Coffee or Tea?

My favorite play day is here! Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ is again hosting a Tablescape Thursday, which means we get to play with our dishes and tea sets.
Brrrr! It's cold outside. Do you see that big glob of ice by the pool slide outside? Let's beat the cold and warm up with either hot tea or coffee.

I am using some of my Polish pottery. I just love playing with these cause you can mix and match the different patterns and I think they are so attractive with their vibrant colors. For a tray, I used a ceramic tray with a winter scene. And no, it's not a Polish pottery.

I's getting dark so soon. The days are shorter now. Aren't the napkins pretty with a dancing Dutch boy and girl? You wouldn't mind if they are not Polish, right? They match though, don't they?

They even match the pool water.

I just love taking tablescapes by candle light.

I'd like to thank Susan again for hosting this very fun event. And of course, I will never close without thanking you all for coming by.

Coffee or tea anyone?

Pool Slide's Big Ice Glob

It's Wednesday and I am excited to join Susan of http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ because I want to show you the biggest icycle that I have ever seen. For more interesting outdoor pictures, don't forget to visit Susan and her participants.

I am also linking with Watery Wednesday at http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/ for the first time. We came home last Sunday night and John went to the backyard and called me, told me to hurry and for me to bring my camera. Actually the picture below is the one I took the next day.
This is what dh saw when he went to check the pool, this big glob of ice at the bottom of the pool slide. I am surprised the water froze because it is running continuously. And doesn't it resemble Santa Claus with his long white beard?
The pictures below were taken without flash. We have turned the pool heater on and the sun has been shining during the day but as of today, the ice has not melted.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Santa's ice head, lol. Thanks for coming and thanks Susan, for hosting another week of Outdoor Wednesday.

Family Room Mantel Top

As per Janie of Blondie's Journal suggested, I am linking this post to Beth's Mantel Party. For more mantel decor, please visit Beth at http://bethcrabtreehunter.blogspot.com/ and her participants.

Barb is hosting an exciting new meme and it will be going on every Tuesday. Make sure you go visit her at http://gritsglamour.blogspot.com/ and view everybody else's tabletops, vignettes and favorite accessories.

This is how I dressed our family room fireplace mantel for Christmas. I was lazy so I omitted the garland which I was glad because it was easier for me to take the accessories away.
And this is now.

I took the 2 topiaries from the living room and moved them here. I also moved the little Meissen dish with 2 little girls from there into here. I bought the 2 Italian cherubim candle holders from Marshall's on clearance for $6.00 each in New Port Richey, FL last weekend and I really like them here.

I love the glow at night.

The urns with bronze ormolu are Sevres pieces.

Here is a close up of the cherubs. Aren't they handsome?

Thanks Barb, for starting and hosting this wonderful meme. And I also want to thank y'all for your visits and comments.

Final Change in Guest Room for Grandkids

I am joining an awesome foursome today.

Blue Monday is hosted by Sally of http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/.

Metamorphosis Monday is hosted by Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

You may join Yellow Mellow Monday at http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/

Mosaic Monday is hosted by Mary of http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Make sure you visit all these gracious hostessess and have fun!

We just arrived from Florida last night and after doing a little unpacking, I hung the tile on the wall and started taking pictures. But when I was ready to post, our internet and phone service went out. Must have been due to the weather because it is freezing outside. In fact there is a big blob of ice at the bottom of the pool slide, the biggest icycle that I have ever seen.

That explains why I am a little late in posting here.

Anyway, I am done with my final stages in redecorating our guest room for our grandkids.

The top picture shows the before. The 2 pictures on the left shows the old area rug and the 2 other picture shows the aubusson rug that just came in which I ordered from Overstock.com. The rug came in rolled so I am still undoing the creases. Both rugs are 100 % wool. I think I like the new one better, don't you?

Lastly, I want to show you the tile frame I just bought from Marshall's in Florida. When I saw it at the clearance table for $4.00, I immediately grabbed it, thinking it would be perfect for this wall. And I do like it there. Maybe someday I will paint the frame in black.

So, here is the room showing both beds and windows. I am pretty happy with it. The yellow wall has always been there but it shows much more now.
Thanks to all who hosted these wonderful memes and thanks to all who came to view my blue and yellow room. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

St. Maarten, Dutch and French Sides

Now isn't the St. Maarten sign just a pretty pink? For more precious pink items, go to Beverly's site at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/
This is the Dutch side. They have excellent shopping there so my sister and I took advantage of it. We walked from the port which was a good 15 minutes so we got our exercise.

After shopping, we had tot ake a taxi back to the port though, because our shopping bags got heavy. Mine was full of table linens, of course. They have stores with beautifully embroidered tablecloths and crocheted ones.

Oh no! I interchanged the pictures. Below is actually John's and my favorite flea market in the French side. This is where I buy my toile tablecloths. Shopping in the Dutch side is at the very bottom. Sorry for the mix up but I will have to delete a lot of pictures and reload to correct it and I am getting ready for another trip so I really do not have much time. I would like to load this blog entry in advance.

Now, back to the Dutch side.

Here's a pretty house on top of the mountain. We were told by the taxi driver that it is owned by a real estate guru. I can just imagine the breathtaking view from up there.

Ok, here is the shopping area in the Dutch side.

Let's go to the French side.

Lots of cacti can be seen along the hills.

See the cows at the bottom of the hill? I think it is a lovely sight. Maybe they are on their way to Burger King, lol!

They have beautiful beaches. On the far right of this beach is a nude beach.

It is more expensive to shop here because of the euro but the scenery is beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed our tour of both sides of St. Maarten. Thanks y'all for coming along.

Thanks Beverly, for another sweet Pink Saturday!

A Dinner Party for 14 Day After New Year

Foodie Friday is hosted by Michael over at http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/. Visit her to see more scrumptious food.

Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ is hosting Tablesape Thursday. Go check out some amazing tablescapes by going there.

I was scheduled to have a dinner party before Christmas but I got sick so I rescheduled it to Jan. 2nd. Since it was originally intended to be a Christmas party, I left my Christmas decorations up. I set 2 tables, the formal dining and the kitchen by the fireplace. I used the same tablescape I already showed with a very slight change. I took out the tray with a tea set and I added the tall peacock candle holders.

I wanted it to be a sit down dinner but I had so much food that I knew would not fit on the table so what I did was served the salad on their plates and told them after they finish eating the salad, I will collect the salad plates and then they can get their food from the buffet table set on the kitchen counter. I used place card holders so all the guests would know where to sit.

I placed the adults in the dining room and put the kids, not really young kids but teen-agers, in the kitchen.

Below is the dining room. For salad, I used spinach drizzled with Balsamic vinaigrette dressing, sprinkled with goat cheese and I added a slice of tomato on top and then dabbed tomato pesto over it. Very simple and the guests liked it.

Here is the setting for the youngsters. One of them commented that my kitchen looked like one of the shows on TV, lol.
There is the buffet. I served stir fried noodles with shrimp and veggies (Pancit), baked stuffed chicken, baked tenderloin stuffed with crawfish, baked cubed potatoes with rosemary, chicken tinola (a chicken Filipino soup dish with papaya and spinach), Pork Afritada (another Filipino dish with potatoes and bell peppers sauteed in tomato sauce) and beef with macaroni. For dessert, I made flan, (recipe of which is posted below), fruit salad, rum cake and fudge.

I made 2 kinds of punch, one with just fruit punch with 7 Up for the youngsters and a Vodka spiked one for the adults.

I used clear Princess House Fantasia clear dinner plates and green salad plates and goblets.

Coffee and tea were served on the game table in the family room.

We were stuffed. After we ate, we played Guesstures and we had a blast. You could hear laughter all over the house. What a fun evening!

Here is my recipe for the Flan:

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 doz. egg yolks

caramelized sugar

When I make flan, I always double the recipe.

Preheat the oven at 325 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients except for the sugar. Set aside.

Melt the sugar in a pan on the stove, stirring occasionally so it does not burn.

Once melted, pour into a baking dish. It will liquify as soon as it touches the pan. Pour the mixed batter into the pan with caramelized sugar. I usually use a strainer to make it smooth.

Bake at 325 degree F for about 45 min to an hour, until set and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Enjoy!

Thanks Susan and Michael for hosting these 2 events.

And thanks y'all for coming by!