Tablescape Thurs. & It's Fall Y'all

Today I am joining two wonderful events. The first is Tablescape Thursday where we get to play with our dishes. Thanks to Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for again hosting this fun event. Be sure to visit her and see her gorgeous tablescape that she always does and a list of all the other participants.


Tonight is one of those rare nights when I will be home alone and I thought I would really pamper myself. I have a new book that I want to really enjoy, so I set the table special just for me. I'm going to have Chicken Salad and a huge buttery Croissant from the Paradise Bakery and just indulge.


I've draped an Afghan across the table and added a few of the Dollar Tree pumpkins that I have around the table.


The floral arrangement is faux, but I love the colors and it looks like fall.


The candle has a yummy apple scent, so that will go good with the Chicken Salad. It also seems to make the table a little special.


My new book. I can hardly wait to just bury myself in it and see what wonderful inspiration I can find.


I love Brown Transferware and would love to have a collection. They seem really hard to find at a reasonable price. I only have two of these salad plates. There is no pattern name on the back, just a shield with crown and made in China. The white dinner plate is Gibson Claremont and I'm using one of my gold chargers.


I found these really cute leaf plates at Marshalls. They just say Leaf Plate-Made in China. I love the veins you can see in them and their pretty shape.


I'm using one of the pretty monogrammed "M" napkins that I found at the GW. I also found matching placemats. I think they are so pretty.


A view of the entire placesetting. This will be a great place to just sit, relax and enjoy dinner and my new book.






Today I am also joining Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality for her It's Fall Y'all party. This is where we show off our fall decorations. Mine are very small. I've mostly been working on the outside getting flowers and things ready for fall, however, I did do a small vignette on the Dining Room Table.


I'm using the same fall floral arrangement I used in the tablescape and have added a small cloche with a gourd and pumpkin, a book stand easle with the Bible on it and an assortment of ceramic pumpkins and gourds that I have.


I've opened the Bible to Psalm 100 - The Psalm of Thanksgiving. This is the season to be thankful for all of our blessing this year and to thank the Lord for the blessings to come.





Thanks so much for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits. I also wanted to remind you to stop by and see Sandi @ Bearly Sane to enter her fabulous GIVEAWAY!! She has some beautiful gifts and if you havn't met her you will want to even without a giveaway.

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Met. Monday - Redoing a Bench

Thanks again to the wonderful Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for hosting this wonderful event. I always look so forward to seeing what everyone has been up to. Be sure to visit her blog to see what she and all the others have been doing.

I have been so excited that we will soon have cooler weather and really in the mood to get the patio and back yard all fixed up, and then you have a bump in the road. Well a crack in the cement actually. All of a sudden a crack and water bubbling up from the patio area near a sprinkler. DH took the sledge hammer and chipped away the concrete to find a broken pipe. Ok, so on to the repairs and then chip out the rest of the section and repour concrete. We really hadn't planned on this, but oh well, could have been worse. Only problem is it was 105 the day he was chipping out the concrete. Not a good thing.


When all of this work was done, this is the way the patio table looked. I think he was too tired to clean up anything else. Bless his heart, I don't blame him.


With that little chore taken care of. I was ready to get all the patio furniture cleaned up and redone. This is a bench that my parents made for me. It is a copy of an Antique Bonnet Bench that I had seen and was soooooo expensive. They copied it to the letter and surprised me with it in 1976. Precious gift. A good washing, sanding and then a new coat of Spar Varnish and it will be good as new again.


This is a view of the patio table and chairs all scrubbed and the cushions all washed and ready to use. I love Sunbrella fabric. You can take the hose and wash all the dust off and it dries and looks brand new.


This is the cute little Rooster planter I found at GW this week for $3. All I had right now was a few Dollar Tree flowers, but a trip to the nursery and a pretty Geranium will look gorgeous in it. The rooster is sitting on 4 wicker placemats that I taped together with sheetrock patching tape that has held up for about 6 yrs. It can also be hosed off, so much easier than a tablecloth.


Here is my wonderful little bench all varnished and ready to be enjoyed. I have some of the same fabric cushions on it that I have on the yard bench. It kind of ties the two area together.


I really enjoy the bench on this wall of the patio. It gives us another place to sit and the grandchildren always like to sit on it.


The patio is all scrumbed and cleaned, just a few more pots with plants and some wall decorations and we will be all set for the cooler weather. I can hardly wait.


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

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Met. Monday - Redoing a Bench

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DIY Brick Patio-the back breaking way

What started out as a new sectional outdoor sofa and tables bought for less than half price ($800 on sale for $300) ended up being a whole patio construction costing almost $5000. We have lived in our newly constructed home for 10 years with only grass in our small backyard. I bought the Nest by House and Home sectional outdoor sofa and table set but the legs kept sinking in the grass and they had to be moved to cut the grass. Since we have wanted a patio for some time now, and the quotes we got were double or triple the cost we projected to DIY, we went ahead and ordered the brick and supplies. We purchased Uniloc Brussels Block  for our 14' x 20' patio area. Under the technical direction and labour of my nephew-in-law, my husband and I, assisted by my power-house 16 year old nephew, our two boys (10 and 12) and my niece (11) worked for several long, hard days. We had to remove one and a half dumpsters of soil and grass. The boys worked endlessly. Wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow.


Finally the 14' x 20' hole was deep enough for the fill required for our cold Canadian winters. We needed to add approximately 9" of gravel and sand. Wheelbarrow by wheelbarrowful. The chore seemed endless. Finally all the gravel and sand was in the backyard and my nephew-in-law had to level it all and pack it all down with a special machine. Then the brick arrived. With the help of a neighbour, we carried over 4 skids of different sized bricks, one or two at a time, to the backyard (the gate is too narrow to get a machine through.)


Finally the area was ready for bricks. My oldest sister helped my nephew-in-law (her SIL) with the difficult pattern. I was told by the Uniloc rep that this was an easy pattern that wasted few bricks. Wrong. The pattern was very challenging.

Oh, it's starting to look so good. Can I just leave it empty to admire, and just get rid of that new patio furniture? I could just sit and look at it all day.


Then came the challenging construction of the steps. Big enough to step safely on and roomy enough to sit on without taking up half the patio.

We picked up a nice gazebo to cover the sectional, on clearout for $125 at Home Depot.

Although Fall is now officially here, I have yet to add pillows and accessories. I'll probably save that for next spring. In less than a month it all has to go into storage for our cold and snowy Canadian winter.

I love sitting out here after work, about 3pm, and enjoying a tea or cold drink.

My niece and her husband came one day while we were at work to add the special sand that goes between the cracks and hardens. They worked all day, and with two little ones to care for too. They even took the gazebo and furniture and placed it on the patio so we would get the 'whole look' when we got home. We couldn't have done it without the love and sweat of our family. Now we just need to finish off the small gate area and have a get-together to celebrate. Then, in the spring we hope to do over our builder front walkway.

Thanks for stopping by our backyard!
I'm hoping to link up to Kim at Twice Remembered,  Kimba at A Soft Place to Land, and Susan's. Between Naps on the Porch. Have a wonderful week!































Thanks Funky Junk Donna, for the fabulous tutorials on how to add signatures to your posts, and for showing us how to add links to blogs, hidden ever so neatly behind those names above. Stop by Donna's blog for totally awesome DIY  decorating and great blog tips.

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Fall in the Desert

In the desert we are just the opposite of most of you weather wise. You have had wonderful summers and a lot of pretty flowers and a chance to enjoy the outdoors. We have been up to 110 or much higher since May, so there are no flowers, a lot of things have died and the yard desperately needs attention. Since it's cooled down now to 99 degrees and the cooler temps are just around the corner, I am really ready to perk up the yard and start enjoying the outdoors.

This is a picture of an area where all of the plants died. I cleared all the dead ones out and am ready to create a place to sit and relax.


This is a little bench that I bought for $10 at a thrift shop a few years ago. A fresh coat of Antique White paint and it looks good as new.


A trip to the nursery for some pretty flowers and trying to figure out an arrangement for some pots.


I think this is going to work. I love the red geraniums and white petunias together. The smaller pot has Cabaret yellow in it and will fill out and drape down the side of the pots.


Adding a couple of pillows that I've had for years and my little garden fairies and this is starting to look inviting.


I've added a couple of pots on the edge of the patio, so I'm at least on my way to getting a few flowers blooming. Still a lot to go.


I can't wait until these all grow and really fill out the pots and drape down the sides.




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

Hugs, Marty

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