Welcome to the Porch Party!

I have been so excited about being able to celebrate and now Rhondi's porch party at Rose Colored Glasses is finally here!!!



Usually when I sit out on my porch, there is a glass of iced tea close by. Isn't this bird house sweet? My son made this for me when he was eight years old - he's now 25. Our next door neighbor at the time cut the wood and helped him with the assembly. It is one of my porch treasures. When we moved in this house a few years ago there just wasn't a place for this sewing machine stand. We left it on the front porch while thinking about a place to put it and decided it was cute right where it was.

To get ready for the porch party I decided to make pillows and cushions with red, white and blue. From Memorial Day through Labor Day it's a color scheme that seems to work.

The rocking chairs were a bargain from Publix (a grocery store) of all places. At the end of the summer season I found these 2 chairs marked down to $50 each!! Notice the swallow's bird nest on the table between the chairs. A sweet souvenir from a spring nest. The swing below was custom made to fit on our porch. At the old Lakewood there was a swing vendor who made a smaller swing to fit our narrow porch.


This little bench is my favorite sitting spot. We used to live in a small town called McDonough. On Saturdays they have a tiny farmer's market and anyone can come and sell their goods. A local retiree made this bench out of treated lumber. It is heavy as all get out but so comfy. I love the side table made from old railings.

I had to show you my porch bug. I was visiting my daughter in Portland and we went to the Bagdad Theater to see Pan's Labryinth. The next morning we stopped in Powell's Books for Home and Garden and oddly we found this beaded bug. It reminded me of the winged creatures from the film so I bought one for both of us. He is my garden faerie.


Don't geraniums look like summer? Our old town was known as the Geranium City and they had geraniums planted everywhere. After living in McDonough for 25 years, the geranium habit is hard to break.



I was walking through Big Lots and spotted these adorable outdoor lights. By day they look like colorful dragonflies but at night they become.....

fireflies.

Porch parties can be fun in by day or night! Y'all come back now, y'hear.

Summer lovin’…..

Some Palm Beach Love for you…

cool

calm

collected.

From Celerie Kemble

Happy Dishes

A few weeks ago I was in CVS of all places (a chain drug store) when I noticed some dishes on sale. There were assorted dishes, some melamine and some pottery, but all with the same design and they looked like the happiest dishes I had ever seen. It looked like the perfect dishes for an ice cream party with my granddaughters (aka Jojo's joys) and I just couldn't resist the prices. The pottery dishes were on sale for ridiculously low prices plus I had a coupon for $5 off the entire purchase. By the time I got out the door, I paid $15 for 6 bowls and 6 plates along with a dozen matching paper napkins. Notice the ruffled edges of the plates. They're just too cute!


A couple of days later I was in Hancock's Fabrics when I noticed a fabric that matched the adorable CVS dishes. I bought fabric to make matching cloth napkins and I am still asking myself . . . what are the chances?

I am so excited about having an ice cream party for the grandgirls!!!

Announcement

Thank you for all of the wonderful comments over the last few days. I love getting comments and have really enjoyed meeting some new blog friends in the process. Very soon there will be another giveaway to celebrate my 200th post but for now the winner is . . .



A Beach House Dream. Again, thank you to everyone for joining in the giveaway fun. Stay tuned for information on my 200th post giveaway celebration.

A little mango makes everything…just…Happier!

I am Hooked on Mango’s lately…and try them in everything!

Including Guacamole!

Yep….marry the smooth creamy green with the ripe orangey-gold…

Nectar of the Gods I tell ya!

there he is on the bottom left. He’s shy…even blushing

Whats for dinner?

Why…I’m glad you asked.

Grilled Snapper with a wonderful smoked paprika and cumin rub…with corn salsa, fresh tomatillo sauce and Mango guacamole…all piled high on a corn tostada with a key lime remoulade sauce.

Easy Peasy puddin’ and pie!

Start by adding some diced mango to your favorite Guacamole recipe.

MY fave guac recipe has chopped scallions, cilantro jalapenos, sea salt…

…and LIME

Add the mango. The sweet with the bite of pepper is sublime.

Truly.

Corn salsa with fresh corn…find the recipe here.

I add some yogurt…just a dab…for creaminess.

This is great all by itself...actually everything here is great

all by itself!

Tomatillos…those husky little green tomato looking creatures.

Husk ‘em, roast ‘em in the oven with some hot peppers Jalapeno, cubano

...whatever fits on your dance card

When they are soft and roasted…pop ‘em in the blender with a nice handful of cilantro

trust.

It is green…healthy…good for ya… and will add a touch of spice to your friday.

Now...Mix up some Key Lime sauce, Baby!

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 1/4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Stack everything on a friendly corn tostada….

Yum….really.

Would I lead you astray?

I think not.

Whoo Hoo!

Can you say Friday?

Manicures and More

If you read my posts very often you know that I enjoy volunteering. For the past year and a half me and a volunteer partner have mentored two women who for some time were homeless but have now transitioned into permanent housing. While they have found a place to live, they have no car and they still face a number of challenges that most of us will never have to face.

Our experiences with these ladies have been so much fun. Over the past many months we have gone out to eat, been shopping (one trip to Target took hours just so they could enjoy looking at everything), watched movies and other been on excursions that provide opportunity for fun and fellowship. This month I was in charge of planning our outing and after mulling over a couple of ideas I thought that it would be fun to go get manicures. About every month or so after a hard day of house or yard work, I will go get a manicure on a Saturday afternoon and it is such a relaxing experience so it seemed like the perfect activity for spring.

My volunteer partner and I picked up our lady friends and headed for the local nail shop. It was funny because the ladies were nervous and very unsure of the process. The shop keeper was even more confused because we came in as a group and she couldn't figure out how we all belonged together. At one point she asked me what was our relationship, though I don't think I provided enough information when I said, "we're all friends."


It was such a fun outing and all of us were so proud our new manicures and soft hands. On the way home we discussed how long it had been since our last manicure. One of the ladies said when she got married and the other lady said, "never." We also had time to plan our summer outing and it looks like we may be headed to a paint your pottery place. Volunteering is so much fun.

Even Though I Dream, I Love Where I Live!

While it's great fun to dream of living in other places, I love my neighborhood and I want to share some photos with you.

We're a front porch neighborhood with lots of really cute houses that come in all sorts of colors.

The houses have some terrific details.

including characteristic lights that hang from trees



that make our neighborhood look magical at night.

We have our own font for house numbers.

and other cute things.

There are lots of gardeners, painters, stained glass makers, mosaic artists, bikers, grandparents, young families, a jewelry maker, army officers, a well-known pastry chef, a bee keeper (we have our own neighborhood honey) and a landscaper. In other words, we are a VERY diverse group of neighbors with diverse interests but with a great appreciation of each other. My husband and I used to live in a small town but we finally found what we were looking for when we moved into our neighborhood. I just remind myself of what Dorothy said - "there's no place like home" and I think we found Kansas.

We call this house our little white house.

I am so glad that you stopped in to visit with me and my wonderful neighborhood.

Dreaming of Other Places to Live

Alchemy Fine Living is hosting a great party today. It's a "Dream of Where You Might Like to Live" party. I have to admit that I do daydream about going to live in other places. The thought of going to live in a different place, even if only for a few months, has always seemed like an exciting adventure and I would love to be able to just do it. Today I would like to imagine living in Lebanon. My husband is from Beirut and we still have family living there so there is added appeal. Here are a few things I love about Lebanon. For instance, the houses,

And the food,

hospitality,

people,

and best of all, the scenery.

Many thanks to Lebanon Houses for the first two photos.