MINI DOOR METAMORPHASIS

Welcome to my mini metamorphasis!

This is my front door BEFORE. The picture was taken from the spiral staircase looking down to the inside of the door in the foyer. The door is much larger than it really appears here and I had to stand on a huge ladder to complete my metamorphasis!

My father's favorite verse in the Bible was from Joshua 23 verse 15. "Choose you this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"

My father was one of the wisest men I have ever known. He was a devoted husband and father and loved the Lord with all his heart. He actually died in a car accident driving home after working a Christian retreat (Tres Dias) in another state.

I wanted something that would be remind me every day of his wisdom and the legacy he left. I chose to create this verse which was cut out of vinyl and just "clings" to the wall. If I ever decide to move it somewhere else, it will peel right off and will not leave a mark! I see this verse every day and it affrims what my family believes and is a wonderful reminder of the values my father passed on to us.

This is the door AFTER:

Thank you to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.

Cloche Party with Marty!

Our Friend Marty over at A Stroll Through Life is having a Cloche Party! Come on in and join the fun!

My Cloche was inspired by one of my favorite Disney movies. Can you guess which one?

Beauty and the Beast! I cut this rose from our garden and attached it to the inside top of the cloche so it would "float"

Cloche's are so awesome and can be used in such a variety of ways. I love using them on buffet tables as they are functional as well as decorative!

If you are in the market for one, head on over to the Bloom Girls Boutique!

We also have some awesome dessert stands that are great for tablescaping!

Blessings to you and yours for a fabulous Weekend!!

Karyn, The Bloom Girls!

Window Box and Mirror.....

I have two thrifty finds for this weeks Thrifty Treasures hosted by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality. One of my thrifty treasures has gone through a little transformation and is perfect for Metamorphisis Monday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on a Porch.

First up, a free wrought iron wire window box given to me by a friend. It was rusting and needed to be sealed. The picture above is after a coat of primer. I then painted it white and I'm seriously regretting not painting it black. Hmmm....

After hanging it on the front porch I planted white vincas and pink impatiens. I had purchased larger plants, but I misjudged how much space there is. So, I went back to Home Depot and bought the little six packs. I had only a tiny bit of green spanish moss and threw it in just to see how it would look and I think it gives it a more finished look, so I'll have to buy more this week. The plants were the only thing I had to purchase; everything else I had. Total project cost: $24.46. I am anxious to see how it grows out!!!

Here is the thrifty find that I am most excited about. I found this beautiful antique mirror on Craigslist for $45. It is almost five feet tall and I love it!

Thanks to Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for hostessing Today's Thrifty Treasures and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hostessing Metamorphosis Monday. .

Have a wonderful week!

Nola

Afternoon Tea at Nola's

It is a beautiful day for afternoon tea on my front porch. Not exactly tea at The Ritz, but special occasions such as that can be recreated and for a fraction of the cost. (You can read more about The Bloom Girls taking Afternoon Tea at The Ritz below).

Afternoon Tea Menu

Blueberry ~ Cranberry ~ Black Tea Blend with Lemon

Tuna Sandwiches on wheat toasted with Arugula and Tomato

Egg Salad Sandwiches ~ Cucumber Sandwiches with Ranch and Cream Cheese

Apricot and Cranberry Scones with Strawberry Jam

Fruit Tarts ~ Cream Puffs with Chocolate ~ Fresh Fruit

I prepared the scones. The desserts are from Whole Foods.

Fresh baked apricot and cranberry scones. My favorite are strawberry scones, but I haven't found a reasonable source for dried strawberries....they are so expensive!!! I love clotted cream on my scones, but find thickened yogurt a suitable and healthier alternative. I planned on serving it and had some of my favorite, Stoneybrook Farms French Vanilla , thickening in the refrigerator, but I ate it!

Tuna sandwiches prepared with a tsp. of mayo, tsp. of caesar dressing, red onion, s/p, arugula, chopped grape tomatoes.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

Karyn prepared Cucumber Sandwiches for our luncheon at Susan's at Between Naps on the Porch. I used her recipe of one package of ranch dressing mixed with 8 oz. cream cheese for the spread. She garnished hers with fresh dill from her garden and they were delicious!!! Not having any fresh dill, I sprinkled mine with a little parsley.

Teapot and teacups from Homegoods. The teapot I bought years ago on clearance for $2.00. I purchased the teacups and saucers recently for $2.99 each. Did you notice the little s/p shakers? They went on a trip with me over Easter and I snapped photos of them the entire time we were gone....even on the airplane. I was preparing for Susan's party, but I dropped my camera on the last day of the trip!!!
The blue and white plates were purchased at a Spiegal auction years ago for $1. I don't even know if the Speigal catalog is still in existence. I use to love their catalog!!!
Pillow covers from Aix-en-Provence. If I remember correctly, they were 2 for $10. Inside are down pillows forms from IKEA, they are super nice and less than $6 a piece.

My afternoon tea wasn't tea at The Ritz, but it was equally as special. I am so grateful for my home and the many blessings I have and now I have the memories of both occasions. I love to dream about and anticipate many more adventures whether abroad or at home in Nashville.

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Read about The Bloom Girls taking Afternoon Tea at The Ritz

Itinerary

Flight departs Dublin 7:15 PM ~ arriving London Heathrow 8:45 PM.

Go through customs.

Collect bags

Rent car

Dinner at McDonald's (I know....)

Drive to hotel in Knightsbridge.

Our first clue things were about to go south should have been when the directions from the car rental station to the hotel in Knightsbridge took six full pages. Karyn and I left the driving up to our 'younger' traveling companion, Julie, as she had already chauffeured us through Ireland and was now quite adept at driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.

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An hour or so into our "short" drive to the hotel and after getting lost numerous times, we were stopped by a police officer for going the wrong way on a one way street. The police officer asked Julie to step out of the car, she immediately began sobbing uncontrollably. The police officer reluctantly began to hug her in a consoling manner as she was telling him every detail about our trip from the moment we departed Nashville. After several minutes of discussion, the officer hurriedly directed us on how to turn around and sent us on our way....without writing Julie a citation. We finally arrived at the hotel and got snuggled in for the evening around 3 AM.

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Why the stop in London for ONE day? To have Afternoon Tea at The Ritz......

Group picture in the lovely loo at The Ritz.

The Palm Court at The Ritz.

Afternoon Tea Menu

Your choice of a selection of Black, Green, Oolong or Scented Tea.
Smoked Salmon Sandwiches ~ Ham Sandwiches ~ Chicken Sandwiches ~Cucumber Sandwiches~ Mature Cheddar Cheese Sandwiches ~ Egg Mayonnaise and Cress Bridge Roll
Freshly Baked Raisin and Apple Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserve
Assortment of Afternoon Tea Pastries ~ Ritz Chocolate Cake

There is no picture taking allowed in The Palm Court, so Julie snapped these pictures with her phone camera. The service was very simple, but lovely. It is extremely formal as one might imagine. I was most surprised that men attended...it's quite frou-frou.

It was all delicious, but the scones and Devonshire clotted cream were TDF!!!!

Now is a good time to mention that I had around three hours of sleep the evening before.....

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I want to send a special shout out to:

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Thank you Julie at Hooked on Houses for hostessing this weeks Hooked on Fridays.

Thank you Michael at Designs by Gollum for hostessing Foodie Friday.

Thank you Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hostessing Tablescape Thursday.

Thanks Melissa at The Inspired Room for hostessing A Beautiful Life.

Go get a cuppa coffee or your favorite beverage, sit in your comfy chair and go visit the blogs of these ladies....they are delightful!

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Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!!!

Nola

Stuffed Shells

An Easy but Impressive Italian Dinner!

To compliment the Twilight tablescape from last week, we chose Italian Shells for our dinner party. This is an easy but delicous dinner and all the members of the dinner party gave it rave reviews! We added a simple salad, garlic bread from the freezer section of the grocery store and a wonderfully impressive but easy dessert ! Make sure you don't miss the video at the end of our small dessert making Diva!

Stuffed Shells

1 12 oz Pkg Shells
1 lb of either ground sausage or beef
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 26 oz jar of herb tomato pasta sauce
1 8 oz container chive and onion cream cheese
3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 15 ounce container ricotta cheese
¾ ground pepper
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp oregano

Cook shells in boiling water until done. Brown ground meat, onion and finely chopped garlic until cooked – drain. Add sauce to meat and spread about ½ cup of this mixture into the bottom of greased casserole dish; set remainder aside until after shells are stuffed. Stir together the cream cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese. Add pepper, thyme and oregano and stir until well blended. Using a tablespoon, stuff each shell about ¾ full. Then place facedown in prepared plan. After all the shells are stuffed, pour remainder of the sauce on top of the shells.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with remainder of mozzarella cheese and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Dessert - Pavlova

This amazingly light dessert is named after the Russian Ballerina Anna Pavlova and can be made with sugar free instant pudding as well as sugar substitute so it can be delicious as well as low calorie! The recipe I used was not the low calorie version :)

4 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups milk
1 package instant vanilla pudding (4 serving size)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cups powdered sugar
Fruit about one cup of whatever you desire (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, banana’s etc)

Crust:

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form, then add granulated sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon onto foil lined baking sheet (that has been sprayed with non stick spray) and shape into a circle. Form a kind of pizza shape with the middle being lower than the sides. You will be placing the filling in the center. Bake at 225 degrees for 1 ½ hours and allow to fully cool.

Filling;
Pour milk into bowl; add pudding mix and using wire whisk mix until thickened. Beat whipping cream until still peaks form, add powdered sugar and mix until blended. Fold whipping cream mixture into pudding.

Spread pudding mixture inside cooled shell, top with desired fruit and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Place in refrigerator until time to serve.

A Huge Thank you to my friend Emma who gave me this fabulous apron! If you want one like it head over to sass-a-frass.com !
Hugs! Madison

Click on Video Below to see the Diva with Dessert!

Thank you to Michael at Designs by Gollum for hosting another fabulous foodie Friday!

Personalized Heirloom Style Dress

Happy Tuesday ! I hope you are all having a great week so far!

Many of us have been affected by the economic downturn and unfortunately, I am no exception. I was laid off in early March. Since being laid off, I have decided that I can not live without the luxuries of life...like living indoors and eating.. :) In the true tradition of being a Bloom Girl, I am blooming where I have been planted. One chapter of my life has ended and a new one has started. I am trusting that God will provide and I have chosen to try the path of the "Proverbs 31" woman! Blessings to you all !

Do you need a dress for that special little girl in your life? Are you going to the beach this summer and need that perfect white dress for the classic beach pictures? If you said YES to either of these, I have the perfect answer!

Here is a picture of little Miss Madison modeling her new personalized monogrammed dress! They come in pink or white and in sizes 12 months to size 6. Choose from six different font styles and several thread colors!

Detail Drawnwork at hemline

These adorable little dresses are a cotton/ramie blend and have lovely drawnwork near the hem. They have buttons on the back. Please see below for font and thread color choices. If you are interested in ordering a dress, please e-mail bloomgirls@att.net. They sell for $42.00 + 4.98 shipping. (Far less than you would find in a specialty shop!)

Click here for font and thread choices
http://www.thebloomgirlsboutique.com/go/popup.php?pgid=1

Gift wrapping and direct shipping to recipient is available for $4.50 :)

Have a fabulous week !

Karyn

Antique Loveseat in need of Love.....

My mother rescued this little loveseat from someone's front porch and stored it in my parents' barn for years; I happened upon it one day while plundering (that's what my mom calls it). It came home with me that day I believe my love for brown and white began the day I was presented with my first horse, an Appaloosa named Little Brave. He looked very similar to the beautiful horse in this picture. After looking for weeks, I knew instantly when I spotted the fabric I was going to use to reupholster my neglected little loveseat.

Thanks to both Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for hosting Today's Thrifty Treasures and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Metamorphosis Monday.



Have a great week!

Nola