Az. Blogger Lunch

Our group photo. From left sitting is Oliva, Majia,Laurel,Margarite and Ceekay, then standing is me, Linda and Laura. On the right we have Jamie, Aiyana, Myra, Karen, Cyndi, and Sherry hiding in the back. Standing is Char and Liz.


Yesterday we had the Az. Bloggers lunch, and what a great time we all had. It was fabulous to meet fellow bloggers and make new friends. We had lunch at a cute little Tea Room call Gooseberries in Phoenix. There were 17 in attendance and just the greatest and most fun ladies you could ever meet. We all had such fun.

We had huge surprises in store also. On the left is Cyndi (Applestone Cottage) from Wisconsin who was here visiting and on the right is Karen (Some Days Are Diamonds) that drove over from Calif. to surprise her. They've been blog friends for years but had never met. It was a wonderful meeting and surprise. Tons of laughs and hugs.


Ceekay was also so surprised that Karen drove all the way over here. Keeping this a surprise was hard, but such fun.


Everyone talking at once and getting to know one another, you can just imagine all the laughs and giggles.


Jamie, Char and Liz.


Myra,Sherry and Aiyana.


More posing for pictures. Seems like we've known each other for years.


Cyndi and Karen.


Laurel and Margarite.


Ceekay, Linda and Laura.


And of course when you get a bunch of bloggers together there are always gifts. This is Laura showing some darling "Boo" letters.


Myra and Aiyana unwrapping their treasures.


Jamie showing her teapot tassel.


Char with a darling burlap pumpkin.


and I'm overjoyed with my treasures of candy, a bundle of wheat, a lovely halloween box, halloween flag, a pendant and sparkling cider. I was definitely the most spoiled of all.


Just the neatest group of ladies you would ever want to meet. Everyone one of them so charming and warm. It felt like we had all know each other forever.


This is a look at all my stash of goodies that I came home with. Aren't bloggers just the most generous people in all the world.


Here is a list of all these wonderful ladies blogs. If you havn't met them, please go by and get acquainted. You will absolutely love everyone of them, and such fabulous and talented ladies. I sincerely thank each and everyone for a wonderful day. I had the greatest time.

Majia (maigirtz.typepad.com) Char (someplaceinthyme.blogspot.com)
Jamie (queenmimicorner.blogspot.com) Linda (lindathompson.blogspot.com)
Liz (rosevignettes.blogspot.com) Sherry (countrywingsinphoenix.blogspot.com)
Ceekay (thinkinofhome.blogspot.com) Margarite (pudgeduck.blogspot.com)
Myra (nevely317.blogspot.com) Oliva ( olivascreativequest.blogspot.com) Laura(decortoadore.blogspot.com) Karen (somedaysarediamonds.blogspot.com)
Cyndi ( applestonecottage.blogspot.com.) Aiyana (waterwhendry.blogspot.com)

P.S. Does anybody know why the first picture isn't always showing up on the dashboard directory? I see that some pictures are just a sliver and others don't show up at all. Anyone have a clue?

Tablescape Thursday - Happy Halloween

Today is another one of those fun days when we get to play with our dishes, thanks to Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch. Be sure to go by her blog and see her gorgeous tablescape and a list of all the other participants.

Just a fun tablescape for Halloween.


A happy Jack-O-Latern, all aglow.


I placed the pumpkin on a cake stand in a bed of faux leaves and surrounded by a variety of pumpkins and corn from the Dollar Tree.


Black tablecloth and orange napkins and candles for a real Halloween color scheme.


The candles give such a pretty glow in the evening.


I've used the little leaf bowls from Walmart to hold the candles.


The black stemmed wine glass and the clear goblet both came from the Dollar Tree.


Each placesetting is set with my everyday flatware, orange napkins from GW and wood napkin rings from Pier One.


The leaf plates came from Marshalls on sales for $1 each.


The black and white plates are also from Marshalls for $1 ea and the white plate is the famous Gibson dishes from Big Lots all sitting on a rattan placemat.


This is the happiest pumpkin, he just loves to be all lit up.


A view of the table all set for some ghosts and goblins to join the table.


Thanks so much for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits and hope you come back soon.

Hugs, Marty

Fall Decor Finished And A Home Tour

I finally changed out the Living Room to all the fall colors and decorations. It's been so warm, it's taken a while to get into the mood. Our weather is gorgeous now in the mid 80's. So many of you have asked to see a tour of my home, so I thought I would do a small preview. It's a small home, very builder basic with no architectural distinction such as crown moldings or trims. All of the walls are painted in Valspar Fioli Antique Lace, soft cocoa beige carpet and beige Travertine tiles.

This is a view standing with the front door opened. You can see all the way through the house to the outside. All of the rooms are very open to each other.


To the right of the front door is the Living Room. All of my furniture is very tonal, so it's really easy to change the look by just using different accessories.


The Dining Room and Living Room are all one room. It's a nice size area allowing me to have a table and 6 chairs and still use the buffet against the window.


I mix and match a lot of fabrics for texture, color and interest.


A few more views of the Living Room. We have a lot of windows, and the rooms are always bright and sunny.






As you enter through the doorway from the Living/Dining areas, the Breakfast room is on the right and the Kitchen is on the left, with the Family room straight ahead. All of these areas are completely open to each other.


The Family Room is only seperated from the Breakfast area by the use of carpet instead of the travertine tile. I love having all of these areas so open to each other.


This view shows how the Family/Breakfast Rooms connect to the Kitchen area.


A view of the Kitchen from the entry door.


That's a small tour of part of our home. It is very typical of a lot of homes in Arizona with the use of open spaces and a lot of windows. Nothing fancy or grand, but I enjoy my little builder basic, hope you enjoyed the tour.

Thanks so much for dropping by, I always appreciate your visits.

Hugs, Marty

Have You Ever Had A Decorating Block?

Have you ever had something that you just loved and still couldn't find a way to decorate with or around it. Well, that's my problem with my favorite Soup Tureen. It is a Fitz and Floyd and I love every single detail about it, however, I really can't figure out how to show it off. I have it sitting on the dining room buffet and it seems like just odd things wind up on the top of the table and always looks like an afterthought, which it really is. This is what I saw this morning. Pretty bad.


So I cleared everything off and put out two gold candlesticks. This is not very impressive.


Maybe two white candlesticks. This isn't any better and the candles are all wrong.


These candles don't look any better.


So maybe to emphasis the fruit theme on the tureen. All I have on hand are some apples, so let's just play with those. A couple of cloches, a birdbath, and a leaf. This isn't bad, but it's really just a little cutsie.


Ok, pull out some different things and try again. This is better for right now.


A gold charger, a couple of candlesticks, two leaf bowls and a small pumpkin is enough.


I think every detail from every angle of this tureen is lovely, and it really does stand alone all by itself.






So I've finally settled on this, and it looks great with the dining room table centerpiece.


So what are your suggestions? I always get inspired by all of you. So, what would you do?

Thanks so much for stopping by, I always look forward to your visits.