Christine's Home and Travel Adventures

Friday, April 12, 2013

Plants and Trees In and Around FL Home

I have bought a few plants for the deck and it is a risk because I am rarely here and my daughter who lives next door does not have a green thumb. But I could not resist. I will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best and maybe rely on my son in law more. He has been doing a pretty good job on the lawn and plants outside.

I love this hanging basket. I think it is a bromeliad. Please correct me if I am wrong. I love plants and flowers but I am not so good in remembering names.

I love how it looks on the column.

You can't live in Florida without a citrus tree so I bought a calamondin, my favorite cause I use it a lot on food. I will keep it in the pot for a while but will eventually plant it in the ground. They do well here in ground unlike my Mississippi ones that stay in big pots.

Look at all the little blooms and there are tiny fruits already too.

Orchids are my favorite flowers and plants. I have a hard time growing them but I never give up.

A cattleya orchid (the yellow orange flower just fell off), basil and aloe vera.

Another orchid with yellow green flower.

Reddish pink oleanders lining one side of the pool screen outside.

A banana tree behind the family room. A peek of my daughter's house. See how close we are?

Red double Hibiscus on the other side of the pool screen.

Some palm trees and a giant white bird of paradise in the front yard.

This palm tree is in the corner of the front yard. Do you know what that straw colored thing hanging from the tree is? The bees really like it so it must be sweet.

This bouganville is interesting. It has both pink and orange flowers in the same bush.

White oleanders in the front yard.

These are on each side of the driveway. I can't rememer what they are called.

Also in the front yard.

I see a lot of birds flying around so I bought and hang a bird feed in the backyard.

This is a fig tree. You can see the leaves are just starting to come back. I did not know they lose their leaves even in mild Florida winter.

I love seeing the outdoors so this is my favorite blogging area.

I hope you all have a nice weekend. Thanks for stopping by and a special thanks to all the hostesses! I am flying home this Sunday and I know I will miss this home but I miss our MS home now too.

Fertilizer Friday

http://www.tootsietime.com/

Color Connection Friday

http://www.kids-e-connection.com/

Pink Sat

http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/

Shadow Shot Sunday

http://shadowshotsunday2.blogspot.com/

Kathryn at Anything Blue Friday and Make it Pretty Monday

http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/

Blue Mon

http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/
Mary's Masterpiece Monday
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com

Susan at Metamorphosis Monday

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Outdoor Wed

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Kathy's Home and Garden Thursday

http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Sherry's Home Sweet Home
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Tablescape on Florida's Home Pool Deck

After a 3 week stay, it's time feed my hubby, lol, so I am going home this weekend. I thought I should do a tablescape in the pool area here before I leave. I missed the tablescape memes last week to entertain company who drove all the way from Natchez to visit. We had a great time touring the city and showing them around.

I wanted a long table for here but instead of buying 1 rectangular table, I chose to buy 2 square tables with 4 chairs each. For larger groups, I intend to put the 2 tables together to create a rectangular table good for 8 settings. But for now, I will only use a square one.

I started with the natural fiber plate chargers I bought from World Market for $3 each. Unfortunately, they only had 4 left of the pear green color or is it chartreuse?.

I used melamine plates which I use here often because I have little grandchildren eating here at home when I am here. I bought the plates from Homegoods. I like the postal pattern which I have been using a lot in the decor of this house. I also like the butterflies which make it perfect for outdoor use.

Burlap bird napkin rings were found at HG also, I think.

Bird and flower tealight holders were brought from our MS home.

Isn't the color of this orchid pretty? I bought 3 plants from a vendor selling by the roadside. I am hoping my daughter does not kill them after I leave, lol. I bought 3 with various colors and will leave them under the screen so that they get watered when it rains. I also instructed my daughter to water them if it does not rain for 2 weeks.

I wasn't able to bring some stemware here so I bought these from the dollar store. Guess how much!:-)

I sent this set of flatware from the MS home. The pattern is very simple but it is a place settings for 16 and very heavy. I sent them using the flat rate box to save on postage. I don't have many choices of napkins here but I will bring more upon my return.

I took a picture of the chargers in the morning to show you their true color.

Lastly, I would like to show you my grandbaby Reese's picture while playing hide and seek with me.

Thank you so much for your visit. I appreciate all the hostesses so much too.

Kathleen's Let's Dish

http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/

Centerpiece Wednesday

http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/

Susan's Tablescape Thursday

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Katherines's Favorite Things Thursday

http://katherinescorner.com/

Sherry's Open House Thursdays

http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Kathy's Home and Garden Thursday

http://blissfulrhythm. Thingsblogspot.com/

Sherry's Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Festive Fiesta Friday

http://the-home-girl-blog.blogspot.com/

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Florida Guest Room #2

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I have not visited most of you. I have been so busy entertaining some guests who drove all the way from Mississippi. And as most of you know, I have been decorating our newly purchased home in Florida. I would like to share what I did with our second guest room.

This was how it was when we looked at the house. The sellers emptied the desk when they moved but left the desk for us. It is the first thing you see when you open the door.

First thing I did when we took over the house was move the desk to the opposite wall, that way it does not show when you open the door. Since I wanted this room to double as a guest room, I wanted the bed to show first. My daughter next door is transforming their guest room into a play room and they want to get a futon so they gave me their full size bed.

I was expecting some guests and I did not have an end table for this room so I took a trip to HG, which is only a 4 min. drive away. I bought the frame, round table, lamp, throw pillow and body form pin cushion. I brought the red quilt from our MS home.

The sellers left a weaved shade on the window but I hang a rod and white curtains. The curtains that I bought were a little too long so I folded the top and now it looks like it has a short valance.

I still need a headboard but I have not found one that I like that is reasonably priced yet. The bedshirt is from Joss and Main. I think it was $29.

We might eventually get a desktop computer for here cause this laptop I am using when I travel is so slow. John and I decided that instead of getting birthday presents for each other (we have the same birthday coming this month), we will just give each other an extra trip to FL since we really do not need anything anyway. Besides, we just buy what we want most of the time.

Our company left on Friday morning and while washing and changing the beddings, I tried another quilt on the bed, which I also found at HG. It has the same postal prints as the lumbar pillow and frame. I like the red quilt but I like this also. Which one do you prefer?

I bought this white sham and and the matching white quilt from the resale shop downtown back home in Natchez, MS. I wanted to originally use the quilt as the main bed cover but it is only a twin size which is too small so I just folded it for an extra blanket and placed it at the foot of the bed.

I found this tole lamp at a consignment shop marked 50% off for $25 just last week when I went out with my daughter to have lunch at a Thai restaurant. The shop was right next door.

The chair in the corner is there temporarily. It is part of the dining set I am giving to my daughter. I have found chair replacements but I am still looking for a dining table to go with them so she did not move the set to their house yet.

This is how I left the room so far. I hope you like it. I like how bright it is and how fresh it looks. Thank you for stopping by. I always appreciate your visits and comments very much.

The real perks for having a home next to my daughter's house is having a pleasant surprise visit from the grandsons

Having a free yard and pool service by my son in law.

and being able to play with my sweet granddaughter.

I just added the 2 photos below because I replaced the small round table with this end table.

It was originally like this. I bought it from Goodwill for $12.99, painted and distressed it and replaced the kiddy butterfly knob. I would have preferred a lighter color but this paint was what I had available here.