Keep It Simple

I made the sign a year ago to hang by the garage door, but it was in the way of our new gate.

I moved it to my potting bench temporarily and in doing so, I really thought about the message.

This week, I am

keeping it simple.

Yesterday I washed and folded 24 IKEA towels - Steve and I use them in place of paper towels.

I worked a little in the garden,

moved the table so Steve no longer gets scratched by rose thorns while we eat,

and planted flowers in the wicker basket.

I kept my goals simple for today too by sewing a bag for an Instagram friend,

cutting out a few Christmas items to sew,

walking to the park with Lulu,

cleaning the kitchen and then messing it up again

by baking brownies.

We have absolutely no plans for tomorrow other than keeping it simple.

We'll definitely walk to the park.

Maybe I'll make pillows out of the these IKEA towels.

Or maybe, I'll simply doodle all day.

Eat Drink & Be Merry

Some days I am more creative than others and today, my creativity was simply in setting a nice table for Steve's meal of beef stroganoff - one of my favorite of his dishes.

Over the last few weeks, I have been organizing the attic and I came across remnants from the summer I made the slipcovers for our sofa.

I took a couple of remnants and tore the fabric to make fringed place mats and painted words on them.

I didn't have fabric to make a third place mat so Be Merry had to be written on a sign.

To add blue to the table, I used my very favorite polka dot Sabre flatware.

With the table set, I had time on my hands before volleyball practice so I headed to TJ Maxx to browse.

I found some really fun tea towels.

Steve doesn't like me to cover up the table he built with tablecloths so the yellow striped tea towel will be used as a table runner - I love the fringe on the edges.

I bought three sets of the Wine Is Happiness tea towels - one for my next door neighbor who shares the same color palette as me and the other two for me to cut up to make placemats.

The aqua set of tea towels will go in KC's Easter basket because they are perfect with her color scheme.

I will leave you with my disaster for the day - making lemon bars from the bag of myers lemons a friend dropped off.

The bars were delicious so I made three plates - one for my next door neighbor, one for my volleyball team and one to take across the street to a neighbor.

I took the plate of lemon bars across the street and when I got back, this is all that was left of the other two plates - 7 lemon bars.

This little face looked up at me - covered with powdered sugar - I guess Lulu thought she should Eat Drink & Be Merry too!

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  

I am joining the parties at

Lavender Garden Cottage - Cottage Style Party

Ivy and Elephants - What's It Wednesday

Green Willow Pond - What We Accomplished Wednesdays

Last minute projects . . .

Lately, my mornings begin with a look at blogs and Pinterest for Christmas inspiration followed by some sort of "tweaking".

 Yesterday I came across a fun ladder at Sweet Inspirations by JP Designs.

Nostalgic Holiday Ladder

After seeing the sweet ladder, I knew that, despite the cold, my garden ladder needed to be dressed for Christmas

I found a few stockings I made over 25 years ago hiding in the attic.

A Believe sign, wooden stars and jingle bells completed the ladder decor.

At the same time, I came across the old wooden N O E L  blocks and added them to my garden vignette.

When it came to setting the table, I decided to use one of the tea towels I ordered from H & M Home.

I love the Santa postage stamp tea towel and had hoped to make a pillow from it, but the shape is all wrong.

To showcase the great vintage Santa, I went with a really simple table setting.

Felt stockings I found at Michael's a few years ago hold the flatware.

A centerpiece would have covered up Santa so I simply added a little greenery and ornaments to the candlesticks.

I have a confession to make in these 2 photos - the Christmas pillows on the bench are not pillows at all.

I laid the tea towels on the pillows to get photographs.

There won't be a table setting tonight because we will be on a friend's dock watching the Parade of Lights and enjoying all the beautifully decorated boats as they make a slow crawl through The Keys.

My day will be occupied with crafts - JP has promised to teach me how to silk screen to make KC an apron.

And, I will be making the tea towels into pillows.

With just a few days left until Christmas, what are you doing with your time?

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

I am joining these parties

Shabby Art Boutique - Shabbilicious Friday

The Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday

Common Ground - Be Inspired

Redoux - Weekend Link Party

Jennifer Rizzo - Fabulously Creative Friday

Sunny Simple Life - From the Farm Blog Hop

French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

The Golden Sycamore - Inspiration Gallery

The Thrifty Groove - Thrifty Things Friday