I just found this great photo that I could easily copy and post from an email from Country Living magazine which I enjoy receiving and have for years. As a china lover I thought this was cool:
The article is about a reclaimed Catskills Federal style schoolhouse cum cottage and this is a kitchen remodel with state plates instead of upper cabinets and a round window to match the front of the house. Cool!
Overcast today...feels like fall. After our errands I think it's time to bake something to have with afternoon tea! Have a great day!
Hello and welcome to Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Blog. I usually post the night before, but our internet access has been patchy the last few months. They have finally decided a nearly 20 year old line crossing the street needs to be replaced and will be scheduling that. Hopefully soon!
I have chosen a Spode, England teacup in the fall colors Monticello Vines pattern that was made in the 1970s, although the pattern dates back to the 1870s. I love the rich harvest of grapes and the grapevine. The pattern is thought to have been designed as a tribute to the anniversary of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson when it celebrated it's 100th anniversary in 1870. The house has always had a successful vineyard and loggia covered with grapevines.
Spode and Copeland are favorites of mine. If you go down the left hand side of the blog you can see some photos of a visit I took to Lord Copeland's estate and private china collection in Cornwall, England a couple of years ago.
For more info on the Monticello Vines at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
This last week for a day out we visited our local John Wayne Marina in Sequim. Yep...it WAS named for that guy. John Wayne had an estate and kept his yacht at a dock here. He was quite a fishing and boating enthusiast and loved the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands. When he died, his estate gave the are to the town because it was the best area for a marina around...John Wayne knew what he was doing when he acquired it. It is a great place to relax, picnic, watch the boats come and go and also eat at a wonderful restaurant onsite, the Dockside Grill.
I love this sign...and the idea! I suppose other marinas do it as well, but I think it's a super idea!
Have a great Teacup Thursday and enjoy the autumn colors. Have a cup of tea with a friend and savor our many blessings!
Hello and welcome to another Teacup Tuesday with the fine tea related blogs whose links are at the bottom of the post plus many others! I LOVE Teacup Tuesdays and a chance to share a favorite Victoria Magazine as well!
Today I am sharing an autumn colors Royal Standard, England bone china teacup. I thought the colors are perfect for a nice cup of tea and perhaps a piece of gingerbread while I sit in the sunroom looking at the falling leaves making colored patterns on the lawn. The cup and saucer was made in the 1950s. Such a pretty shape.
For more info on the Royal Standard fall teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
I wanted to share some of my favorite fall photos from the September/October 2008 issue of Victoria Magazine, my most favorite subscription.
I have pumpkins on the brain...what with a post of smashing decoupage pumpkins I did last week but also because I am planning some pumpkin cashew coconut curry from a recipe in Sunset magazine!
This next photo I found is so fun because the cat is exactly like my Tinker...even down to the white whiskers! I didn't know he had previously been a model before we adopted him....
Here are some of the wonderful tea related blog parties I am linking with. Can't wait to see the offerings this week! Have a great day and have a cuppa tea with a friend!
Okay...none of you super crafty folks laugh...because I am sharing a craft project I did for Pink Saturday with How Sweet The Sound. I had an African Violet that needed something to perk it up on our sunroom. As I was in JoAnns Crafts for some odds and ends I saw an unfinished wooden biedhouse church with an attached tray that would just fit the African violet. So I painted it with shingles on the roof and hollyhocks. It makes me laugh every time I see it. Shingles don't go sideways, did you know??????
Anyway, here it is and don't laugh too hard!!!
Here is a window in the sunroom which used to only have the Victorian stained glass with other things on other window sills which are much lower and go all around 3 sides of the room...until we got our kitten almost 2 years ago. We had to move everything thing to the one high window sill at the end. Got tired of spending a lot of time picking things up off the floor where he on purpose or by accident launched them. Sigh...Oh well...we love him! And the sunroom is his favorite place!
I got my October 2011 issue of Country Living Magazine yesterday, and if you don't have a subscription, you might want to pick it up. It has the most fabulous idea for elegant fall decor with pumpkins by decoupaging them with fabric. All the directions are there and I LOVE the look!
What a great idea! Who knew that the 1970s fad of decoupage would be such a great decorating tool now??? And a fall recipe you will love!!!
2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 tablespoons milk
2 large eggs, divided and beaten
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1. Preheat oven to 425°. 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest, whisking until incorporated. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries, stirring to combine. Set aside. 4. In a small bowl, combine milk and 1 beaten egg, stirring well. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead gently 6 to 8 times. Roll dough to a 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut scones from dough. Brush scones with remaining beaten egg, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. 5. Bake until edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
I made these for tea last week...they were wonderful...and so seasonal!
And for Teacup Thursday with Miss Spenser's Blog, I am sharing a Sode teacup and saucer in the Buttercup pattern that was inspired by the recipe above which was taken from Cottage Journal and Tea Time Magazine. This is actually a 1970s copy of a pattern first developed in 1904. I love the molded texture & cute hand colored transferware design.
For more info on the Spode Buttercup teacup and saucer at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful fall Teacup Tuesday. I am joining the blog parties and more listed at the end of this post. Hope to have a linky by next week!
It is fall here in the Pacific Northwest and really my favorite time here. Lovely! I have chosen a fall themed teacup in a pattern called Fruit Center by my favorite Shelley China, England that was made the last 2 years the company was in existence from 1964-1966. The shape is called Lincoln, and I love the bold turquoise color!
Among Shelley collectors, there is an ongoing discussion as to whether the fruit is apples or peaches along with the grapes and currants. Living in a state famous for our apples, I tend to side with the apple faction, but it's not clear at all! What do you think??? For more info on the turquoise Fruit Center teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
Speaking of fall and fruit, I was visiting the September/October issue of Victoria Magazine which is a favorite thing to do as I have my afternoon tea in our sunroom. I loved the apple pie on the front...doesn't that look delicious?
And inside I enjoyed the fact that there were many articles about England which is my second home. But there were also great articles like the ones above. The top was part of the ongoing Touring section and features the Inn At Montchanin Village in Delaware. I was taken by the lovely display of transferware. The bottom photo is of the pages titled The Flavor Of Fall and featured many great recipes. I have made so many from my collection of Victoria...some are family favorites and made often.
A few weeks ago on a day out, we drove to the little town of Quilcene on the other edge of Olympic National Park from our side and found a neat little shop called The Picket Fence.
Nestled in the Olympic National Forest just off Highway 101 it was such a pretty site for a shop filled with lots of vintage and hand made items by local artisans and lots of bird items. The photo above is the totally deformed a bent over trunks of 2 living cedar trees that they are suing as a side for their flower bed. Amazing! It was a great stop! They even have a website which is fun! The Picket Fence.
We stopped for lunch at the Olympic Timber House restaurant in Quilcene which we had passed a million times but made a point of stopping today. It has a great reputation and ambiance. Built by loggers over several years in the 1940s...the bar was built first and the rest was built after drinks following their days work...the restaurant features elegant yet rustic decor. I especially like the tables which are log slabs and the bases which are branches. And the food was excellent!!!
And lastly...my daughter has a dog sitting business and sent us this photo of one of her charges, a Corgi puppy that was having trouble with a recent heat wave and climbed into the family room floor drinks fridge. Our daughter had been told the puppy loved it, so she let the puppy stay and cool off. The door won't shut because the puppy is too wide & it's a mini fridge so that was no worry.
Here are some of the blogs I am joining with for Teacup Tuesday:
This is a wonderful mostly pink patterned bone china cup and saucer and matching cake serving plate made by Roslyn, England in the 1950s. I picked up the cake plate a year or so ago on an English buying trip, but the pattern name was unreadable. I fell in love with the pattern. Then at an antique sale a few months ago I found the cup and saucer and finally had a name for the pattern. Ambleside! I love the pinks and lavenders of the poppies and cornflowers. Lovely! Sort of an end of summer walk among the hedgerows looking at the late wild flowers.
For more info on either the cake plate or the teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.
I am looking forward to seeing all the fun pink posts from my blogging friends, and hopefully meeting some new ones! Have a great day! Cheers!
