Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Let's Dish # 9~ Which Came First?

Welcome to Meeting 9 of those who delight in dishes and table trinkets!
Last week without warning, the link disappeared!  Alycia and Lulu informed me, and I got the message while sitting in the eye doc's office waiting . I couldn't believe my eyes!  :)

Seriously, I got home and sure enough it was gone.
 So I added the code again, and reposted.

Three hours later the original link showed up!  I deleted the duplicate.
  So in case you thought you saw something that wasn't there, it's ok, it was!  Blame inlinkz, I had nothing to do with it!

On to tonight's business.
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Put all your eggs in one basket!  Well, I did, brown and white!

The inspiration for this table was this whimsical egg salt and pepper shaker from my friend Barb at Foley's Follies.
 Life is very busy for her these days, so she doesn't blog very much, but one of these days she will be back!

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Don't they just CRACK you up?  :)
I used a brown striped linen cloth from my favorite Duralee Outlet. ( remnant, $1.00)
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Treble clef flatware from the clearance at BBB, and then my 20 % coupon.
Rattan charger from Pfaltzgraf Dollar Day sale.
Brown plates from clearance at Pier One.
White from Century 21
Napkin from HG and alabaster napkin ring from WSonoma Outlet.
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Love these basket weave candles that were in the clearance at Michael's .

I used a black stemmed glass from Pfaltzgraff clearance outlet, and a tumbler that is about 70 years old that was my mom's.
 They are very thin, and ribbed, amazing they survived!
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No flowers and pastels tonight, but I am sure they will be back soon!

After all it is Spring till June 20th!
 
 Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary.  Our plans for the day got rained out!  Oh well!

The winner of the challenge give away for followers who left a comment  is Diane at Confessions of the Obsessed.

Please email me your addy and let me know if you are more interested in Recipes or Home Decor .
Next month's theme?
 How about something beachy since we will be welcoming summer...  
 June 20th, see you...    AT  THE BEACH!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and thank you too, for being such great visitors!  All the entrants got at least 17 clicks, and many in the 60's!  I think that is great!

Same rules, one link, dish related, no word id. and a link IN your post back to this party.
PLEASE USE THE NAME OF YOUR BLOG TO LINK.  There is room for the post title too!  It really does help me remember who I visited!

 Please leave a comment, I love hearing from you!
I am joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday
Diann for Thrifty Friday
Natasha for Gday Saturday

Let's see your pretty dishes!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day! I Love My Gift!

I hope everyone is having a good time this Mother's Day.
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My Siberian Iris greeted me with a smile this morning!
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The other varieties are starting to pop also.  I really have to move some of them up closer to the house so I can enjoy them.
Let's Dish 575The clematis are blooming away happily.  Surprising since all of the clematis got some kind of disease last summer, and I had to cut them to the ground and hope they would recover.
Let's Dish 578  My red maple that I raised since it was a tiny seedling is doing well.

This little kerria japonica bush was from a clipping  I took from my mom's house before we sold it.  I have it in a few different spots.  She was a wonderful gardener!

We built our home 11 years ago, and had to start from scratch, there was nothing!

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Everything is looking green!  And the pollen is killer!

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I just love my gift.  The person who picked it knew exactly what I wanted!  Well, almost!  I would have preferred the real deal, but it is getting harder and harder to find!

And the best part is, the buyer waited for a great sale, cause anyone can pay full price, LOL! 
Want to see it?
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A little bistro set I have been wanting. 
Who gave to me?  ME!

It was a great sale at Home Depot.  I had been watching it for a few years, but there were never any left when they had sales at the end of the summer.  It was 104.00

It isn't real wicker like all the rest of my porch furniture is, it is faux, read plastic, with a glass top. I think I will find something I can slide onto that shelf and put a portulaca in it.  A blooming Bistro!  :)

Hard to find wicker for outdoors these days, most companies have gone to this.  At least I won't have to spray it with Krylon like I do all the rest of the furniture.

That is a week long job awaiting me once the pollen invasion has stopped!

I picked some Iris...
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Added a white Battenburg cloth, some pretty lavender plates, and we had breakfast out there this morning.
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Dh made us some fresh blueberry pancakes and bacon.
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Mother's Day is the day we can start planting annuals, as hopefully, we will not have a freeze.
I planted my little cart, and a few pots so far.
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But there will be many days of planting ahead!
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We have a huge deer problem, so it is either fence these in, or leave them some salad dressing so they can enjoy my plants to the fullest!  We spray constantly with Deer Out!

I hope to see you Wed at 7 for Let's Dish.  No theme this week, just show us your dishes!

Come see who won the give away from  last week's Mother's Day Challenge and the June topic!  There were some very touching and beautiful posts.  You can see them here.

(The dishes above were a gift years ago from my friend, Marigene at In the Middle of Nowhere.  They are discontinued from Neiman Marcus and too bad, cause they are really sweet!)

I am joining:..

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday Be sure to get in on her $100 gift card give away!
Shannon's Cozy Home Scenes
Marty for Tabletop Tuesday
Kathe for You're Gonna Love it Tuesday
Enjoy the day!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Let's Dish #8 Mother's Day Challenge~ Here's To Mom!

Welcome to the Mother's Day Challenge at Let's Dish.
This week I invite you to link up a table, or table related things from your mom or mil.  This topic was decided on by the members.

Are you a member?

 It is free to join, just show up Wed at 7 to link up or participate in the conversation! :)

My mom's favorite color was yellow.  Her kitchen was a sunny yellow, and her gkids knew if they saw something in yellow, Nana would like it!

 Her mixer, her coffee pot, and in later years, even her pale yellow Cadillac!  Apparently, they were very popular in Florida. :)
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I featured a bowl here she made in ceramics in her later years.  I know she would have loved the yellow table!

My mom, Grace, was the oldest of  7 children.

She raised 4 wonderful daughters, the youngest turning out the best!  My sisters who are reading those are throwing up right now, lol!

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This linen table cloth and napkin were an engagement gift to her, monogrammed with a D.

The day she got married, in 1934  I believe, she worked half a day at her job, went home and got ready for her wedding.

momdad wedding
Her younger sister is in the upper right corner.
  She died at 33 leaving 3 young boys.

 Though my mom had 4 children of her own, including my sister who was in a wheelchair her whole life and needed a tremendous amount of care, my mom wanted to take the 3 boys to live with us.

PS, it didn't happen.  My uncle raised the boys, but my mom did all she could.

The cousins still joke about the look on the Connolly girls' faces when they thought they would have 3 brothers! My cousin always talks about how my mom sent him money every week when he was in the Army.  She loved those boys, and they knew it.


My grandmother died at 54, and my mom's youngest sister was still a teen, so she came to live with us.
 She was treated like one of their own girls, and when she got married, my dad gave her away and took care of the wedding.  Strong family values for sure!

I always think back about how hard my mom worked.  Her house was always immaculate, the laundry was done, and there was  a home cooked meal on the table every night. Yet, she always had time to help others.

After we were all gone, she would go to Sat. 5 PM Mass and bring home some older  ladies of the parish  who were alone.  She'd give them a good dinner, and drive them home.

Whenever she could steal a few minutes, she was out in her beloved gardens
I think it was therapy for her
She put her family first, took no nonsense and had a strong belief in God.

We often heard, "God never closes one door without opening another."

We weren't rewarded for good behavior or good grades because that was what you were supposed to do.

She had no problem giving us a smack if we thought we could answer back.

 We weren't told we were loved, but we knew we were.



My dad was always working , so she did everything herself.  A very strong woman, for sure!


She was widowed at 49, my sister died the next year at age 26.

She  died at 83 on my 50th birthday.

I was very blessed to have 2 wonderful parents who taught us what was important and showed us through example.

And she is probably in Heaven saying how there are things I should be doing, and blogging isn't one of them!

On to my simple table dedicated to my mom.
 She loved flowers, the only kind I ever heard her say she didn't like were gladiola , as they reminded her of funeral homes!

Let's Dish 543I started with a white cloth with embroidered rosebuds and a handkerchief edge.  It is a cotton shower curtain!
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Next came a mirrored charger
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It has been raining for 2 days, so the light is horrendous!
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The pink plate is Rondo by Mikassa that I got at Savers.  I had never heard of Savers till a few years ago!  My friend, Marigene at In the Middle of Nowhere always found such good things, I had to check it out!  I found the silver candle sticks there too, and Marigene said they were a steal!
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Next came a purple wavy edged plate by Pfaltzgraff.  It picks up the purple in the dinner plate.
The linen  napkins were my mom's, we got them at Gimbels for .10.  There was a huge box of napkins and we picked through till we found enough for both of us!
The silver napkin rings were hers too, we got them with box tops from Land O Lakes butter!
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I used a teapot from Villeroy and Boch filled with roses.
The flowerpots filled with roses were place marks from a wedding.
Pink glassware by Gorham, via Lenox.
Let's Dish 555 The sterling silver s and p's were my mom's too.
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Silver by International.
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Here's to all the mom's, grandmom's, special aunts and big sisters who made a difference in your life!
Let's Dish 545May God Bless them all, and you!
I know my Mom would like one of these whipped cream topped cupcakes with a cup of tea.
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Thanks for stopping by!
Since this is a challenge week, there will be a drawing for a surprise  gift for anyone who is a follower and leaves a comment.
***Be sure to visit The Tablescaper to get in on the $100 dollar gift card give away to celebrate her blogaversary!
I am joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday
Diann for Thrifty Friday
Beverly for Pink Saturday

Happy Mother's Day!  Now Let's Dish about our Mom's!
Please visit as many entrants as you can, I know so many of you do.
And thanks for leaving a comment for me too!
ONE LINK,    NO WORD ID allowed,     Mother's Day related,     and a link back IN your post! 
Thank you! 
Link opens at 7

Sunday, May 6, 2012

First Communion~Baked, Bagged, Tagged, Bowed and Fluffed

It was another busy week here with a happy event on  Saturday.
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My dear grandson made his First Communion and we gathered with family and friends to celebrate.
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Afterwards, my son and dil hosted a beautiful  reception at his golf club where both the kids, and adults had a great time.  The food was wonderful and included passed hot hors' d's of scallops in bacon, mini sliders, chicken wings and others.
The main course was steak,roast turkey , chicken piccata, penne a la vodka, roasted potatoes, crispy carrot salad, a green salad, cole slaw, and lots of other things.  It was all served buffet style and plentiful!
Let's Dish 478Prior to the big day, there were lots of preparations going on here.
These were to become the centerpieces...
Let's Dish 481  after they were fluffed, and bowed and some baby's breath added. I got the large pots of impatiens at a nursery in Jamesport, NY, Gabrielsen's   The price was fabulous for such large plants.
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One lucky person at each table  got to take the centerpiece home to enjoy all summer.
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Each guest was given a choice of breads or pound cake that I baked to take home.
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There was Irish Soda, Banana, Banana Choc Chip, Lemon, Lemon Blueberry, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip.
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I used Ina's recipe for the Lemon.
I "monogrammed" the bag, bowed and tagged them.
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36 full loaves.  Phew!
Let's Dish 491Goody Bags for the kids filled with candy.
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Here the kids await their turn for face painting...
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While some use their wait time getting some exercise .
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That way they could have a bigger piece of  whipped cream cake!  :)
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It may have rained, but it was a beautiful day to us !  May God keep Michael close to His heart.
I just  finished making my rounds to those who linked up last week for Let's Dish, please excuse the delay!!
Remember the Mother's Day Challenge this Wednesday at 7 for Let's Dish!
A table  dedicated to mom, or table related item of or from your Mom or MIL.  It will be a tribute to our mom's , whether we are still blessed with them, or just blessed with wonderful memories of them!
Hope to see you there!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I am joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday
Shannon's Cozy Home Party
Marty for Tabletop Tuesday
Kathe with an E for Your Gonna Love it Tues.

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