From Broken to Better, This Project is Done! Well, at Least for Now.
I'm considering this little project complete for now. When I last shared this room, one of the little Dept. 56 lit houses I had purchased on eBay had not arrived. There's a story about that--I'll share it toward the end of this post. For the picture below, I had the shutters in the office closed and all the lamps in the office turned off. I lit a couple of candles to help my camera capture the lit houses. Unfortunately, photos don't really show how pretty they … [Continue Reading...]
Welcoming Autumn with a Colorful Table Setting in Shades of Red, Gold and Brown
Welcome to the 521st Tablescape Thursday! With the official first day of autumn just a couple of days away, I'm sharing a fall-ish table setting for this week's Tablescape Thursday. Still very warm here--reaching the 90's each day (which I love) but I know the cooler temps will be headed this way before too long. I kept the centerpiece simple, using a red lantern I've had for several years. Don't remember now where I found it but if I had to … [Continue Reading...]
12 Cleaning Products I Love and Would Never Want To Be Without
A few days ago I received an email from Jane, a lovely BNOTP reader asking about the furniture polish I use on my furniture. Today I thought I'd do an updated post sharing a lot of the products I use around my home for cleaning, maintenance and such. The ones I'm sharing are all products I truly love and enjoy...dare say, couldn't do without! This is the furniture polish I've been using now for several years. I discovered it a few years back while antiquing. The … [Continue Reading...]
Cozying Up The Office with Dept. 56 Lit Houses and a Few New Bookcase Additions
Welcome to the 503rd Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! For this week's Met Monday, I thought I'd give you a quick update on what I've been up to with the bookcases here in the office. There have been a couple of additions but also quite a few subtractions. Can you tell I've reduced my collection a bit? I took a huge stack (probably a shelf's worth) to Goodwill this weekend. Since then I've culled out a few more books. These … [Continue Reading...]
A New Autumn Wreath for the Front Door
Summer is still very much with us here in Georgia with temps in the upper 80's and low 90's every day. I love the hot weather so I'm not complaining. Though it's not feeling one bit like fall, I came across a beautiful fall wreath recently that I couldn't pass up. I usually have a hard time finding a wreath I like because often they are just too small. I like a nice big wreath that fills out my door. Also, finding a fall wreath that works well on … [Continue Reading...]
French Cottage Becomes a Greek Taverna
Welcome to the 520th Tablescape Thursday! We're off to France for this week's Tablescape Thursday to visit my friend, Norma. Norma resides in an adorable cottage in the French countryside alongside the Argenton River. Recently, she had friends staying with her for a few days, and one evening she prepared a scrumptious Greek feast. Norma wrote: Hi Susan I thought that you might like to see these photos of my " Greek Night " We had friends from the Vendée … [Continue Reading...]
Almost Scammed As A Seller on eBay & Why I Won’t Use eBay Authenticate
Do you ever shop on eBay? I tend to shop on eBay in spurts. I may go months and not shop there at all, but occasionally if I'm looking for an item that's no longer being made or sold in stores, I'll search for it on eBay. I'm truly thankful eBay exists because I've purchased a number of things there over the years that I simply could not find anywhere else. Do you sell on eBay? I very rarely ever sell on eBay. The last time I listed anything for sale was many, … [Continue Reading...]
A Fun Lighting Update for My Home Office
Welcome to the 502nd Metamorphosis Monday! Happy weekend to you! I hope you're having an awesome one! I know it's not Monday yet, but I have an appointment on Monday so I thought I would go ahead and put this post up now. Before we dive into a mini-project I'm working on in my office, if you're a Talbots credit card holder, Talbots is having a big sale right now sitewide. (I got this yesterday, so ignore that it says "Tomorrow.") Basically, anything you buy … [Continue Reading...]
A Shark-Themed Table Setting for a Special Boy’s Birthday Party!
Welcome to the 519th Tablescape Thursday! These embossed chargers I recently shared in a post just arrived a couple of days ago. They are still in their packing boxes in my entry, been so busy I haven't had a chance to unpack them, yet. I was impressed with the shipping/packaging, each charger is individually boxed and well padded. I couldn't resist opening up one to see how they looked. Love them and can't wait to use them in a table setting soon! They are … [Continue Reading...]
5 Ways To Save Big For Travel Abroad
I've always wanted to travel and see more of this big, beautiful world, but for many years traveling outside the United States seemed like just a dream, something other folks did but I would never be able to afford. After I retired, Wanderlust really set in. The one place I had always wanted to visit more than any place else was Italy. With more free time on my hands, I started researching online for ways to travel that would work with my budget. I … [Continue Reading...]
