Lenox Outlet

As most of you fellow bloggers know, many of the china companies have closed their outlet stores. How I still miss the Villeroy and Boch ones! Many of the Lenox outlets have also closed throughout the country, but I have great news! The Lenox outlet in Commerce, GA has not shut down. Not only have they not closed, but they have moved and expanded.

The new store is now across the street from the old one and is much larger. At the beginning of the summer my daughter, granddaughter and I traveled to Commerce to see the new store.

The store is a mixture of a retail and outlet items. The retail pieces are in the new showroom.

"Gilded Tapestry"

The employees were still moving merchandise into the showroom, when we visited.

Flatware

Glassware

Most of the outlet china is located in the back room.

The Christmas Corner



Easter Items

My traveling companions and I had a wonderful time searching through all of the treasures. With a thirteenth birthday coming up, I asked my granddaughter to choose her favorite china in the store. After looking at everything, she had two patterns that she liked. They both were Marchesa patterns:

"Palatial Garden"

“Painted Camellia”

Of course, neither was an outlet-priced one! In the end, she chose “Painted Camellia” in the accent salad plates. If you follow this blog, you will know that she used the china for her birthday setting.

I think visiting the new store was well-worth the trek to Commerce. However, for those of you who are used to the outlet-only pricing, you could be in for sticker-shock on the retail items! I know I was.

Diane

Something Fishy!

Have you ever tried to shoot a tablescape, only to discover people are eating what you've made before you've even finished setting the table? If you look through my tablescapes, I almost never have shots with food for that very reason. Tonight, I came soooooo close to getting it on the table before everyone got into it. Sadly, when I came back to the kitchen, the baked potatoes were being dressed and the salmon had already been pulled out of the oven and served.

But we can enjoy the table nonetheless!

Our pattern of the month is Samarra by Royal Doulton; I decided to pair it with some great antique fish plates my mother found on eBay.

These fish plates are hand-painted and are marked "Elite Works" and "Limoges." I was excited to be able to use my Apollo by Alvin silver for the first time. I had decided last winter I would work on collecting it this  year. I am almost finished with six place settings! I just need knives now.

I really like the laurel pattern with the Samarra. I used antique Bryce by Glastonbury's laurel-patterned goblets.

Maybe next time, I will set the table before I start cooking!

Ode to Avocado Green

When I was a young engaged bride-to-be, the “in” colors were Avocado Green and Harvest Gold (I will bet that some of you had those colors in your homes, too!). Before the wedding, my mother and I made a visit to the local jewelry store, which was the place in our small town to select all of the tableware. I have written about this trip in another blog and I confessed that I am still happy with all of the choices that I made that day. The Tablescape Times Three pattern for July is the one that I selected for my informal china, Royal Doulton’s “Samarra”.

Another confession that I must make is that I never actually used this beautiful china for informal meals. I realized quickly that it was too nice to use all of the time, so my mother gave me a set of white ironstone that my husband and I used for every day.

For my table setting this month, I decided to use almost all avocado green tableware to pay homage to that fabulous color.

I set a brunch table for four.

“Samarra” dinner plates were placed on top of ecru cotton placemats.

I added matching salad plates.

On top, I placed avocado Bia ramekins, which were a recent purchase from Tuesday Morning. These are the perfect size to use as fruit cups, before the entree is presented.

Coffee or tea can be poured into the “Samarra” teacups. Our family usually prefers hot coffee or iced tea, but we do entertain guests occasionally who want hot tea or cold coffee!

To serve the coffee, I set out my coffee pot, creamer and covered sugar. When I married, I did not receive the creamer and sugar as wedding gifts. However, many years later, my two children gave them to me one Christmas. They found them on Replacements and I was thrilled, since the pattern had been discontinued by then. The coffee pot is an even later addition to the collection, but I purchased it from Replacements, also.

The avocado green footed glasses are Fostoria in the “Mesa” pattern. These glasses were chosen at the same time as the china.

I managed to find avocado napkins and napkin rings and used them together.

The flowers on my grandmother’s “Presentation” silverplate flatware mimic the delicate flowers on the china.

I did decide at the last minute that I should add a little bit of additional color, so that the table would not resemble the Jolly Green Giant. I cut a few of my miniature roses and put them in silverplate creamers from Two’s Company.

I had fun creating this table. It brought back so many memories – I only wish that I taken the time to find photos of those extremely stylish Harvest Gold appliances that I had in my first two houses!!

Diane

Frog Blog!

I live in the south. I live in the south on a small lake. For those of you who share this common bond, you understand the sounds we hear sitting on our screened-in porch in the evenings this time of the year. Frogs, frogs and more frogs!

I have been thinking about frogs a lot lately. It started when I moved my rather large trash can and a small frog was hiding behind it. I wish that I had been carrying my camera or phone that day, so that I could show you a picture of the little guy. Alas, I had left them behind so that my hands would be free to roll the trash can to the street.

The next thing that made me think of frogs was my sister-in-law’s announcement that she will soon be publishing a new book about her frog family. She is a children’s book author who has written several books. The first few books were about a girl named Ida Claire. That series was somewhat autobiographical about my sister-in-law and her cousin, Mike, who was “Will” in the series. My husband who is older than his sister, also, is featured in the books as “Franklin”. It is not a particularly pretty picture that she paints of him, so we will just leave that one alone!! He swears he never did any of the things that she said he did in the books and for our family’s peace – I have chosen to believe him. However, I was the youngest child in my family with an older brother and sister and I know how they treated me at times (just sayin’!).

Anyway, back to the frogs! The series that my sister-in-law has recently been writing is about a frog family who goes on lots of adventures.

This is the cover of her first frog book. The book is illustrated by a very talented artist, Jean Weiner.

I decided that I should invite my sister-in-law’s darling four year-old grandson, Maddox, to lunch and we would surround ourselves with frogs! Maddox loves his grandmother’s books and he might make an appearance in the upcoming one.

I started the place setting with some new placemats from Dillard’s. I love these, since they are reversible. This side is plaid and the other side is a beautiful floral. A green Bordallo dinner plate went on top of the placemat.

Next, I used to Weimar German plates, which feature frogs decorating the rims. I bought these charming plates on eBay.

The girl for me

The boy for Maddox

For our bread plates, I used Bordallo, again. Tiny frogs sit on the little lily pad plates – perfect!

Oneida “Cantata” flatware and white napkins with napkins rings that fit in with the nature theme – they were purchased on the One Kings Lane website and have tiny bees on them.

Hazel Atlas “Eldorado” green footed glasses complete the place setting.

The centerpiece is a collection of three pieces – a peace lily in a bronze urn, my sister-in-law’s book and a beautiful C.E. Cory frog pitcher made in Portugal that I purchased at a different time on the One Kings Lane shopping site.

I think my little guest and I will have a jolly good time lunching together and talking about frogs. After lunch, we might even meander down to the lake and see if we can find any. Maybe, I will let him take one home in his pocket. Isn’t that where little boys are supposed to carry their frogs???

Diane

P. S. If anyone is interested in purchasing any of my sister-in-law’s books, her website is: www.KayHeathBooks.com.