I won a really great mailbox!!!

Oh my, even I am shocked that we lived with this mailbox for so long. It came with the house. It's on the side of the house and so we drive by it, plop it open, grab the mail, park the car in the garage and never think of it again. Egads, that is one ugly, ugly eyesore!!

source

So when Architectural Mailboxes had a giveaway in conjunction with a favorite blogger, Maria Killam's  blog called Color Me Happy, I JUMPED at the chance!!! And I was rendered speechless that I won. And excited!!

When it first arrived, it looked sooooo large. It was twice the size of this old metal clunker. Mr. CJ rocked that old mailbox right out of the ground.

Woohoo, it's out of the ground!!

We laid the new post next to the old one to make sure that we had the correct height.

 Do you like the stirring stick? LOL. A fallen branch to the rescue. It worked.

And then we had to be patient and let it set up. Promise, we used a level or two to make sure it was level.

 

This is Billy, watching us from a few feet away. Always wondering what we are up to.

It's not good to name the stray kitties.

 And then.

We dug up the surrounding area, removed the grass (which I sprigged into another area), purchased and planted a dwarf yaupon, a ground cover juniper, 7 golden lantana and the bushy thing. There is already one on the other side of the driveway, so I thought it would make a cohesive look. Can't wait for these to grow up. Hoping this variety of Lantana overwinters. In the fall, I'll add some mums. Pansies for the winter. I'll also plant some bulbs come late fall.  This little area even weathered the last storm with 80+ miles per hour winds. It was meant to be!!

I love the sturdiness, the deep coating on the box,die cast aluminum accents. And the many options there are! Made making a choice really hard.

Thanks again Architectural Mailboxes and Maria Killam!

And Regan.. well displeased that we didn't spend the entire day with him!

I am so proud of this mailbox I am shouting with glee. 

We'd still be discussing models if this hadn't happened.

Thanks for your visit!!

Father's Day - A little bit of Chicken Fried... tablescape

 

Welcome!

Father's Day didn't quite sneak up on us, I actually found a present and card for my husband weeks before, but the meal itself did. Was I thinking we would fast that day?

The boys did agree it was high time for some 

Chicken Fried Steak!

From Wikipedia:

Chicken fried steak (also known as pan-fried steak,^[1] CFS or country fried steak) is a breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of steak (tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried. It is associated with Southern cuisine. Its name may be due to its similarity in preparation to fried chicken.

Chicken fried steak resembles the Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel and the Italian-Latin American dish Milanesa, which is a tenderized veal or pork cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs, and then fried. It is also similar to the recipe for Scottish collops.^[1]

After reading that little tidbit.. nope that is not what ours resemble! We use a nice thin cut top sirloin, pound it within an inch of its life, dip in flour, dip in beer batter, dip in flour, dip in beer batter, deep fry. All this takes place outside. Yes, sweet husband has perfected cooking the chicken fry on the charcoal grill, with mesquite chips over hot coals. Let me just say... Umm, it is soo good!

 

The trusty Sky Ranch dishes came out to play that day. 

I was busily plating salads in the kitchen when I realized I'd better jump to taking some pictures!

Still trying to figure out which flatware speaks Cowboy.

any ideas?

The napkin rings and centerpiece came from a quaint little shop in Weatherford, Texas, Just to the West of Fort Worth, on highway 180.

I have had these rusty ol' cowboys and cowgirls forever! The store at which I purchased them is now a faint memory. They are made by Two's Company and I did not see them on their website this time around.

I love setting the larger ones on the table for display or using them on a buffet with the name of a food item inserted into their lasso.

The rustic bird's nest chargers from World Market worked really well into the theme.,

Somewhere in the lost items from the last move was a box of cd's of embroidery designs. 

In that box was a western font set. 

Until either the box surfaces, which I seriously doubt, or I find the font again, these napkins will have to do.

This really worked pretty well for a guys table, simple, non-frilly and not fussy.

I pulled out the amber Whitehall quilted tumblers and paired them with the Dollar Tree crystal. 

Both pieces are rather chunky and therefore work really well with the heavy Sky Ranch plates.

Cast:

Chargers - World Market

Plates - Sky Ranch

Napkins - not quite vintage but older

Flatware - Gorham

Amber quilted goblets - Whitehall

Wine glasses - Dollar Tree

Napkin rings and centerpiece - Weatherford, Texas

Western placecard holders and decor - Two's Company

Thank you for dropping by! I do so love reading your comments, they inspire me to do better.

I hope I'll be seeing you at both Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish

and Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!

A new cover for the bedroom bolster...

I had a wonderful father's day! How about you?

I've been meaning to recover the bolster pillow on our bed since we put the drapes..and that has been since 2011!!!

bedroom post 2011

 It's all a bit white here. Not bad.. but I wanted to bring a bit of the drapery fabric into the room, specifically on the bed. 

I started with a rectangle of the check fabric. I sewed on the French silk ribbon. A tip not to forget when working with ribbon: use as hot an iron as your fabric allows and steam the ribbon. This will shrink the ribbon and save you tears later on when the ribbon shrinks in the laundry or dry cleaning. I also had this gorgeous, very antique lace. 

I chose to leave it in it's vintage state. I thought about hand sewing it to the fabric along the straight pieces that you see on the left above. But decided against that. I went ahead and used my Bernina but instead of regular sewing thread, I used a 60 weight thread through the needle. It's all cotton and much lighter weight so it barely shows.

On each end, I tied a tassel tie from the old bolster cover. Sew very easy.

Here's a closeup of the ribbon. It's truly a work of art. This bolt came from Quilter's Resource in Chicago. Sorry to say, it is no more. 

The sewing fairies were working with me today! You cannot see the seam in the back, well on the plaid fabric anyway. I always prefer to seam a piece so that the seam is almost invisible, so not in the middle of plaid strip.

One more tip, when inserting pillow forms into covers, cover the form with a plastic bag (or if you purchased a new form, leave the wrapper on but slit it open on one side). Once the form is in the pillow, you can remove the plastic bag. Thanks so much for dropping by today! Be blessed.

A Girlfriend Luncheon tablescape

My dear friend Diane had us all over for a delightful and scrumptious luncheon last Saturday. Every detail on the table was carried out to perfection. The Ralph Lauren napkins were encircled by rose napkin rings. So fitting with her mother's china.

Somehow, I didn't get a full picture of the beautiful dishes. But when it's a party, it's hard to get all the perfect shots!!! So piece the top 2 pictures together and you can glimpse the plates.

 

So I did  bit of sleuthing. As I'd never seen the Pope Gosser hallmark before. 

Bentley Pope migrated to the states from England where he had been a master potter.

He settled in Coshocton, Ohio,

Met up with Charles Gosser, a prominent business man and they started up Pope Gosser China.

Their chinaware is renowned for its ability to resist crazing and cracking.

This hallmark dates the piece to the 50's. Which, according to my friend is correct. You would love, love the feel of this china. 

Doesn't this table look perfect with her decor? The whole room read like a beautiful story.

The china is resting on Mikasa Daylight chargers.

A crystal bowl held the flowers; perfectly matched in color, to the china and the chargers.

A heavier goblet for our beverage.

Beautiful flatware!!!

And each place was set with a place card. Name on the front, and a beautiful scripture on the back. Every detail made us feel so special. 

It's all in the details.. I'm telling you!

Look how each pitcher for the different salad dressings are labeled and tied with pink tulle.

Lunch was a delicious salad with grilled chicken.

And the most delicious bread in the world.

No kneading, nothing, just let it rise in a baker.

Yumm!!

For dessert..

strawberries with a sourcream, brown sugar, rum sauce.

amazing.

Individual slat and peppers at the table.

Are you ready for this? Each bread plate had a rose shaped 

butter pat.

Thank you Diane for a most wonderful day.

I know that we all loved every minute of it!

Joining the parties over at Cuisine Kathleen's for Let's Dish on Wednesday evening,

and Susan's at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

See you there!

For those of you who are accustomed to seeing Alycia's beautiful tables at Tablecape at Table 21, I keep her in my prayers. She was been with her father while in hospice. He passed away this afternoon and is singing and dancing with Jesus. I pray that she finds comfort in her time of great need. Prayers for the whole family. May God wrap his arms around them so that they will feel comforted and the joy that their beloved Jim feels now.

Pope Gosser information:

http://www.ask.com/explore/all-about-pope-gosser-china

http://www.steinmarks.co.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=stein761

http://www.jhmuseum.org/Complete%20Booklet%20pope%20Gosser.pdf

https://www.rubylane.com/blog/Short-History-of-the-Pope-Gosser-China-Comapny