So You Want Your Privacy? Or Just a New Look?

Folding screens are a great way to finish off a corner, screen a storage area, or add a bit of privacy. Screen are a one-stop solution to all kinds of home decor problems. They help you hide, break, divide and dazzle any room in your home. You may want to add more privacy to a room or divide up space in a room, loft, condo, apartment etc. Decorating with screens help you define your space. It's so easy to move them around to any room at any time. Use screens at the entrance to walk in rooms to create the illusion of an entryway point. To highlight the effect use different colours and fabrics on the panels, alternating one fabric with another taking care to ensure colours coordinate.
Screens can be used behind a bed as a headboard, in a corner as a privacy screen, as a wall for a room divider, as a unique way to hang pictures.....the possibilities are numerous!

I LOVE this idea using natural branches. I think I would make it less modern, more rustic....but I love it!



















And of course, we all know how well screens can work for outdoors too....Especially to keep out the Kravitz neighbors.
;)
















Hope this gets you to thinking about using screens in your decor. It sure got my wheels turning!
(Photos found in Google Images)

Thrifty Thursday #89, Plus a Tea Room Tablescape

Welcome one, welcome all to Thrifty Thursday here in Bloggeritaville. It's also Tablescape Thursday so it has to be a party! Grab yourself a Thrifty Thursday button and let's get started!

For those that don't know, Thrifty Thursday is a show and tell of sorts. It is time for you to showcase your thrifty find. It can be an old find or a new one. It might be something that you found at a thrift store, a consignment store, flea market, garage/yard sale, antique store. It's it was a thrifty find, then it meets the requirements. I am not picky, It can be a great pair of boots & a killer vintage dress, jewelry, home decor, even fishing lures. It is your thrifty find. Tell me about it. Where did you find it? What is it? What do you plan to do with it or how do you plan to use it in your home? Do you want to sell it? Thrifty Thursday's are about the thrill of the hunt...and the treasure you found. So....do show and tell!


My Thrifty Thursday find this week is a $10.00 find that I snagged at a garage sale. I had been eyeing the antique ceiling tin tiles. I got lucky when I came across this one, that had been handmade into a great mirror.

It would be an easy process to duplicate. A frame was for the tile to be adhered to.

Here is a look at the back, where a basic mirror was placed and glued to secure. Hinges were screwed into the corners for hanging purposes.

And there you have it, my $10.00 Thrifty Thursday find!

Now, onto a tablescape....Tablescape Thursday is hosted by the lovely Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.


The following Tablescape Thursday is a throw back to an article that I wrote for Kids Life Magazine. This is not the article in it's entirety, but this portion was perfect for a tablescape Thursday, and it brought back many memories.
My  daughter, who was 6 at the time (she is now 13) and I got a real treat when we went to Magnolia and Ivy Tearoom, located in the village at San Destin.

This unique tearoom is owned by the sister duo, Kay Snipes and Terri Eager. Both sisters are certified in tea etiquette and teach classes to children and professionals alike. When we stepped inside the doors of Magnolia and Ivy, we immediately channeled our “royal” selves and deemed ourselves Queen and Princess for the day.
Tables were set for full service tea!




There are old-fashioned hats and stoles everywhere throughout the tearoom to try on to aide in your teatime experience. After my daughter and I finally picked out our favorite hats and put on our gloves and stoles, we ordered tea.

I got autumn apple tea. Our server, Chesed, was very helpful and suggested the pink princess tea for my daughter. We also had lunch. The tea and the food were incredible! On gorgeous china plate was a multitude of delights, such as a cucumber sandwich (cucumber/dill packages), an almond lemon square, a chocolate and coconut encrusted truffle, Irish potato and parsley soup, three cheese and vegetable quiche, fresh fruit, a carrot raisin muffin, and an orange poppy seed scone to make our teatime experience complete.

It was one of the most memorable meals I have had.

My daughter and I both agreed that this was the highlight of our trip. This is necessary experience for any queen, be it the domestic variety or the royal one! Be certain to take your little princess, or royal mum for a truly delightful experience.

I think it is important to moms and daughters to have time together. It forms those bonds and opens up the lines of communication. Sister Sledge and I are already looking forward to a future lunch at a local tearoom very soon. Reservations have been made and we are already trying to decided what we will order! Good times, with my favorite girlfriend!

The tearoom look can easily be duplicated on a thrifty budget. Shop thrift stores for mismatched tea cups and saucers. The mismatched cups and plates only add to the cottage tearoom charm. Make tea time, anytime by just shopping at the right places and keeping your eyes open for great tablescape finds. Good Luck!
Thank you for dropping by my blog for Thrifty Thursday and to those that popped in from Susan's Tablescape Thursday. I love new friends! Join me for next week's Thrifty Thursday!

Be sure to link and comment as well! Thanks Y'all!

Day of the Dead Celebration (OW)

My friend Zinnia (Warrior Princess) called me last night and invited me to go with her to the Day of the Dead Festival downtown Birmingham. "YES!!!!" I shouted. It was a festival I have wanted to attend. And if I couldn't attend in Mexico, the next best thing was to be with my Mexican friend in Birmingham at the Bare Hands Gallery.

The Day of the Dead Festival in Birmingham was the Fifth annual art and cultural festival honoring the Mexican celebration of lost loved ones.El Día de los Muertos at Bare Hands Gallery honors the Mexican tradition in which families gather in local cemeteries to remember their lost loved ones. It is similar to what we in the southern United States refer to as Decoration Day. However, In Mexico, Day of the Dead is an artful, multi-faceted celebration. Each town has a unique way of commemorating the day, but certain symbols are constant. Altars of remembrance display photos of the deceased; their favorite things in life, such as foods, books, games, beverages, cigarettes; marigolds; prayer candles; salt; spices; and copal incense. Family and friends gather around these altars at home and in the cemeteries to share music, memories and prayers.

The ancient belief is that the souls of the deceased will come to visit during Day of the Dead guided by the familiar colors and scents of food, incense and flowers. Other traditional elements include skeletons depicting the deceased doing everyday activities; monarch butterflies whose fall arrival in Mexico symbolizes souls returning to visit; flowers, particularly marigolds, adorning every altar and gravestone; sugar skulls which children decorate and place on altars, and bread of the dead a special bread baked for the occasion. The holiday is a celebration of those that have gone before us and of the memories they have given us. Day of the Dead acknowledges death as an aspect of life. The annual commemoration at Bare Hands Gallery combines community art installation and procession with remembrance, creativity, performance, music and food, honoring this rich cultural tradition and yielding an exquisite downtown arts and cultural event.

The festival was AWESOME! I learned so much!

I couldnt post all my photos tonight via blogger, so I hope you will take the time to watch the slide show. Its quick (you can adjust the speed) and you can see the photos quickly. And you can see who I got to honor in an improptu celebration of the dead.

Peace. And may you find comfort in the loss of any loved ones you might be missing. I pray you take comfort in the celebration in Heaven.

Link: Outdoor Wednesday

Myer's Plants and Pottery

It's fall! And the scenes at one of my favorite nurseries is certainly evident of the season.....


Myer's is a great family owned nursery. They are VERY knowledgeable on all horticultural species.


Myer's always had a fabulous selection of plants, vegetables and flowers. They also have an expansive selection of pottery and garden sculptures, water plants and even have a selection of some aquatic life for ponds. Myers also has garden accessories, soil, containers, statues and they have a great selection of trees's. My children love to go and look at the big tanks of fish and frogs. As for me....I like to look at the wonderful displays of what they have on hand....


Of course fall is in full color at Myer's!


Just walking around the nursery, one is certain to get some fabulous ideas on plantings and displays.



Isn't this collection of real and ceramic pumpkins cute?


What is fall without a scarecrow? These obviously follow the SEC.


Sunflowers are perfect for feeding those migrating birds.
Not to mention they look like sunshine in a garden!


More Autumn Displays:




These lettuce bowls are perfect, at $14.99! Just break off the leaves of lettuce and the lettuce will grow back. Perfect for a fresh salad. And lettuce is perfect to grow in the fall. These had my name all on them.


Myer's is big. This shot is only a forth of the size of the nursery.

If you have the opportunity, drive by Myers and enjoy the display. Stop if you can and find some of the best plantings and products to incorporate into your fall display.





Happy Fall Ya'll!

Myers Plants & Pottery(205) 663-6597
http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AkIvy5kLqqaMqQHm1bhE3a2KNcIF;_ylv=0/SIG=11a3fuiq1/**http%3A//www.myersplantsandpottery.com/
2935 Pelham Pky, Pelham, AL 35124
Map it Get directions
Cross Streets: Between Canyon Park Dr and Village Dr

High Mae Halloween

Saturday was the day we had looked forward to all week. It was the day of the grand Halloween party at my friend, "High Mae's" house. I wanted to invite you to come along too. You must see! Come on inside...

You must see her decorations (click on any picture to enlarge if any do not appear, click on the "X" and then back....it should be there then).....

Spiders everywhere!







I LOVE the witch in the mirror. These decorations were all "wallies".











Allow me to fix you a drink...


But the decorations were just the beginning. High Mae had games planned too. The first being a scavenger hunt. What's "spooky" about a scavenger hunt? It's spooky when what you are looking for are BONES!

WAAA HAAAA HAAAAA HAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (scary witchy laugh)

The children were seperated into three groups. Each group was given a clue card that contained a clue to a skeletal part, ie a femur bone, etc. The kids would go places to find the bone, even having to dig up bones in the yard. Every clue brought them to another part of the skeleton. When all were found they had to come back to their "base" to assemble the body.

Creepy enough?











The losing teams were forced (sorta) to eat brains. Marshmallow brains.

The more gross the better for kids.

Gross.
After the scavenger hunt, there were cupcakes to decorate. And marshmallows to dip into bubbling chocolate ...









Following a bite to eat, there were mummy's to be wrapped. IT was a contest to see who could wrap the mummy the fastest using an entire roll of paper...without breaking the paper.







The party was a great success! My sincere appreciation to our party host, The Claridy's!
I'll leave you with a few more pictures from the party...