French Country

I have become a big fan of French Country decorating.  Well, I guess I have grown into it more and more over time.  So, when I stopped in at the sidewalk sale at Unique Art and Antiques and noticed this blue and white vase for only three dollars, well, I couldn't leave it behind.

bargain vase

Right now it is sitting on the kitchen island filled with sunflowers in all its French Country glory.  I love a good deal!

A Week for Bargains

A couple of weeks ago I bumped into a run of bargains.  First, I mentioned one afternoon that I wish I had a footstool on the deck and low, and behold, a couple of days later when I was looking for a lamp shade at Goodwill, I tripped over this beauty!

You can read a bit more about it HERE.

A couple of days later, Mike tried to raise the umbrella which sits down into the dining table on the deck and the little cord/rope which pulls it open broke - old age made it weak and pitiful - the cord/rope, not Mike. The canvas fabric was sadly faded anyway, so we decided to invest in new ones.  Then, the next day, we got a sale flyer from Tuesday Morning advertising umbrellas.  So, I trekked over to check them out. 

My color choices were John Deere yellow, brick red, navy blue, and chocolate brown - none in the hunter green that we had.  So, I went in search of the brown thinking that I would stick to earthy colors.  Mike and I had decided to go ahead and get two - one for each of the tables on the back porch.  Sadly, there was only one brown one at the store and I didn't want to trek all over the place looking for a second one.  So, I settled for navy ones.  (You know me and blue...)

Doesn't it look like they are just inviting you to come sit in their shade?

Here is a little closer look:

The one on this smaller table seems to look so well coordinated with the pretty blue pot filled with a deep purple verbena. 

One final bargain that I stumbled upon was my new hummingbird feeders.  I had seen them in a couple of places and liked the larger size of the bottle and the sturdiness of them back earlier in the spring.  Then, one day at my local Kroger grocery store, they were marked down from $8.99 to ninety cents each!  (Why didn't I buy more to give as gifts or to hang elsewhere in my yard?  ARGH!!!)

The cute little hummingbirds have really enjoyed them.  There have been times when I have seen up to six fighting to eat at the two feeders hanging on the back porch.  They are so quick, I have only captured one photo, though!

Isn't this little red-necked one a cutie?  (I know they are really called 'ruby throated' but here in the country, it really needs to be referred to as a red-neck!)

 

These bargains should bring a smile to my face day after day.  Don't you just love it when you find a bargain - or, even better, a run of them like this?

Cooking causes some - shall we say - differences...

Cooking and food have proven to be things that are tough on the harmony of our marriage sometimes. 

I think part of the reason is that I have always thought of myself as a pretty decent cook.  Then, I married somebody who is a fabulous cook.  Plus, we joined together later in life - after we were sort of set-in-our-ways.  Then, there is the fact that both of our mothers are fabulous cooks and we still get spoiled by them cooking for us every now and again. 

I know there is that age-old chuckle about the new bride preparing food for her man after their nuptials and how she burns things and he eats it or how she tries out new recipes and he chokes it down.  We have those experiences in our brief marriage, too.  There is also that age old stigma of the man being the king of outdoor cooking.  We have those experiences as well because I never learned to cook on the grill.  When I was younger, my mother (a REALLY fabulous cook) did that.  Then, my husband got a gas grill for his first Father's Day gift, I think, and he did that.  When the children were old enough, they wanted to compete in outdoor cookery contests and they did that. 

So, there was never a need for me to learn.  Then, one year, my children decided to give me a gas grill for Christmas.  I experimented with it - burning some things till they were rubbery, undercooking some things and having to re-bake them, charring some things and having to toss them, etc.  I didn't become a master of the outdoor cooking techniques because shortly after getting the gas grill, Mike came along and he became my King of the Grill. 

Not only is he the King of the Grill, but he is also the King of the Frypan.  He can stir up the most delicious southern breakfast I have ever eaten on a Sunday morning - actually, most folks would generally just call it brunch because we have gotten spoiled and don't eat till late on Sundays most weekends.  Mike also batters and fries minute steak, fish fillets, and his pork tenderloin is to-die-for!  He has a smoker and can slow cook delicious roasts and turkeys.  (You can see the most outrageous of these attempts chronicled HERE.)  He has a couple of deep fryers and uses them to cook battered squash, okra, fries, hush puppies, and the fish he catches.  (You can see him in action HERE.) 

So, when it comes to meal preparation, menu planning, and dining in general, we have had some - shall we say - differences.  One of the first heated disagreements we ever had was early in our marriage when we were having baked potatoes and had no sour cream.  It has become a running joke in our household that we will never be without sour cream now (which reminds me, I need to run to the store).  We both have in our heads certain foods, styles of preparation, and condiments which are a must with certain foods - and those ideas are not always conjoined.

Being older and more set-in-our-ways has caused some - shall we say - differences, as well.  Not only do we have certain ideas and habits when it comes to menu-planning, we also have our own ways of preparing and our own favorite recipes. Those don't always overlap either.   (I've even joked that if it isn't the way his mother or grandmother prepared it, then it is prepared incorrectly.) 

Like any married couple probably has, I've shed some tears, he's pursed his lips, we've both gritted our teeth at times when it came to meals, menus, and cooking.  However, I think we are both growing to adjust and adapt.  My attitude has sort of come to the point that on a day-to-day basis, I'm going to cook and eat what I want and like.  If he chooses to also enjoy that, then good for him.  If not, he can fix what he wants.  Most times he will give my 'weird dishes,' and 'weird conglomerations,' and 'city cooking' a try and winds up liking them.  (Like earlier this week when I made Chicken and Broccoli Cobbler.  You can find the recipe HERE.)  Most times I absolutely love what he prepares and I have the added pounds to show for it.  

So, I guess we have achieved that happy-medium at this point.  There are still times when he isn't going to give on what I really like and I'm not going to eat turnip greens or sour kraut unless there is nothing else available and I've gone a long time without food.  (Yes, I will lovingly prepare it for him if necessary - like I did HERE but that doesn't mean I'm going to like it or taste it.) 

So, today, while Mike had to work - overtime - again - and I had one of my favorite meals:

tomato soup in a cup, cheese, and Ritz crackers

YUM!

Hearts

It has been long years since I have done any Valentine decorating at home. I guess I'm just too rushed and probably a little burned out with the cold weather and haven't gotten caught up since the Christmas decorations. Who knows? At any rate, the sweet hearts are not usually posted here.

I was inspired a little bit when I saw some things posted on Pinterest with cutesy hearts. So, I decided to do a little something here at home.

I changed out the decorations on my table for one thing.

Leaving several things on the tray like this makes it easy to move when I need the space of the table.

I just put a trio of red votives in the cute lantern Bridgette gave me for Christmas, plopped some red tulips in a crystal vase, and added a heart-shaped candle.

The mantle

I added this heart-shaped twig sculpture to the mantle in the den. I've had it for years and like the earthiness of it. It adds just enough in there to not overwhelm but to still say Valentines.

There are a couple more heart-shaped candles here and there - something students gave me or something I picked up off a clearance table I think. Then, I created a puffy heart for my front door.

Simple and sweet!

Our house sits a long distance from the road. So, it really only looks like a red dot on the door when drivers go by. I doubt anybody can tell what is there. But, I smile when I go by because I know it is there. I highly recommend that everybody could craft one of these door decorations. Plus, it was cheap! I simply followed the tutorial that Stacy and Calling All Sleepyheads posted.  You can learn how to create something like this, too, just go HERE.  (My daughter and I have crafted several of these.  Bridgette made several for my granddaughter, Lillie's birthday.  You can see those HERE.  She also made one for me and caused me to have to reproduce a similar one that you can see HERE.  Probably the cutest ones Bridgette has crafted were a couple we forgot to get a completed shot of before we gave them away.  But, you can see the works in progress HERE and HERE.) 

So, while the decor doesn't exactly look like hearts galore, the warmth and love in our hearts is really oozing here during February!  Hope your month is full of love.

Christmas Tea

Last Sunday, my mother-in-law took my favorite sister-in-law, JoAnn, and me to the second annual Nolensville Methodist Church Christmas Tea.  It is a fun event where women fellowship together, enjoy a nice meal, are enlightened by a motivational Christian speaker, and really get to see a plethora of beautiful holiday tablescapes while participating in a fundraiser for the church women's ministries.

Tables are sponsored by individual women who are members of the church and they invite their friends and family to come and join them for the afternoon.  The sponsor of the table is responsible for setting and decorating her table.  Sometimes a couple or three women will go in together and purchase the tickets for guests and decorate the table.  This is what my mother-in-law and a couple of her friends did.

JoAnn and I were guests of our mother-in-law.  A high school friend to JoAnn and me, Patricia, was a guest of her mother, Joyce's, as was one of her mother's friends, Pat.  Another of my mother-in-law's friends, Betty, brought her daughter as a guest.  Plus, the three women combined forces to set and decorate the table as well.  I think one woman provided the goblets, another the plates, and yet another brought the cups and saucers.  What a team!

Here is a look at their table:

Isn't it beautiful?  The collection of Christmas holly, green and gold seems so elegant.

It is hard to believe that all of this didn't come from the same cupboard isn't it?  I think the three women did a beautiful job of blending their resources seamlessly.  Plus, even the food seemed to take the cue and sparkle in greens and golds!

Here is a look at the centerpiece.

It features a gold lame' platform for a beautiful little white sleigh trimmed in gold.  Each additional element seems to add a bit of glitz and glimmer which only enhances the magic of Santa and the cherub in the sleigh.

Little glittering gold Christmas trees held the place cards.

Golden, glittery reindeer danced around the sleigh.

Clear glass ornaments with white glittery trim which looks like lacy snowflakes were scattered at the base of the lame' platform.

  Delicate white glittery Christmas trees flank the sleigh adding a frosty shiver to the scenery.

Aren't the soft details of Santa, the little cherub passenger, the toys, and the sleigh a soft and subtle beauty?

Here is one last look at the over-all effect.

I snapped some shots of other tables some of the women had created.  They were all masterpieces in my eyes. 

This table is a study of frosty, silvery, simplicity.

I absolutely love these shiny, silver star ornaments tied with the red and silver ribbon!

Isn't it wonderful how the different little cards add such an individual touch to the ornaments which are simply propped against the tea cup?

It was delightful from any angle.

This one was really playful and fun!

I really like how they alternated the modern, square, red snowflake plates with the more traditional round stoneware plates.  They also alternated between white snowflake place mats and red ones.  The mugs match the plates.  Of course, being the polka-dot lover that I am, I absolutely adore the napkins.  The beaded napkin holders are beautiful and I probably would not have been risky enough to use those with these napkins and place settings. 

A closer look at the centerpiece of this fun cranberry and polka-dot table.

The fluffy cotton batting projects the image of drifts of snow.  The peppermint garland trailing round the table repeats the red-and-white theme.  Then, the glittering china gifts with their sparkling bows add just a touch of glitz.  The wrapped gift concept is repeated with the place-card holders.  The cranberry juice in the champagne goblets mirrors the huge cranberry goblet centerpiece.  Isn't there loads to love about this fun tablescape?

Another study in cranberry and white.

Here is another table which has loads to focus upon.  Again, the hostess has alternated styles of plates and mugs.  This time the edge of one plate features stripes with a Santa mug and the next is a stoneware one with a Christmas tree mug.  Crystal goblets and the cranberry chargers tie all the place settings together.  Notice how the champagne goblets holding the juice have a ribbon stripe on them, too?  The place-cards are little red glittery ornaments painted with white polka-dots or stripes.  These cute little orbs are honored to sit on a pedestal created by a little antique glass plate like the ones my grandmother collected from Quaker oats.  The red striped napkins are tied with an organza wired-edged ribbon.  This hostess, like the previous one also gifted her guests with little loaves of sweet bread in a holiday bag.  What a nice touch! 

Here is another look at this cranberry tablescape.

I think the centerpiece on it was my favorite of the day.

There were lots of naturals with the green sprucey branches, the beautiful berries, curly willow, and the paper-whites tied up with raffia.  It is just hard to beat good old mother nature.

Love this lantern!  I'm just going to have to get me one of these, I think.

This table was pure modern and minimalist.  The hostess simply wrapped the Merlot napkins with a bit of glitzy ribbon.  More of the same ribbon forms a bow with trailing tails atop the lantern.  A Merlot ribbon with a sparkly golden gemstone in the center was tied to the water goblets.  The clean-lined mugs were placed atop black saucers to coordinate with the black lantern.  Tiny gold and red sparkly glass ornaments were scattered round the lantern.  If you look really closely at the dinner plates, you can see that the word Believe is scripted across them.  Chic and lovely!

Traditional Christmas.

This table is like a little church lady sitting on the back pew to me.  It is so full of gorgeous traditional features.  It starts with the red damask table runner, place mats, and napkins.  (I had to do a double take to notice that there were only four place mats and the other two place settings were atop a table runner!  These two places have contrasting napkins as well.  It was probably done that way because the hostess had this as a set, but wouldn't that be a good way to designate guests of honor?)  Then, red chargers cradle floral Christmas china which is paired with matching tea cups and saucers.  The goblets are etched with Christmas trees.

A closer look at the beautiful centerpiece.

The huge hurricanes are filled with fresh cranberries which snuggle around the gold swirled candles.  The floral arrangement is sitting atop a glass pedestal as well.  It features red roses, golden pine cones, a few sprigs of evergreen, and a golden rope garland trailed through it.  The adorable little white metal sleigh is filled with shiny gold ornaments and a sweet little bird rides sentinel on the back.  If you look really closely, you can see that the hostess tied red fabric ribbons around the chair backs to give the simple folding chairs with white toppers a pretty Sunday dress-like sash.  I love how the light makes all of the glassware shine!

Love this simple way of dressing up the chairs!

Here is another table that features lots of things I just love!  Of course, I cannot get to the table itself without commenting on the creativity of the hostess to dress up each chair.  Yes, that is six identical table runners draped over the back of each of the chairs and tied with a pretty, sparkly organza ribbon.  How clever! 

This hostess let the flood of red color do most of the work for her!

Again, the hostess kept things simple and easy on herself.  Remember that each hostess had to load all her dishes and tablescape materials into her car and haul it to the church and unload it and dress her designated table.  There was lots of work involved, no matter how simple she kept things.  This hostess used a beautiful red damask tablecloth and napkins to set the stage.  The napkins were pleated and swirled so that no napkin ring was necessary.  Then, she centered the table with a tower of my favorite apples - Granny Smiths. 

Nature's Bountiful Beauty

I tried to look as closely as I could to see how she had created this but couldn't really tell without picking at it a little and didn't want to be rude!  It seems to start with a base of greenery such as spruce branches or yew.  Then, I think the apples were speared onto picks and stuck into a Styrofoam pyramid.  Little sprigs of baby's breath and chartreuse carnations were sprinkled in to fill spaces.  Then, more of the white, wire-edged, organza ribbon was looped around, tied up in a bow with trailing tails to top off the apple tree.  This is another one of those simple, natural, and beautiful centerpieces.

Creative mixing and matching!

This hostess did all sorts of mixing and matching to create her tablescape!  There are three different kinds of china making up each place setting, I think.  First there is the bone china cups and saucers.  Then, there is the snowflake dinner plate.  Finally, there is the Twelve-Days-Of-Christmas salad plates.  Not only did her guests have their food on these song-commemorating plates, but they also stood on plate stands to create a centerpiece!  There are at least four of them propped upon stands placed around the center glass candle stand which holds a fat red glittery candle.  More of these candles are placed between the plate stands.  The painted goblets not only hold water, but serve as tea light candle holders as well.  Simple sprigs of boxwood are placed around the center candle stand.  This hostess has chosen to use embroidered linen cocktail napkins encircled by a silver napkin ring and she has rolled up some sort of epistle in a scroll to sit beside each plate for her guests.  I like how this hostess let her dishes do all the work!

Christmas Green and Shiny Silver

This tabletop uses the sheen of the crystal and the silver mercury glass trees to dress up the dark spruce place mats.  The hostess used two different sets of antique china for her place settings.  Half of her napkins were white and lace trimmed and the other half were burgundy linen.  All the napkins had beautiful silver Christmas tree napkin rings.  she created a forest with her glass trees and had a couple of bowls of small silver ornaments placed on the table for added shine.  The place mats had little beaded edges which looked like ornaments dangling from branches of spruce.  It was truly lovely!

Casual elegance at its finest!

Mike's friend, Jackie, created this beautiful tablescape.  She put a modern turn on the traditions of her heritage.  The strong African women with carved swirls in their dresses certainly were surrounded by a group of beautiful strong African-American women on this day.  The beautiful red rose buds were accented with natural, dark twigs and more twigs which were frosted with crystals which reflected the flickering candles in the beautiful ruby red candle holders.  Little sprigs of greenery graced the golden napkin holders which were around alternating ruby floral napkins and embroidered white linen ones.  Sprigs of green holly encircled the plates (And I think they were paper - aren't they pretty?).  More holly sprigs are painted on the mugs around the words, "Remember the true meaning of Christmas."  Doesn't this say it all?

Antique and pink!

This table offers a break from the traditional red and green and lends a nod to the past.  This hostess used her antique pink floral china and dressed it for Christmas.  She used olive green chargers to hold the beautiful dinner plates.  These set atop a damask champagne tablecloth.  The beautiful matching napkins are tied up with gold organza ribbons. 

Here is a close-up of the teapot and cups.  Isn't this old china gorgeous?

The hostess made a nest with an olive feather boa.  Then, she piled shiny blown glass ornaments in the center along with satin finished ones sticking with the pink and gold color scheme of her china. 

Doesn't this look glamorous?

The menu was just as delicious as the scenery was a feast to the eyes.  We dined on quiche, fresh spinach with dried cranberries and crisp pecans for a salad, chicken salad stuffed min croissants, two different kinds of sweet breads, and frosted sugar cookies.  We had a choice of several kinds of teas as well.  The company was pleasant and the fare was delicious!  The day was truly a feast for our stomachs, our hearts, and our eyes!