It's an Heirloom Party!

Marie, whose blog is Emma Calls me Mama, is hosting an Heirloom Party today! :-) It's an opportunity to share something you've inherited or that's been passed down to you...or even something new that you plan to pass down to your love ones. I've been at work all day, so I'm a bit late joining in...but I just couldn't resist a good party!

Now I know many of you have already seen this heirloom, but I thought I'd share it for those who are more recent visitors to BNOTP. You guys know how much I love playing in the dishes and making a pretty table...well, I think I may have come by it honest. :-)

My Mom crocheted this luncheon set during the period she was awaiting my arrival. That means it's 52 years old...did I just say that out loud? :-) Despite many forays into antique shops over the years, I've never seen another one like it.


Here's one of the few pictures I have of my Mom and me...it was taken right around the time she would have been completing the luncheon set. Unfortunately, I never got to know my Mom very well because she suffered with unrelenting mental illness. As you might imagine, that makes this heirloom all the more special.


This vintage china with the pink band and the gardenia in the center, is made by International. The pattern is called Glenwood. Homer Laughlin also made this same pattern. I found it at a local antique shop and just loved it.

It gives me the chills seeing them together...the crocheted pieces look like they were designed to coordinate with this china. Makes me wonder what china Mom planned to use with these pieces...I'm guessing she had some particular china in mind when she crocheted them.


Look at the intricate detail work in these place mats...I love the pretty spring colors of pink and green.



The gardenias in the center of the table, came from a bush that grows right by the entrance to my garage; I get to enjoy them each day as I enter and leave my home. I love to bring them into the house during their long blooming season. Their fragrance is intoxicating and within just a few hours, it fills each room of my home.

Mom also crocheted pieces to go under serving pieces. You can see one of the oval shaped pieces in the pic below.

Front side of the oval serving piece...

Each piece is double-sided. Having crocheted a fair amount myself, I know how much work went into making this luncheon set. Since each piece is double sided, it's almost like crocheting it twice!
I paired the International Glenwood china with another floral Homer Laughlin china I already had. Here you can see a round crocheted serving piece under the bowl.

Close-up of front...

And of the back...

Cute little doilies or hot pads...

I love the little "jackets" Mom created for the glasses...aren't they adorable?! I have a vision of ladies dining out on the porch, dressed in beautiful sun dresses, wearing big floppy hats, and drinking sweet iced-tea from glasses surrounded by delicate crocheted flowers.

My sister, Glenda, who is 10 years older than me, well remembers Mom crocheting this sweet luncheon set. Glenda told me Mom wanted the set to be perfect. As she worked on it, if she discovered 3/4 of the way through a piece that she had made a mistake, she would finish the piece and then give it away. If she was only a short distance into a piece, and noticed a mistake, she would unravel the thread and began again. Do you think she knew it would one day be an heirloom passed down to her youngest daughter? Wonder if she had any idea how much that daughter would love it?

I love the story behind this picture of my Mom. I've been told that the reason it looks so worn and creased is because my Dad carried this picture with him everywhere he was stationed during WWII.

Hope you enjoyed this heirloom journey back to a time when dining was met with great anticipation and was celebrated in the most enchanting ways.

Thanks, Marie, for hosting this Heirloom Party. Please be sure to stop by Emma Calls Me Mama to see all the wonderful heirlooms! I'm working on a Pink Saturday post...so check back for that tomorrow! :-)

sorry i'm slacking!

so so so so much has been going on! oh my oh my oh my!
ill leave you with the tid-bits! hopefully i can fill
you all in tomorrow?! asl;kdfjas;fjasf.

+ ROBERT PROPOSED TO MY MOM TODAY AT NIAGRA FALLS! i dont care how cheesy it is. i am so incredibly thrilled. i just had a feeling he was going to. i mentioned it to mom and she shrugged it off and laughed. she sent me a text that said "he proposed!" today while i was in forever 21 and i started crying. right there in line to pay and at the cashier. i called her in a hurry and just squealed. they are the epitome of true love. and they are the single reason why i cannot find myself bitter or cynical about love, even after all the bullshit i've gone through. she found at the age of 48... its never too late. holy crap i am SO ECSTATIC! if you know me at all you know i'm obsessed with weddings. and the fact that i get to be there and so involved in this one. ahhh i'm crying now too! a;sldfjka;lsdja;ls SO HAPPY! he's going to be the man to walk me down the aisle when i get married. i had already told my mother months ago that i intended on asking robert, as opposed to my own father. i know their wedding day is going to be one of the most beautiul days ever. my mother is hands down the most incredible woman to ever exist, in my eyes. she's so selfless and giving. and praise the Lord for karma because it's all coming back to her ten-fold. she deserves every single bit of this happiness. i love you, momma!

+ yesterday bryan drove up to help me pack up the rest of the stuff at the old apartment and all that jazz. we ate pizza, listened to Mae, and had a grand ol' time. afterwards i headed to hendersonville and got tattooed for 3 hours. got back in town and watched 3 hours of Friends in bed haha

+ today i ran errands, finished up stuff at Alara, went to murfreesboro, went shopping, hung out with shannon, watched Amalie at her house, got coffee, headed over to Tony's apartment, watched 21, and came back to franklin. here i am at 4am, wide awake. i want to watch more Friends [i'm watching them in order from season 1-10] but its 4:09am and i know i need to sleep soon.

+ tomorrow i will meet up with merissa and we're going to the batting cages! i'm so so so excited! i miss softball sooo much and batting cages are one of my favorite things! oh if only a boy would take me to the cages on a date! that'd be amazing! afterwards i might hang out with elle or if i dont, i'm headed back to hohenwald i think. i need to do some laundry and ill probably hang out with bryan since my parents are still gone.


i promise to have a better entry soon! i have many ~drafts that i just haven't finished yet <3

xo

Beach Tablescape... Welcome to the 49th Tablescape Thursday!

For this Tablescape Thursday, I'm taking you to the beach.




The aqua candles and "sand" colored candle holders used in this tablescape are available at Colonial Candle and may be found HERE. I rarely used colorful candles in my tablescapes, but I just loved the way this aqua color worked with the color of the candlesticks.



Look what came in with the tide.




I found this beachy china at Kohl's last summer...they had it in again this past spring.




I took plain, white, wooden napkin rings and hot glued on large shells to continue our beach theme...







Starfish salad plate...




and a shell salad plate...


Glassware is from Kohls, too...



Shell salt & pepper shakers...




As Julio at Beaux Mondes Designs once said, I swung from the chandelier to grab this pic for you. :-)




Celebrating summer...




dining beach side...




with soft, glowing candles...




I'll leave you with a little tease of what I'm up to for next week's Tablescape Thursday.




Looking forward to seeing all your beautiful tablescapes!



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 or have questions regarding how to post the TT logo to your sidebar and to your TT post, just click HERE for detailed instructions.

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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:

red head envy

i'm a red head now. not that you can really tell from this picture. the lighting is horrid but whatevz. i dyed my hair for the first time in 5 years today. crazy day, right? i was heavily missing my red hair from high school so i said why the heck not? i also cut a ton of my hair off. i still have plenty but i layered the crap out of it and yeah. anyway. no more almost-black hair. i really wanted it to be more of a "HOLY CRAP!" red, but my hair is so dark i'd have to bleach it first. i'm thinking i'll redye it in a few weeks. maybe bleach then dye. who knowzzz.

life has been crazy busy. but good. i'll have you a proper entry soon. <3

Screened-In Porch and Deck Additions and Renovation! Welcome to the 28th Metamorphosis Monday!

(If pics appear cut off on the right side, try setting your computer to it's highest resolution. Music is only a click away....playlist is located at the bottom.)



I don't have a new "Before and After" to share this week, so I thought I'd re-post my very first Met Monday post from January of this year. Looking forward to your Met Monday posts!

Posted January 18th, 2009

It's here...the first Metamorphosis Monday! Yipee! I can't wait to see all the wonderful "Before and Afters!" I'll be sharing the exterior changes that took place at my home when I added on my screened-in porch.

When I moved into my home 18 years ago, I knew one day I would want to redo my deck. The previous homeowners had never properly cared for the existing deck, and it was in a sad state. I tried cleaning it with an incredibly strong deck cleaner and "painting" it with a solid color stain for decks, but the solid stain didn't hold up well, at all. It was time to make a BIG change.

As you can see below, in a "Before" pic, the original deck on the right was very small. A previous homeowner had enlarged the deck by adding the section on the left. The deck flooring had deteriorated and was popping up in places, creating a real hazard. The stairs stuck out into the center of the yard...not a great design. On this first Met Monday, I thought I would share some of the exterior changes that took place when the screened-in porch and decks were added.


Before pic:


The pic below was taken right after the workers tore off the old deck...I was so happy :-) to see it gone! You can see how over the years the dirt underneath the deck had splashed up onto the house when it rained and had discolored the siding. Notice the boards nailed across the doorways. I asked one of the workers to do that because I was afraid that during the construction, I would forget and open the door to let the dog out. No doubt, he would have rushed straight out and that first step would have been a big surprise!

See the door going into the terrace level...the one below the small window? I had that door turned into a window and had french doors added on the wall behind the ladder. This added even more daylight to the terrace level. You'll be able to see this change in next picture.


In the pic below, the porch, decks and terrace level are in mid construction. During the additions of the porch and decks, I, also, completely re-did the previous owner's basement renovation. It had been completed with a hung ceiling, orange carpeting and really dark paneling.

I finished the basement/terrace level back in with sheetrock walls, tray ceilings, and pretty columns where ugly, metal poles had been. The french doors gave the terrace level more daylight, as did the new window.

The deck on the far left was designed to hold the grill, as well as my existing patio furniture, which included an umbrella. The deck on the far right (under the kitchen bay window) was the perfect spot for another seating area with a pergola overhead...another feature I really wanted.


Another view showing the edge of the steps that now came down on the side of one of the decks...a much better design than having them sticking out into the center of the yard.


The future screened-in porch...can you believe it once looked like this? :-)


Let's get to those "After" pictures! Here's the screened-in porch...this pic was taken from the same angle as the one above. It's come a long way! :-)




Interior shot from same angle as above... To see more of the interior of the screened-in porch, just click on the pic of the porch posted on my sidebar.


Since this house has a terrace level, the screened-in porch and decks are a full story up...good for catching a nice breeze. The pic below shows the deck that was added with the pergola overhead. You can just make out the outdoor candelier I hung from the pergola.


A view of the area with the pergola overhead... The candelier came from Smith & Hawken.


At night...with the candelier lit up...wish I'd thought to put some candles on the table before I took this pic. :-)


An exterior view of the screened-in porch...those "things" hanging on either side are bird feeders. :-) This pic was taken right after the porch was finished last April and before I added the sheers.

I'm often asked how I keep the porch looking so clean. I think it helps that it's a full story up. The only really messy time is during pollen season. Once that's over, it isn't too bad...well, except for the deck rails...those are impossible to keep clean due to the trees and birds.


The pic below shows the portion of the deck that houses the grill. I had a gas line run to the grill so I don't have to worry about ever running out of gas. Plus, I don't have to lug those heavy propane tanks back to the store for a refill anymore. If you are renovating your deck, I highly recommend this. It does require a grill designed for that kind of connection, but the cost of running the gas line to the grill is less than you might imagine.


Last time I showed the pic above, several folks ask me why I had a Christmas tree on the porch. :-) It's actually a topiary in an urn and it has tiny white lights and dragonfly lights all over it. It's nice having a lit tree on the porch during the evening...really creates a wonderful atmosphere...anytime of the year. :-)


Hope you enjoyed this Metamorphosis! Can't wait to see all your "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 HERE 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. You can also add it using the html code show below the Met Monday pic in my sidebar.

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: