THE ENTRY WAY IS FINALLY FINISHED!

Over a year ago, we did some remodeling on our entry way; and I've been looking for the perfect little table every since. I finally found it a couple of a weeks ago. I wanted something kind of rustic, just the right size with patina.

It needed to hold the perfect little alabaster lamp that my friend, Susan, gave me for my birthday last year. I never found the perfect shade for the lamp, so I covered one with a herringbone wool fabric.

I don't have any idea the age of the table, but it is put together with square nails.

The frame for the mirror came cheap from a garage sale several years ago.

At last, the entryway has come together!

I'm joining the following parties:

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday

I'm headed out for a wonderful very long weekend with a bunch of great women. When I was a Freshman & Sophomore in high school, I went to a girl's boarding school where I met these wonderful girls. We lived together, went to school together, and raised each other during those early, trying teenage years. Even though I didn't graduate with them (I returned to my hometown high school), they have always included me in their reunions. There is just something special about friends you've known for 60 years that you became acquainted with under those circumstances. So, we are headed off to celebrate in the Land of Enchantment at a very posh hotel in Santa Fe for 5 days. Hopefully, I'll return with some great pictures of the wonderful southwest architecture and culture, plus more memories of great friends.

EASTER BLESSINGS

I've accumulated a few vintage Easter items over the years. These three glass chicken covered containers are from my childhood, and originally held candy.
A few Easter postcards!

A little metal Easter basket and celluloid sheep.

My favorite have to be these Victorian milk glass eggs. Since they were cold painted, they are hard to find with any decoration intact.

Both the white bunny and the egg-shaped container originally held candy.

However, I hope we never lose sight of the real meaning of Easter.

May you be blessed this glorious Easter week.

I'll be joining Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday this week. Everyone will be showing off their vintage Easter things, so be sure to check it out.

NEEDED A LITTLE CHANGE

I needed a little change in our bedroom. My comfy chair is in here, so I spend a lot of time here reading and watching TV. Since I also see our bed, I get bored with it fast. This is what it has looked like for the last year with the headboard covered in a multi-colored toile and a matching dust ruffle.

Time for a change of scenery. I recovered the headboard with osnaberg cloth and made a new dust ruffle.

I changed out the pillows and throw to plaid, the spread to beige matelasse, and hung a quilt behind the headboard.

The quilt is one of my all-time favorites that I made in the early 1990s called Park Lane Vista. It was a prize-winner at several exhibitions and was published in a magazine.

I'll be joining the following parties:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday

No Minimalist Here for Thursday's Open House Party

VICTORIAN CHAIR

Recently, a neighbor gave us this Victorian-era chair. He was going to throw it in the trash. It was upholstered in needlepoint, which was probably appropriate; but it was poorly done. I tried to salvage and clean the needlepoint, but it couldn't be done. I can probably make a pillow from some of the needlepoint in the future.

The back of the chair was broken apart as shown on the left. Bob did his magic in the workshop, then we upholstered it in this blue velvet.

This was my first try at a double cording. I think that in the future when working with heavy fabric like velvet, I will buy a thinner cord to cover. This welting turned out to be about 1/2 inch wide, and it probably would have looked better a little narrower.

The detail on this walnut chair is wonderful with the carving and burl insert.

We haven't decided yet if we are going to keep the chair or sell it.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Between Naps on the Porch

for Met Monday

Savvy Southern Style

for Wow Us Wednesdays

The Shabby Chic Cottage

for Transformation Thursday

No Minimalist Here

for Open House Party on Thursday

Common Ground

for Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage

for Feathered Nest Friday

Be sure to check out these blogs for all of the inspiration provided.

FAVORITE KITCHEN CUPBOARD

Sheila at Note Songs has invited blogland to a party to celebrate our favorite kitchen cupboard. My favorite has to be our Hoosier cabinet. For years in other houses, this cabinet served as a television cabinet in the family room. When we moved into this house 13 years ago, it finally found a home in an alcove in our kitchen.

The drawers in the bottom hold lots of stuff including place mats, napkins, camera and telephone chargers, candles, phone books, etc. The cupboard on the lower left holds three wooden boxes of sterling silver flatware.

However, its primary purpose is to keep track of my keys and to hold our supply of chocolate.

Occasionally (when I feel like dusting), I throw the doors open to enjoy some of my vintage stoneware collection.

I have quite a few bowls and pitchers in green and robin's egg blue. Sometimes, part of my collection of blue gets the starring role.

Other times, different pieces of blue get the spotlight.

Today, the twelve 5" ribbed bowls in various colors are center stage along with my mother's WWII cookbooks.

These little 5" bowls were all collected one at a time from all over the U.S.

Our cupboard retains all of its original features including the flour sifter and the sugar decanter. We use the little wire spice shelf to hold our appliance manuals. I love the original blue sponge detail on the pull-out work top. When we have parties, I pull out the sliding top to use for serving food and beverages.

I remember my grandmother had a similar cupboard in her kitchen which she used for all of its original purposes. It was practically her only workspace. Wouldn't our ancestors be amazed at the mega-kitchens we enjoy today?

In addition to Sheila's Heart of the Home party on Tuesday, I'm joining in the following links:

Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Check each of these blogs out - you'll fall in love with all of the inspiration!

All of the pictures can be clicked on to enlarge and view details.

MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA BREAD

I haven't posted a recipe in a long time and decided it was time. Those of you who know me know that cooking is not my favorite thing to do; but for some reason, my family likes to eat.

This is an easy, quick recipe that can be used for an appetizer or as a side dish to roasted meat.

MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA BREAD

8 slices of Italian bread (sliced about 1/2-inch thick)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 seeded and chopped Roma tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped and pitted black olives

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix olive oil, oregano, and red pepper flakes together; then brush mixture on both sides of bread slices. Bake on baking sheet for about 4 minutes. Turn slices upside down. Combine cheeses. Sprinkle slices with the cheese mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup to sprinkle on the top. Then sprinkle each slice with tomatoes, olives, and remaining cheese. Return to oven, baking until cheese melts.

Hope you enjoy this easy side dish.

A NEW TREND??

I heard that there is a new trend when building McMansions to include a snoratorium. This is a small bedroom off of the master bedroom where a snorer (or the one being snored upon) may go sleep when the snore noise becomes unbearable. The extra room may also be used when one partner is ill.

All of this discussion brought to mind my childhood. Below is a mosaic of my childhood farm. My grandparent's house was the big house on the left side in the first picture. My parents and I lived in the little 3-room house in the center; and later in the house across the road.

Grandma and Grandpa built the house in 1914 right after my father was born. It is a wonderful, huge house built in the Arts & Crafts style. It has a huge living room, dining room, office, and a screened-in porch all with big windows; lovely woodwork, and built-in window seats. The bedrooms upstairs are enormous with walk-in closets. My parents lived in the house for several years after Grandma moved to town, but that was after I was married. The farm was then sold in the 1960s.

Nothing is new under the sun, as this house had a snoratorium! The down stair's master bedroom had a small room attached with windows on two sides. I remember it contained a closet, dresser, Grandma's sewing machine, and Grandpa's twin bed for those nights of excess snoring. They called it Grandpa's sleeping porch, but it wasn't a porch at all.

So, what do you think? Should every house have a snoratorium?

AESTHETIC BROWN TRANSFERWARE

My favorite collectible has to be brown transferware from the 19th century aesthetic period. Finding pieces in my budget over the last 15 years has been a journey, but I have managed to amass a nice little collection. To receive a piece as a gift is a real bonus! My friend, Jan, also collects brown transferware and on her travels found this pedestal plate. She knew how much I fell in love with it, so she gave it to me for my birthday.

It has an incised mark on the bottom, but I can't make it out. I'm guessing that it is about 1880.

I love the Asian influence in the pattern, but the piece was probably made in England.

If anyone out there in blogland has any info on this piece, I would appreciate hearing from you. (All pictures can be clicked on to enlarge for a better look at the pattern.)

Thanks, Jan, for a wonderful addition to my collection.

Next week I'm joining the following parties:

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

These blogs are always so full of fun stuff - be sure to visit them for lots of inspiration.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKE

Just a quick post to wish our son, Mike, a Happy Birthday.

Here he is at age 3 - such a cutie and so full of curiosity.

And now, he is 43. Where did all of those years go? Still so full of curiosity; always seeking adventure and knowledge.
He's always had a desire to learn about this world, and now to pass that information on to his students. Congratulations on all of your accomplishments, Dr. S.

Cloche Party Time

It is time for Marty's annual Spring Cloche Party. Well, I'm reluctantly being pulled out of Winter mode (my favorite season). I know that I'm the only one in blogland not looking forward to Spring. So, this is about as close as I get to Spring decorating. For all of you Spring aficionados, gaze at these two plates next to my cloche for inspiration.

The plates were hand-painted by the noted Colorado china painter, Anna Peters, in the early 20th century. She was especially recognized for her rose renderings, so it is unusual to find a plate with columbines on it. However, the columbine is the Colorado state flower, which would probably explain it.
The cloche is covering a Murano glass egg that my son brought to me from Italy a couple of years ago. The wooden base is a piece that my Dad turned 30 years ago from a walnut tree that had been planted in the 1800s in the small town I grew up in. I've had that base all of these years just waiting for something special to display on it. It connects my Dad and my son, who is named after his grandfather. The pink marble lamp in the background was a wedding present to my parents in 1937. All are treasures I cherish.

Please check out Marty's blog, A Stroll Thru Life,

for some real Spring cloche inspiration.

GALLERY WALL

The dining room in our 1980's small ranch-style home is basically a hallway that connects the kitchen to the rest of the house. We have a 7-foot narrow harvest table that sits in the center of the room, which we really enjoy. But, it doesn't leave any room on the side walls for furniture. I've really struggled with what to do with this long wall, but I'm finally satisfied with a gallery of pictures, plates, and small shelves.

My latest addition to this wall are the two Bavarian bird plates, one that I bought from ebay for $7 and the other from an estate sale for $3. Then, I found the two frames that are marked Germany at a junk store for $1 each.

They say (whoever THEY are?) that if you buy what you love then everything will go together. I love both the plates and the frames, so I just put them together.

The remainder of the pictures are watercolors, oils, and prints that I have picked up at estate and yard sales over the years.

This week I will be partying with the following:

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Please check out these wonderful blogs for great inspiration.

MAD FOR PLAID

It seems that the last couple of years plaid has been everywhere! I've always loved plaid, and the resurgence has really refueled my interest.

I thought I would take a look into my personal archives, and see if my love of plaid has remained steady.

Let's start with the 1940s. Every girl in grade school had a plaid dress. I was no exception.

Then in the 1950s, we all had our plaid shirts with the rolled-up sleeves to wear with our jeans with the rolled-up cuffs. Check out the plaid picnic blanket in the first picture; then the plaid curtains in my dorm room. By the way, do you think I was infatuated with this boy? Well, the plaid shirts must have worked, because he married me in 1958.
In the 1960s our nest sported plaid curtains.

Every little boy's room in the 1970s needed plaid wallpaper. We remember hanging this wallpaper one Sunday afternoon while listening to the Super Bowl, but you shouldn't get distracted when hanging plaid paper - if it isn't perfectly level, you have a mess. Ours looks pretty straight. Check out the macrame owl on the wall; please forgive me as it was the 70s after all.

Evidently, the mauve/blue years of the 1980s weren't conducive to plaid as I couldn't find any plaid fabrics in my house pictures for those years. But, I did make a quilt with red and & white plaid in 1988, and named it 'Tartan'.
This is our guest room in the 1990s with a plaid comforter and red plaid pillows under the floral pillow cases.

In the 2000s our dining room sported plaid valances that matched the wallpaper border that I hand-cut around all of those paisleys. Our dining room decor has changed a couple of times since then with the wallpaper, border and valances out of there.

The last couple of years I have been making pillows out of recycled Ralph Lauren plaid skirts. You can read one of those posts here.

Below is my newest pillow that I made last week. In 1967, we were in a Saskatoon, Canada department store where this fabric was displayed as the official Tartan of Canada's centennial. So I bought a half of a yard. This piece of fabric has moved with us from house to house over the years, and I decided it was time I did something with it.

I guess that means that my infatuation with plaid has come full circle.

I will be joining the following parties this week. Please check out these blogs for a plethora of inspiration.

Savvy Southern Style for Wow us Wednesdays

Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special