Secret Garden-- In the Dining Room

I believe I’d mentioned last week that not only was I having my best friend from First Grade coming to visit over the Fourth of July weekend, but also that she had recently gotten married. And since it had been a quiet, simple wedding, I thought it would be nice to make the décor extra-special and festive.

But rather than go the Traditional Wedding route, with all the typical bells and… well… whistles, I thought I’d extend the outdoors inside into an English Garden Party theme-- appropriate for the Fourth, but girly enough for a post-wedding celebration.

Many of the items were garden-oriented decor I brought inside for the occasion-- like this little gazing ball, which became the centerpiece for my mantle decor.

New to the occasion were these happy chintz paper lanterns from the Victorian Paper Company.

Instead of using standard streamers, I thought it would be fun to use ribbon and swags of silk hydrangeas and morning glories to trim the mantle, mirror, doorways and light fixture.

For the table setting, I decided on a plastic Shabby Chic picnic tablecloth I’d picked up a few years ago at Target. And I brought out my new pink Depression glass-styled plates I’ve been collecting at thrift stores and rummage sales this last year.

The chair covers are actually Shabby Chic tablecloths (also from Target) which I’ve tucked and secured in the back with a vintage pin. I do love my dining chairs, but I thought the dark wood wasn’t as appropriate for a shiny-bright garden celebration, and the Shabby Chic floral would be.

By way of a gift for my friend, I thought it might be nice to start her off in her married life with a good scrapbook-- she’ll undoubtedly have a lot of lovely memories she’ll likely want to preserve, and it seemed that setting her up with a full-blown scrapbooking kit would be a pleasant, positive way to begin things.

Nothing more fun than giving someone all that they’d need to embark on an exciting new craft!

And for those of you who already scrapbook, you know: wow, are there a lot of wonderful papers and stickers to choose from! Each one seemed nicer than the next, and deciding really wasn’t easy. I went a bit vintage garden with my choice, and also tried not to make it so girly and frou-frou that her husband would tire of seeing it.

Well, gang-- I apologize that this week’s blog is so short. I’ve been running all over tarnation the last five days (Upper AND Lower Tarnation to be specific :-)

We took in a new exhibit at Phipps Conservatory...

We went on antiquing adventures in East Liverpool, and Columbiana, Ohio...

We even blew up some zombies at Dave & Busters... (No photos of the zombie eradication-- I KNOW you’re disappointed about that one...)

So with all that, I’m a bit weary, and must bid you farewell. But definitely come back next week when I plan to take you on a bit of a house tour, and you’ll get a chance to see some of the rooms in my home (”Waterhouse”) that you’ve never gotten to see before!

I hope you have a wonderful week!