Downton Abbey Silver Holiday Decorating Tabletop

Simple decorating ideas are my kind

of decorating. I have these silver plated cups

that I call my Downton Abbey Cups..

They are just vintage silver cups

but I am sure they have lots of stories to tell.

(They will look more like Downton Abbey

on white linen!)

Place each cup in a circle like a wreath

and fill each with boxwood cuttings.

If you are a gardener that is the same

as saying each are filled with cheer.

If only boxwood rooted quickly

like say, mint!  

Old silver has such character!

The combination of brown, silver and gray

with some shimmer and some dull areas

has such appeal to me.

These almost blend into the tabletop.

Beautifully burnished is the best description for the cups.

Happiness is a table full of family and friends

good food helps too,

so I guess I should be looking for new dishes to make

the usual dishes are comforting but it's always good to

have a few surprises each year.

I stumbled upon a cookbook by 
Sam Choy

at a Goodwill store and it was $1.30 

Now I have the recipe for Payapa Dressing!

The list of secret ingredients is in my kitchen.

All photographs are my own from Instagram.

Connecting up with:
   Between Naps on the Porch
Coastal Charm
Common Ground

Pastel Napkins

The softest colors of summer on the table.

I've always wanted to add a soft teal

to our home somewhere

and here it is in the form

of candy teal cotton napkins
that I made myself 

Sweet and light.

My oldest son went to the
emergency room Friday and
just got out of the hospital yesterday.
I'm glad he is back home and
feeling better after surgery! 

Linking up with French Country Cottage.

French Mirror Doubles as Tray

I love finding things already the color and patina I want.

This vintage mirror is one of those.

Already chippy and white.

Laying it horizontal it made the perfect tray dining alfresco.

Today the weather was beautiful again.

A few of my favorite things were gathered

up and set on the tray. 

The lighting was awesome and I had

so much fun with my camera.

Light was bouncing everywhere.

A sweet spoon from the 1800's

The white hydrangeas are about

the size of a snowman!

They call them Florist Hydrangeas

but they do well to zone 5. Yay!

I had to add flowers everywhere I could. 

The lavender makes me want to iron my clothes

 with lavender water like the French do. 

It might be easier to dry my clothes on the

lavender bushes...like the French do as well!

Mercury glass. Love.

Happy White Wednesday.

Joining up with these friends,

 Faded Charm Cottage,

 French Country Cottage,

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Cottage Garden Party

Vintage Farmhouse

Vintage Inspiration

Sweet Farmhouse Country Whites

I can knit, but I am not great at it and the tension is all over the chart. So, it was a sweet deal to bring this vintage sweater home for five dollars. It's made of wool, mohair and acrylic. It is so soft and lightweight and great for a cool summer evening like tonight. Isn't this white kitten precious? More softness and beauty. White flowers make even dirty barns look beautiful...or at least I think so.
Connecting up with White Wednesday,   Katherine's Corner,  Common Ground,  and French Country Cottage

Beautiful Breakfasts

This breakfast was like eating dessert. So early in the morning I felt guilty. Truth be told it is thick creamy-vanilla, greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and honey drizzled on top. Delicious. I made this the last two mornings and it is heavenly and only cost about 75 cents. It's very easy on the eyes if you are not a morning person. Gone are the days where we raced around the kitchen counter and grabbed a banana or just a cup of coffee and dashed out the door. I always seemed to spill the coffee somewhere on myself. Before I even got to work. Trying to consume food when the stress meter is bouncing off of the top of the meter every time we look at the clock is not good. Drinking coffee in stop and go traffic is not good. I am still in a rush in the 'moronings (my word for frantic mornings) but I just eat breakfast later after the rush, but still before lunch!

Pink Cottage Flowers and Pink Paint!

I want to paint something pink. This small bouquet is a nice mix of pink, mauve and carmine flowers. (The perfect color for an English Garden.) It all started when I decided I want to paint something (a piece of furniture) pink. I brought home four paint chips from Lowe's and they all look super against white. Hard choices. Not really but they are all pretty and wouldn't it look sweet with 4 chairs all different tints of pink? Or mix them all together and make a new paint color? More hard choices.

Can you believe it's in the 60's again during the day but down to 23 last night? We're all down on our hands and knees looking for the little signs of awakening shoots and swelling buds outside. Inside for now it's summer with fresh cottage flowers. The nurseries are starting to swell with a few varieties of shrubs and berries.Some nurseries even opened a week earlier because of the weather. That is the nurseries who close after Christmas and then reopen March first.

Back to the bouquet a moment; did you see they only added one rose to it? A very sweet pink one!! We are having a little pink storm inside.

Linking to:

House in Roses

Ivy and Elephants

Chartreuse Flowers

We fill the gas tank. We fill the grocery cart. And today I got these fresh flowers to fill my eyes with. Aren't the colors hot? I have always liked chartreuse. This one ornamental mum is heavenly. Paired with hot pink and a deeper rose color like the carmine carnations...over the top beautiful. Soon peonies will be blooming the same deep rose color and hot pink roses will climb the trellis. Hostas the same chartreuse color will fill the beds. Before then we might get some colder weather. Oh well, that will delight the delphiniums!

Valentine Hearts in the Kitchen

Don't you believe in putting love into your cooking?

I do! Red pepper hearts for the little valentines.

Sweet things don't always mean it's full of sugar.

We didn't eat on time

as you can see I had alot of fun
preparing dinner.

This just shows hearts can

be put back together with love.
I did eventually get my fajitas made.

Kids love visual shapes at the table.

Fresh vegetables are good for everyone.

Red fruits and vegetables are loaded with goodies.

And, of course, I had to save the red pepper seeds!

Connecting up with The Rose Garden in Maleviks Party

French Frocks and Ruffle Clothes

Smitten by french linen ruffles! I can see myself running through the fields and working in the garden. Sit down to dinner in these french robes. Have you ever been to this fab Un Coeur en Provence French blog? Everything is a treat for the eyes, home and "la nature". One of her adverstisers is Artisan Couturier Be sure to visit.

Candied Orange Peel - Cooking Art

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These candied orange peels are delicious and anyone can make them. All you need is an orange, water and sugar! Simple as can be. Your kitchen will be fragrant and your tastebuds delighted. I am getting more and more like my mother. Frugal. I peeled an orange and as I went to put the peels in the garbage I stopped. A little voice in my head was saying I was throwing away the best part of the orange. Why not make candied orange peel? Nothing to lose. All gain. We get in habits and sometimes it's good to break them. And so after I had just wiped down the stovetop and sink and counters I got out the cutting board and started cutting away the pith. Sliced the peels in strips and dropped them in water and boiled them a few minutes. Emptied out the water and repeated that 4 times. Then added water, orange rind and sugar and simmered them in the syrup it made for 30 minutes or less. Drained them and then dredged them in sugar. They say the blanching takes out the bitterness. They were so sweet and delicious that the compost pile will not be seeing very many orange rinds in the near future. You can snack on these or add to desserts, put on cupcakes, pancakes, whatever. Plus we have the orange flavored syrup for hot chocolate or to add to whipped cream!


It's a new year. Why do we wait for a new year to make resolutions and changes? Tradition, I guess. Really we can change anytime we want to...Which got me thinking about what I want to change or what have I changed? First of all I want to be a better listener and observer. Some people don't communicate what they are thinking or feeling, but if you observe them you will know. Plus it doesn't hurt feelings to observe, it's not like painfully prying out information. Chip, chip, chip, ouch! There is a time to talk and a time to walk. We always want to make other people better, but maybe I will also work on myself! Big project; right?

Thank you for stopping in as I save one orange at a time.

White Chocolate Divine

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These delicious peppermint white chocolate "melts" were so rich and creamy. I wondered how could I photograph these to show how delicious they were? (I only had two.) The white roses were the best pick. Right in the center and as velvety as the rose petals. A rose pedestal!

Vintage Harp Chairs

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These chairs were only five dollars each! Should I paint them white or a french linen color?

DIY Snowflake Rose Branch Wreath

These are simple to make and elegant too.




Greenery inside rounds out the seasons. This snowflake I made from fir tree branch tips and then tied a burlap string to it so I could hang it anywhere.



These little twigs look like they came from Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. They are needleless fir tree branch tips. I lined them up like this to see what they looked like. Who would think these branches by themselves would look lacy when grouped together? I then restacked the centers and put a dab of hot glue on it. To match my room I spray painted them white. You could embellish these with buttons or glitter. There were some dried pink roses on my desk so I hot glued those onto one. Had to get a little pink in there.


These plate rack was a wedding gift and recently it got a wash of white. It is an antique with carved leaves. I really like it. Thank you for stopping by.

I am linking up with Romantic Home.

Knick of Time Tuesday.

Show off your Cottage Monday

Breakfast Delicious Art - Food

Sometimes I need a little pick me up in the early morning . Keep those eyes open. This morning I got out the pewter plates. Nothing makes you more thankful for nice china dishes than pewter. I love the old-fashionedness and the slate grey of pewter. Like I am waking up in Colonial Williamsburg. But they are heavy! Can you imagine hand washing a stack of these every meal? Pass the jam please and the cookie cutters.




I was given some Trader Joe's preserves (thank you Rebecca) and they are so tart and delicious. Like a day in May. Philadelphia Cream Cheese on my first toast and then added the star toast with raspberry jam. So delicious. Fully charged. Ready to leave my French Castle. ;-)


Linking up with these friends:

Potpourri Party

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

Freckled Laundry

Romantic Home

Dandelion House

Hawaiian Quilt

A citrus splash of color on my wall today right where you enter our house. Don't you love the patterns of Hawaiian quilts? The two stripe vases I've had for years. They look stunning with one large stem sunflower in each of them.

The metal basket I recently picked up and I'm thinking of dipping it in enamel paint. But first before I do that I should paint it a burnt orange so that when I wipe the white off the edges it will have that ages-old-rusty-and-chippy-white appeal.

The basket could be used in the garden on new plants in the spring so that the deer and rabbits can't reach their sweet new shoots. I guess I could still do it when it's chippy and white.

Another option is to turn it upside down and make it a lamp shade!

Connecting up with Show off your Cottage Monday.

French Garden Leaf Combinations

Floral arranging doesn't always mean using flowers for me. I use what nature provides at this time of year in our yard. I love texture and different leaf sizes and shapes. If you are a gardener you are your own florist and designer. How fun is that? I aim for it to be fun! And pretty.




When I have to throw hay to the sheep I like to pick a few things on my way out to the barn and a few more on the way back. I used the hydrangea leaf as the plate or vase and added the arrangement on top. The gray is hidcote lavender, the orange is dragon head, a chestnut and a pinch of the tip of a fir tree branch. A sweet little garden vignette on a leaf.




Nature offers so many beautiful colors to work with. I am amazed at how beautiful everything is when we stop and really take a look. Just because some plants have died down there are still lots of pretties out there in the garden.






The chestnut is smiling for us here on a chestnut leaf and an added hydrangea flower. Browns and golds and creams. I think it's romantic, but I do like vintage botanicals. Even faded ones.




You know those little brown glass bottles you get your flavorings in, here they are as vases. They even look vintage! They look like ink bottles here with quills in them.




A beech leaf with a ornamental grass head and a liriope leaves tied in a bow around the base. I wanted it to resemble an anthirium! Well, it looks like a rather radical anthirium...like one I've never seen before.

Connecting up with friends at:
Feathered Nest Friday
Potpourri Friday
Inspiration Friday
Fridays Unfolded
Farm Friend Friday
My Romantic Home
The Rose Garden
Designer Garden
Simply Creations Friday