Hot flashes.

Experienced some hot flashes at our house last night. I missed it all. And at my age, that is hard to do.

Let me explain.

My son & I were driving home from work when I got a phone call from hubby. He said "I have some good news, some really good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" I said "the good news".

Then he said "The good news is that you know that ugly pampas grass bush that I hate? Well, it's gone." "The really good news is, the house is not." "And the bad news, well there was a little fire".

FIRE!!!! I hate those words. Nothing scares me like fire.

When I got home, this is what I found.

It seems someone set our pampas grass on fire, which then set the fence on fire. What we don't know is, who it was, or if it was on purpose. My guess is someone tossed a cigarette butt while either walking or driving by. I reallyneed to call Sherlock Holmes. Especially if Robert Downey Jr is the Sherlock Holmes that shows up. He can put out my fire anytime.

Sorry to get sidetracked. This is what pampas grass is suppose to look like (ours looked like this but bigger).

This is what it looks like now. And did you see our fence? It's black!! Or is it Oil Rubbed Bronze? I love black & ORB, but this is a bit too much. It was already about to fall down prior to the fire.

Lucky for us, the neighbor across the street on this side of our house (we live on a corner lot) had just gotten home from work & saw the bush on fire. He alerted hubby. Luckily hubby was home. Normally he wouldn't be home at that time of the evening, but last night he was.

Hubby had to use the garden hose from the back yard to try & put the fire out over the fence as it was the only one long enough to reach.

The fire started to burn through to the back yard side of the fence. Hubby said there was a lot of smoke. And he was only wearing shorts.

A lot of the neighbors came running to help, but since the only hose that was long enough was in our back yard, they had to throw buckets of water onto the burning bush from their side. If hubby hadn't been home, no one would have been able to get to the hose in the back yard. And I shudder to think what would have happened.

The fire department came but hubby already had the fire out. They just chopped down the rest of the bush to make sure it wasn't still burning. I really hated that I missed seeing the sexy firemen.

Poor hubby, he did inhale a lot of smoke. Took him to the doctor, but he will live. Doctor gave him an inhaler of some sort. He was happy.

Maybe I should get him a fireman's hat as an award for saving our house.

He is my hero.

My own sexy fireman.

Smells like a bonfire at the beach at our house now. Too bad I don't see the ocean when I look out through the big hole in the fence. I can dream.

Of course, every window and door in the house was open when the fire was happening. Hopefully the house will air out soon.

I'm just so thankful that hubby was home at the time of the fire. If not, our house probably would have burnt down. The fire was traveling down the fence towards our house by the time hubby started putting it out. And the pepper tree had started to burn as well. Could have been a real disaster.

And I'm so thankful for our neighbors who alerted hubby and called the fire department.

Just wish that I had been there to see it all. Then I could have had some real cool fire photos for the blog. And photos of some sexy firemen.

Now if only I hadn't just raised our homeowners deductible to $1000. Oh well. You live and learn.

At least the fire got rid of the big ugly beast (pampas grass). Too bad the ugly agave plants didn't burn as well. I guess I shouldn't be greedy.

And finally, what did we learn from this little experience? Hubby needs a longer hose. At least now I know what to get him for our anniversary.



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Memorial Day Tablescape

I know, I know, I haven't posted lately. I've been so busy trying to get all my work done so I can go on vacation next week. And where am I going? Nowhere. But it still takes a lot of work to go nowhere. lol.

Plus my laptop took a dump so I have to borrow hubby's computer.

And I had to watch the finale of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol. You know, I had real important stuff to do.

I thought I would at least try & share a little tablescape this week. Even if I recycled it.



A quickie tablescape for Memorial Day. The best part of this tablescape is that it also works for the 4th of July.

I don't have many photos of this table as I wasn't going to share it. It was actually my back up table from 4th of July last year. But this year, it's going to serve as my back up table for Memorial Day.

Everything used in the place settings I bought last year. The flag place mats came from Dollar Tree. The white chargers from Amazon.com. The red & blue plates and flatware from Big Lots. The napkins are actually kitchen towels from Kohl's.

Too bad this photo turned out blurry.

Placed a few flags in some vintage bottles, added a patriotic star from Target (last year). Top with a cloche, place on a cake plate & instant centerpiece.

I was working on a super fantabulous Memorial Day table to share with you all, but we had a little fire at our house tonight. Don't worry, everything is OK except for the pampas grass & part of our fence. I'll post about it later.



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I'm in need of some color

My world seems to be nothing but black & white lately. I am in need of some color.

So I decided to put together a colorful spring tablescape to hopefully brighten my world. And you know what? It has. A least a little.

The only "new" purchases for this tablescape are the 3 milk glass vases. But they were only 25 cents each from the thrift store. Everything else, I had hanging around my house.

The pink flowers were from Dollar Tree last year. But I saw them there again this year.

And the stuff I had hanging around my house are all thrifty/frugal buys from last year. So this tablescape is not only colorful, but thrifty/frugal as well.

The pink damask dishes came from Tarjay last spring. I love, love, love them so much that I bought them twice. Did I hear you right Kim? You said you bought them twice?

Yes I did. I originally purchased them at full price. But then I felt guilty so I took them back. Then low and behold, a few weeks later they were on clearance for 1/2 price. So I bought them a 2nd time. This time, no guilt, so I kept them. And all was right with the world.

For napkins, I am using dish towels. The towels came from Tarjay last year as well. I got them on clearance as well.

They came with 2 towels in the set. The floral one in the photo prior with the green trim & this blue damask one. Since they were 1/2 price, I got 2 sets so I could use them as napkins.

The only thing I didn't get last spring was this table runner. It didn't go on clearance till around Christmas time. What gives? But I was patient & just waited, and waited and waited until it finally did. I can't believe I was so patient. I am not a patient person. But lack of funds can be quite the motivator for being patient.

The silverware I got on clearance at Marshall's last year or the year before. But I don't know who the maker is or what the pattern is called. I just liked the look & they were cheap.

Did you notice that my salt and pepper shakers are empty? That is because I just picked up the 2 matching sets at the thrift store a few weeks back. I was too lazy to clean and fill them prior to taking the photos. Can you tell, I always go the extra mile for you all? NOT! Sorry.


I thought I would do something different with the drinking glasses. I turned them upside down & placed over another Dollar Tree flower and placed a tea light candle on top. I love how this turned out.

The green damask tray that sits under the vases is also from Tarjay last year. And yes, it was a clearance item as well.

I guess I've done enough talking for this post. So I will now shut up & just let you peruse the rest of the photos.



I hope that you have enjoyed my pink damask tablescape. I know I did.

We will now get back to our regular scheduled black and white world.



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Thrifty Finds

It's been awhile since I posted any of my thrifty finds. So today you are going to get "thrifty overload".

I found this cute plate on clearance at Target a couple of weeks ago. I got it for $5.00!!! I think it was originally $10.00. Isn't it cute? It goes perfect sitting on my china hutch.

When I saw this tray at my local thrift store it was love at first sight. I had to have it. It was $17.00. More than I would normally pay. But it was love, love, love!!! And did I tell you it is huge???? I'm going to paint it Heirloom White & probably distress it. It will fit perfect on top of my old trunk with the uneven top. This tray will make displaying objects on the trunk so much easier. Hubby can't see the beauty in this piece. And he thinks I paid too much. But it was love!!!

I love the frenchy handles. I'm not going to paint them.

I've started a new collection. Like I don't already have too many collections. But I've been bitten by the vintage flatware bug. I've seen so many of you with them in displays, I had to jump on the bandwagon. Here are the knives I got a few weeks ago for 25 cents each at the thrift store.

These spoons were 50 cents a piece.

The forks were 50 cents a piece as well. I choose all my vintage flatware for the pattern on the handle as that is the part that is going to show when I display them in my little white pitchers.


Every time I go to a thrift store I always look for a Scrabble game or Dominoes. But have not had any luck until last week. I found a Scrabble game for $2.00. Still had every single letter. It was like brand new.

I also love collecting urns. Found this one for $1.50 a couple of weeks ago at the thrift store.

I picked up these ugly brass candlesticks for about $1.00 each. I'm going to spray paint them. Not sure what color. I'm thinking blue for summer. I need candlesticks like I need a hole in my head. But I don't have any that aren't silver, crystal, black or white. I'm looking to add some color to my life. And I won't be afraid to paint these some wild color. Or some not so wild color.


I paid $1.00 for this silver candlestick. I just love the shape of the base. I am probably going to glue this to a silver tray to make a pedestal tray. I'll be sure to share it later if I do.

This is something I got this past Saturday at the thrift store. I think it is a towel or napkin holder. Not really sure. I just loved the bird on it. It was $4.00. A bit pricey for me, but again, it was love at first sight.

I'll probably paint this heirloom white as well & then antique it. Then I'll add a vintage print to the frame part. I'll use it for holding my dinner napkins. Isn't that birdy just the sweetest?

I got this little shell dish to use in a summer vignette. I'll probably paint this heirloom white as well. It was $1.25.
I found this 3 tier dessert stand at a thrift store for $5.00. I have a couple of reproduction ones from Tender Heart Treasures. Paid a lot more for the reproduction ones. I think this silver one is the real deal.

I passed it up a few weeks back as I already had a couple of the repro ones. But I couldn't get this beauty out of my mind. So lucky for me it was still there on Saturday.

At this same thrift store I found this vintage rooster for $3.00. Yup, roosters is another of my collections. There isn't much I don't collect I'm afraid.

I also found a bag of vintage clothes pins for 50 cents.

And I found more vintage flatware for my newest collection. Each piece was 25 cents.

Another new collection for me is vintage milk glass vases. I saw on someones blog, where they had about 5 milk glass vases sitting on a round silver tray with flowers. I loved it. I have a silver round tray and some flowers. All I need are the 5 milk glass vases.

So I started looking for milk glass vases. All the ones I saw at Goodwill were like $2-3.00 each. Yikes!!! I can do better than that. I found this one at my local community cupboard thrift store for 50 cents. Much better.


And these 3 were only 25 cents each. I just need one more to make my silver tray display. But until then, I'm using 3 of them in this weeks tablescape. Be sure to come back Thursday to see more.

I'll try & show you later how I used my thrifty finds around my house. So stay tuned.

Oh and I almost forgot, I found the most spectacular crystal chandelier at Lowe's on clearance for $32.00!!!! Once hubby gets it installed, I show photos. I am so excited, I can hardly wait. I've always wanted a chandelier.



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