capture the last memories of summer 

Fall arrives September 23 in the northern hemisphere this year, but once school starts back from summer vacation and Labor Day weekend occurs, summer begins to fade into fall regardless of the date or temperature. 

Looking for ideas of how to capture the lingering summer before it slips totally into fall or for ways to introduce fall decor gently?  

Amber at Follow the Yellow Brick Home is hosting Transitioning from Summer to Fall Blog Hop, and I am joining her with over 20 bloggers sharing ideas for bringing a little fall into your home during these last few days of summer. 

If you are already reading through all the great posts, and you are coming from Cindy at County Road 407, welcome! Cindy's posts are always packed with great ideas served up with wit and humor. Love her and her style! She not only lifts your mood, she also lifts your spirits with her gracious support of others. A side benefit for me is she lives in the same area of Texas as I do, and we get to visit when the area bloggers get together. 

For readers who receive my latest posts in your email in-box, click on the title of the post at the top of your email to continue reading the whole post. 

Create An Inviting Summer Porch

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Summer is a time for living a little slower pace with family, friends, and neighbors. What better place to enjoy easy-living summer days  and nights than on an inviting porch. 

Thanks to Amber at Follow the Yellow Brick Home, you can see a collection of ideas from 20 bloggers at Spring into Summer! | Porches, Patios, and Outdoor Spaces Blog Hop for how each of us created outdoor spaces to enjoy this summer.  

If you are coming from Carol at Art and Sand, aren't her house and garden inspiring for summer ideas? I always feel happy when looking at Carol's blog anytime of the year. 

At the end of the post you can find links to see all of the ways 20 outdoor spaces from coast to coast are ready for summer. Wherever you live or whatever your style, you are sure to find some ideas for your summer outdoor spaces. 

Welcome to my summer porch.

Summer Porch ... brings to mind a place to relax, to share a meal, and to solve the world's problems with good friends or with your children out of school for summer vacation. See nine (9) ways I created an inviting summer porch for those long, lazy summer days to come. 

Afternoon Tea In The Bluebonnets

Afternoon tea may bring visions of an English "high tea" to your mind, but afternoon tea also can be a break from spring gardening to enjoy a glass of iced tea and a blueberry muffin in a bluebonnet patch in your backyard. 

Thanks to Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home for hosting It's a Spring Tea Party Blog Hop with 25 bloggers. I am excited to be part of this beauty-filled event. 

See all of the links to the others who are sharing their visions of a Spring Tea Party at the end. You are certain to find some wonderful ideas for celebrating GLORIOUS SPRING at your house. 

Welcome to everyone coming from one of my good blogging friends, Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles. Now, I consider all the bloggers on the Spring Tea Party good blogging friends, but Katie and I have a special blogging friendship. We co-hosted a weekly linky party with another good Texas blogging friend before Katie began hosting Keep in Touch. If you are missing The Scoop and Wow Us Wednesdays for connecting with others at linky parties, head over to Let's Add Sprinkles each Tuesday to join Katie's linky party. 

In fact, several of my blogging friends on this Spring Tea Party Blog Hop co-host weekly linky parties and would love to have you join them each week. See a list of Linky Parties to join each week on my sidebar. 

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Thank you for coming to read about an afternoon tea party here in Texas. 

At my house, we are celebrating a favorite time of the year with iced tea and blueberry muffins in the patch of bluebonnets in our backyard.    

Afternoon tea in the bluebonnets is a way to enjoy joie de vivre (exuberant joy of living) during an exuberant time of the year in Texas ... the time of bluebonnet blooming season. 

Easter Tablesetting | Pink and White

With Easter two weeks away now is a good time to begin planning your Easter decorations for family gatherings. 

Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home is hosting over 30 bloggers with Easter ideas in a Hop Into Easter Blog Hop. Be sure to visit all the links at the end of the post for Easter ideas to use in your own home. 

If you are following the links in order, then you came from My Thrift Store Addiction and her whimsical Easter decor. Thank you for stopping by and welcome to my Easter table setting. 

For Easter this year my table setting is in traditional Spring pastel colors, and two things determined the pink and white color combination. One a flower, and the other, a birthday present. 

Vintage Valentines Display Tips

Tips to display vintage Valentines will give you ideas how to add a treasured Valentine to your home's decor without going all out in every room or on every surface with Valentine decorations. With a single treasured Valentine and a handful of complementary items, you can celebrate the day dedicated to love in your usual decorating style. 

It's a party! 

A Vintage Valentine's Day Blog Hop! 

Thanks to Amber at Follow the Yellow Brick Home for organizing over 20 blogs to share ideas using vintage Valentines with you for your home. You can find links to all of the posts at the end. 

If you are coming from Katie at Let's Add Sprinkles, you already have some good ideas for how to use vintage Valentines. If you haven't been to Katie's blog yet, you don't want to miss it! Katie and I live within 15 minutes of each other and are friends in real life, not just online friends. 

Whether you are having a party or merely want to add a touch of romance for the month of February, here are some tips to decorate for Valentine's day with an extra special vintage Valentine.  

Favorite Christmas Carols

Favorite Christmas carols take us to the Christmases of our dreams, and to our treasured memories collected over the years.  

Christmas carols are among the first things that signal the beginning of the Christmas season long before the tree is trimmed, presents are wrapped, and cookies are baked. 

When you hear them on the radio, in television commercials, and in department stores, you know the Christmas season has arrived. 

Welcome to A Merry Musical Blog Hop hosted by Amber at Follow the Yellow Brick Home where I am joining fifteen talented bloggers in sharing how music is part of our Christmases and how music signals Christmas has arrived. 

If you are coming from My Thrift Store Addiction, weren't you inspired by her post about the beautiful Nutcracker Ballet? For more inspiration, there are links to all of the merry musical blog posts at the end. 

Holiday Recipe Caramelized Pears

Holiday Recipe for Caramelized Pears

Food is always the center of any holiday celebration at our house and probably at your house, too. One of our favorite desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas is caramelized pears served with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. I discovered a recipe for caramelized pears from Williams and Sonoma about eight years ago, made a couple of changes to it, and now caramelized pears are part of our holiday traditions.