Monday, June 23, 2014

Fourth of July Table

Are you ready for the Fourth? Doesn’t it seem like we’re still in early June? It does to me! And yet, the Fourth is only a little over a week away! I just hope we’re not careening into the holidays! (LOL).

Last week I shared my outside patriotic decorations with you (here). I hope my Fourth of July table will get your creativity flowing, so you can start planning for your own celebration.

Our screened porch is a favorite spot during the summer months, so of course it’s fun to change the decor often.

Let’s take a closer look:

I bought this geranium at a fund raiser the local firefighters hold every Mother’s Day. It is a perfect complement to a Fourth of July table. Although the plant had no marker, I named it “Brushstrokes” because of the gorgeous coloring.

The Mexican blue-rimmed glasses are from Pottery Barn (several years ago), and the blue goblets were an awesome auction find!

The twig chargers are from Grandin Road a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I apparently got the last four, because they were unable to fill my order for eight. I keep checking back to see if they have them in stock again, but no luck so far. Attention, Grandin Road: You could sell a boatload of these chargers if you’d carry them again!

The wrought iron shelving is also decked out in red, white, and blue.

Another area of the screened porch has a collection of wood red, white, and blue lighthouses and other items,

and a touch of whimsy with a patriotic banner on a twig wreath.

This geranium is “Calliope”—it’s a gorgeous, velvety, deep red, also perfect for Fourth of July decorating.

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There you have it! I hope you have a chance to set a lovely, fun, red, white, and blue table for you and yours. Do you find that as you look through blogs you not only get ideas, but are reminded of things you have and could use for a tablescape or a vignette? That sure happens to me!

Happy Fourth of July to All!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I’m thrilled to know you stopped by, and I’ll always visit back and comment too. If you like what you see, I invite you to follow me (I promise to follow back), and please—Pin away and follow me on Pinterest too! Thank you!!

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Wednesday DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at http://www.impartinggrace.com/

Fabulously Creative Fridays at http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/

Design it Friday at http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/

Friday Party Junk at http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Friday at Redoux Interiors at http://www.redouxinteriors.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Simply Sweet Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Imparting Grace at http://www.impartinggrace.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Saturdays at http://piecedpastimes.blogspot.com/

Spotlight Saturdays at http://www.classyclutter.net/

Saturdays at Be Different, Act Normal at http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday at It’s Overflowing at http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at The Scoop at http://www.stonegableblog.com

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Patriotic Outside Decorations

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the patriotic holidays~

MEMORIAL DAY

FLAG DAY

FOURTH OF JULY

VETERANS DAY

I get chills and my eyes often well up when I hear or sing our national anthem, especially “…gave proof through the night that our flag was still there…” Wow. What a sight it must have been, to see the beloved Stars and Stripes after a night of fierce battle in the War of 1812. Certainly powerful enough to have inspired 35-year-old Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and amateur poet, to write such an inspiring lyric!

As I started to write this post, Flag Day was waning. It was a glorious, perfect day here in central Ohio—the kind of day where the sky is that perfect shade of blue with big white poufy clouds that serves as the perfect backdrop to our beautiful flag.

Source: http://all-free-download.com/free-photos/american_flag_194592.html

As you might’ve noticed, I love to decorate with red—it’s such a versatile color! It works for Valentine’s Day, and for patriotic holidays, and for Christmas…just add accent colors and you’re on your way with seasonal colors! So every spring, as I buy our annuals, I buy a lot of red flowers, 1) because I LOVE red (did I already mention that?); 2) I LOVE hummingbirds, and they LOVE red; and 3) because I’m planning ahead to Flag Day and the Fourth of July—I know I’ll want to incorporate flags into the flowerpots and I’ll want the flowers to coordinate with the décor.

It’s so much fun for me to decorate our front porch and screened porch! I invite you to come on over and let’s take a walk around the house!

Our cottage is a light taupe with burgundy shutters and white trim, which is perfect for decorating—neutral enough, but with some color and contrast. Can you believe that, after all these years of decorating for patriotic holidays, I hadn’t noticed that the hand-painted slate heart I use so often has the same colors as the house? How’s that for a happy coincidence?!

I like things a little shabby and a little chic, so while we have well-painted trim and furniture, but we also have shabby and chippy, like the little red wicker table. It’s shabby and chippy, and not chic. And the flowerpot shows signs of years of wear, and in my book, that’s okay too. We wouldn’t want things to be too perfect and pristine around here!

The chippy table holds a lovely geranium I’ve named “Brushstrokes.” I was going to “erase” the lettering on the flag, but WAIT! It reads "MADE IN USA!!" Well, that needs to stay right where it is!! Surely American flags should not be made anywhere but in the USA! Unfortunately, some are made in other countries! There ought to be a law banning that!

Red, white and blue flowers by the front door, with flags, of course!

The vintage wicker table sports a {red} geranium {when it’s cooperating for a photo shoot}, and additional touches of RED, WHITE, and BLUE.

These hurricanes are pretty neat when the candles are lit, so they’re great to have out on the porch to light while enjoying the swing.

Now let’s walk around to the back~

One of my favorite garden items is this old, old, old twig chair…it has surely seen its better days, but I still like the texture it brings to the {garden} party, so I’ve kind of cobbled it together to extend its life for a year or two. I haven’t seen one like it to replace it…I’ll be sad when it’s time to say goodbye.

A few more pictures to share, then next week I’ll share a patriotic table and china cabinet.

Isn’t she oh, so beautiful?

Having fled to the USA from Cuba in search of freedom, on the Fourth of July {and every day, really} I’ll be thankful to have found freedom, thankful to those whose sacrifices granted and continue to grant us our freedom, and thankful for a country that welcomed our family and allowed us to work and re-establish ourselves.

Are there particular reasons why you celebrate the Fourth of July?

The best reason, of course, is because we are Americans, sons and daughters of this great land.

LONG MAY SHE WAVE!

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Wednesday DIY by Design Party at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at http://www.impartinggrace.com/

Fabulously Creative Fridays at http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/

Design it Friday at http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/

Friday Party Junk at http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

Friday at Redoux Interiors at http://www.redouxinteriors.com/

Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Home Sweet Home Fridays at http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Thrifty Things Friday at http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

Simply Sweet Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Imparting Grace at http://www.impartinggrace.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Saturdays at http://piecedpastimes.blogspot.com/

Spotlight Saturdays at http://www.classyclutter.net/

Saturdays at Be Different, Act Normal at http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sunday at It’s Overflowing at http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Masterpiece Monday at http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

Tuesdays at Our Home at http://mariaelenasdecor.blogspot.com/

Tuesdays at The Scoop at http://www.stonegableblog.com

Tuesday’s Treasures http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Inspire Me Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Father’s Day Table—Golf and Ties (of course!)

Whew! I’ve been gone quite a while! I hope you missed me a little bit Smile ; I missed you and all your creativity! My computer was updated, and you know how that goes… But all is well. Just in time for celebrating dads I have a table to share with you!

A table for Dad has to have ties! What’s Father’s Day without ties?! So I raided my husband’s “collection” of ties for the foundation for my golf centerpiece.

And I added his FIRST PLACE trophy from the Werewolf Open many years ago.

Have you ever heard of playing golf at night?! My husband played in a fundraiser event where they used glow-in-the-dark golf balls and wore glowing necklaces! It was such fun! I took the boys to the course to see what we could see, and wouldn’t you know? It was my husband’s group that was at the tee where we were, right at that time! Can you imagine the chances of that?! Don’t ask me how we found each other; I don’t remember that detail, but find each other we did!

Gotta have that fun memory on a table in his honor!

Also personalized ball markers…well, not quite personalized. It just so happens that the logo of his favorite golf course, The Country Club at Muirfield Village, sports his initials: TCC, which he thinks is pretty cool, so we have a lot of TCC items around the house.