and other decorations. I'm still working on her guest book... which will have a cute little bird on it too.

I know... I need to get on it... I'm leaving Thursday!

Another After Shot!

Remember this?

My granddaughter's future vanity stool, looked like this when I bought it for $4...

Now it looks like this! The seat could have turned out a bit better... Who knew poly satin is so hard to upholster with! It will need to be reupholstered soon... but by then maybe I can find the hot pink plether I found before (and didn't buy!).  It will go well with her bright white antique vanity (it was her great grandmother's) with the pink crystal drawer knobs!

Tuesday Tea...

I'm sitting here drinking my usual morning black tea and thought I would share a blog post I wrote for the California Tea House Tea Chat Blog, Tea Health category, last night. It's a review of their Bedtime Chai II. It has yet to be published on the blog, but you can reach their website via the link above or by clicking on the button on my side bar...

Yes I'm one of those people... one of those who can't turn off their minds to get to sleep... one of those chronic insomniacs that take hours to fall asleep regardless of how tired or sleepy I am... and to top that off... I have Restless Leg Syndrome... not to mention the stress of today's economy...



So... every night before I attempt to get to sleep I sit out on my front porch and have a pot... yes a pot!... of some kind of "sleep" tea.  For two nights now, I've been drinking California Tea House's Bedtime Chai II.  Although, the jury is still out on whether it will help with the RLS, I've slept better the past two nights than I have in quite a long time...



It works well for me and the taste is wonderful! It is not wildly spicey like many chais. You can taste the Chamomile and Vanilla Bean and each individual spice, but the sweetness of the African Honeybush shines through! I highly recommend this tea if you have trouble sleeping... or even if you don't... It tastes that good!

Don't forget to visit Kimmie to see what all the tea posters are up to!

A New Before and After...

Take a burlap covered lampshade from Target and some black fuzzy trim...

add some black ink and a big fleur de lis stamp...

and you get this cool piece!

It will look great paired with either a sleek or an ornate lamp... and will work with any color!

I'm trying to increase my inventory for show season... More to come...

Garage Sale Finds...

There was some confusion this morning as to whose idea it was to go garage saling... IT WAS NOT MY IDEA! It was Bruce's brother's idea... "for something to do." But since Bruce wasn't going... and was willing to part with some pocket change... I went!

Got these great vintage sugar and creamer sets for $2 each!

A vintage milk pitcher and orphan Lefton China tea cup for $5!

This great Dixie Furniture Company night stand for $10!

And this cool lamp for $3!


But what to do with it....


Of course you KNOW I have some ideas!

Sassy Shoes and Some Before Pics...

I claim to not be a shoe person... But ohhh I so am a shoe person! Once in a great while I see a pair of shoes that I just have to have!  Like these...

My new gladiator boots! Aren't they just scrumptious? Pics soon of me in them...

And here are a few projects I'm working on...

An old metal piano stool...

that will become my granddaughter's vanity stool.

A luggage rack that I picked up off the side of the road, will become the base for a pretty tray table...

and a couple of photo frames, dresser trays in the making, and an old mug rack will be a bracelet display.

Stay tuned for the makeover results! This old stuff and this old me!

Tuesday Tea...

What do you add to your tea? Honey, lemon, Stevia, milk, mint? The possibilities are endless... In the mornings I always drink a strong black tea... Lately I've been enjoying it with ... ready for this?  Coffeemate French Vanilla creamer. I love vanilla in my black tea and once in a while I get on a kick where I add milk. The only sweetener I use is Stevia. So when I'm on a milk kick, I use the creamer... It adds the vanilla that I love and the "milk" ... I know it's non-dairy... and it's sweet enough that I don't even need the Stevia.

So... in my pot is some strong black Ceylon tea that I will add creamer to...  The flowers in the little vase on the tray are Basil flowers from my herb garden. Basil is something else I like to add to my teas... Sweet Basil adds a delicate spicey touch. I didn't grow any Sweet Basil this year, but I did grow African Blue and Cinnamon Basil. I've been enjoying White Tea in the early evenings with a sprig of Cinnamon Basil steeped in it. It adds a very subtle hint of cinnamon.

African Blue Basil

Is there something out of the ordinary that you like in your tea? Happy Tea Tuesday! Be sure to visit Kimmie to see what the rest of the ladies are up to.

Vintage Makeovers...

Here are a couple of things I've been working on... First, the candy dish...

I got this pretty little hand painted plate for a quarter at a thrift store.

I had a set of frosted glass candle sticks at home, so I mounted it on one of them...

and made this cute little raised dish for candy... keys... jewelry or whatever!

Now the old rusty cheese grater... which I got for $2 at the same thrift store.

I had my hubby cut a groove in a block of wood to mount it on. It needed a groove to slip the bottom of the frame into, because I wanted it to be able to sit on a dresser or vanity.

I then covered the base with decoupaged metallic gold tissue paper, glued in the frame and added more tissue paper to hide it. I also painted the edges with metallic gold acrylic paint to match the paper.

I adhered an old pink flower brooch to the loop handle at the top and added a pair of vintage leaf earrings....

I thought it needed more bling, so I glued a strip of rhinestones across the top and bottom....

and voila! I have a cool, shabby chic earring tree! 

I love it! And it's great for both wire and post type earrings, since it sits upright and doesn't hang on a wall.

Friday Haiku...

We are still waiting for this in Florida... but it's getting closer!

The sky grows paler...
a prelude to icy gray.
Colors warm below...
DDD2011

For more Friday Haiku visit Haiku my Heart.

Tuesday Tea... A Heavenly Match...

Good Morning! Thanks so much for all of your lovely comments about my anniversary post! For our anniversary, we went to breakfast, then out to Green Key (a nearby island park). More on that in another post... Today is all about tea! I'm having my usual black, this morning it's Ceylon, with milk and Stevia.

Isn't this the coolest little tea room you've ever seen??? Oh how I would love to run something like this! You can find the post and more photos here. I found it while researching tea blogs.

I was researching tea blogs, not just because I love tea (as you know), but also because I've started writing for California Tea House's Tea Chat Blog! You can find the link on my side bar and here is the link to my first post! It's posted under the "SpiritualiTea" category of the blog. Not only do I get to do one of my favorite things... write about tea and related topics, but I earn incredible loose leaf tea! A match made in heaven...

Happy Tea Tuesday everyone! Don't forget to visit Kimmie to see the other tea posts for the day!

Anniversary...

Seven years ago today, Bruce and I wed among a handful of family and friends while waiting for Hurricane Frances to make landfall in Florida.

Shortly after our dinner reception, which our best man couldn't stay for because the Skyway Bridge was about to be closed and he had to go over it to get home, the owners of the Bayboro House Bed and Breakfast boarded up the windows of the main house...

Bruce and I smuggled my dog, Fred, into the 100 year old cottage out back, where we stayed for two nights. My father, who was supposed to dog sit, was unable to make it down, due to the storm... Everyone else was evacuating... so he had to stay with us...

It was a lovely, windy day of alternating clouds and sun...

but all in all... was full of light...

Friday Haiku...

( copyright 2009 Jim P. Brock )

they gather en masse...
jewels scattered on the ground...
a magic carpet
DDD2011

For more haiku love visit Haiku my Heart