What's Up??

Can you guess what's happening here? This is our house without any accessories!

Empty curio cabinet in the dining room

Empty curio cabinet where my Madame Alexander dolls usually are in the living room:
 

                  Empty (almost) computer armoire, and antique sewing machine in the living room:

                                          Empty china cabinet in the dining room!
 

Any clues of what we are doing here (except a lot of hard work!!!)
 Stay tuned for the solution soon (as soon as I get my computer back!)

Let's Dish Challenge

 I always enjoy Kathleen's Let's Dish Challenge - coming up with what she tells us  to use! Click on her name for lots more inspiration.

I decided to use my favorite color yellow, with white for my two colors. 

 Bright yellow plates from TJ Maxx and polka dot plates were from there as well, years ago. Napkins from Kohl's.
 

I looked around the house for something special to use for the centerpiece.

What could be more special than the Blessed Mother? 

The silk flowers are from Dollar Tree

 Crystal goblets and crystal look flatware handles

 Love the yellows!

I almost used my yellow polka dot place mats, but decided the simple look on the Battenburg lace tablecloth was best. What do you think?

I'm also linking to Susan's Tablescape Thursday, click on her name for lots more fun.

Turn your brights on!

 It's been a while since I have done a tablescape. I'll be joining Kathleen's Let's Dish and Susan's Tablescape Thursday. Click on their names for lots more inspiration.

Several months ago I found this pretty flatware at Home Goods:

 The price was right!

 And look how pretty they are!

 I found these lime green plates at Dollar Tree a while back. Not bad for a dollar each, huh?


These bright yellow plates came from TJ Maxx this past year. (This photo shows the true colors better than the others.)

 You've seen the yellow polka dot place mats and the spring green tablecloth before, and they seem to blend nicely with the colors I'm using.

The centerpiece is a metal Mary Englebreit watering can filled with silk flowers
 

 and a cute little red bird. I found that cutie at Michael's a short time ago. 

Love it!

 
 All these nice colors came together pretty good and made a bright, cheery tablescape:

 The red napkins give a great pop!

 I bought all of these items at different times, having no particular plans for any of them.

 It is so much fun to "shop" the house and find things that go together!

I didn't want to go out and purchase more things, so I was delighted when it all came together!

 I hope you like this cheery tablescape!

Friends Visit

l to r: Katherine, DeAnn, Gloria, and Rita

 I recently had a visit from some special friends. Three of these special friends have been in my life almost 50 years! They lived in the houses next to me when we moved to FL 47 years ago. We live in different places now, but we still keep in touch. We lived in the same town for 35 years when my husband and I retired and moved 75 miles north to a new home. That was over 12 years ago. A lot of people lose contact after a move, but we have remained close friends even with the distance between us.
 
 See the "youngster" on the right? That's Angela, she is Gloria's daughter and she is the one who makes these visits possible! She drives my longtime friends here to visit me! She was just a babe in arms when I first met her! DeAnn, Gloria, Rita and I raised all our children together in the same neighborhood. We've been through many highs and lows together!  This is why we bonded and are kindred spirits!

The weather cooperated even though a tropical storm had threatened a few days before. We were able to go to our favorite place for lunch:  Maggie's European Cafe, at Flagler Beach, she has delicious home made food and lots of bakery items made by her. We ordered different items, Turkey Stroganoff Crepes, Dilled Chicken Salad, among them, yum!

 

In the picture below we are standing in front of the bakery case.
 

The restaurant is across the street from the ocean. You can see it in the pictures below:
 

 
 It was beginning to sprinkle rain a little in these pictures, but rain did not dampen our spirits.  We were able to get a lot of shopping in at T.J. Maxx, Beall's, and Belk's. We all found lots of goodies that were on sale!
Nothing more fun than enjoying good friends, good conversation, good food, and good shopping/sales with special long time kindred spirits who God placed together years ago!

Thanks, Angela for making this wonderful time possible. You are a ray of sunshine, so much fun too!

I hope you enjoyed meeting my dear friends!

Katherine

Here's a neat gift sweet Angela had for all of us! Insulated cups!
 

Want to see what I bought on our shopping spree?

Cute red shoes! They were only $17!!
 

Cute green shoes!They were $39, but I had a $10 off coupon! Yay!