To my Trudie: the best grandmother in the world

I love my Trudie! She is my dad's mom, and I have her to thank for her top-secret chicken and dumpling recipe, my green eyes, and the beautiful things she has made me through the years.  She made the place mats on my table for me when I got married, and I still treasure them. 

The fruit motif is really nice because they match so many of my patterns. I think hand-made gifts are the best. I have large cross-stitched wall hangings that she made each of my children when they were born. I have numerous other knitted blankets that are put to frequent use. This year when Emma was so often in the hospital, I was so grateful to have them to bring a little something from home to keep family close when they were not allowed to visit. 

Today, I have used these lovingly cross-stitched place mats with some of my other favorite things. The vintage red Morgantown golf ball iced-teas and the Spode Cranberry Traditions plates are so pretty on a spring table. (These were from eBay, as always, though the Spode Traditions were actually from the Replacements eBay site. These were sold as an auction and were actually cheaper through eBay than on the Replacements site. They have more!)

There are six different patterns in this particular set.

The majolica fruit sculpture matches the place mats and is also a special item. It was a gift from "Mrs. Margie," whom Emma mentioned in her last blog. I grew up across the street from Mrs. Margie, and we still visit even now.

I added my favorite red salad plates from Dillard's, my Dollar Tree soup bowls, and my Target ramekins with bright green apples. My family enjoyed this table for an early spring supper, complete with chicken and dumplings! The only thing missing was my Trudie!


-Andrea

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Waiting for the Breakfast Pies!

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After putting away the colorful dishes from my Valentine's Day and Blue Monday settings, I wanted some relief from all that color. What a better way to solve that problem, than to set an all white table.

This table is set for four people who are enjoying some fruit and bread (biscuits, of course - I am a southerner, after all!), while waiting on the main attraction, "Breakfast Pies" (recipe to follow).

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Don't you love how the early morning light streams through the shutters?



The tablecloth is an old one of mine and the white placemats and napkins are purchases from Belk. I used a square silver napkin ring and an addition to the place white napkins - lace doilies, which look like tiny aprons.

The main dinnerware service is "Yardley" by Mikasa. The only exception is the "Sunflower White" plate by Clay Art, which holds the ramekin full of strawberries. The ramekin is from Pier I.

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Both crystal patterns are from Schott Zwiesel. The water goblet is the “Delilah” pattern, but I do not know the pattern of the juice glass. I purchased 8 of these at Tuesday Morning a few years ago and there was not pattern name on them.

On the bread and butter plate, I used a butter knife from the stainless flatware that I chose as a bride. It is "Cantata" by Oneida. When the first purchases were made, it was bought by the piece only. It is a classic, since Oneida has never stopped making it, but now it can be bought in sets.

One way to make your guests feel special is to present them with an individual domed butter server. I bought these at one of the kitchen outlet stores.

The white flatware is from Wal-mart.

I love the way that all of the whites mix – everything from “white” white to almost cream. The urn that holds the flowers is a purchase that I made years ago and holds white mums, white daisy mums and white tulips. The tulips give me hope that spring is just around the corner!

I hope that you will enjoy this break from color, before winter is swept away and our senses are filled the color and fragrance of spring!

I, also, hope that you enjoy the Sausage and Egg Pie recipe. It is one of my favorites, but there is a disclaimer – these pies cannot be classified as “health food”!

Sausage and Egg Pie

Two 8 inch pie shells, unbaked

12 ounces of Mozzarella cheese, grated

One pound medium or hot sausage

3/4 cup of milk

Four large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Grate cheese and sprinkle over the bottom of the pie shells. Brown and drain sausage.

Sprinkle sausage over cheese. Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over sausage. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool a few minutes, then cut into “pie” wedges and serve.

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- Diane

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A Great Day at my Grandmother's

So, for Valentine's day, I created a tablescape at my grandmother's house. I used my gradmother's four seat table in her kitchen because I was at her house when I did this table, (hence, all of the things on the table are hers). (I love the word hence.) Doing this was the most fun I have ever had at her house!  She let me go through everything she had!

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In the center of the table lies a Cupid candle holder with a dark red candle , with clear (fake) diamonds scattered around him. 

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The plates I used were my grandmother's Yardley china. It's by Mikasa. The silver used was her Presentation by Oneida. It was some family silver plate. I really like this pattern. The mini-compotes holding the strawberries sit beside the name cards on the plates. 

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The water glasses holding pink lemonade, (it was quite good!), sit on the white doilies. They are casual crystal, but I didn't write down the pattern. A cute, home-made idea is to decorate a ribbon with a design and make a bow tie around the upper stem of a glass. I painted the ribbons in the pictures with a paint pen, but it is hard to see in the pictures. I did that with my wine glasses; a red ribbon with pink polka dots. And I put the candy in the champagne glass, too. Maybe this could be a party favor.

Then there are the flower napkins. They are Ralph Lauren, I think. The main color in them is pink, but they also have subtle hints of red, blue, green, yellow, cream, and white. All of that is sitting on a red table cloth.
P.S.: If you have a candle holder like the Cupid one with holes in it, remember to put a liner under the candle. I had a little problem with that. Soon after the pictures were taken, red wax from the candle started pouring out of Cupid. After several attempts of trying to get the then-drying candle off of Cupid, we decided to put him in the freezer. After waiting a while, we took poor little Cupid out of the freezer to get the candle off. It worked! So, if you have a problem like this, put your candle in the freezer, and thaw him out a bit. Next time, I will use a liner. :)

-Emma

And Then There Was One

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In seeing that my mom had a designed table for a large group and my daughter for a few, I narrowed down my choices to a setting for two or a setting for one. One won.

While I love, love, love china with elaborate patterns, I also made the choice to register for classic patterns when I was married. Lenox Tuxedo is ivory with a gold-encrusted rim. It can be mixed with hundreds of different Lenox patterns. I still love it. Click on the pictures below to get a larger look at the detail. Beautiful!

Think breakfast in bed, for yourself or someone else! I envisioned French toast, a side of fruit, eggs sunny-side-up, and bacon as well.

 Fresh ground pepper and sea salt would fill the salt cellars.

 I would use the creamer and open sugar (Lismore by Waterford) for syrup and powdered sugar.

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The napkin ring is a Valentine tree ornament for a Victorian-inspired them. Very pretty!

 A mimosa or fresh juice in the champagne flute and hot chocolate, tea, or coffee on the side.

And now, for a little history!

Tuxedo is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2012. It was originally known as J33. These ramekins date from before 1920. They were a fantastic eBay find! (I LOVE EBAY!) Ovington Brothers was a specialty store in New York that imported fine housewares, often on commission. I found some really neat articles in the New York Times archives from the late 1800's here and here. This second article was a bit scandalous! There is some interesting family history here as well. And as a side note, can you believe Lenox has never never made a soup tureen in such an enduring pattern? I am hoping they'll celebrate next year by offering one!

-Andrea