Plants and Pork

We had rain last night, and my poor Cannas were bent down from the rain. So, I cut them to bring in for a quick floral arrangement. 

There was only one orange bloom, so I cut some leaves for filler.

I cut the yellow ones, too, but the arrangement didn't look that great. The Japanese beetles are chewing on them...and everything else.

Here's a little grouping I made on the deck side table.
The sedum in front, is new. Sorry, I don't know the name of it.  
The October Daphne sedum, behind it, is a left-over piece of one I divided and transplanted this morning. 
The cactus is ceramic. Well, I wanted three things for the pic, so it was handy.

After I finished playing with the plants, I decided to make a pork tenderloin for supper. 

Warning! I'm a person who doesn't use recipes a lot. I just cook. :)

Here's how I made pork tenderloin with mango jam sauce.

 I browned the tenderloin in 2 T. oil and a small pat of butter. 
Added about 1/3 c. chopped banana peppers. I had a ton of them frozen from last year...and a sliced red onion.
I added about a half cup of water, and simmered everything with the lid on, until it was tender.

When the tenderloin was done, I removed it from the pan, and added about half a jar of mango jam to the sauce/drippings in the pan. 
Then, I cranked up the heat for a minute, to reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency.

Slice the meat, top with sauce, and serve over rice. 

Hubby gave it two thumbs up, so I'll probably make this again.

Plants and pork. Two of my favorite things. 

xo Babs

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make It Pretty Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday

Coastal Wreath Trivet

Good Morning! Hope y'all had a great weekend.

It was too hot to work outside Saturday and Sunday, so I played with the dishes in the kitchen. 

I wanted to show you the silver wreath trivet I recently found...at you guessed it...the thrift store.  You know how cheap thrifty I am.

Of course, since I was playing, I had to add a few more things on the table.

I didn't really need another trivet, but it's silver, and has seashells, seahorses, lobsters and crabs on it. How could I pass it up? 

Plus, you can also hang it with the little hanger behind the bow...but I doubt I'll do that.

I used a clear plate on top, and scooched the bowl of shrimp dip and crackers to the side, so you could still see the design of the trivet.

I added a few more coastal touches...a seashell planter with basil from the garden, hydrangeas and a starfish on the napkins. 

Vanity Fair napkins have seashells embossed on them. I've used them for years, and I'm not being compensated...I just like them.

Love this shell spoon my neighbor gave me. I think it's a coffee measure, but I use it for other things, too.

The shrimp dip is just cream cheese, mayo, chives and a few salad shrimp, for a quick snack to keep me going, while I take photos of the table. Ha.

Hope y'all have a great week. 

Happy Summer!

xo Babs

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make It Pretty Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday

Shelly's Seashell Tablescape

Hi, Y'all!
I wanted to join in the fun at Cuisine Kathleen's Summer Whimsy Tablescape Challenge, so I thought of Shelly, my Byers' Choice caroler, dressed in her swim costume and ready for the beach.

Shelly said that we needed lots of seashells...

...scattered around the table...

...and a starfish or two, to keep the napkins from sailing away.

Blue and white dishes...

...grasses from the yard in a wicker container, to suggest beach grass, and a few sea biscuits.

Shelly's headed back to the beach to look for more shells, but she say's, "Don't forget to stop by Kathleen's to see all the whimsical summer tablescapes." 

See you there!
xo Babs

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make It Pretty Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday

Outdoor Baker's Rack ~ Three Ways

Hey, Y'all!
Here it is the middle of June, and my baker's rack on the deck is a hot mess. 
It's become a catch-all for empty pots and garden things I've left there, because I was too lazy to take them to the shed. Pitiful! 
And, no, I'm not going to show you a pic of it.

We've been having rain storms almost every day, so, I've been trying to think of something "weather resistant" to spruce it up.
I looked back at some of my old posts to, hopefully, get some ideas. I really had forgotten doing these...senior  moments. :)

Here's one is from a post last year. Click HERE to see that post.

And, this one is from May 2011. Click HERE. 

This one was a week later in May of the same year! Gosh, I was on a roll. Click HERE. 

After lunch today, I went to Home Goods to see if I could find something...or for some inspiration, but no luck. 
Maybe I'll just fill it with plants, like I did in the middle picture.  
At least they'll like the rain.

I hope y'all have a great weekend. I'm headed to the garden center.
xo Babs

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

The Dedicated House ~ Make It Pretty Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday

Road Trip! ~ Sautee Nacoochee, GA

Hubby and I decided to take a little drive up into the hills to a little town called Sautee Nacoochee. I don't think I've been there since my college days, and didn't remember much about it, except there was a Native American burial mound near there. 
   
We were looking for a place to eat lunch and do a little shopping, but next time we'll do the history thing.

The first place we stopped was The Lavender Cottage and Garden gift shop...

...and, of course, I had to bring home a bunch of dried lavender. 

We saw cute retro things and chicken art. I like the painting of the chickens eating a slice of watermelon. How summer-in-the-country is that?

The Old Sautee Store was built in in 1872 and has old things to see, and new things to purchase.

Flower beds...

...and country garden decorations were calling me.

Here's where we had lunch. And yes, that's a "green roof". 
It has ivy and lots of miscellaneous plants growing on it.

A cute garden shop, with another "green roof". 
The sign on the door said, "Open," but no one was there. 
One of the sandwich shop employees said if we wanted to buy something, just choose what we liked, and pay at the Old Sautee Store. 
It's nice to see the honor system is still alive.

Great rustic scenes and vignettes...

...and a big shady porch and comfy twig chair for relaxing.

Thanks for tagging along on our little road trip.
xo Babs   

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday

A Thrift Store Find and Ice Cream

Hey Y'all! 
The weekend is here, and I stopped by the thrift store near my house this morning. As usual, not much new on the decor and book aisles. 
So, I wandered down the pots and pans aisle where they have the miscellaneous kitchen utensils and stainless flatware. You know the one I mean.
I rarely ever rummage through all that, but for some reason, I looked, and guess what I saw...

...an antique coin silver serving spoon! 
It's by R&W Wilson, Philadelphia 1825-1846, nine inches long and not a ding in it.
It was just laying on top of some kitchen utensils, winking at me. 

Actually, this is what it looked like when I got it. 
Can you believe it was only 99 cents!

Right now, you're probably wondering why I'm so excited about finding a silver spoon. Well, I LOVE LOVE old silver, especially spoons, and I have no idea why. 

After I ran a few errands, I brought it home and gave it a quick polish...

...then, I remembered the ice cream I'd gotten at the store. Hmmm...

It is a serving spoon, after all, so I "served" my self a bite...a BIG bite.

Mmmmm.
Did you know...ice cream tastes sooo much better eaten from an antique silver spoon?  :)

Have a great weekend, stay cool, and treat yourself to a silver spoonful of ice cream. 
xo Babs

Fun Parties to Visit:

    
           Dwellings ~ Amaze Me Monday           

    Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphosis Monday

Creative Country Mom's Garden ~ Home Sweet Garden ~Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life ~ Inspire Me Tuesday

Coastal Charm ~ Show and Share

Our Home Away From Home ~ Tuesdays at Our Home

Confessions of a Plate Addict ~ The Scoop

StoneGable~ The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow Us Wednesday

A Southern Daydreamer ~ Outdoor Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants ~ What's It Wednesday

The Style Sisters ~ Centerpiece Wednesday

A Delightsome Life ~ Home and Garden Thursday

Between Naps On The Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday

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

Lamberts Lately ~ Create It Thursday

My Turn for Us ~ Freedom Fridays Blog Hop

The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home Friday

The Dedicated House ~ Anything Blue Friday

The Jenny Evolution ~ Friday Flash Blog

Rooted in Thyme~ Simple and Sweet Friday