Giveaway Winner

     There were 106 entries into my recent giveaway for a $50 Gift Certificate at CSN. Using Random.org...the winning number was #73, Monica from Lick The Bowl Good. You really should check out her blog, she has some very yummy recipes and great pictures to go with them. Congrats Monica!

Tablescape Thursday-My Mother's Table...Last Day For Giveaway!

As most of you know, my mother passed away last month and I'm in Florida with my dad. We are going through her things, deciding what he will keep, what my sister and I will now have and what we will be donating. I finally got into her "dish room" the past two days. I thought it would be nice to do a tablescape on her table.

     My parent’s dining room and living room are an open space. I can’t show you the entire room, because I still have several card tables set up with things for my sister to go through when she gets here on Saturday. The table is marble based. Most of my parent’s home is done in white, with pops of coral and aqua.

     The china I used is Carlton by Castleton China. Both my grandmother and my mother had a set. My sister and I will both be taking it home with us. The sterling flatware also belonged to my maternal grandmother. It is Alvin Sterling, French Scroll. My mother gave it to me when I got married, but I never wanted it…until now. I guess I finally grew up (or starting blogging). It will also be going home with me. My sister will have my mother’s sterling flatware to go with her china.

     The crystal ice tea glasses are Fostoria Buttercup. Once again a pattern that my grandmother, mother and I all had. Mom had recently given my sister part of hers and now we will be filling out her set.

We gave my parents the Waterford shell for Christmas several years ago.

The centerpiece is a bowl my mom got last year at HomeGoods. It was sitting on her table when I got here and I still liked the look even after I added the runner to the table.

The little Lladro angel is very special to me and it was to my mom. I bought it for her when I was about 13, with my own money. It wasn’t for an occasion, it was “just because” and she always really loved it. I thought it needed to come out of the breakfront and watch over the table.

I didn’t use real candles because with my luck I would burn the place down. I actually broke the lid to a vintage Lenox sugar bowl today and I still feel terrible about it.

Don’t forget to sign up for my GIVEAWAY. Click here to sign up. I will count everyone who signs up before midnight EST. I’ll announce the winner just as soon as possible.

Please join our hostess Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for today's Tablescape Thursday

All Work and No Play? Not This Trip!

     It is Table Top Tuesday and I really tried to find a space in my parent's home that wasn't covered with "things" to show you, but I couldn't find a single space. I have to say that I am working many hours a day, well into the wee hours of the night going through my mother's things and I have them stacked everywhere right now. I knew my mom loved to shop and I also knew she had beautiful things...but, dad and I have been a bit shocked by how much there is here to go through. I didn't even turn my computer on yesterday (and that never happens) and I haven't been to bed before 2:00 a.m. yet. But, I am making a point of getting out sometime during the day and doing something fun with my dad. It is good for both of us. I have made a point during the past few months to try to find good amidst the very sad time our family is going through. Spending all this time with my dad is definately one of those good things. Dad and I have always been close, but like most "kids" I would talk to my mom most of the time. We have really bonded during all of the sad, terrible, good and funny moments of the past few weeks. I thought I'd share a few pictures.

We tried a new little place for Father's Day called The Breakfast House.

It was darling and the food was delicious.

Lobster and Shrimp Eggs Benedict and Island Pancakes

(macadamia nuts, coconut and fresh pineapple). We shared both....yum!

We've made time to get in the pool.

We went to an art show.

Had lunch at a waterfront restaurant.

Enjoyed the beauty that is Florida.

 Fried Green Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and

Spiced Shrimp. The last picture is chocolate peanut butter pie.

I found old pictures...wasn't I cute?

Look at my parents! My dad has a cigarette??? My grandmother is in the middle and my mom looks so sexy....this is a picture of a picture, sorry about the quality.

It is a very interesting time and I have found things that take me back to memories I didn't realize I had. I've also found out that my mom needed to hold back on those shopping trips a bit. There has been more laughter than tears, and my only wish is that she could be here to do all of this with me. Please forgive me for not visiting each of you right now. I will keep trying to get the time to read your wonderful blogs.

Don't forget my giveaway!

Click Here

A Change of Scenery-Table Top Tuesday

     My dad and I are now having Daddy-Daughter time together in Florida. It is hard for me to be away from my husband for a few weeks, but dad and I have a lot to do and truthfully, my husband will have a better time at work! I thought I would join Marty @
A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday and give you a little peek at some of the pretties in my parent's home. My mother's decor is very different than my dark taupe walls and espresso leather furniture. She did her home in lots of white. The carpeting is white, the tile is white and the sofas are white. She used pops of coral and seafoam to create an elegant, beachy look.

This marble based table is just inside the front door.

This is a sitting area in the dining room.

We bought them this vase for their 50th

wedding anniversary and I still love it.

     I can't show you much right now. I've started going through my mother's things and we are starting to have "stuff" everywhere. I have to pick my camera shots carefully. My mother certainly loved to shop! It is hot, hot, hot along Florida's Gulf Coast right now. We are slightly cooler out here on the island, but still in the mid-90's. We are still oil free on the beaches, but waiting, watching and praying it doesn't get down this far. More Florida posts to come. I really do hope to get to some china before Tablescape Thursday.

Take A Walk With Me...

There have been some beautiful photos showing up in Blogland of gardens, yards and flowers. I thought I would show you a little bit of what is blooming around our house. I have pots of the frilly pink geraniums on either side of our garage this year.

They look really pretty with the pink and green wreath I showed you how to make here. Do you see what is sitting on top of my wreath. Baby robins are  waiting for their mom to come feed them.

We also have these baby mourning doves. The mother flew away just before I took the picture. They were walking around the landscaping just like a mother duck and her babies. So cute.

A little more pink and green shows up around my shabby chair. See the dragonfly, I love them...

Speaking of dragonflies...this little one lives in my fountain. We brought the fountain and bowl back from a trip to Savannah. You can't see that the bowl is a deep turquoise.

We were really pleased when one of our favorite metal artists added dragonflies to his designs this year. This hangs above the fountain on the deck.

My husband made the table and chairs. I wanted them painted in Key West colors. You will see hints of turquoise all over our backyard.

Our most recent addition is this beautiful planter filled with tropical lowers.  Hibiscus, jasmine and a banana plant are growing quickly with all the warm weather. The pot was a gift from some very good friends in memory of my mom. Another group of friends gave us wonderful windchimes in her memory but I don't have them hanging yet.

I love this variety of petunia we found this year. It is called crème brûlée and has a soft orange center.

This is my version of a wildflower garden. We keep it contained, but we let it grow wild. Things bloom here all summer. We use lots of violets and blues in this area. The birdbath belonged to my grandparents. Yes, that is corn and we don't live in the country or on a farm. There just happens to be a field behind our house.

My husband finished the project that I showed you here. It will look much nicer in a year or two when that small climbing rose bush grows and covers the fence. It is a brilliant orange.

This was the project when it was first started.

This is how it looked a year ago...before our beautiful blue spruce got too much rain and died. We loved that tree and would have loved to  replace it, but we were told the same thing could happen again in that location.

Don't forget to click here and register for my giveaway. CSN Stores will be sending one lucky winner a $50 gift certificate good at any of their stores. 

I am linking this post to Met Monday, with our hostess Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch. I think it is a bit of a stretch to link again, but I wanted to show the finished corner project. I am also linking to Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer. Please visit both to see all of the wonderful blogs linked to these two events.

What would you do with $50?

Just a quick reminder...I am currently having a giveaway! Click here to enter to win a $50 Gift Certificate from CSN Stores.

You could get this...

Or these...

Maybe a pasta set...

 A little red for the summer?

Decisions, decisions...but you need to enter to win!

Baked Spaghetti-Foodie Friday

     It is Foodie Friday again! Please join our hostess Michael @ Designs by Gollum for some of the best recipes in all of Blogland. I have been cooking up a storm the past few weeks. My dad has been staying with me, my son has been coming over many nights for dinner because grandpa is here and therefore I'm cooking for 3 men! I feel like I'm a mom again, raising a family and trying to keep them full. My husband and I tend to eat much lighter meals than what I've been cooking lately. I've gained about 5 pounds since dad arrived!

     My grandmother (Dad's mom) used to make something she called Baked Spaghetti. I thought my dad might enjoy a meal that reminded him of his youth, so when I saw a recipe by Phyllis Hoffman, I combined elements of it and of my grandmother's recipe and came up with something we all enjoyed. I did however forget to take a picture of the finished product...those men were digging in very quickly.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used beef for my dad, but I will use turkey when it is for the 2 of us)

Fresh mushrooms, sliced (canned would work)

1 Bell pepper, chopped-any color

olive oil

garlic powder, salt, pepper

1 T. Italian Seasoning

2 cans (14.5 oz) diced or crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 pound thin spaghetti-cook as directed, set aside

3 cups Shredded Cheese-I used Italian Blend, but anything you have on hand would work.

Brown the meat, mushrooms and pepper in a little olive oil until meat is completely cooked. Drain. Stir in a pinch each of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. In a greased 9 x 13 pan, starting with a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of the pan...layer half the spaghetti noodles, half the remaining sauce, half the cheese...the rest of the spaghetti, the rest of the sauce and finish with the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until casserole is hot and bubbly and cheese is melted, about 20-25 minutes. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. It was a delicious, manly meal and I could make it ahead of time. If you do make it ahead and have it in the refrigerator, it will take a little longer to bake and heat all the way through.

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!