counter stats April 2014
First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.
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I've been down with an irritating upper respiratory infection and aggravated asthma all week  As a result, Sweet Mister has decided that we'll entertain family with Easter lunch at the country club.  Because I won't be designing an Easter tablescape this week, I'm sharing our Easter table from last year...Beatrice Emaline's first Easter celebration.  I hope that you'll enjoy it whether you're seeing it for the first time or revisiting it again.  Have a blessed Easter celebrating our Risen Christ!
  
It is so special to have a grandchild living close enough that I can share my holiday tables, our family traditions, with her.  When my son and daughter were children, I loved decorating the house for each holiday to make it a wonderland for them.  Beatrice Emaline is 6 months old now, and I know that she won't remember this year's holiday. Therefore, I'm looking at this Easter as a dress rehearsal for celebrations to come.  I've had a ball designing my table, and I'm looking forward to many more special occasions with my family gathered around my table.  Welcome to a Bunny Easter Parade!

 I was thinking of Beatrice Emaline and my darling grandsons, Haden & Jack, so I decided that my table would highlight pinks and blues.


Let's take a look at the cast of players...

 Playing the role of the crowd in the background is the Maryland China Company Minuet Charger Plate.  Tip:  MCC primarily markets white china blanks for china painters.  This one, manufactured in the Czech Republic, reminds me of some of the beautiful Herend patterns, but at a fraction of the cost.  Check them out!  They also have some good sales on a regular basis.
 Pink for Miss Honey Bee...The Copeland Spode Irene Dinner Plate was a fortunate eBay find.  I found a set of 12 of these lovelies.
 Blue for my precious Haden & Jack...The Royal Staffordshire, Louis XVI, was also a great deal for a set of 12 on eBay.  They will be removed for our luncheon and reappear for dessert.
An unbeatable rim shot...Eat your heart out LeBron James.

Sun kissed and ready to celebrate Easter lunch with our family...

With all the different patterns on our Easter table, I decided that a white napkin was the best choice.  I was thinking of you, Rett, and the time that we found the Waterford Ballet Dot Napkin at Tuesday Morning.

I picked my mother-in-love's Reed & Barton Francis I flatware because...it was close at hand.  Besides it's hard to go wrong with good ole' Francis.

Each guest will have a pair of the individual salt & peppers by MacKenzie-Childs.  I've been slowly collecting them for a number of years.  They're kind of a splurge, but I really enjoy them!

The Pink Pier One Goblet has been hiding out in a kitchen cabinet for quite a while.  I bought them years ago for $1.00 each on deep clearance.  Today it is paired with the Waterford Simply Blue Goblet.  I bought the Waterford stems some years ago on eBay, while they were still very reasonable.  Their price has increased substantially in the last year or so.

These make me smile every time I walk past the dining room table...and they put the exclamation mark on my pink and blue color story.  Have you noticed the navy blue and white eggs?  I painted them some years ago.  I used a faux, foam-filled egg that I found at Michael's.  They've become a dependable design element...especially when I don't have time to go buy flowers...

...Speaking of flowers...The flowers in the centerpiece are all left-overs!  The white mop head Hydrangeas were used for my St. Patrick's Day table.  They were also used in combination with the smaller green Hydrangeas for a wedding shower for forty that my dear KC hosted in our home this past weekend.  I'm hopeful that they'll make it until Sunday, but I'll replace them if necessary.



 I've long had a fondness for Fitz & Floyd.  These bunnies are from their Old World Collection.  I found them one at a time at the tail end of different estate sales for far less than they cost on line.  I love Mr. Bunny pushing flowers in his wooden cart, and the two lovely lady bunnies are tending my painted Easter eggs.  I think that they've been laying them out along the table for an old fashioned egg hunt.
Our feast will be after church.  We'll share a predictable Honey Glazed Ham, baked potatoes, deviled eggs, green salad, fresh asparagus, hot rolls, and an assortment of desserts.  Everyone will contribute something to the meal, and we'll enjoy focusing our time on blessed fellowship and lots of laughter.  I can hardly wait to celebrate this most special of days...the day when my sweet Jesus Master overcame death and prepared a way for me to have access to eternal life and a relationship with my Almighty God.  Now that's worth celebrating!  We are truly blessed.  I pray that you will have a peace-filled holiday surrounded by family and friends.  Happy Easter!

This week I'll be joining:

Seasonal Sundays with The Tablescaper


An Easter Retrospective, 2014

"First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog.  I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.   ************************************************************************************************************* 

I'm excited to join Cuisine Kathleen's Spring Challenge...Birds, Nests, & Eggs.  Here we go...


I set a table for eight in the dining room.  I still can hardly bear to cover our new dining table.


If we've been hanging out together in blog world for any time at all, I'm pretty sure that the moment that you saw "Birds" as a part of Kathleen's challenge, you were at least half way expecting to see the Mottahedeh Musee Decoratif Tureen as part of my centerpiece.  This is probably my favorite tureen.


Flanking the tureen, a pair of white porcelain nests with love birds were a gift from my dear friend Marsha.  She brought them back from a trip to Nell Hill's in Kansas City...


 I filled them with faux eggs and acid green berries.  Thank you, Marsha!


A quartet of faux topiary balls were placed in white reticulated jardinieres, bought several years ago on the clearance aisle at Michael's.


The Val St. Lambert crystal candlesticks complete the centerpiece.  I've had them for many years.


Centerpiece done...it only took minutes to achieve.


The Maryland China Company "Minuet" charger plate brought a touch of brightness and light to the place setting...


...and was the perfect frame for the Coalport Cathay dinner plate.  I couldn't resist the vibrant green birds.


I liked the frosted palm fronds on our Nana's antique Lalique tumbler.  It lent another gentle touch of white to the tablescape.  Today it is paired with the AJKA Arabella Green goblet.

To complete the place setting, I laid the Pottery Barn linen hemstitched napkin with the  L'Argent Sophia white flatware.  The Haviland Ranson butterpat  was a last minute addition....I just liked the look of it.


All done...


Birds ✔...Nests ✔...Eggs ✔  I'm ready for Cuisine Kathleen's Spring Challenge!

 I always sit at this end of the table.  Why don't you sit here to my right, so we can get to know each other better.  I'm so honored to have you at my table!

This week I'm joining:

Cuisine Kathleen's "Let's Dish"
Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch
Seasonal Sundays with The Tablescaper




















Coalport Cathay, 4.7.14

"First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog.  I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.  
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I love that inspiration can come from so many different directions...sometimes just around the corner...sometimes it's right outside your window!


 When I opened my bedroom window shades yesterday morning, a smile formed on my face.  I grabbed my camera to capture these brand new buds.  Years ago, Sweet Mister planted a pair of ornamental pear trees outside our bedroom windows as a surprise for me.  Every April, they signal that Spring has finally arrived...

 This morning when I opened the shades, all those buds had burst forth in a symphony of delicate white blossoms.  My inspiration for this week's table was not to be denied.


Friends are coming for an easy lunch on Friday...


...Back to the games table in the living room.

I love this mix of colors.

The Luminarc "Zest" cobalt charger was an eBay find.  It was the perfect staging ground for my place setting. 


Also lending a nice foundation was the Royal Worcester Regency dinner plate.  This pattern is available on the secondary market in a number of color choices.  In addition to the ruby, you can also find a lovely cobalt and a great green.


The crown jewel for today's table is the Spode Peacock (my name for it) luncheon plate.  I  found a set of 11 of these on eBay several years ago.  Someday, I'll find the 12th one!


Some of my favorite crystal patterns....Waterford Simply Red, & AJKA Arabella Cobalt...both found in a variety of places including eBay, Replacements, & Tuesday Morning.


Part of the 'crowd scene"..Nana's silver and cobalt salt cellar, red hemstitched napkin (eBay), my mother-in-love's Reed & Barton Francis I flatware, and a cream matelasse tablecloth.


Although I've had the Spode Peacock luncheon plates for a number of years, ...

 ...the pair of Spode Peacock spill vases are a relatively new addition.  I was thrilled when I came across them on eBay.  I filled them with a profusion of the ornamental pear blossoms.  I made the arrangements wild and free...much like they appear on the trees.  Why are they called 'spill vases"?  I've always wondered about that.

 I combined the vases...

 with a pair of the cobalt depression glass candlesticks to flank...

 ...a ruby glass bowl.  Did you notice the "stand" underneath the bowl.  It's the base of one of my silver lidded butter dishes!  Remember...always be willing to think outside the box.

 We'll see if the blossoms last until Friday, and hopefully we won't have one of our raging thunder storms,  which will instantly wreak havoc on the ornamental pear blooms.  We often have them to enjoy for what seems like mere moments.

Ready to enjoy good food, hours of laughter, and blessed fellowship.  If you're passing my way, let me know...I'll set an additional place just for you!

This week I'm joining:
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop @ Katherine's Corner
Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Spring Inspirations and Spode Peacock

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