Showing posts with label Favorites on the 1st. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Favorites on the 1st. Show all posts

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Plaid Tidings ~ Vignettes from Christmases Past


Welcome To

~ Plaid Tidings ~




Can you believe it's already December and Time For 

~ Favorites on the First ~
@
The Polohouse



And

 The Tablescaper's Christmases Past.




Each year our Christmas tree is

 decorated with lots of

 Courtly Check and Tartan.




Let the piping begin!

~ Plaid Tidings ~ 

Vignettes from Christmases Past






































































It's December 1st

and time to start thinking about 

Christmas 2013.




Sadie and I hope you enjoyed our look back

 and perhaps inspired you to add a touch of

 tartan to your own holiday vignettes?




This season as we deck the halls here @ HFTS 

 my heart will be filled with mixed emotions.

 My sweet mother passed away Thanksgiving Morning.

 Hearts ache with the loss but are also filled with gratitude 

 and pride for the legacy Mother leaves behind. 

 She was 99 years old, lived a joyful life,

 and was dearly loved by those who knew her.

 No question I will feel her spirit beside me

 as I decorate the tree and add little touches

 of tartan among this year's holiday vignettes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Special Request ~
Blogger has not updated my posts 
on sidebars for several weeks again.
If anyone knows how to fix this
please let me know.  In the meantime,
those who subscribe at the top of my sidebar
will have new posts delivered directly to your email inbox.
Unfortunately Bloglovin doesn't recognize my blog.
Many thanks to all who read, comment, and follow along.

Joining
Favorites on the 1st @ The Polohouse
Christmases Past @ The Tablescaper

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Monday, September 2, 2013

Still In Love ~ 38 Years & I'd Do It Again



Favorites on the 1st
with Alison @ The Polohouse
This Month's Theme ~ Favorite China Patterns

Still in love and
happily married for 38 years!
All these years later I wouldn't change a thing,
including our choice of fine china which we
selected together when we registered for our wedding china.

Richard Ginori ~ Palermo Brown
We selected this pattern for its simplicity 
and the touch of chocolate brown.
Our crystal selection was by Denby 
in a rich amber brown with clear stems.  

Richard Ginori china has been produced since 1735.  
As with many of the porcelain 
and china factories in the UK and Europe,
Ginori experienced financial difficulties. 
The company declared bankruptcy in January 2013.

In April 2013, Ginori was purchased by Gucci with plans to improve the factory in Florence and continue to produce 
the high-end products under its name.

Palermo Brown has been a discontinued pattern since 1988, but one can still find it through eBay and online retailers.
This pattern was also produced in several other colors.
~ rust ~ green ~ yellow ~ blue ~ black ~

As you can see, this is a very versatile pattern.
It's easy to mix it with a variety of linens,
chargers, and patterned salad or dessert plates.
Here it is paired with an inexpensive salad plate, 
Classic Tidings Tartan from Target.

Here with another fine china,
Olde Avesbury by Royal Crown Derby
and Italian pewter chargers.

The colorful Birds of Paradise and Oriental Pheasants 
in Olde Avesbury are taken from an original embroidery.
This pattern was first produced as above in 1932,
but now one can purchase many other color variations
 that have been derived from this pattern.
The green charger is by Zrike.

Our colored crystal by Denby 
compliments both of these china patterns.

Last summer I loaned our china to a friend 
for an alfresco dinner party.
She set an elegant table with gold chargers 
and white linens with an added touch of burgundy.
I just may copy this idea for our November Thanksgiving table.

I'd be a real copycat right down to the Bosc pears 
and the gorgeous rose bouquets in urns.

Or I may do something totally different 
and use the set of Mottahedeh Sacred Bird and Butterfly plates 
that were a gift from Cherry Kay @ Entertaining Women.
You can view the complete post on this table here.

I paired them with the set of 
Walbrzych salad plates that were a thrift store find
and woven rattan chargers from Pier One.

Alison gave us permission to share favorite
china patterns that we own or ones we wished to own.
She called it "wishful thinking"!
I was curious to know what other patterns might work with 
Sacred Bird and Butterfly. 
Off I went to a local shop that carries this pattern
 to see what might be a nice compliment
 to this beautiful rust design.

~ Royale Limoges ~
 Carolle Paprika Dessert Plate w/ Thin Gold Filet
Danielle Presentation Plate w/ Gold Band on White Porcelain
I'm adding the Carolle Paprika dessert plates 
to my "wishful thinking" list.
What do you think?

If you enjoy pretty dishes you should hurry on over to 
Link up you favorite china patterns and see what 
others favor for their personal table settings.

Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits @ Stone Gable

My tip for selecting a china pattern, is to select a simple rimmed white plate that will easily coordinate with other pieces.  It's fun to mix things up with accent pieces, pretty linens, glassware, and flatware.



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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Summer Garden Party









All the petite blooms 

 above are from my summer garden.

Welcome to a Summer Garden Party!




Summers in Texas can be brutal, 

but up until today our summer temps 

haven't been all that bad.

Today's high:  103º.




The Knockout roses you see above are not so

 bright and colorful today, but the blue plumbago 

doesn't seem to mind the heat.  They bloom 

like this from spring to first frost.




The Yellow Bells do too!




As do the Golden Thrialis 

and Firecracker Ferns.




The Golden Thrialis is one 

of my favorites for cut flowers.

I like to add this wispy

 bloom in with fresh bouquets.




The Blackfoot Daisy 

isn't much for cut flowers,

but it sure does like the dry, hot summers.




Blue Daze likes to spread easily and mixes 

well with the sizzle of hot orange Coreopsis.




Coral Vine offers 

a touch of hot pink.

The heart shaped leaves of this pretty  

vine eagerly climb our porch posts.





This jewel is a 

Habranthus Pink Rain Lily.

I planted some of these bulbs in 

my herb garden years ago.

The bouquet of pink was its gift

shortly after an unexpected 

 thunder storm two weeks ago.




In contrast to all the hot colors out front,

our back yard is a shade garden of

mostly evergreens and touches of purple and white.





Scented Geraniums spill out from the large urns 

and don't seem to mind the Texas heat.




I like to add in Fancy Leaf Caladiums 

for the hot summer months.

The white and green heart shaped leaves 

visually offer a sense of cooler temperatures.




Hope you enjoyed 

my little summer garden tour.

I've been cooking with lemons this week.

Thought you might enjoy a 

lemony French macaron before you leave.

Oh, go ahead and have two!





They are light as a feather meringue 

with the creamiest lemon curd filling.




I participated in Michael Lee West's 

Mystery Ingredient Club 

where the mystery ingredients were all 

about Meyer lemons.  

Click here for 

   Cooking With The Meyers  

For more summer flowers and gardens, don't forget to stop by 


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