Hoppy Times with Girlfriends and A Spring Tussie Mussie

Last Wednesday I had dinner with a 

group of girlfriends at my friend, Susan's. 

Susan loves holidays and always 

has her home beautifully decorated 

for every special occasion throughout the year.

Among her treasures are many 

hand stitched needlepoint figures.

Susan sets a gorgeous table 

and creates the most adorable centerpieces.

This year's centerpiece included 

fresh yellow daffodils, a large paper maché bunny, 

glitter eggs, and cute little bunnies dressed for spring.

 Each place setting featured a white linen placemat 

and details in shades of green and pink.

 The bunny plates are in the Provence pattern 

produced by The Haldon Group many years ago.  

 Look at these adorable white linen napkins 

with the eyelash embroidery details.  

They make me think of a spring meadow.

It is tradition for this group of friends, 

that each of us brings a small gift or 

favor for the holiday celebrated.

I decided to make my gifts this year 

when I saw this adorable tussie mussie that 

folk artist, Johanna Parker, recently shared 

as a free downloadable pattern 

of one of her original designs.

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

You'll find a complete tutorial on Johanna's blog 

on how to make your own spring tussie-mussie

with the free printable pattern.

Just click here.

You can see more of my friend Susan's 

beautiful Easter decor here towards the 

end of a post I created in April 2010.

~ Happy Easter All ~

May your Easter be filled with joy!

Joining

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

Mosaic Monday @ Little Red House
Monday Link Party @ Chateau des Fleurs
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Ranch
Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday @ Kathe With An E

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
My Happy List @ Art At Home

Let's Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

Home and Garden Thursday @ Delightsome Life

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Be Inspired @ Common Ground

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Festive Friday Fiesta @ The Home Girl

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound
Sunny Simple Sunday @ Sunny Simple Life
Amaze Me Monday @ Dwellings of the Heart

Hippity-Hop Easter's On Its Way

Hippity-Hop Easter's On Its way!

Aestas, the work of artist Marc Burckhardt, 

hangs in our stairway and was the 

inspiration for my Easter table.

I set the table with the feel of the 

fresh greens of spring and the

warm earth tones of the soil.

A few of my Easter bunnies finally

hopped out of storage and settled into

a grassy meadow down the center of my dining table.

I wanted the rich wood of the table to set the stage, 

then layered the Pottery Barn chicken wire chargers 

on top of lattice motif linen placemats in a spring green.

I nestled Bordallo Pinheiro cabbage Leaf chargers 

into the chicken wire pieces for some added green.

White dinner plates in Wedgwood Nantucket Basket 

were the perfect choice to pick up the woven design 

in the center of the salad plates of Limoges by Laure Japy.

 ~ Marche Aux Herbes ~

I topped it all with a bowl of grass 

and a natural egg, long the symbol of new life.

Talisman, by Christophe, was my choice of flatware.

The stack is a nod to the 

layers of one's spring garden.

I like the textures that the stack offers - 

the cross hatch lattice of the linen, 

the wire of the chargers,

the nubby cabbage leaf, and the 

basket weave on the dinner and salad plates.

Vintage linens in soft yellow are presented curled 

into tall stems of soft green glass.

They remind me of the happy 

yellow daffodils popping up in the garden.

We'll have Easter brunch out with friends, 

but can enjoy our spring table for meals here at home.

And Remember .   .   .

"You'll wake up on Easter morning
And you'll know that he was there
When you find those choc'late bunnies
That he's hiding ev'rywhere."
From Peter Cottontail by Beatrix Potter

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

Every Christmas and through the winter, we receive boxes of fresh citrus fruits with the oranges and grapefruits nestled into nests of shredded green paper.  I put the packing boxes out for recycle pickup, but the soft shredded paper goes into plastic bags to be used in spring Easter baskets.

Happy Easter to each of you!

Joining
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Let's Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen
Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Tutorials, Tips, and Tidibits @ Stone Gable
Home and Garden Thursday @ Delightsome Life
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace, and Grafts
Share Your Cup thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Be Inspired @ Common Ground
Festive Friday Fiesta @ The Home Girl
Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound
Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper
Sunny Simple Sunday @ Sunny Simple LIfe
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru LIfe
The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Ranch
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday @ Kathe With An E

Garden Club Luncheon

Source

I hosted my Garden Club 

for lunch on the terrace this week.

Source

It was the perfect time to pull out my 

MacKenzie-Childs Flower Market Serving Pieces.

I filled my small MacKenzie-Childs 

serving stand with Courtly Check  

pots full of springtime blooms.

The Flower Market Enamelware 

is covered in glorious color.

The serving pieces inspired my 

choice of blooms in the centerpiece.

~ Yellow Daffodils ~ Lavender Carnations ~ 

~ Blue Delphiniums ~ Mixed Anemones and Ranunculus ~

I used a variety of plates 

by Spode and Wedgwood.

Vintage silver baskets 

held stacks of napkins.

The silverware was 

rolled within each napkin.

Wild Rice Chicken Salad

Recipe Here

Mixed Greens with Fruit and Nuts 

Tossed with Brianna's Dressing

Blooper Alert:  

Somehow the kitchen spoon ended up in the serving bowl 

while the silver serving tongs were left by the side.

Iced Tea with Lemon Slices and Fresh Mint 

and a Tray of Thumbprint and Chocolate Cookies

I forgot to take photos of the tables out on the terrace,

but I used lavender cloths and simple centerpieces.

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

I used my MacKenzie-Childs fluted compotes 

and placed a preserved boxwood ball in each one.

This makes a quick, easy centerpiece, and no added expense 

since these are pieces I already had on hand.


Joining
Let's Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen
Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Home and Garden Thursday @ Delightsome Life
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace, and Crafts
Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage
Be Inspired @ Common Ground
Festive Friday Fiesta @ The Home Girl
Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound
Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper
Sunny Simple Sunday @ Sunny Simple Life
Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Ranch
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday @ Kathe With An E

The Luck of the Irish

We're not Irish, but I've set a festive table  

in honor of St. Patrick's Day next Sunday.

I pulled out some shamrock linens.

Set our places with a stack of green and white.

Alternated Bordallo Pinheiro Cabbage Leaf 

with Wedgwood Nantucket Basket

Added my favorite vintage flatware.

~ Silver and French Ivory ~

Topped each stack with  

these cute ceramic cup cakes.

I found them at 

TJ Max a few years ago.

They are the work 

of Heather Goldminc.

I scattered in a few sparkly 

shamrocks in among my bowl of hearts.

Picked up one of those lucky shamrock plants 

at the grocery today and planted it in 

a vintage ironstone sugar bowl.

This is the mark on the sugar bowl.  

I bought it in the fields at 

Round Top Antique Week several years ago.

Can anyone help me date this piece?

Update:
Diane @ Confessions of the Obsessed and
Marigene @ In the Middle of Nowhere
did a little research and found that the sugar bowl is dated
January 14, 1853.
Thanks, friends!

The Shamrock Plant is actually an Oxalyis.  

I'll keep this one as a house plant.

I treat the pink Oxalyis that 

grows wild in my garden as a weed.

It's a nuisance!

Cuisine Kathleen's 

5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl 

~ March 13th ~

I'm ready with some shamrock 

shortbread and a cup of Irish tea

while I sit on the sofa and visit 

all the lovely posts that celebrate the green.

You can see a glimpse of 

Tricia's @ The Dull and the Dutiful

above on my computer screen.

Just look at all that pretty green glass.

No, we are not Irish here, 

but luck has come our way.

We found a "Pot of Gold" last March 

when this sweetheart came to live with us.

I made a tray of 

shamrock cookies just for you!

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way ~

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and everyday.

~ Author Unknown ~

Joining

Cuisine Kathleen's St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Home and Garden Thursday @ Delightsome Life
Pearls and Lace Thursday @ Faith, Grace, and Crafts

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Open House Friday @ Bernideen's Tea Time

Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground

Festive Friday Fiesta @ The Home Girl

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

Sunny Simple Sunday @ Sunny Simple Life

Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Pretty Things @ Twelve0eight
My Happy List @ Art At Home
Your've Gonna Love It Tuesday @ Kathe With an E
The Scoop @ Cedar Hill Ranch