China Storage... Welcome to the 20th Metamorphosis Monday!

Whew! Garage sale was a success...but I sure am glad it's over! :-) I just got in from biking 14 miles on the Silver Comet today...hope to share some pics of this gorgeous "rails-to-trails" path with you sometime soon.

For this Metamorphosis Monday, I'm sharing three Mini-Mets...little tweaks I've made recently around my home. Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference in a room or space. Starting in the kitchen....this is the way the china storage in this area looked prior to a small change. See the center cabinet that contains some glassware and a large yellow mixing bowl?

And here's how it looks now...do you see the difference?

The change is with the center cabinet area...those three shelves in between the blue and white Blue Willow china and the red and white Spode's Tower china.

A few months ago, I purchased 12 place settings of white Gibson china from Big Lots for only $35 per 6 place settings. Michael at Designs by Gollum was the first to alert us to this awesome deal. I needed to find a good spot to store it since I knew I'd be using it a lot. That center cabinet had always bothered me...with the odd bowls and clear wine glasses...just didn't seem to fit. I really like the way the all white Gibson china separates the blue & white Blue Willow from the red and white Spode.

My second Mini-Met involves this little tea pot I found at A Classy Flea...it was missing it's lid. I didn't mind because...

Here's the bottom...

I thought it would make a cute little planter.

Wouldn't this be cute in a future tablescape? :-)
And the third Mini-Met for this Met Monday is a small change I made to the hutch on the screened-in porch. Over the years I've collected little abandoned bird's nest that I find in the yard...often they are just lying on the ground where they have blown from a tree. I thought they made for an interesting display on the hutch here on the porch. But, recently I decided it was time for a change...

Here's the new look with my favorite "porch" china...

This isn't as casual a look as the cute bird's nests...but I think I'm liking this for a little change. (China is Ma Maison by Tabletops Unlimited)
Thanks so much for stopping by...can't wait to see all the metamorphosis you've been working on for this Met Monday!

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Garage Sale Tomorrow...I'd Rather Be Napping On the Porch...

Oh my aching back! I'm having a garage sale tomorrow...man, this is a lot of work! Wanna see some of what I hope to sell tomorrow? How about a mantle? It comes with some beautiful marble surround that fits down the sides, across the top and a marble hearth.

A raccoon lamp...Mama raccoon with her baby...awwwww Her little arms open up and you can hold the baby raccoon. Yes, I still have things from my son's nursery...and he will be 26 in a few days. Should I keep this lamp or go ahead and part with it? I mean, it might work in the guest bedroom. Ok, I'm kidding...but it is hard to let it go. Mama Raccoon doesn't look so happy about being sold tomorrow.

Larson storm door...in a "hunter green: color...removed it from the front door once I added the front porch.

Wicker chair, wrought iron candle holder and LOTS of pillows...

Magnolia glasses and matching platter from the Magnolia Plantation gift shop in Charleston, S.C. They're plastic, so practical for outdoor dining.

A Christmas cookie jar... Don't remember how I acquired this guy but he's up for sale tomorrow.


You may have noticed I've changed the template for BNOTP. This also required a change to the background/wallpaper of the blog. I kind of miss the old red and green template, but this new template allows for the enlargement of pics. I've enlarged a few in this post as well as most of those in yesterday's Tablescape Thursday post.

There's a little poll running at the top of the sidebar where you can give me feedback on the new look. I made some adjustments today (when I took a break from garage sale work) that I think improved the picture quality...it's was pretty grainy earlier today. Let me know what cha think!

Have a great weekend...see you Sunday evening for Met Monday! :-)

BUST - days 1 & 2

obviously my sincere attempt at updating every day has unfortunately been foiled by the exhaustion and physical exertion on my body thanks to my lovely internship. though i will not complain, i have loved every single scary-as-balls, stressful, busy busy busy, panic-inducing moment of it thusfar. BUST is an amazing publication and the women of the office are incredible. walking around barefoot, burping in the middle of the day, candy sprawled out on the intern table and all that jazz. its amazing. my first day went great. did a lot of pick ups. had to face my slight fear of the city at large and just go for it. i took the subway all over, went to some amazing PR companies and showrooms, was in possession of the most incredible clothing, and i resized 54 ads for the Bust Store [twice! so 108!] and yadda yadda yadda. i was so beat by 6pm i went straight to chipotle on my way home and got a veggie burrito, put on my pjs an didnt leave bed except for to take a hot bath. serious. my roommate did the same thing. we were exhausted. ugh. today was the same thing. lots more pickups, perusing magazines from the 40's-70's looking fr a specific type of photo to no avail, lots of soreness, etc. ill be working 3 days a week so im going ot work tomorrow too, and have friday off. that way i can get in a little shopping [found so many cute thrift stores on my pick ups!] and then hopefully see Mae play at The Gramercy Theater that night.

tonight i talked to alex for a little over an hour on the phone. hes comig ot visit in 2 weeks! very excited about that. our adventures will be grand. then i talked to jamie on the phone for a little over an hour and a half. had half of a veggie burrito for dinner and here i am. laying in bed, sleeping soon. i think once this weekend rolls around ill have time to get more photos. i think i might venture up to times square for hte street market on sunday, so that'll provide many a' photo :)

i'm so in love with this city. i feel like i fit in. its wondeful. it honestly feels like a second home. but i sure do miss my momma :P i can't wait to be here full-time! nashville, you've got competition!

oh oh oh oh oh I ALMOST RAN SMACK INTO ASHLEY OLSEN TODAY! yeah. freaking awesome. she was incognito with her black hoodie and sweat pants. loved it. amazing.

and i found a place with THE BEST COFFEE EVER! and even better... a 16oz coffee is only NINETY CENTS! ugh i love life and i love new york!

Tablescaping With Lenox, Butler's Pantry Gourmet... Welcome to the 40th Tablescape Thursday!

Wow, can you believe it...this is our 40th week for Tablescaping! THANK-YOU, dear friends, for participating during these past 40 weeks and making Tablescape Thursday such a fun event! I'm looking forward to many, many more!

This has been an exciting day for Between Naps on the Porch. Julia at Hooked on Houses is featuring the porch of BNOTP on her blog today! If you aren't familiar with Julia's fabulous blog, you are in for a treat. Julia goes behind the scenes for all of us and frequently posts large, beautiful pics of all those amazing movies houses we all drool over. She also hosts "Hooked on Fridays," a great blog party each Friday where bloggers can link a post showing what they are hooked on that week. Thank you, Julia...it's is an honor to be a part of your wonderful blog today!

You may recognize the pic below...it's of the tablescape I put together for last week's Tablescape Thursday.




Do you remember the floral centerpiece? It was comprised of purple Spiderwort and some white blossoms from a scraggly little shrub tree that grows wild under the trees in my back yard.




Right after I dissembled that tablescape, I decided to create another one using the same flowers, but in a different way.




I divided the flowers up into seven different little vases. The vases were arranged around two, tall, shabby-chic style candle holders. (Candle holders came from A Classy Flea several years ago.)





Found the little vases at the Dollar Tree.




Flowers from the yard and vases for $7...you really don't have to spend a lot to create a centerpiece.








The inspiration for this week's tablescape came from this little guy.











By now, you know I love lots of layers in my place setting.




A glass beaded napkin ring...




Salad plate is from Home Goods...didn't have a pattern name on back.




Liked how the Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage plates worked with the pitcher.  I fell in love with these when I spotted four of them in Ross. The search began for two more...eventually found one in Home Goods and one on e-Bay.




I'm using the large dinner plates from my set of Lenox, Butler's Pantry, as chargers in this tablescape. For added interest I placed a woven serving piece underneath. The texture worked well with this "jungle" of a tablescape.

















Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been monkeyin' around with this week. Awesome tablescapes await at the links below!





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:

Shelley + Nelson