Chickadee Home Nest

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

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

4th of July Table and More

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays (along with Christmas and Easter). I have fond memories from when I was on the drill team in high school, and we marched in the Fourth of July parade. It was such a thrill to be there. The parade route went through a neighborhood that to my young eyes was fantastic, and I decided that was exactly where I wanted to live when I grew up—right on the parade route, so my family and I could step right out our front door the evening before and set our lawn chairs out to reserve our spots. I don’t know exactly when I realized that the reason the parade went down that street was because it’s a wide and busy road, and that the houses, though nice, aren’t really all that grand, but the memories of the patriotic music, all the flags, and the cool morning air when we got there early in the morning…I’ll never forget. Oh…and I forgot to mention another part of my young girl’s dream: we’d have a BIG barbeque in the backyard with LOTS of people in attendance, and all would be decorated in RED, WHITE, and BLUE. What fun!

Well…we don’t do the big, blow out party, but for all my adult years I’ve done some semblance of decorating and setting a patriotic table. In fact, in my 4th of July bins I still have pictures of a Country Living spread that I fell in love with, probably in the late 80s. My passion goes back a loooonnnnggg ways.

Now that blogging has entered my life—how FUN to get to share my tables with all of you! So here it is, my FIRST 4TH OF JULY TABLE FOR BLOGLAND! In anticipation, in our screened porch…

Let’s play Find the Differences! Here, I’d forgotten that I’d wanted to use my PB tall, red sherbets, which you’ll see in the pictures above. What a difference they made, yes?

My Longaberger bean pot was the perfect centerpiece. And the PB glasses, trimmed in blue, are perfect for the flag stirrers.

The candles in the PB tall sherbets are floating ones, but I was afraid to light them and have the heat break the fragile crystal, even with water in it. I love these stems, and they were a gift from my husband, so the risk wasn’t worth it (and PB doesn’t carry them anymore).

Even the log cabin is sporting a flag, and the whirligigs on the patio catch the light to bring some fun. Those will go home with the grandbabies for the parade.

The wrought iron shelf is now decked out in R,W,&B too.

A McCoy vase holds lavender sans water, so it’ll dry.

I bought this wood “box” to hold plates when I serve buffet style.

I love slate…this heart was a happy find in an auction box lot! Perfect for this girl. :) The beach towel? At the ready for heading to the pool.

Then evening came, and even I was surprised by these AWESOME candle holders! I’d gotten them at Kohl’s last year after the 4th, so I hadn’t seen them lit up. Oh.my.gosh…what FUN!!

The fireworks are doing double duty—they’re decorations now, until the big day arrives. And the glass gentleman?? Also an auction box lot; he’s George Washington, filled with red water.

Patriotic, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

And now for a few vignettes, inside and out~

Some of the elements of the screened porch table started out inside, as the centerpiece on the dining room table.

Because we have a storm door, regular wreaths don’t work, so I use a garland that can be pressed by the door and not damaged, then added the flags, which I had attached to twine with clothes pins for another project.

Every year when I buy our annuals I choose reds because they attract hummingbirds, and invariably, as the 4th draws near, I find myself buying blue ones too.

I wish you all a happy and SAFE 4th of July. Please take a moment to reflect on the freedoms of this great country, and the sacrifice of those who have served and currently serve to protect it and us~

Thanks 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 if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I invite you to follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

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 http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

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/

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

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

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

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

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.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/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Your Support is Needed, Please

I started blogging in September of last year…little did I know at the time that I would meet such great people whom I now consider friends. I even miss you when I don’t see your posts, or when it’s been a while since you visited and commented on one of mine. I even find myself thinking about you and your life events—Susan’s son’s wedding, and Kathleen’s new grandbaby—I think that’s pretty awesome.

So it seems quite natural to me to turn to my blogging friends for some needed support. Some of you probably know that I work fulltime—actually, I own a business, and we now have a very exciting opportunity, but we need YOUR HELP to grasp the brass rings.

(Okay, this is pretty cheesy, but we’re bloggers, and we like pictures. :) You should see the pathetic selection of brass rings…I thought that would be something easy to find!) Courtesy of MS Office clip art

On to the serious, un-cheesy matter at hand:

Here’s a very cool thing that Chase Bank and LivingSocial are doing: They have joined forces to increase the awareness of the important role small businesses play in our country’s economy, and to help small businesses grow. To do this, they are awarding 12—YES, 12—$250,000 grants (yes, siree bob…TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, and yes, you read right: GRANTS—as in “you don’t have to pay it back”) to small businesses that meet the program criteria. Well, my company, RefCheck^®, meets ALL the criteria, except for the part that is in YOUR HANDS—voting for us. The final eligibility requirement is to have at least 250 votes, and I’m counting on my blogging friends to help get us well beyond the 250.

It’ll just take a minute or two to vote, but…the voting has to be in BY THIS COMING SATURDAY, JUNE 30. (Sorry for the short notice, but we just learned about this great opportunity a few days ago.)

So while you’re here reading you might as well just do it and get it off your plate, right? Just click on the link below, and you’ll be done before you know it.

1. Right-click on: www.MissionSmallBusiness.com and choose Open hyperlink, then choose LOG IN & SUPPORT (you will need a Facebook account to be able to log in)

2. In the “Business dba Name Start” field enter RefCheck

3. In the “State” field enter Ohio

4. In the “City” field enter Hilliard

5. Click on “Search,” and… VOILA!!

6. RefCheck^®’s information appears. Click VOTE, and sit back and feel good about having helped us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oh, one more favor, please. Would you be so kind as to forward this email to family members, friends, business colleagues, fellow church members, and others in your network whom you know believe in the importance of small business in our country’s economic health?

Thank you for your support. Please say a prayer or two for us as we prepare the rest of the application. I can hardly wait to do a post announcing that RefCheck^® IS A WINNER! :)

My best regards and with deep appreciation~

PS – I don’t know of blog “parties” where I could post this request—do you know of any? I’d love to hear from you. For now, I’m counting on those followers who will see the post or who receive email notification of my posts. Thank you!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

At the Beach ~ in Cannes

When my husband and I spent three weeks in France and Spain several years ago, we were in Cannes a good part of the time. We were traveling solo—no tour guide—and we literally stumbled into Le Suquet, the old part of Cannes. What a loss it would’ve been if we’d missed it! The streets there were laid out 400 years ago! The main streets are now pedestrianed, and feature lovely, tiny restaurants and shop after shop after shop of beautiful, colorful French linens and dishes. I was in heaven! Because the streets climb up to the clock tower (where the view of the Bay of Cannes is incredible), the restaurants build tiny platforms, where they manage to squeeze in as many tables as possible~it’s so charming!

Unfortunately, theft is a “bit” of a problem in Cannes, and our cameras were stolen while we were there, so we have no pictures of that leg of the trip. :( Local Nomad Blog has this picture of Le Suquet’s restaurants and the ingenious “wedge” platforms~

Le Croisette is the famous beach in Cannes, seen in its full glory in many, many movies. So recently I did a tablescape using the tablecloth we bought at one of the sweet little shops in Le Suquet, and let it be my inspiration. What a wonderful souvenir it has been!

I decided to keep the additions to the table at a minimum, so as to not detract from the design.

The early-morning sun casts lovely shadows on our screened porch. The yellow and blue dishes are Big Lots finds—and a perfect match for the tablecloth! The fish dishes are by mudpie.

And the lavender—after all, this is a table of the south of France—is from our garden.

The wine/lemonade goblets and the Mexican on-the-rocks are from Pottery Barn.

I’ve had the gold tablecloth and napkins for years—a happy match to the Le Suquet tablecloth!

A simple jar with lavender and Stella d’Oros, also from our garden, for the centerpiece.

The service table, with the candles at the ready for evening dining.

The beach motif continues…

Sunflowers add to the French beach decor. Oh, the fields and fields and fields of sunflowers we saw, all with their big and little faces turned to the sun, and the pictures we took of them…

Did you know, that in French and Spanish sunflowers are called “tournesol” and “girasol” respectively, which literally translate to “turn to the sun”? What a perfect name for them!

As dusk arrives, time to light the candles and enjoy the shadow play. The Chocolat window piece is quite befitting the event, yes? It was a Mother’s Day gift from my husband, because the movie
Chocolat, and the music from it, are favorites of mine. He somehow snuck it out of the French Hen Barn Sale without my seeing it! Love it!