Garden Party Tablescape... Welcome to the 36th Tablescape Thursday, Foodie Friday and Pink Saturday!

Let's have a Garden Party! I'll bring dessert!



Come on over and have a seat...so glad you're here!




Garfield says, "Life is short, eat dessert first!" I like the way he thinks! We're having Oreo Dirt Cheesecake...complete with worms!



I lit the candles in our little green house. I know it's not dark out yet, but nightfall is coming...




 

The greenhouse is covered in flowers for our garden party...



Garden gloves worked well for napkin rings...the napkins are just tucked up under the little band on the outside of each glove. The gloves were only $1 a pair at Dollar Tree so that's 6 napkin rings for $3. Can't beat that deal!



Since the main colors in this tablescape are green and pink, I used both green and pink gloves.



Cabbage plates are Bordallo Pinheiro and are made in Portugal....found 5 of these in HomeGoods and one on e-Bay.

Chargers come from a very exclusive, high-end china shoppe...called The Home Depot. ;)  They are 12 inch terra-cotta (clay) saucers...the type that go under large clay pots. The "fancy" dessert bowls came from the same place.



We'll be dining by candlelight tonight...oh, how I love these summer evenings on the porch.  While we await darkness and the shimmering moonlight that follows, let me show you how I made our dessert.


You'll need these. (Actually, I used one more of the Jell-o Cheesecake and one less bag of Oreo cookies than shown below.)

You'll need six, new, 3 or 4-inch terra-cotta (clay) glazed flower pots, thoroughly washed. (I used 4 inch pots.) Even with glazed pots, I think I'd line the inside of the pot with aluminum foil, just to be safe. Another option would be to use plastic cups, inside, cutting them down to the right height.

You also, need 6 flowers, either real or faux....gerbera daisies work really well. I opted for faux flowers and bought a big bunch for $1 at Dollar Tree. (Important: If you use real flowers, make sure they are pesticide free.)



You'll need 3 boxes of the cheesecake mix, if you use 4 inch pots. I found the Jell-O brand at Publix. Of course, you could make your cheesecake from scratch...if you like. Prepare your cheesecake, per the directions on the box.



While your cheesecake mix is mixing away, place a cookie in the bottom of each clay pot to cover the little hole, if you didn't line the pots with aluminum foil. Most recipes suggest using vanilla wafers, but I used little shortbread cookies since I like them better.



Spoon your cheesecake mixture into each pot, stopping 1/2 inch from the top.



Now, the recipes I found said to use a plastic straw for this next part, but I found these cute little cereal straws and thought they would be more fun...plus, they are edible! :-) If you use real flowers, you may want to opt for the plastic straw.



One cereal straw, when cut in half, was the perfect height for the pot...so it only took 3 straws for all 6 pots. Just press the straw down into the center of the cheesecake mixture. If you find one is a tad tall, just take your kitchen scissors and snip off the top a bit.

Now, for the fun part! (insert evil laugh here) I bought some gummy worms at Dollar Tree...just take a worm and position him on your cheesecake...like he's slithering right out of the pot.



You'll probably only need one bag of Oreos for this next part, that was all I used. I broke up the Oreos before putting them into my mini-Cuisinart.



I used my little Cuisinart to crush them, instead of my big one. It took 3 batches in the mini one; if you use a full size Cuisinart, you could probably do the whole bag at once.




Ahhhhh, good rich dirt! Yum!



Sprinkle your "dirt" over the top of your pots. Then chill them in the frig until you are ready to serve.

At serving time, just poke the little flower stem down into the cereal straw and your done! Just place a worm or two on the saucer of the pot for some added fun.




How about some magical night time pics. Darkness has fallen and the color of the sky is the most amazing deep, blue! If you only click on one pic to enlarge...make it this one!




Ahhh...dining by candlelight...



(Click to see the little bees on the La Rochere Napoleon Bee glassware)



Surrounded by flowers...






Thanks for coming to the Garden Party!


Can't wait to see all the tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday!

After you're all done viewing the beautiful tablescapes linked below, click HERE to stop by Designs by Gollum for this week's Friday feast! And click HERE to visit How Sweet the Sound for lots of Pink Saturday fun!






If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click HERE for detailed instructions.

Please copy and paste the Tablescape Thursday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your tablescape post so your visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs have lovely tablescapes awaiting your visit:

Exercise While Blogging and Working... Welcome to the 15th Metamorphosis Monday!

Metamorphosis Monday is all about Before and Afters. Today I'm sharing a Before and After that's a bit different from what I normally share...but, I think it's pretty neat! Recently when my friend, Pam, and I were "chatting" via e-mail, she mentioned that she enjoys exercising on a treadmill. Below you will see a pic of Pam's treadmill. This treadmill is about to get a stunning makeover! Are you ready? :-)



How do you like her treadmill now? Did you know you can read blogs AND exercise at the same time?!? No kidding! Pam told me she knows a blogger who has actually mastered the art of typing on her laptop while walking on her treadmill. Apparently, some treadmills come with a slot designed to hold a book and Pam's laptop fits right down in that slot. I rushed downstairs to see if my treadmill was designed that way......sadly, it was not. (Click on photo to enlarge for a better view.)


Pam said, "I also discovered that if I right and left click on the scroll arrow at the same time, I get a cool little icon that will let the page scroll all by itself! So, I get the page scrolling and I can walk away most comfortably."

A few weeks back when I visited my doctor for a check-up, he told me one of his patients uses a recumbent style exercise bike and works on his computer the whole time he's riding it! How cool is that? I love this idea...exercising and blogging; I'm all about multi-tasking! :-)

So what do you guys think? Please, if you do try this...make sure that laptop is REALLY secure. :-) Pam, thank-you so much for sharing these pics...I am totally intrigued!

Let's go check out all the other Before and Afters for this Met Monday!



If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the Metamorphosis Monday logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday:

The First Ever...Sunday Favorites

Welcome to the first ever Sunday Favorites...a brilliant event created by Chari at Happy to Design!

So, grab that cup of coffee or hot tea and let's get going! :-) For this first ever Sunday Favorites, I'll be sharing a post I ran on September 9th of last year, just 3 weeks after I created Between Naps on the Porch. I called this post, For the Love of Books, Part I. You can click on any of the pics to enlarge, thus, enabling you to read the titles and authors better. Hope you enjoy!



Maybe it's part of the reason one of my majors in college was English...or maybe it's just all the amazing possibilities and dreams found within. Whatever it is, I have a serious love of books. Now, take one part "love of books" and stir in a heaping cup of "love of decorating" and you have yourself one large decorating book souffle...uh, I mean, one large decorating book collection. :-)

If you tip-toed into my study and peeked into my Someday Notebook...you know...the notebook that held the dream of the front porch for so long, you would find another dream...that of the desire for a home library. The seldom used "formal" living room in my home has been begging me to install built-in book shelves down one long wall and on either side of it's fireplace. Someday, I say...someday. ~~~SIGH~~~

But for now, I must be content to tuck my books into whatever nook and cranny I can find. I thought today I'd share some of my favorites books with you. However, I feel it my solemn duty to warn you, once this decorating book addiction thingy takes hold, it will have you in its grip for an undetermined amount of time. But seriously, can you think of a better addiction? :-)



If you love classic, traditional style, you will love any of Mary Carol Garrity's books. Since the photo above was taken, I've purchased three more of her books: Nell Hill's Christmas at Home, Nell Hill's Decorating Secrets and Nell Hill's Feather Your Nest. If you live anywhere near Atchison, Kansas, you have probably already been inside her wonderful home furnishings store, called Nell Hill's...and if so, I am officially green with envy! :-)

I love antiques and the books below are pure candy for this girl's sweet tooth.

Bringing Tuscany Home is by Frances Mayes, the same author who wrote Under the Tuscan Sun. You may remember the movie, bearing the same title.

Bunny Williams is one of my very favorite authors...it's simple...she writes a book...me wants it! :-) An Affair with a House is a delight to read...I love the way Mrs. Williams describes her long and involved love affair with her home. And you thought you were the only one!

Winter House by Charlotte Moss is the equivalent of comfort food in the book world...or at least it is for me. The picture of her home on page 19 showing her garland draped front door, surrounded by glowing lanterns and candlelight, always makes my heart skip a few beats. With fall upon us and winter waiting in the wings, this would be an excellent choice for one of those long, chilly nights ahead.


Amazon begins it's description of Hunt Country Style this way, "Wood-paneled libraries, sumptuously appointed interiors, mudrooms, paddocks, and stables... " Yep, that about covers it! Gorgeous book, loaded with lots of interesting history covering the tradition of the hunt country and it's gorgeous homes.


Have you ever wondered what the homes of authors, William Faulkner, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Herman Melville looked like...and not just on the outside, but inside, too? Well, it's all in American Writers at Home, as well as photos of the homes of seventeen more famous authors.
And in Writers' Houses, you can tour the homes of Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, and Dylan Thomas, as well as the homes of an additional sixteen well-loved writers. It positively gave me chills, seeing the actual desk where William Faulkner sat, when he wrote so many of his most famous works.


If you love English Country style, you will love anything written about or by the English design firm of Colefax and Fowler. 'Nuf said! :-)


In Adventures with Old Houses, the author, Richard Jenrette, who also happens to be a former executive of a well-known Wall Street investment firm, details his life's dedication to collecting and restoring six magnificent, historic U.S. homes. Interestingly, the forward is written by Prince Charles.


A few more great English Country design books:


Here's one for all you Blue and White fans...I know my hand is in the air!


Hope you enjoyed a peek into my decorating library.

Brian Joseph Atmospheres... Welcome to Hooked on Fridays and the 35th Tablescape Thursday!

Julia at Hooked on Houses is hosting a fun, weekly event called Hooked On Fridays. Well, I'm totally hooked on elegant, beautiful dining rooms, especially when they contain lovely tablescapes, so I'm linking this post to Hooked On Fridays. To visit Julia's wonderful blog and to see more Hooked On Friday's posts, just click HERE.


This is a very special Tablescape Thursday here at Between Naps on the Porch! I am sooo excited to share not only a beautiful tablescape with you today, but also an amazing dining room! My good friend, Pinky, recently shared a photo of the table her son, Brian, created for their Easter dinner...it took my breath away! Brian is a talented Interior Designer and I am thrilled to offer you a peek into his gorgeous dining room.

When Brian first moved into his home, the walls/decor were done in pink and mauve. Take a look at his beautiful dining room now! The walls are painted a very pretty gray...doesn't it give a soft, romantic feel to the room? Oh, how I wish we could see more of that chandelier...you can see just enough to know that it's magnificent! Notice the wonderful china cabinet...



...now take a look at it all lit up. Wow! If this side of the room is this beautiful...I wonder how the other side must look? Would you like to see? :-)



Absolutely stunning! I love all the lamp lighting...what a delight it would be to dine in this amazing room! This makes me want to rush downstairs and start painting my walls all over again! I love everything about this room...the draperies, the art/paintings, the lighting...well, just everything!



Oh, how I wish we had a close-up of the porcelain, floral napkin rings...they are hand-painted by "Pintar" and are antique. The floral place card holders are also made of porcelain and are actually named "Floral" by Royal Adderley.



This lovely china, made by The Garden City Pottery Co., belonged to Brian's great-grandmother and is over 100 years old. I couldn't help but notice the lovely patina of the sterling flatware...a soft, elegant sheen that only comes with loving use and the passage of time...truly priceless!



Now, I know you've been dying to hear about this stunning centerpiece Brian created using this beautiful, two-tiered, porcelain vase from the Jeanne Reed Collection. Brian generously shared his source for this treasure...it is available online at Kevane and Company. You may order one for yourself by clicking HERE.

Brian filled it to overflowing with French pink tulips...breathtaking! I love the look of the lavender hyacinths paired with the pink tulips. ~~BIG SIGH~~



You just can't get more elegant than this beautiful table...did you notice the lovely silver candelabras...Brian tells me they are by Ercuis.



Would you like to see more? Brian has a great website, Brian Joseph Atmospheres, and it's filled with lots of amazing "Before and After" pics. Just click HERE to see more of Brian's wonderful transformations and talent!


Thank you, Brian, for sharing your beautiful home and Easter tablescape with us for this Tablescape Thursday...I love your style! :-)

If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the pink TT logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Please copy and paste the Tablescape Thursday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your tablescape post so your visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted on this Tablescape Thursday.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs have lovely tablescapes awaiting your visit: