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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A UMD Send Off

Welcome through my red door!

Start with an old, dirty urn…Off to UMD 001

Scrub it up…wow!

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Paint it black…wait a minute…you’ll see why!

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Add some of Maryland’s state flower…the Blackeyed Susan!

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And you have the start of a royal send off of the 3rd and youngest to his next three years of hard labor…well hopefully, at the University of Maryland, College Park Campus!  Yeah, he did it!

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Testudo will be there to greet him!  And the books too…all the books!

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So of course we had to dress it up some for the guest of honor!

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By eating in the dining room for his last meal at home of his favorite…barbequed ribs!

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With all the school colors.  Sure makes for a colorful table.

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Having most everything in my cupboards and closets really helped a lot!

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I even brought out the good silver left to me by my aunt!  I love it and am ecstatic to have it.

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I found the white block letters at Michael’s and the turtle figurine at one of my favorite stores Finder’s Keepers.

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Even though UMD is not that far from us, I am really going to miss my little guy!  Well, okay, he’s not so little…he towers over me by a few feet!

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But it’s time for him to spread his wings. And although I’ve got two other kids who just graduated this past spring from Maryland, whom I’m very proud of, there’s something about it being the last one that stirs a mother’s emotions at times like these. 

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So Son, work hard, play safe, plant your feet firmly and discover the great big world out there!  We’re all rooting for you!

Oh I can hear him now…’Geesh Mom!’

Thanks for sneaking  a peek!  I’m taking my little send off to Centerpiece Wednesday and Tablescape Thursday this week.  See you there!

              image                  tablescapethursday

Monday, August 16, 2010

Tutti Fruitti

Welcome through my red door!

I’m popping over to Tabletop Tuesday hosted  by Marty at A Stroll  Thru Life, Centerpiece Wednesday with Karin at Style Sisters and Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch this week.


          image image   tablescapethursday


When I was a teenager, I knew I wanted a green, red and white kitchen.  And ever since I’ve had my own kitchens they’ve pretty much been those colors because I’ve always seemed to have a fruit theme in them.  So I have a lot of fruit accessories flowing through my kitchen, table area and family room.  I haven’t gotten tired of it yet,  maybe someday I’ll change it.  But some room will have to be able to house my tiffany lamp.  I’ve dragged it to every house I’ve lived in for the past 20 years and don’t want to give it up!
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I didn’t need to search to find inspiration for this table setting!  It was everywhere…a no brainer!
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A friend gave me the apple votive candle holder in the terra cotta pot.  I elevated it in a Henn navy blue painted basket and filled the basket with silk grape vines and faux apples.
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The fruit patterned placements were also given to me by a friend.  I’m easy to buy for!
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I added a little cluster of glass grapes to one of my Home Goods pitchers.
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Another gift from the same friend that gave me the placemats were the rose and clear glass dessert cups and plates sitting on top of the white fruit trimmed dinner plates.  They belonged to her mother and I’m honored to have them!  She knows me so well!
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The blue sponged napkin rings are from Henn also, as well as the…
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watermelon shaker tray.  I told you on my first tablescape that you would be seeing Henn sprinkled in most of my  settings!  I didn’t point it out, but it was in my last two also.
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A view from the top.
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I had given this little service bell to my grandmother many, many years ago and I got it back when she passed away.
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You can sort of see the fruit pattern on the white plates I bought about 20 years ago from the Horchow catalog.  But you can also see the beating the flatware is getting, I’m guessing from the dishwasher.  Never noticed it before!  The camera doesn’t lie!
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Oh, that’s better!
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A closeup of the centerpiece!
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I don’t know why I put the teapot on the table…I don’t have any teacups for the tea!  I just love this pot!
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Another view from the top!
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Looking around the room, in the distances, you can see other fruits that make up my kitchen, eating area and family room.  But don’t look too close…I didn’t get all my messes cleaned up!
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Thank you so much for stopping in.  I hope you enjoyed your stay.  See you soon!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Little Change Is Good

Welcome to Through My Red Door!

Our internet has been out for a week and I’m always surprised at how I feel disconnected from the rest of the world when it happens.  We lose it often, so I shouldn’t be, but it shows  how dependent we’ve become on it to keep informed.  Sadly, TV and newspapers aren’t enough anymore!  I’m actually lost without Google!  I’m also a bit behind in the technology world, partly because my mind doesn’t work that way;  I don’t have all the newest and latest gadgets!  And maybe partly because I’m leary of losing the way we’ve always done things.  Kids don’t know what a typewriter is anymore and they barely know what phone books or maps are.  Soon they won’t know what a newspaper is!  Am I showing my age?  I guess I’m resisting change a little as much as I know it’s always been this way and always will be!

Anyway, because we had no internet last week, I was unable to make a post, or visit anyone elses’.  I’m chomping at the bit to go back through them all.

This week’s post is is somewhat of what last week’s was supposed to be but with a few changes!
 
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I had done two similar tablescapes, so decided to combine them into one post.

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The first one started out simple and reminded me how I had started skimping on the tablesettings at dinnertime.   With raising 3 children comes many activities that entail running them to school, soccer, baseball, basketball practices and games, dance classes, CCD, doctors, dentists, play dates…well you all know what I’m talking about. It’s not news to anyone!

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So even though I never resorted to paper plates, we just used what was needed. We managed to have sit down family dinners where we talked about our days most every night of the week and thought that’s what counted; and I still think that.

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But as I was setting these tables, I thought back at how I learned the art of setting a table when I was growing up; a bit more formal than the habit I have fallen into and what my kids have learned to do. We always used a table cloth, where now I almost only use placemats.  We always set at least one fork, a knife and a spoon, whether we needed them or not.
 
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I began skipping the knives and spoons if we didn’t need to cut anything or weren’t having soup or dessert.  As I was growing up, we always had salad bowls and glasses on the table.  I started leaving them off in the interest of the time it took to load that much more into the dishwasher. I substituted plastic for real glasses, found I was having to replace broken ones too often.

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Centerpieces,  candles,

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real glasses; not plastic or soda bottles,

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teaspoons, knives, salad plates or bowls,

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cloth napkins, especially cloth napkins,

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were used only for company.

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But now I think it’s time, for when we  have a family meal,   as rare as it’s becoming, with everyone once again going in different directions,

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to inject a bit of fun,

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elegance,

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eye catching warmth,

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and an inviting atmosphere to the everyday table where we can still sit for a family dinner and talk about our days and lives.  It won’t be long before my three  children have their own families and activities.  Hopefully they’ll remember the dinner table fondly, not only for the food and conversations, but also the beauty their ol’ mom tried to bring to it.

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I think they’re enjoying it as much as I am!

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Did you notice where the changes were made?

I am so anxious to get back to visiting all of your beautiful blogs!  I’ve felt like I’ve missed so much and have a lot of catching up to do.

Thanks for visiting!  Come back again soon!  I’m linking to Tablescape Thursday.  Be sure to stop in to see Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for many more beautiful and inviting table settings!
            
            tablescapethursday

I'm also linking to Centerpiece Wednesday at Style Sisters.