Oh, Naps On the Porch ~

 Today I was going to share a few Mardi Gras tablescapes and a couple for Valentine's Day, but I got delightfully stopped at Naps On the Porch! First, I saw the salad plate and lusted after it, until reading that she purchased it at Marshall's and we don't have one around here. I need to find where the closest one is! What you'll love about this writer, one of the things you'll love, is that after each post she tells where and when she bought the items, along with the brand name if listed.

Where we live Mardi Gras is celebrated not as much as places further west but we do have our parades. Each year I say I'm going to decorate for it and then I get caught up in Christmas and wanting to enjoy it a bit longer, then I enjoy the cardinals and the wintry whites, so it's difficult to fit another holiday in and enjoy it any length of time before decorating for Spring and Easter! How do you do it?!

I also love her purple plates and don't think I'll have a difficult time finding similar ones. Love Tuesday Morning and TJMaxx! Now to find a Kohl's and Marshall's nearby! Here's a photo of our little Mardi Gras Princess! She's grandbaby #3 and growing up too quickly on me.

Okay, so after I read her MG post, I looked for Valentine's Day. There are quite a few tablescapes but the one below was my favorite. Again, she tells where you can find the dinnerware and other pieces she selected for this look. 

Click here for this Valentine's Day tablescape. I'd love for you to tell me how you decorate. How often do you change? For the seasons? For the holidays? Mix the two?

THEN, I saw Winterscape and decided then and there to plant nandinas this spring at our home. Just so I can use them at Christmas and during the winter. I don't see them around here, but I plan to hit a nursery and bring some home. The birds love the berries and I love the color they bring inside. They will look so happy with my cardinal salad plates!

Here's where you can find her post on her Winterscape.  The snowmen make it look festive and you have to smile, even if you're not already!

There's a bar at the top of her blog that shows other sections to explore and I found one on a gorgeous new 'old' Victorian home. Below is one of the four tablescapes found in this home (can you imagine FOUR!)

There are quite a few posts for Touring a Victorian Home and I promise you'll love every one of them. I haven't finished looking through each but I've loved what I saw. I've followed NOTP for a few years and she's gotten larger and added more sections. She has a world of tablescapes. She also keeps a Linky party going on table settings so yeah, you'll find lots! 

Reminds me of a dear friend I have in Prattville, Lynne Griffies. Her home is always beautiful but at Christmas it absolutely shines and is breathtaking. Each room has a theme. And a tree. Big trees, little trees. I think each year she comes up with something new. It always thrills me when she posts photos on Facebook to share with us the many vignettes she's created. I'd love for her to have a blog simply to share her home at different times of the year, and especially at Christmas, but she's a busy lady! I'm thankful she has the time to share on Facebook.

When I find a blog I enjoy I want to know everything about it. Hooked on Houses?  Hours.  The Feathered Nest? Hours, (and Dawn has some of the sweetest FREE printables you'll find.) If you have a favorite blogsite, leave me a comment. I'd love to visit. Blog hopping. One of my favorite pasttimes.

~ Until, I pray you're having a great week and are looking to have a fun filled weekend.

Crawfish, Crayfish

If you live in Mississippi in the Pearl area, visit The Crawfish Barn! (Clicking takes you to their Facebook page.) Owned and operated by two of our sons in love, this seafood shop is quickly becoming the place to find yummy seafood and sides! Heath Taylor hatched the plan, got with Brett Green, ironed out the details, and they began making it happen. Opening Day took place just this year! Below is Brett with our Stacey and their babes~

Joining our family this past New Year's Eve, we are blessed to have Heath love our Leslie~ 

 I heard they are adding picnic tables, as customers were wanting to come and stay to eat. (Originally, it was a 'come, buy, and leave with it' type of place). The photo below isn't the best BUT it gives you an idea of what you can expect to get once you get there. When you visit, be sure and tell them you heard about their place from someone they love on Alabama's Gulf Coast.

Now that I've told you where you can get fresh crawfish in the Jackson MS area, let me share a fellow blogger's recipe for a boil. Melissa, at Made In The South, posted her recipe. I'll eat the corn and potatoes but you can have the creek shrimp. Crawfish 101 - Boiling.

"Congratulations, Brett and Heath. We are proud of you and for you. We missed having you here this month, but heard you were cooking and selling food. We plan to visit soon and have a hearty meal. Love and hugs, Nan and Pa"

"Hurry back, sweet girls, We do so love you and your families."

PS - I like to call them crayfish. Makes them sound less muddy.

The Original Fun Soap!

I know you've seen these. If you ever shopped Linen 'n Things, you saw these in there. Along with the other members of the soap line. Alas, Linen 'n Things is no longer but Fun Soap is still around! I order over the phone but it's possible to go to their online site or contact them through Facebook! I just loved the ones you see below and they are even cuter and larger in reality! How cute are these sets?!

They also have Soap Shapes!

Here are two that caught my eye!

There's a whole line for the ones in your life that loves girly-girl

and for those that love bugs, and nature.

These add a classic look,

while these continue the fun side of life.

I met the co-owner of Fun Soap through Dawn Edmonson through her blog, The Feathered Nest.  It was a couple of years before I realized her family was the home of those cute ducky soaps I was familiar with. Below you'll see Dawn's version of soap and I have to admit, they look just like fresh farm eggs! The packaging is adorable and I haven't seen a single item that wasn't too cute left wrapped.

Visit their site and if you're on Facebook, go to their page and become a friend of their site. It's a good way to promote a Christian family home-based business ( and that's what America was founded on) and a good way to keep up with their new products! I appreciate your time, your kindness, and Merry Christmas!

Do you have a Facebook page? I do, and at this moment

many of my friends do as well. Some even laughed at me

and joked when I would mention Facebook and ask them

when they were getting one. Now they don't laugh,

except when we get together and mention all the things we've learned

about others from our Facebook Home Page! John even has one.

I got tired of turning my laptop around in order to show him

the snapshots of our Mississippi grandbabies their mommy

posted to her Facebook page. So I made him his own page.

Now he's hooked. Hooked up to friends from his high school,

even some he hasn't heard from in years. It's been a good thing.

So, do you have a Facebook page? I have added a link

to my page down over on the right hand side. You'll see it

if you continue to scroll down. But I'm warning you,

if you get a page, it can be addicting. Just warning you.

See you on the book ~