Too Good to Last

 I have been savoring our lower than normal temperatures this last week but, I am enough of a realist to know that they wouldn't last forever! This morning summer punched me in the face once again. The cool nights are back to being warm and muggy! I thought I could fool Mother Nature a bit and get some more outdoor chores done-and I did-but, the heat literally took my breath away so my furry friend and I are once again back in the house.

I actually just started a big pot of my favorite Martha Stewart soup, vegetable vermicelli. I know that sounds odd with the temperatures soaring outside but, this soup is so thick with vermicelli that it reads more like a pasta dish and it makes enough that I will be eating on it for quite some time so no more cooking for awhile!

So with all of that under my belt, I thought I would come into my office, sit down for a bit and maybe get another post done. Today we'll head into the kitchen.

My old carpenter's box is once again chock full of handmade items. The glass plates are from gatherings with my grand children. It seems as if we made those plates so many times. It made the perfect gift for family and friends when coupled with any homemade goodie that they would bake. And, truth be told, they still love to make the plates and ask to do one almost every time we can still gather for a holiday weekend. I love it as a craft for younger ones because, they really can't mess them up. Even if there are wrinkles in their napkins or tissue paper, it dries fine and still looks great!

And the beautiful pot holders you see were made for me by my sister-in-law, She knows how much I love my seasonal/holiday decorating and made me sets for a number of holidays. I think she made them because she knew how much trouble I was having finding pot holders to purchase but, these are just too pretty to use so they have now become a favorite part of my decor!

This is where the cutting board ended up.

I did a quick swap of the image on this pallet sign. Last year it had a much more "country" image and just wasn't speaking to me this year. I found this image that I must have printed for something and never used so I basically just soaked the old one off and decoupaged this one in its place. I think I like it better now.

The baker's rack is pretty much as it has been for a few years. I did swap out the picture on the top shelf and added the candle in the starred container. I thought it fit right in with the pottery on the second shelf.

So that is the kitchen for this year. I am still on the look-out for some new craft ideas because even I am getting tired of the same ole', same ole'. But, believe me, they seem to be few and fair between and, as usually happens in the crafting world, bloggers have already done so many patriotic things this year that they are moving on. I persevere and keep thinking I will happen upon the greatest project ever if I just keep looking but so far, no luck. We shall see. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Beautiful Day!

 It is an absolutely gorgeous day out-dare I say it was even a bit chilly when I first took my grand dog out early this morning? A day like this just calls for some work outside and, even though I really didn't want to tackle any large projects today-like the much needed pressure cleaning-I knew I had to be out there for a bit.

We actually headed out to tie back the sky vine that is once again growing like Jack's bean stalk! It is always  bit of a challenge because it has off shoots going every which way and I have to get pretty high up on that ladder to corral them all in, but it has already started to bloom and I wanted it to cover the pergola once again for the beautiful flowers to hang and look gorgeous.

And, of course, as usual, once I'm out there one thing leads to another-if you give a mouse a cookie....Lol We got lots of weeding done, jasmine cut back on the trellises, border grass cleaned out a bit and some of the bushes that just had growth spurts cut back. I'm thinking we might head back out a bit later with a book and a glass of wine but, for now, we're back inside and getting a few more little things caught up.

I thought before I got busy, I would start this year's 4th of July/Memorial Day tour. I planted the spring flowers that were on the porch out in the terraced garden by the pool and replaced them with some blue daze, white periwinkles, red pentas and pots of red, white and "blueish" purple periwinkles that I found at Lowes. It's hard to see the "blue" flowers in these pictures, but they're there.

Welcome to the living room.

I still chuckle every time I feed the Declaration of Independence into the typewriter for this vignette remembering that grandson #1 once told me that this isn't correct since that document was hand written-and this happened when he was just a little boy. I quickly explained "decorating license" where themed vignettes were concerned. Lol

 I saw this flag holder in a Martha Stewart Magazine many years ago. I almost didn't make them because the new ball feet at Lowes were SO expensive. But, I kept it in the back of my mind and one day daughter #3 took us to "The Fancy Flea" festival in Madison, Florida and I happened upon a box of antique ball feet for a reasonable price and grabbed them up. I made these as family gifts and I still love mine so much.

I love the spindle Uncle Sams-there is a different one in the family room. It is really hard to find new 4th of July ideas. Even the bloggers I follow seem to be doing the same crafts that have been done for years so inspiration is hard to come by these days.

 I'm still loving my Bethany Lowe inspired banner that I saw in a catalog and made. The funny part of this story is that I was soon after in my favorite shop in Micanopy that carries a lot of Bethany Lowe items and realized that the banner was actually scaled to drape on a tabletop tree. I guess I never looked at the dimensions listed but, I wanted mine large so I'm happier with mine than the original...and, it cost a WHOLE lot LESS!

So this is where the vintage image wreath ended up. I really wanted it with the vintage figures but, I didn't like the way that the back of the images reflect in the mirror. I have since taken it down and painted the back red. It isn't perfect but it is better so it is staying right there. It's also kind of hard to get a good picture because if you do straight on in front of any of my many mirrors you not only get a flash back but you see me. Lol

So that is the porch and living room for this year unless I see something new I want to try. I'm off to get a few things done before I give myself the rest of the day. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Breathing Again!

 I have made it through all of the wonderful festivities that have been happening in our family the last few weeks! We have had sports banquets, award ceremonies, "passing of the light" ceremonies, graduations and a celebratory/going away party!! It has been exhausting but so exhilarating at the same time. Our family was recognizing two major life changes in one family-graduating from middle school to high school for Presley and graduating high school and, in this case, on to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy for her brother, Harrison!

Several days saw two ceremonies each for us but, I don't think any of us would have missed one of these occasions!

I have shared Harrison's events so today I am sharing his sister's. Presley started her week with the award ceremony where she was presented her honor society cord.

The next day came baccalaureate-which was also a "passing of the light" ceremony where the 8th graders present candles to the upcoming class. It is always a bit of a tear jerker as you are reminded yet again at just how quickly time is moving. This little one who "just" graduated from pre-school is now heading to high school!

 

And then we had graduation on Tuesday. It was a bit of a rainy evening so we didn't get to do as many pictures as we would normally do. I'm guessing Presley was happy that photo ops were over a lot faster than usual. Lol

It was a late evening but these two (Presley and her best friend forever) convinced us to stop downtown at the local chocolate and ice cream shop for a celebratory milkshake.

Since then, I have been decorating for the 4th of July and am almost ready to share. Daughter #3 and family head out of town tomorrow for 9 days so I will have my fur friend here with me and we will look in on the cats as well but, that aside, I think I am ready to get back to crafting and decorating...and I bet you are ready for that too. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.