A Life in Celebration: A New Addition to the Family!

Months ago I said I was going to start writing a weekly newsletter, but it seemed like I turned off a lot of readers with that idea, so instead I have decided that whenever the mood strikes me…like today, I will sit down at the computer and share a little update about what is going on in the world of Celebrate & Decorate.

I spent last week in Maryland helping my daughter get settled in a new place. There is a pool there, and after a rainy Memorial Day weekend, my granddaughters were anxious to get to use the new swimming pool! That water looks SO inviting, doesn’t it? Do you like to swim? I LOVE to swim, not just stand in the water to cool off, although that isn’t bad here in steamy Florida, but I love to actually swim! Last summer with the pandemic we rented a house on a lake to gather the entire family and I had the best time swimming in that lake!

I was cleaning up photos on my phone and came across this one from last fall. This is a great behind-the-scenes picture of what really goes on when trying to capture those perfect shots for a blog post. This was from a great get-together of our blogging bunch, including Chas from Chas’ Crazy Creations, Andrea from Design Morsels and Barbara from Mantel and Table all hosted by Mary from Life at Bella Terra! You can see more of the actual table over at Dinner Party in an Orchard.

I have come to realize I share a lot more of my everyday life over on Instagram than I do here on the blog. If you don’t follow me there, I would love to have you do so! You can find me here: @celebrateanddecorate. One of the things I have shared in my Instagram stores is that I got a dog! I haven’t had a dog in something like ten years! That is really odd for me because when I was back in my 20’s and 30’s I showed dogs! I actually showed Sealyham Terriers.

This time around it is a silver standard poodle! I know, you are saying she isn’t silver, she is black. But, look at that face! Silver poodles are born black and slowly change to silver. As you can see, she likes to be close to me all of the time and thinks hanging out on top of a bin of flowers in the craft room is just fine. Oh, her name is Lily!

I have so many great things coming at you yet this summer! I can’t wait to share! I just got some new dishes delivered, taking advantage of Lenox’s big sale! Did you get to see the post on how I organized my dish pantry? I understand I should be calling it a “party closet”! You can read all about them from Veranda magazine here.

Do you know that I am on TV? Well…Hometalk TV that is! You can catch a couple of episodes every single month! You never know what I may be up to over there! Above are just a few of the recent episodes I hosted! If you want to make sure you don’t miss me, head on over here and click on the “FOLLOW” button! They will make sure you always know when I will be on!

Did you know if you click on one of the Amazon product links I put on my page I might make a (very) little money? That is how I keep buying supplies to craft and dishes to style tables! It NEVER costs you any more than if you went right to Amazon! Please keep that in mind, I appreciate your support!

What you may want to see from around the blogging world:

For a totally different setting than my front porch, check out Rachel’s Outdoor Dinner Table overlooking her sweet pond. You can find it at The Pond’s Farmhouse.

If you are looking for some gardening inspiration look no further than my friend Kim’s blog, Shiplap and Shells. She takes you on a garden tour of her beautiful garden that has been featured in numerous magazines!

AND….

How to Paint Glass from Design Morsels

A Patriotic Wreath from Debbee’s Buzz

Red, White and Blue Transferware in the Potting Shed from Home is Where the Boat Is

Make this Uncle Sam for Independence Day from Chas’ Crazy Creations

How to Build a Garden Obelisk from Life at Bella Terra

Let me know if you like seeing a little news from life here in Celebration like this once and awhile with a comment below! I LOVE to hear from you, my dear readers. I can’t share what you want to see if you don’t let me know what it is! Thank you for sticking with me!

Similar Posts

21 Comments

  1. I love seeing pictures of Lily and your grand kids. What a fun update. You didn’t share the alligators.

    1. Thank you Andrea! No, I guess I just take those alligators for granted! It has gotten hot, so they are staying down in the water, but when I walk Lily near the ponds at dusk, I have been staying on the other side of the street! Better safe than sorry, have you ever seen how fast those things can move on land?!! YIKES!

  2. Lily is a beautiful girl! I love standard poodles! Slice of life posts like this was what blogs were all about when I started back in 2007. I so much enjoyed this post!

    1. Thank you SO much Paula! YES, isn’t this how blogging started?!! I have appreciated following along your story and keeping tabs on you via your blog. I have kept your health concerns in my prayers. I have never had a poodle of any kind before, but am enjoying my sweet Lily SO much! Thank you so much for your feedback, I think I will try and send out one of these every six weeks or so. My life is not so exciting that people need more than that! LOL!

  3. Lily is a beauty! She will be a loyal companion. I did not realize you showed Sealyham Terriers. I have Welsh Terrier granddog and he is spoiled rotten. He has a human sister arriving in late August (my first grandchild!), and he seems to know something is up. Your granddaughters look right at home in their surroundings. I also didn’t know you loved swimming, Chloe! Yes, I enjoyed this post a lot. I’m not in IG and don’t have plans to be, so I appreciate the post even more. Love the dishes! I have my dishes fairly well organized but I love seeing the closet as you’ve done yours. #goals

    1. Thank you so much Rita! She has become my shadow, sticking right by me, wherever I go, and that is just fine with me. We do have some kind of connection, you see, when I lost my last Sealyham, I decided I didn’t want to deal with a white dog any longer and got a Welsh Terrier. She was our last dog who we lost about ten years ago. Congratulations on the coming grandchild!!!! It is the best thing in the whole world! Do they live near you? Being far apart is the difficult part. Both of my granddaughters were born in Germany, at least they are here in the Eastern US now!!

      I truly appreciate the feedback! If we don’t ask for it, how do we know what our readers want, right?

  4. Cute photos of your precious pup. Personally, I think social media takes up too much time, so I do not look at Instagram, and only go on FB about once a week. I write my blog and read my favorites, then I do other things. Blogs give more of a story than just a hit and run photo, and I prefer to have a bit more to read. If you have Netflix, see the documentary called The Social Dilemma, it will curl your hair.

    1. I am so appreciative of your feedback Carole! Oh, I know about The Social Dilemma, it is terrible, isn’t it? What is our world coming to? I know I don’t share anything personal over on Facebook and I keep Instagram just for the blog business. I do agree about the blogs, I still like them best. Isn’t it crazy how some people put absolutely everything about their personal lives out there on social media?!

  5. It was great seeing a roundup of what’s up in your world Chloe. Loved meeting adorable Lily! My new puppy Whiskey is a bundle of affection, playfulness and seemingly endless energy lol! Enjoyed the behind the scenes photo, but admit to being envious of you all being fortunate to get together. Would love to have the opportunity to meet in person sometime. And, did I spot a peacock feather in that beautiful china plate? What’s the pattern (oh dear, the last thing I have space for is another set of dishes!)? Appreciate the shoutout for my patriotic wreath — it was lovely of you to do.

    1. Thank you so much Debbee! I love seeing pictures of your sweet little Whiskey! He is SO adorable, and of course I will always have a soft spot for terriers, especially hard coated ones with a beard!! I decided on a standard poodle this time because they are supposed to be so smart and I would really like to show this one in obedience. I also wanted something big enough that perhaps I won’t trip over her! Oh, yes, that is a peacock feather on that, aren’t they beautiful? I told myself if I bought any new dishes, I would get rid of some others…uh, I bought four of those dinner plates and four of the Kate Spade cherry salad plates, and I have yet to decide what I am parting with. The pattern is Sapphire Plume – Marchesa by Lenox.

  6. Lily is beautiful and I look forward to seeing her show up on the blog! Your grandaughters are adorable and look like they’re having the best time! Great recap – enjoy your week!
    Shelley

    1. Thank you so much Shelley! I am loving having a dog again, and enjoying without a houseful of kids and their friends having the time to really train her! Those two granddaughters are a hoot! I am glad they are settled in their new apartment and making friends. I do wish they were closer, but I am blessed to be able to travel to see them often!

  7. Thank you for sharing Lily! She is adorable! Be careful of the delphinium. It is poisonous, which you may know. I love the way they look and almost bought one for my garden. I decided against it. Are delphiniums poisonous to touch?
    This toxic plant is dangerous, especially the younger parts of the plant. If consumed by humans, it will cause severe digestive issues, and if touched, it can cause severe skin irritation. All parts of the plant contain poisonous chemicals, including various diterpenoid alkaloids like methyllycaconitine.May 25, 2020

    1. Thanks so much Tracy. I know about foxglove…also known as digitalis. The photo of the foxglove is from my friend, Kim’s garden. I actually have no plants in my backyard right now, as we are in the process of having a swimming pool installed.

  8. Oh Crap, wrong flower name……This one! My eyes are deceiving me! Foxglove
    As beautiful as it is dangerous, the Digitalis purpurea is a highly toxic flower. The common name of this flower – Foxglove – is believed to be related to a northern legend. According to this legend, bad fairies told the fox to put the blossoms on his toes while he hunted for prey. That way, the fox could muffle his footfalls. Like the fox, the poison in the bell-shaped flowers and their berries might sneak up on you. When ingested, the foxglove can cause vomiting, seizures, tremors and death amongst others.

  9. Chloe, Lily is getting SO big! She is just a darling pup! Thanks for sharing pictures. Now, I keep dreaming about your dish closet and imaging my mud room totally transformed into one. The picture of the girls in the pool looks so relaxing and refreshing. What cutie-pies they are!
    Thanks for sharing the link to my garden obelisk. And how fun to see the picture of all of us in the orchard. We need to start planning another outing here, after the one in October there.
    Those dishes from Lenox are GORGEOUS! Who knew they were having a sale? I wish we lived near each other so we could borrow things. Miss you, my sweet friend!

  10. Thank you for sharing. I don’t take a lot of time to read all the emails I get, but I had to keep reading after I saw Lily.

  11. Oh my gosh, Chloe! I can’t believe it took me this long to read your post, and it was a good one! I just love that you know have Lily, she is a little cutie! And it was so fun to see the picture of you all working on the tablescape at Mary’s home. Thank you so much for featuring my greenhouse and garden. It was so incredibly sweet of you and very much appreciated!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *