Anniversary Musings

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary last week. After looking at this photograph, I think you can understand why I chose him!!

I have mentioned in several blogs that he is a “keeper”. My gift from him this year was a new china cabinet. It was meant to help me find more storage for my ever-expanding collection of china and linens. We ordered it from North Carolina and it arrived earlier than expected. Perhaps, you have already noticed it in a couple of recent blogs.

Most of the wedding gifts that we received long ago are still being used today! We were so fortunate that our family and friends gave us pieces that have stood the test of time. The only things that I can remember that we eventually gave away were some melamine dishes, which I believe are now becoming popular, again. Who knew??

One of my favorite gifts that we received was from my Aunt Mable (yes, she spells it that way!). I wrote in my Valentine’s blog about my husband’s and my decision to marry much more quickly than we had originally planned. We were both in college some distance away from one another and thought it would be easier for us to be in the same place. We married in a month and gave my poor mother almost no time to plan. Obviously, we had a small wedding.

The Christmas before we made that Valentine’s Day decision to marry in March, I had visited my aunt. We were searching for treasures in an antique shop (she, too, loves old beautiful things) and I spotted a darling chintzware coffee demitasse set. As I was already engaged, but thought the wedding was some years down the road, I jokingly told my aunt that when I did get married, I would love to receive the coffee set. Then, I completely forgot about it.

Of course, you have already guessed what happened! My aunt did not forget and the coffee set found its way to me on my wedding day. What a thoughtful and wonderful surprise!!

I had the pieces for many years, when I discovered a matching condiment set at an antique show. It consisted of a tray with salt and pepper shakers and a jam pot with a tiny sterling spoon. The chintz pattern is “Devon Rose” by Royal Crown China.

My sister contributed the “Virginia Carvel” sterling demitasse spoons.

After putting the china cabinet in place, my husband suggested moving our old dining room buffet to our study. It works perfectly there and makes a wonderful “tabletop” to serve after dinner coffee and showcase my “Devon Rose” demitasse set.

I began by using a white on white embroidered placemat, which was a Tuesday Morning find.

Is there anything more beautiful than white on white embroidery?

I, also, used white on white cocktail napkins. I bought these at a wonderful store that has been out of business for years. I still miss finding treasures there!

The creamer and sugar were set on the condiment tray and I surrounded them with the coffee pot, demitasse cups and saucers.

For an after dinner chocolate treat, I melted white chocolate and drizzled it onto Hershey’s chocolate nugget with almond candies - half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate. What could be easier than that?

I served them in a tiny bowl that was originally my mother’s. I do not know the name of the pattern, but I plan on doing some research, after using it here. The bowl is so pretty that I think there must be more pieces available somewhere.

I love the way my old Mikasa glass candlesticks repeat the vertical lines in the little bowl. Candlelight is an absolutely must for after dinner coffee!

I always enjoy celebrating our anniversary. We are getting older, but marking the day reminds me that we have somehow traveled through this life together and made it work. In today’s crazy world, I think that is a real accomplishment!

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Our First Giveaway Comes With a Little Story

(Winner announced here!)


Do you know what prompted this blog to come into being? A very sick little girl.

Spring, 2010

Emma, my daughter and fellow blogger, has been home sick with a bone infection since October of last year. Emma and I, (Andrea), have certainly spent a lot of time in hospitals, at doctors' offices, and at home together and with my mom, Diane. There are only so many entertaining things to do day after day, and that is one reason Emma became more interested in the passion we have for table goodies.  When my mom and I spend any time at all together, the conversation inevitably turns to household treasures. It was a good distraction between consultations and treatments. Emma couldn't escape, bless her heart! She has a passion for HGTV, interior design, architecture, and writing, and being able to create and write a little has been good for her. You have certainly given her a big boost in your appreciation for her creations, so we are thinking it's time to give back to you a little. 

Based on the feedback on a recent optimistic post, "Outdated Kitchens Can Be Pretty, Too," we decided to expand on that theme. I wanted to show you another lovely look in the same kitchen (my kitchen) with the outdated décor. I am so in love with my outdated kitchen now that I know how to work with it. And guess what! Four of these dinner plates will go to our lucky giveaway winner!  I hope to share with you how something that might appear to be very limiting is full of possibilities!

Let's start with the fantastic plates! Noritake made so many different pieces in this pattern, Lineage, including flatware! The dinner plates normally sell for around $20/each on the major websites that sell vintage china, so four of them have a value of around $80. (The giveaway rules are at the very bottom of the page.) These plates have so many beautiful colors, but the green is dominant. Later in the post, I will show you how I could have picked any color to emphasize in these plates, making it easy for me. They go with anything! Blue, red, yellow...even purple! (Pics at the bottom of the post.) But I thought the green would be a challenge in my kitchen. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is this week! So I went with it!

The design reminds me a little of Indian Tree motifs, and the birds are such a great plus! I love that they are oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Many of my vintage patterns can only be hand-washed, so I don't use them everyday. But this is durable enough for enjoying with my little ones!

These plates were part of a huge vintage set I bought at a local Goodwill. I love them! Can you imagine them in the kitchen from the earlier post? 

In the advice from the earlier post, I recommended changing out accessories to give a new look. The first thing I did was change out everything in the cupboard to emphasize the green in the plates. I tried putting in more green than this, but adding other colors helped. I used the oranges to tie it to the peach in the wallpaper. The brown pieces and the pottery were other good accents with the wood in the room.

The little turtle in the front is from one of my children. I have their art all over the house as decoration. They are my favorite pieces. 

A few other examples:

But I digress...

The oranges emphasize the oranges and yellows in the plates. And the large ceramic platter was a great TJ Maxx find that I found a while back. 

I like the narrow dish which allowed me to add depth. But I have a secret...it's Holiday by Lenox. I placed it on a high shelf and the oranges hide the pattern.

One of the other things I recommended was using flowers as a color focal point. These are certainly a good match!

Are you ready to see the whole table?

I think the changes worked! By the way, the reverseable placemats here are the same ones from the prior post with the pink glass plates. $1.50 each at Big Lots and two great looks!

Do you think these plates would work in your kitchen? In your dining room? Here are some examples of the plates on different placemats of mine.

Yes, that one is actually a mulberry/pink placemat.

Really was surprised the green and purple one worked so well.

I hope you like them as much as I do!

And now for the Giveaway Rules:

The giveaway is for these four dinner plates. Click any of the Amazon links below and and find a great product to go with these plates on your dinner table. It can be flatware, goblets, linens, a centerpiece, etc.

Search Amazon.com

In the comment section below, leave a description and a link to what you found. You can leave one comment a day from Saturday, March 12 at 6pm EST to Sunday, March 20, 12pm EST.  Each comment will equal one entry. We will use a random number generator to select the winning entry. (My doctoral program was in statistics, so I think it's a pretty good system!) The winner will be announced no later than March 21 along with a posted email for you to send us your shipping address.

Have fun and Good Luck! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (My mother, Diane, created a very pretty Irish tablescape for St. Patrick's Day here.)

-Andrea

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Great Blog Finds!

Here are some of the awesome things we've seen on the blogosphere this week. We thought they were fantastic, so we thought we'd share! 


1.  Monogrammed chair!


http://littleguessfamily.blogspot.com/2011/03/i-finished-my-chair.html

2. Dressing up China Cabinets!


http://chrissiescollections.blogspot.com/2011/03/retro-chic-china-cabinet-transformation.html

http://maisondecor8.blogspot.com/2011/03/fabulous-wallpapered-cabinet.html

3. Dressing up your Bathroom Mirrors

http://theivycottageblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/builders-grade-to-beautiful-bathroom.html

4. St. Patrick's Day Soup!

http://foodfolksandfun.blogspot.com/2011/03/not-yo-mommas-broccoli-cheese-soup.html

5.  St. Patrick's Day Sweets!

http://sunscholars.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-pattys-day-fun.html