Bee Breakfast on the Porch

I hope you will join me for a cool summer morning breakfast on the porch.

We have enjoyed this rod iron table for several years.

I like how you can see the chair cushions thru the table.

 I've been waiting for the perfect occasion to debut my "bee" Mother's Day gift(s).

This week we have been unusually cool here so I seized the opportunity

to setup this tablescape to share with you.

 The amber glasses were a gift from my husband, found

at a local antique store.  They match amber plates I already have almost perfectly.

 I was trying to stick to the rules of Kathleen's White Table challenge and use only one color.

I deemed black was not a color, so yellow was my designated color to go with white :)

 The honeycomb pattern on the rim of the plates and coffee mug is echoed 

in the bee pitcher.

 Beeutiful white roses arranged in bee glasses for the center of the table.

 And bee fruit bowls to match the clear bee juice glasses.

 It is a lot of bee theme going on here, but I think the understatement

of the patterns don't scream bee at you too much.

 I love the cream and sugar set with the silver tray and little baby bee on the top!

 Mary Lake Thompson bee tea cup napkins with yellow,
which pickup on the glasses and plates.

This is a nice shot overhead, where you can see the table, the chair detail and the porch floor.

I will post how we DIY the floor in an upcoming post.

I think it turned out really great and still looks great one year later.

So here's the scoop on the give away details:

For every comment and follow you will be entered into 

the chance to win the bee tote bag OR the bee towels below.

If you already follow me please let me know in your comment.

PLUS If you visit this page:

http://beeutifulbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/07/vintage-sea-shell-invitations.html

and comment a suggested store to visit in one of the cities listed 

you will get one more entry!

I'm really looking for cute shops to visit

in my Summer Southern Shopping Tour.

Stores that sell tabletop items we love

in addition to home decor and seasonal favorites.

Here is a close up of the Mary Lake Thompson flour sack set of 2 towels.

Here is a close up of the bee tote bag, which is made of canvas.
I'm not getting any kind of free products from Mary Lake Thompson,
I just bought these and wanted to share them with you as
a thank you for reading the blog and give me your store suggestions.
I'm joining:
Outdoor Wednesday http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/
Let's Dish http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/
Tablescape Thursday http://betweennapsontheporch.net/
Furniture Feature Friday http://missmustardseed.com/

Vintage Sea Shell Invitations

You are most warmly invited

on a Summer Southern

Shopping Tour

~

From Louisville, Kentucky to:

Knoxville, Tennessee

Asheville, North Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Atlanta, Georgia

Nashville, Tennessee

I recently found this great Anna Griffin sea life sticker kit on HSN

 http://www.hsn.com/products/anna-griffin-sea-life-3d-sticker-kit/7184132

 And decided to use it along with a few other paper goodies to make a invitation for 

my upcoming Summer Southern Shopping Tour!

 Here's all my materials spread out while I work.  

I used vintage sea shell prints to line the envelope from here:

http://therustyhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2012/06/beautiful-free-vintage-shell.html

 Miss B and I embark on our journey of researching popular home decor & entertaining shops

on Labor Day weekend.

 We are inviting you along via the blog, for our journey down south

In addition in future posts I will be asking for YOUR favorite store recommendations in these cities & comments will be entered into a drawing for a variety of Mary Lake Thompson towels, napkins & bags!

I'm Joining:

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/erasing-the-messy-parts-of-life/

Inspire me Tuesday at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Wow us Wednesday at http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Tutorial Tips and Tidbits at http://www.stonegableblog.com/

Shellebration

Here is the inspiration for my most recent tablescape, which interestingly enough has

nothing to do with seashells!  This complete set of vintage glasses was purchased

by my sweet husband for me recently as a present from a local store. 

Their silver rims reminded me of the silver accents in the Mary Lake Thompson

napkins I have with seashells. 

I know I over did it with using all the glasses in one setting, but look

at the little glasses (cordials or aperitif?) filled with seashells :)

This is also that set of flatware I found at Walgreens for $1.99 for 12.

This is a nice long shot of our remodeled dining room and our new table.

We waited 20 years to buy a dining room set (yes really) but I

am so happy with the one we finally purchased. 

We got it Macy's Department store for 40% off plus a coupon during

Black Friday last November.

 I love the back detail of the chairs, which matches the detail on the front of the buffet

posted about here:  http://beeutifulbydesign.blogspot.com/2013/07/summer-buffet.html

 A simple seashell filled jar was my centerpiece.

 I used starfish plates and white plates to carry the coral and white theme along.

 Mother of Pearl napkin rings matched the starfish plates and the silver in the glasses.

And my final touch was these crocodile salt and peppers Miss B bought for me

several years ago in Charleston, SC.

Speaking of Charleston, I will have a special announcement next week and a giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your enjoyed the table.

I am joining:

Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish

http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/2013/07/lets-dish-72.html

The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday 

http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/going-on-safari-a-safari-themed-table-setting/

Courtney at The French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Feature Friday

http://missmustardseed.com/

Summer Buffet

I'm creating a little summerness in my dining room.

Today I'd like to share with you the buffet.

 

First I added a large white shell with some raffia & filled it with orange carnival glass tea cups and saucers.  I took my sea horse cock tail napkins and a few large light shells and placed them around.  Now in our house Mr B would call that "done"~but . . . I sit in the living room to study so I stare at the buffet while I'm deep in thought (hmmm) and it just seemed not "done" enough.

So I moved those items over to the left and I added in some more height and color to the right.

I love these teacups they are so colorful!

 

 Here it is all finished~sorry for the bad lighting

It was cloudy and then sunny back and forth all weekend.

My new buffet is part of set we purchased in November at Macy's.

I will show you the dining room table soon.

 

Sharing at the following great blogs:

 

http://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-quest-for-a-comfortable-desk-chair-take-3/

 

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

 

http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/

MacKenzie Madness

This weekend I saw that MacKenzie Childs was featured at Horchow and I wanted to share a few of their delightful pictures.

Canisters, which would be cute in the kitchen, but in the bath or home office too!

Jars for all of your favorite goodies.

Cake plates, my favorite is the green up front. How about you?

Finally dinnerware in two colors.  Which don't reveal themselves to me as MC right away because of the lack of the black and white checked grounding, but are lovely.

Pictures from www.horchow.com

Finally the most exciting thing of my weekend, which otherwise consisted of schoolwork including a tax project and a paper about WiFi on airplanes, was this flatware find at Walgreens!

Trolling the aisles looking for practical matters such as dishwasher detergent and mascara,

I came upon the clearance aisle and spotted flatware for 50% off, which made them

$1.99 for a set of 12!  Yes it's the little things in life that make me a happy girl :)

I'm joining Susan at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/a-lobster-crab-fest-beach-party-table-setting/

Mid-Summer Delight

I don't know about you but right about the 1/2 way point of summer, my container plants start to droop.

This maybe due to my non-committal watering habits or our soupy Ohio Valley weather, but I'm always wishing for more mid-July.

Here's a few creative containers I found recently:

What a great way to use an old piano!  Isn't this fabulous :)

I found this car filled with flowers outside a local transmission repair shop. 

But I think the bicycle is my favorite.  I'm hoping to do this on our back porch one day!

Photo Credits:
Piano livelifeincrescendo.wordpress.com -
Bicycle gettyimages

Joining the following great hosts(ess):
Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/p/seasonal-sundays.html
Susan for Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/
Marty for Inspire Me Tuesday at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/07/173rd-inspire-me-tuesday.html

Summer Fruit

This time of year summer fruit is bountiful.  I took advantage and set a table with the Fire King set along with a few of my other favorites.  

Including a marigold depression glass plate.

Vintage salt and pepper shakers.

Fitz and Floyd napkin rings.

And orange, yellow and green linens from Dollar Tree.

Green glasses from Arbys years ago and green majolica charges from One Kings Lane complete the setting.

Hope you are enjoying some juicy fruit this summer!

I'm back to studying corporation tax law and Cloud IT Systems.

I'm joining Susan over at http://betweennapsontheporch.net/
and Let's Dish with Kathleen at http://www.cuisinekathleen.com/