More Patriotic Decorations 2013 and Few Other Things

Can you believe this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend?????  Where is this year going????

Today, I will be sharing  more of my Patriotic Decorations for the Summer Holidays.....

I always decorate my Kitchen Hutch/Desk for every Holiday and Season and I have changed it over now to Patriotic decor........

I would love to change over the whole hutch for every Holiday but that will have to wait until I retire......

I added this metal Star from the Christmas Tree Shop and wire Garland from The Dollar Tree to the top part of the Hutch........

Joe is going to have to watch that he doesn't get his head stuck in that wire garland!! LOL!!

The desk part is what I always change out......

The Red in my Kitchen really lends itself to a lot of Holidays......

The Patriotic Carolers came from The Christmas Tree Shop several years ago......

The Nutcracker was a Yard Sale find.....

Cupcake dishes were bought at The Christmas Tree Shop and the Eagle came from a Yard Sale..........

This goblet, filled with candy, is  from Avon but I bought it at Salvation Army last year! There were 2 of them....

Love these Carolers!!

In my last post, I mentioned that I took the Tinsel Star off the Wreath on my Front Door because it had faded from the Sun. But the other side of it was not too badly faded so I wrapped some red star wire garland around it and hung it for the background of this vignette. Then added a candle light.

Again, this Avon creamer , filled with Candy mints in Patriotic Wrappers from The Dollar Tree, was bought at Salvation Army.

Red, White and Blue beads are from the Dollar Tree and I tried to shape them into a Star!!

Patriotic Place Mat is from T.J. Maxx.....

The 3 Star tea lights are Flea Market finds.....

Uncle Sam, there in the corner ,was a Flea Market find.....

Betsy Ross is an Avon Decanter bought at a Flea Market.....

And the other Avon Goblet......

My Hutch/Desk will remain decorated like this until after the 4th of July......

Love how it looks in the Evening.....

 

 

 If you missed my Kitchen decorated for Summer, please click HERE

 I also have to show you this cute acrylic chopping board that Joe bought at Wegman's Food Store.......

 It was 90% off and he paid a mere $1.49 for it!!!  Sometimes, I think he is a better shopper than I am!!!

   The last week of September, Joe and I will be on vacation but it will definitely be a working vacation.

We will be having some major work done in our little Townhouse.

We will be having Pergo Max Laminate Wood Floors installed in the Living Room, Dining Room, Hallway and Kitchen!!!

I have already picked Burnished Fruitwood for the whole downstairs.

My Kitchen flooring is 27 years old and you can see the contrast!

 We will also be having new countertops in the Kitchen installed.

Now, I will admit it, I hate to cook! I can cook but I truly would prefer not too!! I would much rather decorate a Kitchen than cook on it!

Because of this , I am not picky when it comes to countertops and I do not need top of the line countertops.

These are the laminate pre fab countertops that I have picked out from Lowes.

The finish is Milano Amber and looks a lot better in person.

 And of course, we will also be replacing our 35 year old sink with our 35 year old countertops.  I swear they don't make white sinks anymore. Everything is stainless steel , which I personally do not like. It is too cold and industrial looking for me . So the search for a larger single white sink will continue.  I do not have a dishwasher because of very limited counter space in our very small Kitchen.

Wait!

 I do have a dishwasher.....His name is Joe!!!
 A long time ago, Joe told me that I did not do the dishes right .....SO guess whose job it then became??????  LOL!!  A lesson well learned!

Hopefully, we will have enough in our Budget for tile floors  and maybe a new light fixture and medicine cabinet in the Powder Room. You all know how projects have that snow ball effect.... it keeps getting bigger as it rolls down the hill!

Now you know why we will have to do this when we are on vacation......

This also means that I most likely will NOT be decorating for Fall and Halloween because of the major upheaval in the entire downstairs!

I will probably go right into Christmas decorating......

Okay, enough about that!

If you missed my Patriotic Tree and other decorations in my Living Room, please click HERE

  

 And if you missed my Patriotic Front Porch and Front Yard , please click HERE

  I always have this lighted Tree on my Front Porch. 

I now have Red, White and Blue lights on it......

I have to apologize for these pictures as I took them while it was raining which it has been off and on for the past few days now.

 This is my lantern in the front yard.......

 The Tree and the Lantern are on a timer. I will replace these photos with better ones once it stops raining..

Temps. here hit 90 2 days ago but a cold front came through last night and temps. are now dropping.  When I woke up it was 51 and now it is 43!!!!

Low's are supposed to get down into the high 30's on Monday morning. I hope there will not be frost especially after I planted all of my annuals!!!

Here is a picture of my Rhododendron in the front yard which is almost in full bloom.

 This is the view from my Living Room window over the air conditioner.

No, we do not have central air and for the 4 months that we actually need air conditioning, it is not worth the price and the trouble of having it installed.

 Remember , I live in a Townhouse with adjoining homes on each side.

 So that is all of my Patriotic decorations!!

My Weight Loss Journey.....Week 10 - Total of 17.7 pounds lost!!  I can not believe this myself!!  I am now able to fit into pants that I have not been able to wear for years and have not weighed this amount in over 10 years!!
If i can do it, anyone can!!!
My Friend, Anne Marie , has now lost an amazing 51.2 pounds since Jan.!!!!!  Congrats to you, Anne Marie!

How will you be spending Memorial Day?

I am working Sunday Night which actually is the Holiday for night shift but I will be off Monday and Tuesday nights.  The kids are coming over on Monday evening for a Cook In.

Have I ever told you that I cook for every Holiday?  Because of crazy work schedules, we stay home for each and every Holiday and do not go anywhere else. The kids come here to eat and as long as they still want to and are able to , I will continue to have every Holiday celebration here.  And I do this and work too. I am either working the Eve and the Day of every Holiday and I still manage to cook holiday dinners. I have been doing this for over 20 years!

ME! Who hates to cook!! LOL!!

Happy Memorial Day to all of you!!

 I will be linking up to these great parties this week:

From the Farm Blog Hop
 Old Time Party
Weekend ShowOff Party
Party Junk
 Strut Your Stuff Saturdays
One Great Idea Saturday Party
 Finding the Pretty and Delicious Party
Saturday Show and Tell 
   Say G'Day Saturday
  Serenity  Saturday 
One Sharendipity Place

Seasonal Sunday
Sunny Simple Sundays
Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Sunday SHOW-licious Craft Showcase 
Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
That DIY Party 
Sunday Showcase 
 Vintage View Sunday Link Party 
Submarine Sunday

Masterpiece Monday

Blue Monday
Mod Vintage Mix Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Make It Pretty Monday
Mop It Up Mondays
Amaze Me Mondays 
Creative Blogger's Party and Hop
What'd You Do This Weekend?

Tuesday's Treasures
The Scoop
Knick of Time Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesdays

Inspire Me Tuesdays
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tweak It Tuesdays
Totally Transformed Tuesdays 
Show Me What You Got Tuesdays
 Budget Decorating Party
 Twirl and Take a Bow Party
 A-Zebra Linky party Tuesdays
  Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

Wicked Good Wednesday
What's It Wednesday
Wednesdays Make, Bake and Create party
Wow Us Wednesday
Rednesday
Swing into Spring Party
Wednesdays Adorned From Above Linky Party
HOME Party on Wednesdays
Welcome Home Wednesday Party
  Show and Share Party 
  Show It Off Wednesday
 Fluster's Creative Muster Wednesday's
 Home (Work) Wednesdays

 Garden Party
Create it Thursday
Treasure Hunt Thursdays
 Hooking Up with House of Hepworths
Show Off Your Stuff Party on Thursdays
Home and Garden Party Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Inspired Creations Linky Party
Time Travel Thursday
 Open House Party
 Everything But The Kitchen Sink 
The Busy Bee's Blog Hop
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop 
 Pearls and Lace Thursday
 Homemaking Weekend Link Up Party
  Grace at Home Party

Fertilizer Friday
Anything Goes Linky Party
Home Sweet Home Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Be Inspired Fridays
Thrifty Things Friday
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Tickled Pink Party
Favorite Friday Party
 What To Do Weekends
Flaunt It Fridays
Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party at Jennifer Rizzo's
Anything Blue Fridays
 Feature Friday Free For All 
 A Peek into Paradise TGIF Link Party
Inspire Me Please Weekend Blog Hop

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie

Patriotic Front Porch and Front Yard 2013

Many Prayers for those in Oklahoma who have been affected by this terrible Tragedy......

My heart breaks for all of you!

 To my Blogger friends living in Tornado Alley, please post, if you can, to let us know how you and your families are ........

 I want to THANK Sandi of Rose Chintz Cottage for featuring my post Blooms in the Front Yard from last week's Home Party!

 Thanks so much , Sandi!!
Please visit Sandi and maybe even link up to her wonderful HOME party!!

Last weekend, the weather was finally warm enough to buy all my annuals and plant my pots.

I plant all my own pots because I am too cheap to buy them already planted!!!!

 I went to Home Depot first to buy flats that they advertised  ( and I do buy these every year) as 32 plants for $14.98.
 I bought only one flat of Begonias since I do use a lot of these shade loving flowers. I also bought my Geraniums there......

 Then I went to Lowes and I am sorry that I did not go there first.

All of their 6 plant flats of annuals were $1.98!!!!

So you were able to mix and match annuals and they came out cheaper!!

36 plants for $12.00!!!

 Lesson learned I guess!!

Now these were the smaller size annuals but that is good enough for me because I did spend over $80 on annuals as it was and after all, they do grow.....hopefully.......

Today, I want to show you my Front Porch and Yard now that my pots are planted and the Front Porch is decorated with Patriotic decorations for Memorial Day.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Debbie-Dabble, we live in a Townhouse, in a row of 10 .

My porch is small but I still love to decorate it for Holidays and different Seasons.

I have all of my Patriotic Decor out now.......

This is the left side of my porch which is adjoined to my neighbors.....

The "America" Sign is from Dollar Tree....

As did the small flags in the pots.....

The Patriotic Rocket ( I guess that is what it is) was bought after the 4th of July last year at Kohl's for 90% off!!

I planted pink geraniums, marigolds, blue lobellia and red flowers ,whose name escapes me at the moment, in this pots.....

  Impatiens in this one.....

My Patriotic Wreath on the Front Door.....

I did make this Wreath last year but I had a tinsel star on it originally which faded in the sun so I removed it and placed a metal Patriotic Star , bought at the Christmas Tree Shop last year, in the center.

I have "Weeping Mortar" on my front wall which makes it really easy to hang things off of.

What is "Weeping Mortar" you ask?  I think the contractor that built our homes was just too lazy to wipe the excess mortar off after laying the bricks!

The metal  "Wreath" next to the door was also bought at Kohl's last year for 90% off!

And more Stars from the Christmas Tree Shop.......

 A Flag hanging from the railing.....

 My All Weather Wicker furniture came from Lowe's, bought last year....

Petunias in this pot.....

Dollar Tree Windmills in the Planter box on the railing....

Planted in this box are pink Geraniums, Marigilds, Vinca Vines and blue Lobellia....

Begonias in these pots.....

The Butterflies came from Dollar Surplus....

My concrete frogs were bought at Sam's Club many years ago.....

When it is not too windy, I have my Patriotic Flag out....

Looking down towards my neighbors.....

     The little Flower Bed under my Living Room Window......

More begonias in the rectangular planters on each side of the Flower Bed....

 

  Coleus planted in the 2 large pots on each side of the planter on this side....

My Azaleas are almost done blooming....

But my Rhododenron is now
 blooming.....

Looking down the side walk.....

My Garden Bench....

 Looking out from the Front Porch....

The Garden Bench bought on sale this year at Big Lot's.......

A Fairy on the Bench and Angels underneath it.....  

Pots of Hens and Chicks on each side of the Bench......

 

 Solar Lights from the Dollar Tree with a little Deer......

  The paver says " Angels Gather Here"......

You may remember this slate from the post when I first bought the Bench.....

It was quite faded so I painted it...... 

Now I certainly am no artist so I just brush stroked different colors onto the already painted flowers and leaves.....

 I like color so I went with brightly colored flowers.....

Again, looking out from the Front Porch.....

 My Chippy Angel, my Doggies Angel and another Patriotic Flag.....

You can see my Azaleas are just about done blooming.....

So that is  how I decorated our Front Porch for the Patriotic Summer Holidays and what our Front Yard looks like now that all my Posts are planted.....

If you missed my Patriotic Tree ,please click HERE

I will continue to share with you how everything is growing through out the Summer......

Wishing Beverly over at How Sweet The Sound a very
 HAPPY 5th ANNIVERSARY of PINK SATURDAY!!!!     

Pink Saturday was the very first Blog Party that I ever linked up to!!

 I will be linking up to these great parties this week:

 Garden Party
Create it Thursday
Treasure Hunt Thursdays
 Hooking Up with House of Hepworths
Show Off Your Stuff Party on Thursdays
Home and Garden Party Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Inspired Creations Linky Party
Time Travel Thursday
 Open House Party
The Busy Bee's Blog Hop
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
 Homemaking Weekend Link Up Party
  Grace at Home Party

Fertilizer Friday
Anything Goes Linky Party
Home Sweet Home Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Be Inspired Fridays
Thrifty Things Friday
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Tickled Pink Party
Favorite Friday Party
 What To Do Weekends
Flaunt It Fridays
Fabulously Creative Friday Linky Party at Jennifer Rizzo's
Anything Blue Fridays
 Feature Friday Free For All 
 A Peek into Paradise TGIF Link Party
 Inspire Me Please Weekend Blog Hop

From the Farm Blog Hop
 Old Time Party
Weekend ShowOff Party
Party Junk
Pink Saturday
 Strut Your Stuff Saturdays
One Great Idea Saturday Party
 Finding the Pretty and Delicious Party
Saturday Show and Tell 
   Say G'Day Saturday
  Serenity  Saturday 
One Sharendipity Place

Seasonal Sunday
Sunny Simple Sundays
Bouquet of Talent Linky Party
Sunday SHOW-licious Craft Showcase 
Clever Chicks Blog Hop 
That DIY Party 
Sunday Showcase 
 Vintage View Sunday Link Party 
Submarine Sunday 

Masterpiece Monday
Blue Monday
Mod Vintage Mix Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Make It Pretty Monday
Mop It Up Mondays
Amaze Me Mondays 
Creative Blogger's Party and Hop
  What'd You Do This Weekend?

Tuesday's Treasures
The Scoop
Knick of Time Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesdays

Inspire Me Tuesdays
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Tweak It Tuesdays
Totally Transformed Tuesdays 
Show Me What You Got Tuesdays
 Budget Decorating Party
 Twirl and Take a Bow Party
 A-Zebra Linky party Tuesdays
  Oh What a HAPPY Day Link Party!

What's It Wednesday
Wednesdays Make, Bake and Create party
Wow Us Wednesday
Swing into Spring Party
Wednesdays Adorned From Above Linky Party
HOME Party on Wednesdays
Welcome Home Wednesday Party
  Show and Share Party
 Fluster's Creative Muster Wednesday's
 Home (Work) Wednesdays

 Wicked Good Wednesday

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie