Enchanted Holiday Swan

I was so excited when I realized that my Duncan Miller glass swan dish would look incredible mounded with my collection of silver, aqua and green Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments. She looked enchanted and became the centerpiece for my dining table this year.
 

Hadley Pottery: An Incredible Gift Linking Women in My Life

Are you familiar with Hadley Pottery? My collection has grown lately, and it makes me so happy. First you need to hear what it is and why I like it. Hadley Pottery was founded in 1940 in Louisville, when an artistic woman, Mary Alice Hadley (who had been born into a family of clay tile makers) designed and painted dishes for her houseboat on the Ohio River. When she entertained, everyone went wild for her dishes and insisted she create a set of dishes for their household in the same style. You can read their legendary story on the Hadley website.

My mother went to college at Denison in Ohio in the early 1950's and she said a Hadley mug was her coffee cup throughout college. I grew up drinking out of that same mug, painted with a pig, and loved that when the mug was empty, I could read "The End" painted inside on the bottom. I thought it was fabulous and drank Ovaltine out of it every chance I got growing up.

When I got engaged in 1991, a young couple I admired from Cincinnati gave us a Hadley salad bowl (Farmer & Wife) as an engagement present. Then when I moved to Seattle, I started going to church rummage sales. One day I spotted a Hadley milk pitcher…price 10 cents! My collection was growing.

When we had friends for dinner, I made a chicken dish with a sauce and served it in my new-found Hadley creamer. I told the story of the Hadley brand as I served salad from the big Farmer & Wife salad bowl. Well, six months or more later, that friend texted me and said that she thought the pattern I was collecting was at a resale shop in the next town. She was out scouting for herself and found loads! I went that weekend, and someone must have donated a lifelong collection! It was a thrill. I bought a giant platter, a covered vegetable, a teapot, and a creamer & sugar. Happy days.  And bravo to Stacie for recognizing the pattern.

Okay, now this is where you will not believe it. I posted this photo below on Facebook, showing that I was finally framing some of my favorite garden photos in some new inexpensive IKEA frames. And I got a comment from my high school English teacher-turned-friend, Pam. “Does that bowl on your table mean you collect Hadley?” What? I was so taken with my project I did not even realize that the bowl snuck into the photograph. I emailed Pam privately and told her about my growing collection that had started back in my mom’s college days. Pam said that loved Hadley china and was so thrilled that I did too. She said that she has a large collection that she has had fun adding to over the last 40 years. She also wondered if I would l would like to take some of her pieces as my own. She was downsizing and was sure that her children would not want as many pieces as she had. Gulp. Oh my, yes. What an honor.

Look how much my collection grew with her generous gift! I now have 2 dinner plates so Dan and I can have dinner together. Her vinegar & oil decanters are perfect with my salad bowl. I now have covered soup bowls for French Onion soup or individual baked vegetable casseroles. I have a honey pot and syrup pitcher too. And some darling holiday mugs and luncheon plates for cocoa and cookies. I really cannot believe it. I feel like an honorary daughter and it makes me misty.

Pam and I have been friends since I was in high school (cough cough). We started off on the right foot because her husband, Tom, had been my Social Studies teacher when I was in Junior High! I loved his class so I remember talking to her about how I knew him. Then when I was her student in high school, in addition to teaching English and Creative Writing, Pam also ran the district's Gifted & Talented Program. 

Pam knew that I spent a lot of my free time doing counted cross stitch and she encouraged me to apply to the Board of the Gifted and Talented Program for high school credit in needlework. The ability for the board to approve/issue high school credit for extra curricular activities had been primarily focused on ballerinas and students in ROTC, when Pam thought to challenge that with another viable creative pastime. 

When I was accepted, we helped the Board figure out what amount of time doing cross stitch should quality for 1 hour of high school credit. If memory serves, I did 134 hours of cross-stitch in one semester of high school. It is staggering now that I think about it, but I accepted the challenge, and it was fun. It was my senior year, and I would often spend that “gifted and talented” time slot doing cross stitch and having tea in Pam’s room. Tea and needlework. I’ve been me for a long time. 

Thank you, Pam, for your generous gift. I promise to take good care of your Hadley and serve delicious meals on it forever and ever. My heart swells with my collection and feels like it may burst.

#hadley #hadleychina #collecting #housewares #collectingdishes #blueandwhite #bluedishes #friendship #storytelling #beautyofeverydaylife #gifts 

 

 

Vintage Inspired Holiday Tablescape: Delight in Red & White

This is the darling tablescape my mom and I came up with to enjoy the quiet days after Christmas. She came to stay with us from Christmas to New Years, and one of the things we enjoy is chosing the dishes/tablecloth/placemats/centerpiece every few nights.

My mom brought Hester & Cook placemats with her because that's how she packs (clothes, shoes, placemats) and they were the perfect complement to my vintage Santa and reindeer. After we had set the table with her mother's Spode Jewel china, my mom noticed my antique paper house on the other side of the room and knew it would round out the presentation. 

I'll show you the vintage paper house a little bigger in this photo. It is the wonder of a pop-up. When you fold the two halves together, it collapses completely flat the size of a 12" record. I saw it and bought it on the spot. This is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for when I am antiquing. Have you ever seen anything like it?

Isn't it cute? It was just the three of us having split pea soup, but we had fun making it look special. We didn't have the big family dinners in Michigan that we love, but it was Christmastime during Covid and at least the three of us could be together.

#christmastime #antiques #christmastable #holidaytablescape #redandwhite

Primulas: Brighten Your Table Instantly

I just wanted to take a minute to encourage you to buy primulas. They are an easy way to bring a happy touch into your home. On the West Coast, primulas have been available for a while now and they should start appearing at home improvement centers in the Midwest any time now. These happy-go-lucky plants are reasonable (often $1.25/plant) and they look so pretty in the center of the table.

I know that on the West Coast, these annuals are often planted in casual landscaping or in pots outdoors and have a long bloom time. I must confess that I do not buy them with the plan to keep them around. My wish is to enjoy them for 2-3 weeks of color and cheerful decoration. 

I brought out 4 neutral place mats, some bamboo-style silverware and 4 print napkins that my aunt gave me for Christmas. What makes the table look finished? 6 fresh primulas (still in their original plastic pots) resting on clear plastic saucers to protect the table. Voila!

Green Accents: When Color Makes the Meal

Nothing says spring like verdant green accents. The trees are bursting with bright green growth and my table is reflecting that happy time. 

I've combined some inexpensive green glasses from CB2 (sadly they have discontinued this color), my Tea Time trivet project and some bright green Heather Bailey napkins to bring the table alive. 


When I bought my latest multi-hued hydrangea (pale green with pink splashes), a bloom broke off and my pull toward green and pink began.

The most important message of this post is this:
I set the table even though nothing is happening and no one is coming over. I like to look at beautiful linens, flowers and colors and I shouldn't have to wait for an occasion to use what I have. When I set the table, the house comes alive.

If your kitchen table is collecting bits and bobs, go clear it off and make yourself a pretty table setting. 

Pretty Tablescape: Waverly Dishes Pop with Green Accent Pieces

We can finally entertain! Friends were coming for dinner and as I was setting the table, I came up with this new combination of dishes and glasses that I want to show you.

I decided to use a pattern by Waverly called Norfolk Rose that I bought years ago from a catalog in a 20-piece set. The plates are a soft shell/khaki color with reddish rose accents. Once I knew the color of the dishes, I bought 5 red-orange primulas ($.99 each!) to be the floral focus. They complimented the plates and added a very important touch of green with their leaves.

I had never considered mixing my bright modern green Marta glasses from CB2 (Crate & Barrel's answer to IKEA) with this rather traditional set of dishes, but as I was auditioning different combinations place mats and glasses, this one looked great!

I had some bright green paper napkins from IKEA and they matched the thin green glass perfectly. I pulled out my set of bamboo silverware and the table was set. 

It might seem silly to take this much time choosing the tablescape, but this is what I love and I haven't been able to do it in a long time. The moving boxes are unpacked and all of my treasures are finally within reach. 

In fact, as I create more pretty combinations I'll be sure to show you.

#entertaining #waverly #cb2 

Piano Forte: Personal Touches Based on Color

I love this vignette on the piano in our living room.  Specific and unexpected touches that make it look like our house.  

First, you must have music on the piano. Just because you have little ones learning Three Blind Mice in a piano book designed in the 60's, doesn't mean that you have to leave it on display. When our church changed hymnals, they offered the old ones to the congregation.  I love having a meaningful piece of music highlighted with a silver page holder. I can't play the piano, but my husband might see this as encouragement to learn O Holy Night.

I pulled together small items from around the house that were black. I wanted to ground the accessories a bit and echo the black table I have between our two off white loveseats in the same room.

What 3 items did I choose for the top of the piano? A black sushi bowl used as a vase for peonies. A black and gold tin tea box that I bought as a memento in Paris at Mariage Freres. And a sheet of dollhouse seed packets, framed in black, looks very much like art to a gardener and dollhouse enthusiast like me. The art on the wall above the piano is a piece of vintage sheet music that I photographed and enlarged.

This collection is more interesting than a set of silver picture frames that I might have out at a different time of year, and are all conversation piece on their own, should anyone ask about the items.  I think the most important part about collecting and arranging items is that the items are believeable. I didn't set out to buy items to go together, I walked around the house pulling from my own stash.  Over time, buy items that speak to you.  When you arrange them later, the history of each time (where you found it; who gave it to you; what it reminds you of) will make your storytelling all the more interesting.

Do you like my design?  Perhaps you'd like to customize the top of your piano this week.  Piano forte, indeed.

A Lilly Pulitzer-esque Tablecloth

My new tablecloth is the equivalent of caffeine.  You can't walk into my kitchen and not feel energized.  I found this cotton fabric when I was in Honolulu and I knew immediately that I wanted it to be a Lilly-like tablecloth in my aqua and white kitchen.
I am a big fan of buying fabric that I love and serging the edge to make a quick and easy tablecloth.  When I realized that the fabric width didn't allow for enough drape on the sides, I tried making my first "ruffle" with the extra fabric to add some length. It worked and still looks great. 

And a casual collection of like-minded roses from the garden echos the colors in the fabric.  I love this time of year.

The Shops at Target

You know that I like to keep my eye on Target and their designer spotlights.  I am incredible happy with my pieces from Missoni (striped tray, 3-piece tray and glass votives) and John Derian.

So when I heard about a series called "The Shops" at Target, I was intrigued.  The shop that spoke to me was Privet House, which is described as a Connecticut-based shop that's "home to curiosities, antiques and decor with soul and patina."  I liked the overall look of the collection, but only had-to-have one thing.  These heavy linen place mats.  They work perfectly with my woven glassware and pitcher.  And I think they have a lovely grounding effect to my light-as-air aqua and white kitchen.

Have you checked out The Shops at Target?

Birthday Dinner

This is my pretty birthday table setting!  A happy table for a happy occasion.  My dear friend, Corinne, is in town from Hawaii and she was able to join us tonight for my birthday dinner. 

I started with a bright plaid plastic tablecloth that I have been saving for the right night all Summer.  I tore open the package, snapped my arms to loosen the folds and when tablecloth unfurled it was almost solid white!  Not at all what I was expecting.  The darling plaid was printed only on the border.  Hmm...

So I grabbed the scissors, cut out the white center, slid the 2 plaid panels next to one another and taped them together!  A custom runner was born - and it looks fabulous over my green and lavender linen tablecloth.  Whoosh, the cute tablescape in my mind was back on track.

I floated "Graham Thomas" roses and pink verbena in water on hot pink glass cake plates.  Added a turquoise serving dish.  Some Bamboo flatware.  Three cotton napkins in aqua with green ric rac and Voila!  I believe that everything tastes better at a pretty table.

The night was a big success - the dinner was delicious, we remembered to pop open my special bottle of bling water and we sat for hours talking and catching up.  Friendship is the greatest gift of all. 

Thanksgiving Tablesettings

I wanted to arrange this tray to show you a few simple ideas to enhance your Thanksgiving Table.

First, if you build the look around one showpiece (in this case, the salad plate) it is much easier to find your way. If you need a show-stopper, head to the discount shop (Homegoods, Marshals, TJ Maxx). Right now they are loaded with transferware-like salad/dessert plates with turkeys on them for $6-8 each. They are really handsome, inexpensive and a great way to update a dinner plate that you already own.

Second, I made a "napkin ring" out of laser cut scrapbook paper from Michael's. Just cut the sheet into strips, wrap a strip around a plain white napkin and tape the ring closed on the back.

Third, the placemat shown here is a piece of fabric that I cut in a rectangle and "serged" the edges. If you don't have a serger, my advice is to "pink" the edges with pinking shears and you are ready! This should keep the fabric from fraying and eliminate the need to sew anything.

Need matching glasses for eight? I bought the mocha-colored acrylic glass shown here at Target for $1.99!

My advice is to lay out the plates, linens and candles that you have, look for a color theme and run with it! Even using just one of my ideas could help make your holiday table feel brand new.

Happy Thanksgiving-planning from me to you.

A Sweet Couple

Can you believe that this couple is made out of Maple Sugar? When my parents took a driving trip through Vermont, I requested a maple sugar souvenir and look what I got! So cute.

Have you started planning your Thanksgiving table? I think one of these at each place setting would make a really neat favor. Or maybe you'd like one shaped like a maple leaf or a turkey. You can consider the entire collection online here.

Maple is the perfect flavor for a Thanksgiving meal and these two make such a sweet couple.

Fall Tablescapes

Now is the time to start planning your Fall tablescape. Is November your month for book club? Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year?

I saw this display at the Country Living Fair and it really got me in the mood for the rich colors and many textures of autumn. Next week I am going to pull out my cream dinner plates, black raspberry-covered dessert plates, green glassware and a melange of serving pieces and see what I can come up with for a casual "Dinner For Four."

I have a feeling I will be trimming napkins or doing something to pull it all together. This is the year to "use what you have." Join me?