Red, White and Blue and Books, Too.

Hi, everyone.  
I hope you're having a great weekend and looking forward to the 4th.
We don't normally do a lot of decorating for Independence Day. 
Of course, we always fly the flag by the mail box, and on the deck, and...put smaller ones in flower pots.

But today, I did a little "library style" vignette on the living room bookcase.

Red, white and blue...books, and vintage things, too. 

A 1907 postcard celebrating the Battle of Trenton...and flag pins~

Red roses, an antique cast iron bookend depicting the ancestral home of George Washington...although that's in England.

Another cast iron bookend with a patriotic banner, and eagle.

When we think of Independence Day, we often think of our Founding Fathers. But here's a book about our Founding Mothers, by Cokie Roberts. 
I just bought it the other day, and I can't wait to start reading it. 

The middle book is 1776 by David McCullough, and the other is Revolutionary Management, John Adams on Leadership, by Alan Axelrod, PhD. 

That's all I've managed to decorate so far, but I know y'all are busy crafting, tablescaping and making yummy recipes. 
So, I'm on my way to visit y'all to see your fabulous decorating ideas. 
                                                  
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Summer Acres ~ The HomeAcre Hop

                                        The Polohouse ~ Favorites on the First

White Vases and Green Plants

Hi, everyone.
Summer's here, and I'm already thinking of ways to make the house feel cooler.
One of the ways I like to do this is with white vases and green plants. 

In the entry, I used a sea urchin style vase with green and white Caladium leaves, stems of Abelia and a few sprigs of Loropetalum. 

In the living room, I combined three vases on the coffee table, with books and glass paperweights.
I found these at thrift stores at different times...I'm always looking for white vases.

A seashell with faux greenery~

Don't know what to call this shape. It's just a good shape and size to use in lots of places.

Remember my little egret planter that I spray painted in this post?  It's holding  Hen and chicks from the yard. The Hen and chicks are just visiting, and I'll put them back in the pot outdoors, in a few days...they'll never know they'd been visiting.

Oh, here's an "arrangement" on the bookcase, but no white planter.

I had to cut back the Forsythia, because with all the rain, it had grown wild, and was hanging over onto the drive way. 

So,  I just filled a green glass bottle with it, and added some extra Caladium leaves.

Thanks for stopping by. 
Hope you're having a great week. Stay cool!

Hugs.
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Summer Acres ~ The HomeAcre Hop

Let's Go Shopping~Part Two

Hi, I hope you're enjoying shopping with me at Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors.
Are you ready to see more goodies? 
Here are some fun ideas the vendors had for the 4th of July.

             A big red, white and blue wreath for the front door~

Patriotic collectibles ~

                              These little guys are so cute. ~

Can you tell what this is made with?  
It's a blue Christmas tree in a funeral basket! 

And a red Christmas tree with a Lady Liberty topper!

I didn't even know they made red and blue Christmas trees! 
                                        What fun!

Vintage display in a child's wagon~

                            Bird houses all decked out ~

                 Large white basket with stars and a bouquet ~

                             Metal garden ornaments ~

All this reminds me that I haven't even started decorating yet.
Guess I'd better get busy!  

                    Hey! Are y'all ready for the 4th?  :)


                        Hugs, and thanks for stopping by,
                                             Babs

                                

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Summer Acres ~ The HomeAcre Hop

You might also like:

                                                

Let's Go Shopping...Part One

Yesterday, I stopped by Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors and did a little browsing. I really wasn't looking for anything in particular. You know how it is...maybe something will jump out and say, "Take me home"! 
Here are some of the cool things I saw.

Need a fun little chest with a French theme? 

How about a big bull's head, or a sheep or a pig?
I like the rustic light fixture. 

The tag on this thing said it was a radiator register...or something. It's only about a foot long...it's small. Love that green color! 

Here's the back side.  Have y'all seen one of these before? Is it French?

This is neat...a big fish made from license plates.
This store carries a lot of cool re-purposed items.

House and sea? How's my French?

From French to futon. This was really bright orange!

A vanity bench for tartan lovers.

Fun light fixture.

Grain sack kitchen towels. This was my favorite. :) 

Summery blue plates...

...I really liked this one, but there was only one, and I'm trying to break myself of buying single plates. I never seem to find any to match them.

Painting of a rusty old truck.

Chippy table..love the colors.

There's always something fun here. 

I'll show you more in part two, plus some fun things they had for  the 4th of July.
Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove & A La Carte ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Easy Tip for Free Basil

If you're like me, I use a LOT of basil in salads and cooking.

I buy a six-pack or pot of basil in Spring, but it seems to go so fast in recipes, so I propagate more. Yay! Free basil!

Here's how I do it.

As soon as the plants are large enough (about a foot high), I take cuttings about 4 inches long, and put them in a glass of water near the window...removing any leaves  below the water line. 

Change the water if it gets cloudy, or every few days.

I take the cuttings with lots of leaves, because I'll pinch a few off for salads, etc. while they're rooting in the water. 

Well, not that bug eaten leaf. 

You can see here I've pinched some of the leaves and left a few. 

In about a week or so, you'll see little roots like these, and then, it's time to plant. I put them in little pots, and later when they're a little larger, I transfer them to the garden, or a larger pot on the deck.

These are ones I potted last week. 

Would you believe my purple basil, that's in the garden, is trying to bloom already, so I'm glad I've rooted some. Guess I'd better go outside and pinch back the blooms. 

You can take cuttings any time, but if it's started blooming, take the cutting from a stem that hasn't bloomed.

Happy gardening!

Hugs,

Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

Summer Acres ~ The HomeAcre Hop

Blues...Berries and Blooms

For Father's Day, I made Hubby one of his favorite desserts. As you can see, I made it early, but he can enjoy it all weekend long.

Usually, I make it with peaches or strawberries, but this time, I used blue berries...one of his favorite fruits.

This is an easy-peasy recipe that's been around for a long time.
Some of y'all have probably made it before. But, just in case you haven't, here's the recipe:

Easy Fruit Cobbler

2 cups fruit ~ any kind. It can be canned peaches, or any frozen or fresh fruit of your choice.
1 cup self rising flour 
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 deg.  Melt butter in a 9x9 baking dish.
Mix the flour, sugar and milk together, and pour into the baking dish over the melted butter.
Sprinkle the fruit over the top. Do not stir.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Note: If you're like me, and want a big pan of cobbler, just double the ingredients and use a 9x13 pan. 

Since I'm joining Kathryn@The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday, here are a couple of other blue things around the house.

I'm so thrilled to have some hydrangea blooms to cut this year, that I put them in a big pitcher on my bedside table...so I can see them when I go to bed and when I wake up. :)

I also added a few Baptisia pods and leaves. The Baptisia flowers were finished a few weeks ago, but I think the pods are pretty too, and like to add them to arrangements.

One other blue is in the guest bath.

Here's a blue dish holding one of the guest soaps that I received in the goodie bag at the bloggers brunch, and a blue vintage vase, with gardenias from the front yard. 

This is one of the gardenia bushes by the front door; and it wasn't even fully in bloom when I took the pic. 
It was so full of blooms this year, some of the branches were on the ground. 
We have an even larger one in the back yard, so everywhere you walk, you get that lovely gardenia fragrance. I'm lovin' it. 
Sorry, I know I'm bragging, but we've had such bad growing conditions for a couple of years, this year our yard looks so much better. Yay!

Hope y'all have a great weekend, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

Hugs,
Babs

Please visit these great parties ~

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sunday

Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make it Pretty Monday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Cuisine Kathleen ~ Let's Dish ~ Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

StoneGable ~ Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits ~ Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

The Tablescaper ~ Oh, The Places I've Been~Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

Sunny in Tucson ~ The Blog Post Office

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

Common Ground ~ Be Inspired Friday

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Thrifty Groove ~ Thrifty Things Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday