Topiaries in Blue and White

These were the easiest topiaries ever.

They were made as centerpieces for my mom's "surprise" 80th birthday party.

She actually surprised us! (More on that later!)

The centerpieces had to travel from Georgia to Virginia.

 In a container. 

Be transferred to my sisters car

 and then delivered to the restaurant where the party was going to take place.

 All without my mom knowing. 

They needed to be tough. 

I had watercolored a topiary in a blue and white planter on each invitation 

so that set the centerpiece theme, if you will.

This is some of my moms lifelong collection of blue and white 

so we knew this was a good way to go with decorations.

 We knew big helium "80" balloons prob wouldn't be her style!!

I gathered blue and white pots and bowls from my thrifting expeditions along with some florist foam, twigs from the yard and boxwood balls from the floral supply.

 ( I went to the wholesaler but I've seen them at HL)

Oh, and the glue gun. Can't do any project without a glue gun!

I smushed the block of floral foam snugly in the container.

(Now's a good time to admit I'm not experienced in floral design)

I glued the stick into the floral foam

 and then put a dab of glue on the top of the stick and secured the boxwood ball to the top.

You can see why I didn't call this a DIY post. So easy.

I made double topiaries and varied the size. 

I did not know anything about where they were going so I figured variety was the best bet.

I tied on lavender bows to match the watercolor on the invitation.

Then I added some moss around the bottom to cover the florist foam. 

They looked very pretty down the center of the tables and on the buffet table.

We had the restaurant to ourselves.

Did my dad plot and plan and enlist our help and actually pull it off??

So did my mom like her surprise?

I promised more on the surprise part...

Well, 12 minutes  (Mollie looked at the clock when I called to her) before we were to walk out the door ( and yes, my dad pulled his part off - she had no clue) my mom surprised us all and had a little oopsie (SURPRISE!!)

and we had to call an ambulance and spend 23 hours in the ER/Hospital. 

Sooo, on our way to the 2nd hospital the ambulance had to take her to, Mollie and I stopped at the restaurant to tell her friends what happened and invited them to stay and enjoy the lovely surprise party my dad had planned.

But, I didn't want her to miss out completely so...

I wouldn't let the guests have the cake!!

I took it with me!!!

Don't worry - The nice caterer at the restaurant served them the delicious peach pie meant for the next day. 
I have no idea what the people who were supposed to get the  peach pie had  ;)


PS. My mom is doing well but I don't think any of us will try to surprise her again!

Labor Day Is Not The End.

I do not let Summer go easily.

I hang on to it, shorts, ferns hanging on the porch, summery drinks, laying in the sun, grilling and most things "Summer" like it's a life raft and the ship is going down in choppy seas.

The less than 95 degree weather and decreased humidity of the last week here in Atlanta has been nice but a) don't be fooled it's the deep South and humidity will be back full force before we have lengthy cool spells and b) I'm not ordering Pumpkin Spiced anything or doing a fall decor home tour.

I remember people telling me not to wish my life away when I was young and that's how I feel about rushing in to Fall when there's still Summer weather and fun to be enjoyed. 

And in less humid conditions!

So I'm going rogue on this whole bloggers jumping on the Fall bandwagon.

Even if I post a pumpkin project or plant some mums anytime soon please know I'm barefoot, sitting on the porch, wearing shorts and I'm sipping something light and lemony while doing so!

  #noPSLforme 

Anyone else hanging on to Summer??

Not to be a Debbie Downer but y'all remember that Winter follows Fall? 

Right?

( And that's about to get even warmer LOL)

That's basically what Biscuit and Chloe think every Winter!!!

So I'm hanging on the my Summer vibe as long as I can!!

I even tracked down a few places I could move to where an "Endless Summer" is a reality!!

A couple of these look pretty good to me!!

The Canary Islands:

Sydney Australia:

 

Lihue Hawaii:

I'm in for anywhere in Hawaii!!

Santa Barbara California:

If I moved to Santa Barbara I'd like to live in the house from "It's Complicated."

or even Malaga Spain:

(Pablo Picasso's hometown) 

So kick off your flip flops and catch some late Summer rays!

from my iphone...

In one week Mollie had the opportunity to watch her HS Track teammate, Kendall Williams, perform as an USA Olympic Athlete (I know!!!)

                                                                             (Opening Ceremonies - Rio 2016)

(A cute post from her brother and UGA teammate, Devon)

(We were glued to the TV - hoping to see Kendall!!)

 Then we quickly bought tickets to go see the Major League debut of a friends' son (Dansby Swanson #2) at The Ted that Wednesday night (picture below) and then at the end of the week another HS Track teammate began his first professional football career as an LA Ram - Go Brian!

I guess these kids ate their Wheaties before school!!

What a week!!

I'm loving these water trough "pools" 

 They have filtration systems, are big enough to cool off in and are giant galvanized buckets. I love galvanized buckets.

They are all over Pinterest... I'm seriously wanting one.

I'm crazy for oyster shell anything.

 Including eating the actual oyster so this birdbath is amazing in my book.

When I'm bored or waiting somewhere I play with Waterlogue on my iphone.
(I know it's been around a while but I never get tired of it!)

My sister has chickens. I want chickens. I live in a city.

I think (pun intended) my mom is good at vignettes.

He's a handsome boy!

It's a holiday weekend... If you need us, we'll be here.

Concrete World...

Oh, how I love thee.

I was in Virginia visiting my parents and I found out about Concrete World.

What can I say? I love an artfully shaped chunk of concrete.

I have been looking for a concrete dog for quite a while. 

I live in Georgia so all I can find is a bulldog. 

I have 2 Goldens. I want a big, Golden-looking concrete dog.

 For a great price. Also not a possibility in Atlanta.

Thus explaining my fondness for concrete places on backroads and not near pricey Atlanta. 

If you know of a concrete place that fills these two requirements in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina or Tennessee, please share. Really. 

Anyway, I liked the pooch above but I didn't get him.

 Because... no good reason. Indecision.

 The thought of finding a better pooch down the road... 

(This would be a classic #firstworldprob. I know)

How about this palm tree fountain centerpiece?? 

It's taller than I am (which isn't saying a lot but it's like 6 feet tall!!)

They had these huge flamingos. About 4 feet tall. 

(That's my BIL playing in the fountain. Over 40.

Boys never change - water and they are in it!)

Here's the fountain. 

You can get it in this stained finish

 and the pump is moving the water around all the tiers. 

I love fountains like this. 

 But what I really fell in love with were the urns.

 They were fabulous.

 And huge - at least 3 feet tall.

 And a zillion pounds.

This is my absolute favorite one above.

I just love it.

And then they had about 4 styles of pineapples.

 All good!!

Concrete World - I will return.

 In a big truck.