The Blue Mermaid Room

"Show Us Where You Live Friday" is hosted by Kelly at http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/. I just recently discovered this meme by visiting Melissa at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/ and I thought it would be fun to join in. So, this is my first contribution and I am excited!
The room is blue so it will qualify for a Blue Monday post as well, which is hosted by Sally at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/. Please visit these wonderful ladies and check out their wonderful blogs.

We have 3 guest rooms in our home and I have decorated them in 3 very different ways. This particular one is decorated with gradkids in mind so when grandkids visit, they stay here. We have 5 grandkids total so far, from 3 different sets of parents and they usually just visit about once a year (I wish they would come more often) and of course the families do not all come at the same time. Our eldest grandkid, AJ, loves Ariel and mermaids and that's what gave me the idea when I was putting this together. I saw the mermaid welcome sign in Grand Cayman and thought it would be perfect for that spot.

I love the wavy comforter set. Reminds me of water.

As you can see, I have accessorized the room with mermaids and pictures of the grandkids everywhere.

I painted that picture in oil.

I found these 2 shell fan pulls on one of our trips to Delray Beach in Florida.

And I found this in a flea market

also in Delray Beach or West Palm Beach area. AJ painted this on one of her visits here.

Here's a close up of my painting. I saw the picture on the internet and just copied it.

I also painted this, no mermaid here but I thought it had the right colors.

and here's a view of the TV which is also a DVD player. It keeps the kids quiet for a while. Ariel lithographs on the wall.

I found the birdcage shelves on ebay, won it and placed small mermaid collection in it. I used to have a wooden end table here but I decided to use it as a TV stand and I placed this kiddie table here instead. You can enlarge to see the mermaids more and take a look at the tea set.

I hope you enjoyed the guest room for our grandkids. Thanks for coming. And thanks, Kelly and Sally for hosting these 2 fun memes.

On The Wild Side!

It's Thursday already? Oh boy! This week is going fast! But it's ok, it just means playtime is here sooner. Tablescape Thursday is hosted by none other but our dish diva, Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/. Let's all visit her blog and then visit everyone on her list of participants. I know we will enjoy all the tablescapes circulating in Blogland.

For this week, I decided to create a wilder tablescape. I have always wanted to do a jungle or safari themed one but I just could not find the right dishes that I am happy with. But I found this runner/tablecloth from Z Gallerie while I was in the Tampa Bay area. And then I found placemats from TJ Maxx while shopping the other week. I thought the combo would be perfect.
I've had these 2 vases for years now. I thought they will look good on this table.
Most of you would have seen these dishes before. I thought the alligator pattern on them would blend in with my wild theme. Even the flowers, after all, there are flowers in the jungle.

I used my flatware with horn handles and chocolate brown napkins with beaded gold rings.

and chose to use my Italian glass plate chargers for the color.

I am really loving this table runner. I am not sure what to call it cause it's bigger than a runner though smaller than a table cloth. I love the shape and the fabric, which is pure cotton.

For a centerpiece, I decided to use my faux fern since I know ferns grow wild in the jungle, and the jeweled accessories, again for the color. I added an orb with ferns on top of the, I don't know "whatchamacallit"

I added feathers on the vases. I again used my amber goblets and added clear crystal wine stemware. I am using my dragonfly placecard holders and amber salt cellars that we won on an auction.

That's it, folks! I hope you enjoyed my tablescape which is a little on the wild side. Thanks for coming! Thank you Susan, for hosting another week of tablescaping.

Wordless S & P

Wordless Wednesday is hosted by Dixie of http://frenchlique.blogspot.com/. Let's keep it wordless!

Excavation Began in Our Backyard

It's Wednesday and I usually enter a post sooner than this but I have been busy which you will soon find out why, after this blog. Outdoor Wed. is hosted by Susan of http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/. Let's all go check out Susan's outdoor entry and enjoy it with so many other participants' posts.This used to be our backyard. Not anymore.

I used to wake up to this. Not anymore.

4 men came yesterday. First this guy turned off the auto water sprinkler system.

Then the supervisor instructed the 3 men what to do and left.

and they got busy, killing my bushes.

digging and digging

and with all of them working for 5 hours straight, turned our backyard to this.

Now, this is the view from the family room.

Some of the dirt was thrown down the hill way in the back and it will be addressed later. Another phase, maybe a gazebo or a pergola....haven't decided, or maybe just an open deck with a sitting conversation area. Give me a vote! It has a beautiful view and hate to waste it.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the excavation of the yard. I am excited for what will become of it but I almost cried when I saw my bushes destroyed. I was able to save the little plants cause last week, that's all I did, dug them out and replanted them somewhere.

Thanks Susan for another fun outdoor day!

Honey Wedding Party Favors and A Blue Surprise in a Blue Box

I have missed a couple of Monday posts and I am so excited to swing back into action. Blue Monday is hosted by Sally at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/. Please visit Smiling Sally and click on the links to visit all of the other blue posts.

I would like to share a box made out of turquoise semi precious stones that my husband brought me a long time ago after going to Colorado with his daughter.

And look at the surprise inside! It's a pair of dangling gold earrings with turquoise.

Aren't they pretty? To this day, they are one of my favorite jewelry. And I love the unique box they came in also.

Thanks, Sally for hosting another fun event and giving us a chance to show off our precious blues!

And now, for Met Monday, which is hosted by Susan of http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/, I would like to show you the wedding favors I made for my stepdaughter's wedding guests.

I ordered the jars on line and bought the gallons of honey from Sam's Club.

At first, I planned to just wrap the lids with tulle but I didn't like how they turned out so I asked my daughter to take me to Jo Ann Fabrics. Remember, I made all these favors while visiting her and her family in Cape Coral. I bought a brown silky material.

I wrapped the lids with the brown fabric, wrapped tulle over it and secured them with a rubber band.

Then I tied the neck and covered the rubber band with green and pink ribbons, attached a tiny pink rose and hang a little heart charm.

I asked my other stepdaughter to make the labels for me, "Heather and Ben, Meant to Bee" on one side and "May 17, 2009" on the other side, which of course is the wedding date.

I like how they turned out and the bride was very happy with them. She said they were much, much more than she expected and that she loved all the special touches I added.

Thank you, Susan for taking the time to host another Met. Mon. event and thank you all for coming.