Chickadee Home Nest: shells

Showing posts with label shells. Show all posts

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Hydrangeas Galore

I’m so excited about my hydrangeas this year—we have tons of them! I don’t know what variety they are (I wish I did), but they usually start blooming around mid-August, which is perfect, as we were able to use them for our Baby Love’s baptism reception back in 2008 (to see a re-make of that day go to HERE)—here’s one of the pictures of that table/post, already graced by the start of hydrangea season at Chickadee Home Nest, even though I did the post in late July:

My birthday is in mid-August—could the timing of the hydrangeas be any better?—and I mentioned Southern Living’s tiered basket over at Ballard Designs to Mr. CHN. Well, three or four days later a package from Ballard Designs appeared at our front door :). Sweet, sweet man. And perfectly timed to further enjoy our hydrangeas.

The possibilities with this basket are endless—it’s useful for every single season. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of it at Chickadee Home Nest. In this vignette, the first tier holds three small medicine bottles I bought from my compounding pharmacist (!). They no longer use them for medicines and were selling them 3 for $2.95—what a deal! I hope they still have more, because I ~~could’ve used~~ NEED more. I digress, but I had to share my bargain. So the first tier holds sweet cuttings of the freshest and newest hydrangeas to bloom.

The second tier is cuttings of the larger clusters in full bloom, and the third tier holds three good-sized bowls full of another favorite—shells gathered over the years while on vacation—embellished with…HYDRANGEAS!

~At this point I should warn you…lots of pictures to follow. I just can’t seem to get enough of the beauty.~

No words necessary…

My favorite part of the basket is this handle…it looks like a garden shovel’s, which insinuates gardening, earth, plants, flowers…what a perfect touch!

Having ample supply of HYDRANGEAS, I moved on to create another vignette at the bar that faces into the kitchen. This time, I left the silver ice bucket and tray in their tarnished, “old” state—I liked the contrast with the fresh, white, dainty flowers, and my “perennial” favorite—a blue and white vase.

As I walked by at one point I noticed the reflection on the granite. If you’ve read my blog for a while you know how taken I am with the unexpected, fleeting gifts of shadows and reflections. They are magical moments that you’re blessed to see simply because you’re there at that precise moment.

Someday I’ll do a post that will probably be called The Saga of the Picnic Table. Suffice it to say that I now {finally} have the old picnic table that I’ve wanted for a long time, and now {finally} it’s on the patio—painted and ready for family meals, which was no minor feat (but like I said, that’s another story for another day—probably in the spring, to allow some “distance.” Are you getting my drift?? I’ll laugh about it by then {maybe}).

But I AM already enjoying the “new” picnic table, and the fact that as I glance out through the screened porch I can see it, in its soft teal splendor. Already it has served its purpose in several ways: 1. The babies have eaten there; 2. It brings me joy to see it out on the patio; and 3. It’s yet another surface to “pretty up” and make the view even prettier.

So I’ll let you guess how I prettied up my view! Yes! Of course! MORE HYDRANGEAS!

This wood planter has seen its better days. For some reason my husband had it before we got married (did he really plant something in it?!), and that was almost 30 years ago. For the last 10 or so it’s been abandoned at the entrance to our business (empty, I’m embarrassed to say), so it’s been in the elements for that many years and then some. You know that look men give us when they have absolutely no idea what we’re thinking or why we do the things we do? It’s a look of surprise, mixed with curiosity and resignation. Well, that’s the look I got the day I asked Mr. CHN to bring the beaten-up, ugly, brown thing home. And then it sat in the garage for a year or two, but bless his heart, he never once asked why I he’d brought it home. (I, of course, knew…it was going to be a centerpiece someday! :) ) And THIS was the moment. The place. After it’d gotten a quick whitewash!

Don’t you just love the contrast of the dainty, sweet flowers against the rough wood and smooth metal strip?

And the contrasts even within the flowers themselves? Some pinkish, some white, with spots, some browning to a beautiful final stage. The stages of a flower are like the stages of a woman’s life—beautiful even as they reach their final stage.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them, and you can’t imagine how it means to me that you took the time. And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 or Pinterest them too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow my blog and to follow me on Pinterest. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

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

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

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

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

Wednesdays at Ivy and Elephants: http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

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

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

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

Plus I’m joining the Creative Home and Garden Hop at :

Kathy at Creative Home Expressions, http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mary from Back to the Basics and Mary’s Kitchen

Alison from Mumtopia

and Lisa Lynn from The Little Homestead On The Hill

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni

Sunday, July 8, 2012

July Birthdays Birthday Party

My husband and I have five children (he, 2 boys and a girl, and I, 2 boys). Three of the 4 boys have birthdays in July (one of his sons and my July son were born a week apart—same year—and my July son and his other son have birthdays 2 days apart—(did you follow all that?). PLUS, two of our DILs have birthdays in July, and my husband’s birthday is in July! Whew!! It would be impossible to celebrate each one individually, so this is the party for the 4 who will be able to join the July Birthday Party!

First let me warn you, though. The heat wave that’s hitting much of the country has not missed us in Ohio…so this was the fastest table and picture-taking session on record. My husband wondered why I wouldn’t be doing it inside—well, we can’t have a BEACH birthday party inside! To the screen porch I went! I actually set most of the table the night before, and got up early the next morning to “beat the heat”… but the heat beat me! I finished the table and took pictures so fast that if I didn’t use Picasa you’d think you were suffering from vertigo—quite a few were NOT straight. It was truly a point-and-shoot day! And you’ll notice not evening shots…Let’s just say the heat won.

But here we are—the table got done, the pictures were taken.

Happy birthday to all my July sweeties!

Let’s start with dessert first, shall we?

With this heat we can’t have real ice cream, so how ‘bout ice cream cone candles?!

I know, I know…we’re in Ohio. But that won’t keep us from pretending we’re at the beach! We’re BEACH people! We have SAND from our favorite beach in Siesta Key, Florida, shells galore from there too, and . . . FLIP FLOPS!

I’ve had the flip flop plates for years and had planned to use them for this table, then I saw Mary’s Home is Where the Boat Is post with flip flops she made from Nutter Butter cookies….HAD.TO.HAVE.THEM on MY table! No worries, I let her know I would be “stealing” her darling idea and giving full credit.

Are these not the cutest things ever?! Mary made hers with icing, but I take shortcuts—it was 10:30 at night when my husband and I hit Kroger. So I bought two tubes of gel icing, and I, too, had flip flop cookies! I sprinkled them with nonpareils and added the little stars.

Served on my vintage Tiara tiered server.

And how about a high-heel server?! My husband bought that for me at an arts festival several years ago.

Pottery Barn shell pewter hors d’oeuvres picks, also from a number of years ago,

and Pottery Barn crabs—can’t be at the beach without them! (They’re really place card holders.)

We also have our table-size sandbox—a darling gift from our son and DIL…perfect for Mom the beach lover! At the top corner you see the “trunk” of the palm tree, and the starfish could go there instead. It’s a Nora Fleming dish with interchangeable embellishments/add-ons.

Water!! Lots of water!!

And now I have to tell you about my dishes…the serving tray--$26.86 originally—is a Zak Designs, and so are the teal plates and the glasses. Got them all—and the pitcher—for $3.00 at a auction! I didn’t even know what was in the box lot, but I saw teal, and that was good enough for me! I couldn’t be more excited about them! I’ve never had Melamine dishes before, but to settle my heart’s desire for teal dishes for this table, they are perfect! Take a look at the “glasses”—they look like glass! Boy, do I wish I could find glass ones just.like.these!!

Thank you for stopping by our July birthday party. I hope your imagination got a good workout and that you enjoyed our beach in the screened porch! What do you do when you have multiple birthdays in one month? Are you able to celebrate them individually like I’d love to do? And do you do beach themes even though you’re nowhere near the beach—just to bring it a little closer?

I’d love to hear from you to know you stopped by…and please tell me what you thought. Love your visits/love your comments.

I invite you to follow me. If you do, please let me know and I’ll be sure to follow right back!

I wish you happy beach days,if only in your dreams. Here’s where I’ll be this week; I hope you’ll stop by and visit me and the great selection of posts you’ll find at these great parties!

Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

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

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

Cozy Home Scenes Tuesdays at http://cozyhomescenes.blogspot.com/

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

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

Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Cuisine Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

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

What's It Wednesday at http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

Thursdays at StoneGable http://www.stonegableblog.com/

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

Tablescape Thursday at betweennapsontheporch.net

Open House Party Thursday at http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

Share Your Cup Thursday at http://jannolson.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

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

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

Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

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

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

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

Fridays Unfolded at http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

Saturday Nite Special at http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Gone to the Birds--The Screened Porch is Ready for Summer

Technorati Tags: chickadee,screened porch,url,search engine,previous post,hyperlink,decorating,home decor,summer,bird houses,tole tray,marjolein bastin,watering can

Planting flowers certainly make me feel ready for summer, but we’re not really ready for summer at our house until the screened porch is hosed down, everything is dusted and cleaned, and our wrought iron shelf is accessorized. What activities are must-do on your list to feel ready for summer? Mulching? Painting a fence or other garden accessories? Getting the grill ready?
This year (well, for now anyway), the shelf ended up with a bird/birdhouse theme:

We bought this shelf several years ago at a wonderful antique shop near our home. We thought it was a “keeper” that would work no matter where we lived (even Florida!), and though we haven’t moved, it’s still a keeper. For one thing, I love wrought iron. I love its filigree designs that contrasts with its rusty spots and the strength it conveys.

Birds/birdhouses and shells…some of my favorite things. The shell houses were a bday present from my coworkers years ago. They made them for me, and they’ve held up really well!

This chicken-wire cloche was a purchase late last year from Bombay (see my Bombay Company post here), and I’ve already used it several times for various vignettes. Good purchase. Love it.

The lighthouse candleholder? Another nod to beach and shells. I suspect there will be a switch mid-summer to a more beachy theme.

This tray is not tole, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT. It’s so sweet, and so detailed.

I have a “thing” about houses…well homes. Log homes, bungalows, doll houses, decorative houses, bird houses, beach houses, farm houses, big houses/little houses, twig houses,… I bought this one years ago, and I’ve used it in a million different ways.

Now, THIS ONE…this tray IS a tole tray…the hand painting is exquisite. A gift from my mother several years ago.

I’ve had the blue enamel spatterware coffeepot for many years, but I don’t remember if I bought it new, or if it’s old. That’s okay; I’m not planning on making money off of it. :) It’s the perfect watering can!

According to eBay posts, the “object” on the right is a minnow bucket… :) (I knew it had to do with fishing…as in holding the fish once caught, I thought—quite the fishing expert I am). All I know is that I like it, and it was my husband’s grandfather’s, and so it holds a place of honor where we can enjoy it.

Ahhh…how I love this timeworn watering can—it was a bday present to me from our youngest son. It has a lovely, now-faded Marjolein Bastin (what else?) CHICKADEE decal. How sweet is that? This gift came loooonnnnnnnnnnggg before our own little chickadee came along.

Another corner of the porch also has gone to the birds! The birdcage is the one we used for our son’s wedding back in November as a card holder. Now, it’s put to another good use to bring back happy memories.

The plants in it are an Italian parsley plant that’s perfect for stepping right out onto the porch to snip a bit for dinner, a miniature African violet, and of course, a CHICKADEE. A chubby robin sits nearby, keeping company to the many that hop around our yard.