Patio Dining in Florida

Come on in to my lanai in Florida

The hibiscus my hub and I put in is finally blooming

It's morning and I'm having my coffee, poofing up the patio table before the kids get up.

Come and sit for a bit with me..

  munchin on some fresh fruit.

It's a rather fun way to begin the day if you can manage to steel a few minutes before the crew awakes.

And then they wake up and say... ohhh how pretty. Because they are older now and appreciate it.

Like a picnic on the patio.

And Melissa from the inspired room is always full of interesting tips on layering, leaning and stacking...and I noticed that today she has a pretty mason jar with jute tied around it,!
These are just what I love to work with... jute, twine, sisal, and any rope around anything and everything for a nautical flavor.

 My mason jar is filled with soft white powdery sand from Siesta Key.

Everyone likes to feel it. It is really just like powdered sugar.
Siesta Key was just voted as one of Sarasota's best beaches and I recently posted about our last visit to it here.

Now that they have woken up, I will let them 

eat in peace.

Thanks go out to Sarah at a beach cottage for the mission to fluff it up a bit this Saturday.

Posting at 

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com

I'm back in Florida for some R&R and Beach exploring

Flew down to the Gulf Coast today with part of my crew.
I am really hoping to do 4 things that I've not done yet.
1. Go to Sanibel Island and hunt for seashells.

 Hope to find something great like the last time we went to Boca Grande

2....I want to go to the Hot Springs that are down here. ... Has anyone ever been to them?  I just heard about them, it sounds delightful.

Doesn't this arial view below look cool?

And the illustration below showing that it is 230 feet deep!! 87 degrees year round 

The Springs is the only warm mineral spring in Florida. It's water has the highest mineral content of any warm springs in the world, even more than the famous spas in Vichy and Aix les Bains in France.
Some say The Springs was the spot Ponce de Leon searched for, fought for and died for, believing that here, indeed, was the Fountain of Youth.

Something else on my list this week.

3.... have some Bahama Mammas which I can't seem to get up north. ( a delicious rum drink that really feels "island style")

While I was back home in New Jersey, i did manage to get all my slipcovers for the dining chairs down here finished. My sis was a sweatheart and helped me get them all done.

4... Iron them, slip them on and write words on them in fabric paint

.. so I squeezed the slipcovers all in a suitcase, because we flew this time, and they went as my luggage.
I'm sure I will have to sacrifice some Rest and Recreation time to iron them all, but I am so glad to have them all sewed up and can't wait to see the final result.... well ...all 7 chairs cause one is still back in New Jersey. ...An excuse to drive down again next fall. :)
I will post the "final reveal" when I get them all ironed and slipped on, and painted on.

What happened was last time I was down here, After doing a overhaul of my Dining sideboard/ hutch thingy and Dining table..( posted about here and here...
 I started the slipcovers but never had enough time to finish them. I also ran into a small glitch that I should have taken into consideration but stupidly overlooked. That glitch was that I had not washed the drop cloth before I started sewing, and you really have to prewash, because it will shrink the first time you wash it. After that the cloth is fine. So I needed to start over after making 3, uggghh...because that is when I read the advise of prewashing, somewhere on someone's blog.
So learn from my mistake and wash your dropcloth first.
 ( I know I am behind the curve on this one, most of you will already know that)
But I was able to load one of the chairs into my SUV and bring it north with me to use as a fitter for the rest of the ones I needed.

I am going to try to find time to write  beachy words on the tops of the chairs with fabric paints, for a little added flare. It doesn't wash out, I already tested it. I am really liking the additional texture that it adds. Don't you?
I did it on a few throw pillows that I made.

One side is a novelty boat fabric with splashes of aqua color, the other side is a dropcloth fabric with the seaside words written in white fabric paint.

 Each one of my 8 dining chairs will need to get a different beachy word.
 What 8 beachy words can you think of for  this project?

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll keep you posted.

Join in on the party fun: I am going to try to get to them all...(I'm just a party animal)

Miss Mustard Seed

Chic on a Shoestring

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com

Masterpiece Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Final year of High School for my youngest

This past thursday was Senior Prom for my youngest daughter. I don't usually blog about my family but with this milestone being crossed I couldn't help myself. The final year of high school for my youngest.
It was a perfect day for a prom. Not too hot. Just perfect.
I loved how the local salon did here hair. It came out perfect.

Her dress was love at first site. we had gone shopping together on a recent trip to Florida and we found it at Dillards. 

The minute she put it on, she knew and  I knew it was the one. 

The dress was a pretty powder blue, that looked steel blue or almost silver in certain light.

A sneak peak at her getting ready. She looked like Cinderella.

And ready to go.
You can tell she is beaming with excitement.

She had a great time. And met up with a group of friends.
All lovely girls in beautiful gowns.

I love that the glamour and fairy tale is back with these dresses. I've seen so many styles come and go with the passing of all my kids proms.
2 years ago everyone was wearing crazy wild prints. And of course my girls went along with that.
Here are my girls as a sophomore and junior in 2009. As you can see, in their  mermaid style wild prints.

And then in 2010 as junior and senior, bringing a bit more glamour back.

 and with a friend... still the wild prints were present at  prom 2010.

You can really tell with this  group of mixed wild prints and subdued long gowns, for Prom 2010

There are a few wild prints in here. And pretty simple straight lines on the long gowns.

But  wild is no where in site for 2011 below. At least not in our neck of the woods. Pure glamour. Lots of ruffles, and lace.

These are all oscar worthy, red carpet, "I'd like to thank the Academy" gowns, don't ya think?
Who doesn't want to look like a princess at least once?

Of course trends are different all over and those wild animal prints may be very popular where you live. I'm curious. Anyone have kids going to prom this year? Or recently maybe you yourself went and what trends do you see in prom wear in your area? Do you like the gowns you've been seeing in the stores?

 I have really loved watching all the different styles come and go. Some years even the shorter dresses were worn.  Back in 1999 and 2000 when my boys went to prom the girls were wearing shorter dresses. It's always fun to watch the young set get dressed up and enjoy the milestones in their lives.
Pretty soon it will be one more Graduation party!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my little prom pictorial.

Taking pictures now is all about the fun to me!!

And the challenges: which by the way there is a food photo challenges at LEM Photo Challenge ~ 

My food photo a wonderful cake my son's girl made! for my hubbo's birthday.

She is totally self taught and she can make any kind of cake. He likes the casino so this is what he got!

I have to say that I think the i phone is a wonderful tool to have. I'm not being paid to say this. I've had it for a while, but have really just come to realize what a great tool it is. I came to realize this when I had it handy in the Keys.
I took a few pics with it on my way to the shore from the car. And I think after cropping out the inside of the car, which you see in the first shot.... I think they actually become a pretty darn good picture. I mean this thing has really got some focus power.. even when the vehichle is still moving!
Anyone can take a pretty decent picture with todays ability to auto focus and all the different photo editing software, that just was not available 20 years or even ten years ago.

Take a look at the shot untouched and then simply cropped , with no other effects.

Original shot from car.

Then simply cropped

Another shot after cropping out the car window. This one is a little clearer because the car was stopped.

I think it is kinda neat that technology has come this far that with a phone, the blades of marsh grass are pretty clear.
And this one below is one of my favorites. The trees are all lined up like little soldiers.
Before... Note the car window framing it and spoiling it..

But...
never let that stop you from the picture you want.
Here it is cropped. and auto enhanced in  iphoto. So much nicer. Huh?

There are other effects in iphoto you can use... like mess with the temperature. .

Making it cool
or making it warm.

But I always like the natural photo the best, just cropped and sometimes enhanced,
 which just brings out the natural colors.
i am just beginning to play with some of the effects in iphoto and geeees it is so  much fun to discover.
They have other effects too like sepia and blur and tint and highlights which I haven't even begun to check out.
But i think I am going to have me some fun....but some photos I don't want to mess with the color, like this one below. This is exactly how I want to remember the water of the Causeway to Boca Grande.

But let's do with out that car interior. or that highway guardrail!

Mucho better.

Things have come a long way since my first Single Lens Reflex Camera, where there's was no ability to crop or cut anything out, and it all had to be manually focused by hand. You had to have the correct aperture setting in order to bring the proper amount of light in through the lens. or forget about it.

At least now with the SLR digital cameras, you can still make those adjustments, say if you want a great shot of the moon coming up.

For the most part I am glad to have a handy little camera that travels everywhere in my pocket, and gives me opportunity to catch shots I never would have gotten before.

This whole post came about because I am creating a photo wall in the family room and found I am really short on photos from my first 3 kids, when photography was a little more cumbersome. I have a bit more of the fourth...And I have loads of the last 2 kids. thanks to the modern convenience of the pocket camera and the i phone.

And the fun I can have with pictures!

Wonderful Whites

This post is about some of my favorite white things.

White Sugary Soft Sand.... how it feels on my toes.

White Sandy paths on the beach........to contemplate this great life.

White Foam of the Shore......as it splashes over me.

White Fences and Palms.... to soothe my eyes with their sereneness.

White Chenille at Hemingway's House..... inspiring me to seek such a piece.

White Thrifted finds at my Cottage.... their textures, so delightful.

The thrill of the hunt for Vintage Usable Whites

The  smooth white sand of Islamarada...........calling me back to the Keys

Simple White Dishes

...so fun to arrange.

Various Shells on Whitewashed Wood

Chippy White Shelves

What is your favorite White thing?

posting at

White Wednesday @ Faded Charm