SIMPLE PLEASURES

It doesn't take much to thrill me -- a stack of new, blue towels!


And, washcloths!



And, enough of them so that I don't have to do laundry but every 5-6 days.

SIMPLE PLEASURES!



I'm joining the following parties this week:

Sally at Smiling Sally

for Blue Monday



Tam at The Gypsy's Corner

for Three Or More Tuesday



Courtney at French Country Cottage

for Feathered Nest Friday



Be sure to check out these wonderful hostesses for a world of inspiration.

EYE CLUTTER?

Not much going on here -- just gearing up for the holidays. I sat down yesterday and made a couple of pillows. I had bought a half-yard piece of red wool (on sale plus a 40% off coupon) for $6; and I had some very nice old black velvet ribbon from an estate sale. I added some Ralph Lauren inspiration, and after a couple of hours on the sewing machine; I had these two pillows.

It seems that my house has a tendency to clutter up very fast with all of the Christmas decorations added. I thought maybe if I put away all of the print pillows and added these simple ones; it would help.

So, after next week's festivities with Thanksgiving, we'll get the Christmas stuff out and begin the decorating. It will be fun to see all of the old favorites again from the past 52 Christmases at the Salmagundi household.

May you all have a joyous Thanksgiving week.

EATING THROUGH THE WEEKEND

I know that I have been 'missing in action' recently, but I really have an excuse other than just being blog brain dead (which I am)! We have a new computer -- something that we have needed for a long time. For instance, I have been unable for 2 1/2 years to comment on any body's blog that had their comments embedded -- the old computer just wouldn't let me do that. Plus, there were many other issues - it was past time to update the equipment. Hopefully, now I will be a better blogger. However as I put this post together, I realize that I didn't do a very good job taking pictures of our weekend's activities. We really have been eating our way through the weekend, but there are no food pictures. Trust me, there has been some good eating going on!

It all started Friday evening when we had the friends that we worked with on the estate sale over for dinner. We had to try out the Johnson Bros. Friendly Village dishes that I bought during the estate sale. We did have food - chile cheese chicken with vegetables, noodles, fruit salad, bread, and apple-spice cake. I think that I got the recipe from a blog for the chile cheese chicken, but I can't remember who. If you are the author of this scrumptious recipe, please let me know so I can give you credit.

Then, on Saturday it was our daughter, Jenni's 38th birthday. For those of you that are familiar with her battle with brain cancer, know that every birthday is a celebration!!! The family was here for lunch, then birthday cake.

And then today, Sunday, was our church's annual Thanksgiving dinner. The women of the church decorate and host tables for eight. Once again, I used the Friendly Village dishes with my Fostoria Argus red glassware.

The amount of food was unbelievable. Along with turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, there were three long tables with salads, side dishes and desserts. Needless to say, we are stuffed for the rest of the day. I'm just sorry I neglected to take some pictures of our fortunate abundance, so you could have enjoyed it with us.

I will be joining in with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

this week for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to go by her blog for Thanksgiving inspiration!

ONE BIG AND ONE SMALL PROJECT!

First, the big project-- We bought this chair at an auction for $2.00. The gross gold upholstery was so bad we didn't even take a picture of it in its true before condition. Bob started right in stripping the chair down to its bones.

Here it is with the wood refinished and the new upholstery.

It has nice wood details.

The more we upholster, the better our skills improve. We still stumble along learning as we go, however.

Now for the small project:

I've always enjoyed using Irene Berry's paper-pieced 3-inch blocks for small tuck-in gifts. She is a former editor of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, and the patterns can be found in lots of old issues. I've made scads of potholders using these images, but decided to applique these onto kitchen towels for a small birthday gift for a friend.

My friend is from Iowa, so I had to use an ear of corn.

And then, a carrot!

Lots of linky parties going on -- I'm joining the following this week. Be sure to stop by these blogs for scads of inspiration, and thank them for being such great hostesses.

Courtney at French Country Cottage
for the Feathered Nest party.

Marian at Miss Mustard Seed
for Furniture Feature Friday.

Kim at Savvy Southern Style
for the Wednesday Before and After party.

Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage
for Transformation Thursday.