A Teeny Bit of Trouble & A Big Giveaway! Welcome to the 189th Tablescape Thursday!

Winners of A Teeny Bit of Trouble Giveaway:

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway!  I first ran the InLinkz Random Number Generator, to choose one winner for the $100 Amazon Gift Card.  The generator chose #226, Sally.  Congrats, Sally!  Please e-mail me at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom.

I ran the Generator once again asking that it select 6 winners, the winners who would be receiving of a copy of Michael's latest book, A Teeny Bit of Trouble.  The Generator selected the following winners below.  Please email me at at betweennapsontheporchatgmaildotcom with the address where your book should be mailed.

Congrats to all the winners and a huge Thank-You to Michael Lee West for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!

A Teeny Bit of Trouble & A Big Giveaway!

Time to celebrate!   A Teeny Bit of Trouble, the long awaited sequel to Gone With a Handsomer Man, was just released, Tuesday!

To celebrate, author Michael Lee West is giving away 6 copies of her new novel that hilariously chronicles the latest escapades of our heroine, Teeny Templeton.  But wait...it gets even better!  One winner will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!  Whoo, hoo!  That's $100 to spend on anything that strikes your fancy at Amazon!  (As always, you do not have to be a blogger or have a blog to enter.)

Teeny loves to bake so I couldn't resist whipping up some Red Velvet cupcakes to celebrate the release of A Teeny Bit of Trouble.   The table I put together for this week's Tablescape Thursday takes the cover of the book one step further.  I decided it was time Teeny caught her man, at least for today!

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Audible: The Cure for Blogger's Butté

Pssst:  If you're having trouble reading blogs, if they lock up and don't load correctly, try downloading the browser, Google Chrome.  Some browsers don't seem to work well with Blogger.

Did you know Blogging has its occupational hazards?  Yup!  No one really warns you of this when you first become addicted engaged in blogging.

Surprisingly, it doesn't take long before you find yourself coming down with a raging case of Blogger's Butté, (pronounced, Blogger's Boo-tay.)   Have you ever heard of it?  It's quite the serious affliction, you know, having a number of ever-growing (pun intended) and unwanted side effects.

Now, I know you're wondering, what exactly is Blogger's Butté?   Well, the "official" definition is:

Blog·ger's Bu·tté:  (\ˈblŏg·gər's bōō·tāy)
n.
1. An excessive accumulation of  adipose tissue in the lower quadrant of the body (sometimes known as the sitting-down-place) commonly found in one who engages in the creation of a web log on a daily basis.

Go ahead...look it up in Websters.  I'm sure it's there. ;)

In my efforts to ward off (too late for that).  In my efforts to cure, Blogger's Butté, I have begun walking occasionally in a park near my home.  In the not-so-distant past, my very favorite exercise in the whole world was biking 3-4 times a week on The Silver Comet Trail, a "rails to trails" project located about 45 minutes from my home.  My 3-day-a-week routine was, leave work at 5:00 PM, arrive at the trail by 5:20, change into biking clothes, bike 11 miles out to the 22 mile marker, turn around and bike 11 miles back.   All the stress of the day vanished and it was beyond wonderful.
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Book Sale: Bring Your Rolling Cart!

So many beautiful table settings were posted for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday. If you haven't had a chance to visit them all, just scroll on down and enjoy! You'll find so much inspiration for fall and fun Halloween tablescapes!

This morning I got up bright and early and did something I've never done before. No, not exercise...that would be way too practical. ;) Well, I did get a little exercise, now that I think about it.

Ever since I added much needed bookcases to my home office, I've been on a quest for books. I've been focusing primarily on Home, Garden, Craft, Art, Decorating/Design books since that's what I've decided to keep on the bookcases in my home office.

So early this morning I headed out to a huge book sale. Have you ever been to one of these?  This one was held in a large building out at the County Fairgrounds.

As I walked around, I periodically got a slight whiff of cows and chickens...definitely a barnyard smell.   I think I know what that building is used for during fair time each year. lol

I wish I could have taken pictures to show you the crowds and the "gear" folks brought with them. You could tell the seasoned book-sale-goers because they came with crates strapped to rolling luggage carts.  They came with wagons.  They even brought suitcases...the kinds that have wheels.  Yep, these guys were ready to do some serious book buying.  I wonder if they are the folks we buy our used books from on eBay and Amazon?  Ummm.  I came with just a book buying spirit and two strong arms.  Rookie!

The prices were amazing, as you can see from the price list below.
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Beautiful Tablesetting by Bunny Williams at The Mount, Home of Edith Wharton: Welcome to the 162nd Tablescape Thursday!

Recently, I received a wonderful e-mail from Mandy. Mandy lives in Hawaii and on a recent trip to the United States, she toured The Mount, the beautiful home of American novelist, Edith Wharton.

Edith Wharton wrote many novels in her lifetime including Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth and well-known, The Age of Innocence, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize. Mrs. Wharton was also a garden designer, as well as an interior designer.

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A Fall Mantel for the Family Room

While we're enjoying all the wonderful "before and afters" from yesterday's Met Monday, I thought I'd share another little metamorphosis I've been working on this week in my family room.

BEFORE:

The coffee table looks so bare now since I "stole" all the books for the office library. lol

This is how the mantel looks year round.  It's decorated simply with a mantel clock, Staffordshire doggies and a few books.

Time to add a touch of fall.

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Favorite Decorating and Design Books

I started collecting decorating and design books many years ago when I discovered I could buy books online for around the same price (sometimes less) than a magazine.  I still love decorating magazines, but who can resist a great design book for just pennies on Amazon and half.ebay.com.

Recently I added a mini-library along one wall of the office.

I gathered books together from all around the house, including the family room.

The bedroom...

And the upstairs Family Room ...

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Search Content with Barcode Scanner on Droid Phones

Last year I was toying with the idea of buying a smart phone, but I kept hearing the 4G phones were coming out any day. So I waited since the 4G phones were supposed to be a good bit faster.
While I waited, I had an opportunity to test drive a friends 3G droid phone and absolutely loved it. About a month later, the phone company I have been with for around 9-10 years came out with a 4G phone and my cost was only $99. I couldn't pass up that deal.

I must say, I love this phone! It's great when you're stuck waiting in a doctor's office or in a line somewhere. You can just pull out your phone, go online and moderate comments, read blogs or anything you like. And the 4G phones are super fast.

There are also lots of free apps you can download to use on a droid phone and many are really awesome. An app that I have downloaded is, Barcode Scanner. You can use it with "Google Shopper" and with "ShopSavvy" two other cool apps. You can see Barcode Scanner here on my phone in the pic below.

Excuse my Christmas wallpaper/background I added last November right after I bought the phone. I still love that Christmas garland pic from the Pottery Barn catalog (Pottery Barn Garland Tutorial) so I've just left it on my phone as my wallpaper. Hey, Christmas is just 9 months away, you know. ;)

If you have the Barcode Scanner app or a similar app, I'm sure you already know how it works. If not, check this out...it's pretty awesome!




When you click on the icon for the Barcode Scanner, this screen comes up...



You place the screen over a barcode. I had the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, on my desk...



So that was the one I scanned.




It immediately recognized the book, identifying it by its ISBN number. At that point it gave me several options. I didn't try the "Google Shopper" option but that option would have given me all the places locally and online where I could purchase the book and the price at each of those places. I would also have been able to read online reviews about the book. This option really comes in handy if you are standing in a store trying to decide whether to buy a book from that store or not.

The option I chose was to "Search Contents." I had no idea how that worked but decided to give it a whirl.




Now I was supposed to type in some topic or subject I wished to "search for" in this book. I decided to search for a person I remembered from the book, Emma Kelly. Many years after I had read this book, I had an opportunity to travel to Savannah. Savannah is always one of my fav places to visit, although I seem to always be there in July and August when it is blazing hot. While in Savannah, I went on the "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Tour." It was a blast and during my stay in Savannah I actually got to meet one of the characters in the book, Emma Kelly.




Emma Kelly was known as "The Lady of 6,000 Songs." She passed away a few years ago, but she was and still is an icon in Savannah, GA. We had an opportunity to hear her play and sing while in Savannah and during a break, she graciously autographed the book. She was so nice, a truly sweet person.





Here's a little mini biography about her in case you are interested:

"Emma Kelly, the "Lady of 6,000 Songs" made famous by the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." John Berendt, author of the 1994 book, devoted an entire chapter to the singer and pianist, describing Kelly as a teetotaling Baptist who played cocktail lounges Saturday nights and Sunday schools on Sunday mornings. The recognition made her Savannah nightclub act a must-see for tourists. Kelly got her nickname from Savannah-born songwriter Johnny Mercer, who, after challenging her to play numerous songs he named, estimated she knew 6,000 songs from memory."

After scanning the barcode on the back of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, selecting the "Search Contents" option, and typing in Emma Kelly's name...here's what popped up. It found all the places in the book where Mrs. Kelly's name is mentioned and it gave me the page number and the sentence. Is that not the coolest thing?!






I'm just beginning to learn about all the amazing things you can do with a smart/droid phone. If you've been thinking about getting a smart phone, go for it. I have really enjoyed mine. They are very user friendly and nothing like the Blackberry I had before and didn't enjoy using at all.

I have to end this post with something I found online that gave me a chuckle. Apparently, John Berendt, the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly and during the interview he was asked how he came to choose Savannah and its residents as the city about which to write. The book is definitely filled with some rather "interesting" people, to say the least.

Mr. Berendt answered in this way: "People in Savannah don't say, 'Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on her coat.' Instead, they say, 'Before leaving the room, Mrs. Jones put on the coat that her third husband gave her before he shot himself in the head.'"

Ha! Yep, that's the south I know and love! The only thing missing on the end of that sentence was, "Bless her heart." ;)

See you this evening for Tablescape Thursday!

For the Love of Books, Part Deux...

Let's see...where were we? Ah, yes...we were making a decorating book souffle...one low on calories, but high on inspiration. And who better to inspire than Carolyn Roehm, Charlotte Moss, and Charles Faudree.

At Home with Carolyn Roehm is a huge book, filled with dazzling photos of amazing tablescapes and beautiful floral arrangements. It also contains a lot of great recipes that would work well for entertaining.

I love Charlotte Moss's book, A Passion for Detail...it's signature Moss. Her book, Design Inspirations, is a small book, but the photos are just gorgeous! I've never ordered a Moss book and been disappointed, never.

The same could be said for Charles Faudree, one of my favorite writers of books on French Country style. If you love French Country, you will love any of Faudree's books. Every page is a delight and I am in awe of his style and talent. He can mix a gazillion different fabrics in one room and it will all go together perfectly...he is truly gifted.

For whimsy, Mary Engelbreit has the market cornered...her books are just plain fun! When you want to add a little whimsy to a room, check out her website...it's always a delight to visit.

Carolyn Westbrook, in her book, Home, shows her gracious southern style as she throws open the door of her very own home and invites us in. I love her relaxed style and gorgeous vignettes.

More great French Country books...but this time by Betty Lou Phillips. Her books are very different from Faudree, but just as wonderful. You can usually find them for reasonable prices on Amazon.com or eBay.

If you lean more toward the cottage style or the shabby chic look, you will really like these cottage books below.

Do you enjoy entertaining? Need ideas on setting beautiful tables? The books below are really helpful and The Art of the Table is the "Miss Manners" of table etiquette. This book also goes deep into the history of where so many of our dining customs originated.

Decorating with China and Glass...great book with great ideas...

Some would find the book called, The Book on the Bookshelf, fascinating, others might find it a total bore. I liked it and found some of the history of the "bookshelf" amazing. The books of yesteryear were rare, highly prized and very different from the books we have today; and they were stored in the most unusual ways.

The Nook Book is an adorable little book that's full of pics of all the little nooks and hideouts we sometimes have in our homes...like inglenooks or dormer windows with window seats. I found The Nook Book at Tuesday Morning...another great place for finding good books at reasonable prices.

Some great reference books on sterling patterns, Metlox pottery and Homer Laughlin china... I've enjoyed showing you some of my favorite books...hope you enjoyed the tour! And thanks so much for sharing all the books you love, in your comments on yesterday's post...keep those ideas and suggestions coming! I love hearing what you enjoy and read. :-)

For the Love of Books, Part I

I have a serious love of books. Now, take one part "love of books" and stir in a heaping cup of "love of decorating", and you have yourself one large decorating book souffle...uh, I mean...one large collection of decorating books. 


And if you tip-toed into my study and peeked into my Someday Notebook...you know...the one that held the dream of the front porch for so long, you would find another dream...that of a home library. The seldom used "formal" living room in my home has been begging me to install built-in book shelves down one long wall and on either side of it's fireplace. Someday...I say, someday. ~~~SIGH~~~


But for now, I must be content to tuck my books into whatever nook and cranny I can find. I thought today I'd share some of my favorites books with you. However, I feel it my solemn duty to warn you, once this book fetish/addiction thing takes hold, it will have you in its grip for an undetermined amount of time. But seriously, can you think of a better addiction? 


If you love classic, traditional style, you will love any of Mary Carol Garrity's books. Since the photo above was taken, I've purchased three more of her books: Nell Hill's Christmas at Home, Nell Hill's Decorating Secrets and Nell Hill's Feather You Nest. If you live anywhere near Atchison, Kansas, you have probably already been inside her wonderful home furnishings store, called Nell Hill's...and if so, I am officially green with envy! If not, what are you waiting for?


I love antiques and the books below are pure eye candy for this girl's sweet tooth.




Bringing Tuscany Home is by Frances Mayes, the same author who wrote Under the Tuscan Sun. You may remember the movie, bearing the same title.
Bunny Williams is one of my very favorite authors...it's simple...she writes a book...me wants it! :-) An Affair with a House is a delight to read...I love the way Mrs. Williams describes her long and involved love affair with her home. And you thought you were the only one! :-)

Winter House by Charlotte Moss is the equivalent of comfort food in the book world...or at least it is for me. The picture of her home on page 19 showing her garland draped front door, surrounded by glowing lanterns and candlelight, always makes my heart skip a few beats. With fall upon us and winter waiting in the wings, this would be an excellent choice for one of those long, chilly nights ahead.




Amazon begins it's description of Hunt Country Style this way, "Wood-paneled libraries, sumptuously appointed interiors, mudrooms, paddocks, and stables... " Yep, that about covers it! Gorgeous book, loaded with lots of interesting history covering the tradition of the hunt country and it's gorgeous homes.




Have you ever wondered what the homes of authors, William Faulkner, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, and Herman Melville looked like...and not just on the outside, but inside, too? Well, it's all in American Writers at Home, as well as photos of the homes of seventeen more famous authors.
And in Writers' Houses, you can view the homes of Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, William Butler Yeats, Ernest Hemingway, and Dylan Thomas, as well as the homes of an additional sixteen well-loved writers. It positively gave me chills, seeing the actual desk where William Faulkner sat, when he wrote so many of his most famous works.




If you love English Country style, you will love anything written about or by the English design firm of Colefax and Fowler. 'Nuf said!




In Adventures with Old Houses, the author, Richard Jenrette, who also happens to be a former executive of a well-known Wall Street investment firm, details his life's dedication to collecting and restoring six magnificent, historic U.S. homes. Interestingly, the forward is written by Prince Charles.



More great English Country design books:





Here's one for all you Blue and White fans...I know my hand is in the air!


Hope you enjoyed a peek into my decorating library. And I'd love it if you would leave a comment with the names of some of your favorite decorating/design books!