Tea is a comforting and favorite peaceful treat when I relax. After my mother went to be with the Lord, my Daddy would get me tea every night before bed. I am an only child, so my parents were protective of me. I don’t remember asking my Daddy to get me tea. He just started doing it every night. Love is a beautiful thing. That is one of the fond memories I have of my Daddy. Now my husband asks me what kind of tea I want every night.
Finding the proper teapot was not easy. As a wedding gift, a friend gave my hubby and me an electric teapot. It lasted for years until one day when it just would not work, so we had to let it go. We searched for one with a classic design but stylish. We found this whimsical Mackenzie Childs teapot on ShopHQ and we have been using it for several years now. Although the teapot does not whistle, the design is so pretty and suits my style, so we had to have it.
Tea Time, A Great Way To End The Day
My teacups ad tray are from Temp-tations from QVC. The Temp-tations brand is ceramicware. The pieces look good and clean up well. The red carnations and blush purple daisies are from Valentine’s Day. Whether it is cold or hot, it’s nothing like a cup of tea to soothe the soul. There are so many health benefits to drinking certain types of tea.
We can always add a slice of blueberry cake.
Blueberry cake JTWisdom
The joys of the simple life. Enjoy the moment. Don’t get caught up with the negativity and spread some positivity glow.
I am participating in the “Tea Time on a Tray Blog Tour!” with KatherinesCorner.com. Twenty bloggers and I are sharing how we enjoy tea using a tray as the starting point. You will want to see how everyone decorated their homes!
It’s the most beautiful time of the year. People seem friendlier and kinder now. When decorating, I do what makes me feel joy inside and like a little kid again. I kept it playful, making me smile from ear to ear. I decorate almost every room in my house, and this year, I am participating in the “Winter Wonderland on a Tray Blog Tour!” with KatherinesCorner.com. Twenty-three bloggers and I are sharing how we have decorated our homes with a tray as the starting point. You will want to see how everyone decorated their homes!
I started with a Christmas tablecloth that my mother-in-love gave my hubby and me and went with ideas from there. I was thinking of memories and new traditions when I put this tray together. Always remember you do you when it comes to decorating; there is no need to compare or be in competition because it’s your creation.
How did I decorate the mirrored tray?
I wanted to show how you can transform one tray for many seasons. I always wanted a carousel and was able to find one some months ago at a great price and incorporated that into my village theme. The Carousel has moving Santa on his sleigh and elves on reindeer. The carousel plays 25 different Christmas songs, or I can turn it on silent when I like.
All the families in town listen to music and want to ride on the carousel. The fiddler, a couple sitting on the chair, families, kids, trees, and lights are from my Christmas village. I decided to incorporate them here. The snow is made of cotton from pill bottles and stretched out to appear freshly fallen.
I was so mesmerized by the music of the carousel and the people enjoying themselves I could picture myself right in the winter holiday scene.
For those of you stopping by from Scratch Made Food, welcome! I hope you are enjoying the tour.
Winter Wonderland on a Tray Tour
Please click over to Calypso In The Country to continue on the tour. Please keep clicking through the tour.
The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping, and I cannot wait until I get a chance to get under a warm blanket and sip on a hot cup of cocoa. I have changed the decoration inside and outside of the home with the changing seasons. This year, I am participating in the “Autumn Home Decor on a Tray Blog Tour!” with KatherinesCorner.com, and Twenty-two bloggers and I are sharing how we have decorated our homes with a tray as the starting point. You will want to see how everyone decorated their homes!
If you are clicking over from Mantel and Table, welcome! I hope you are enjoying the tour.
Welcome autumn blog tour
Inspiration
Autumn in Splendor
My hubby will ask me what inspired you to put that design together. I must say it’s a bit of this, less of that, and more of this design.
Mirror Tray as the Base
I started with a mirror base tray and built the display from there. It’s in my head. The decor is vintage, and some items are more recent. This is creativity at its best and relaxation therapy simultaneously for me.
As you can see, I don’t limit myself. I experiment with using hay to elevate the pumpkins and add candles to set the mood. The pumpkin with the truck was an excellent find at Hobby Lobby. I hope you broaden your horizons from the Autumn splendor you see on BubblingwithEleganceandgrace.com. The sky is never the limit.
Please click over to Celebrate And Decorate, the next blog on the tour, and please keep clicking through the tour.
It’s a dreary cold fall day and a great time to think about house decorating and organization. If you are like me and don’t have a basement you really have to be creative and be hardcore with space and make areas in my home appear bigger, even if the rooms are not huge. The number one way to have open areas and free-flowing floor plans is by looking at your space. One of my dream on my vision board is to have a house that has space for me to design and call my own. On my hubby’s birthday, we looked at a McKelvey floorplan for inspiration and I envisioned Christmas garlands with red bows going down the sides of the rails of the staircase. I can see myself with a staircase like this in my dream home.
This is a stretch for me because people will shoot down your dreams, saying you don’t need that or this. I am careful about what I say and who I say it to. I have heard mentors say share your dreams and others say be careful because everyone is not for you. This is an inspiration staircase and I actually would like a staircase to be more open.
Do you tell people your dreams with no reservation? If so, what’s their response?
McKelvey Home Floor plan staircase to the second floor
My other dream is to have a closet that I could actually see all my clothes, shoes, purses, and other accessories. Right now, I have a fight with my closet, if I want a specific handbag I may have to take out five or other bags to get to it. And after I get the handbag I have to reorganize all the bags that I have taken out of the closet.
Do you have to fight with your closet or are you good friends?
McKelvey Homes floor plan main bedroom walk in closet
My hubby took this picture of me (with my museum nerd mask upside down) in the McKelvey House of the Main Bedroom and I honestly think it’s not big enough because I want an island in the middle for accessories and custom jewelry. I do like the spaciousness because I cannot put a walk-in closet in my current house right now because every wall has a purpose. No tearing down a wall here.
This was a good inspiration tour for my hubby and me so we will be having more conversations about a new home and that’s the fun part. Remember to never settle for second best. Keep reaching because the sky is not the limit.
You can still be thankful for what you have and have dreams and aspirations for more in life. God wants us to grow and dream big. I’m a lifelong learner and the only way to do that is by growing. Have you dreamed beyond your wildest dreams? This is one of my dreams but I know God has so much more in store for me and we just have to allow Him to lead and guide us.
It is that time of the year when the warm days give way to the cooler nights. The leaves are falling and the burning bush in the backyard is starting to turn a deep red. While I have always loved the fall season and the cooler temperatures, I never really decorated much for the season except for hanging a wreath on the front door. However, last year my friend took me to her sister’s house and that is when everything changed. As I walked into her house, I could feel the warmness welcoming and it felt so cozy and inviting. I wanted to do my inspiration on that design throughout my house and yard. I am all about celebrating and decorating for Christmas, but I can now say that I am a Fall and Autumn decorator as well.
On my hubby’s birthday, we went to Chuck’s Boot to find his new birthday boots. In the store, my hubby felt like a kid in a candy store and I will share that experience will be for another post. After having fun there we stopped by Hobby Lobby to see if they had any sunflowers. When we walked in and realized it was a 40% sale on all Fall Holiday decorations, we had to see what else we could find. We found some really good deals on several cute items. Hobby Lobby is a great place to find holiday decor at a reasonable price. Typically all of the current holiday items will be discounted 40% or more. You can even go after the holiday and find deeper discounts as well. You will also find so many wonderful non-holiday decor items in the store. It’s just wonderful.
Jay and I had so much fun decorating that we filmed a video of how we decorated the front and backyard.
Metal Sunflowers mixed in with morning glories trailing on the railing
Three Top Tips To Fall Decorating
1 Think about what is your style and have fun experiment with it. You don’t have to put up a gazillion decorations (unless you want to).
2. See what stores have available, what is on sale or as a great deal. You don’t have to pay full price for seasonal items. If you are crafty like me, you can make a wreath or add pizazz to the decorations you have by additional items, like a a faux sunflower or gourd.
3.Try something different or unexpected, like battery-operated fall leaves around your mailbox or longsteamed sunflowers in a vase.
The main point is to enjoy yourself and have fun. And see if the family would like to get involved.
Happy Decorating!
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Learn More About JT
Bubbling with Elegance and Grace started out as an outlet for my passion for fashion but has evolved into a place for me to teach, collaborate, and inspire. My hubby has since joined the team and we have been digital creators for 13 years. We are thankful for those who believed in us from the beginning and those who have just started riding with us on this lovely journey.
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