Blogging Bloopers Party, 2010

    Welcome to the first ever Blogging Bloopers Party...a party where we poke a little fun at ourselves and share some of the unplanned "stuff" that happened during this past year of blogging.


    I didn't realize until I actually started putting this post together, but all my blogging bloopers seemed to have centered around tablescapes. I am proud to announce I didn't set a single thing on fire this past year! See, I'm making progress! ;)

    However, I did discover it isn't the best idea to leave napkins out on the porch overnight before taking pics of a tablescape. I put this "Alice in Wonderland" table setting together one evening but decided to wait until the next day when the light was better to take photographs. During the night, a huge storm came and I awoke to find the humidity had caused all the nicely pressed napkins to "melt" right over the plates.




    I started to take the candy napkin rings off and iron all the napkins again, but I quickly discovered the napkin rings had begun to dissolve in all the humidity during the night and they literally crumbled apart at the slightest touch. When I removed them after taking pics, there were little candy spots on all the napkins. Moral of this story...if a rain storm is coming, take in the napkins and the napkin rings if they are made from real food! At least I found them before the ants did! :) (You can see more of this Alice in Wonderland tablescape HERE.)




    Moving right along to our next oops...one afternoon I decided to create several mini tablescapes on the bistro table out on the deck. It was 185 degrees outside that day...yes, it was! It was soooo hot, I eventually had to slide the patio table with the large umbrella over to the bistro table to partially shade me and the table so I could snap some pics with out succumbing to heat stroke. Now that's tablescaping dedication! ;)



    At one point, I stopped and ran inside for about 5 minutes, probably to get some water. I returned to find this! The heat was so intense it had melted the candle inside my beautiful Colonial Candle Hurricane lantern. I didn't exactly share that part with you when I showed the tablescape in a post. ;)




    This was another tablescape I created during that same insanely hot day out on the deck. A reader noticed later that I had placed the flatware on opposite sides of where it actually goes. This is what happens when I stand on one side of the table and set the other side by reaching across the table. LOL Plus, the heat had completely fried my brain by this point!




    I'm sure we've all done this...taken all our pics not realizing we never lit some of the candles on our table...until we are actually sitting down to create the post. At least it was the small ones I forgot to light. (You can see more of this tablescape HERE.)




    This was the infamous "ant" blooper, the one depicted on our party button. I created a tablescape using Mikasa's beautiful Modern Butterfly china. For the centerpiece, I combined store bought flowers with a sedum, called 'Autumn Joy' I had growing in my garden. Apparently, the Autumn Joy came into my home with lots of 6 legged friends attached.




    Once I began taking pics, I discovered the little hitchhikers. They began popping up everywhere, including on the rim of the globe covering the candles. Think of them as live, moving accessories...at least they coordinated with the color scheme! :) (You can see more of this tablescape HERE.)



    I've been saving the best, or should I say worst, for last. I came across this absolutely gorgeous Paula Deen Christmas tablescape online one day. You know how I LOVE to create tablescapes that have a touch of whimsy or fantasy to them...so a moss covered table with magnolia chargers sounded like something I absolutely HAD to try!





    I was so excited to see Paula's Christmas china was one I actually have and love, Lenox, Winter Greetings. It was a sign...I had to try a moss tablescape! I searched and searched for sheet moss, the type of moss used on Paula's table, but whenever I could find it (like at Michael's) it was kind of expensive...and I need a lot to cover the whole table.




    So, just imagine how excited I was when I came across moss in the dollar store for...you guessed it...only $1 a bag. I was so excited, I bought 20 bags just to make sure I had enough. In the end, that turned out to be about 9 bags too many. I only used 11 bags to cover my table. I put down large plastic bags on the porch table and sprayed the bags with an adhesive so the moss would stick really well. Then I got busy creating the tablescape.




    Isn't it beee-u-ti-ful?! Looks just like the Paula Deen table doesn't it? NOT!!! :) Paula's was all nice and green...and fuzzy.




    Mine looked like bad 1970's shag carpeting! HA! ;)




    I didn't want the flatware to touch the moss, even though it was completely dry and sterilized, so I placed the forks in a crossed design on the plates. I placed the knife and spoon on whimsical garden angels I had found months before in Dollar Tree. For coasters, I used little clay garden signs with whimsical gardening messages carved into them. Cute idea, right?




    Until you looked closer. Yep, shag carpeting!



    So this was the tablescape I never posted. I shared it with my sister and a few trusted friends that I swore to secrecy...right Bill and Kathleen? ;) Now that it's out here on the Wild, Wild Web, they can't use it to blackmail me some day. ;) LOL


    So, that's just a few of my bloopers for 2010. I'm sure there are lots more, but these were the ones I thought to save pics of during the year. Can't wait to see your bloopers for 2010! Start saving your blooper pics for 2011 so you can join in the fun next January! :)

    Please Read:
    If you are participating in the Blogging Bloopers Party, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name. Then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

    You may see a red X once you enter your link. No one else can see the red X, it's just there in case you make a little mistake and need to delete your link and re-enter it.

    Please, don't add your post name/blog name in ALL CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!


    Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for the Blogging Bloopers Party.

Blogging Bloopers Party...Sharing Our Goofs and Gaffes

    It's almost time for our Blogging Bloopers Party.


    InLinkz (linky tool) will go up this evening before 9:00 PM, so please stop by later this evening or tomorrow and link up YOUR Blogging Bloopers post highlighting some of your funny and maybe not-so-funny, moments during this past year of blogging. I've had serveral and I'm going to put a paper bag over my face and show you a table I created but was too embarrased to ever post for Tablescape Thursday. If I had posted it, it would have been nicknamed the "shag carpet" table. ;) Yep, it was that bad! Tonight, I'm sharing the shag carpet table with you...and I may never live it down! My reputation will be ruined! ;)


    My Gaffes from 2009:
    To get you in the mood for this year's Blogging Bloopers Party, I'm reposting my confessions 2009 blooper's post that ran last January 2010. It highlighted all my gaffes for 2009. That post received so many fun comments, I just knew we had to have a Party this year to celebrate all out blogging goofs and mishaps. :) I'm looking forward to reading about your boo-boos during this past year. In the meantime, here's the repost of some of mine from the year 2009.


    To warm you up for tonight...here's a repost of last year's Blogging Bloopers at BNOTP... Posted Originally on January 2nd, 2010:

    So, you've been thinking things always go perfectly here on the porch. Right? Well, I hate to burst that bubble, but.......NOT BY A LONG SHOT! :-) You know those out-takes they always show you in the theater, right after you've just finished watching a movie? I thought it might be fun to share a few "out-takes" from my blogging life here on the porch.

    You may remember this "Garden Party" tablescape? It turned out to be one of my favorites. I especially loved this pic capturing the deep-blue night sky contrasting against the dark shadows of the trees and the bright colors in the tablescape.


    But what you didn't see was me prying the faux flowers off the top of the greenhouse when it was time to take the tablescape apart the next day. Yep, I fused those babies right to the top of the greenhouse with the candles I had burning inside. (LOL) Not only were they fused to the the greenhouse, but they were fused to each other! :-) (To view this post, click HERE .)


    Then there's the occasional picture that's just perfect, well, all except for that glass that's completely out in left field. Note to self: after taking a closeup, move the stemware back to where it actually belongs. :-) (To view this post, click HERE.)



    Then there was the time I created a series of small tablescapes on a silver tray...


    And in the process...


    Tried to catch the wreath on fire. :-) Yes, I did.


    See that little brown singed spot to the right of the flame...clipped it right off and all was good. :-) (Click HERE to view those tablescapes.)


    Really, there are so many I could share from hitting "publish" by accident before a post was even close to being finished to adding a song to my playlist with a word that was definitely NOT in the radio version. (Scroll down to the bottom for the playlist to hear this song.)

    Example: "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt...when you hear it on the radio, he sings, "She could see from my face that I was flying high." Well, I found out the hard way that "flying" is not the word he uses on 99% of the Playlist versions. YIKES! I'm pretty sure I set a land record streaking across my office to my computer to get it off my Playlist that day. They do have a "clean" version on the Playlist site, nooooow. That's the version you'll find posted on my playlist today. Whew!

    So, there you have it...just a few of the "Bloopers of 2009" here on the porch. Now I want to hear yours! :-) Even if you aren't a Blogger, feel free to share some of your tablescaping faux pas. And if you are a Blogger, what were some of your 2009 Blogging Bloopers? Come on...you know you had some! :-)

    Click HERE to read the comments left on this post...they are quite funny!

    See you tonight for the start of the linking for our January 1, Blogging Bloopers Party!

A Christmas Tablescape and a Candlelit Tree: Welcome to the 123rd Tablescape Thursday!

    Happy Tablescape Thursday! I hope your week has been going great. I haven't even started to think about taking down all the decorations...not looking forward to that job.

    Before we say goodbye to Christmas completely, I'm excited to share Cornelia's tree all aglow with real candlelight in her home in Switzerland a few days ago. You may recall from THIS post, each Christmas Eve Cornelia lights real candles on her tree for the first time for the Christmas season. They are lit again each night afterwards. Here's how it looked this Christmas Eve:













    Doesn't it just take your breath away? Soooo very beautiful!




    Each Christmas, to make room for their tree, Cornelia moves her dining room table and chairs into her drawing room and the tree is set up in the dining room. So Christmas dinner is held in what is normally Cornelia's drawing room. Have you ever been tempted to do that...swap your living room for your dining room?





    We're dining by candlelight tonight in Cornelia's beautiful home in Switzerland...




    Cornelia shared, "The China is Le Manoir by Villeroy and Boch. The cutlery is silver by Jezler /Reed pattern. The ornaments on the plates are Swiss chocolates."




    The side plates are by Royal Copenhagen "Peterchens Weihnachten.






    The crystal stemware is by Peill/Germany. Isn't it gorgeous?!







    The napkins are Swiss embroidery and the tablecloth is by Le Jacquard Français.




    So beautiful by candlelight.




    Cornelia, thanks so much for inviting us into your home this Christmas! Each visit has been a fantasy come to life!






    Please Read:
    If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name. Then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, it will not be visible to anyone.

    You may see a red X once you enter your link. No one else can see the red X, it's just there in case you make a little mistake and need to delete your link and re-enter it.

    If you'd like to use the Tablescape Thursday logo button in your post, just copy and paste it to your computer and upload it to your post as you would any photo. Or, just grab the html code you'll find under the "Join a Party" heading at the top of this blog.

    Please, link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday, thus increasing visits for all participants.

    Please, don't add your post name/blog name in ALL CAPS...it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Thanks!

    Let's try something fun today! Please visit the person who linked before you and after you...that way everyone will get some visits. Hope you'll visit more, of course. :-)


    Little Reminder: Thank-you for linking back to this post so the regular visitors to your blog will find all your fellow Blogger's posts linked here for this Tablescape Thursday. Don't forget to use your permalink. : )

New Year's Eve Champagne Punch, Delicious and Easy to Make

    If you've been reading BNOTP for a little while, you may remember a Champagne punch recipe I shared a few weeks ago. I'm posting it again today because it's also a great punch for New Year's Eve, too.



    If you are making this for a small gathering of 2-4 people, one batch will do. If you're having a larger gathering, you'll want to make several batches because it's always a big hit and goes quickly. I went through 4 batches (with none left over) when I had a party with 25 in attendance. (So, that works out to be around 1 batch for every 6 folks in attendance.)


    Champagne Holiday Punch

    Ingredients:
    1 cup water
    1/2 cup sugar
    3 cinnamon sticks
    4 whole cloves
    2 cups cranberry juice
    1/2 cup pineapple juice
    1 bottle champagne (Korbel Brut works great)
    Small amount of Grand Marnier (or any orange liqueur you prefer)
    Red sugar
    Green sugar

    In a saucepan, bring water, sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves to boil.
    Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
    Discard cinnamon and cloves.
    Cool to room temperature and pour into a large pitcher.
    Add cranberry juice and pineapple juice.
    Chill in fridge until ready to serve.
    At serving time, add 1 bottle of chilled champagne.

    Right click on pic below to save it to your computer, then just print it off...much easier than having to write it all out.



    Dip the Rims in Nonpariels for a Festive Occasion:

    For a New Year's Eve party or a birthday party, I like to dip the rims of the glasses in nonpareils, instead of the the colored sugars I use at Christmastime.




    When you get ready to serve this punch, just pour a little Grand Marnier or any orange liqueur into a shallow dish. Pour some nonpareils into a bowl.




    Dip the rim of the champagne glass into the Grand Marnier, then into the bowl of nonpareils. Then pour the punch into the glass.



    You can serve the punch from a punch bowl and ladle it into the glass, but since the opening of a champagne glass is so small this can be pretty messy with the punch ending up running down the sides of the glass. I found it's much easier to just pour it from a pitcher.




    Or, if you have a beverage server similar to the one below, that will work well, too.




    You may wish to print off some copies of this recipe because your guests are going to be asking for it. :) Or, just tell them it's an old family recipe and you've been sworn to secrecy. ;)



    Your Reviews:

    Some of you tried this recipe after I posted it before Christmas and here's what you said:

    I made your champagne punch and served it before a luncheon I hosted yesterday! It was a true hit, and oh so very delicious! The addition of using the red and green sugars to rim the champagne glasses is a very nice detail! Thank you for sharing this with us! Loved it! It's a recipe that goes straight to my favorites file! ~At Home with a Country Lady


    Made this Friday night for our annual neighborhood Holiday Party.
    It got RAVE reviews and a request to make it again for Saturday's Cookie Swap. Thanks a million for an EASY, WONDERFUL treat!! ~Anonymous

Stress FREE Christmas shopping

    I’ve mentioned before that a few years back I discovered Dave Ramsey.  His simplicity to personal finance was refreshing!  The baby steps work.   We manage to pay off all our consumer debt (except our mortgage and a small vehicle loan that I discussed here) and pay cash for everything now.

     

    One thing I was able to implement into our weekly budget is a Christmas Fund

    I know this nothing new and earth shattering as far as ideas go,  but actually doing it and sticking to it has changed my outlook on the holiday season.  I use to start a mild panic attack in September and with each passing day it would get stronger. (does any of this sound familiar?)

    Here are my tips for a stress free holiday spending:

    • Start today! (tomorrow doesn’t work….TODAY…or you’ll forget, put it off, and you know where you will be come September! PANICING)
    • Decide on your budget. (Set down with anyone who shares the responsibility with you)
    • Divide your budget up into the number of weeks left to shop. (If you want to have all your holiday shopping done by the first week of December then subtract 4 weeks from 52 weeks out of the year.)
    • Automate your money to direct deposit.  (this KEY to making it work and sticking to it.  Trust me… you almost forget about the money drafted.)
    • Set up an account separate from your main savings and/or checking.  (Another KEY fact, I use a completely different bank for my long term saving.  That way I don’t see the money on a daily bases.)
    • Don’t touch the money for anything other than holiday gifts.

     I promise this will add such joy to your life!

    I remember the first year that I got to go shopping stress-FREE…. the way I walled through the shops whistling holiday carols… I bet people thought I just won the lotto!  In some ways I felt like I did.

    I use   ING Direct for my holiday savings/checking account.  I opened this account specifically for this reason alone (and even earned a bonus $25). I couldn’t be happier with this bank!  All direct deposits go into the savings and then when it’s time for me to make a holiday purchase, I just log on and transfer money to the debit card!

    To access the ING DIRECT Orange Savings Account $25 offer click here or if that link is already used, please email me at oprootbb@gmail.com with "ING" in the subject line along with your first and last name, and I will forward you a referral within 24 hours.
    Be sure to completely read over the terms and conditions prior to opening up the account.
      

    Full Disclosure: I do receive $10 from ING for each referral made through me (up to 25 total)

    Carrie

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