Small Town Living at Its Best

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.











Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tablescape Thursday the Nell Hill's way!


This tablescape it 100% Nell Hills. It has to be- it's in the home of Mary Carol Garrity! The brown and white check runner sets the tone for the quail and her outdoorsy theme. It was so cozy, you just wanted to sit down and eat.
The tablescape was in the area I would call the Butler's Pantry. This area had tall ceilings also, as did the entire house, but 2 walls were floor to ceiling cabinets that held her many dishes. That included dinnerware as well as serving pieces. I was fascinated the whole time I was there. If you notice in the below photo, she even put framed art BELOW the windows. Never thought of that!
The below ceiling fixture is decorated with dried vines and leaves. The shadows cast on the ceiling were interesting and brought your eye up.
The below photo is taken in the SMALL kitchen. See how she used natural elements to bring depth and texture to the area?
The photos are all mine, I was actually at the open house of Mary Carol Garrity/Nell Hills in September. I am having a give away that involves her latest book "O Christmas Tree" that she signed that day. Check out my side bar to get the details, and you could be the lucky winner. After you do that, be sure and check out the other Tablescapes on http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com and say Hi to Susan for me!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Pink Saturday

Took a photo of some beautiful mums this past weekend, thought I would share. Have a wonderful weekend, and most espeically a beautiful pink Saturday. Thanks Beverly for hosting this wonderful day to be ourselves. I vow here and now to buy pink any time I want to, no matter what anyone else thinks!

http://howsweetthesound.typepad/.com/my_weblog/

Thursday, September 24, 2009

It's another giveaway!!! For followers ONLY!!!


I'm having a giveaway for my followers only. I want so much to thank you all for following along, leaving comments, and being my sounding board at times. I spent last weekend in the company of royalty (in my humble opinion)! I went to the fall opening of Mary Carol Garrity's home in Atchison, Kansas. http://www.nellhills.com/ You can go to the Nell Hills web site and see what I'm talking about. To the left is the front of Mary's greek revival home in Atchison. Approximately 3000 people per day attended the open house and fall extravaganza! The wait to get in was around 30 minutes, as there were buses going back and forth between the business downtown and the house every 15 minutes. After touring the house, out in the side yard was a tent with Mary, signing her newest book- just outYep, that's me with Mary, enjoying the beautiful weather and friendly atmosphere. She's quite the lady! When we realized that I didn't have the book facing the camera, we HAD to take the photo again!
Ok, this time we got it right....I admit, I got a little carried away..... One for me....One for my friend Sheila... and one for ......


Sandi's blog - that's me and that's the prize I'm giving away. The book is awesome, it has good ideas on decorating, using nature as a resource for some of the ideas. The winner will receive Mary Carol's newest book, titled "Oh Christmas Tree" and autographed by Mary Carol, from me as a thank you. I had so much fun there, and got so many good ideas, I might just make this a tradition - I hear they do it 3 times a year!

So, this is all you have to do. If you aren't a follower - now's the time, and if you ARE a follower, sit back, relax because you are already entered for the giveaway. To be fair, I will not draw for a winner until the end of October, just in case you want to let your friends in on the fun. I will however, give you an extra chance to win, IF you put my giveaway on your blog, so be sure and leave a comment to let me know! Check my side bar for the official giveaway photo to post and send more folks my way! Thanks again to you all. Hugs, Sandi

Foodie Friday-4 Ingredient Recipe

One of our favorite "beach" foods in the summer time is my roll ups. They are so yummy, easy to transport on the boat, and store well in a sealed container in the cooler.

I use 12" tortilla's, 1-2 boxes of softened creme cheese, chopped green onions, slivered dried beef.

Mix the creme cheese and green onions, spread on tortilla's. Cover with slices of dried beef, roll, and using waxed paper, roll again. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Slice with sharp knife in 1" chunks, layer in a plastic container and separate wax paper. Cover and refrigerate.

Thanks to the Gollum's for hosting today and enjoy!

http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/


Tablescape Heaven

I just want to let you all know that I spent last weekend in Tablescape Heaven. I have a lot of photos, and will post just a few to give you a hint. Spent the weekend in the home town of Mary Carol Garrity, who is owner of "Nell Hills". She is an author and owns an interior design business, from Atchison, Kansas. I took over 400 photos folks, of houses, tablescapes, decorating ideas and even my food! I'm having a give away at the end of October and will give you more information later on it. Enjoy!




Thanks Susan for hosting us again this week, and for giving me an appreciation for the art of tablescaping. If you are interested in more tablescapes, please go to http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Outdoor Wednesday - Girls Weekend September 2009

Welcome to my Outdoor Wednesday post for this week. It is centered around my Girl's Weekend a couple of weeks ago. My BFF Yvonne and I try to go somewhere together at least once a year. This year we chose to go to Atchison, Kansas and visit. This awesome town is filled with history, history, history. From the moment we arrived, we were surrounded by the old homes, historical sites, museums and even a forest of trees from every state/a few foreign countries/the MOON! I'm not going to elaborate a lot, I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves. The entire town is historical and of course my favorite were the HOMES!


The above home is one of the haunted houses (one of many). There are several "documented" hauntings in Atchison that are toured this time of year.



Atchison is also home of "St. Benedictine's College". There is an Abbey and a Monostary there. I mean no disrespect if I've gotten this wrong, I'm just not positive how it's worded. There are Monks AND Nuns - how's that?!
The many brick streets that are in Atchison were layed by the hands of a man whose legs were amputated in an accident when he was young. He made himself a cart that he layed on and the story is that he could lay down 40,000 bricks in an 8 hour day. After all these years, the streets remain in very good shape.

The above residence was at one time the "carriage house" for the photo above it. Many of these old homes still had the carriage house behind and they have been transformed into some incredible extra living spaces.
It's all in the detail folks, I swear! This detail is over the front door of the house below. Notice also, how many of these homes have stained glass windows.



Note the carriage house in this one with the striped canopy over the window and the porch - seen in the lower right of the photo.

The courthouse.
What was once the High School, is now the middle school.


The icing on the cake (pardon the pun) was that Atchison is the home town of Mary Carol Garrity - founder of Nell Hills. We also attended her open house and fall book signing of her new book "O Christmas Tree". Please notice I'm having a give away of her new book - signed for my blog giveaway. You can check it out on my side bar.
Thanks for joining me with my walk back through Atchison and Outdoor Wednesday. I will be going over to http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ to see more outdoor adventures.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

A Thifty Tablescape Thursday I'll Name "Emilie"

I've named my tablescape "Emilie" this week after my DD#2. When she and her husband Curtis bought their new home a few years back, they decorated with Navy and Yellow, a combination I would have never done, but have come to really like. That's what I've got this week, Navy and Yellow. Enjoy, and thanks to Susan at Between Naps On The Porch for hosting us again this week. She's at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ Also to Leigh at Thrifty Thursday and she can be found at http://lbratina.blogspot.com.

















Plates: Free - dumpster diving
Bowls: $1.00 each at Dollar General
Napkins: $.25 each at the Thrift Store
Tablecloths: Cheap at auctions
Flowers: Free in the road side ditches
Goblets: Free in Duz laundry soap back in the 70's
Silverware: Free - it was Grandma Alley's