Tablescape Thursday -Orange Crush

Please join our hostess, Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch for more beautiful and unique tablescapes!
As you all know, I went on a trip to Savannah recently and I loved the hotel I stayed in. I was so inspired by the restaurant, 700 Drayton, that I felt I had to do a tablescape that reminded me on the fun I had here with my friends.

I loved these chairs, the white wood and the cheetah - inspiration.

I began looking for chargers that would give me that look of the wood on the chairs. The closest I came to finding anything were the chargers above, from Neiman Marcus, so I bought them. But they did not have the right look, until I primed them, painted them and gave them a nice varnish paint job! I can hear all of your gasping now, but I really think I'll use them more in white. I'm even thinking about painting them red for Christmas!

I then made the little fabric "chandelier" for the table, but seriously, it looks like the giant squid that are bothering everyone in San Diego! But it added that block of orange I was looking for and reminded me of the beautiful orange chandeliers we loved. I bought some cheetah fabric at the store and covered the table. I then broke out the black urn with the feather ball top that I used at Alyssa's shower.

I added these great orange plates and topped it all off with these fabulous orange cloches (or margarita glasses with tops). I bought them at zgallerie and you can use them for dessert or margaritas or whatever! Today, I used mine for dessert.

I used the bling napkin rings from zgallerie.

We drank cactus cooler and I made little goodie bags for my friends. I found the little bags at Michaels and I filled them with Luxe items that reminded me of a spa day at the hotel.
I really loved this table. It has a big impact when you see it in person. I wish I had a totally cool room like the one at the restaurant to set the table, but, oh well!

We had a fabulous lunch and reminisced about our trip.

Tomorrow I leave for Spain, so I won't be blogging until I get back. So I'll see you then.

Outdoor Wednesday - Arches National Park & Mesa Verde

Please join Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor treasures.
After we went to Bryce Canyon, we headed over to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park. It showcases beautiful red rock canyons with the mountains that are worn away.

This arch was in Arches National Park. There are alot of beautiful arches there of all sizes.

We then headed to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Mesa Verde is made up of several Native American Indian ruins. The Indians were cliff dwellers and they built their houses/towns on the sides of the cliffs. They were usually tucked away under a very steep ledge with a huge steep drop of the edge. This one you could walk down to, but some we had to climb up ladders to visit.
As you can see, there were no railings, nets or barriers of any kind along the edges of their homes. Children played here. I was scared just to walk 3 feet from the edge. I can't imagine living here on a daily basis. What if you were a sleepwalker like my middle daughter? You would have to tie her down in bed at night.
We had to climb these ladders to different levels and they were steep with no protection if you fell. It was kind of scary. Don't look down.
This trip to the National Parks was very interesting and fun. We drove through Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. We saw the most amazingly beautiful scenery and it was nice bonding for our family. We will remember it always.

The Kindle - Latest Generation

What do you get the man who has everything, loves to read and loves electronics? The Kindle! Right now the kindle is on sale at Amazon.com. The latest generation for $299.00. At first, I didn't want to accept the Kindle, I love books. I love the smell of them, I love to see them on the book shelf and I love to see my progress as I go through the book, I like to loan them to friends. I didn't want a kindle for me or for my Handsome Husband. Then I was flying to Savannah and I sat next to a man who loved his Kindle. I checked it out. I quizzed him: Did he like it? Could he see the screen in all kinds of light? Was it sturdy? Was it easy to use? Positive answers to all the questions. We are getting ready to go on a vacation and to save space on books (HH would take at least two) and to provide a birthday present for the man who has everything, I took advantage of Amazon's sale and bought HH the kindle for his birthday. I had to give it to him early because his birthday is after our vacation, but I wanted him to be able to use it on our vacation. I have to say, he was pretty excited!

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required Paper-like Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images Long Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging Carry Your Library: Holds over 1,500 books Read-to-Me: With the new text-to-speech feature, Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy. Large Selection: Over 300,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise

Bryce National Park - Utah

Outdoor Wednesday is a link to other beautiful outdoor sights. Please join our hostess, Susan, at A Southern Daydreamer for more.
A few years ago, our family and my husband's brothers family, went on a tour of some beautiful national parks. We went to Bryce, Arches, Mesa Verde, Durango, and Sedona. Today, I'm going to highlight Bryce Canyon. We spent one day here.

It is so amazingly beautiful!

The colors are unbelievable!

The area in vast, hot and dry. A storm can quickly gather and you then have to watch out for flash flooding in some areas (mostly in the late afternoon). It does get snow in the winter.

As you can see in the picture above, closed trails do not stop the Gores. If its closed, there must be something good to look at in the end. This was a theme throughout this vacation!

Group photo less the Handsome Husband as he is taking the picture.

From left to right: Me, Alyssa (recently married), Delaney, Jacob (now in the coast guard), Katie (in college), Lance (HH's brother), Emma, and Cindy (sister-in-law). Delaney and Emma are both entering their senior yr. in high school.

Bryce Canyon has beautiful arches and spires throughout. The colors are magnificent. God is showing off his handiwork in these canyons. It is an easy drive through the canyon with things to see just off the side of the road. Utah can get really hot and you have to have water and be careful not to overdo it.

This picture is not enhanced! We walked down to the bottom of the canyon and followed the (closed) trail for a while until we could go no further.

View from the top of the canyon. We hiked down into the bottom. It was an easy hike along a path. Going up was a little harder. Of course, I was the last one up!

Katie saved us from certain doom as she stopped this rock from barreling down the trail and smashing us all flat like pancakes. All in a days work for Super Katie!

She pushed the rock back up to a more secure location.

I hope you enjoyed our brief trip to Bryce Canyon, Utah. It is a must see!

He's so....Dreamy (heavy sigh)

Last night we went to the OC Fair and saw Rick Springfield in concert. He has been around for a long time and believe it or not, he is incredible in concert. I didn't realize how many of his songs that I had heard. In fact, when I was telling the kids I bought tickets, the only song I could remember was "Jessie's Girl". I remembered him more as

Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. He was so...dreamy (heavy sigh). Turns out, Mr. Springfield is from Australia and he was performing with an "American accent" on the show. Who knew? Anyway...

He was incredible in concert...did I say that already??? It was a great night for an outdoor concert: warm and clear. Attending the concert that night where mostly women ranging in ages 35-60. Dragging their husbands (like me) and kids (like me) to see the dreamy (heavy sigh) Rick Springfield. That familiar smell permeated the air. Reefer? you ask, uh, not quite... More like flatulance. Yeah, you heard me. What happens when you get people over 40, who've had a big day eating barbeque together relaxing listening to music? Apparently farting! Who ever was sitting somewhere in my vacinity was sharing silent but deadly flatulance all night! Who could it be? The two older women next to me with the big hair and the too much make up? The totally overweight woman behind me who was squeezed into he tank top and shorts with the butterfly meadow tatooed on her back? The two 40 something guys in front of me? Oh, I digress, back to Rick Springfield.
He worked hard all night, each song better than the next. He played the guitar like the best of them. He worked up quite a sweat, he unbuttoned his shirt, the ladies swooned. He worked the crowd. Everytime anyone gave him a bouquet of roses, he would do big sweeps on the guitar with them and rose petals would fill the air...SO COOL!!! I loved it. Then..
He took his shirt off! Yes ladies, I witnessed Rick Springfield, hot, sweaty, rippling muscles! But do you know what blew my mind? He's 60!!!

At the Movies

I watched this cute movie on HBO the other day. Good clean movie with a happy ending. Just up my alley. I really liked all the characters and it was fun to see the 40's style clothes and cars. Frances McDormand and Amy Adams were fantastic. I would recommend this movie for everyone 10 yrs old and up.
Very cute movie. Again clean and happy ending. I kinda felt like I'd seen most of the movie in the trailers. There was wonderfully beautiful Alaskan scenery and of course, Ryan Reynolds is easy on the eyes. Sandra Bullock was a knockout and loved her transformation by the end of the movie. Wait until it comes out on video or see it with your girlfriends if you haven't seen much of the advertising!
I'm not a big Angelina Jolie fan, but I loved this movie. A mother's worst nightmare and a true story! There is more to the story than just the child being abducted and the mother's search. There were a lot of elements to this story that were unbelievable. I'm always amazed by what people are capable of, both good and bad. Definitely rent this and give it your undivided attention.

Tablescape Thursday - Fushia and Green

Please join our hostess, Susan, for more beautiful and unique tablescapes at Between Naps on the porch.
Today, I've set this outdoor table with fushia and green. Odd color choices, I know. It is not even close to anything I had envisioned in my head. I took my cue from the centerpiece. This green pot is planted with this beautiful geranium. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to match these plates. The fushia and purple are unique colors and nothing I had came close to matching or complimenting.

I bought these melamine plates and bowls at Target for a cool $1.99 each. I bought them for Katie's college apartment. I felt so inspired by them. But once I got the silver charger and the bling napkin rings out, I hit a dead end. What now. Nothing I had went with them. All the colors I had were wrong. I then spied my green pot with the geranium.
Perfect. I already had the green napkins, so I was good there. I didn't have any kind of tablecloth or placemats to go on the table. I popped over to Joanne's and found this fabric for $2.00 a yard in the clearance bin. Bingo! I bought 1 5/8 yards for a square. It fit perfect on the table.

I added the green votive holders to the table, but they seemed kinda lost on there, so I put them on top of my crystal candlestick holders.

I used my etched glasses from Anthropology to finish the setting. I then sprinkled the table with green rose petals (bought in a box at Michaels, years ago).

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoyed the table.

Outdoor Wednesday - Yellowstone National Park

Please join A Southern Daydreamer for more outdoor beauty.

About 5 years ago, my husband's family all gathered in Yellowstone National Park for a week. We had a great time. We saw elk, deer, big horn sheep, a bear, marmot, fox, coyote and plenty of buffalo! We saw amazingly beautiful scenery. It felt so good to be in the wilderness and see nature at work.
We stayed at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, which is within walking distance to Old Faithful.
We saw so many animals just off the side of the road. No hiking involved. The most majestic animals were so close.
Everywhere you looked there was beauty. The weather in August was perfect and I would go again in a minute.

The waterfalls were easily accessible. They were incredible. Such power!

Beautiful, but stinky, paint pots were everywhere.

Here is a picture of our family (less the handsome husband, who is taking the picture) and his brother and his family.

Big Horn Sheep

Delaney and Emma (Delemma) on the only real hike we took. We were trying to get a glimpse of a moose, but we never saw one.

Hiking takes a lot out of you. You got a catch a nap when you can!

If you are considering a vacation to Yellowstone, Go, Go, Go!!! You won't regret it.