CHOCOLATE!!!!!

Ok. Just so happened to have pics from a lunch last week in the same folder as the new glasses from Tina from below............so ............. whaddaya think? Just seemed logical to post the pic of our "shared" dessert ~~yeah, there ARE two forks lying on the plate!!

mmmmmmmmmmmm.....wish I had some of it right now!!

She's looking like she doesn't want to eat it, but oh my.....................that would be such a joke!!

Thank You Tina!!!

Tina, from Cherry Hill Cottage, blessed my table when she found these really pretty pink goblets....

I have some pink/green dishes that I've been playing with today. Here are a few fun shots of the tablescape.

And the full table setting:

Time for Grandpuppies to go home.......

and I miss lil Jackson!! and the funny thing? I actually think sophiejane kinda misses him being around too. Now, not around the food bowl or at bedtime when there was the decision over who would sleep on what side of me......!.......but the playing part. Jackson is such a lil crazy dog and always gave us a snicker. Uh-oh.....is this giving me a sneak peek into the world of having grandCHILDREN stay with you and then you have to give them back.........??.............

Here he is with his baby, resting up for the next round of play:

Going.......Going........

GONE!!!!!

An afternoon stroll thru Rio Bonito.....

Last weekend was very quiet around the ol' lakehouse. The weekends following the 4th of July are usually pretty quiet and it was nice. Really nice. Once again, the phrase 'lazy, crazy days of summer' come to mind!! Heh. So........after a few hours of sleeping, er, I mean, reading on a raft in the pool, I took a stroll around the yard with my camera.

Loved this view of the porch of the bunk house..^^

As I walked thru my flowers, I saw this lil guy...

Also spotted this cute guy!! (Notice the title of his book...heh heh!)
And then this lil guy showed off just for me!

Made this table a few yrs back from old tiles and flea market plates!I think I should name her Gertrude!

OK.......enough of the walk thru my garden.....until next weekend!!!!!!!

Satisfying that addiction!!

Remember my earlier post about the pickled squash that I found at the farmer's market?

Remember my words about being addicted to them?

Remember me actually taking pics of the canned veggie of the soul??

Um...........I made some!

Um...........I then took pics of the sweetness!

Um...........me thinks I may be losing it!!!!!!

Grand-Puppy sitting!!

Heh. Yep..........we are the official grandpuppy sitters for the week!

Poor cap'n. He's got the job of scooping poop out of the lab puppy's pen...ewwwwww. He tries so hard to get him out to run and do his 'job' before he goes inside the pen, but so far....he's 1-3.

And then, there's Jackson. Jack is a poodle and he's a doll! So funny. He's really good and a pleasure to have around..........a pleasure for all EXCEPT ms. sophiejane!!!!!!!!!! She would really rather not play with him or be nice to him or even just acknowledge that he's in our house!!

So.........there's this >> Sweet Jack!

And then there's this: !!!

A magical day!!

Just was.

Nothing special. Nothing planned.

Just a sun sun sunny day with temps in the low 90's (compared to triple digits we've been having) with cool breezes blowing thru the trees and making lil bitty goosebumps on my skin after getting out of the pool! Everyone around here was in awe. We heard songs of "Man, it feels like fall!!" And it did. The air smelled clean and made us yearn for some LSU football! Even the light looked different....I always love fall because the sun sends such special soft and warm sunrays to us in early afternoons. I do think fall is my favorite time of year!!

So.............at times yesterday, it seemed as tho the weather fairy was hanging around the land of Uncertain...............makin' me verah, verah happy!!

Just playin.....

Making a new centerpiece for my table from flea market finds!

Found this really ugly chandelier at "Mr. Lucky's" last fall. He has the coolest flea market on the side of the road. Some days, everything looks cool - other days, he doesn't have anything but 'real' junk. Heheh.....granted, what might be junk to you may be a treasure to me!!

So...........I got this piece for 3.50!! It was a verde green with really nasty lampshades....here it is, hanging and ready for the first coat of primer. ^^

Next .... the primer and then a coat of black paint.

Saw this done in a Sandra Lee magazine. Cut rounds of styrofoam for each light to use as base for flowers.

Thought I wanted white flowers with red candles but changed my mind to red flowers with white candles. My kitchen has an Italian theme to it and reds, blacks and golds are what I love in there. Found these silk roses at 60% off sale at Michaels.....very easy to substitute live flowers for entertaining. So......I would guess that this whole shebang cost me about 24 bucks!!

Chandelier, flowers, paint, beads and candles!!

Once I get it set up on my table, I'll make a tablescape and show you!!

A Sweetheart of a Friend!

Just trying to get some of my photo files organized today and came across something that made me smile. Big Time!

A while back, my friend KL..or 'plucky' to those that know her...came to my house for a visit and a lil scrapping lesson. She saw that I had an old kitchen utensil that came from my daddy long, long ago. It was very dated with a red handle. Well, next thing I know, I'm getting lil surprises in the mail! Several different times, after she'd been junkin' or hitting the antique shops, I'd get a "plucky 'prize"............yep~~other antique kitchen utensils with that same red handle as the one like my daddy's!!!! Is that too cool or what? So, after my utter delight and surprise, I began looking for a perfect receptable to keep them in for display and came up with this glass apothocary jar tied with a napkin that she had included with my s'prise!!!



Is she "too cool for school" or what??!!!!

Addicted........I tell ya!!

OMG!!!!
Remember that pickled squash I told ya'll about yesterday from the farmers market?

This stuff is crack! So crisp, so sweet; yet, tart, seasoned perfectly with onion, red peppers and jalapeno..........I just had to show you. Also am starting to dry some of my hydrangea blooms for arrangements in the future!

Love the handmade label on top of jar...in the little lady's handwriting!

What to do on a hot Saturday morning?

Farmer's Market, of course!!

Nothing quite like the hustle and bustle activity of shoppers walking thru the aisles of a good ol' farmers market. My lil boyfriend/husband took me on a morning outing today......the market and breakfast afterwards.....so fun!

I think the colors at a veggie stand are beautiful....bright, bold and varied. The smells of frying sausage, dirty rice and chickens being grilled are enough to make you sample it all. And the people......I love to see the people who do the growing, picking, canning, freezing and selling. They are like lil miracles of love. We bought some canned, pickled squash and tonight while I was eating it, I smiled remembering the lil hump-backed lady who had meticulously sliced, seasoned, cooked & canned the most tender and delicious squash ever!!

Onions of every size and shape!

Do I taste 'mater sammiches' in the days ahead??

YUMMY!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!

We sure did!! And let me preface this post with excuses! Heh....

Did not take any food pics as I had said I would because just when I was going to line it all up and start shooting.................this happened:

This would be called a "floater". I like this lil concoction....actually all it is is straight tequilla, Patron-the good kind-with lime, because I can just sip it while it remains chilled in its lil ice bath!

So................soon a few more of these followed......

And before I knew it, my "shooting" became all about the tequilla instead of the pictures!!
(hate it when that happens!) But seriously, it was just a great day. The weather was perfecto..lots of sunshine and steady breezes blowing thru our hairs!! We had family and friends and good food.........sooooooooooooo much good food..........and no one truly had a care in the world for the day. We even had a Londoner with us celebrating his first American holiday....and that was a hoot! We did ALOT of this:

And matt's new lab puppy did alot of this!

And then, hanging with two of the most gorgeous guys in the world.....which would just so happen to my boys...........made the day, well..............just an automatic perfecto. Again!

~~Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....Summertime in Texas!!