A Little Break

Sometimes real life gets in the way of blogging. Don't you hate it when that happens? ;)

My son is coming home for a few days, and we are all going to my nephew's graduation party this weekend. So I think I'm going to take a few days off, to enjoy my family and maybe get something done around the house. I've got flower pots to fill, and a garage to clean out, and our bedroom to finish decorating, and... well, you get the idea.

And I just need a break from the computer. So have a wonderful weekend, dear bloggers, and I'll catch you sometime next week. :)

Tablescape Thursday: Green and Cream Lunch

Welcome! We're lunching on the deck today. We have to be quick, though, because it's getting a little cloudy and I think it may rain.

Just soup and a salad this afternoon. I have used my white Atelier at Home dinner plates as chargers, and topped them with salad plates by April Cornell and soup bowls by Kate Williams at Global Design Connections. The water goblets and tablecloth are both from Waterford. Soft green napkins are paired with silver napkin rings from Bed, Bath & Beyond. I've tucked a few daisies into the rings.

By now you know that I can't set a table without some thrift store flatware. Aren't these pretty?

We have two tables on our deck -- one with an umbrella in the center, and this one which belonged to my mother. The iron chairs are surprisingly comfortable, even without cushions.

Potted mint is nestled into a Carnival glass bowl. Little glass baskets -- salt cellars? -- hold a single daisy at each place setting.

The soup tureen is by a company called Mannerisms. It usually sits on my kitchen counter as part of a creamware collection. Do you recognize my new wire bird cage? I filled it with some greenery in a milk glass goblet. I've also used a piece of garden statuary here -- a concrete basket of flowers.

The urn-shaped planter holds cleome. The basketweave pot has some greenery but needs some more color. I've been neglecting my pots this year, because of all the rain. I see a trip to the garden center later on this week. The small concrete bird was found at an estate sale for $5.

Many thanks to our lovely Tablescape Thursday hostess, Susan, of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit her for more wonderful tablescapes.

A Summer's Day

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass
on a summer day listening to the murmur of water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is hardly a waste of time.
- John Lubbock

Happy summer, dear bloggers!

Pressed Flowers

As I was looking around our Little Red House for something to show you, I spied the wall of pressed flowers in our tiny den.

I began collecting these a few years ago when I bought the two little framed pieces above at my favorite thrift store. I have since found them in antiques stores and at rummage sales, too.

I seem to have found a lot of pairs, which really helps when you are trying to create a balanced grouping on the wall.

I love it that they all have gold frames, which makes them perfect for my den or my library. And the pretty frame shapes are quite pleasing, too.

After two or three years of collecting, I now have enough to fill a small wall above the wing chair in our tiny den. There is really no room for any more, but I still have to stop myself from bringing home more when I find them.

Once a collector, always a collector. Or in other words, two is a pair, three is a collection. After that, beware. ;)

I'm linking this post to Three or more Tuesday, hosted by the lovely Tam, of

The Gypsy's Corner.

Mosaic Monday: Happy Father's Day

Welcome to another Mosaic Monday. This is my stab at a masculine mosaic for Father's Day. Yes, I know. But when you take mostly flower photos, it's hard to find something in the files that's not pink, or frilly. :)

I do like to take landscape photos, though, and since my husband loves the countryside, I thought I would put his photo in the center (with my son, Liam) and surround him with the sorts of scenes he loves.

So Happy Father's Day to the best father in the world!

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:

1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky:

A Sneak Peek

Just a sneak peek at the master bedroom. We had it painted earlier this spring, but haven't gotten around to hanging art or buying lamps or rugs or a headboard... I chose a pretty toile fabric to make a duvet and other soft furnishings, but have not gotten around to that either... And I also want to paint that hideous dresser on the right ...

So, more to come here in dribs and drabs throughout the summer... :)

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In the meantime, please consider joining the fun at Mosaic Monday. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30PM Sunday. Enjoy your weekend, dear bloggers!

Rainy Day, Gone Shopping

Wendy Whiner Alert: this post may contain complaints about the weather.

It's been raining so much this month that we've begun to feel as though we are caged inside the house. It's June, for God's sake. Is it too much to ask that we are able to take a walk once in awhile, or work in the garden?

OK, I've got the complaints out of the way right up front. ;)

So what do you do when you feel as though you are a bird in a cage?

You fly away for a little retail therapy, of course.

We had to do a Best Buy run to pick up my daughter's new camera, so we popped into TJMaxx for a little browse.

A little birdie suggested that this sweet chippy wire bird cage and metal lantern might want to come home with us.

I think they look kind of nice in my kitchen, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun playing with them on the deck as well.

OK, this picture is in here just because... well, I don't really know. Actually, this is illustrative of what happens when I'm stuck in the house. I paint the pantry doors. ;)

So I'm going to have some fun playing with these babies. A centerpiece of lanterns? A small potted plant inside the birdcage?

Yep, going out shopping is way better than staying in the kitchen eating the rainy day away. Although I did some of that, too... ;)

What do you do on rainy days?