"Don't Do That!"

Way back in the summer, I was fooling around with my blog and happened to click on a little tab called "Next Blog". It shot me off to a random blog somewhere in the US and with another click, I was reading a funny blog from a 20-something girl in Sweden. Fascinated, I kept clicking just to see where it would lead me next. Then....the most exciting thing happened!! About ten clicks in, I stumbled upon something that has changed my life forever!! The blog was called "Confessions of a Plate Addict" and I was instantly riveted to the screen.

You all know how much I love dishes!! I would go without food and clothes ( and I do go without shoes, handbags, and buying new clothes) in favor of buying dishes. I can walk down a mall and walk right past all of the clothing stores and not even look in the window. Put a set of dishes in that window and you have me at first glance!!! I am a compulsive dish shopper - I have no shame! I actually just bought some pieces last week and gave them to Megan to gift wrap and give back to me at Christmas!! My mom has done that in the past for me as well. I am conniving, calculating and totally addicted!

So you can see why this blog affected me so deeply. I never knew that there were table setting competitions out there, where people from all over the world participated. One blog led to another and my heart nearly stopped when I discovered the blog "Between Naps on the Porch". This lady is talented!!! Her tablescapes ROCK...she has more dishes than you can possibly imagine - and no, she does not rent them or purchase and return after the event. I greedily devoured her blog, where all of the displays are categorized according to theme. I was happily clicking my way to nirvana when the phone rang. My husband - wanting to know if I was ever going to come home and make supper. Holy shit, I had been looking at the tablescapes for over two and a half hours!!

Later, at home, I must have been thinking about my new guilty little pleasure (and smiling) because Mike asked me what I was thinking about and smiling about. I didn't really want to tell him, knowing that he would laugh. He almost laughed, then a look of pure horror crossed his face when he realized that I was not pulling his leg and I was dead serious. "DON"T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" he threatened. He has had the stress of trying to explain my themed "holiday" tree that used to sit in my dining room. In January it had snowflakes and snowballs and snowmen, in February it was decorated for Valentine's Day, in March, Saint Patrick graced the tree - you get the picture. Just remember that we live on a farm. Other people did not get it (the tree) at all. Mike was used to some neighbor asking "Why is your Christmas tree still up?" and then listening to me go through the explanation that it was NOT a Christmas tree. (At which point he was already rolling his eyes!) The thought of having to explain a table that was set, that no one was going to eat at, no company was going to come ...he just couldn't stand it!

He does not ever "forbid" me to do something. This time, he drew a line in the sand and FORBID me to cross it!! Well, what he does not know does not hurt him in the least!! My girlfriends and I adapted the concept to mean any decorating project and so we choose a spot that needs some attention or a theme for a holiday and we have fun doing it on our own. I also plan on doing the tablescape thing too - but I am going to be smart enough to plan a supper party so that it is not so obvious. As long as it involves food - then Mike will fall for it!!!

The reason that I chose this topic today was the beautiful tablescape that "Between Naps On The Porch" posted for this week. My decorating hero used a Christmas Village for the centerpiece of her Christmas table. The lit buildings are basically the candles on the table. It is beyond BEAUTIFUL and well worth looking at. I am always struggling to find places for my set that keeps growing and growing. I never thought of using it as a table centerpiece!!! Check it out!!! If you can not find it, just email me and I will help you discover it. Don't forget to look at the Beach tablescapes - they are breathtaking!