COPY CAT CHALLENGE

I've always enjoyed my magazines! Beginning back as a newlywed in the 1950s, the best part of the week was a Friday night when we would occasionally go out for dinner; then stop at the newsstand to buy the new magazines. Over the years I've found them to be a great source of inspiration. Up until now, I've never tried to be a total copy cat. But, since Debbie at Debbiedoos has thrown out the challenge to copy a magazine picture; I knew I had to give it a try. Especially when I saw this vignette in the Country Living, November 2011 issue.

I told myself that I couldn't go out and buy anything new - just shop the house, the yard, and the refrigerator. Also, I wanted to change up the original vignette from Fall to Christmas.

Here is my copy cat vignette exchanging pine cones for the pumpkin and adding some pine sprigs into the leaf arrangement.

My entry hall table is smaller and the mirror above it is rectangular rather than round; and the vignette reinforces what I already knew -- I'm not the best at floral arranging. But, the experience was fun - thanks Debbie for the challenge.

Please check out the following parties this week for lots of Christmas inspiration:

A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Debbie Doos for Holiday Copycats on Mon., Dec. 5th

GIVING THANKS

Yesterday was our Thanksgiving dinner at church. The Women's Committee fix the turkeys, dressing, potatoes, and gravy. Everyone else brings a side dish and a dessert to share. You can only imagine the wonderful food that was served! Various women also bring their dishes and centerpieces to each host a table of eight. I was busy and only managed to take these two pictures of my table. I regret I didn't get around to take pictures of the other tables.

Nothing too fancy on my part - I used my Johnson Brother's Friendly Village dishes and a centerpiece of blue Ball jars filled with beans, etc. to be used later in a Harvest Soup with leftover turkey next week. I loved the look with the candles lit making that wonderful blue of the jars sparkle.

May all of you have a wonderful week with your family and/or friends giving praise of Thanksgiving!!

I'll be joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday. Please stop by her wonderful blog for a bunch of inspiration.

MY WEDNESDAY MORNING GROUP

I believe I have mentioned my Wednesday A.M. Coffee Group on this blog before. We started out as a quilting group in the early 1980s getting together while our kids were in school to spend a couple of hours together sewing, eating, and chatting. Over the years our numbers have changed with some members moving away or going back to work; but we have always maintained a core group and still meet every Wednesday morning. We stopped quilting years ago, and now just eat and chat. At one point, we had kids in each of the four grade schools, the middle school, and the high school of our small town. Our husbands were in a variety of professions around town -- we've always had lots to talk about!! The youngest of those kids are in their 20s now, and some of us have grand kids in those same schools.

Over the years, we have really become good friends. One of the things we have always done is celebrate our birthdays together exchanging great gifts. As a recipient this month, I can tell you the good stuff keeps coming. These girls know me really well, and keep feeding my obsession for brown transferware. Below are some of my birthday presents from the Wednesday A.M. group.

First is this great soup bowl from the aesthethic period. It has the "Kite" mark on the back that indicates it was manufactured in England in 1880.

Next, is this cute little bowl that is now holding my pine cones that I brought home from Germany this summer.

Then, I got two of these bone dishes in the Tonquin pattern. They match two plates that I already had in that pattern.

Not brown transferware, but something that catches my eye these days is white ironstone. I received this great, large bowl with an old mark on the back. Isn't it a beauty?

See what I mean? They really know me well! I hope you are as fortunate as I am to have a close group of friends to celebrate birthdays with you.

I'm joining the following parties this week. Be sure to go by these wonderful blogs and thank them for hosting these events.

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Very Merry Vintage Style for Share the Love Wednesday

No Minimalist Here for Thursday's Open House Party

French Country Cottage for Feathered Next Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

White Ironstone Cottage for Treasure Chest Friday

2805 for Potpourri Friday

PLUMB BOBS

I'm convinced that there is something unusual out there for anyone to collect. My husband collects plumb-bobs. It was a natural - after all his name is Bob and in his career as a Civil Engineer, he was a licensed land surveyor.

According to wikipedia, a plumb-bob is a weight usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, that is suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line.

It has been used since ancient Eqypt to ensure that constructions are plumb or vertical. It is also used in surveying to establish the nadir with respect to gravity of a point in space.

Bob has been wondering how to display them in his office. When we were at Round Top, Texas this fall; one of the dealers had theirs displayed on an old spool. So the search was on for a spool big enough to hold his plumb-bobs. We finally found one last week.