HYACINTHS FOR THE SOUL

Monday, October 26, 2020

Black Hat Society Breakfast

Halloween

It's the last week of October 2020, and

I've noticed a lot of activity around here.

The girls, as I call them, you know,

members of the Black Hat Society,

have flown in to gather round the table.

They each have their own personality, and

rest assured, each one is a good witch,

ready to help with Halloween fun.

I was asked to style a Halloween table with elements

from my collection of French Quimper pottery.

19th Century Quimper Plate Marked HB Only

Photo Courtesy of Lucy Williams

Quimper pottery comes in various forms and decor,

though Halloween isn't a typical motif.

The antique witch plate is not in my collection, but it inspired this pair of

limited edition witch plates which were produced in 2010.

Join me for breakfast with "the girls".

Let's eat, drink, and be scary!"

We can start with a pumpkin muffin.

A mug of coffee or tea?

Sit and visit with these sweet girls

while I prepare our breakfast.

You might note the plates are not as detailed as the antique version,

yet I find them charming for a touch of whimsy on the table.

A different witch and border on each plate.

Do you have a favorite?

I used my favorite black and white ruffled linens from

Crown Linen Designs as my base and layerd them

with a smaller ruffled black placemat, green rimmed charger,

and orange and black buffalo check napkins.

Silver flatware. with French ivory handles, is vintage.

Our dining room table is a dropleaf that opens to an oval.

It is not easy to find table linens that offer a good fit,

so generally I simply use placemats.

For this table, I wanted to repeat the orange and

black buffalo check, but my round cloth was too small.

What I did was lay it crosswise on the center of the table and then folded it to make pleats on either side of the center line.

I liked the look, especially the ruffle effect that was

a nod to the ruffled placemats and napkins.

My friend Rita @ Panoply taught me how to

make these cute witch hat napkin folds.

You simply roll a ruffled napkin, slide down a ring,

and then fluff out the ruffle at the base to create the illusion of a brim.

They stand up perfectly and make the cutest witch hat!

Be sure to pop over to visit Rita where she shares beautiful tables.

Waffles with berries and whipped cream and

a side of sausage is the menu for the morning.

You will find previous posts on this group of ladies below.

Eat, Drink, and Be Witchy

Tea For Two and Witches Brew

Witches Tea Party

To read more about the Quimper witch plates go Here.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Love Your Creativity @ Life and Linda Sundays on Silverado @ House on Silverado

You're the Star @ Electric Red Barn Happiness is Homemade @ Bluesky at Home Inspire Me Monday @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Make It Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate and Decorate Keep in Touch @ Let's Add Sprinkles Over the Moon @ Marilyn's Treats

Tuesday Turnaround @ Bluesky Kitchen

All About Home @ Common Ground Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop @ Electric Red Barn
Share Your Style @ French Ethereal Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner Charming Homes and Gardens @ Shiplap and Shells Embracing Home and Family @ The Everyday Farmhouse Farmhouse Friday @ The Painted Hinge

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Cast a Festive Spell Among Falling Leaves

Autumn Tablescape

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Sunflowers Make Me Smile

sunflowers

Fall has arrived bringing

us beautiful weather.

We enjoyed this sunny arranngement for over a week,

but after the stems began to rot,

it was time to restyle.

Years ago, a florist shared a wonderful trick

for extending the life of cut flowers.

She taught me to gather the blooms into a tight bouquet,

secure them together, and cut the stems short.

Instant beautiful presentation!

It works especially well for tulips.

I repurposed my sunflowers to a smaller container,

letting the petals fall where they may,

and set a sunflower table for two.

These Nicloe Miller Home beaded placemats

were paired with plaid napkins from World Market

to set the stage for my plate stack.

Plaid Chargers, Willisms Sonoma

Plaid Dinner Plate, Two's Company

Whimsical Rabbit Salad Plate, Anthropologie.

I used a pair of Two's Company mugs as

napkin holders for Crown Linen Design napkins.

I appreciate the quality of these linens as

well as the classic touch of an elegent

crown embroideried in a corner.

I'm eager to have a group of friends and family

gathered round our table, but for now

it's a sunny table for two.

Sunflowers Make Me Smile!

Do you have a special flower that brings smiles?

Love Your Creativity @ Life and Linda Sundays on Silverado @ House on Silverado

Tuesday Turnaround @ Bluesky Kitchen

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Tales of the Traveling Tote #24

Tales of the Traveling Tote

June brought a soft reopening of Texas!

I took the opportunity to meet these two cuties! We met for a morning coffee, but used social distancing and wearing of masks when not sipping our coffee. I'll admit to getting a hug! We had all been isolating, so I felt comfortable!

I also took advantage of this reopening.

I have a Starbucks habit!

The cute Barista was wearing my favorite "color"!

❤️❤️❤️

June also brought some forward progress on our small remodel project. It has been slow going with unexpected delays for various reasons.

The cutie on the left in the opening photo is a new bride.

She married on June 19th, but my chef
and I were only there in spirit.

Still it was fun to think about getting dressed

up for this special occasion.

It did mean that my sister was here for the week,

so I met her for a picnic lunch one day.

We met at our favorite little lunch spot, The Sweet Lemon.

They are only offering outside dining, and it was perfect.

Picnic tables are spread out under the big oak trees,

and they keep spaces clean and santized.

After all these months, it was much needed Sister Time.

Grocery shopping and trips to Trader Joe's

for flowers remain my weekly outings.

Graduations, birthdays, baby showers, birth announcements ~

seems all major celebrations are now honored with

drive-by parades and signs in front yards.

No Annual Fourth of July Parades were allowed.

Instead families were encouraged to decorate their front lawns

so families could drive around and see the festive displays.

Uncle Sam and Lady Liberty held a solo parade.

You can click here to view my 4th of July Tablescape.

July also brought my sister back to visit!

💖💖💖💖💖

If you are regular here, you know that I love flowers and gardening.

I submitted this photo of my garden to the

MacKenzie-Childs Avant Garden Photo Contest.

I was thrilled to have my photo selected as second place and won a beautiful collection of Courtly Check enamelware flower pots. Still waiting arrival of part of the gift, so I will post a photo next edition.