The calendar says September, but there is still plenty of summer weather ahead of us here in the South and plenty of fruit in season to enjoy~
I harvested a medley of fruits at the Farmers Market prompted by some dish inspiration from HomeGoods~
My basket is brimming with pears, white & yellow peaches, blackberries, along with a few apricots~
Pokeberry gathered from a nearby field is woven around the handle of my basket~
A Rustic Mixed Fruit Tart~
I used a recipe from Martha Stewart for a plum tart, but substituted my medley of fruits~ pears, white & yellow peaches, and blackberries. You can find the plum tart recipe here along with a video.
“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.”
~Henry David Thoreau
Taste the Fruit table details:
Plates~ Lenox Orchard in Bloom Peach & Pear Blossom/HomeGoods
Tablecloth- Quilt/Kohl’s
Napkins & Napkin Rings/ Pier 1
Placemats/ Pottery Barn
Goblets/Target
Flatware/ Napoleon Bee- Horchow
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Posted in Decor, Flowers, Tablescape
Tagged Feathered Nest Friday, Foodie Friday, fruit basket centerpiece, HomeGoods, Lenox Orchard in Bloom Peach Blossom, Lenox Orchard in Bloom Pear Blossom, peaches and pears tablescape, pokeberry, rustic fruit tart, Seasonal Sundays, Table Top Tuesday, Tablescape Thursday, Wow Us Wednesdays
I recently unearthed a quilt that came from my grandmother, that was tucked away and forgotten (translation: I cleaned out a bedroom closet :-)
The hexagon pattern is known by several names. . . French Bouquet, French Rose Garden, Hexagon Flower Garden, or more commonly, Grandmother’s Flower Garden.
The quilter’s identity is uncertain~ but it is thought to have been quilted by neighbor and friend of my grandmother.
My grandmother, Lottie, was born in 1901. She was one of nine children and raised her three younger brothers after her mother died. She married at the age of 26 (an old maid in 1927!) and attended Elon College (now University) for one year. She passed away in 1993.
While I’m sharing this table now, I brought my Grandmother’s (x 2 :-) Flower Garden Quilt outdoors to set this table back in May~ in honor of her birthday and to celebrate my reunion with her quilt~
The little hexagons of calico are breathing a deep sigh . . .
. . . enjoying the fresh air and mingling with the other blooms & flower prints on the teacups & china.
My Grandmother’s favorite flowers were roses. I can remember her filling vases after cutting them first thing in the morning.
There are no roses in my garden, but rose-folded napkins are tucked into tea cups along with roses climbing across the china, that once upon a time, belonged to her sister.
A demitasse spoon, disguised as a silver leaf, is tucked into the rose folds of the napkin~
You can find an easy-to-follow & beautiful tutorial for these rosette folded napkins from Yvonne at StoneGable here.
I piped frosting onto little brownie bites I picked up from Target’s bakery and added some edible (organic!) violas to embellish them for a quick, sweet treat~
My grandmother confessed she always wanted a tea set growing up but never had one, which prompted her to buy one for my sister and me to use when we visited her.
We have fond memories of her making our breakfast. . . she would serve our juice and scrambled eggs on our little plates and cups.
It’s hard to say who enjoyed it more . . . my sister & me eating off of it, or my grandmother playing with it as she prepared our breakfast and served it :-)
And remarkably, after 40 plus years, it is still intact except for one missing saucer and one plate that was painstakingly glued back together many years ago.
Hexagon quilts made in the Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern, contain a center hexagon~ traditionally yellow~ to represent the flower’s center. The flower center is circled by six colorful printed or solid hexagons with another row of 12 hexagons surrounding the six. This quilt pattern blossomed in popularity in the thirties~ it’s easy to see how the calico prints forming cheery garden flowers would brighten one’s day in a depression-era time.
I was thrilled to have found lilacs sold in bundles at Trader Joe’s back in May when I set this table. . . a surprise as delightful to me as their fragrance . . . and the only way to enjoy them here since our climate is too hot to grow them.
I stacked two plates with an inverted tea cup on a pedestal to serve these little flower bites~
Open Face Cucumber Sandwiches are decorated with more edible violas along with parsley & basil~
“Collecting can start with the jog of a childhood memory—perhaps a swirl of rosebuds recalls some long-ago cup in which an adored grandmother offered you a bit of sweet, milky tea scenting with cinnamon.” ~ The Essential Tea Companion
Flower Garden Table Details:
Dishes~ G. Demartine & Cie
Portmeirion Botanic Garden Flatware~ HomeGoods
Leaf Demitasse Spoons~ Two’s Company~ Tuesday Morning
Assorted Tea Cups & Tea Pots~ HomeGoods
Napkins~ Pier 1
White Plates (as chargers) & Pedestal~ Maxera Cora Blanca~ HomeGoods
Vintage Chintz Pitcher~ Gracie China~ HomeGoods
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Posted in Decor, Flowers, Food, Tablescape
Tagged Alphabe-Thursday, edible flower cucumber tea sandwiches, edible viola tea sandwiches, Feathered Nest Friday, Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, HomeGoods, On the Menu Monday, Table Top Tuesday, Tablescape Thursday, Tea Time Tuesday, Vintage Chintz Gracie China, Vintage Inspiration Friday
I was thrilled to have found lilac bundles at Trader Joe’s about six weeks ago, which was the inspiration for this table~ a surprise as delightful to me as their fragrance~ and the only way to enjoy them here since our climate is too warm for them to grow.
I pulled out my Mikasa Daylight Dinnerware for this table~ instead of dining with butterflies, I’m feasting on quilted fields of flowers with the lilacs~
Little clusters of flowers on the lilacs diffuse their heady fragrance, that I arranged with white hydrangeas and the new, green blooms of Chinese snowball viburnum for a centerpiece~
I love the viburnum’s first lime-hued blooms, that appear before they transition to white. . .their arrival holding the promise of the flowers to come. . .
. . .and whose blooms are the same vibrant shade of the leaves on my Mikasa Daylight pattern~ a hue that reminds me of the energetic, new growth of spring~ trailing across the plates, winding their way inside the bowls & outside the cups.
Since our style is relaxed at the lake, quilts are my table covering of choice~ since they serve double-duty on beds as well as the table and best of all . . .don’t require ironing :-)
A few open-face cucumber sandwiches garnished with the last of the violas (organic!) and basil leaves for fresh-from-the- garden flavor~
While the recipe called for blueberries, I used a medley of berries that I had in the freezer~
Refreshing and light for hot summer weather . . .
And fun for a lunch with the girls, served with a salad garnished with the last of the violas and edible organic nasturtiums. . .
A flavorful as well as colorful combination of strawberries, nectarines, feta cheese, green tomatoes, glazed pecans, and fresh basil~ on a bed of mixed baby salad greens~
This 5- Star rated recipe is served with Lemon-Poppy Seed Dressing. Not a huge fan of Poppy Seed Dressing, we enjoy Balsamic or Raspberry Vinaigrette on this salad. Adding chicken from a deli roaster, would make this an entrée salad to be enjoyed in hot weather without heating up the kitchen!
“What makes lilacs treasured is not the years they can accumulate, however, but the beauty of their flowers, which come just as the last memory of winter and its ice and snow and barrenness are passing away in the May sun. They flower exuberantly then, hundreds of cobs of bloom appearing over gaunt, gray trunks. That conjunction is itself an emblem of the renewal of the year, but we wonder whether without the fragrance peculiar to lilacs they would matter so much.”
Please Eat the Flowers :-) Lunch Menu
Open Face Cucumber Sandwiches~ a mosaic “how-to” can be found in my post here.
Lilac & Daylight Table details:
Contoured chargers/ World Market
Flatware/Portmeirion Botanic Garden/HomeGoods
Green Goblets & Napkins/HomeGoods
Bird Napkin Rings & Green Urn/ Pottery Barn
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Posted in Decor, Flowers, Food, Tablescape
Tagged Chilled Berry Soup, Chinese snowball viburnum, edible viola tea sandwiches, Feathered Nest Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Cut Fridays, Home Sweet Home, Lifetime Brands, Lilacs, Mikasa Daylight Dinnerware, On the Menu Monday, Open Face Cucumber Tea Sandwich, Seasonal Sundays, Southern Living, Strawberry Fields Salad, Tablescape Thursday, Tabletop Tuesday, violas for garnish
I’m dining with the butterflies~ enjoying this book~ with its beautiful illustrations by Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), German-born naturalist and artist.
At a time when few women were educated or literate, and rarely travelled, Maria Sibylla Merian was a pioneer, and made history with her studies of insects in Surinam.
Trained as a copperplate engraver and watercolorist, she documented the metamorphosis of butterflies, laying the foundation for modern entomology.
On seeing a collection of butterflies from Dutch Guiana, (modern Surinam), she decided to study tropical flora and fauna, to discover whether the moths and butterflies she saw in collections shared the same life cycle as those she had bred: the egg and caterpillar stage.
In 1699 she sailed for South America with daughter Dorothea, the first time any woman had ventured on a journey of exploration on this scale.
Having evaluated and categorized her specimens, in 1705 she published her major work Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, in Dutch and Latin.
She made 60 copperplate engravings to illustrate the stages of insect development, arranged around the cultivated and wild plants she had encountered on her travels.
With its detailed text and imagery, the Metamorphosis is the first work on the natural history of Surinam. For 17th century Europeans it was an insight into an unknown world.
This quilted throw from HomeGoods migrated into my cart recently and was the inspiration for this table.
I thought it would be the perfect foundation for this book, with the butterflies sipping nectar from the quilted flowers~ while I sipped on tea from my Portmeirion Botanic Garden Blue Tea Set and dined among the embossed butterflies on my Lennox Butterfly Meadow Cloud plates.
Quilted throw/ HomeGoods by Ridgefield Home
Plates/ Lennox Butterfly Meadow Cloud/ HomeGoods
Trays/ HomeGoods
Bee Stems/ Sur La Table
Napoleon Bee flatware/Horchow
Napkins/Pier 1
Tea Set/ Portmeirion Botanic Blue/ Marshalls
I spread my wings with a little bow tie pasta chicken salad, recipe courtesy of Pillsbury~ to fly over and join the fun at Lynn’s Celebrity Cook-Along with Pillsbury~ and a few Pepperidge Farm butterfly crackers served on the side.
Dried Cherry-Nut Chicken Pasta Salad, recipe can be found here.
I substituted chopped pecans for slivered almonds in the recipe and made an additional substitution with the dressing called for. Not a huge fan of poppy seed dressing, I decided to try Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette that is slightly sweet, and has some gorgonzola in it, when I read a comment that suggested adding some gorgonzola to the pasta salad for additional flavor. It was a quick & tasty substitution for the poppy seed dressing that I mixed with Olive Oil Mayo and complemented with the dried cherries, nuts, chicken & bow tie pasta.
I recently had a milestone birthday, and was gifted with my very own Poppin’ Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy napkin holder, since the Dough Boy was introduced 5o years ago, in 1961 :-)
A metamorphosis~ from crescent rolls to sugar-sprinkled butterflies garnish a layer of berries, lemon curd & whipped cream.
“TASCHEN’s reprint of a hand-colored first edition copy, belonging to the University Library of Basel, includes the complete plates with a commentary by Katharina Schmidt-Loske. Merian accomplished a pioneering achievement of the modern age. This publication pays homage to her work and offers readers an opportunity to appreciate her sumptuous engravings.”
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Posted in Books, Flowers, Food, Tablescape
Tagged Celebrity Cook-Along, Crescent roll butterflies, Dried Cherry Nut Chicken Pasta Salad, Feathered Nest Friday, Fresh Cut Fridays, Home Sweet Home, HomeGoods, Insects of Surinam, Lennox Butterfly Meadow Cloud, Maria Sibylla Merian, Pillsbury, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Dough Boy introduced in 1961, Portmeirion Botanic Blue Tea Set, Tablescape Thursday, Tabletop Tuesday, Trader Joe's Fresh Flowers
A little table top inspiration provided by my vintage Reliable Seeds box. . .
. . .and a crop of vegetables picked from the market~
A shopping trip to Target last year, yielded this pair of decorative gardening gloves ~
I harvested veggies from my Reliable Seeds, courtesy of Hello, Cupcake!
A cupcake garden, with freshly turned chocolate-wafer earth~ and crowd-pleasing summer vegetables~made from fruit chews~
“Edible Pods” are Tootsie Roll Midgees, rolled flat and shaped to hold green M&M’s, masquerading as “Huge Peas”~
Space Saving Romaine and Little Gem Lettuce~
Colorful Blend Radishes~ created by blending Vanilla Midgees & Cherry Starbursts
And Sugarsnax Carrots, everybunny’s favorite~
Freshly picked table top details:
Tablecloth/ Kohl’s
Plates, Goblets, Cake Pedestal/ HomeGoods
Placemats/ Pottery Barn
Bunny Towels/ Williams Sonoma
Goblets/ HomeGoods
Gardener Bunny/ Hobby Lobby
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Posted in Decor, Food, Tablescape
Tagged Feathered Nest Friday, garden party cupcakes, Hello Cupcake, Reliable Seed box Sioux City Iowa, Reliable Seeds, Seasonal Sundays, Sioux City Nursery & Seed Co. box, Tootsie Roll Midgee vegetables, veggie cupcakes, Vintage Inspiration Friday, vintage seed box
I picked a bouquet of flowers from Pottery Barn to bring the garden to the table~
I can enjoy Magnolia blossoms now instead of June. . .
My Bridal Wreath Spirea is at the table again, this time woven around the handle of a watering can~
Ready to sprinkle on the delicate fields of flowers sprouting on this quilt~
Tulips are blooming. . .
Hydrangeas are flowering. . .
And the Harbinger of Spring, Daffodils, have arrived in the form of a platter & plate~
A few visitors have arrived from the garden. . .
Moving at a snail’s pace, in the form of napkin rings~
And buzzing around the flatware~
Floral Salad Plates & Snail Napkin Rings/ Pottery Barn (a month ago)
Green Plates/ HomeGoods
Ivory Chargers/Matceramica/HomeGoods
Rattan Chargers/ World Market
Napoleon Bee Flatware/ Horchow
Napkins/Stein Mart
Hoping your garden is soon to be brimming with bulbs & blooms~
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
I’m Yearning for Spring & reading about Gardening. . .
Well~ more accurately, dreaming through pictures. . .
Introducing a little Garden Style to the Porch. . .
Quenching my Thirst for Flowers. . .
Making plans. . .
Keeping the rules in mind for optimum planting results~
Waiting for the frost dangers to pass. . .
. . . anxiously awaiting the Bloom!
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“Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.”
~ Lewis Grizzard
I took my cue from the transition of the seasons and set a casual garden themed table this week.
Browns are gradually giving way to green again. . .
Bulbs are emerging and starting to bloom.
I moved a few architectural items from inside to the table on the porch. A pair of weathered corbels, as well as a trio of spindles, repurposed as candle holders, sits along side this cloche topped urn.
My tastes are eclectic~ you may have noticed :-) but for lake living, this most reflects our style. We move at a slower pace and are more relaxed & casual when we are here.
I layered my table with burlap and topped it with a jute runner~ much like our natural areas that are covered with a fresh blanket of mulch to warm the tender little plants just waking up.
I’m looking forward to watching the bees buzzing around the blossoms next to the porch . . .
My bunny pair has a distressed finish, giving them an aged appearance. . .
Please don’t eat the ivy :-)
An abandoned Robin’s nest from last Spring is now home to blown quail eggs~
I love the character & patina that history and age lend. I like to imagine what house or porch my pair of corbels may have come from.
“Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
Today the glint of green is there.”
~L.H. Bailey
White Plates: Oneida Westerly Basket
Jute Runner & Napkins: Pottery Barn
Chargers: World Market
Flatware: Napoleon Bee, Horchow
Wishing you the Glint of Green & Promise of Spring~
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
Posted in Decor, Lake Life, Tablescape
Tagged Feathered Nest Friday, Horchow, Napoleon Bee flatware, Oneida Westerly Basket, pottery barn, Seasonal Sundays, Springtime is the land awakening quote, Tablescape Thursday, White Wednesday
Love is Blooming at my table in honor of
Valentine’s Day ~
Roses are blooming on my china, napkins, and in my soup tureen I filled courtesy of Trader Joe’s.
I’m the happy recipient of my Great Aunt’s china, marked Avenir China, Limoges France. Since at one point in the 1920′s as many as 48 companies were producing wares marked Limoges, it’s been as difficult to identify as a box of unmarked chocolates, which I can’t determine the content of without a “pinch” test. . .
After some googling and visiting Replacements, I was able to narrow it down to a pattern by G. Demartine & Cie, which produced and decorated porcelain from the late 1800′s to early 1900′s, but only as far as a pattern number and ‘manufacturer status unknown’.
I’m happy to use it for a Valentine’s Day Tea and offer up some sweet treats. . .
My silver filigree footed dish was a consignment store find and echoes the edge of my runner I found last year from Home Goods.
It’s serving up some cocoa meringue cookies. . .
Pink roses have a rich history that comes with being one of the longest existing roses known. When roses began to be cultivated, the majority of them existed in various shades, from the palest pink to the deepest crimson, and were the dominant species among wild roses and likely among the earliest roses to evolve.
As a symbol of grace and elegance, the pink rose is often given as an expression of admiration. They can also convey appreciation as well as joyfulness. Pink rose bouquets often impart a gentler meaning than their red counterparts.
These demitasse spoons are part of another Great Aunt’s silver pattern by S. Kirk & Son. . . I got them by default since they were monogrammed with W’s, and look like an M upside-down :-)
This tray belonged to my grandmother and was given to her for her years of service as church secretary, and is serving tea on my table :-)
My grandmother’s pressed glass compote is serving up jam-filled shortbread hearts. . .
Second only to red roses in popularity, white roses symbolize truth and innocence. They also represent silence, secrecy, reverence, humility, youthfulness and charm. You can use them to say, “You’re heavenly”, “I miss you” and “I’m worthy of you”. . .
A white rosebud symbolizes girlhood, representing purity and are traditionally associated with marriages and new beginnings. The white rose is also a symbol of honor and reverence, and white rose arrangements are often used as an expression of remembrance.
The name for cocoa is theobroma, which means ‘food of the gods’. We know that chocolate is meant for us, because the melting point for good chocolate just happens to be the temperature within your mouth :-)
In the 1800’s physicians commonly advised their lovelorn patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining~ and as an elixir for love, chocolate has been believed throughout history to bring smiles to the broken-hearted and to prompt amorous feelings in both men and women.
It is believed that Madame Du Barry served it to all her suitors; Montezuma, the king of the ancient Aztecs, believed chocolate would make him virile; and Casanova consumed chocolate instead of champagne to induce romance. Personally, I would rather not have to choose between chocolate & champagne :-)
“Our skin has been hibernating in layers of clothes for months; we are accustomed to gray. We can start to think that this is how it always will be. And then, there’s Valentine’s Day. A day to look in your lover’s eyes and see color. To eat something that plays with your taste buds and to remember romance. But here’s the thing. If you live in your senses, slowly, with attention, if you use your eyes and fingertips and your taste buds, then romance is something you’ll never need a greeting card to make you remember.” ~ Erica Bauermeister, The School of Essential Ingredients
Napkins & Teapots ~ Home Goods
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
Posted in Decor, Flowers, Food, Tablescape
Tagged Alphabe-Thursday, Avenir China Limoges France, Feathered Nest Friday, Limoges, Roses, Seasonal Sundays, Tablescape Thursday, Tabletop Tuesday, Valentine's Day, Vintage Valentine Party
I’m joining Jain with my Edible Book Review at Food for Thought, a delicious blog for readers with an appetite for the written word.
“Home decorating guru Mary Carol Garrity compares her techniques for transforming her own 130-year-old Greek revival fixer-upper to that of a bird building its nest- carefully selecting and layering all components twig by twig. In Nell Hill’s Feather Your Nest: It’s All in the Details, each chapter focuses on nest-building basics for different areas of the home, from common spaces like foyers to private spaces like bedrooms. Garrity empowers readers to feather their own nests by developing a sense of personal style, emphasizing minor touches that make a major difference.”
Twig by Twig guidelines and inspiration for adding layers & creating cozy vignettes that are a visual feast~
I spent a little time feathering my nest on my porch this past weekend~
Williamsburg Aviary by Wedgwood~ a plate given to me by my sister and a cup & saucer, a consignment store find~ I would love to feather my nest with a few more plates or pieces this year :-)
A bird wine bottle caddy was a Home Goods purchase several years ago~
Twig by Twig elements for a cozy nook on my porch include plenty of pillows, a throw, easy access to some books & usually a dog on my lap :-)
I filled a bird accented urn with greenery, artichokes & pheasant feathers for more nest feathering. . .
Food for Thought led me to the kitchen to play with cheese & pesto. . . thyme sprigs surround the cheese to resemble a nest~
Pesto Goat Cheese courtesy Southern Living, recipe here
Flour tortillas + the magic of cookie cutters + the oven = bird shaped crackers :-)
I hope you can join the fun this year, as I co-host Food for Thought with Jain here, Feb. 1st.
You’re invited to nosh your way thru a novel, munch upon a memoir, take a bite out of a biography, digest the pages of a decorating book, or feast upon a favorite cookbook. . .sharing an edible passage or food-inspiration from your book~
Rate your book & link it to Amazon:
***** EXCELLENT!
**** good read
*** average read
** so-so
* just skip it~
For Food for Thought inspiration & a fun format to follow for your edible review, check out a few of my favorite reviews of Jain’s:
In celebration of my one year blogging anniversary, I am giving away a $25 Home Goods gift card to feather your nest along with a $25 Amazon gift card for happy reading to one winner~
To enter, leave a comment on this post for one chance to win; a second comment for another chance telling me your favorite book or book on your nightstand you’re reading now. A winner will be chosen by random number generator on Feb. 2nd.
Thanks for your visit & to my hostesses:
Posted in Books, Food
Tagged Alphabe-Thursday, an edible book review, Bird's Nest Cheese, Feather Your Nest by Mary Carol Garrity, Feathered Nest Friday, food for thought edible review, literally cooking my book, Mosaic Monday, Pesto Goat Cheese spread, Tablescape Thursday, Tabletop Tuesday, Williamsburg Aviary by Wedgwood
We spent this past weekend visiting with family from out-of-town, enjoying their company and the water~ trying to escape the heat. While the calendar says the first day of summer is tomorrow, we have had temperatures 10 – 15 degrees higher than normal for a month now. . .
I’m recycling this post from last summer when I was trying to escape the heat surrounded by cool, summer whites to join the fun at Rhondi’s Porch Party~
I dressed my porch in Summer Whites. . . I’m hoping that surrounded by a sea of white (or I should say lake of white :-) I’ll be cooler and might forget that the heat index is off the charts~
. . .it’s not working. . .
I have some books to read to help take my mind off of the heat ~ with pictures of relaxing, cool porches. . .
This section of the porch does have shade and a little bit of a breeze to enjoy as long as the humidity is not 90% . . .
I moved a few architectural items from inside to the porch. . . a favorite pair of weathered corbels, that I like to imagine came from a large old house~ in an era where there was no air conditioning. . .and a favorite birdhouse, new made to look old, with its rusted tin roof & finial.
A trio of chippy spindles~ repurposed as candleholders~
And a single corbel with most of its white paint missing~
White tray & carafe~ Target
Glasses & Napkins~ Pier 1
White Plates~ Lennox Butterfly Meadow Cloud~ HomeGoods
Hope you are staying cool where you are~
Thank you for your visit, I’m joining:
Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday~
Posted in Decor, Tablescape
Tagged Feathered Nest Friday, HomeGoods, Lennox Butterfly Meadow Cloud, Pier 1, Rhondi's Porch Party, Summer Whites on the Porch, Table Top Tuesday, Tablescape Thursday, Target, Vintage Inspiration Friday, White Wednesday
