a kind gesture . . .

 This lady

and these napkins

led to this - please ignore the paint everywhere, it's an art studio.

When I posted this picture on Instagram last week, I had no idea the affect it would have.

The comment on the photo was, "I am planning my Thanksgiving table now that the flatware I ordered on Amazon arrived. And I am mad at myself that I didn't finish embroidering the napkins. I only have 2 finished and I don't think I can finish 5 more by Thursday."

Donna of Georgia Ann Vintage Instagram commented that she had picked up a lot of napkins at an estate sale and that she would GIVE me whatever pieces I wanted - I just needed to stop by the shop in town where she works - Lavender Blue.

This was an incredibly sweet gesture particularly because I had never met Donna, in fact when I went into Lavender Blue, I asked if she was Georgia Ann - it turns out that Georgia Ann was her grandmother.

Steve NEVER goes shopping with me, but that day was an absolutely gorgeous day in Ventura and we took Lulu for a walk downtown to Lavender Blue.

While I chatted with Donna and selected which napkins I wanted, Steve found this vintage workbench.

He could not get that bench out of his mind so we went back to Lavender Blue on Saturday and paid for the workbench - turns out that another man was looking at it so we were lucky to get our payment in first.

Today is actually Steve's birthday and he is having fun organizing his tools and paint supplies on his new workspace.

Meanwhile, back to the napkins . . .

The stitchery is so pretty and I loved them on my Thanksgiving table.

You can see that I fit my primary color scheme in even with Thanksgiving.

I have 2 napkins finished

and my basket is waiting for me to finish the others.

But, right now I am focused on decorating for Christmas.

Adding new colors to the house . . .

When I set the table for a dinner party last week, I thought aqua was a new color for me, but looking around the house, I noticed that aqua has always been in the house.

Shopping this week I looked beyond my primary color palette to add some new colors to the house.

A new chair,  some new pieces for table settings and a red sphere ( not a new color, but I love the shape) ended up in the house this week.

The metal chair from Tuesday Morning found its home in the entry.

The look is still my primary color palette of red and yellow, but a softer blue than my usual dark blue.

Daisies from the garden, a blue Ball jar and a few favorite linen pieces fill the red basket.

The red sphere, a TJ Maxx find that I passed on buying once before, ended up in the living room on a side table.

I wear a lot of black, but I don't use it much in decorating so buying black flatware was a first for me.

Black flatware led to finding black and white dish towels to use as place mats, new white plates and yellow fabric for napkins.

 Black stitching along the edges gives some interest to simple square napkins.

 I only had one black candle ( from Halloween ) so I created a center piece in an old platter using various sized candles and greenery from the garden.

Yellow isn't new for me, but yellow paired with black and white is a first.

I thought I had created a nice table setting , but sunlight on the centerpiece was the perfect addition.

I love my new chair and the black flatware.

I love the red basket against the aqua chair.

And then this afternoon I spotted the sweet little orange Iceland poppy in the garden - another new color?

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I am partying at

From My Front Porch to Yours - Treasure Hunt Thursday

Green Willow Pond - What We Accomplished Wednesday

Rooted in Thyme - Simple & Sweet Fridays

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson - Share Your Cup Thursday

Dining With Stars

I bought this star a couple of weeks ago at one of my favorite shops, Palermo, on Main Street Ventura.

The 8"star is sitting on a shelf in the dining room and I have been thinking that it will be the focus of the New Year's mantel.

So, I was pretty excited when Steve and I were in Palermo last week ( I was showing him things I would like for Christmas and he was taking pictures ) and I spotted the stars in a 5" size.

I bought the 5" star - on the right - on Sunday and decided the stars would be the focus for my Christmas table today.

The Willows Home & Garden

While I ate breakfast, I came across a new website, The Willows Home & Garden, and knew immediately what I would do for the napkins today.

A set of beads my sister bought me at French General several years ago and a coil of wire were my toys this morning as I played at making stars.

I found a little glitter star in my supplies and wrapped the wire around it with no plans and no idea of what I was doing.

I ended up with 4 wire stars and decided to embellish the glitter heart as well.

My funky handmade stars were tied onto the napkins and also added to the centerpiece.

The 8" star was too tall, so I just used the 5" star, placing it in a vintage style soap dish to allow it to stand up.

Out came these wonderful dishes I found at TJ Maxx a few months ago.

Tonight was the inauguration of napkins I made a few months ago - white & blue floral fabric with crocheted edges.

A few star candles I have had for ever were added along with the left over ribbon from tying up the napkins.

It was a simple meal of a salad and a bowl of pasta, but the Christmas table setting made dinner seem special.

I am having a lot of fun setting a different table each night, but I think we might need to go out to dinner tomorrow so I have time to come up with a new idea.

Heart Handmade UK

This photo I saw on the post, A Nordic Christmas from Etsy on the blog Heart Handmade UK is what will be running through my head as I sleep tonight,

along with a plate Leslie of Gwen Moss made for Father's Day last June.

I love getting ideas from others!

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Join me at

Between Naps on the Porch - Tablescape Thursday

Rose Chintz Cottage - Home for the Holidays

Green Willow Pond - What We Accomplished Wednesday

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

Savvy Southern Style - Wow Us Wednesdays  

Elizabeth & Co - Be Inspired

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesday

Fluster Buster - Creative Muster

Ginger Snap Crafts - Wow Me Wednesday

And the winner is . . .

It is September 1 and the winners are in for my Giveaway.

I wanted to be fair, so I had to do a little manipulation.

There were 81 comments, but some people commented more than 1 time which gave them a better chance of winning.

Some commented, but did not want to be included in the Giveaway for a variety of reasons such as my sister-in-law Carrell doesn't need a Giveaway to get a set of napkins from me, but she and Gary do need to head south to pick them up.

Maybe I should make that a requirement for the next Giveaway- a trip to the beach to pick up your prize.

I would love to read the "Suzan said, John said" at Simply Vintageous by Suzan if she won and explained to John that they needed to leave Montreal and head to California to pick up a gift.

Anyway, back to the Giveaway.

When doubles and non-participants were removed, the number was 72.

The winner of the napkins, table runner and tags is Sara of Hyacinths for the Soul.

I can't wait to see the beautiful table Sara creates (and she creates amazing tablescapes) with the simple napkins.

It was hard to read every comment and not give something to everyone, which I definitely cannot do, but I did do two more random number generators.

Second Place is Stacy of Poofing the Pillows.

I am not sure what I will put in a package to Stacy, but I have some fun ideas..

Third place is Ricki of Art@ Home.

I know exactly what I will make for Ricki, but it will be a week or two before it is finished.

Thank you to all of the people who left such sweet messages about the napkins, table runners and tags.

I am working on a whole lot of different projects in the month of September, more about that tomorrow, and if all goes as planned, there will be another Giveaway at the end of the month.

All the winners need to e-mail me the address where I will mail the packages.

And now, from the look on Little Lulu's face, I think it is time to leave the laptop and play.