Sunday, June 30, 2013

Proud To Be American!






Favorites on the 1st 

~ Patriotic Edition ~




 The summer months offer patriotic 

holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.





It's the perfect time to 

celebrate the red, white, and blue.




I've long been a 

collector of patriotic items.




Vintage Quilts and Patriotic Dolls



Patriotic Postcards From Yesteryear

Uncle Sam Folk Art Figures




Vintage Ice Fishing Lures




Needlepoint Figures 

Stitched Through The Years




Uncle Sam




Lady Liberty




Dove of Peace

The delightful "make do" above 

is a piece of handwork by my friend 


Click here to go to Evi's shop to see her amazing work.





Books on Americana




 ~ Happy 4th of July! ~

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Informal Bridesmaid Luncheon @ The St. Cecilia




Last June I had the privilege 

to host an informal bridesmaid luncheon 


for the daughter of a longtime dear friend. 



The morning of the wedding, the bride 


and her wedding party gathered



at the St. Cecilia, a historic 1800s Victorian home, 



now a boutique hotel in the South Congress District. 





The large open porch offered the perfect 

 spot for a light lunch while the

girls each had their hair and makeup 

done for the evening wedding.




The menu was planned 

around the bride's vegetarian lifestyle.





Fresh Fruit Kabobs




Roasted Red Pepper 

and Traditional Hummus




Served with a variety of 


chips and crackers for scooping.



MacKenzie-Childs paper napkins 

were used for a colorful presentation.





A glass cake plate 

offered up finger sandwiches.




~ Cucumber ~ 

~ Chicken Salad ~ Pimento Cheese ~




Edible spring blooms 

added a touch of panache.





Madelines and Lemon Bars 

were available for a bite of something sweet.





To toast the bride, 

Champagne in a can!

SOFIA ~ Pink Champagne  




Paper plates and paper napkins kept
things simple and easy so the bride
and her friends could eat at their leisure.




Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

All the serving pieces and linens 

were my gift to the bride and groom.  

The antique mother of pearl and silver butter knife 

kept the paper goods from flitting off in the breeze.  

I find these little spreaders from the past 

also make nice hostess gifts when attached 

to a package of pretty napkins or food items.  





The St. Cecilia with it's lovely 

grounds was the perfect setting with soul.






Happy 1st Anniversary!





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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Just Peachy!






I baked a peach pie with the last of the 

Texas hill country peaches from last year's crop


using JOY OF COOKING recipe found here.






Then I put it into my 

MacKenzie-Childs ceramic pie dish 

for a pretty presentation.




Peach pie is a 

favorite summer treat.




Especially when it's served 

with a scoop of Haagen-Dazs vanilla.




I also made a few individual pies. 

 I put them into crystal martini stems. 

With the golden ball base, 

 these too were a pretty presentation.




Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits  @ Stone Gable

Blogging has taught me to 

"think out of the box"

when it comes to using dishware.

Pull out you crystal stems, 

and use them in unexpected ways.  




June is the beginning of the peach 

season for Texas Hill Country peaches.




Unfortunately the hill country 

had a hard freeze in March of this year.




These beautiful, ripe 

peaches were last year's crop.




All of these photos were taken 

at the Marburger Orchard last year.  

Sadly, this year the hill country orchards 

have less than 5% of their usual 

crop because of the weather.


We usually buy our peaches from 

Marburger Orchard in Fredricksburg, TX.

It offers "pick your own", 

though we always buy from the stand.

They also have strawberries, 

blackberries, tomatoes, and other seasonal vegetables.




Our favorite 

peaches are Redglobe.




Redglobes are large and round 

with a blushed red over a golden color.




I know most think of Georgia, 

the Peach State, when one thinks of peaches.

Here in Texas, we think of the hill country!




Texas Peaches ~ Yum, Yum Good!

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Red ~ White ~ Starry Blue






The red and white and starry blue

Is Freedom's shield and hope. ~ John Philip Sousa





Flag Day ~ June 14th





A few thrifty finds just in 

time to honor the Stars and Stripes!




Staffordshire Liberty Blue 

 Promotional Pattern Developed for 

 Benjamin Franklin Federal Savings and Loan


to Commemorate the Company's 50th Anniversary in 1975

and the American Bicentennial Celebrated in 1976






The dinnerware features fifteen 

different historical scenes, all from Colonial America.







The borders are a typical floral 

 often seen on English transferware.






The cereal bowl features Betsy Ross,

 the legendary seamstress credited with 

 making the first American flag.





Each piece is marked on the back 

 with the name of the historic scene.





This dinner plate 

 features Independence Hall.




 The mark on the dinner plate is much more 

 refined and includes specific information about the 

 original copper engraving used to produce the scene.





~ Red ~ White ~ Blue ~

 ~ Stars ~ Stripes ~




The perfect patriotic dishes!

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

I like to buy vintage hankies and scarves to use as 
napkins and tray covers.  The added texture is unexpected.




~ F is for flag ~

It's red for love, and it's white for law, 

And it's blue for the hope that our forefathers saw 

Of a larger liberty.

Unknown
Mary Emmerling's AMERICAN COUNTRY FLAGS



~ CELEBRATE FLAG DAY ~

I'd like to give a shout out to  

You may have noticed that my feed is now working again, and it's all because Mariette took the time to write and walk me through a step to correct my settings.

THANK YOU, MARIETTE!

Thanks to each of you who have written to enquire about not receiving post updates.  Hopefully email subscriptions are now functional, and my feed is again on track to update with each new post.  You may sign up for email subscriptions at the top of my sidebar.


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