Front Door Retrospective

The Garden Club's coming!  I want to have a warm welcome for them on the front door.  Since we've moved into this house, my decorating, as well as my choice of flowers has become much more natural and woodsy.  Seven acres of land will do that to ya!  So this was my creation this week.  These rustic wooden garden tools were the inspiration.  I wanted to make sort of an ode to those old English and French compilations of garden tools that form a decorative swag.

I buy faux ferns whenever I find great quality and I have lots of left over stems.  So, into a piece of styrofoam  covered with moss they went.  Then I thought I'd add a bird's nest.  I sure hope no one moves into this nest. In place of an egg, I added a single blue hydrangea blossem.  You can't see them very well in this photo, but there are also dried (or silk) Jack-In-The-Pulpit on the top, too.

Here's the approach from the circle in the front of the house.  I did such a happy dance when I found these triple ball boxwoods at Lowes last month for $35 each.  Yep!  $35 each.  One of my gardenia standards had not made it through the winter, so I knew I'd be shopping for a pair of something.  I was so thrilled when I found these!   I bought two more to replace the boxwood topiaries in the garden.

Ok.  Now we're a little closer.  I'm so ready for the daffodil foliage to finish turning brown so I can pull it out and make this bed look tidier.  But, the begonias and coleus are looking better each week.  Do you see how clean the sidewalk is?  Mr. Pressed Pants gave it a good cleaning with the pressure washer.  I love it all mossy and green, but it is too slippery and dangerous that way.  Our front door is new.  We had a beautiful old French door with etched glass on the house when we moved in, but it was horribly retrofitted and was such a bad fit that the skunks could get in without opening the door, I swear!

Here's the door from the inside with the little "speakeasy" door open. 

Besides wreaths and baskets on the gates, I often match the front door decoration to a particular party decor.  This one was from when the bridge buddies came for an orange and white luncheon.  You can see that post here.

For most of the summer and into fall, I like to use this simple grapevine wreath with silk sunflowers and a yellow gingham ribbon.  It was first used at a dinner party here.

One year for our Valentine's Day Dinner, I put this together from a plaque from Michaels, trimmed with lots of ribbons and tulle.  You can see that dinner here.

Another time, I planned a luncheon featuring green and white vegetables for decor.  For a fun wreath, I hot glued green and white seed packets and a green and white ribbon to a simple grapevine wreath.  That luncheon is posted here.

A close-up of the wreath.

As I'm searching for the post that featured this heart shaped wreath for my bridge buddies, I realized that I never posted a blog for this lunch.  Well, I'll have to fix that soon, but for now, here's the door that day.

These flowers are, of course silk, and then I added the fronts and backs of a deck of pink playing cards on the edge.  It was the bridge buddies coming for Valentine's Day.....get it?

I don't seem to be able to find the doorway with all of the fall decorations on it, but here it is in progress.  I added corn stalks in each corner, and a fall wreath.  The stack of heirloom pumpkins comes from Whole Foods.

Yes, I'm that idiot who stands at the pumpkin bins stacking and re-stacking all different varieties until I find a combination that I like.  Forgive me......I'm that way.

Not sure, but I think this is another year, and still not a complete photo!

Ah......Christmas!!!!!  No snow in Georgia, so I can't work that into my decoration, but never the less, I came up with a pretty good welcome for our holiday guests.

I used lots of tartan ribbon and antique sports equipment as a jumping off point.  This is a wonderful old sled that was made of one piece of wood, but it has split over the years.  Some years, I have used this on a buffet to raise serving plates and add interest to the table.

These are a little hard to see, but there are a pair of antique ice skates in this evergreen swag.  Mr. Pressed Pants was a professional ice skater to pay his way through college, so these are a special nod to him.

And here, I just dolled up an old pair of wooden skis.  This would all look sooo much better with snow, but I've become a Southern girl and other than for the decorative effect, I can't say I miss it a bit.

But my favorite welcome I ever did was for my sweet friend, Allison, for her wedding shower.  She and her mother are so dear to me and I felt so privileged to host a shower for her.  This heart shaped wreath is done with fresh flowers in an oasis form.  She is a redhead and her choice of wedding colors were so perfect for her.  They were bright orange and spring green.  I went with orange and white for the shower and it was so much fun, as it was a color combo that I had rarely worked with and so unique for a shower.  Now, just when tangerine is so "in", I have all of these orange dishes and accessories to use.  This wreath didn't last but a day or two hanging in the sun, but I chose roses with a lot of scent so that they would give the extra welcome of roses and we sure did enjoy it while it lasted.  Precious memories!

I wish that you could all come through our front door.  I'd have a special welcome for each and every one of you.  

Allison at The Polohouse has a wonderfully fun blog party on the first of each month called Favorites On the First..  This month's theme is "Front Doors", and this will be my entry.  Check it out on May 1st.  

Sunshine on the Fountain

This morning, as I was peering out the window to see if any of our herd of deer had snacked on the hosta overnight, I was struck by the beauty of how the sun was hitting the fountain.  I've learned that hosta is like crack to deer, and I'm on constant battle alert to stave them off.  My militant mood instantly softened and I took a moment to savor the world instead of battling nature.

I was already in a bit of a snit, because our recent very heavy winds had left a lot of debris on our newly spread mulch.  I became grateful that no trees had fallen.

And I totally had my panties in a bunch over the landscapers cutting the wire to the fountain, so no water circulates......thus.......yucky water.  So the sun seemed to point out to me that all was not lost.  We still had a lovely fountain with a statue that I love, and the means to make the repairs.  And the hosta was whole!  I needed that attitude adjustment.

Now, on to the last four of 96 bags of mulch I have spread this spring.  Seeing the end of THAT project will certainly help my attitude!!!

I'm joining these sweet ladies for their blog parties:

The Charm of Home

for

Home Sweet Home

French Country Cottage

for

Feathered Nest Friday 

At The Picket Fence

for 

Inspiration Friday

Stuff and Nonsense

for 

Fridays Unfold

No Minimalist Here

for

Open House Thursday

Earth Day on Paper

In light of Earth Day on April 24, I thought I would feature these paper placemats that I found at Boxwoods a couple of months ago.  With just a few simple elements, I set a table that let the placemats shine.

These were made by Cake Kitchen Papers and come in a pad of 50 for about 30 dollars.  They are 30% recycled and printed in the USA.  The paper is about the weight of watercolor paper and has such a nice feel.

In order to let the printed design shine through, I used clear acrylic flatware made by Cambridge and a clear glass plate.

Here's the "plate".  Don't you love it?  Disregard the shadows on this post, as I preferred to set this up outside, but it is pouring rain. (But, yea for me......I had sod laid yesterday and I'm thrilled with the rain.)

I just love the way the "utensils" are viney, knotty, twisty, and primitive.

The knife and spoon are even better than the forks!  Especially with the little guests painted into the design.

Here's the way the clear glass plate let the wood grain shine through......

and this is the way the flatware looked.  You can also see the dark brown napkin with a grapevine napkin ring.

What other choice could I make?

This blurry picture shows you the wooden slice that I love to use as coasters.

I chose these brown tortiseshell glasses to go with them.

This arrangement of fresh ferns with a dracenea spike and moss in the faux bois pot stays on the breakfast table all the time.  It seems to go perfectly with this earthy tablescape.

I am, however, very glad that the insects are also faux. 

Be sure to see these parties for more Earth Day tables:

Cuisine Kathleen

for

Let's Dish

Between Naps on the Porch

for 

Tablescape Thursday 

Boys Will Be Boys

We were so happy to have our daughter and her family here for a short visit this weekend.  That includes our two youngest grandsons, Teddy and Owen.  I set a child-friendly Easter table in the dining room.

That photo of the table was taken while I stood on this settee that is in the window of the dining room, right beside the table.

And THIS is the way it looked during our Easter dinner.  Was he hunting the rabbits on the table, or guarding the family?  And which one was responsible? (Owen ) You can see another surprise this little guy left for me last summer here.  Oh, my!  These sweet little boys with the most tender of hearts surprise me constantly with their rough, tough "boyness"!  Oh, I'd love pink tutus in my life, but I'd never change a hair on their darling little heads.

Easter Breakfast Table

Since our family had to leave a day early, it will just be Mr. Pressed Pants and me for breakfast on Easter morning.  We'll probably go to sunrise service for church tomorrow, so I'm setting the table today in the breakfast room, and keeping it simple.

I settled on green and white with lavender accents and simple dishes that can all be thrown in the dishwasher as we leave. 

I combined my two favorite Majolica patterns here.  The green bunny plates and bowls are Pinero, from Portugal, and the white wicker-like chargers are also from Portugal, but have no other markings.

This very simple ceramic cube is filled with white and lavender flowers from the yard.  The white azaleas are at the very end of their bloom time.  I added some columbine and some pincushion flowers and trimmed it out with verigated hosta leaves.

Here's an overhead shot.  Please disregard the brown spot on the azalea!  Pretend you don't see that! Ok?

The glassware is from World Market and is just simple lavender glass with clear stems.  They are thin, but not at all precious.

I found these lavender linen napkins from BBJ Linens, and they are great!  They hardly need ironing, and have such body, they feel as if they have been lightly starched.  The little white wooden bunny napkin ring is very old and has seen lots and lots of Easter meals with our family.

This flatware from World Market is about a year old, but you can still buy it there in several colors.

The little butter pat dish is really an oriental sauce dish, also from World Market.  I placed a fresh pansy on top of the butter.  Our pansies are about to be pulled out and thrown away, because they just can't tolerate our hot summers, but bloom for us all winter long.

Hey, Sandra and Jim......we're almost out of this delicious peach jam you gave us for Christmas.  Just saying!

The Southeastern Flower Show has the best stuff at the market place, and that's where I got these salt and pepper shakers.  I'm sad that they didn't hold the show this year.  After volunteering there for many years, it seems like such a shame to miss it.  

I'm ready to celebrate our most Holy Day of Easter.  I'm ready in many ways for the Renewal!

Thank you to our favorite sister-in-law for never forgetting us on any special occassion.

Now!  I'm going to watch the third day of the Masters Golf Tournament.  We were so lucky to attend the first day of competition, and that makes it so special to watch the tv coverage.  I'm rooting for Freddy Couples.  Grey hair rules!

Celebrate Easter posting by visiting:

Seasonal Sundays

Tablescape Thursdays

Wow Us Wednesdays

Centerpiece Wednesday

Let's Dish