Garden / wedding centerpiece

I was getting ready to put away my last

 teatime garden post I shared with you last

and I got to thinking about trying something just to see how it looked..........

I have an entire rack of wreaths for various seasons

and with various colours - and never thought till just now

about using them as centerpieces with candles....

I have only done that at Christmastime.....

But it looks great.

~~~~~*~~~~~

I tried it below with a hurricane.

I liked it a lot but liked the tall simple glass vase a tiny bit better.

 It give lots of colour and interest -

 and it is something many of us already have just sitting around.

 How nice to give our extra wreaths dual purposes. 

Of course most brides want fresh floral centerpieces,

but sometimes budgets or allergies can interfere...this is

nice because the bride could give her bridesmaids the wreaths 

after the reception as a momento!

That's all - just wanted to share my idea.

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

Tea in the Garden with Pink Petunias

Oh my, we have had gloriously perfect weather -

 blue skies, perfects temps...

perfect to take one's tea outdoors

and make it teatime in the garden!

I set up a little tea table for myself to enjoy

 the delightful birdsong and beauty of our backyard.

Won't you please join me?

I have saved you a seat.

I cannot spend time out here without prayer of thanks

 to our Heavenly Father for such splendor to enjoy.

 It overwhelms my heart with appreciative JOY!

That's how I feel about snacking on orange cranberry scones too.

: - )

I am sharing my two Mother's Day presents

 from my youngest daughter.

I received them a little late - as some of you may remember-

 due to having to be out of town for a wedding

 on Mother's Day weekend.

She knew I would LOVE a "Pink Petal Tea Cake" candle and

a little vase of fresh picked flowers from her garden:

 Pink Bleeding Hearts, 

Les Muguets (Lily of the Valley)
 and Lilac. 

(The scent is absolutely heavenly!)

I love how The White Barn Candle Company

 printed the name of this candle as though it were hand written

 with a classic purple Sharpie pen.

 I used those ones all through high school

 and haven't thought about that in years!

 Funny how this candle brought back that memory.

PS:  I ended up lighting this candle later and it smells and burns GREAT!

This Royal Albert teacup pattern is Chatsworth

 and seems perfectly situated in a garden setting.

Thank you for joining me for tea today.

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Teatime Tuesday  *  Tea in the Garden    *   Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Inspire Me Tuesday   *   Tweak It Tuesday    *   What's It Wed

Home and Garden  *  Garden Party   *  Pink Saturday

Happy Memorial Day

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL OF YOU!

Special big hugs to those of you having loved ones

who have served this country with courage and honor!

May you always hold your head high in dignified pride!

Original artwork by Linda Spivey

We Salute Our Veterans This Memorial Day

~by Jim Pemberton~

We salute every soldier who's served this great nation.

and offer a heart of thanks and appreciation!

We salute each member of our armed forces.

and are thankful for their efforts and resources!

We salute the many who protect our borders, too.

We'd be in trouble if not for people like you!

We salute every son and daughter lost in a war,

You are what serving this country is meant for!

We salute the officers whom guided our women and men.

Our prayers are with you and our love from within!

We salute our veterans wherever they may be

Those who served on land, air and sea!

Offering prayer to the Lord is our belief...

That He will guide our Commander-in-Chief!

As we observe Memorial Day this year...

Let's offer our soldiers love, hope and cheer!

May God bless them in all they endeavor

And his peace be with them today and forever!

[source]

GOD BLESS THE USA!

As always, thank you for your visit!

HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL MEMORIAL DAY!

♥

~Michele

Comments closed 

Happy 6th Birthday, Pink Saturday!

In honor of six years' blogaversary of

 Pink Saturdays over at How Sweet the Sound...

Pink Petunias

... I thought I would share some of my pink florals

 from around our outdoors.

Pink Miniature Roses

Begonia and Hydrangea

There's even some pink roses on the wicker chair pads!

I spy some pink flowers on one of my shabby old birdhouses, too!

Thanks, Beverly for one "pinkly" perfect linky party!

It's one of my very favorites, I PINKY SWEAR!

<: -)

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

The Nest Outdoors: Front Door, Herbs and a Lil Whimsey

It's finally a gorgeous day! 

After storming most of yesterday and with SUCH a ruckus of a storm

 at around 6am this morning, whew. Glad it is OVER!

My kitty cat Romeo and I watched the storm together for a long time - 

torrential downpour and lots and lots and LOTS of lightening, WOW!

(Lucky Mr. Finch Rest could sleep through anything!)

I put together these florals in our heavy stone planter

a few weeks ago,

 but that driving rain drove away the pretty pink petunias

 that were there. 

I hope they return. I may need to add them again.

Here's our front door with new double red impatiens.

I love them here because it stays pretty shady

 save for the few hours in the early morning

and that's what impatiens thrive upon.

The forsythia has come and gone

but I just can't seem to bring myself

to part with our forsythia wreath just yet

I just *adore* this wreath and its splash of happy yellow!

I want each and every visitor to feel warmly welcomed here. 

We keep this large planter of herbs at the back door

for easy grabbing and nabbing when we're

creating culinary delights just a few feet away in the kitchen.

Our go-to staples:

Sweet Basil, Italian Basil, Thyme. Rosemary and Oregano.

My chives and parsley died last week - I think the sweet basil 

thinks it needs to hog the entire planter.

Time to cook Italian and take it down a notch or two!

This sweet shy little bunny is hiding amongst the boxwoods.

He knows I want to show you the back gardens and yard,

 deck and covered porch but this post has gotten long.

Look forward to showing you that soon then!

~~~~~*~~~~~

As always, thank you for your visit!

PLEASE HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!

(And the whole world, for blogland is large!)

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Home Sweet Home   *  Home and Garden Thursday  *  Simple & Sweet

Feathered Nest Friday  *  Homemaker's Together

May Note Cards

It's once again that time to join in the fun

over at A Haven for Vee blog

 for her monthly note card party!

It's really fun and easy! 

Just pick 4 of your favorite past post pics

(haha, say that ten times fast, Pickle Pepper!)

Here are my "creations" this time- 

I chose an outdoorsy theme:

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

Mr. Bird Sitting Handsomely

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend -

and truly hope all the Moms had an extra special day!

I certainly did.....had a busy fun-filled weekend.

Wanted to share a wonderful surprise gift from my husband -

my first stand-alone bird house! And it didn't take long for

an adorable birdie to make it his/her own!

I absolutely love birdies!!!!!

On Friday we went to my husband's home town

and booked a nice hotel for 2 days.

We had a nice Italian dinner and relaxed afterwards.

On early Saturday morning we met up with husband's family

 and walked the annual "Hope Walk to Whack Cancer"

 which was a riot.

(Please ignore that real mobster in back with the fedora and bat. Just sayin'.)

No one was hurt, no concrete to go "swimmin with the fishes" was involved.

Our nephew, one of three Mini Mobsters.

On Saturday late afternoon we went to a family friend's wedding. 

My younger brother in law was the best man.

It was a gorgeous outdoor wedding on a huge pond/ little lake

and the stunning reception - believe it or not- was at the ZOO!

It was inside - in the aquarium area and was absolutely perfect.

The food was exquisitely delicious.

I'm not able to share many photos because there was no way I could ask

if it were ok to use images from people in the background I didn't know.

But here's one of us after dinner my SIL took with her phone.

Then afterwards we spent another wonderful night at The Hilton.

Next day we met with my MIL and went to Mass together,

then headed home....but wait!

 There's more!

We drove home then I met with my beautiful sister

 and her sweet youngest daughter

to go to a Celtic Woman concert downtown! WOW!

They've had some singer changes since this video,

but it gives you some idea of what we heard.

I am telling you this one awesome production,

and I *highly* recommend you to it!

Celtic Woman

 performing Nil Se'n La

Anyway, it was one awesome weekend - and I didn't even 

get to spend Mother's Day with my children!

I have that to look forward to at a later date!

YAY!

As always, thank you for your visit!

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Home and Garden Thursday

Happy Mother's Day

To all of you mothers - and to your own Mammas-

I wish you a truly Happy Mother's Day!

I wish you a lovely place to do what you love the most.....

...to be able to slow down and savor your blessings.

And your sweet treats.

I wish you to be surrounded by nature's beauty.

Both inside and out.....

With a peaceful place to rest.

God bless you and keep EACH of you, today and always!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

♥

~Michele