Our Chicago suburb has a garden walk every summer as many towns do.
We saw some beautiful flowers…
Good as Gold Hybrid Tea Rose
…and sat on a lovely front porch in the shade while the garden clubbers handed out cool water and cookies. Continue reading
It all started with these cute plates from Tuesday morning. French script, a radish, and a stylized fleur de lis pattern had me hooked. At $2.99 each, they were a bargain I couldn’t pass up.
The textural elements just began to create themselves — the crocheted lace tablecloth in a muted beige, the play of the dark wicker placemats against the lighter colors, and the glorious greens of summer. The trefoil bronze vase from Garden Ridge continued the French theme. Continue reading
Usually I open my blog posts with a family story, but I’ve got nothing this week. This piece of vintage pottery isn’t even mine. Do you see the tears rolling down my sad face?
My favorite local antique shop is special — it’s kind of cross between a thrift shop and a high-end decor shop. Janet at Lucky Junk specializes in found items and French Country decor and mixes them together in a funky design style. Her vignettes in the store are gorgeous and always thought-provoking. I’m sure you know that “I can do that!” moment.
Lucky Junk is open twice a month, usually on the second and fourth weekends. Janet posts the schedule on the shop’s web site and Facebook page. She also sells Vintage Market goods including chalk paint and wax. I took a class there this spring.
When I saw this beautiful casserole in a Lucky Junk cupboard, I knew I had to feature it. It’s just gorgeous! It would be really fun to build a tablescape around its bright but slightly aged colors.
The casserole is marked Japan on the bottom but doesn’t have any manufacturer’s mark. It was quite reasonably priced if you can’t live without it.
I’m linked up this week with Dawn at We Call It Junkin’ and Christine at Rustic and Refined. Be sure to stop by and say hello — and “like” their Facebook pages as well as Lucky Junk’s page.
My daughter knows me pretty darn well. When she went to Rome on vacation, she brought me a beautiful tea towel to be used for staging still life food and tableware photos.
When I saw my first ripe Italian plum tomatoes on the vine, I knew just how to use her beautiful gift.
Now I have to figure out what to do with those heirloom purple cherry tomatoes that are almost ready!
Fresh beets from a friend’s garden. Organically grown. Just picked. Priceless.
We love fresh beets here at GMR, and I spent a little time looking for a recipe that included both the beets and some greens — we had a big bunch of kale that needed to be cooked. I found a recipe for French Peasant Beets and just a quick browse through the Food 52 site gives me a lot more food for thought. 🙂 Continue reading
I’ve been wanting to use a green pottery vase in a tablescape, but I can’t figure out if it’s old and unmarked or whether it’s just a cheap florist’s piece that’s just vintage.
Last week’s cow photo was fun for me to share, and you liked it too.
I’ve been learning how to shoot animals with their personality showing
Given the cow’s popularity, I’ve decided to do a series with the animals with personality I shot with my photo class. Just remember, you asked for it! Continue reading
It’s hard to believe that another year has passed and I’m deeper into aging and retirement.
Yet it’s also such an overwhelming feeling of grace and gratitude with which I face this day and the inevitable.
Birthday present — Nora Fleming design
What pairs well with the biggest private home in the United States? Why, one’s own forest and mountain, of course.
On our visit to the Biltmore Estate we marveled at the beautiful landscape surrounding George Washington Vanderbilt’s mansion. It is even more amazing when you realize that most of this landscape was immature during Vanderbilt’s lifetime. He and his very famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, both died before really being able to appreciate the glory of what they designed.
Biltmore Estate forests with view of Blue Ridge Mountains
I don’t want to jinx it, but my garden has never looked better! Even with the plant loss from our crazy winter, this rainy June has rejuvenated all of my sad plants. It seemed a perfect week to feature a flowery tablescape.
It all started with my inspiration piece –a Nippon Rose pattern vase. I traced its history here. The greens of the piece combined with the yellow and red roses reminded me of English country gardens, overflowing with colorful flowers. The base of the centerpiece is a distressed green wooden tray found on the sale rack at Joann Fabrics. I created a floral centerpiece with faux flowers picking up the yellow, red, lavender, and greens in the vase and the linens. Continue reading
