Fishing by the Pool

I don't know about your side of the country but it sure has been hot, muggy and stormy around here lately.  I am so happy to finally have a clear evening for a little outdoor dining.  I've set the table quickly tonight as the sun is setting rather rapidly and it looks like the fish are jumping!

Placemats: Crate and Barrel

Dinner Plates: Christmas Tree Shops

Salad Plates: Christmas Tree Shops

Goblets: Christmas Tree Shops

Napkins: ?  Very Old

Glass Napkin Rings: ?  Can't remember, bought last year?  Gee I'm getting old!

Flatware: Steinmart

Candle Jars: Old Time Pottery

Thanks for stopping by!  

Hope you also get the time to enjoy a little outdoor dining this summer.

Be sure and visit the following parties for a little more tablescaping inspiration at;

Let's Dish

and

Tablescape Thursday

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

My Pool Noodle Project

Good Morning!  What a beautiful weekend it has been so far.  The weather has been just perfect with the sun shining brightly and the skies all clear. What a beautiful Father's Day today too!

 It's just the right kind of weather for spending time around the pool.  Since we put in a pool last year it has been such a joy!  So, I'm sure you can understand when I heard about a Pool Noodle Craft Party going on over at Debbiedoo's I had to find out a bit more.  I knew I was going to be all about this one!

The challenge was to create something using a pool noodle.  I am sure I won't be the only one who decided to make a wreath.  But...mines not just any old wreath, Oh no!!!  It's so much more!  So after spending only $3.00 at the DT I gathered up the rest of the supplies I already had on hand and went to work and here's my wreath!

What do you think?  Pretty cute and simple huh?

  Well, to be honest it wasn't quite that easy.  The first challenge I had was to find a way to make the noodle stay round.  The Mr. helped me out with that one.  He simply added a small rubber tube inside of both the holes on each end forcing them to connect together.  He's so smart like that!

  

Then, all I did next was add more of that white tulle ribbon that I already had along with some indoor/outdoor rope.  The noodle was item no.1 and the rope was item no.2  purchased from the DT. 

The sign was item no.3 purchased from the DT.  Unfortunately it didn't quite say what I wanted it to.  So, it had to undergo a little transformation.  Since it was the right size (and price), I thought it was worth effort.

I decided to keep the flip flops since they were already on the original sign and just worked around that.  I repainted the sign white because it was brown and added the words with a paint pen.

If you look closely you can see where the previous words originally were on the sign.  I did some light sanding but obviously not quite enough.   Oops! The original words ( Beach House) were glittery and textured.  I thought I got most of that off but not quite. 

Oh well!  To be honest I really didn't have a lot of time to invest in this but really wanted to get it done.  I was especially rushed this week because we are leaving for the beach ourselves today.  Whoo hoo!  Anyway, I think the sign looks just fine, don't you?  Sure you do, but there is just one little itty bitty problem.

You see, I can't in all good conciseness go out of town with a sign like this hanging on our pool.

Now a sign like this....I could live with!

That's right friends, flip the sign and were all set.

This side looks so much better without any previous wording showing through.  LOL!

So there you have it.

Pool Open!

Pool Closed!

I decided to hang it right there on the fence by the pool too!

The Mr. said, " Hey, we can use it as a life preserver too if we need too."  LOL!

Didn't I tell you it was so much more then just a wreath?

This was a fun project!  Thanks so much for the inspiration to create something fun with a pool noodle ladies.  I really enjoyed the challenge! 

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today too.  Please be sure and visit 

Debbiedoo's

 to see many more of those amazing noodle projects on the 20th.

I hope I am able to get this post to link up but am not sure I will have internet connections where we are going but I will try!

Have a great week everyone!

How was your Mother's Day?

Mine was wonderful and I hope yours was too!  Part of my day was spent exactly as I anticipated...eating lunch with my Mom, my brothers and my husband and one of my sons.

Can you figure out where we went? 

(Oh No, she did..ant y'all!  That crazy Decorative Dreamer did not just posted her leftovers online, did she?  OMG!)

Admit it you are drooling now aren't you?  You have to admit the spaghetti w/meatballs, bread sticks and salad is pretty darn good at the Olive Garden.

Before lunch I received two very thoughtful gifts from my husband and children.

The Mr. gave me the Mac Daddy of camera cases.  It is a travel back pack.  It's so cool.  It has a space for everything for your camera including an insulated pouch for your laptop too.

It also came with a smaller day holster that I have been really wanting.  I think I will be blogging on vacation now!  Woohoo!

Here's a glimpse at what my kids gave me.  No, unfortunately it wasn't a nice afternoon together in the pool.  Though I am really looking forward to that if I should ever get a day off that it is not raining.  

There's my gift!  It's the big pink float sitting on top of the lounge chair.  My husband bought the green one a few weeks ago for himself so my son decided to get me one too!  Sweet!!!

Seriously, I cannot wait to get into our pool!  Someone asked me how my grass was so green on here recently, well y'all this is how.  Can you see how overcast it is in this picture?  

Yep, it's because we have been getting so many rainy days.  I am very thankful for the rain and will especially love it if it gets as hot as it did last summer.   Although, I am kinda hoping for a few more sunnier days here soon.  

Since we couldn't enjoy our time outside, my Mr. completed a few honey do's for me.  I finally got the outdoor chandy moved over to the opposite side of the screened porch.

Now it hangs directly over the table again after moving the table over here.  It's the small things!

-

Another little honey do that is done on his part was attaching my two shutters together.  Do you remember I posted about these last year after I painted them?  Well after wrestling with the idea of how to hang them on each side of the window with out adding more nail holes in my vinyl and that not working out I had given up on them.  They basically have sat on my porch  all year standing up and acting as a very unstable plant stand.  I recently got to looking at them and decided why not just reattach them together and hang them on one side as one big wall hanging, so we did.

I've temporarily hung an old sailing plaque on them that I have.   I really ought to take it down to hang aboard the sailboat.  But for now it's staying until I can find the right inspiration of what I want to go on top of the shutters.  You know something like a wreath maybe, or flowers, flower pots, shells, iron pieces, letters, etc.  Oh my head is swimming with ideas on what to add to this!

It's tough being a Decorative Dreamer ya know!

He-he!

I am joining The Tablescaper today for

Seasonal Sunday.

  She is celebrating her 100th Seasonal Sunday too. What a great time to share the joys of the season!

I hope each of you had a lovely day and enjoyed your Mother's day as much as I did!

Thanks so much for stopping by friends!

Dreaming Under The Sea!

So last week amid all the craziness that has become my life, I received an email from one of our local garden centers.  It was one of those wonderful emails, that alerts you to their newest arrivals. Only these newest arrivals actually reeled me in like a big fish on a hook.  You could say, I literally fell for this email alert hook line and sinker!

What was it all about you ask?  Well, let me show you!

It was all about Coleus.  But wait...not just any type of Coleus plants, mind you.

Oh no!  These are the newest cultivar's of the Coleus world.

Quite interesting aren't they?

Isn't there anything about these Coleus that is catching your attention just a bit more then usual?

Yeah!  I thought so!

Maybe it's the shape and color of the leaves on this "Gold Anemone" plant that got your attention.

Amazingly beautiful, right?  But wait, let's take a closer look.

Do they look a bit more like something you would find under the sea?

Something more like... "Red Coral" perhaps?

I thought so too!  And that is exactly why I just had to rush out and purchase a few of these for myself.

I also had to find just the right pot to put them in as well.  I think I did pretty good.  Gotta love TJ Maxx!

I loved the name of this one so much that when I saw they had sample sizes of this plant I bought several.  Who could resist something like..."Lime Shrimp", certainly not me!

or pass up on an offering of...Bone Fish...could you?  Really?

I cannot wait to see how they grow! These newest cultivar's of Coleus are among the most unique introductions this past year from Hort Couture.  They are supposed to be more sun tolerant then the regular varieties of coleus and I certainly hope so!  I love how they are real stunners resembling sea creatures and corals from under the sea. They offer quite an assortment listed under names more familiar in the ocean.  I purchased only four different varieties.  

I love finding something new in gardening, especially since it complements our newest addition perfectly this year.  If your looking for something a little extra special and unusual for your outdoor area, I can't recommend these enough.  If I could have found a bigger pot that I liked I would have gotten even more!  Just sharing a little something new today! 

What do you think? 

Pretty cool huh?

Joining a new to me linky party today at

Cottage Garden Party

Have a great day!