DREAMGIRLS

My poor sister, Patty, is sick and so she asked me if I would take her ticket to see Dreamgirls tomorrow at the Orange County Preforming Arts.

Well, she didn't have to ask me twice! I would love to go.



I've never seen Dreamgirls on Stage before. Only the movie. I loved the movie so I'm sure I will enjoy the live performance.

It's 2ND row center seats. Can't get any better then that. I'm excited.

The Orange County Performing Arts is a beautiful location and it's only about four blocks from where I live. So I'll walk there and walk home. Sort of makes me feel like I'm in New York.

You see, here in So. California, no one walks anywhere! If it's a block away, people pack into the car and drive.

I found that by walking to the Performing Arts, I get inside and get home in less time then if I drove. With parking always being so bad it takes longer to get in and out of the parking structure. Plus, I hate to pay for parking.

Now I have to go see what I have to wear.

RED AND BLACK TABLESCAPE

I hated our table and chairs so I decided to paint them and see if they look any better. I painted them black. I will show you the before and after on another day.

However, since the table was black, I thought I would forgo the tablecloth and just use place mats as I was having a black and red tablescape this week.


I also got to use my bird dishes that were my thrift store find. I love them. They make me smile.

I think the table looks better painted too. I still need to wax it and I think I'll distress it a bit. But, even as it is, I think it looks 100% better then before.

I found these place mats months ago at Kohl's on clearance. They only had two but I got them any way. I thought I would go to another Kohl's to see if they had any more. Sadly they didn't.

But, as luck would have it, several weeks later, I found 3 of them at another Kohl's and they were marked down even more. I quickly grabbed them and home they came.

I've used the red plates before. I got them at K-Mart. I think they are very nice and was happy with the quality.

For the centerpiece, I used another thrift store find. The wire bird cage that I've shown you before. I have a nest with eggs in it now. I change out what goes inside depending upon my mood.

I also used a few milk glass pieces. I think milk glass is perfect for just about any tablescape really. It seems to go with everything.

Then of course, the little white bird salt and pepper shakers from Target. I sure do get a lot of use out of them.

The black charger plates came from the 99 cent store and the flatware was from Ross.

A simple table with nothing but bargain pieces. Still nice enough for company, don't you think?

I'm linking up my Tablescape to Tablescape Thursdays over at Between Naps on the Porch. If you have not yet stopped by there, please do so. You are in for a treat with all the wonderful tablescapes see.

ROOTBEER, PRETZELS AND PIZZA, OH MY!

Things have been pretty busy for me these past few days. However, I was lucky enough to be invited to go with Trinity's Brownie Troop yesterday. There was no way I could turn down that invitation so I put aside all the work of planning the wedding and went for a few hours of fun.

We went to go learn to make Rootbeer and Pretzels. How fun.

We were each given our own dough to roll out and form a pretzel in any shape we wanted.

Have you ever made pretzels before? I hadn't and was very surprised to learn this dough is hard to shape. You can roll it out and it seems to go back to the way it was.

One of the guys there showed us how to twist, pull and roll the dough to form the pretzel. He made it look so easy.

The girls had fun making their own. So many different shapes to make, which ones would they decide on?

The extra fun thing about this trip was the adults got to make Rootbeer and Pretzels too!



Everyone had a different shape. I went with a simple knot. Mine is the one on the middle one on the left.

While the pretzels were baking it was time to go work on making Rootbeer.

First you had to pump out and measure the ingredients.

Then everything got poured into the "magic" container. Water is added and then the work was about to start.

The girls had to roll the "magic" container back and forth for about 15 mins. This mixes everything up and gets the rootbeer ready.

I call the container a "magic" container because it's almost like magic the way the rootbeer is made.

After the hard work was over, we got to go back inside and our pretzels were ready for us.

I have to admit these were the best pretzels I have ever had. Fresh, warm and the prefect about of crunchy outside with a soft yummy center.

Then to follow up with the great pretzel, they served us hot pizza. The girls had worked up an appetite after all that rolling of the container and not one piece of pizza was left over.

OK, truth be told, the adults ate some too.


Then the Rootbeer was ready to be bottled. Everyone got two bottles and filled them up.

Put the caps and labels on.

There was enough left over from our batch to let everyone have some without having to open the bottles.

Everyone was happy and cheered their good work.

The girls were really excited to try it. Everyone agreed they loved it and most wanted more so they ended up opening up a few bottles after all.

The Brownie Troop leader made the cute labels and sent it over to the shop.

I had never had fresh, homemade rootbeer before and I have to say, it was very good.

You can also make beer and other types of soft drinks here. Anyone who does, gets to add their own label to the wall. As you can see, the walls are covered with every color and type of label you can think of.

The girls had a blast and really enjoyed learning something new and different.

I had a great time too and am very happy I was allowed to join them for the day.

JUNE BRIDE

I'm so excited! There is going to be a wedding in June. No, sorry folks, it's not me getting married. It's my friend.

Well, she is really already married and it's going to be her 10Th wedding anniversary. But, she never had the big wedding when she got married. So, she and her husband decided to renew their vows and they are going to have the big wedding they never had.

I'm very honored they asked me to be the Wedding Planner. How great is that!

The only thing is, they just decided this and nothing has booked yet. This is going to be a lot of hard work and I'm sure stressful at time. I want this to be their dream wedding. I want it to be perfect for them.

I'm going to have to work quickly to find a location for them, get the cake ordered, the flowers picked out, the decorations for the reception and all the little details like, favors, place cards and all the little things that we seem to forget is needed to make the day go off without a hitch.

I have to find the location asap so the invitations can be printed and mailed out.

However, that's all the work to do. Today, we went and picked out her wedding dress (it's beautiful and she looks like a princess) and the jewelry she will wear. We got the flower girls dress ordered. She is having Trinity as her flower girl! Boy is Trinity is excited.

We also picked out the bridesmaid dresses. The invitations are decided on and as soon as the location is picked out they can be printed up.

So, in one day we got a lot done. Everyone had so much fun.

I've never planned a wedding before and so this is my all time dream party to plan. I think I'm more excited then the Bride and Groom. OK, maybe not as much but pretty near close.

I don't know how much sleep I'll be getting the next few weeks. I know I'll be planning, preparing and thinking about what needs to be done 24 hours a day.

Maybe I should rent The Wedding Planner and see how she pulls it all off and stays so put together.

FOR THE LOVE OF GLEE

Do you watch the TV show, GLEE? If not, have you heard about it?

I'm sure you have.

If you have not seen it, well, I don't know where you have been. It's a fun show.

It's about a bunch of high school misfits that were all looking for a way to become popular and more liked at school. So they joined their GLEE team.

They sing and they sing well. They found their place in life. Music.

When they sing they are happy. They are liked. They are popular. They are on top of the world.

My great niece, Trinity, goes to a school who has a Panther as a mascot. Their school color is purple. They have "Panther Pride"

They know that music is important and brings all the kids together when they sing.

Several times a year they put shows on for the children to entertain their family and friends. By doing so, each child feels special and important. They feel popular and loved. They have fun.

The sad thing is, with all the budget costs going on their school got their music department cut. If they are going to have any more music for the children they have to raise the funds to pay for the classes themselves.

Tonight they did a fund raiser in order to help raise enough money to pay for them to keep the teacher and have music ringing through the school again.

Trinity got to have two songs where she sang solo parts. I was so proud of her. It's not easy to stand up in front of a full audience and sing. But, she did it and did it well.

She has always loved music and loves to sing! Even as a baby, it would sound like she was singing.

She loves to go to musicals and watch movies where they sing.

Each grade is taking their turn and putting on a concert. Tonight's theme was all about the Beach.

They all were to dress as if they were going to go down to the beach. They sang songs all about the beach.

I was happy that all of Trinity's family made it to hear her sing. Sometimes it isn't possible as often someone has to work and can't get off.

Tonight, everyone was there for her. Her daddy and his girlfriend, her grandma and grandpa and her two aunts. Plus, we all got to sit in the front row. I think that made her really happy and made her feel very special, which of course she is.

I remember when I was a little girl and we would put on concerts at school. I would search the whole place until I spotted my family. Once I did, I beamed. I sang louder and stood a bit higher.

Then, my nephews had shows and we would go watch them do the same thing. Now it's my great niece's turn and hopefully when she has children they will get their turn.

It's sad that our State, no, our Country, is in such a mess that we have to see funding for school activities being cut.

Cut things from us adults if you have to but, don't take away the joy of our children.

Here is Trinity with her daddy, my nephew. I think they both had fun and were happy and it made me feel good to know they could share this night together enjoying the music.

BEACH TABLESCAPE

I sure picked a strange day to do a beach theme tablescape. It's cold, windy and I'm sure it's going to rain soon.

Oh well, we can still pretend we are at the beach.



Since it was about 6:30pm when I started to take my photos they are sort of dark and the colors are not as pretty as they are in person.

The dinner plates are a pale aqua blue and I got them at TJ Maxx. Then I found the the same color salad plates with shells on them at Kohl's on sale a few months ago. However, I was just there again today and they still have this set and they are on sale again.

I wish you could see the tablecloth in person. It's so pretty. The pale aqua blue sort of shimmers and the stripes of cream and browns are textured.

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. I found it at the thrift store. It was brand new and still in the package.

Oh, except there was a little problem. It's not a tablecloth at all. It's actually a curtain.

However, it fits the table just fine and no one will ever know.



Today I got a little package in the mail and it was these darling napkin rings. They remind me of sea urchins. I knew they would be perfect on this tablescape. I found them on EBay.

The flatware is a clear crystal with silver. Well, wait a minute. It's not actual crystal and silver. It's actually a clear hard plastic or something that looks like crystal and the silver is stainless steal.

I thought they were pretty and for $9.99 for the whole set, I couldn't pass them up. They will go with just about any type of tablescape. I found them at Ross.

Oh no, I almost forgot to light the candles for you. There. That's better.

Do you see the seahorse candle holders? They came from Kohl's too. I thought they were so cute and I fell in love as soon as I first saw them.

The candles were being sold at Kohl's too and were so cheep I had to get them too. I love the way the different colors are on the candle and even though it's hard for you to tell, the colors are perfect with the tablescape. Yes the little star fish and jute came with the candles. I think that's what caught my eye really.

These glasses are darling. They are nice weight too. I really like them. Star fish are so sweet looking. I love the deeper aqua color on these too. Another item on sale at Kohl's.

They also have some that look very close to these at Pier One but they cost more.

Here is an over all shot with the lights turned off.

Looking outside makes it look like it's a nice summer day. It's actually just the reflection of the pool.

Normally, when I set up my Tablescapes I do eat breakfast, lunch or dinner that same day. However, we already ate so we won't be eating here tonight.

Maybe tomorrow?

This little shell serving dish would be great to use for salad dressing. It's not real big and I also think it's a good size for whipped cream to use on dessert.

The little beach pail is full of shells. The pail came from Kohl's also and the shells are ones I've had for years.

It's hard to tell but the little candles are pale aqua blue candles inside of a real shell. I got them at Pier One Import in the clearance section for only 79 cents.

They would make a cute favor for your guest to take home.

If I were going to give them as gifts, I would wrap them up in some cello paper or sheer material and tie it up with a bow and a little shell. It's all about the presentation.

I really like to have little favors for my guest to take home. It's not about how much you spend on the gift. It's just a nice thought knowing that they are taking home a little bit of your time together.

What are some the favors you have given or received as a favor?

I hope you enjoyed this tablescape. I enjoyed putting it together for you.

I'm linking up to Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch. If you have not yet stopped by there you really will want to do so. There are so many different tablescapes and each one is lovely.