Saturday, January 31, 2015

Inspire Your Heart With Art




~ Inspire Your Heart With Art ~ 

January 31, 2015

 Celebrating the positive impact art has on us and

 exploring ways to further incorporate art into our daily lives.




Art by Patience Brewster ~  patiencebrewster.com

Those who follow along here at Hyacinths know

 my heart has needed some inspiration of late.



Image - patiencebrewster.com

Do you know this pretty lady?

 Meet Patience Brewster, 

 a creative, talented soul who is the artist

 behind the whimsical, delightful designs 

 for Patience Brewster, Inc.




Dash Away Donna ~ Austin Four Seasons Hotel ~ 2010

As an elementary teacher, 

I first knew Patience Brewster as an author 

and illustrator of children's books.  

She is also the artist behind the charming  

ornaments and figures many of us know as Krinkles.




My own Dash Away Donna hangs on our

Christmas tree along with other Krinkles each season.

I was delighted to read the story behind the

 Dash Away Reindeer on Patience's Blog here.




Queen of Hearts by Patience Brewster

Patience Brewster, on a personal mission 

to inspire others with her work, 

 has indeed inspired my heart today.


Patience's enchanting figure was the "arrow" that inspired 

 my Queen of Hearts tray for Valentine's Day.

Now my heart is telling me I just may

need to add another Queen of Hearts.



Queen of Hearts  by artists
~ Mary Engelbreit ~ Debra Schoch ~ 
~ Allen W. Cunningham ~ Lib Cummings Meade ~ 

A bit of royalty to reign over  

 the festivities for the month of February.



My heart is inspired!

 Thank you, Patience Brewster.

 You were my valentine muse this year!


Pillows ~ Hand-Stitched by Me!
Patience Brewster Queen of Hearts ~ available here

All 270 Patience Brewster ornaments here.

 Patience Brewster Valentines here.



Come back next week 

 to see more.


I'll be joining

Laurie's Annual Valentine Party.





You can read more about Patience Brewster here.

I'm truly inspired by Patience's story 

and think you will be too.




Tell me ~

 What inspires your heart?





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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

A Winter Weekend



The Musée d'Orsay is

without doubt one of my favorite 

destinations in all of Paris.

Can one ever see these incredible 

works too many times?




I think not,

so I made a recent trip to see

Faces of Impressionism

before it leaves Texas the end of the month.

You can read about the exhibit here.

It will be at the Kimbell in 

Ft. Worth though January 25th.






The weekend in Dallas was wet and cold,

but it was warm and cozy 

inside my friend Susan's beautiful home.






She had her table set with adorable 

snowmen and snowy glass trees   .   .   .


Along with white 

 candles and red berries.




Charming metal branches with rosy red berries 

 were scattered down the center of the table.
The oversized stems, often referred to as

 buttermilk goblets, are family pieces from 

 Susan's paternal grandmother and added more 

sparkle to the wintery tabletop vignette.



Place settings of 

Wedgwood Queen's Ware and Strasbourg sterling

were accented with woven rattan chargers

and festive Ralph Lauren winter napkins featuring

greens, pine cones, and red berries.


I've long admired Wedgwood's pattern

 with its delicate shell edge and beautifully 

 embossed design of leaves and grapes.





The simplicity of the exquisite 

 white creamware against the woven rattan 

 and the design on the napkins

 works perfectly for a January tablescape.




Allie at the Table


The weekend and Susan's lovely table inspired me to 

 do a little "painting" of my own.

I'm very accomplished 

when using the Waterlogue App!

 Joining

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Monday, January 5, 2015

Time for Tea @ Downton Abbey







Sunday, January 4th

It's Time!




Time for Tea 

                  And .   .   .




Time for 

Season Five





An early birthday present arrived just in time

for the first episode of Season Five.

~ Tea ~ Scones ~ Jam ~ Clotted Cream ~ 





A very thoughtful friend ventured

out early on Black Friday to be one of the 

first 100 shoppers for 

World Market's exclusive offer.

~  Downton Abbey Teacups and Tote Bag  ~

What a sweet gift!




Oh, 

what excitement!
 Another season 

of delicious entertainment!






Tell me, 

did you watch the premiere

of Season Five?

Are you a DA fan?

Joining









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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Night In Paris ~ Joyeux Noel


A Night in Paris ~ Joyeux Noel




 A friend and I hosted a holiday

dinner party for our Mah Jongg group.





Some of you may remember

that I spent two weeks in France last fall.

One of my friends joined me when I arrived in Paris.

While there, we began planning a 

special dinner party for

A Night in Paris.





The table featured our own

La Tour Eiffel

complete with sparkling lights   .   .   .





Atop a Champ de Mars

of fresh greens and fragrant rose petals.





Une Magnifique Soirée!





There were twelve of us,

so we set another small table to the side.





While in Paris last September,

we dined at Auberge Bressane,

one of my favorite restaurants which offers

an authentic traditional French cuisine.
In anticipation of our dinner party,

our waiter let us buy some of the restaurant's napkins

to take home as souvenirs of our trip.
Dinner plates 

~ Spode Christmas Tree ~





We brought back these

adorable trays for each of our guests.





They served as perfect 

bread plates for croissants and butter.





Wrapped packages for 

each guest were sparkly Eiffel Tower

ornaments to hang on their own tree

and a copy of 

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN PARIS.





Brie En Croute and champagne to toast

the evening while lively French music filled the room.

We had a local restaurant make our main course,

authentic savory French crepes ~ The Eiffel and The Bruni.

You can see a complete menu for Café Crepé here.

Haricot Vert and fresh tomatoes

 topped with a special vegetable mixture.

Dessert ~ Créme Bruleé, bien sur!

Sadly, no food photos ~ too busy!

 Bonne Année 2015, Mes Amis!
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Monday, December 22, 2014

Herding Reindeer


I found them!




Last week I shared a green version 

of these charming guys used

for a casual tablescape with tartan plates.

You can view it here.  




French Country Cottage ~ Image Used With Permission



had shared her idea of using

these handsome reindeer ornaments here.





I was on a mission to

 find sets of the white ones.

Several phone calls later and a crosstown trip,

I managed to wrangle a herd of my own.





I added wreaths of fresh 

rosemary for a festive touch.











White linen napkins and

white china rimmed in brown and gold,

used with a woven charger

 kept the place settings

simple, but elegant.





I wanted the focus of the table

to be the winter wonderland village,

a gift from my friend who passed away in October.

Jane created the village for a luncheon to celebrate

my 65th birthday two years ago, then sent it home

with me as a birthday present.

I cherish it!





In the center is the largest structure,

a beautiful church with bell tower and spire.





Smaller, individual structures surround

the church to create a unique and charming

little village of two story abodes and cozy cottages.





Love the barn shaped roofline 

and the French poodle in the front yard.





This one, with its eyebrow dormer

looks to have multiple floors.





A winter fox frolics about

this home with its steeply pitched roof.





Who wouldn't want to cozy up

in this little charmer?





I'll take the room in

the attic here.  I suspect it offers

an incredible view of the snowy village.





This home is a bit plain, but looks as

if it has plenty of room for a large family.





What a welcomed sight this 

cottage is on a snowy evening. 

 Love the red tiled roof 

and the glow in the windows.






We enjoyed a one dish meal ~

a green salad with roasted chicken,

wild rice, cranberries, and nuts.



Tiny Pies ~ Austin, Texas ~ Facebook Photo

And a one jar dessert!

I failed to get a photo of my own,

 but just look at this delicious dessert.

  Chocolate cream pie with peppermint

whipped cream, a delightful treat in a jar.


Each guest now has a

 white reindeer hanging on their tree!

 Happy Holidays to all!

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