Spring Is In The Air

The flowers are beginning to peek out of the ground,

the Bradford Pears are blooming,

and we are all sneezing!

But we think the groundhog missed his mark this year.

He said six more weeks of Winter,

but we still have yet to see any cold weather.

Now as soon as I type this,

the temperature will fall off the thermometer

and we'll be under a foot of snow.

But with the touch of Spring like weather,

I felt like setting a table of soft, spring time colors.

I purchased this vase back in December

on a shopping trip with my mom to Evergreen

in Osage Beach, Mo.  

They were having a big sale before they closed for the winter

and everything in the store was half price.

I could have really had some fun in there, but I was

trying to be good.

I just used some silk Hydrangea blooms that I normally

are used in another arrangement.

I am going to try my hand at drying some Hydrangea blooms

this year.  Of course, I will have to sneak into Leisa's back yard

and get some off of her bush since I do not have one of my own.

It's funny how you notice the little things in the photos you take

that you may not pay any attention to on a normal day.

I enjoy looking at photos that others have taken 

out of their kitchen window and they overlook beautiful 

wooded backyards...mine overlooks my neighbors garage...

breathtaking, huh?

Oh well...hopefully you will just take in the

view on the table...

The table is set for dinner with the

family.  We have a calm week ahead, so

I am taking advantage of home cooked meals

and time chatting about the day.

I picked up these small dessert plates after Christmas

at TJMaxx.  

There were also dinner and salad plates that matched,

but I chose to go with the solid white beaded edge plates instead.

The paisley plates are made by 222 Fifth

and are the Indochine pattern

in purple.

The white plates were another purchase after 

Christmas at TJMaxx.

They are Bella Lux brand 

Amalafi pattern.

And Scott will be happy to know that they are dishwasher safe.

(Scott offered to wash up after our last Sunday lunch at our house...

the Sunday I used china that had to be hand washed...

he requested that next time, I use dishes that could be

put in the dishwasher...hee hee)

I purchased this flatware at Homegoods in 

Osage Beach, Mo with my mom on the same

after Christmas shopping trip.

I love the "pearl" look on the handle.

And they are a beautiful Spring Green.

I was excited to see how well they matched my 

green vase and my paisley plates as well.

The last of our sunshine today streaming in the window.

Rain is on the way, and unfortunately the threat

of spring time storms...

I am ready for warmer weather, 

but the storms I can do without.

The table is set, won't you join us for dinner.

I think for tonight's menu

we will be having seafood pasta in a 

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo sauce, a yummy Caesar Salad

and some crusty bread.

Hop you are all having a wonderful week.

I'll be joining Susan

for

at

Between Naps on the Porch

On Our Way...

To see the Tigers Play!!!

Saturday we headed to the 

Loveliest Village on the Plains 

to watch our Auburn Tigers play some basketball...

We went down with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Ann, Julie and Chris.

We enjoyed a quick walk around campus and stopped by the 

sign in front of Samford Hall for a quick photo opp...

Samford Hall

Auburn University

All four looking at the camera,

at the same time !!!

Then we headed to Toomer's Corner

to visit the trees...

They are not getting off to a good start this spring.

It looks like the poison is going to get the best of them.

If you do not know about the poisoning of the 

Trees at Toomer's Corner you can read about it

here

We walked on over to Toomer's to get some of the best

Lemonade on earth!

And yes, it is the best....

anywhere...PERIOD! 

Love this stuff!!! 

Enjoying our yummy lemonade on the way

to watch the game.

It was such a beautiful day.

A little breezy, but warm.

Perfect for a walk around campus.

The new home of the 

Auburn Tigers 

We settled in to watch Auburn and Arkansas 

play some hoops...

and we were ahead until the very end...

I think I know a few boys who will be

practicing a few free throws this week...

yikes...it wasn't pretty.

We stopped by and took a picture of the 

Coaches Trophy from our

National Championship

Football Season in 2010!!

We had a great time!

Can't wait to go back

for Football Season!!!

Valentine's Day 2012

Some sweet treats for my three little sweeties!

Austin and Jackson have these Valentine buckets that I fill up with goodies

every year.  A special little treat for my special little boys!

Let's see what they got?

Here is Austin's bucket...

and inside was...

The always acceptable iTunes gift card,

his favorite gum. his favorite candy bars

(Hershey's cookies and cream...yummmm-o)

A new Auburn basketball t-shirt to wear to the game next weekend.

And a card with an IOU for something he wants for 

his computer...

He has reached the age that his technical things confuse me...

He'll have to pick that one out on his own,

within reason.

On to my next Valentine...

What's inside little Jackson's bucket...

Some stickers, and a new t-shirt for the basketball game,

and a couple of new videos...

Treasure Buddies and a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse video.

I love that most videos come with a DVD and a digital copy

so we can put them on the iPad and phone to carry with us.

Great entertainment while we are on the go!

The boys headed for their buckets right after school...

They couldn't wait to see what was waiting for them in their buckets!

Austin was excited about his new shirt to 

wear to the game...

Jackson was excited about his new shirt, too.

He thinks it is so fun to get things like Austin, so when

Austin pulled his shirt out, Jackson grabbed his and 

squealed "me, too!"

He couldn't wait to wear his... so we put it on while

we were still opening our stuff.

(Thanks, Aunt Leisa, for picking these up last week,

they were a BIG hit!)

A little excited about his favorite candy bars...

He is eating one now, and saving the rest for 

later....much later, I hope.

Jackson was trying to figure out which movie to 

watch first...Mickey or the Buddies...

such a hard choice!

And last, but not least...

some sweets for my 

favorite Valentine...

Scott loves Peanut Butter so I thought 

that a Reese's Cup heart was

the best gift for him...

We are planning on going to dinner on Friday night

and the boys are going to play with Mama and Papa.

Hope everyone has a 

Very Happy

Valentine's Day!!!

Roses are Red...

Roses are red

Violets are Blue..

I love playing with dishes...

How about you?

I'm such a poet!  HA

I thought I would set my table with the good dishes

for eating at home next Sunday...

 Sunday's were one of those days that we just planned on eating out.

It was just our usual routine,

Church, Eat Out, Nap, Back to Church...

But we have been taking turns with our travel buddies

and alternating at each others houses so we are not

having to cook every Sunday.

We also get to sit around and plan out the little details of our

trip and just enjoy relaxing and taking it easy...

and then take a nap...

Today, I thought I would plan out my table

so I would not be scrambling at the last minute

trying to make it just so...

Won't you come and see... 

The napkin rose was inspired from 

this tablescape at Stone Gable

Yvonne gave step by step instructions on how 

to do this napkin fold...

and when I read

No Ironing Required,

I was on board...

you can tell I am not much on ironing from the next shot...

I promise I'll iron the table cloth before our guests come for a visit.

Since Roses are so expensive around Valentine's Day,

I figured that making my own would be better.

I chose to put one in each of the coffee cups...

The leaves were just popped off some artificial hydrangea blooms

that were in the kitchen.  I can just pop them back on 

when I am done using them as leaves for my roses.

A little shot of the rim on my dishes...

stacked on a rosy red charger.

King James silverplate by Oneida

Gorham Cherrywood Iced Tea Goblets

A little candlelight...

I placed the silver Mint Julep cups on the table

to use as a vase on Sunday for a few 

real red roses... 

I also plan to use some flowers and greenery to decorate the 

candle plates in the center of the table.

They need a little something to spruce them up a bit.

I love that these can be used as a centerpiece with the plates,

or you can remove the plate and use a taper candle.

I have also used these on a dessert table before as

a serving piece.

Speaking of dessert...

The buffet has been set for a few sweets to eat.

I am planning on fresh fruit on the tall petit four stand and 

something yummy on the cake pedestal.

And coffee to sip while we enjoy.

Another quick shot of the table with a soft glow...

I think we'll be set for a yummy Sunday dinner...

And one more shot of the napkin roses...

I have to say I think this little fold makes a big impact for 

such a simple little twist...

Our table is set, now to plan what is for lunch.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today.

Be sure to visit Susan and all of the other 

wonderful Valentine tablescapes at

Between Naps on the Porch

Have a wonderful week and a very

Happy Valentine's Day

Laid Back Weekend...

This weekend was pretty laid back.

We spent some time with Scott's family Friday night

with a yummy dinner from one of our favorite local spots.

Greenbrier Barbecue needs to be on

that show with Guy Fieri 

Diner's, Drive-ins, and Dives...

Cause it's a dive, but they have the BEST

barbecue and hush puppies in North Alabama!

We headed to the mall after dinner to let me get some
make up and just bummed around for a while.
We had a good laugh from Austin.
While we are trying to save up for our summer
vacation, I have told Austin that we are going to cut out
a lot of our eating out.  We'll eat healthier and save money to boot.
Well, while we were at the mall, Scott went to Sears
and was looking at the BIG tool chests...Austin was very quiet...
then Scott started looking at a ping pong table top
that would sit on the pool table...
when it was not in use, it folds up and could be put under a bed downstairs.
The little guy was looking it up and found they had one in stock.
It was normally $149.  Scott kept saying that was a really good price,
and when he looked it up, the salesman said it was on sale
for $99....Scott was getting excited...
The salesman said they had one in stock....
Scott was getting really excited and then it happened...
I told Scott if that was what he wanted to go ahead and get it....
Austin piped up and said
"WAIT...we can't go to Chick-fil-A and get a biscuit, but
we can buy a Ping Pong Table...this is not right..."

insert Scott dropping his head and walking away...
It's bad when your 12 year old puts you in check...

So keeping with the penny pinching...
Jackson can't have any new PJ's either!!!

Only kidding ... he has plenty of PJ's, they
were just in the dirty clothes.
He had several pairs of footed PJ's in his drawer,
but he doesn't like them.
But that was what was clean, so I decided to put them on...

The poor thing was sooooo sleepy last night that he put them on and jumped
into bed...smooth sailing...so I thought.

He was almost about to drift off to sleep when he sat straight up in bed
and started pulling at his feet and whining that he
"Couldn't feel his blanket!!!!"

I tried to explain that the PJ's would keep his toes warm....
not gonna work...
What's a mom to do....
Cut the feet off...what else!

He was so funny when I cut them off.

He curled up under his blanket and said

"ohhh, that's better...I love my blanket"

He drifted immediately off to sleep and slept the night away.

I just laughed this morning when he was waiting for Austin to get ready for
school.  Sitting on the couch with his little toes stuck out of the ragged little PJ legs.

Just cut those feet right out of the PJ's while he was laying there in bed.

You'll have to excuse me...
I need to go and collect my
"Mother of the Year" award.

Another highlight of the weekend...



Do you play?
I am having a blast playing words with friends on Facebook...
I also have the app on my phone so I can play on the go.
Most of the time I am getting my tail beat, but it's still
a lot of fun...
Don't they say word puzzles keep you young?

Jackson played with puzzles this weekend too.

Betty had bought him a set of 8 Thomas the Tank Engine 

Puzzles for Christmas and he sat down and put 

them all together...all by himself...

without pictures to look at to see how they should look.

I was very impressed.

Of course, everything goes together better when you stick your
tongue out.

Working hard.

By bedtime he had all 8 puzzles put together

and was so proud of himself.

He did tell me each time I would snap a picture

"Quit taking my picture!"

My boys are both at the stage where they 

don't want to have a picture taken.

But, I take it anyway!

The weekend ended on a sad note...

Scott had to leave to go out of town for the week,

and Austin's Patriots lost the Superbowl....

it was a little depressing.

So this week the boys and I are going to just hang out...

I may clean out my closet...

I have been needing to get that done for a while and since

Scott won't be back for a week, I think I could manage to get the

mess cleaned up before he returns.  HA!

And in case you are wondering...

my Mother of the Year award sits right next to my

Houskeeper of the Year award...

Have a great week!