New pillows, lamp re-do, and place card settings

Hey, Froggers. I have been extremely busy lately, and not necessarily tied up with things I really want to do. You see, I signed up to be a part of a dinner club that meets monthly. We went to the first one, and let's just say, we didn't have much in common. HubbyDoc and I felt woefully under-traveled, non-retired, and not quite wealthy enough. Don't get me wrong, he and I are quite satisfied with our little lives, but we didn't really get a word in edgewise. We didn't even get a chance to tell everyone that we traveled to Spain 3 years ago to participate in an orchestra, playing in the world premier of Mendelsohnn's Elijah, sung in Spanish, in 4 different cities.Coolness.

Anyhoo, it was our turn to host this month. Boy, did I ever notice the dirt in my house last week. So, I scrubbed the kitchen cabinets until I was too tired to finish them, and then I just spot-wiped them down. You see, I really HATE housework, so I find all kinds of excuses not to do it. A hangnail, the dog's need for attention, a Facebook post, hoards of blogs to read, a cup of coffee to make, and several errands later, the encrusted house still begs for attention. It really makes me wish that my teen daughter will misbehave, so that I could levy a fine of 30 min. of cleaning. At least, my bathroom would get scrubbed. *Sigh*

I really don't know what I'm going to do when she goes off to college. 

So, we cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and I do have to say that the house looked tres incredible. I'm liking it so much that I'm doing what I should do all along and am actually putting things away after I use them. This is so new to me, that I think I just discovered gold. Just sayin'.

Long story short, here's what the table looked like: 

I was quite smart and picked out my china before I even had any prospects of being engaged. I liked it and I bought some. End of story.

These charming little place card vases were used at our rehearsal dinner, bought by my MIL, who threw quite a swanky affair. Instead of a large centerpiece, I just put these at each place setting with a rose, bells of Ireland, and some simple greens.

I use mix and match crystal, since I don't have enough of any one type for a party of 8.

 I kinda like it.

I like my delicate china. However, after I had about 3 place settings (too late to turn back), I found out it was being discontinued. DRAT! So, if anyone has any extra Lenox Amethyst china you'd like to offload, just LMK. I only have 11 place settings and 13 cups (don't EVEN ask. I have no clue why).

Sunday, I went to the mall to promote my lia sophia jewelry business (April has a GREAT customer special, so you can check it out on my web site www.liasophia.com/tamihowse), but the mall was dead due to the gorgeous day that I was missing outside, so I got only a few bites. Bummer.

I just couldn't STAND it after working all weekend, so I just had to craft. Here's a cutie that I made. The white material matches my bedspread, because Thrifty Tami saw 2 king sized bedspreads, bought both for $12 each at my friend's. You know, Mr. T.J. Maxx. So, I use one for the actual bedspread (novel, I know), and I cut up the other one for pillows. You know the drop cloth curtains (see previous post)? Well, the buttons were covered with coordinating fabrics.

And, here's sort-of a before and after lamp. I didn't take a pic. with the original lampshade circa 1981, but you can see the "lovely" wood and brass combo. I spray painted the metal and painted the wood our accent color. I just love the lampshades. Considering the ones I saw at the lamp store were ordinary and about 70 bucks a piece, I was so happy to score these for only $14.99 each. Not bad, eh?

And. last but certainly not least, here's the pup who was caught unaware with a feather stuck to her nose. She scores gazunga points on the cuteness scale, IMHO.

Thanks for even being remotely interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged housewife.

Fondly, Tami