My Decorating Style is COUNTRY ECLECTIC...

...according to a HomeGoods quiz I recently took...


I love HomeGoods. The garden bunny and birdcage on top of the bookcase in my banner came from HomeGoods. And I wrote about them here when I got these storage baskets for under our coffee table; here when I reorganized my bookcases; here when I prettied up our TV area; and here when I created a little vignette on our kitchen counter. So let's see how close their quiz came to defining my decorating style...

Donna, you are a Country Eclectic

You have wide-ranging interests and influences and therefore appreciate a mix of styles, periods, and objects. You would never use a matching suite of furniture or could stand a home that seemed cookie-cutter.


Well, that's true... After all, I did pair this old, ornate mirror with a very modern CD cubby...

But you love the breezy, layered look of wonderfully personal beach houses...

I have to admit, this vintage beachy seagull painting definitely 'spoke to me'...

... and the happy florals of English cottages.

Well, this vintage floral cottage mother's motto is one of my favorites! So far they've got me pegged.

Bringing the outdoors in makes you happy...

That's so true... I use bird garden statues and a basket of lavender (from HomeGoods) on top of the TV in the family room...

And Patience, who used to live in the garden, was moved into the house perrmanently last year...

a little chintz or ruffle or weathered furniture,

Patience sometimes sits on this rusted garden table.... yes, I do love weathered furniture...

...urns filled with tennis rackets, colored glasses filled with cut flowers, vintage-looking, mixed tea cups, and all things that give a sense of a happy, simple life.

Yes, cut flowers in colored glass makes my heart go pitter pat...

You value comfort. Your home is a warm and open friendly place...

I try...

and you feel happiest when everyone is cared for and relaxed in your space.

Spotty can vouch for that!

Elements like pillows

Very true... I can't resist big, plump pillows (from Marshalls) on the couch...


...or the windowseat.

throws,


I do love using throws on my wing chairs... lightweight throws for summer...


... and vintage chenille throws for winter.

overstuffed furniture, and good lighting set the mood

Is anything more inviting than an overstuffed chair paired with a "free by the curb" reading lamp? Okay, Mary Higgins Clark, I'm ready for your next book!

You may also enjoy layering different fabrics or mixing patterns to create a cozy effect.

I love layering... solid white paired with this vintage robin's egg blue tablecloth...


...or maybe a quilt (from TJ Maxx) layered over a white tablecloth...

Click here if you'd like to take the HomeGoods Stylescope quiz created by Deborah Needleman, editor-in-chief of Domino magazine. The results of my quiz perfectly matched my decorating style, Country Eclectic... So what's your style?

COMMENT RESPONSE: Patience, my lady planter, was purchased a couple of years ago from The Christmas Tree Shop. She was a dark brown/bronze color and I sponge painted her light grey to look more like a cement planter. Ironically, that same year (after purchasing Patience) I saw very similar planters at HomeGoods!!!!!

Donna

AUTUMN HOME Blog Giveaway Contest

Maybe it's the fact that it has dropped into the 40's during the evenings this past week... Or because some trees here in New England have already started to don their fall wardrobes of oranges, reds, and yellows....


...or maybe it's just that I love my blogging friends and giveaways so I was looking for any reason/excuse to have one!!!! But whatever the reason, I made a trek to The Christmas Tree Shop and picked up some goodies that I thought you might enjoy! Everything you see in the photo above (except for my white scalloped tray) is included in my AUTUMN HOME Blog Giveaway...


Starting at the top (and working our way down)... you'll receive this creamy white pumpkin (faux, so you can use it year after year!!) and this 6-1/2' garland of fall leaves (that I used to nest the pumpkin in)...


... a creamy white bucket that says HOME and has the sweetest bird graphic....

... two adorable little birdies...(Are they newlyweds and he's singing her a love song? Or are they an old married couple and she's rattling off a "honey do" list to him??) I'll let the winner decide!

This creamy white floral doily....

...and a 13"x18" tapestry placemat/runner....

Here's how to enter (and how to earn even more chances to win!)

1) Just leave a comment on this post (no blog necessary if you leave an e-mail)

2) All of my followers will be entered into this giveaway (leaving a comment will give you a second chance!) so if you are a follower, or become one before midnight, September 30th, you'll automatically be entered!

3) Anyone who grabs this Autumn Blog Giveaway icon and puts it on their blog with a link back to this particular post will be entered (just leave a comment letting me know!)

4) You'll also earn a chance to win if you decide to join in the Giveaway fun and host an Autumn themed giveaway of your own. Just e-mail me with a link to your giveaway post at yesteryrda@aol.com and I'll add it to this post. You can sign up right until midnight, September 30th, when the contest ends, but winners should be announced on your blogs October 1st.

Have fun everyone - and HAPPY AUTUMN!!!!

Donna

The battle of the bulge...

... has been a struggle these past three weeks, and it shouldn't be... After all, Weight Watchers has taught me to make wise choices and to make portion control my friend....

However, knowing it and doing it are two different things!! But this week I vow to get back on track because I've worked too hard to lose 30+ pounds, with many more still to go!!... (Don't you love the little Weight Watcher Weather Forecaster I found at Fairground Antiques last week? I'll share more about that little trip in a future post) ...

Getting off track began when the girls moved out September 1st. One was heading back to college and one was heading off to her first apartment... I told them I'd make whatever they wanted for our last meal as a family at home before they moved out...

One wanted a mediterranean/hummus/feta tossed salad, one wanted an avocado/mozzarella/kalamata olive tossed salad... both wanted bread dipped in olive oil...

One wanted a vegetarian lasagna....

... the other wanted sausage lasagna...

We had strawberry shortcake for dessert (but I forgot to take a photo of the finished product!!)...

Then the following weekend we headed to The Cape for a get-together with family members...

...and of course that meant more food....

Here we are crossing the Cape Cod Canal via the Bourne Bridge...

Even though it was Labor Day weekend, traffic was light, for which we were very grateful!

If you ever visit the New England area and are not familiar with rotaries, just keep in mind that the traffic already IN the rotary has the right of way... If you remember that, you'll have no problems (my GPS, Delilah, refers to rotaries as "roundabouts"... is that what they are called in other parts of the country?)

Anyhow, for our trip to the Cape I made a crabmeat mold appetizer (of course I couldn't find my mold at the last minute so I just put it together in a bowl! Not quite the 'ooooohhh/aaaaahhhh' affect of the mold, but it tasted just as good!) Served on crackers it is to-die-for! (Here's the Crab Mold recipe I used, and I always use imitation crabmeat.)

I also made a variation of my usual layered salad...

This particular version called for a combination of mayo/sour cream on the top (as opposed to just mayo)... Court definitely prefers my plain mayo version although everyone else thought it was good with the sour cream/mayo mixture. (Here's the Layered Pea Salad recipe I used, although I omitted bacon and added tomato, and just used shredded cheddar on top)...

More lasagna... What can I say... They're quick and easy to make and my family likes them! ha ha Again, one vegetarian, one with sausage... just variations of the basic recipes on the lasagna box.

I thought some of the kids at the family get-together might like mac & cheese... I happend to come across "Marilyn's Mac and Cheese" recipe and it sounded really good so I doubled (or tripled?) the recipe and gave it a go...


I'm happy to report that everyone loved it! So thank you, Marilyn Gabler of Fort Worth, TX!!! (You can find her recipe on page 136 of the October 2009 Country Living, or just click here).

Of course the piece de resistance was the layered pudding cake (a variation of the Kahlua cake I make... I wanted the kids to be able to eat it so I used coffee flavored syrup instead of Kahlua)...

It is generously topped with crushed Heath bars (I may have gone overboard with the topping, but it was yummy!)

Here is the basic pudding cake recipe I used/altered! For the pudding, I used 2 large boxes of instant fat free. And rather than cutting the cake into 1" squares, I just poked holes all over the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon and then poured the coffee syrup (which I used instead of Kahlua) over the cake (I probably used more than a cup, too!); and I definitely used more Cool Whip (probably closer to 2 tubs) ... and 8 candy bars rather than 4! ha ha - hardly the same recipe, huh?)

So we had those special events, and as I mentioned in a previous post, with the girls being moved into the city we were grabbing quick bites here and there and everywhere, including here, Uno's in Cambridge....


... and then both girls were home last weekend so we took a drive up to Portsmouth, NH, which included breakfast at The Friendly Toast... I also had a birthday, so that was more food and another cake...

So as you can see, it's been food, food, and more food for almost 3 weeks... But now it's time to get back on track, start cooking healthy meals, start making make wiser choices, put portion control to work, and get back to the business of losing the extra pounds that are weighing me down... because the older I get, the more important it is to get rid of this excess weight and get healthy!

Wishing you all a wonderful week...

Comment Update: Well, guys, my family is in stitches with all the wonderful comments you've left about what a good cook I must be because that is the furthest thing from the truth! I am absolutely dismal in the kitchen! That's why when things turn out half decent I grab the camera, so I'll always remember when the (insert name of any recipe here) actually turned out good!!" But thank you for your kind, kind words!!!

Donna

Boston you're my home...

Thanks to both of my girls going to school in the city, I've come to know and appreciate Boston over the past several years in a way I never did before...


I took the above photo last summer. The tall building on the left is the Hancock Tower and the tall building on the right is The Prudential Center... I'm still not all that comfortable driving in city traffic if I don't know where I'm going, but there are some parts of the city that I could drive blindfolded, I've come to know them so well...


Here we are heading toward Kenmore Square after day 2 of moving Courtney into her apartment a couple of weeks ago. Amanda spent most of her college years in the Kenmore area so I feel pretty comfortable here. Way off in the distance, straight ahead, is Boston's well known Citgo sign.


As we head up Brookline Street toward Commonwealth Ave. we pass right by Fenway Park.... (you can see The Prudential Center off in the distance, center of photo)...


Fenway is one of the most historic ballparks in the U.S., along with Wrigley Field in Chicago...


... and it's here at the Comm Ave. intersection that we see the huge CITGO sign that's so much a part of Boston and the games at Fenway Park.


Here we are at the same intersection the following night, with the CITGO sign all lit up. Click CITGO SIGN to read a fun little article on the history of this landmark (along with some little-known facts - bet you didn't know it has been used to time contractions!!)


Now we've turned onto Commonwealth Avenue (straight ahead on the left is The Hancock Tower again, and through the trees you see The Prudential)... The large tan building with the red tile roof that you see on the other side of the overpass is the old Somerset Hotel, now a luxury condominium building...


....but back in the sixties when it was The Somerset, it was a key player in a day that I will never forget... Maybe some day I'll share that little story!


While the old Somerset Hotel is at one end of the block, The Eliot Hotel is at the other end of the block (corner of Commonwealth and Mass Ave)... How ironic that in the forties, fond memories were being made for my mom and her friends at The Eliot Lounge, while 20 years later in the sixties unforgettable memories were being made for me at The Somerset.


Now we're at the corner of Newbury and Clarendon... I was parked on the side of the road waiting for Amanda when I happened to glance out the window...


Now I don't usually scare too easily in broad daylight, but I must admit that my heart skipped a beat when I met the gaze of the woman across the street... She was standing so still and staring right at me...

When Amanda got back to the car I insisted she take my camera and run across the street to get some better photos...

It wasn't until we were on our way that we realized that she was a street performer and had a little jar set out for donations... So Miss Street Performer/Statue... If you are reading this I promise I will put a donation in your jar next time!! Your costume and makeup were awesome!!

So after a l-o-n-g week of moving both girls into their apartments, assembling furniture, and a zillion other things, we stopped to grab a bite on our way home at the UNO's overlooking Porter Square in Cambridge. It was a lovely ending to a long week!!! I'm so fortunate to have two girls in the city so I have lots of excuses to visit it often!!

Donna