Brunch on the Patio

This is a repost of an earlier post last spring/summer. We've had a very hectic week around here. I had both my father and my dear mother in law in the emergency room, at the same time, unbeknownst to one another, last Saturday evening. MIL had surgery on her broken hip and had a few rough days, but is better now, but still in the hospital. Dad went home and is doing fine.. I'm looking forward to looking at all the pretty tables at Susan's Between Tablescape Thursday at Naps on the Porch maybe this next weekend. See you there!


Last Sunday, while the air conditioner was still out and it was actually still pleasant outside, I set the table. By the time Sleepy awoke, this is what he saw.
Quilted and embroidered place mats over a blue linen table cloth (Williams Sonoma). Our everyday kitchen dishes, stainless and eggs boiled to perfection. Here's a link to an older post using the entire embroidered set.
I lugged this rooster home from the Cracker Barrel in Oklahoma City. You know the one, right there by OESD, very close to where I-40 and I-44 intersect. I've brought stranger and more aromatic things home too, like Krispy Kreme donuts for my American Airlines staff! I saw him, I loved him, I bought him, I brought him home, check the computer, carry-on the rooster. He is actually a pitcher but has never been used as such ;-).
Real butter served wrapped up in Vietri cabbage leaves.
Brought home these French hand-blown goblets from a wonderful store in Santa Fe. Too bad it's not there anymore. Sleepy is glad they are not, we still have a nest egg!
Sterling salt and peppers found at an estate sale some time ago.
Oneida stainless. Good. Heavy. Sturdy. Perfect for everyday.
Boiled eggs. Whites done. Yolks runny. Remind me of my grandmother, who could cook them perfectly every single time. She used a timer. Tiny spoons with which to scoop out the deliciousness. How many minutes with the steeping method - 7 1/2!
Noritake Summer Estate. Sadly out of production but still available from Replacements.com. If you have never been to one of their sales.. it should be on your bucket list. It's that good.
Don't you love the colors? I just love how the green and blue look, especially when coupled with the brighter colors of the rooster.

I was inspired to search for tall clay pots when I saw some in a window at a cute little local place. They looked so "French". I finally found some that were tall, not square like the originals, but these fit perfectly on my kitchen window. In the winter time, the red blooms on the geraniums sure beat the winter-time blues away.
Kikeriki.. Cocorico. Cock-a-doodle-doo. Did you know that animals have different sounds in foreign languages?
Purchased the quilted place mats some time ago. Used the Bernina binder attachment #84 with binder foot #94 to finish the edges anew once I removed the binding that was in place. I love the addition of the Moda bound edge. I believe this was part of the Provence collection.
As a crowning finish, I embroidered two roosters on each place mat. This one can be found here.
Here's the link to this fine feathered fowl.

Hope you enjoyed our Sunday morning together. Come back soon and we'll do it again. Oh Sleepy was so impressed, he hurried into the kitchen and made some bacon, biscuits and fresh coffee!


And I'm sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch! Go check out the rest of the wonderful set ups for more ideas.

Monday Picture of the week - Regan

We were child-free (this means none in the house, not that I've disowned them) and pet free. And had been for many years. Then a couple of years ago Regan's mom wandered into our yard and stole our hearts. Miss Priss was very scared and we could never coax her into our arms. Then Miss Priss had Regan. You can read more about him HERE. I was gone for 3 days a few weeks ago. When I was gone, he slept by the front door awaiting my return. Then when I came home, Regan was overjoyed to have me back. I realized after that, that he is in every room with me when I am home. If I get up, he follows. If I sit, he finds a spot to snuggle in. I can no longer imagine life without Regan. I love my kitty!

St. Jerome's Cat~~~~~~~~~~~ St. Jerome in his study kept a great big cat,
it's always in his pictures, with its feet upon the mat.
Did he give it milk to drink, in a little dish?
When it came to Friday's, did he give it fish?
If I lost my little cat, I'd be sad without it;
I should ask St. Jerome what to do about it.

I should ask St. Jerome, just because of that,
for he's the only saint I know who kept a kitty cat.
 ~~~

Traditional English Nursery Rhyme

Heirloom Sewing in Texas - part 7c - the last one

 Religious vestments.. a beautiful job. 

 A Christmas tree skirt with embroidered panels and purchased trim.

A truly precise job putting the applique motif together. Great colors on the yellow mini check background.

 Another applique piece. The gold bias is purchased (?) and then applied. I have some and mine is actually iron on. but you still need to sew the edges for the perfect finished look. Great table runner, great use of color.

 This quilt is outstanding. This is another piece wherein all the blocks were embroidered individually and then sewn together to create the whole quilt look. A really great job putting the pieces together. The colors are amazing too. And perfect for the subject motif. 

 How much fun would that be in a dressing room?

 You know - a girl's just gotta have fun!

 A wonderful ensemble.

 Look at the detail of this sewing kit.. and the colors.. so dreamy. Would make me enjoy hand sewing!

 Look at this mantel cloth.. Wow. I'd be concerned getting it all lined up!

 A sweet design. Great color combo!

 Okay, now this is perfect alignment! 

and to finish off this series.. well what makes you smile more than something great for the kids or grandkids to play? This cute and darling and precious play mat.. it's got hook and loop tape on both pieces (quilt and animals). You can use it as a toss game and/or a sweet place to place a young child to attach and remove those cute animals!

Thanks so much for dropping in and spending time with me! I cherish your visits. 

Many Blessings.

Straightening up my life

One of my favorite bloggers.. Delores Arabian of Vignette Design.. showed me the error of my ways. Or better said, she showed me what's new now. Click HERE for her post on this subject. So I "straightened" my house this past week.

The built ins from our hallway (Click HERE to see) continue down another about 30 feet into our bedroom. There are two of these. A perfect spot for personal treasures. Just things that make me happy. Bad thing is that when I don't know where to put something it ends up here. So I do end up with a mish mash after a while. And I do still need to cull. but that will be another day. Not today. Focus, Focus, Focus... This is before. Pictures angled, nothing straight, Helter Skelter.

Same junk stuff. all the photos and things are now facing straight outward. Doesn't it seem neater to you? Before I cull I am contemplating painting the back wall of the shelves.. Do I go the same color as the wall or darker? or lighter? Decisions, decisions..

The companion shelf.. mmmm, really so much straighter and neater looking. Yeah.. so after this I went around the house and did the hallway you see first, and some other vignettes. It suits me!! Thanks Delores!

I am linking up to Susan's Metamorphosis Monday - cya there!

Sunflower Fields Forever Tablescape

Welcome to a hot, sunny, summer day in West Texas.

Sunflowers, sun rays, sun colored tablecloth, amber colored glasses with punches of black. 

All with a pop of red!

Roosters guarding the napkin lest the sun rays pop in and dance away with them.

Dinner and salad plate.

Notice the woven red designs on the French tablecloth. The black flatware was chosen to carry the black from the plates onto the table.

With the salad plate removed, here is the larger rooster design which reminds me of Toile du Juoy.

A mix of silver-plated spreaders sits atop the saucer come bread plate. I spy a woven sunflower in the tablecloth.

The Chanticleer pitcher makes yet another appearance on this warm evening.

Dashing salt and peppers purchased in Albany, Texas. 

Another dashing set to crow out their shakes of salt and pepper.

Whitehall amber tumblers and golden hued wine goblets fit so perfectly with the setting.

Some lemons and pearl onions scattered beneath the glorious sunflowers remind somehow of Provence...

Your eyes aren't playing tricks I promise... I changed the candle holders from these to the black wrought iron ones you'll see here too.

Mr. Sam provided the sunflowers and these gorgeous 'things' from Kenya.

I hope you'll take a seat and join us.. Dinner is a Pork tenderloin with sage, fluffy mashed potatoes, asparagus sprinkled with lemon juice and a fresh green salad with a lemon vinaigrette.

Cast:

Tablecloth - France

Napkins - Tuesday Morning eons ago

Napkin Rings - Stein Mart eons ago

Chargers - World Market/Pier One

Dishes - nameless

Flatware - Horchow

Silverplate spreaders - collected over time

Tumblers - Whitehall

Wine goblets - Stein Mart

Chanticleer pitcher, salt and peppers - Fitz and Floyd

Black salt and pepers - Bella Caza by Ganz

Thank you so much for spending your precious time with me today. I am honored and humbled. Please leave a comment so I'll know you dropped in. I'm also linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday - a fun gathering of fellow dishaholics. See ya there!