I'll Bring the Punch!

I can't wait to attend the potluck at Gollum's place. Her address is at http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/. Let's all meet there Friday and be on time, ok? I know we will enjoy all the food that everyone is bringing.

Looks like nobody signed up for punch yet so that's what I will bring.

It's called Banana Crush. What I like about it is its versatility. You can serve it even when children are around and they will enjoy it with plain carbonated drink, 7 up or soda water and adults can enjoy it with champagne or vodka. And you can prepare it in advance. Just keep it in your freezer until the day you want to serve it. Be sure to take it out about an hr. or 2 before serving.

Banana Crush

4 cups sugar
6 cups water
2 & 1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups pineapple juice
5 bananas, mashed
1 64-oz bottle lemon-lime carbonated beverage or champagne or vodka or whatever your taste buds would prefer.

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolved, stirring constantly. Add juices and bananas, mixing well. Pour into a plastic container. Cover and freeze.

To serve: thaw slightly. Place in a punch bowl and stir with fork to break into chunks. Add carbonated beverage. Yields about 5 & 1/2 quartz.

I do not usually add the beverage into the punch bowl. I spoon the crush into individual cups or glasses and add whatever beverage the guest prefers. I hope you enjoy it if and when you try it.

Thanks, Gollum for hosting the potluck!

Springtime tablescape and Shoes: Can a girl ever have enough of them?

It's Thursday, so it's again time for another tablescaping, an exciting event sponsored by our gracious hostess Susan, at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. Do yourself a favor and experience Susan's amazing blog and then check out the tablescapes of everybody else who is participating. I did not participate last week and I felt so left out (Boo hoo!), so I am determined to send in a contribution for this week. I am also participating for Themed Thursday, hosted by KD at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/2009/02/whats-on-your-wall-wednesday.html. My Themed Thursday post will immediately follow Tablescape Thursday so stay tuned.

For today's tablescape, I decided on a garden theme, since I see flowers popping out in the garden, slowly but surely. Spring is just around the corner!

This is our breakfast nook.

A little fountain is hanging on the brick wall right outside the window. I had a climbing plant below it but it died when it got cold. I am still looking for something that will grow, climb and adhere to the brick but everytime I ask a plant nursery attendant, they always tell me they are out of it. Here, you see a good view of the back porch fountain.
We have no toddler here but we have a Victorian high chair in the corner, for our grandkids to use when they visit.
I borrowed our French pot with an attached trellis and an ivy planted in it, from the back porch, to put in the corner. I think it adds to the garden theme.
I looked for a white tablecloth with pink flowers but I could not find one. Then I found this curtain from Walmart. It has pink flowers and green leaves lined with white embroideries. It was too long for the table and it had a valance attached to the top so I cut it and added the scalloped end back. The bottom was also scalloped. I added a lace to cover the seam. I also added lace on the other side of the curtain just for balance and uniformity. Now, I have a springy tablecloth!
I used my green ruffled placemats again, green stemmed tumblers, a flower embroidered napkin held by 2 shades of pink glass beads. The handles of the flatware also have flowers on them. I hope you click on this picture so you can see the details on the plates.
I added a yellow and pink bunny topped tea light candle holders. I like how they have flower shaped punches allowing the light to escape through. I also used 2 little tulip shaped crystal candle holders.
A garden isn't complete without birds and a bunny.
The dinnerware is an ironstone in a discontinued "Cameo Florals" pattern. I fell in love with the embossed and scalloped design. I found them on Ebay and I thought I could use them as our everyday spring dishes since they are practical too. They can go from the oven to the dishwasher. And don't you just love the spring colors? I also got a complete big set including 16 dinner plates so it did not matter to me if the pattern has been discontinued.

For a centerpiece, I used a simple tulip plant with pink flowers and I placed it in an iron scrolled pot.

I hope you enjoyed my simple tablescape for today. Thanks for visiting.

Thanks Susan, for sponsoring it.

Now it's time for Themed Thursday and the theme for today is "Shoes". Themed Thursday is sponsored by KD at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/2009/02/whats-on-your-wall-wednesday.html. Be sure you visit her blog and check out everybody else's shoe obsession.

When I heard that the theme for this week's Themed Thursday will be shoes, I got excited! I knew I would be able to join in the fun. If you have seen my shoes on RMS, you would know that shoes are one of my weaknesses (and I have lots of weaknesses...LOL!).

We moved here 2 years ago this month. Since John was still working, I had my nephew help me move so we can take the 2 vehicles. John had to fly because his job here would start right away. Anyway, in additon to the vehicles, the van my nephew drove pulled a trailer. I filled both vehicles and the trailer completely with stuff, shoes included.

Then, I had to go back to Florida where we moved from, to supervise the movers that the hospital hired to move us. One of the movers asked if I am related to Imelda Marcos. He said he asked me that because I have so many shoes. I laughed because he was not aware that half of my shoes have already been moved to our new residence. LOL!

Themed Thursday is graciously hosted by KD at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/2009/02/details-big-or-small-or-revamped.html so be sure you visit her, check out her shoes and then check out everybody else's who are participating.

We have a 3- car garage with a big walk in closet plus these 5 shelved closets. I came home one time from one of my Florida trips and my husband just could not wait to show me the closets. He had cleaned 2 of them, painted them, bought plastic boxes and organized all my shoes.

Take a look! Aren't they neatly stacked? Didn't he do a good job? What I like about them too is that each pair is in individual clear boxes. I can just open the closets before I go anywhere and pick which shoes I want to wear without opening the boxes.

In case you are wondering what's behind the other 3 doors, they're mostly cleaning supplies, tools, leftover paints, my huge bamboo easel and a centralized vacuum system for the house which I never use. Please forgive the mess, the boxes outside the doors. I am waiting for a guy to come to put them in the attic. I am such a scary cat, I am afraid to go up there.

And yes, I still more shoes in the shelves by the window, under the bench and in the coats closet inside the house. LOL! My boots

These are my favorite Coach boots.

Since we are in the garage, I might as well show you John's exercise machine. He plays pingpong with a robot. The balls shoot out of that machine one by one similar to what tennis players use when they practice. It's pretty neat cause it oscillates and the speed can be adjusted. I can even play it if I set it on REAL slow...LOL! It plays a lot better than me that is why John prefers it over me to play with. LOL!

Thank you so much for coming and come back again very soon! Thank you KD, for hosting Themed Thursday with one of my favorite subjects.

Dressing Up Our Living Room Walls

Welcome to What's on Your Wall Wednesday! This fun event is hosted by Barb at http://gritsglamour.blogspot.com/ so be sure to visit her to see what's on her walls and to check out what is on every participant's wall?

Let me begin by showing you what's on our living room's 3 bigger and 2 small walls. This oil painting is hanging above the sofa. It's quite big (36" x 48" unframed) and can you believe that I painted it all by myself? I came home from a trip one day and dh surprised me with a craft cabinet and table and this huge canvas sitting on a huge bamboo easel. Well, I did not want to waste the canvas so I went to work. I went on Google Image to search for a picture that would appeal to me and that would be easy for me to draw, something that would look good above the sofa since the wall was empty at that time. And this is what I came up with.

I have a pair of these hand painted ceramics that are held by strapped brown leather. I found them on Ebay and they are made in England and I really like what's painted on them. I placed them on either side of the sofa, above the end tables.

This is an oil painting of my father's family and my childhood home in the Philippines. I lived there (in the province) with my grandma (my grandpa passed away when I was 5 years old) until I was in 4th grade, while my parents and my other siblings lived in the city. Even after I moved to the city, I would still spend all my summer vacations there. A pastor from Oakland, CA who is originally from our hometown, painted it and gave it to me. I love this painting that is why it is the focal point, placed on top of the fireplace.
Here are photographs of the same house. It has a lot of history behind it. My grandpa had it built in the 1930's and it was used as a Japanese Garrison during the Japanese invasion.

It is a tradition in the Philippines that every Nov. 1st, which is All Saints Day, Filipinos go to the cemetery to light candles on their loved ones tombstones. I often wondered why the maids lit candles in the basement of the house and in the vacant land next to the house. I was told that if they did not do that, they would hear moans coming from the basement. I believe the basement was used by the Japanese to torture and kill people. I would never go down there by myself. For as long as I can remember, candles were always lit on Nov. 1st, maybe that's the reason I never heard such moaning.

The roof of the tower flew during an earthquake in 1991. I was already residing here in US then but my cousin told me that the tile roof came all the way down without a single damage. It was as if someone had taken it off and laid it carefully down on the vacant lot right next to the house. It came from a very high place and for it not to break into pieces is pretty amazing. My cousin also said that neighbors were all watching it fly while praying and hoping it would not land on their houses. My grandma and her children were very religious. We have a life size statue of the Sacred Heart and St. Margaret inside the house that they take out for processions every year. I believe They protected the house and the people during the earthquake.

The tower was built for my aunt who suffered from tuberculosis and passed away before I was even born. My late grandfather believed that the breeze blown freely through the tower would give her the fresh air to help her breath easier. Of course, this was before cure for TB was ever invented.

Today, the house still belongs to our family and we get to go and stay there when we visit.
We have a pair of these oil paintings on wood, framed in handcarved wood scroll and painted in gold. They are hanging on either side of the fireplace.

Here is a close up.
This is the wall across the sofa and I hung an Indonesian mirror, encased inside 2 doors. I added a wooden elephant family above it.
Two smaller walls frame the entry to the living room and on each side, a wooden wall shelf is hanging. Do you see my Scarlett O'Hara dolls wearing 3 different costumes, including the green one made from the drapery? Under each shelf is a cherub and mom plaque.
Here is what's on the other wall. A wall shelf with a Nike sculpture I bought from Athens, a small bunny painting, a vase an ex-co worker gave me before we moved from Florida and other knick knacks.

a close up of the plaques

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our living room wall. Thanks for coming and thank you, Barb,for hosting this wonderful event.

Asian Figures

This will be the first time I am joining Three or More Tuesday so naturally, I am very excited. Thanks to Tam at http://gypsycorner.blogspot.com/ for allowing me to join and for hosting this event. Please click on her link and check out her wonderful 3's and then go visit everyone else who is participating.

For today, I would like to show you my Asian figures. I thought they are perfect to display in the home office since they blend well with our Asian filing cabinets.
My good friend, Cindy from http://sisterhoodofthecreativehearts.blogspot.com/ told me about them and I was in love the moment I laid my eyes on them. Don't you just love the title of her blog? Please visit and leave Cindy a note. She does not have an active blog yet but we are working on her to join us because she has so much talents to share. Help me convince her!

I bought all the figures from Horchow.com except for one that I found on Ebay and therefore I got for so much cheaper. I love bargains, don't you?
I am going to show them to you individually so you can see the exquisite details. They even have tiny bangles on their arms that actually move. Remember, you can click and enlarge the photos to see more.

This is the one I got from Ebay.

Thank you so much, Tam for, sponsoring this fun event and thanks everyone for visiting!

The Ever Evolving Adult Guest Room

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Another week is ahead of us and what an exciting way to welcome it with Met Monday, graciously hosted by Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. Be sure you check out her new post. I can assure you that you will find it very interesting, as well as other Met Mon participants' posts. I hope to see you all there!

Today, I would like to share our guest room for adults. I like playing with it because it is very seldom occupied. This is how it used to look. Pretty boring, isn't it? I kept adding more stuff on the walls but nothing seemed right.

I changed the beddings and the curtains, changed a few wall accessories but still, I was not happy with it. We bought a computer armoire, all the way from China. Now, that cabinet, I REALLY like. It is so neat cause you wouldn't know it is a desk and a chair until you open it up. The wood smells so good. We put a laptop there for guests to use. Thank heavens for wireless routers, they make it so much easier to set computers up. Looking a little better now, don't you think? The comforter looks more robin blue in real life. I don't know why it looks more brown in pictures.
Check out this computer armoire. See the chair? The back folds and slides in the cabinet so when the armoire is closed, the chair is inside too and is not visible from the outside.
I added the 2 oval mirrors won at an auction above the end tables. I also took out all the little picture frames. I am beginning to like it now.
All done! This is how it looks now. What do you think? I hope you like it.
I think I will keep it this way for a while.

Thanks for coming! I'll see you at other Met Mon. posts.