Mama got her bling

Lynda Austin, pictured above, is the winner of the beautiful crystal bracelet I gave away last week on my blog. After reading this excerpt from the funny e-mail she sent me, you can understand why:

"I am a forty-something working mother of two children, wife to one husband and mistress to three mischievous dogs," she wrote. "Your blog appealed to me because you are 'shining the light on those who know the art of living an elegant life'. I plan to live vicariously through your blog because my life these days is anything but elegant. From carpool lines to homework drama...my waking hours are spent shepherding my two young charges through life with as few scrapes as possible. In the midst of the chaos, it would be delightful to look down at my wrist to see a shimmering reminder of what my life used to be...those days before school uniforms and field trip permission slips. This nama needs some bling."

You got it, Lynda. And thanks for reading my blog and getting my mission.

Now I want to share a really great idea I saw over the weekend while walking my puppy through an unofficial dog park near my house. I didn't have my camera with me, so I'll have to rely on my descriptive powers.

A group that gathers at the park regularly throughout the year decided to hold a holiday party at one of the park benches. They hauled in their supplies in several large plastic containers. After emptying them, they put one container on the bench and stored the rest on the ground underneath it. Then they covered the whole bench in a white table cloth.

The part that was raised because of the box was used as a platform for a large tray filled with hors d'oeuvres. On one side of the platform was a gorgeous silver champagne bucket stocked with beverages. On the other side were the cups, plates, napkins and utensils. The back of the bench was decorated with a festive fresh garland of evergreens and holly berries.

It was a clever and beautiful way to use a plain ol' park bench and could be reworked for different seasons. I plan to steal that idea and tailor it to either a New Year's Day picnic or maybe a spring gathering.