A Springy Tablescape

One of the quickest ways to spruce up your house is to set the table in a pretty way. Eddie Ross is the master of this. But even if you don’ t have a store house full of gorgeous antiques, you can still add a little color or glamour to your dining room or kitchen with a few placemats and a little creativity.

I found the placemats at TJ Maxx for $5.00 for a set of four and the runner and napkins came from Target. The china is a mismatched, hand-me-down set Mama no longer had room for.

I had the hurricanes (another TJ Maxx find) and pillar candles but needed the candles to be a little taller and the table needed a little extra pizzazz. My friend, Jane, had the brilliant idea of using buttons as a filler! It just so happened that I had a giant jar of blue and yellow buttons Mama scored at an antique mart. What a quick and easy way to add some visual interest!

Another quick way to add some spring to your home is by putting out flowers. Jules just recently sang the praises of the classic middle school dance flower. I picked up a bunch at the grocery store and stuck them in a tea pot. It livened the room up instantly.

Remember last year when birds took up residence in my wreath? They were trying to do the same thing this year but I put a stop to that and still managed to use my cute new wreath (a bargain find at Joanne’s.)

How do you spruce up for Spring?

And the winner is…

#13 – Karen Otis who said: 

I like the caramel cake. I love your blog! Especially the castle from Saint Patricks Day!!! My maiden name is MacKay. My grandfather was Scottish so I would love to go to Scotland too! Maybe one day …in the meantime I’ll travel with you online!

Congratulations, Karen! Check your email for your official winner’s notice and reply with your address. Then enjoy the sinfully sweet Caramel Cake. :)

Thank you all so much for all of the great feedback. I wish I could send everybody a cake!

Happy Birthday to You!

********** This giveaway is no longer accepting entries*************

 

Flooding Susie’s Inbox is one year old today! What better way to celebrate than with cake? I’m giving one of you lovely people a delicious VeryVera layer cake!!

The Rules:

• Leave a comment with the phrase “LET ME EAT CAKE” and tell me which of the following confections (pictured below) you’d like to have. BONUS QUESTION: What kind of post would you like to see on FSI more often? DIY? Recipes? Decorating? Narrative? Let me know what you’re after so I can make this blog better than ever.
• Enter once per email address until noon on Monday, April 26.
• Winner will be chosen (at random) on Tuesday, April 26.
• A delicious VeryVera confection will be delivered to the winner’s door!

The Goods:

Caramel

Chocolate

Coconut

Double Chocolate

Lemon

Neopolitan

Strawberry

Strawberry Lemonade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your support, your comments and for reading over the last year. Good luck!!

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.   Romans 8:18

Hannah’s memorial service today was just about the most worshipful and beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. What a blessing to see how the Lord was so faithful to His children!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Chisholm/Runyan

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain: Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Nutter Butter Banana Pudding

I’m fairly certain that I ran across this recipe on somebody’s blog but I can’t remember whose, so I’m sorry if I don’t credit the right person.

For a delicious, summery dessert, this recipe has that good old-fashioned taste of banana pudding with a twist. I made it for my Bible study and while my pudding didn’t set quite as firmly as I would have prefered, it still tasted delicious! Enjoy!

NUTTER BUTTER BANANA PUDDING

Prep: 35 min., Cook: 20 min., Stand: 30 min., Chill: 2 hr.

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

• 3  cups  milk
• 3  large eggs
• 3/4  cup  sugar
• 1/3  cup  all-purpose flour
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
• 5  medium-size ripe bananas
• 1  (1-lb.) package peanut butter sandwich cookies
• 2  cups  sweetened whipped cream

Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla until butter is melted. Fill a large bowl with ice. Place saucepan in ice, and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly chilled.  Meanwhile, cut bananas into 1/4-inch slices. Break cookies into thirds. Spoon half of pudding mixture into a 3-qt. bowl or pitcher. Top with bananas and cookies. Spoon remaining pudding mixture over bananas and cookies. Top with sweetened whipped cream. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours. Garnish, if desired.

Printable recipe here.

A Heavy Heart

Please keep the Wilkins family in your thoughts and prayers. Their sweet girl, Hannah, was taken home to Jesus this evening after a long struggle with her heart. She lived so bravely and so happily during her four short years on this earth and I praise Jesus that her sweet life touched so many others.

My heart breaks for them and I can’t even begin to imagine the pain they’re in right now. My comfort is that this sweet child is resting peacefully in the arms of the Savior this night and she is no longer hurting.

“May Your unfailing love be my {their} comfort, according to Your promise to Your servant{s}” -Psalm 119:76

If you would, please take a moment to pray for these dear friends as they mourn the loss of their sweet girl and as they continue to honor the Lord with their lives.

Words of Wisdom

Julie left this comment on my Muppets post the other day and I thought it would behoove (pardon the pig humor) me to repost it.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.”     – Miss Piggy

 

Image of the Divine Miss P from here.

Whistling Dixie

In the excitement over the Master’s, I nearly overlooked the passing of one of the Sugarbaker women.

Here’s an excerpt from her obituary:

Dixie Carter, an actress who gave strong, opinionated Southern women a good name in the television series “Designing Women” in the 1980s and 1990s and later had success as a cabaret singer, died on Saturday in Houston. She was 70 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Her death was announced by her husband, the actor Hal Holbrook, who said that the cause was complications of endometrial cancer.

In “Designing Women,” which ran for seven seasons on CBS, Ms. Carter’s character, Julia Sugarbaker, led what began as an all-woman interior design business in Atlanta and specialized in sarcasm. “If sex were fast food, there’d be an arch over your bed,” she once snapped at her sister Suzanne (played by Delta Burke). Yet when Julia went into a theatrical tirade, which was often, it usually was to serve some higher social or political principle.

In addition to Mr. Holbrook, she is survived by her daughters, Ginna Carter of Los Angeles and Mary Dixie Carter of Brooklyn; a sister, Melba Helen Heath, of San Anselmo, Calif.; and several nieces and nephews.

Although Ms. Carter long ago moved to California for her television career, she and Mr. Holbrook also kept a home in McLemoresville. In 1999, she told The Palm Beach Post that she treasured the courtesy and kindness she found in Tennessee, a welcome contrast to the backstabbing and sniping of Hollywood.

“Of course in the South we talk about people too,” she said. “But if you end your comments with ‘Bless her heart,’ you’re off the hook.”

Rest in peace, Dixie. Thank you for each hilarious episode of Designing Women, you will be missed. 

Yesterday, in my mind’s eye, I saw four women standing on a veranda in white, gauzy dresses and straw-colored hats. They were having a conversation. And it was hot. Their hankies tucked in cleavages where eternal trickles of perspiration run from the female breastbone to exotic vacation spots that southern men often dream about. They were sweet-smelling, coy, cunning, voluptuous, voracious, delicious, pernicious, vexing and sexing… these earth sister/rebel mothers… these arousers and carousers. And I was filled with a longing to join them. But like a whim of Scarlett’s, they turned suddenly and went inside, shutting me out with a bolt of a latch. And I was left only to pick up an abandoned handkerchief and savor the perfumed shadows of these women… these southern women. This Suzanne. This Julia. This Mary Jo and Charlene. Thanks for the comfort, Dash Goff Sara Jane… the writer blogger/fan.

Next Week

Next Thursday marks this blog’s 1st birthday!! To celebrate, I’ll be hosting a yummy giveaway. Be sure to check back next Thursday (April 22) for your chance at a piece of the pie (or cake, hint, hint.) 

Happenings in Augusta

Congratulations to Phil Mickelson on his 3rd Green Jacket!! 

In other news, I took a spin through the local Salvation Army this week and uncovered a few treasures.  I found some cute cut-glass dessert bowls, a few candle sticks, some pretty Reader’s Digest condensed books (just for looks), a few “silver” bowls and two side tables. One side table was for me, one was for Susie.

I did have a cheap old tv stand covered with a round table top and hidden by a tablecloth between my sofa and leather chair. It looked like this:   Yuck.  To replace it, I picked up this little gem for only $14.99.

After a good wipe down, a little light sanding, a few coats of spray paint and new hardware, she looks like this:

MUCH better!! The pop of turquoise was just what that room needed. And the doors remind me of a turquoise bracelet.

I haven’t settled on just what to do on top (I think that lamp is a little too big for this table) but you can sort of see the Reader’s Digest books. Maybe someday I’ll get around to recovering Grandmama’s sofa.

Also, I just found these pictures on my camera and realized I’d never blogged about it.  A few weeks ago, Susie, Mama and I hosted an organizing shower (guests brought organizational items) for Susie’s friend Lyndsie who is getting married this month. Her wedding colors are hot pink and lime green (very Lyndsieish) so she’s had hot pink and lime green coming out of her ears. We decided to use those colors but also add in yellow and orange for a citrusy twist.

I ran tulle and various ribbons in our color scheme down the center of the white tablecloth. We kept the serving platters, bowls, etc simple by just using white and cut-glass. The centerpiece was a snap. We just placed one of Mama’s African Violets in the center of a vase and stuffed tulle around it.

 Adorable cupcake papers from here.

 The lovely bride opening her gifts.

After the shower, we put the leftover tulle to good use.