Gwen Moss

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Day 14: Halloween Entertaining…

Hello everyone!

Well… here we are.

Today is the 14th day of October and believe me, my personal challenge to blog every day in October is definitely making me aware of each passing day.

(It’s also making me question my sanity, but that’s a whole other topic)

On October 5th I got this touching message from an old friend back home and it inspired today’s post.

Boy did this make me feel good. And it brought back all those fabulous years of Halloween fun that I’ll always treasure. Thank you Kim, I miss you all too. I really do.

But even though I’m not throwing big parties anymore, I’m still always on the look-out for those spooky little creatives who come up with ideas like the ones in this post.

When I saw this gorgeous Halloween photo shoot at Design Love Fest

I just had to show you. Can you believe this backdrop?

If you’re like me, you look at all the details.

The color of the candles. The centerpiece. The choice of candlesticks. The color of the pumpkins. And you pay special attention to how simple items are transformed.

I love everything about this Halloween table but I especially appreciate:

the use of gray candles

the use of Pampas grass for interesting texture (why didn’t I ever think of this?)

the absence of orange pumpkins

and my favorite new idea?

These cheap, thrift store trays that can be spray painted with chalk paint and displayed with messages written in flowing white calligraphy.

How cool is this?

You can visit the site to see more of these photos and to get these cocktail recipes.

Here’s a gothic version.

I spy some black sprayed painted branches used in the centerpiece with red candles and a black velvet ribbon blended with old silver looking pieces…

The Addams Family inspired Halloween tablescape at Camille Styles.

I spy silverware tucked into black gloves and shining gold pumpkins as place cards. And a hint of web material under the white plates.

Silver candle sticks with black candles and black serving pieces…

and those eggs!

source

And in case you missed my Spooky Chic table ideas

you can go HERE to check out my white gloved place card. It’s my latest favorite creation.

Seeing all these pictures really gets my creative juices flowing… and as soon as I finish my Design Project Gallery Wall, I have a ghost themed tablescape I can’t wait to tackle.

source

So tell me,

do you entertain at Halloween?

xoxo

Leslie

I’m linking this post up with these friends.

Please visit these wonderful bloggers when you get a chance:

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2014/10/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-138.html

http://www.stonegableblog.com/the-scoop-140/

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2014/10/238th-inspire-me-tuesday_13.html

Technorati Tags: 31 days of october inspiration,day 14,halloween entertaining,DIY tablescape ideas,halloween party ideas,halloween cocktail recipes.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Project Design Gallery Wall: Before photos

Hello friends…

Welcome to Week 2 of Project Design Gallery Wall.

Today I’m showing you my dining room because that’s where my gallery wall is going.

This is what it looks like these days.

And this is what it looked like a few months ago when the old owners lived here.

You can probably tell the obvious challenge in here is the lack of natural light.

With only one window, it might seem counter intuitive to paint a room like this BM’s Kendall Charcoal, but I have to tell you I’m loving it; it’s a clean, deep shade, and it makes the room feel cozy instead of just small.

I just painted the chandelier too.

So the basics are done and I’m ready to get to work on this wall:

From the living room, the gallery wall is on the right side.

And this is the opposite side. I chose to put my mirror on this side of the room because it reflects the most natural light here and when it comes to light, every little bit helps in this house.

For my gallery wall I decided to do something totally different for me.

Usually I’m a “salon style” kinda gal. Not too much pre-planning, I just keep moving my artwork around until I like it. I also like the eclectic look of mixing frames and using both vintage and modern art. But for this project I thought it’d be fun to get out of my comfort zone and to measure and plan a wall out.

And use a single art theme.

I found the perfect images too; I’m using an old book of flower prints I found in an antique store and I’ve been saving them. Do you do that too? Buy something and then wait for the right project?

Anyway, I’m putting the prints in six white frames with cream mats from Ikea and I’ll be arranging them in a grid. Three on top and three on bottom in the center of this wall.

Here’s what I did to map out my gallery wall.

And here it is, the mapped out version. Hoorayyyy…easy-peasy-all-done-right?

Wrong.

I decided I didn’t like the two rows of three after all. When you’re standing in the room it lacks enough weight on the wall. So two more poster board pieces, scissors, and cut-cut… and I’m sooooo much happier.

And honestly, I eyeballed this version.

(I know, I’m hopeless but I promise to use my level when I hang the real ones).

Ok. So now there’s only one more decision. The color of the actual artwork.

But first, here’s a few details of the room.

layered rugs…

a vintage mirror

this cute bar cart to be styled for under my gallery wall

and this fiddle leaf fig tree to balance the other side of the room.

I always planned on using the colored flower prints because I guess I’m a color person by nature. I just don’t seem to have the restraint necessary for a whole black and white gallery wall.

But honestly, I was surprised how pretty the black and white flower prints look en mass against the charcoal wall color.

Ok. Here’s a picture of the prints when they’re not inside the mat.

I think I know what I’m doing. But I’d love to hear your thoughts.

A charcoal colored gallery wall using the color prints

or the neutral ones?

In the meantime don’t forget to stop by and check out these incredibly talented bloggers. It’s soooo fun to see what everyone else has planned.

I love me some good old “Before” pictures, don’t you?

Here’s the other participants in the gallery wall project:

Classic • Casual • Home

And just a reminder, next Monday is the big reveal!

xoxo

Leslie

Technorati Tags: project design gallery wall,week two,Before wall,DIY gallery wall with grid

Sunday, October 12, 2014

I am outraged. And it’s time to do something.

Warning to my readers: This is not a typical post. So if you’re looking for pretty things you have to come back tomorrow. I promised my parents I would write this. And my son Michael who is as angry as I am about a program that we all care about.

Here it goes:

Last Tuesday night my Mom sent me a heartbreaking photo of my Dad and another volunteer sending people away hungry and unfed, from one of Sacramento’s most established and revered soup kitchens.

Why?

Because the new parish priest, Father Martin J. Ramat at St. Philomene’s Catholic Church has ordered that the kitchen be locked for the third straight week, a swift and callous decision that has left everyone involved, stunned.

That’s right. Hundreds of volunteers like my elderly parents, students from Jesuit High School and St. Francis and all the volunteers from public schools, local colleges and neighbors around the area who faithfully show up to serve a hot meal-- to an average of 500 hungry people each Tuesday are still showing up.

That’s how quick it’s all happened.

And even worse are those left hungry.

So tell me. How do you begin to get hold of people who ride their bikes because they don’t have cars? People who show up wearing smelly clothes and don’t carry cell phones? Families that use their precious gas money to drive all the way to the warm, brightly lit gym because they run short on money?

This is the outrage. There was no warning. There was absolutely no empathy shown by Father Martin for these people in need; he offered no short-term solution, no transition time for these folks before shockingly shutting the doors on a vital program that has fed over a million people in the last 30 years.

Poof. gone. just like that.

This is where my anger lies. It’s for the harsh, thoughtless, insensitivity toward people who don’t have a voice, who are vulnerable and struggling.

And it’s a sense of outrage about a decision made by a spiritual leader no less. Honestly, the more I hear, the more I can’t believe it.

“Jo-Jo,” one homeless man told my Mom last Tuesday. “We’re hungry. You have anything you can give us?”

And the first week they did. My Mom and some of the core volunteers made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and handed out granola bars, still believing that this was some aberration, that surely this new priest would change his mind and unlock the doors.

That he’d walk over from his landscaped Rectory five minutes away on a Tuesday night and realize the dazzling display of spiritual kindness and love taking place on his Church premises.

But no. Father Martin stays away on Tuesday nights.

Sadly, he doesn’t see the volunteers stand in a circle before each Tuesday dinner, bow their heads and hold hands while Jim, the Bounty leader gives instructions to treat each person walking in the door, like a “guest in your home.”

Father doesn’t know about the table on the right side of the gym where a group of developmentally disabled adults sit and eat and laugh because this is their big night out. He doesn’t know that the caretaker at their group home drives them faithfully over as a weekly treat, more for the nourishment of their spirits then their stomachs.

No, Father Martin is new to the community. And so he’s never seen the joy inside the old gym at Thanksgiving when this “Bounty” program serves record numbers of hungry families. He’s never talked to my Dad, who is in charge of the long lines of people waiting outside in the chilly weather. And so he doesn’t know that hot chocolate is offered to the kids in the cold, who are waiting excitedly for the only stuffing and turkey they’ll eat on this holiday.

And what’s even worse?

Father Martin has never seen Christmas. And the flood of excitement that happens when volunteers scurry around to create a special night, carving turkey, wrapping donated gifts, setting a station for the professional photographer, who shows up to take photos of giddy kids with a Spanish speaking Santa.

He has never witnessed the high school and college kids who were once former volunteers, suddenly show up with their guitars and music so they could get on stage and serenade the guests.

Nor has Father Martin heard the relief and laughter that fills the gym and the hum of a hundred whispered thank yous, floating into the air amid the tune of “Here comes Santa Claus”….

No. It’s obvious that this is one shepherd who doesn’t know his flock.

So now what?

This is what my parents want to know. This is what the high school kids want to know, what the hundreds of volunteers want to know.

What can we do when the priest won’t talk to you? When he instructs his secretary to let him know if his visitors are from the Bounty program so he can say the he’s “not available.”

Because this is exactly what happened when my parents and other volunteers went over to his office to talk with him. Even though he was there, he was “unavailable.”

He was also unavailable when the homeless guy on the bike went knocking on his door, but he was quite surprised by the mother. Because there’s nothing more powerful than a mother with three hungry kids.

Yes, according to my Mom a single mother showed up with her children and was distraught about the locked kitchen. But instead of going straight home she went to the Rectory to talk to Father. And when he stood at the door, she asked him,

“What would you do Father? If you had a child and you ran out of money to buy groceries? How would you feel?”

And after that incident there have been no more impromptu visits with this priest.

Because apparently Father is worried about “these people.” He has voiced concerns about his physical safety, made excuses about needles on the ground, and the wear and tear on the kitchen. And so he no longer wants to hear how his flock is ministering to the poor, especially when they look unsavory, when they’re dressed poorly and when they look like they have might have ‘issues.’

Father Martin doesn’t want to deal with these people who…..might actually look like a downtrodden Jesus. Instead, he and the new school Principal, want ‘Bounty’ out of their hair, sloughed off on someone else’s property, yuck to all those ‘scary’ people.

Oh, and those volunteers that our Pope Francis would value so dearly? Father Martin has actually accused them of bragging when they have tried to defend the importance of this program.

And so my question is this.

Do we really need another out of touch, hypocritical, authoritarian priest in our midst?

Really? Another one?!

As a cradle Catholic, I’m tired of the stories. I’m sick of seeing the disturbing disconnect between what is spoken in weekly sermons and what I actually see in real life situations.

Yes, I was told recently that priests are often following the Bishop’s orders. Well maybe.

But if that’s the case, then Bishop Soto needs to make a nice, long visit to St. Philomene’s gymnasium on a Tuesday evening and see how his flock is following Pope Francis’s words when the Pope says:

“Look, you can't speak of poverty without having experience with the poor. You can't speak of poverty in the abstract: that doesn't exist.”

I don’t know a whole lot. But I do know that each Tuesday night in that little gym there is nothing abstract that happens. No virtuous words are spoken, not one biblical quote is offered, yet something transformative happens. It’s people rubbing elbows with people and being kind. Some people call it grace.

All I know is that St. Philomene’s should not lose this program.

If you’re still reading this and

If you’ve ever been hungry or experienced hardship, or
If you’ve ever served at Bounty’s program, or
if you’ve had a child who has gotten volunteer hours for school by participating on Tuesday evenings there, or
If you’ve ever felt outraged by some other insensitive action by a parish priest…

Please take a moment and call or send an email to Bishop Soto’s office asking him to keep the Bounty program alive and well at St. Philomene’s.

Most Rev. Jaime Soto, Diocesan Bishop

Office:
(916) 733-0100

Fax:
(916) 733-0215

Email:
BishopSoto@scd.org

It doesn’t matter where you live.

Because we’re all neighbors.

Technorati Tags: st. philomenes church,Bounty program,feeding the poor,Pope Francis's words on poverty,being an activist,standing up for those in need

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Day 11: thought for the day

source

To all my fellow dog lovers….

you know what I mean.

xoxo

Leslie

Technorati Tags: 31 days of october,day 11

Friday, October 10, 2014

Day 10: saying Yes instead of No

What an unexpected surprise.

Last night we danced to this song:

please click and play while you read this post…

Do you remember this song?

It happened because we finally said “Yes” to a invitation by our next door neighbors.

In the last several weeks, we’ve waved and had brief conversations with Jeff and Maria, enough to know they were warm, outgoing people. But we’ve always declined their casual invitations to join their gatherings because the timing has been bad, we’ve literally been in the middle of some form of unpacking and cleaning.

But last night they were celebrating their daughter Jessie’s graduation from cosmetology school and invited us over.

We walked into the house with a bouquet of hot pink flowers and a small gift and were immediately welcomed with a warm hugs and friendly introductions and the best dance music playing in the background.

Jessie is a vivacious, beautiful 19 year old and she introduced me to her girl friends who were utterly adorable in their chic summer dresses. Her best friend hugged me and said, “I’m always here, so I’ve adopted you guys as my new neighbors too.”

And we were dazzled by these kids, their daughter and son and their 19 to 22 year old friends—who were out there dancing in a circle that included a 91 year old Grandpa.

How could we resist?

Drinks were flowing and everyone welcomed each of us

-Jim, Patrick and me- with their down to earth friendliness.

Honestly, we knew they were nice…but who would’ve thought

… we would have been in a brightly lit garage laughing and dancing to loud music on a random Thursday night?

What a lesson.

Sometimes, you just have to say “Yes” to a spontaneous question ..

…and see what happens.

Can you relate?

Happy 10th Day of October!

Leslie

Technorati Tags: 31 days of october inspiration,day 10,earth wind and fire september,saying Yes

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Day 9: October books and the Gone Girl question

The other night Mr. Moss and I went out for dinner and a movie.

It’s one of our favorite things to do. We decided on a restaurant right in front of the theater and sat outside on the patio on a glorious, balmy evening.

I had read Gone Girl months ago and had been excited to finally see it with this cast. I’ve been a fan of Rosamund Pike every since Pride and Prejudice, and I thought Ben Affleck was a good choice for Nick.

Have you seen it yet?

Sigh. Don’t worry, I won’t give away any spoilers but I will say that I left the theater feeling disappointed. Just a ho hum reaction.

But don’t mind me, because I seldom feel feel like the movie is as good as the book.

Is it an unfair comparison?

Gone Girl was a page turner and even though there was a yuck factor with the level of pathology between this couple it kept me totally intrigued. I found the dual narrative an interesting way to plant questions in the reader’s mind.

And I may get heckled for this, but the fact is, I didn’t think there was much sexual chemistry between the two stars. The acting was solid, Pike was amazing but they never seemed like a intimate, married couple to me. Didn’t believe the hot library scene one bit, it seemed like two actors ‘acting’ out passion. And come on. Did anyone actually believe that bedroom scene between Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris?

Ok. Enough grumbling. Let’s talk about books.

If you loved Gone Girl…

According to Sam Baker, if you loved Gone Girl…these are three more books you should put on your reading list.

On of the nicest bloggers I know, Sharon of Elizabeth & Co also emailed me and recommended Serena, another book soon-to-be-a movie starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawerence …

she said “It reminds me a little of Gone Girl. It's kind of twisted and totally different and unexpected.”

(I’ve already bought my copy)

And HERE are the best books of October according to Good Reads.

Have you read any of these?

I’d love to hear your views.