Tea and Cream Cheese Cups with Mr. Peacock

Tablescape Thursday is brought to you by Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. Go visit her site, especially if you are looking for inspirations. I know you will not be disappointed.

A friend of mine brought me some cheesecake cups and I placed them in a server with a dome. The mini cakes looked so pretty which inspired me to do this tablescape.
"Home is where the heart is" and I truly believe in that. I used my bamboo flatware since they match the border of the tray.
and isn't this is so true also?

I bought this tea set and plates at either TJ Maxx or Marshall's. I have a set of Tracy Porter "Artesian" dishes and when I saw this Artesian tray at TJ Maxx in Florida, I was rejoicing because the price is like 80 % cheaper than that at Horchow's.

Ooops, I need to replace one bulb.

Do you see the long metal candle holder? Lady Katherine gave that to me during our Southern Magnolia Belle luncheon. Actually, I won it in the drawing. Isn't it pretty? Thanks again, Katherine! Please pray for Katherine as she is recovering from surgery.

I cut some fresh flowers from the garden and placed them in 2 little Southern Living at Home vases.

The cake pedestal cake is also an "Artesian" by Tracy Porter. I like how the peacock is holding the tray.

I placed a tea light candle holder duck inside a metal cloche, which I bought from a flower shop downtown. I like the nest with eggs on top.

Look at those yummy cheesecakes! I already had some when I decided to do this tablescape. Who can resist..... lol!

Thanks for coming by and thanks Susan, for hosting this event.

Pink is an Attitude and Historical St. Augustine

Let's show our pinks and then go traveling!

So, go to Beverly's site at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/ and enjoy the pinks while you are resting from our sightseeing trip. Today, we are going to St. Augustine, FL.
I found this set of plate when my friends and I went on a shopping trip last Wednesday at Ross in Monroe, LA. I thought it would be perfect for Pink Saturday so I bought it. I love all the sayings", they are so like me, lol!

"If the shoe fits, buy it in every color."
"Pink isn't just a color, it's an attitude."
"I have no desire for money, it's all the stuff that I want."
"I just love a sale."
I found this set of pink wine stemware on the same day at TJ Maxx (which is close to where Ross is) and I just love the colors and the silver squirly pattern and bought them too. I told ya, I like the stuff:-) It's like a ritual when we go to Monroe. We drive 2 hours one way to get there. We go to Ross first, then have lunch and then we go to TJ Maxx. If we are not tired yet, we go to Pier One and/or Dillard's and sometimes to Home Depot too, if we want to buy plants. Now, let's go sightseeing!!
We worked and lived in Florida before we moved here. One weekend, we decided to take my cousin Hazel, who was visiting from the Philippines and my mom, nephew Valiant, and AJ to St. Augustine. I always enjoy going to St, Augustine because it reminds me of the Philippines during the Spanish occupation. Below you will see Castillo de San Marcos, a fort constructed by the Spanish between 1672 and 1695 The Lightner Museum was very pretty at night. We were there before Christmas so the town was dressed for the holidays.
We rode a horse carriage to tour the town and for the ghost tour. AJ was so excited when we stopped and the carriage girl asked her to feed the horse. We had lunch at Columbia Restaurant.
The buildings are mostly Spanish in style, very pretty and

with a very ornate and interesting architecture. They had really old wooden buildings too.

Thank you all for coming along. I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Thanks Beverly for hosting another Pink Saturday!

Pay It Forward and My 200th Post Giveaway

"Pay it Forward" is a fun game, and when there is fun, of course I am in!If you would like to participate in Pay It Forward, just leave a comment on this post.
The first three people to leave a comment will be my next Pay It Forward recipients. You must have a blog so I can read your postings and learn a little about you. That way, I will know what to gather just for you! THEN, when you receive your package from me, you post pictures of what you received, just as I have done, then add the Pay It Forward button (which is at the TOP of this post) to your post, and wait for three comments on your blog...and the game continues on.
If there are any questions you can ask me anytime! It really is a whole lot of fun! Let's see how far this PAY IT FORWARD can continue."

I lucked out being one of the 3 first commenters in Maggie's Pay it Forward post at http://normandylife.blogspot.com/ and look at the precious gifts I received all the way from France!
Isn't this the prettiest card? It reminds me of the beautiful houses on St. Charles in New Orleans. I love the wrought iron fence. I am going to frame it when I find the perfect frame.
And I just love reading this personal note from sweet Maggie.
Aaah! I have just the perfect place for this. I am going to hang it on the door leading to the bathroom that leads out into the pool. Isn't it so pretty, so shabby and chic! and it is hand crafted by Steve Boyce.

Scrumptious and delicious caramel candies, my favorite flavor! I also got this really cute teddy bear with the prettiest soft print garden design who can keep me company in my office while blogging.

Isn't she just a cutie with the prettiest pink bow?

And look at these vintage looking French postcards! What fun to have them in my possession even if I still have to figure out what they say. Is this supposed to be a Mr. France beauty contest, Maggie? lol!

I don't know how Maggie knew that I love bridges.

And now, I finally took a picture of my 200th post giveaway. Do not confuse it with my "Pay it Forward" gifts. For that, I would personalize them by studying the winners' blogs first, to see what your styles are. The first 3 people who will comment here will receive the "Pay It Forward' gifts. Please let me know (if you are one of the 3), IF you do not want to participate and in that case, I will send the gifts to the 4th person or the 5th, depending on how many do not want to join in on the fun.

Again, the items below are my 200th post giveaway. I will announce the winners next Friday. The winner will get the following:

a set of 4 canapes plates

a little white heart ceramic picture frame

a set of 3 votive candle holders

bird salt and pepper shaker

turquoise necklace I bought when I visited New Mexico

a Christmas night light

Whittard of Chelsea tea

Whittard of Chelsea egg cup set

a little purse

a glass fish from the Carribean

Ooops, I forgot to include them in the pictures but I am also sending a set of small Matrushka dolls and a pen from Russia.

If you want to win the goodies below, please leave a comment on my 200th post, which is one post below. Thanks.

Good luck to the winner!

And thank you so much, Maggie, for the very special gifts that you sent me. I will treasure them.

200th Post Celebration With Her Majesty, The Queen!

Welcome to my 200th Post!!! I can't believe I reached my 200th post before my 1st blog year anniversary. I am just having too much fun and thanks to all of you, your comments and your blogs that I love to read. To celebrate, I am having a giveaway. I am still gathering the items so I have not taken a picture yet but to name a few, I have the pink pedestal egg cup set from London, a set of matrushka dolls from Russia, a glass fish from the Caribbean, a bird salt and pepper shaker from TJ Maxx, a pen from Russia and I am not sure what else. Just leave me a message on this post and you get one entry. If you are a follower, you get another entry. Just be sure you let me know in your comment that you are a follower. Good luck!

We have been invited to a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner so we are not dining at home. But to show thanks to successfull blogging, I created a Thanksgiving tablescape. I am joining Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for Tablescape Thursday. Go over at Susan's if you want to see lots of wonderful tablescapes. She has so many creative and talented participants.

It is easiest for me to set this game table in the family room.

I used my Italian gold glass plate chargers from Horchow.com, white dinner plates from Home Goods in California, turkey "Queens" pattern luncheon plates I bought from Marshalls in Chicago. I won the turkey soup tureen on Ebay for only $5.99 and it is brand new. It even has a matching ladle.

Here's the table in the afternoon.


I added a pilgrim lady and a little girl as part of the centerpiece, 2 different pairs of turkey candlestick holders and a vase with faux fall flowers in it.
I also added this turkey tea light candle holder. The bubble amber goblets are from Amazon and the Chris Madden amber champagne flutes are from Ross.

To conceal the turkey butt a little bit, I placed a Limoges Pickard vase that we won in an antique auction a while back and added orange faux flowers in it.

Isn't she looking quite majestic?

Don't you just love his pilgrim shoes?

Again, I used my brass "Siam" flatware with figural and mahogany handles.

We won the amber salt cellars from an antique auction. I did not even realize the handle has a figure of a cherub until I loaded the picture here.

We won the silver salt cellar silver spoons from an estate auction.

Susan, thank you so much for hosting yet another fun tablescaping event and thank you all for helping me celebrate my 200th post. Don't forget to leave a comment and try your luck for the giveaway. I am not done shopping yet, around the house and in stores.

Peacock Tassel and a Storage Desperately Needed

Here's another meme that I would like to join regularly. It's Mosaic Monday and it is hosted by Mary at http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/. Please visit her and enjoy the other creative mosaics.

Well, it's the beginning of the week again and you all know what that means, right? It's time to join and visit Sally at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ and show off our blues. And it's also time to join and visit Susan at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ to share any makeover that we have done.

Please allow me to show you my peacock tassel. If you are a regular visitor on my blog, you would probably know that I like peacock accessories. I bought the tassel from Angela of http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetasselhouse. If you want one (many different styles), you can visit her Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/thetasselhouse. She is very good and very creative.

Let me see if you can spot the difference. This is the "Before" (which is even before the 2 huge Sevres egg compotes were which have already been moved too). That French provincial cabinet holds many of my plates but I am still running out of storage area. Think about it, I can store 15 sets of dinnerware in there, except for real big ones with extra serving pieces when I might use 2 cubby holes.
This is now.

I bought the personal dresser sitting in the corner thinking it will look good in our guest room. I unpacked it in the kitchen and then moved it to the dining room with an intent of putting it away later.



Today, I was looking at it thinking, uhmmmm, this could serve as a storage for
my tablescaping accessories. I am in desperate need of more storage, especially for plates. But I already found room to store more. We have a walk in closet in the garage with built in shelves and I will move some of my rarely used dishes there.So I asked my husband to help me move the big cabinet for the little one to fit in the corner. I placed a Frenchy pedestal on the other side of the cabinet for balance. Now it is holding 2 of my tea sets. I told it is supposed to be a dresser that is why it has a mirror but instead of make up, I placed some of my salt and pepper shakers inside.


and you can see the flatware in the drawers.

a closer look of the s & p shakers.

I

I think the inlaid wood is very pretty. Hope you enjoyed this mini makeover. Thanks again for coming and thanks to our gracious hosstesses, Sally and Susan!