Travelscape! (with recipe)

Our family loves traveling almost as much as tablescaping. Summer will be here soon and it is time to plan vacations. I invited my daughter and two granddaughters to lunch for a surprise discussion of our next travel adventure.

The table was set. Then, I added some black and white photos to remind us of our past travels.

Paris

New York

Morocco

Berlin

I used some square “cities” plates that I had bought many years ago at TJ Maxx. I had always intended to put them on the wall of one of my bedrooms, but never got around to hanging them. Each one has scenes of a different world city – Paris, London, Rome and New York.

Paris

London

Rome

New York

I decided to use yellow with the black and white, so I added some lemons to a black wire basket from TJ Maxx. Maybe, I will use them later to make my mother's lemon cheese cake (recipe at the end).

The Sunflower Yellow Fiesta tablecloth was purchased on Amazon.com.

Fiesta Solid Color 60 Round Tablecloth, Sunflower

I ordered the black and white napkins from an online linen store.

The napkin rings were made from flowers that I bought at Michael’s. The yellow centers were the inspiration for the black, white and yellow color scheme.

Target was the source for the black flatware and placemats.

The glasses are from Mikasa.

The stemware charms that I have had for years almost matched the plates perfectly. They include the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Statue of Liberty and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Of course, the leaning tower is not in Rome, but it is in Italy, at least!

Our trip last summer was to London and Paris, so I guess those cities will be eliminated from the list of possibilities for this year. I do love to shop in England for china, though - the first time that I ever visited one of the China Reject shops, I was overwhelmed. Of course, shopping at Harrod's in the tabletop department is not bad either!


Time to decide on a destination. Collectively, we have been to most of the countries in Europe. However, none of us has been to South America. Maybe, it is time to learn to dance the Tango - Argentina, anyone????






Lemon Cheese Cake

Cake


8 egg whites
2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 1/4 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Sift flour and baking powder together four times.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour and milk alternately, mixing after each addition.
Beat eggs whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Add vanilla.
Pour into three greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees, until layers are done (the recipe reads 45 minutes, but my layers were done after 20-25 minutes).


Lemon Cheese Filling


1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
juice of 3 lemons


Cook together in the top of a double boiler, until thick. Refrigerate, until cool.


Seven Minute Icing


2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla


Combine the first 5 ingredients in the top of a double boiler. With hand mixer, beat for one minute to combine. Then, over boiling water, beat on high for seven minutes. Beat in vanilla.


To assemble the cake:


After removing the warm cake layers from the pan, spread cooled filling over the bottom two layers. Place the three layers together and spread seven minute frosting on sides and top of cake. Enjoy!


Diane

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Motif Monday Linky Party - 1 - Fleur-de-Lis Times Three

Welcome to our very first Motif Monday Linky Party!

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I am posting a bit early so that you will have time to decide on your table!

(Click on the pictures throughout the blog for better resolution and zoom.)

My motif of the day (really 2/21) is the Fleur-de-Lis. I happen to be a French teacher (among other things) when not tablescaping. The typical Fleur-de-Lis motif is explained here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis. I have numerous souvenirs from trips abroad and gifts from friends and students that reflect my love of French culture. 

(I should point out that I teach Spanish, too, and my background is really political science and statistics along with language studies and linguistics. And I paint. And do web development. These are my paid jobs, not even my hobbies! So, if you're one of those people who think French teachers only have eyes for France, that's not me! I love it all!) 

The bookend below and the hatbox are two examples of Fleur-de-lis motifs. The hatbox is interesting because each Fleur-de-lis is formed by wheat bundles.  I know the Limoges box doesn't have the motif of the day, but it is my favorite! It reads, "Paris - Atlanta," on the front and back. On the sides it reads, "4386 miles." I love that it has a car on it...never mind the Atlantic Ocean!

The tatted doily was made by my great-grandmother. She passed away when I was seven years old, and I love having some of her treasures.

These are some of my lovely French books I have purchased at various antique shops here and abroad.

The coaster on display is of the gardens at Versailles. The design seems to echo a Fleur-de-lis.

 The sugar and creamer are Lismore.

The silver is Sir Christopher by Wallace. Love the sugar tongs! I bought these when I was expecting Emma, my oldest daughter, who is now in middle school.  She is a co-author on this site - the one obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. See her last post here:  http://tablescapex3.blogspot.com/2011/02/all-audrey-all-time.html

I have to say I started out with more fresh fruit and cheese. I nibbled a little while taking pictures. 

Mmmmmmmm.

The embossed faux leather tray was purchased at The Pottery in Commerce, Georgia many years ago. It was $1.00, I think. Too bad The Pottery closed. Wall-to-wall bargains. I wish I had bought more. 

The chocolate pot is an antique Lenox pattern, P72. Most of P72 was made for Tiffany & Co., Ovington Bros., etc. This piece and the 12 snack plate and cup sets I have in this pattern were an UNBELIEVABLE deal I found on eBay. These pieces date from 1917. The cobalt is stunning.

The detail on the early Lenox is fabulous!

The antique cotton napkins were passed down in the family, are hand-embroidered, and are at least 70 years old.

This table would make for a nice afternoon coffee, tea, or chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) gathering for three. 

The weather is actually perfect in Georgia this time of year for an afternoon on the porch. Looking and nibbling at this table, I realized that I need to head to Panera for some croissants. Of course if we added croissants, we would not leave out Nutella! My children adore it! I keep a stock of it in the pantry. Even though Nutella is Italian, it is a very popular item for breakfast or snack time in France. The history of Nutella can be found here: http://www.nutellausa.com/history.htm

A beautiful February day - 67 degrees at 5:00pm!

Caught my younger two children playing outside while working on the table.

And they caught me!

Speaking of being caught, Ava (conveniently wearing a Paris shirt) caught a lizard. Older brother Carson smiles proudly at her success.

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Blessings,

Andrea

What motifs do you like?  We look forward to your sharing!

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It's So Very Cheri

Skip to my Lou

Giggles, Glitz, and Glam

Tip Junkie

Today's Creative Blog

Breath of Fresh Air

Crafty Geordi

Yesterday, Today and Always...dedicated to the one I love.

Forty three years ago, I proposed to my husband. Actually, we were already engaged, but I decided that we needed to set a date. Decisions had to be made quickly, since we decided to marry during spring break, which was only a little over a month away.  I was not interested at all in the wedding plans (is that normal?), but I was oh so interested in choosing my china, silver and crystal.

That was in the day, when the girl and her mother, (no boys allowed), visited the local jewelry store and spent a glorious afternoon immersed in table settings. This Valentine's Day, my table is set with some of my choices.

The dinnerware is Solitaire by Lenox, the sterling silver flatware is Strasbourg by Gorham and the crystal is Argenta by Tiffin. There were so many beautiful designs offered to me that day on the shelves of that little jewelry store, but I decided to pick things that I hoped would not go out of style and could be used on many different occasions, (add a few red napkins, a bowl of candy and some flowers and you have a Valentine's Day table).

I did choose another set of patterns, (more on that in a later blog), but these were the ones that made my heart sing! Speaking of hearts - those darling little heart- shaped plates with the pink and white polka dots are a recent purchase from Cracker Barrel!

I think that I did very well with my choices as a young bride-to-be. I am still thrilled with the tabletop choices and choice of husband - they have all stood the test of time. Happy Birthday (yes, he is a Valentine's birthday guy) and Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for almost 43 wonderful years and allowing me to feed my addiction to tablescaping!


-Diane

Search Amazon.com for valentines day gifts