Sunday, July 28, 2013

How Now Brown Cow





JUST BROWN AND WHITE 
And A TOUCH OF SILVER

Cuisine Kathleen challenged us to set a 
 table with white dishes and one accent color.
Easy for me to pull out the dishes we use daily,
Nantucket by Wedgwood.

As you can see my accent color of choice is brown.
Luncheon plates are a design by Kate Spade
for Lenox.  I picked up a set on clearance at TJ Maxx.
Flatware is Talisman by Christophe.

Rattan Chargers ~ Pier I
White Plates ~ Nantucket by Wedgwood
Accent Plates ~ Cordell Place Chocolate by Lenox

All of that topped with crystal stems by Denby and 
brown linen napkins held by Royal Staffordshire 
napkin rings in Tonquin.  

The monogramed napkins are circa early marriage.

The brown and white transfer ware napkin holders 
are Tonquin, a design by Clarice Cliff from the 1920s.
I found three of these at the Round Top Antique Market one year
and luckily was fortunate to add four more from
Nancy's Etsy Shop, English Transferware.
Nancy is a fantastic source for 
transfer ware and a delightful person.
You can find her Etsy shop here 
and her blog, Nancy's Daily Dish here.

The bone dish at the top of the setting is also Tonquin. 
I only have two of these, but thought I'd add them just because.

Colored crystal stems were all the rage 
in the mid 70s when we married.  
Our wedding china is 
Palermo Brown by Richard Ginori, 
so it seemed to be the perfect choice at the time.  
I still find them beautiful, but colored crystal has its limits.  

The bucolic scene of the transfer ware 
made me think of cows grazing in the countryside.

It wasn't long before my collection of 
cow creamers came into play on this tabletop.

This fancy lady is French, made with beautiful details
that one expects from Limoges china.  

The brown and white cow, another Round Top find,
 is in the Charlotte pattern by Royal Crownford.

These little girls are inexpensive 
and newly made in China.

So there you have it, Cuisine Kathleen, 
a table set with only white and brown.

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
My tip for this week is a quick and easy, but tasty dessert.

This is a favorite from my childhood.
~ A Brown Cow ~

~ Root Beer ~
~Vanilla Ice Cream ~
 ~ Whipped Cream ~

You can see I used the new A and W low calorie root beer, 
and the whipped cream only has 15 calories a serving.  
With a small scoop of ice cream, this is a fairly low cal dessert.

Top it off with some 
chocolate sprinkles or shavings.  

It's so tasty you'll have 
to hurry before the cows drink it.

 ~ Brown Cow ~
Yum ~ Yum



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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tea Time Blues







Tea Time At

  Hyacinths for the Soul




Today's tea celebrates

 all things blue.





The cups and saucers were souvenirs purchased 

in Quimper, France in honor of my first visit.





They are antique pieces produced by 

the De la Hubaudiére faiencerie circa 1895.




The graceful teapot 

holds steaming water   .   .   .  




To use with vintage silver steeping spoons 

that feature mother of pearl handles.




I think they are bit more elegant than

using tea bags.   Don't you agree?




Just place the spoon in the cup 

and pour in the steaming water.




Can you smell 

its delicate fragrance?




These sugar tongs are petite, 

and beautifully embossed. 




One lump or two?




A friend gave me blueberries 

fresh from the farmer's market, 

so I made blueberry muffins to have with tea.




I used Martha's recipe found here.

They are made with cornmeal and 

 buttermilk, very moist and not too sweet.




Where there is food involved, 

you can be certain our Sadie girl

will be waiting at your feet.


Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

 My tidbit for today is, 

 "Take those pretty things out of the cupboard 

 and take joy in actually using them 

 for their intended purpose."

 Joining


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Wednesday, July 17, 2013

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish





Dr Seuss' Poem kept rattling 
around in my head as I set this table.

A fellow Quimper collector 
was joining us for lunch this week.

It seemed appropriate to 
use some of our Quimper dishes.

I chose these fish plates that were made 
by HenRiot Quimper in mid 20th century.

With their bright floral motif 
and the blue sponged details, 
they were a perfect choice for a July luncheon.

Each plate is finely detailed.
~ Faces ~ Fins ~

~ Fish Tails ~

I used napkins with a French provencal 
pattern in blue to soften the stack of ceramics.

The same napkins in 
red were used atop the stack.

Silver napkin rings of fancy fish 
swam their way around each serviette.

Vintage Mother of Pearl flatware 
seemed to be the perfect compliment.

This beautiful red Italian
 compote was a recent thrifty find.

With its gently scalloped edges and filled with a 
feathery fern, it fit right into the theme of this table.

As did my recent silver find 
from the City Wide Garage Sale.

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable
The red dinner plates were also thrifty finds.  Two round and two square, so this table setting is a mix of both.  It's just the two of us most meals, so I don't shy away from picking up pairs of plates when I find pieces I can mix with other pieces.  This tablescape is definitely an example of a "collected tabletop". 


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