Patio Umbrella Pole Problems

It seems as if every week I am on here complaining about the umbrella pole on my patio table.  We use this table year round here with our mild weather so it's not just a seasonal problem with me. Sometimes I have used 2 table runners, other times just used placemats.  I came up with this great idea that I could buy one of the round outdoor tablecloths with a hole in the center and a zipper and came home with several.  I was so proud of myself thinking this would look good. It  just needed to hang over the square edges and look great.  Nope, didn't work!  This table is too big.  Of course I wanted it big. And the square shape is great for socializing.  It came with 8 chairs and we've even been able to add a stool or two if needed.   I can't help it though.  I still felt slighted by the patio linens manufacturer's!

Then this week I wandered into Home Goods (my happy place!) and after looking through the runners came across this one.  Great idea!

 

It's a table runner made of outdoor fabric that has a hole in the middle with a zipper.  Genius! Obviously I was not the only one who had this problem.

I had to lift up the cardboard thing to make sure I wasn't dreaming and there it was.  A hole in the center with a zipper.  Just like it should be!  Even the colors were good for me and since they only had one I grabbed it quickly and through it in my cart.

I was so excited to try it out, I didn't bother to iron it first, so please excuse the creases.

I  placed a few candles on it to make it look better (probably would have taken less time to iron it!  Oh well!)  It's long enough so that hangs down on both sides and I'm sure it would look great on a long rectangular table.  Problem one solved.  One to another one.

We don't have any electrical outlets on this corner of our lanai yet (hint, hint if my husband reads this!) and if we are sitting here after the sun goes down we have 2 choices.  Drag out a bunch of candles or opt for the motion sensor lights (I call them the prison lights) mounted on the back of our house for security. Not happy with either of those options.  I came across this candle holder on clearance at Ross for less than $4 and thought it would help with our lighting needs. The umbrella would protect it from the weather so we could leave it there all the time.   I saw the same thing at Home Goods for $14.99 so it was a good deal.

The pole needs to be taken out and then the candle thing goes on and the pole goes through it.  Our pole weighs a ton so I had to wait for my husband to get home and pull it out.  He was so excited and couldn't wait to help with my latest project (don't believe this for a second!).  After some grunting and complaining the pole came out, candle thing went in and looked pretty nice.   I was busy deciding if I had blue and green tealights to place in the glass cups.   Until...

we tried to open the umbrella.  The handle couldn't turn because the candle thing was in the way.  Instead of putting our thinking caps on and figuring out a solution, my husband was ready to give up and relax on his Saturday afternoon (the nerve of him!).  So I will put my thinking cap on at a later date and try to come up with a solution.  After all, under $4 is a hefty investment!

Next house I will have a covered part big enough for my outdoor living room AND an outdoor dining room!  No more umbrella!

I would love to hear if you have any solutions for my problem or just leave a comment to show you care!  Ha!

Visit my sister's blog at Creating Wonderful Spaces and see what she does with burlap!

I will be joining the following parties...

Overflowing with Creativity at It's Overflowing

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage

Motivate Me Monday @ Keep It Simple

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Show and Tell at mrs. himes class

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Show off your Cottage at House in the Roses

Show and Tell Monday at The Delectable Home

Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating

Cinco De Mayo Time!

On the fifth of May, when you see the flags and the celebration of Cinco De Mayo, understand that it is not just Mexico that is being celebrated. It is victory, democracy and a love of one's heritage. Why not invite friends over for a Cinco De Mayo party and educate them as well?

Cinco De Mayo falls on a Saturday this year so why not put together a party for friends or family?   Mexican food is very inexpensive and easy to prepare.  The variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts is endless and don't even get me started on the drinks!  This week I put together a table with a subtle Mexican theme perfect for May 5th or really anytime you want to serve dinner with a Mexican flair.

I bought these runners last year at Tuesday Morning for our Cinco De Mayo (CDM from now on!) party and because the colors go well with my Dining Room. They have a cute little ball fringe on the ends that adds a nice touch.  I used them on our outdoor table with one on each side of the umbrella.  If you read this blog regularly, you know that umbrella pole drives me crazy! 

For my place settings I started with place mats from IKEA (you can find these lots of places). 

The chargers are from Kirkland's (on sale of course!). 

The dinner and salad plates are from Ross and the appy plates are from the Rustic Rose here in my town.

The margarita glasses were a gift but you can find some at Dollar Tree, Old Time Pottery or just about anywhere.  The water goblets are from Pier One (on clearance of course!).  Here's my tip regarding Pier One.  They list all their clearance items on their website along with what stores still have them available.  I usually find what I'm looking for at the Pier One in the less "trendy" area.  I was able to find 6 of these glasses there and they took the coupon that I thought would only be good at their new store.  Always ask if stores will take your coupons even if they are expired or they are for a specific location.  The worst they can do is say no!  I'm always amazed that Bed, Bath and Beyond takes any and all coupons.

I layered a gold napkin with a rust patterned one (Tuesday Morning).  The napkin rings are from Kohl's (clearance).

I would love to have a collection of real Mexican pottery but until that happens I will settle for these knockoffs (made in China! gulp!) that I found at Ross.  I found the pitcher first.

A week or so later I found the matching bowl.

A week or so later I found the matching tray.  And that was it!  Never to be seen again!  I'd love to have more pieces to make a display in my china cabinet.  I guess I can't complain when all 3 pieces cost me less than $25.  They have a nice weight to them.  For some reason I like things heavy.  Pottery, fabrics, glassware, you name it, I want it to feel heavy in my hand! 

I put 2 bowls together to make candle holders (tablescaping isn't brain surgery or I'd be in trouble!)

Believe it or not, I got another week out of my Easter flowers (at least some of them!).  I added a few faux sunflowers and some cuttings from my yard to fill my pitcher.  I added some faux blue berries to bring out the blue in the pitcher.  I love these colors and for once these go great in my Dining Room.  I have some plans for my Dining Room in the future but please don't tell my husband.  He will think I've lost my mind to want to change it after only a year and a half!

My husband told me a funny story years back about one of his co-workers.  His wife had wanted him to remove a wall in their home and he kept putting it off, probably because he really didn't want to remove it.  I think you can guess what happened.  He came home from work and there was a big hole in the wall!  I can just see her now with a sledge hammer in her hand!  I think my husband told me this as a cautionary tale.  I have no upper body strength so I don't think he has anything to worry about!  Sorry, back to the tablescape...

I hope I've given you some ideas for CDM.  I'm still not sure what we are doing yet but I definitely see a margarita (with salt!) in my future!

Get ready for this upcoming event at Robin Flies South...

My sister Elaine, of Creating Wonderful Spaces, gave me a set of "Jungle" print placemats for Christmas and she happens to have a set too. On May 3rd we will both be using them in our tablescapes so be sure to see how each of us makes them our own! You can see the results of Sister Act 1 HERE where we both happened to buy the same appy plates.

Be sure to visit my sister at Creating Wonderful Spaces.

I will be linking up to the following parties...

Fiesta Cinco De Mayo Party at I Savor the Weekend

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Let's Dish! at Cuisine Kathleen

Centerpiece Wednesday at the Style Sisters

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

It Must be Spring!

We have spring here in Florida too.  Everything is blooming like crazy right now.  My magnolia tree is filled with flowers and buds, my gardenia is in bloom, my oleanders are full of color and my palm trees have seed pods.

 I thought the inside of my home deserved a little touch of Spring too.  Since I don't have a fireplace mantel I turned again to my breakfast bar.  It's so long that I still have plenty of room left for serving and/or eating.

I put together a little vignette for Easter and after a few small changes, it should work for the next few weeks too.  Whenever you walk into the home section of Marshall's you are bombarded with a display of the upcoming season (sometimes months in advance!) and that's what I found a while back.  Most of what I'm showing here was bought there.  I added a few items from other sources including a gift from my sister Elaine.

Nothing says "spring" like...well,  a little sign that says"spring"!

My rabbit is from Tuesday Morning and even though I'm not one for having cute little things on my counter, I'm letting him hang around for while.  Rabbits aren't just for Easter anymore!

Originally I displayed an Easter plate on this stand but after the holiday I changed it to this very appropriate plate.

The robin is one of the first signs of spring and I will leave it up to you to figure out why else it's appropriate (hint...look at the name of this blog!)

The candle holders were also found at Marshall's and they have that garden look to them, a little distressed and maybe a bit of moss starting to grow.

The birdcage is from Ross and also has that weathered look.  I can think of several different ways to use it so look for it again in the future.  Even though it was very inexpensive, it still takes up storage room.  All my pieces need to earn their keep around here!

Wait a minute...no birds?  Don't worry, I have one next to my flower pot on my kitchen table!

I will be joining the following parties...

Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage

Motivate Me Monday @ Keep It Simple

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Wow us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Show and Tell at mrs. himes class

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Sunshine State Yellow!

People often think of aqua and coral as Florida colors but we're named the Sunshine State and that means YELLOW!  My Easter flowers had some life left in them  so I picked all the yellow ones left as a start to my tablescape this week.  This is the first time I've tried yellow in my Dining Room and I like the way it looks with my "paprika" colored walls and medium toned furniture. 

No that isn't fog in my Dining Room, just the "matte" effect from Picnik.

When I am thinking of ideas for tables I may start with candlesticks, vases or a napkin ring but when it comes down to physically putting it together I always start with my place setting.  Then I can see how much space I have left on the table to determine the scale of the other elements.  Since this is a table for four I'm not using the leaf (and because I can't put it in by myself!)

The placemats and napkins are Tommy Bahama and I got them at Ross.  You can read about them HERE. 

The stoneware plates were also found at Ross.  To me they look vintage (50's maybe?) and modern (clean lines) at the same time.  The napkin ring is from Walmart and it matches nicely with the rattan charger (Beall's Outlet)

I layered a yellow napkin (Ross) to bring out the yellow in the fabric.  I'm using my teak flatware that my mother gave me.  I've been looking for some bamboo flatware that doesn't look too plastic and doesn't cost much.  Any suggestions fellow tablescapers?  In the meantime I like how this set is so versatile and extremely well made.

The water glass is from Home Goods and the base is just a bit yellow.  Even though there are candles on the table, I think of this as a daytime setting so no wine glasses today. (not that I'm opposed to drinking wine in the middle of the day!)

For the centerpiece I added some greens and flowers from my yard to the leftover Easter flowers .After trying several vases and other containers I decided to use this rattan footed bowl since it adds texture and coordinated with the chargers and napkin rings.

I found a glass bowl that fit in perfectly, added water and arranged (stuck in any which way) the flowers and greens.  Then I added a few berry picks in the orange color to fill in.  The tall red flowers are called firecracker and grow well here in Florida. 

I found these 2 glass cylinders at Ross this week for around $3 a piece and I knew they would be so versatile I had to buy them.  Sometimes simple is the right fit.

I filled the bottoms with coffee beans.  Here's a tip.  I keep the coffee beans in a bag in my freezer and then just take them out when I want to decorate with them.  This keeps them fresh and they smell great too!

Just plop in a yellow candle and you're done!

I think this table came off with a casual vibe and that really suits my Dining Room best.  What I have discovered the past few weeks is that flowers really make the table.  I've gotten 4 different arrangements out of  my Easter flowers and each one has looked completely different.  One tip to remember, make sure the arrangement is not too tall so as to block your guests from seeing each other.  It's fine to remove your centerpiece when you sit down (not sure if this is proper etiquette but it's good common sense, right?).  I spent Easter dinner not being able to see my husband at the other end of the table because my arrangement was too tall!  Could he have been making faces at me???

I want to thank everyone who left me comments last week and thank you for your suggestions for an alternative to Picnik.  Looks like Picassa is the way to go.

Get ready for this upcoming event at Robin Flies South...

My sister Elaine, of Creating Wonderful Spaces, gave me a set of  "Jungle" print placemats for Christmas and she happens to have a set too.  On May 3rd we will both be using them in our tablescapes so be sure to see how each of us makes them our own!  You can see the results of Sister Act 1 HERE where we both happened to buy the same appy plates.

Be sure to visit my sister at Creating Wonderful Spaces.

I will be linking up to the following parties...

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

Let's Dish! at Cuisine Kathleen

Centerpiece Wednesday at the Style Sisters

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants