Fleeing the Coop!

Do you do Roos's? I didn't!  That is until I started decor blogging last year, and saw how warm and friendly they made all of your spaces.  Then suddenly they had wonderful new appeal.  However, too much of anything is never a good thing, and so it goes with me and blogging in general.

  Last year, I added quite a few Roo's to my home and posted about them here if you would like to see all of those.  I still find myself wistfully looking at them in the stores but I have decided to reign them in this year.  I am feeling much the same about blogging lately too.  But, more on that in just a bit, first I want to share a few new pretties who are joining the hen party this year.

This sturdy male took up roost by the door.

Isn't he quite the gentry?

The kitchen cupboard has a few hanging around.

Here's one who refuses to stay inside!

I must say, he is quite a colorful character!

But... this little sweetie from Cracker Barrel stole my heart!

Oh, why oh why, didn't I catch more of these when I had the chance!

Thank you Sheila for hosting another Heart of the Home party, Roosters and Chickens

 again this year.  Please go to 

Sheila's at Note Songs

to see more hens in the pen!

I have made a big decision regarding my blogging style.  I have decided for the time being to turn off all comments.  I have decided to do this so that you and I can enjoy blogging more "without" all the strings attached as far as I am concerned.  

It has been a pleasure getting to know many of you and I have always appreciated your comments.  But... I often find myself making too much of it all!

  I've been up and down so many times this past year, judged and misjudged and have nearly quit blogging all together many times for this very reason.  I enjoy blogging and visiting others, though I do not comment on many that I peep at often, no pun intended.  LOL!

  I find myself  really needing to move on with my time online these days.  I feel quite guilty and have been so misjudged when I don't find the time to respond to my commentors or visit and comment on all those I like to follow.  Not to mention a few of you who have even misjudged my comments to you.

  My statistics show me that I have quite a few who visit my blog regularly who are not even followers and never comment.  I am sure many of you have those as well.  Quite frankly, this style of "no comment" blogging is quite appealing to me!  I find the thought of it very freeing at this time in my life. 

 My plate is quite full these days and I am done stressing over this blog and all the real or perceived issues and attitudes that come with it due to the commenting factor.  Hopefully, this will be the last time I will ever have to cluck about this issue again.      

I do hope you will continue to enjoy following along with me when your so inclined but if you don't that's okay too, because the reality is, it's just a blog online.  Inspiration and designs come and go, but lost time can never be retrieved.  So my gift to all of you when you visit me is, you get to take a peep and move on giving you more time for all the other important things in life.

Time is precious Y'all, make the most of it! 

I'm certainly going too!   

  

Lady Bug, Lady Bug...

...fly away home!  And, that is exactly what they have done, only to my home!  Before I show you my newest tablescape creation, I have a little secret to share with you.  I have not always been such a big fan of ladybugs!  Now, I do remember finding quite a bit of delight in them as a child when you push their bottoms and they up and fly away.  Though as an adult, they have caused me more suffering then joy.  What in the world, you say?

When we lived across town in our old house I had french doors in our dining room that led out to a sunny back deck.  Unfortunately, the ladybugs were very attracted to the southern exposure of our back deck with it's double doors that lead inside.  A couple of times every year these bugs would swarm to get inside from fall through spring.  Much to my dismay they were quite successful at it as well.

I used to have to get the shop vac out regularly to get them all sucked up, because they arrived in masses!

  Okay, before you go getting all sentimental on me let me further explain why.  Apparently, I suffer from ladybug allergies.  It took me quite a few years to discover what was going on, but by process of elimination I figured out these little creatures were the culprit of my discomfort.  Without fail when they arrived I would feel really bad.  My symptoms included headaches, sinus troubles and eventually breathing difficulties, often making me think I just had a chest cold.  But after suspecting they were the trigger and doing quite a bit of research online I found out I am not alone.  I also found it quite amazing because I have very few allergies in general such as sulphites and those curly, hairy thingys from oak trees.  So, as I hope you can understand now why I said I was not a big ladybug fan...until recently that is!

This is what started the return of my ladybug love.  

When I found these cream and sugar pieces at Ross, I immediately fell in love.  

 I hope you can endure these photos, as I've set this table this morning and the sun is streaming in! I don't think I'll have more time to do this post this evening before dinner so please forgive.

I had no idea at the time I bought the cream and sugar pieces that I would also eventually find the dishes to match.  But I am sooo glad that I did!

I just love these plates!  They also had salad plates to go with the set but they were a bit different and I wasn't as crazy about them so I didn't get those.  

Besides, I remembered my Christmas salad plates and thought they would be a perfect compliment.

The only thing is, these plates have such raised details that I didn't want to set the salad plates on top.

So, I used them as part of the centerpiece instead.

I also knew immediately I would use my black checked napkins.

Do you remember this napkin ring idea?  I used it last year on my fall tablescape.

I love my new black bamboo flatware with this setting too.

It's give us a very outdoorsy feel even though we are inside because it continues to be over 100 degrees here in South Carolina.  Yes, I am soooo over this extreme heat, yall!

The green goblets remind me of the fresh green grass on my plates.

I brought my Oregano in from the screened porch to use as my centerpiece.  I think it's very fitting for this setting, but I also wanted to show you something I found in the dirt outside near the deck and pool construction area.

It is a ladybug pick to go in your pots.  I can't remember if this is mine or possibly the previous owners.  I think it is so wild that I just found this now.

Think you could stands a few bugs at the table too?  If so you better get on over to Ross soon, I'm sure these plates won't stick around long.

LOL!

I am joining BNOTP for Tablescape Thursday today.  Please enjoy many more tablescapes by clicking on the words above.  You will be glad you did!

The following is a list of my info on my setting;

Dinner Plates; Hausenware designed by Libby Wilke purchased from Ross

Salad Plates; Holiday Gatherings from Lenox purchased from Belks

Cream and Sugar; Hausenware purchased from Ross

Flatware; Bamboo purchased from Home Goods

Napkins; Black checked purchased from Old Time Pottery

Glasses; Better Homes and Garden purchased from Walmart

Thanks for visiting today and leave me a note if you did.

I love to hear from you!

Have a great day everyone!

Mary

A win-win for many!

Did you miss it?  I almost did, but I am so glad I didn't.  I've been hit and miss quite a bit on the blogging lately due to all the excitement going on around here.  So I was very glad I remembered to log on at the last minute.  Quite literally, I cast my bid on the evening of the very last day. 

 Last week our friend Susan from My Place to Yours hosted her very first online Auction.  I was quite amazed at what she had up for auction and her prices were fantastic!  It was quite a thrill for a table scaper wanna be like me.  She also has an online Etsy shop for those of you missed the auction.  She had everything set up with her auction so professionally that bidding and paying was a breeze.  Immediately after the auction was over I was notified by email of my win and with just a click of the attached Paypal button my prize was on the way!

Two days later my purchase arrived!

I was blown away by her beautiful packaging too.  Seriously, I just loved the details!  I love her stickers and that adorable ribbon she used to secure the paper.

As if  all that was not wonderful enough, she also included this little card.  I first thought that it was her own stationary with a thank you note, but it was so much more than that.

Because when I turned it over, I found instructions on how to care for Linens.  OMG!  How fantastic!

So what did I win?  Here it is!  It is vintage Irish linen in Red!  Unlike many of you, I have so few accents in Red, but I just fell in love with these.  I immediately knew I would use these around Christmas time but I am thinking they may be used more often too.  

This is called a traycloth and the set included two napkins as well.  I think it is just the right size for adding a wonderful splash of red to a beautiful tablescape or side table as well as a tray.   

But....what I really wanted to share is that for this auction Susan is donating part of her proceeds to one her favorite charities, Hope Unlimited. 

 How cool is that?  It certainly helped me decide to participate!  I am all for joining in when I know that something I am purchasing is also going to help another. 

 That is why I chose the home party business I am in, Initial Outfitters, which donates a portion of sales to Charlie's Lunch. 

 Many times people will not give to a charity or participate because they have a preconceived notion about either being duped or have a negative attitude about giving to charities in general.  This kinda makes me a little sad, especially when you are getting something in return.  I just don't understand why anyone would shy away from helping another when it also benefits you.  Seriously, I just don't get it! 

 I do believe that should NOT be ones only motivation to give, and you do have to be careful about whom you donate to.  But in my business, I have heard some say No, I only give to my church or certain charities.  I think this clean cut attitude across the board is just wrong.  If we all thought that way there would be so little help given to those who really need it. I want to encourage all of you not to shy away from those opportunities to help and give back especially when it is so easy and painless for you to do so!  The rewards of knowing your purchase has not only given you a delight but has also given someone else HOPE is the best feeling ever!  So please consider!  I have shared this with you today for my Meditating Monday.  Think about it!  Okay?

Thanks for visiting today!

Mary

If you build it...they will come!

I know you've heard this saying a dozen times at least, and it's true! 

I am very excited that my oldest son came home yesterday to spend a few nights with us and his girlfriend is driving up tonight too.  Woohoo!  It seems there's quite a bit of interest in our little old pool.   Yesterday, my youngest son and his girlfriend were also enjoying our pool again, even though she has a perfectly beautiful one at her house.  Neighbors have stopped by to check it out and friends have already called for references on our contractor.   I'm guessing these 100 degree temperatures are also contributing to all the excitement as well!  Because, Shewww, is it HOT!  

We have been enjoying swimming in our pool since last Thursday evening a week ago.

We went with a darker blue liner which adds to the allure of a more refreshing pool.

Isn't it pretty? Sorry, I am just so in love!  Teehee!

As exciting and refreshing as all of this is, I really wanted to share something more about the construction of our pool.  I wanted to share this for those of you who are considering building one either now or in the future.  Since all pools are subject to each individuals preferences and property this may not necessarily apply to your situation. But...if it does, you may be happy I mentioned it.    

As you can see, we do not yet have concrete decking around our pool.  We are waiting about 6 weeks for the ground to settle before pouring the concrete.  This is the amount of time our contractor prefers to help keep the concrete from possibly cracking if your ground settles underneath after you have poured concrete.

Most pool builders in our area wait about 2 weeks, a few maybe wait four.  Two weeks is certainly not enough as I have seen so far.

I first thought our contractor was being a bit extreme on his time frame.  But being that we have waited this long to build a pool the last thing we want is to end up with a cracked patio or walkway because we tried to rush the process, so we are obliging.  We were advised to put out soaker hoses all round the pool where we have backfilled the dirt along the walls.

Keeping this area wet helps to compact the dirt down faster.  As you can see in the following photos, it is amazing how much the dirt begins to drop and settle down.

Our concrete will but up and under the white coping on the pool edge over the top of the metal wall seen here.

The two previous photos show how much it has dropped even after two previous soakings and adding more dirt.  Can you imagine what your concrete may look like if it dropped this much after pouring it?

This is why we have a big pile of sand out in our yard.  It is there so we can continuously add more dirt around the outside of the pool as it settles.

After seeing large cracks in the dirt as it dries and compacts, I am a firm believer in waiting for the ground to settle before adding the concrete decking.  I would much rather see these cracks now and help them to settle now before they showed up in our pavement.  Wouldn't you?

So for now, we are just enjoying the pool and the sandy beach.

I've been spreading sand everywhere we walk because it sure does help to keep the mud down.

Along with that, a tarp and buckets for dipping your feet in before getting into the pool are helping as well.

It's a little muddy and dirty and tacky looking around here right now, but we will get there soon enough.

  Meanwhile, I am busy thinking of landscaping and retaining walls and the layout of our concrete to pass the time while waiting.  For those of you who may be considering building a pool where you will need to back fill around the outside please heed my advice.  I am a firm believer in waiting now since I've seen it first hand. Hopefully, you will be now too!

Thanks for stopping by today,

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Mary