English Chippendale Tablescape

I thought I'd revisit one of my earliest blog posts and share it this week as I thought it could work for Valentine's Day!

One of my favorite set of dishes is English Chippendale made by the old English china manufacturer Johnson Brothers. It boasts lovely red chrysanthemums (or are they peonies?) scattered on a white ironstone background.  I found this set antiquing several years ago and couldn't resist adding it to my dish collection!

I started with a red and blue toile table topper that I made last month. I plan on posting a tutorial later in the week on how I made it! Next I added a red charger as a base for the dinner plate, then layered a Wedgwood White salad plate , an English Chippendale bread and butter and last a little fruit bowl.

 I found six glass hurricanes at the Goodwill for $2 each and filled them with broken china pieces and a white chunky candle.

 Blue Country French napkins add a nice pop of color. And this is the vintage silverplate flatware I found a month or so ago , 8 place settings for $25!

 Mmm, some fruit tarts for dessert!

I love red geraniums and they alternate with the hurricanes down the center of the table.I think it all makes for a pretty summery tablescape!

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Summer Quilt Project

When the temperature hits the triple digits for weeks on end here in Arizona, that's when it's time for indoor projects.I do not consider myself an expert quilter, but I do enjoy it, so here is my summer quilt project.

 I have a cupboard  full of fabric saved and collected over the years. I decided on a turquoise and brown color scheme.I did buy the polka dot and aqua swirl fabrics at an estate sale for 50 cents a yard, the rest I already had in my stash!

 This pattern is called Garden Trellis from the book Jelly Roll Quilts.

 All done!

The quilt adds a splash of color to my wing chair.

This was last years summer project - as you can see I've got a lot of turquoise and blue in my fabric stash to use up!

Ironstone Tureens

Not only do I have a weakness for domed cake plates, I can't resist an ironstone tureen either.

 I found this beauty at the Goodwill yesterday. As you can see it has a lovely underplate, a ladle and the lid had a charming fruit finial.It's in perfect condition and I'll be taking it into the store soon.

 I've had this antique English covered dish for years. I use it at Thanksgiving filled with buttery mashed potatoes!

 This is a little Italian creamware piece I found antiquing in Atlanta a few years ago. I love the basketweave detailing on the lid.

 I can fit a whole chicken in this large covered baking dish made by Arabia of Finland! It is one of my favorite pieces that I found at an estate sale in New Jersey some 25 years ago. I really splurged by paying $25 for it, but have seen it selling for much more. And I love my little floral embossed mini tureen that I  use for chocolate or strawberry sauce for ice cream buffets.

My ironstone really stands out against the mahogany sideboard and red walls of my dining room!

Please come see me at Merchant Square Antiques where I always have more pieces of ironstone available for you too!

Tenille's Collection

We had such a lovely visit with our kids in Pennsylvania. My daughter-in-law Tenille has a weakness for  blue and white pottery( like me!) and we had some fun antiquing and hitting the garage sales.

 Tenille found this charming piece of Wedgwood at a garage sale for $1!

 She wasn't sure what to do with some of her random pieces so we took a cue from Nancy at 

Nancy's Daily Dish and decided to hang them over her breakfast nook window. It's hard to tell, but the walls are painted sage green which makes the blue and white really pop!

We've both also got a weakness for Polish Pottery and Tenille has the start of a nice collection. Our only problem when we go shopping together is who spied the treasure first! 

Antiquing in the heart of Pennsylvania

We've had a little family reunion in State College, PA where my son Nat, his wife Tenille and their two little children Grant and Sadie live. Our daughter Megan and her friend Brian joined us from Georgia, and our son Josh flew in from Utah. So we were all together for the 4th of July.We've done lots of eating, watched several movies, stayed up late chatting, watched the fireworks - a typical family get together!

 Of course, we had to leave time for antiquing! These are just a few of the treasures I found, I'll post more pictures later!

 I love the little Austrian teapot and the Lladro dancing girl.

 This is a plate from the Johnson Brothers Heritage series featuring a castle.

 I found a full set of silverplate and couldn't resist!

I also found lots of vintage lace and linens.

We're here for a few more days so hopefully will get  a bit more shopping in!

Look What's New!

I've found some fabulous European treasures recently at the flea markets! All of these goodies can be found in my booth at Merchant Square Antiques in Chandler,AZ.

 I can't resist Italian pottery.It's sunny bright colors remind me of our trip to Tuscany a few years ago.

 I love these wonderful wire photo frames! I've put a vintage style postcard in them , but you can put in your own favorite photos.

 Burlap is so trendy right now.I've got some darling wine bottle/gift bags with a French label for your hostess gift needs.  And don't you love these blown glass candleholders? They sure remind me of Venetian glass.

 This is a charming piece of Portuguese pottery, with a bouquet of hand painted flowers.

 I got these antique linen dishtowels at the famous Marche aux Puce flea market in Paris. They still have their original French price tag! 

I always have something new (or should I say old?)  at  Merchant Square so come and find a little piece of Europe for your home.

Sundried Tomatoes

It's now officially Summer, but here in Arizona we've already been having "summer" for months. My garden is bursting with tomatoes and zucchini and I wanted to share one of my new methods for preserving Summer's harvest. I love sundried tomatoes for adding in to salads and pasta dishes and it's so easy to make your own!

 Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. I have used a Silpat sheet but found that the tomatoes stained it a bit.

 Some of the tomatoes I cut into slices about 1/4" thick.  Another batch I cut into wedges and seasoned with basil.

 Now for the twist! I usually place my sheets of tomatoes in the backyard covered with an old (but clean!) screen to keep the bugs off. This time I placed the tomatoes on the dashboard in my car with the windows all rolled up. My car acted like a giant solar oven! With the temps in the triple digits outside you know things were  plenty hot in the car.

 It took a day and half for the tomatoes to become properly dehydrated, so I picked a couple of days when I didn't have any errands to run or could borrow my husbands car. My friends teased me that I'd be driving around with big sheets of tomatoes on the dashboard! No, not a good idea!

I then packed the tomatoes in clean jars. You can leave them as is and keep them on your pantry shelf for at least 6 months. To reconstitute, soak in hot water for 10 minutes.One batch I covered with olive oil, but those should be kept refrigerated and used within a couple of months.

This is the label I used for the jars, I love the vintage look.

And here is a recipe I created to use those yummy, flavorful, sundried tomatoes.

Under the Tuscan Sun Salad

8 ounces shaped pasta - penne, rotini, shells or farfalle

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes cut into pieces

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1 zucchini sliced and grilled

2 scallions sliced

2-3 precooked chicken and basil sausages (I buy the Emeril Lagasse brand at Costco) grilled then sliced

1/2 cup Kraft sundried tomato salad dressing

1/4 cup fresh basil

Boil pasta acording to directions on package and drain. Meanwhile grill or saute zucchini and sausages.Combine everything in large bowl and chill. Toss with basil right before serving. Serves 6.

Feel free to substitute your favorite ingredients such as mushrooms, mozarella balls, grilled chicken, asparagus etc.

Buon Appetito!

Summer Table Setting

A few weeks ago I brought my lovely French terracotta children inside and placed them on my dining room table. Today I decided to add a summery table setting and share a couple of my recent finds.

  The dishes are the classic Spode Buttercup pattern. My mom passed these on to me a couple of years ago when she was doing some "closet cleaning". Actually I inherited my love of dishes from my mother who must have at least 20 different sets!

 I layered them  on an April Cornell tablecloth and sage green woven placemat.

A flat of multi-colored zinnias makes a pretty centerpiece.

I found this fabulous set of vintage Wm. Rogers silverplate flatware on craigslist. It's a neoclassic design in perfect condition. I only paid $25 for 48 pieces plus the silverware box! I've been searching for some vintage silver to use for the tablescape I'll be doing for my women's club's annual Christmas Idea House. I think I found it!

The Fostoria company used to make some of America's most popular stemware. The factory was only a couple of hours away from our home in Pittsburgh, PA. Every so often my mom and her girlfriends would take a day trip and go shopping to one of the original factory outlets. Sadly the company shut down in the 1980's. This is the Jamestown pattern and yes, my mom has this too. I found 4 of these last week at the Goodwill for $1.99 each.

I hope you like my summer table setting. It reminds me of Sunday dinners growing up. We aways used good china, silver and crystal and of course a Sunday roast!