Clementines

Still in the grip of writer's block here.

I am so BORING.

So, in lieu of any intelligent prose you might expect, here is a bright bit of color that caught my eye in the kitchen. ;)

Happy weekend, dear bloggers!

Of Beets and Baskets, and Belles de Boskoop

My kitchen windows look out over the deck and the garden. At this time of year, the afternoon light slants in warmly, casting shadows over the vintage cherry table that originally stood in my mother's dining room.

I always keep autumn flowers here, to brighten the room as the days grow shorter. I love these reds and golds and browns, warm and cheerful colors that compliment the painted cabinets. In fact, I respond instinctively to these colors. So when I saw these heirloom golden beets in the supermarket yesterday, I brought them home simply because they were so beautiful.

And the first thing I did was to plop them in this wire basket and start taking photographs. lol

I added a few heirloom apples as well. I know that heirlooms are treasured for their flavor and vigorous growing habits, but I think I would buy them simply because of their names -- William's Pride, Cox's Orange Pippen, Belle de Boskoop. :)

And finally, wire baskets. I cannot resist them. I love their mixture of beauty and utility. And they are fabulous photo props, n'cest pas? ;)

Do you have plans for the weekend? I hesitate to even type this out loud, but we may be expecting a little s-n-o-w.

Yikes. I am so not ready.

Happy & Peppy

Greetings, peeps! I just wanted to say thank you for all your lovely get well wishes. I truly enjoyed reading every one! I now have three days of antibiotics under my belt, and I am starting to feel a little better. :)

I thought that I would show you something else that is making me feel nice these days: this little vignette of white in my kitchen. I just love this display of graduated platters on the wall. Isn't it funny how the littlest things can make you happy?

Of course, I'm happy right up to the point where I find that I need a platter; then I start to rethink the whole display. lol

Tell me: what is making you happy these days?

Winter White

We always crave white after the wild excesses of the holidays. That's why Victoria magazine always has their white issue in January, right? Well, I think the ladies at my favorite thrift store have caught on. When they reopened the shop after New Year's Day, they had a whole table filled with white dishes.

It's almost as if they knew I was coming. lol

I've been collecting white and cream dishes for my kitchen, and although I already have a few tureens, I just had to bring this one home with me. For $12., it was a thrifty addition to my kitchen decor.

And who can resist a beautiful white beauty like this in January?

Sunshine in the Farmyard

My chickens have come out to play in the afternoon sun. :) We have had three glorious days of it now, and it has been truly wonderful. Isn't it amazing how a little bit of sun can change your entire outlook on life?

Mr. Rooster is lording it over his little flock. ;) He is a recent birthday gift from my dear friend Robin, who also gave me the littlest milk glass nesting hen. The middle-sized nesting hen was a gift from the marvelous B.J., of Sweet Nothings, who is a pretty sweet lady herself. :)

Thank you so much, my friends. I love my rooster and chickens!

And they are loving the sunshine. Wishing you all some sunshine today, dear bloggers! :)

Inspiration

I guess this has turned out to be a week of posts about my kitchen. I didn't really plan it that way. In fact, I rarely plan much about the blog at all. I tend to take photographs and then build my posts around them. I know it would be much better to have a plan, but I just can't seem to do it that way. Inspiration is important to me, and you can't really plan for it. It just happens.

This is the carved tile that is centered in the backsplash behind our kitchen range. I had actually considered putting an antique fireback in there, but couldn't find one that fit in with my cheap renovation plans. And I wasn't entirely sure that it could be attached to wallboard without pulling down half the wall. So I went to Home Expo for some inspiration, and came home with this tile. And it turned out just fine. :)

Today is my daughter's eighteenth birthday. I can hardly believe it's possible. I would post a picture, but she won't let me near her with my camera. Happy birthday, Pookie! (Yeah, even though Mom can't embarrass you with a picture, she can still use your baby name. And no, you cannot get a tattoo for your birthday!)

*****

I hope you will all consider joining me for Mosaic Monday. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday night. Just a reminder for those of you who are new to the meme -- there is no set subject each week. You may create your mosaic on any subject that catches your fancy. I look forward to seeing your creativity!

Yellow and Green

Just some yellows and greens for you today. I've been busy cleaning out closets and drawers in my kids' rooms. Oy! But once it's done I'm sure there will be a great sense of accomplishment to be had. It's just that until then there is a royal mess that spreads across several rooms. You've got to break some eggs to make an omelette, right?

In the meantime, the light was so beautiful in the kitchen the other day that I had to record it. Isn't it funny how light can make such a difference in your attitude? Here's hoping we have a bright and sunny weekend.

Happy Friday, dear bloggers! :)

Feelin' Gravy

I probably make gravy about twice a year. We're just not a gravy kind of family. But I love gravy boats or sauce boats. I've already shown you my silver-plated collection. Here is a small creamware grouping in my kitchen.

I found this one in HomeGoods. It's from the Hera Collection, made by Roscher & Co. I love the twining leaves, and the curvy handle. It's such a pretty pattern that goes with any other creamware, and also with my brown transferware.

Isn't this little cabbage leaf sauceboat adorable? I found it a few years ago in my favorite thrift store. I've never actually used it for gravy, but I love to display it, and it makes a sweet little container for flowers too. It's ironstone, from Shorter & Son, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

This simple little beauty is another thrift store find. Very plain, but with quite beautiful lines. It looks like it may have been a piece of restaurant-ware.

Here they are, all lined up on the mantel above my kitchen range. That beautiful black iron cornbread mold was a gift from my dear friend, Robin. I love decorating with culinary antiques. And old iron makes a beautiful dark counterpoint to my soft yellow cabinets.

So, have I converted you yet? Are you feelin' groovy? Or maybe feelin' gravy? ;)

Mosaic Monday: Decorating for Fall

Just a little fall primping for Mosaic Monday this week. :)

This is a small credenza in our kitchen, all decked out for fall. The tole container and the wooden painted rooster plate came from HomeGoods a few years ago. Silk flowers and sheaf of wheat are from Michaels, and the small ceramic rooster was a gift from my friend Robin. The pair of bird prints hanging above the credenza came from an area rummage sale.

Happy fall!

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:

1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate Mr. Linky box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.net. I can't wait to see your mosaics! Here is Mr. Linky:

Tablescape Thursday: Autumn Luncheon

It's beginning to feel like autumn here in New Jersey, although I could stand the temperatures to be a bit cooler. The fields are filled with goldenrod, though, and the sun slants at a different angle in the sky, and the farm stands are filled with corn and tomatoes and zucchini. So I put together a small lunch for my friend Toni Anne.

A flowered tablecloth from Ralph Lauren set the stage with it's autumn hues, and made a nice backdrop for the simplicity of creamware serving dishes and pitchers.

You've all seen my dishes by Atelier at Home, and my assortment of thrift store and antique flatware before. :)

Napkins are cotton damask, with antique silver napkin rings that I love to leave in their untarnished state. Goblets are pressed glass, and belonged to my mother, as did the creamware pitcher holding goldenrod, queen anne's lace, chrysanthemums and dried seed pods.

Lunch included a salad of mixed greens with yellow pear tomatoes from the farm stand,

and orzo salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and corn. This was a sort of fly-by-the- seat-of-your-pants creation, and I'm proud to say that it turned out quite tasty. In fact, I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. lol

Many thanks to our wonderful Tablescape Thursday hostess, Susan! For more lovely tables, please visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Rainy Day, Gone Shopping

Wendy Whiner Alert: this post may contain complaints about the weather.

It's been raining so much this month that we've begun to feel as though we are caged inside the house. It's June, for God's sake. Is it too much to ask that we are able to take a walk once in awhile, or work in the garden?

OK, I've got the complaints out of the way right up front. ;)

So what do you do when you feel as though you are a bird in a cage?

You fly away for a little retail therapy, of course.

We had to do a Best Buy run to pick up my daughter's new camera, so we popped into TJMaxx for a little browse.

A little birdie suggested that this sweet chippy wire bird cage and metal lantern might want to come home with us.

I think they look kind of nice in my kitchen, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of fun playing with them on the deck as well.

OK, this picture is in here just because... well, I don't really know. Actually, this is illustrative of what happens when I'm stuck in the house. I paint the pantry doors. ;)

So I'm going to have some fun playing with these babies. A centerpiece of lanterns? A small potted plant inside the birdcage?

Yep, going out shopping is way better than staying in the kitchen eating the rainy day away. Although I did some of that, too... ;)

What do you do on rainy days?