Birthday Celebration With a Bright & Festive Theme!

Last Sunday morning, Jerry and I were up bright and early preparing for a lunch for eleven people. Six people in my immediate family have birthdays within 39 days of each other, so Jerry and I decided to roll the celebration into one big event.

To make the day fun and festive, I decided to go with a bright color scheme. A great table scape gives the impression the food is going to be incredible. Just in case you're wondering, yes the food turned out great too. The menu consisted of baked chicken with gravy, baked potatoes, green beans with fresh garlic, fresh spinach, fried apples, Sister Shubert yeast rolls and blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert.


The day was warm and sunny and the temperature was a comfortable 64 degrees. Once I decided on the fun and festive theme, the first color that popped into my head was Citrus Green. Citrus Green invokes a happy energetic feeling in almost everyone. The weather and the napkins were my inspiration and the simplicity of my white plates made the perfect backdrop. I have lots of white linens and white dishes, which made the rest of the decorating come together easily. Looking back, I realize that I have had so many different colored dishes, but I think the Apilco white dishes from Williams-Sonoma are my favorite. The Apilco dinnerware is so versitle, it's easy to dress a table up or down. Fresh flowers always add the crowning touch to any table. A few yellow tulips added a touch of color and hinted that spring is just around the corner. I pulled out some of my milk glass pieces and found the two vases and a fruited bowl. The fruited bowl filled with lemons was exactly what I needed to complete the centerpiece.

I have a huge collection of vases, which includes those two milk glass vases that I received flowers in as a gift when my sons, Owen and Lee, were born. Wow, those vases are old! Two of the birthdays were celebrating were for my sons; Owen will be 35, and Lee just turned 31. I love using dishes that have been in the family for years. We celebrated a wide age range of birthdays, from 5 - 81 years old. My dad won the prize for the oldest and Morgan, my granddaughter, was the youngest. Family is such a blessing, they are always there when you need them the most.

What a great day. I love entertaining, I should do it more!

Unique Benches & Chairs (part two)

Wing Chair & Ottoman (34w x 30d x 34h)

Here is a sampling of benches and chairs. Notice how many of the pieces have a loose weave fabric which adds a sense of casualness to the otherwise formal style of the furniture.

Rococo Ottoman (20w x 20d x 24h)




Queen Ann Hall Bench (61w x 19d x 30h)

Queen Anne Bench (61w x 19d x 30h)

Library Chair w/ Step Stool (25w x 21d x 34h)





High Back Bench (65w x 26d x 47h)

Cottage Bench (62w x 23d x 40h)




Caned Wingback Chair (30w x 30d x 49h)



Batavia Bench (64w x 22d x 34h)

Barcelona Garden Bench (63w x 19d x 46h)

Wing Chair & Ottoman (34w x 30d x 34h)




Princess Vanity (53w x 18d x 30h)

Unique Side Tables

Barrel Chest (36w x 18d x 30h)

As Bettye, Jerry and I were doing research for a project we are currently working on, I opened a catalog from a new vendor we found in October at High Point Market. I love the casualness of their line so much I decided to write several blogs that will showcase many of their pieces.

This blog will show you a sampling of their side tables. If you see anything that interests you give us a call, we will be glad to help you find just the right spot for one of these pieces. I have included the name and dimensions of each piece. Isn't that Barrel Chest the cutest?

Several of these pieces are offered in other color options. Notice the 3 Drawer Chest in the gray color, this company has several pieces in this color. It is such a tranquil color and will work with so many paint colors.Ribbed Side Table (30w x 18d x 28h)

Tall Sideboard (40w x 12d x 42h)

Baroque Side Chest (18w x 18d x 26h)

3 Drawer Side Chest (19w x 16d x 25h)

Provence Drink Cabinet (28.5w x 19d x 30.75h)

Barley Twist Wine Rack (32w x 13d x 36h)

Apple's Big Announcement ~ Come See our Latest Creation!

For those of you that love technology, like me, you will want to know what exciting announcement will be divulged during the press conference Apple has scheduled. The press conference will take place in San Francisco on Wednesday, January 27th at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time.

Rumors are running wild about the "new creation." I have read several forums and most seem to agree it will be some type of tablet pc, with the majority of news and forum speculators guessing it will be 10-inch tablet. Apple has been working on a tablet for years. In fact, the iPhone was created during the development of the tablet. For now, Apple is keeping the announcement very hush hush. Some of the techies on the forums think that whenever Apple launches a new product it should be considered a holiday. I had to chuckle at that one.

Check these websites out for more information:

• Ubergizmo (Join them for live, up-to-the-minute blog postings with photos)
• Techradar (the rumor round-up)
• CNet (lots of comments)

Another rumor floating around is that Apple will announce that they will no longer be exclusive with AT&T and that Verizon could soon be selling the iPhone. Others disagree, saying that Apple will not want to dilute their exciting news about the tablet.

We can also look forward to a new release for the iPhone in the next couple of months. Who knows where Apple will take us in the future? One thing you can be sure of is that it will be exciting!

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 3 (Holiday)

It never ceases to amaze me how many showroom specialize in only Holiday items. The market for Christmas items is huge! Some of the holiday accessories were beautiful and very creative.



Bettye and I loved the addition of the beads. You can add these beads to almost anything to add a little glitz for the holidays.




We loved the idea of these simply decorated Christmas trees. Each silver ball was individually glued to the tree.



This pumpkin arrangement was amazing. If you have been reading my blog you know I love decorating for Thanksgiving.

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 2 (Accessories)

Of course, the citrus or acid green color is still very popular. I think every showroom had something in this color.


These silk mums looked so real, Bettye and I had to feel them. We are very picky about artificial arrangements.


These one stem mini pots are great to place in a guest room bedside table or to place at each place setting for a bridesmaid luncheon or a dinner party.

Our Trip to Atlanta's Mart - Part 1 (Furniture)

Bettye Zettergren, our new designer, and I just returned from Atlanta's Merchandise Mart. Bettye and I spent two 10-hour days walking the floors of "Building 1" and a few floors of "Building 2." To give you a feel for the size of this Market, "Building 1" has 20 floors and each floor has 30 - 50 showrooms. The showrooms in Building 1 have accessories, linens, holiday and furniture. The other buildings had showrooms that included housewares, gourmet, gift and apparel.

We found so many great showrooms! We love visiting market to see what's new. I took photographs of a few interesting things we found in the showrooms. (Note: The showroom floodlights made it really difficult to capture a good shot.)

Oatmeal colored furniture was prominent in a lot of showrooms, as well as upholstered furniture with oatmeal linen fabrics. Using such a neutral colored piece of furniture allows you to paint your walls almost any color and leaves you with lots of options for window treatments. I love the natural texture that linen adds to a space. Linen can also evoke both the feeling of formal and, at the same time, a touch of casual.


The king headboard above was gorgeous with its oatmeal colored linen fabric. I think it was the tallest sleigh headboard I have ever seen. Bettye and I estimated the height at 7'.


The photograph isn't great but it shows more of the oatmeal colored furniture.


Would you like to make a drastic change in your dining room without the cost of purchasing all new furniture? Consider changing your two end chairs to one of these chairs covered in a custom fabric. Adding two totally different end chairs to a dining room table can change the whole feel of the room.



We found these outdoor rugs that are made to withstand the outdoor elements. They even had a display with a sprinkler pouring water over a rug continuously. The best part, in my opinion, was their reasonable prices. They were available in multiple solid colors as well as a braided style. They even poured red wine on the rug and it didn't stain the rug!