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Gilbert The Garden Snake

THERE WAS A SNAKE IN OUR GARAGE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOT COOL.

Matt opened the door to put something away in the pantry and he was slithering from THE PANTRY under Matt’s car. Matt (barefoot) touched him and he slithered faster and then was no where to be seen. He looked high and low. I was in the kitchen freaking out; Karen was squealing with excitement. I did not see him – that would have made it worse.

And the worst part is that he was never seen leaving the garage, which means he could still be in there.

I had Matt move my car out of the garage because I have to drive it first thing in the AM and would not feel safe being in there with Gilbert, esp. since he could be IN my car. I am terribly claustrophobic.

But at least he was not inside!!!

Oh, and his name is Gilbert the Garden Snake because we saw a similar huge black snake the first day back from our honeymoon two years ago and he charged at me in the garden.

Kelsey and I had fun at Caribou – especially when a guy came around with free shots of a mint chiller to try! This was like a decadent dessert –

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While we were waiting for my car to be fixed we stopped into a fabric store to look at samples for the King + Queen chairs my grandmother sent (she also sent some funds to have them reupholstered ). I can’t decide which one I like best!!

Thoughts?

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BIG PRINT or LITTLE PRINT. You decide!!

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Karen came over for dinner tonight and brought shrimp + wine. We supplied the veggies + sauce.

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Chef sips:

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I made a sauce with these ingredients: Cashew butter (1 tbsp), coconut butter (1 tbsp), tamari (2 tsp), 1 clementine (juice + pulp), 1 lime (juice), red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp), salt (2 pinches). It was awesome!!!! Orangy coconutty!

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On a bed of cabbage, bean sprouts, Kelsey’s parents’ garden snap peas, broccoli + shrimp. With salty peanuts for garnish.

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For dessert Karen and I split a tiny Margarita Cupcake.

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Off to shiver with horrible snake images….

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. My hubbie is an Interior Designer and I showed him your chairs. He is sooo jealous! Definitely go with the fabric on the right…the smaller patterned fabric:)

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  4. i vote small. i dont like the way the other looks all hawaiian-y.

    OHMIGOD snake in your garage??? REALLY? i would’ve freaked out.

    glad you had some nice eats, at least 🙂

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  6. okay, you might laugh at me – but is the sample on the right the exact same as your placement??? i really like both patters (I LOVE green) – but I’m going with the bigger print on the left!

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  9. I LOVE the one on the left- the one on the right is a little old fashioned. It’s a nice mix with the older chair!

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  10. What are the other fabrics like in the room? If they are also big prints, I’d stick with the small one. But I like the big print best on its own. Great colors!

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  11. i say definitely go for the small! i agree with Caitlin about the Hawaiian vibe on the bigger print

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  16. I noticed the exact same thing as allijag…. is that the same fabric as your placemat? I looks like it! I vote small pattern too….

    And I have to ask, were you being facetious that the snake (haha I just wrote snack!) charged at you in your garden? Or did it just slither in your general direction?? 😉 (Giggling because I am a total snake phobe too!!)

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  20. I like the big print on the little chair, and the little print on the big chair. or some other combo of both-they look good together. I don’t mind snakes so much-except the kind that might choke you to death, at least you were inside safe and sound eating a yummy dinner! very creative with that sauce

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  21. WTF? There is only one Gilbert in KERFland, and it’s my dog. Does the snake have a middle name that we could use instead?

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  24. I vote for the small print.

    And EEK I would not be okay with that snake either!!

    Dinner looks awesome!!

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  25. EEK! I would totally freak out at a snake… especially since his whereabouts are still unknown! Be careful!

    Wow, that dinner looks amazing. Totally healthy, and the perfect combination of ingredients.

    My vote is DEFINITELY for the bigger, flowered print. The other one is much to busy and symmetrical for my tastes!

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  33. Come on Guys, the BIG print rocks. I’m going to pretend I didn’t read about the snake. AGHHHHHHHH!

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  34. I would go with BOTH prints!
    Do one of each. My MIL is an interior designer and she always says to mix things up and do more than 1 pattern. 🙂 It’s less expected that way!

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  36. I love the smaller pattern!! Yor dinner looks so yummy!! Will have to try that recipe!! I just tried your baked oatmeal snack bars and they were awesome!!!

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  42. OMG SNAKE. I hate snakes more than anything and I probably would have cried. Good luck!!!!

    I vote little print! They are both great but I like little print more.

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  52. I vote small print (athough I like the big print as far as prints go.) I respectfully suggest my vote should count double since I am related to the chairs and remember sitting on them as a little girl.

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  53. I like both prints, but I guess I would have to say that I favor the little print a bit more 🙂

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  54. Ahhhh! Snakes!! I would FREAK out too! EEK!

    What a great looking shrimp dish! I LOVE shrimp but cannot eat it very often because bf is very allergic to seafood. I can only eat it while out and not cook it at home
    🙁

    Have a great night!

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  58. AHHHH SNAKES!!! MY BIGGEST FEAR!! you are brave, kath. Once I see a snake somewhere it takes me WEEKS before I can go to that spot again. I think if one was in my garage I would have to move out of my house.

    Also i vote little print.

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  59. I think you’re going to have to post a poll for the prints! I would do one of each to break it up…that would be cool.

    Snakes are the WORST! My parents get them on their back patio, and they throw down moth balls to drive them away. They’re place smells like a retirement home during these times, but it is snake free.

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  65. I really like the big print but I’m not sure it’s right for the chairs so my vote is for the small print. Plus who am I to vote against your Mom and Dad??!! 🙂

    To funny how similar the material is to your place mat!!

    Is green your favorite color? I LOVE it!!!

    Hopefully you’ll never see your snake “friend” again…

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  70. I like the little print!

    And there was just something on the news about a snake problem on the west bank of New Orleans! Just don’t cross any river bridges when you are down here! 😉

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  72. (LOL yadi!)

    Big print…. how come people keep saying it’s too Hawaiian like that’s a bad thing?? Best. vacation. ever. Who wouldn’t want to think about that every single day?

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  73. First, snake comments..in the past two months, we have found TWO snakes in our basement! They were “playing dead”, which is not fun when one is trying to figure out how to grab a snake who may-or-may-not-be still able to squirm away! That is exactly what happened with snake #2, he came to. My husband is sort of freaked out by snakes and so as a team effort (me being the captain of the team) we tossed them outside, into our neighbors lawn. 🙂

    The small print seems really fresh!

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  76. i was going to vote big print until i noticed your placemats, and now i just don’t know! yikes, watch out for gorden! i am crossing my fingers that he has left the building!

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  77. sorry, his name is gilbert. i don’t know why i want to call him gorden. beware all the same–gilbert may have a brother!!!!!!! 🙂

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  79. I vote for the large print. Actually the tropical mood in the fabric combined with the dark carved wood chair frames creates a plantation feeling so lovely in the American south. From the trellis fabric perhaps stitch up some accent bolsters to be tossed on another piece. In that way create unity with the dining room and the place mats.

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  80. I would definitely say the SMALL PRINT.

    You may love the large print now, but there isn’t much that can go with it and it is SO fun that you will probably get sick of it faster. The small print is more simple yet funky so you could play around with it more over time (with accent pillows/wall color/etc). Plus I think the lines of the small print + the lines of your black and white couch (if that’s the room they’re going in) would bring it all together (all lines = some form of continuity) rather than making it look like two chairs in a room where they don’t belong and aren’t welcome.

    good luck making your selection; either way the chairs are gorg!

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  82. OMG– is it snake *season*?!! I ran into a SIX FOOT LONG black racer snake in my garden yesterday!!! And of course the hubby was out of town for work, so I had to get the neighbor (and his 10 yr old son) to come over and help me deal with the …dead snake. Yep, I felt a bit foolish. But it WAS HUGE!!!

    And I vote for the smaller print. It looks more classic, and like something that could survive several decor changes. The first one is way too “Hawaii-5-0”

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  84. Big print! The big print feels nice and airy, while the small print reminds me of some sterile Days Inn bedspread :-/

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  88. is neither print an option? the chairs are so beautiful and fancy and the fabric is so casual…

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  89. I vote little!

    I really enjoy your blog. I just started reading and it’s a refreshing and healthy approach to nutrition.

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  91. I honestly don’t like either. They seem very lounge-chair like as opposed to classy. I would go with a rich color such as burgundy or purple or a pattern with browns, purples and dark pinks. Just a thought. If you are sold on the greens then I’d go with the smaller print because the larger print looks too trendy and will get old fast.

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  92. Little print! Queen Anne style chairs like those are very curvy, and the straight geometric pattern is a nice contrast.

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  93. Both prints are really pretty, but I like the small better….it seems to fit the chairs better. Good luck with the decision! 🙂

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  95. I’m digging the smaller print more because it’s a bit more subtle, I think. 🙂 And the shrimp dish looks majorly to-die-for.

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  103. Hm hard to choose between those 2 fabrics, partly because green is one of my favourite colours! I think I like the big print better though.

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  106. Small print! Use the other one for pillows or something.

    Ewwwww on the snake. One thing I don’t miss about living in the south is all the creatures!!! Not nearly so many up here in MI! 🙂

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  107. ACK! Snake = boo! I hope you find it. I VOTE BIG PRINT!!! I don’t think it looks too hawaiian-ie… I think it’s more retro/flower power print 🙂

    Hope your day was great!

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  112. little! you should have made a poll so the results would be easier to tally 😉

    yikes!!! snakes are scary. way scarier than the scariest of bugs. (it’s not like you can just step on them really hard to kill them. eeeeeewwww. snake guts) this guy i know just got two (not-poisonous) snakes as pets and i don’t think i want to go to his house anymore!

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  114. Kath,

    Am loving your blog!!!

    I like both, but would go with the smaller print. It seems like it may be a 2 to 1 vote for the smaller print. But I also think both prints might be good.

    Good luck.

    Ann

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  116. OOOPS, lol. I meant the smaller print looks more sophisticated. I was gonna write something about the bigger print looking too 80’s, but I backed it up and forgot to change the words. lolololol

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  117. Small print. However, based on the comments, it sounds like you would be okay just going with what YOU love–everyone has different opinions. (But the small print is better 😉

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  119. I think the floral would be better suited for a pillow as I don’t think it would stand the test of time. The smaller print however, is simple and classic. It also matches your place mats very well. I think you should go with the smaller print but find something fun to do with the floral.

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  120. go with the small print.
    i had a snake in the basement one day and the boys were down there playing. thank god my son likes snakes. i wouldnt go down there. the boys couldve been bitten and i wasnt going down there. it was huge, was a big anaconda(it was really a small garter snake that had gotten up thru the drain) huge snake lol. anyway it was caught(not by me) and taken outside. it took me several days to go back in the basement. (had to as that is where the washer and dryer were). eeehhhh.

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  122. oh that makes me sick…I hate snakes!! BE CAREFUL! I’m sure its harmless but still you don’t want to step on it in flip-flops….cringe!!!!

    I love the little design!!! I think it would be more versatile.

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  123. I vote for the small print! I think the bigger print kind of overwhelms the chairs. I love that you named the snake… it made me smile 🙂 What a creative sauce and dinner – you always have such great and interesting cooking/recipe ideas!

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  127. The itty bitty mint chiller looks deeeelicious, as does your shrimp dish. The coconut sauce you whipped up sounds amazing!

    During our brief stint in Houston, we’d get little lizards in our garage – actually, they were everywhere. Snakes they were not, but I never did get used to them.

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  128. I think the small print fits the chair style best. Plus, look how it matches your placemats you used for dinner. Maybe you could have small boudoir pillows made in the opposite fabric to accent each chair. You know, the small round tubular shaped pillows with some pleating on the ends and a large covered button. And then use that same fabric to create a contrasting welt for the chair covers, assuming there’s one there now.

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  130. I like to mix print’s, and I would do both, but if you only want one, go with the larger print, I feel you could do more with that, than the smaller one. Snakes ewww, my bro has a ton of them, not cool, anyways I have also been charged at by not a snake but my g-pa’s chicken. That was scary, have fun relaxing, no school, you deserve it.

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  134. I like the small print!
    Then again, I also like snakes, if they’re just small garter snakes. I think they’re kinda cute.

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  136. why choose one print? i would do one with big, and one with little. then again, i like things slightly mis-matched. 😉

    if you’re definitely just choosing one, i like the big print better.

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  138. I love the big print. I think it goes better with the elaborate chair design. And good luck with that snake!!!

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  139. Don’t worry, having Gilbert in your garage is a good thing, free rodent control! Maybe I am biased, since I have a pet snake myself, but the vast majority of them are harmless. They are much cleaner and less of a nuisance than hordes of mice chewing and pooping everywhere.

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  140. I’d say the big print, but both are very nice. The green is a pretty color! I’m am so sorry you have a snake! I am TERRIFIED of them, and the sad thing is, the only snakes where I live are foot long garter snakes. I won’t even run on some trails because I’m afraid I’ll see a snake there!

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  142. OMG, I would have FREAKED OUT!!! Thank you for not posting a picture of Gilbert – I would have had to avoid your blog for a few days! I’m THAT scared of snakes.

    Oh, and that meal looks awesome!

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  143. I vote the small print…it reminds me of your place mats!
    Snakes are my phobia!!!!!
    I would be moving far, far away for sure!

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  145. I love the vibrant green colour of both, but I’d definitely choose the small print. It complements the antique wood/style much better than the large print.

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  146. I like the little print better. I think it’s slightly more classic, yet modern, and will serve you better over time. JMO 🙂

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  147. Small print!!!!

    And snakes are cool. Think of him as your garage pest control system. I hear giant roaches are the barney butter of the snake community….they just can’t get enough!

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  148. why not turn that snake into a nice pair of summer shoes. or a little clutch!

    I like the more petite floral.

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  149. Thanks for all of your input!!!!!!!! I agree that while I LOVE the big pattern, I am afraid I might grow out of it. I love the pillow idea!! I don’t want to do one of each. I might go see if there are more options!!,

    Oh, and i wrote Snack about 5 times too 🙂

    AmandaD ,
    I can’t believe you touched them!!

    K

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  150. I prefer the small print.

    And garden snake or black water snake? Cuz garden snakes aren’t big and black at all. They’re slender and tan, brown, and green.

    Just be careful. Garden snakes totally harmless, as are the water snakes, but the water snakes are aggressive.

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  151. I would NOT be able to cope with a snake in my garage … but I don’t like any kind of amphibian. We have a lizard that used to live in our pond’s pump box and I would just look at it, wouldn’t touch it or anything. And we have LOTS of frogs in the spring … sometimes so many that you can’t even walk in the yard without them on your toes.

    Now, furry creatures, that I can handle!

    Your stir fry looks amazing! Good for you for making the sauce … my concoctions don’t usually end up sounding as yummy as yours did!

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  153. I have never posted before, but I felt I had to weigh in on the chairs. Both patterns are fun, but I can’t believe you want to reupholster these chairs! The burgundy velvet is so luxurious and classic. I would keep these chairs just as they are, rather than update them with trendy fabric. They are gorgeous!

    Reply

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