The summer heat was brutal…

My hydrangeas were so happy in the Spring and early Summer.

Then the high temps hit….the temps of over 100 degree days.

They literally fried my beautiful hydrangeas…

At the beginning they looked like this:

And now they look like this:

I cut some of the better blooms….

I picked off all the the brown, dead petals…

and much to my surprise, there were some really pretty petals underneath…

…..of beautiful muted greens, reds, purples, and blues.

The morning sun adds such a pretty glow to them…

Today, the flowers are happy…

…..as the temps are in the 60′s this morning.

60′s???…we are still in the month of August…

Not complaining at all!!

The morning was crisp…

and the sky was a beautiful Carolina Blue.

The dining room faces East..

I love seeing the morning sun streaming through..

Waking up the house..

To a beautiful day.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

I am joining:

Debbie-Doo’s Newbie/Graduate Party

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

Yep, I did it.

If you know me, I am intimidated by cooking dishes that I feel are best left to the experts.

The gourmet cooks, like my sister.

The cooks who have these fabulous kitchens with stoves that cost more than my first car.

You know the ones….

The stoves with the 6 burners, and a griddle, and a grill, and those huge stainless steel hoods….

…..that also cost more than my first car.

Yep, that’s my sister’s stove.

One day, while reading a post on making a cheesecake by Laura, at Top This Top That…

…..I thought…hmmm..

My family loves everything “Banana Pudding”…

The Banana Pudding Cheesecake looked delicious.

So I wandered out of my comfort zone…

…..called my “gourmet cook” friend, Martha, asking to borrow a springform pan.

I did not have a springform pan, as recipes that called for them intimidated me….

…..there’s that “intimidated” word again.

I thought, if I was successful, then I would run, not walk, to the nearest Williams Sonoma.

So far, so good!

Paying careful attention to the directions…

I am documenting my step by step procedures…

…..as I am making history here.

AND…I need to show my sister and my mom,

…..that I am actually making a cheesecake!

But they probably know…as the Earth was moving.

As I poured the batter into the pan..I kept thinking and hoping…

…..THAT I DID NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OUT..truly!

OK..now into the oven it goes…saying a little prayer.

I just wish that my oven had a “date screen”…as I was truly making history..:)

It’s done!!…

I did it!!…

And to mark the occasion, my friend took a picture…

…..of the very proud me!!

I presented it to my dinner group…back in June..when the temps were 104 degrees…

…..the only request I had of my guests, was to be casual…wear shorts…!! Like me!

And in all of the excitement…I forgot to take a picture of a slice of the cheesecake!

So what did I do??? I made it again for my ladies lunch (my sewing group)….

And thank you Laura, for giving me the encouragement that I could indeed make my first cheesecake!!

And if you would like to make this wonderful Banana Pudding Cheesecake…Go Here

Bon Appetit!!!

I am joining:

I love decorating books.

I have them all throughout the house.

I use them to add texture,

…..and add height to many objects.

You can find them in the living room…

You can even find them in the bedrooms…

I have them on stands…

…..to greet my guests…..page turned that says “Ya’ll come on in”….

……….a book by Paula Deen, Savannah Style.

And the occasional book to provide beautiful images to your guests…

…..to show them what a beautiful state you live in.

To place them with “like” things…

…..to round out the vignette of a particular theme.

I use them to add color…

…..when displaying crystal.

They are in the obvious places…

….on shelves in a bookcase.

They are also on the bases of tables…

…..with a collection of designs magazines…

Dining rooms are also great places..

…..to showcase a great book on table decor.

And when there is a package at the door…

…..with my name on it….

……….it is most likely another home decor book.

When a package arrived at my door recently….

……my hubby said…”oh you ordered another book?”

I did not….

But when I opened it….I remembered….

THAT I WON THIS FABULOUS BOOK FROM FRENCH COUNTRY COTTAGE!!!

“VINTAGE BY NINA”

…..with this lovely inscription.

I sat down today, with a cup of tea…on a rainy, gloomy day..

…..and this book, so truly fantastic, brought much sunshine to my day!!!

Are you like me?

Do you just love home decor books?….

I am joining:

A Stroll Thru Life Tabletop Tuesday

Every guy needs a space….

…..a space he can call his own.

One that “he’ can place his treasured possessions…

…..of his love for all things baseball.

……….and his love for the New York Yankees.

Well that’s my guy…and here I present his favorite room…..

…..the Bonus Room, aka “The Man Cave”

The pool table he chose is a Brunswick (made in U.S.A.)….

…..that has a black painted finish with a cherry stain.

I was surprised he chose this style…

…..as I thought he would have chosen a heavy oak or dark mahogany…

……….but I was pleased, as I love this table.

After the arrival of the table…

…..we decided to add wainscoting to the room to match the table…

We love the way it turned out!

His three heroes!..

…..all on one cover of a Life Magazine!

And here he is with another one of his heroes…Whitey Ford…

….at Cooperstown during the Hall of Fame Induction.

And of course he got is autograph….

Along with many other Yankees….

Yogi…who doesn’t love Yogi!!!…

And more Yankees at the Induction…

Another hero…The Yankee Clipper….

As I walked through antique shops….

…..he scouted for baseball memorabilia..like this great bottle.

So there were no objections from him to go to antique shops!

He likes to collect old gloves….

I found this beauty on eBay years ago…..

…..a mint condition of a Mickey Mantle baseball glove…

……….that my hubby had when he was a kid….one of his favorite birthday gifts from me!!

And the baseball card was a gift from dear friends….

And loves to collect old baseball games…

And who cannot resist a great game of air hockey!..

A set of vintage pool balls given to him many years ago from an old friend….

…..who had this set sitting in his sports shop for years.

And this is where the guys go to quench their thirst!

So as you can see….

…..his love for all things “Yankees”..

For those players current…

…..and those who have passed on….

He will always be a fan!

Now that you have seen my hubby’s FAVORITE ROOM…..

…..YOU MUST POP OVER TO KIM’S AT SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE…

……….as she is featuring MY FAVORITE ROOM!!!…

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!

….AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ROOM???

ALSO…HOP OVER TO HEATHER AND VANESSA’S FROM AT THE PICKET FENCE….

…….AND KARI’S FROM THISTLEWOOD FARM..

……….AS THEY ARE HAVING A GIVEAWAY FOR A FREE TICKET TO THE SOUTHERN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE!!!!

I am joining:

Thrifty Decor Chick for Basements and Playrooms

Every guy needs a space….

…..a space he can call his own.

One that “he’ can place his treasured possessions…

…..of his love for all things baseball.

……….and his love for the New York Yankees.

Well that’s my guy…and here I present his favorite room…..

…..the Bonus Room, aka “The Man Cave”

The pool table he chose is a Brunswick (made in U.S.A.)….

…..that has a black painted finish with a cherry stain.

I was surprised he chose this style…

…..as I thought he would have chosen a heavy oak or dark mahogany…

……….but I was pleased, as I love this table.

After the arrival of the table…

…..we decided to add wainscoting to the room to match the table…

We love the way it turned out!

His three heroes!..

…..all on one cover of a Life Magazine!

And here he is with another one of his heroes…Whitey Ford…

….at Cooperstown during the Hall of Fame Induction.

And of course he got is autograph….

Along with many other Yankees….

Yogi…who doesn’t love Yogi!!!…

And more Yankees at the Induction…

Another hero…The Yankee Clipper….

As I walked through antique shops….

…..he scouted for baseball memorabilia..like this great bottle.

So there were no objections from him to go to antique shops!

He likes to collect old gloves….

I found this beauty on eBay years ago…..

…..a mint condition of a Mickey Mantle baseball glove…

……….that my hubby had when he was a kid….one of his favorite birthday gifts from me!!

And the baseball card was a gift from dear friends….

And loves to collect old baseball games…

And who cannot resist a great game of air hockey!..

A set of vintage pool balls given to him many years ago from an old friend….

…..who had this set sitting in his sports shop for years.

And this is where the guys go to quench their thirst!

So as you can see….

…..his love for all things “Yankees”..

For those players current…

…..and those who have passed on….

He will always be a fan!

Now that you have seen my hubby’s FAVORITE ROOM…..

…..YOU MUST POP OVER TO KIM’S AT SAVVY SOUTHERN STYLE…

……….as she is featuring MY FAVORITE ROOM!!!…

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!

….AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ROOM???

ALSO…HOP OVER TO HEATHER AND VANESSA’S FROM AT THE PICKET FENCE….

…….AND KARI’S FROM THISTLEWOOD FARM..

……….AS THEY ARE HAVING A GIVEAWAY FOR A FREE TICKET TO THE SOUTHERN BLOGGERS CONFERENCE!!!!

I am joining:

Thrifty Decor Chick for Basements and Playrooms

This weekend was the first weekend in a long time that we were actually home!!!….

It has been a busy couple of weeks in this household….

…….filled with a couple of trips to the beach…

Yep, we made it to the top of the lighthouse…At Currituck Beach Lighthouse…over 250 steps…

To be able to see this:

I have a bit of a fear of heights…so it was a real task to keep the camera steady!

And then a weekend on the ballfield….

That’s me and my friend Merry.

So this weekend…hubby began a project…not sure how long it will take…

……as the items we are hanging, have been in our garage for months!!…

I must say that it has been a chore to try to figure out a way to hang these items……

…….as they weigh over 100 pounds a piece…

He is making me very nervous!!!

Another project this weekend….did not take a before pic…but it was your basic “Bombay Brown”

My granddaughter loves to hang out and help us with projects….

My hubby decided that they should have breakfast in the garage…where they were hard at work…

…..so he set up this impromptu breakfast table…

……….gotta give him credit for making breakfast fun…

The chalkboard is another project…the bottom portion was damaged in our move…so it is in the process of being fixed

Gotta love a Lenox basket in the garage!

So with garage doors open, we had a workday “garage breakfast picnic”….

Great breakfast Pop!

So here we are….on Monday morning..the room still filled with ladders and furniture scattered about the room….

…..until the project is completed….as it is going to “take a village” to lift those very heavy items…

……….up the ladders and onto the wall!….

Wish us luck!!!