Dinner

I've been thinking about a dinner to make for my wonderful Brit...something new for him.  So I decided to make macaroni and cheese.  He's never had it before but he LOVES cheese.  I am going to try to make a lighter version.   Then I thought I'd make some oven baked pork chops.  I love almost any vegetable, but peas are the only green things on his VERY short vegetable list.   So peas it is.  This is the table I'm planning for dinner.

Here's the table for our first foray into mac and cheese, light style.  Oh dear, red AGAIN????

Believe it or not...these are the same flowers I used

 for Easter... with a little tweaking... 

I love these white dishes...I thought they'd could be used as plates OR platters (and who can't use more platters!). 

Won't this be perfect for the planned menu?

The edge on these plates is so pretty...it's what caught my eye in the store

 I am going to make the mac and cheese in this cute ramekin.  They come with lids and are oven-safe

 This little server will be great for custard...one of my husband's favorites!

This is the side view of the square dish...

...which matches the little ramkin

Close up of the silverplate flatware

If he ends up liking the mac and cheese...it may become a staple at our house.  Wish me luck!

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• Those white platters/plates were a find at TJMaxx...I should have bought more!!
• The ramekins and square dish are Temp-tations "Old World" in cranberry.  I have several pieces and it is WONDERFUL to use (got them on QVC)
• Red placemats from TJM
• Damask napkins from ebay
• Silverplate flatware was my mother's
• Glasses are Waterford's Marquis line
• The flowers are in a Paul Revere silverplate bowl...love that shape

Thank you for dropping in...please visit all of the gorgeous and creative tables at Susan's Tablescape Thursday.  Just click on the button up on the right! 

Love to hear from you!!!

Tess

Easter Brunch

My small but wonderful family comes to our house for Easter brunch every year (our youngest sister lives in New Mexico and wasn't here) .  We have hosted brunch since we moved back to Utica, where I grew up.  The weather is always "if-ey" here in upstate New York at this time of year.   Sunday it was pretty nice...not really too warm but nice.  It takes spring a long time to get here!

So here is Easter brunch at our house.  I love pink and white, but especially in springtime.  The table is pink and white and floral.  Is that a real theme???

I apologize for the pictures...they were done quickly as my sisters were arriving and these didn't turn out very well...

There were five of us at brunch so we had the
table opened up

The table setting for the brunch was pretty simple since the menu was....well....brunch

Here's a closer look...

Pink place cards

 This round centerpiece leaves plenty of room for brunch.  We had fresh fruit salad, spinach-egg casserole, parmesan potatoes, bacon and sausage, bagels, asparagus,

and desserts.

I was in a hurry so my pictures leave a lot to be desired!!  I apologize...and I missed out on a few things I wanted to photograph (for instance, the meal!!!).  This little silver butter dish actually held cream cheese for bagels.  Every Easter when we were young, friends of my parents gave them a butter lamb.  It's a Polish tradition and we have one every year for brunch. 
Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it  :-(

I love putting desserts out on the sideboard...there's plenty of room to spread out sweet treats!  We had small rose-shaped lemon cakes with lemon glaze, a small lemon bundt cake, macadamia nut cookies and lots of easter candy...

Let's start with the little rose cakes

This is the bundt cake with a story (of course-I have to explain all of the little bloopers).  I put it in a container to glaze it and when I moved it to this cake pedestal, some of it stayed in the container...that explains that little chunk out of the front.  I COULD have put that part to the back, but I didn't see it until AFTER the pictures!

I found this cookie recipe in Tea Time magazine.  These macadamia nut cookies are dipped in melted white chocolate when cooled.  I thought it would be fun to make the white chocolate in pastel colors

The basket is filled with all sorts of chocolate goodies

These bunnies are keeping an eye on the jelly beans. 
We had a great meal, great conversation,  AND great Mimosas!

 I  HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Now for the dish on the dishes:

On the table

• The rose dinnerware is from Iron Accents...the pattern is called "Lily Red" and I fell in love with it after seeing it in "Victoria" magazine
• The silverplate is "Vanessa/Francesca which I got on ebay
• The pink table cloth and pink napkins are both from ebay as well.  I always find wonderful linens there
• The round butter server is from TJMaxx YEARS ago in Chicago
• I found the ceramic bunny center piece container at Big Lots...love the pastel colors
• The tall glasses are Waterford Marquis from TJMaxx from my friend Joanne at work
• Waterford flutes were our t oasting glasses;a wedding gift from my friend Bill in Chicago. The pattern: Araglin; I use them whenever I can.  The other flutes are from ebay.  We had Mimosas!!!
• Etched glasses were used for fruit salad and are from ebay
• The place card holders are Old Country Roses that I found at TJMaxx a few years ago...I made the place cards on the computer

On the sideboard 

• The little rose cakes are set on a Royal Albert "English Garden " plate set on a silverplate server.  I bought this over twenty years ago at the Oneida outlet store in the factory town about 20 miles from here...they had such GREAT deals!!
• The bundt cake is on a cake pedestal I found at TJMaxx.  I love that you can change the ribbon woven through it.  I thought the green looked very pretty
• The cookies are on a silverplate tray from ebay
• The easter candy is in a silverplate bride's basket, also from ebay (you just find the best stuff there!)
• The bunnies holding the jelly beans and the blue ceramic basket with the m&ms are from Big Lots last year.
• Fresh cut flowers from my favorite florist...their flowers always last so long!

So there you have it...I am about to go "table hopping" at Tablescape Thursday on "Between Naps on the Porch".  The link is up to the right so you can hop over there and see Susan's wonderful blog and some of the prettiest tables you've ever seen

Thank you for stopping by...I love hearing from you!

Tess

St. Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day has changed a lot for me over the years.  First of all, I am not Irish (as far as I know) so growing up, we did the usual school things for St. Patrick's Day and that's about all. 

In my mid-twenties, I moved to Chicago where there is a HUGE Irish presence.  I met my friend Bill there in the mid 80s (he is still one of my best friends).  He is first generation Irish so we went to the many Irish pubs, festivals, and music venues.  I adore traditional Irish music and have a huge collection.  Anyway, celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Bill was always a great time (though I rarely drink alcohol...I was right there with everyone who does!).  For those who don't know, the Chicago River is dyed green every year (using orange dye) and they paint shamrocks on Dearborn St. where the parade route is.  Now THAT'S a city with lots of Irish in it's blood!!!

Green Chicago River

 Fast forward to today...boy, things do change.  I am back living in the upstate NY city where I grew up, with my English husband, and those days of going out to the pubs til all hours are long gone!  I think I will  have some tea and a treat and listen to some traditional music.  I have a book of Irish mysteries or maybe I'll pop in the "Riverdance" dvd and watch it...it's so wonderful!  Bill and I went to see it in Chicago in 1996!! 

I don't have much in the way of St. Patrick's Day table things, but I was able to find enough  to have my little St. Patrick's time.

 

Just a little set up for tea.  Mostly, I am a coffee drinker, but will sometimes drink raspberry herbal tea in the evening.  I love this shamrock scarf but since I am working at home, I won't be wearing it on SPD this year

I have had this cup for a looooooong time and love the sweet shamrocks dancing around it

 

Here's a closer look at those shamrocks

 

 How about some green frosted cookies to go with tea...yummy!

These roses have been seen on a few tables lately...they certainly did last!!  I added a few green carnations and put them in an Irish glass with shamrocks all around the bottom

I love murder mysteries....and here is a WHOLE book of them.  This should make for a great evening!

 

...especially with some of my favorite music playing

Here's a little peak at the underside of the sauce.  This is "Royal Tara" made in...where else?

Ireland!

So I'm planning to have a quiet but wonderful St. Paddy's Day at home!  Hope you enjoy your celebrations!!

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• The cup and saucer are Royal Tara (made in Ireland) from my teacup collection
• The plate is my "Val D'Or" which shows up frequently here
• The teapot and cookie tray are from "Tea with Grace"
• The teaspoon is Reed and Barton "Rathmore"
• I have had the shamrock scarf for years
• The Waterford Marquis glass makes a great little vase for the roses and green carnations
• That green napkin with the gold thread and the shamrock garland around the vase are both from Dollar Tree
• The lace tablecloth is from my collection of tablecloths
• Those cookies are NOT homemade...I am sorry to say

 Thank you for stopping by.  Be sure to visit Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch" and see all of the gorgeous tablescapes there. (click on the button up on the right)

HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY!

Tess

Royal Albert

Royal Albert Hall in London...

OR

Royal Albert China

(hmmmmmm...I think you might already know without any explanation ;-)

I've set the table for a nice tea with different patterns of Royal Albert China...there are so many wonderful patterns and these are my favorites!  Each place is set with a different pattern and the ever-versatile Val D'Or is used at each place.  Here we go!

Choose the pattern you like best and take a seat

Here is an overview of each place setting...

This pattern is called "Celebration" with beautiful white and maroon flowers

This one is called "Victoriana Rose".  It was originally a Paragon pattern, but I believe that Royal Albert bought them.  It is just delicate pink roses (sorry the picture isn't very good)

And here is the famous "Old Country Roses"...what else is there to say about this one!

This is "Moonlight Rose"  which is the pattern of "Old Country Roses" in blues and lavender.  You know how moonlight gives things a blue-ish cast.  This is exactly what this pattern does. 

(I don't have a salad plate in this pattern, so I used the "Val D'Or)

For the center of the table, there are beautiful real roses in an OCR teapot.  Don't worry...there are more tea pots in the china cabinet so we can still have tea

A closer look at the "Celebration" pattern

. . . "Victoriana Rose"

. . ."Old Country Roses"

. . ."Moonlight Rose"

Now for the dish on everything else!!

• The lace tablecloth  I have had for years
• The maroon placemats are from ebay just this past year (not the best fit for a round table!!)
• The silverplate is Oneida Vanessa/Francesca
• The fresh roses are making their second appearance. They were a grocery store buy
• The pink damask napkins are from ebay
• Napkin rings are Royal Albert Old Country Roses from TJ Maxx

I'm sure everyone has a favorite china pattern that you collect.  Thank you for stopping by to see my favorites!  Please visit  all of the lovely tables with Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch".  Just click on the link up on the right!

I Love Chintz!!

I really do love chintz!  I know that the word "chintzy" has a negative connotation, but I love floral anything and there is nothing jammed with more flowers than chintz fabric and pottery!  To me, chintz just means colorful and happy!!  Here is a short history (or maybe it seems like a LONG history!!) of chintz.

 

Chintz is glazed calico cloth printed with flowers and other patterns in different colors. It was originally a woodblock painted or stained calico produced in India from 1600 to 1800 and popular for bed covers, quilts and draperies. Modern chintz usually consists of bright overall floral patterns printed on a light background but there are some popular patterns on black backgrounds as well.

 

Chintz is also pottery covered with a dense, all-over pattern of flowers or other objects. The pattern is applied by transfer printing as opposed to the more traditional method of painting by hand. The main firms making chintz (including Grimwades-trade name Royal Winton) were English and turned out a great variety of chintz dinnerware, teaware, and ornamental pieces mostly in the 1920s to the 1960s. The Royal Winton and James Kent factories began reproducing a few of their chintz patterns again in the mid-to-late 1990s. Royal Winton is still producing chintz today. (excerpted from Wikipedia)

 

I don't have much chintz pottery, but what I have, I really love!    I am setting the table for coffee and a few sweet treats.  Please join me and we can talk about chintz and china and all sorts of "table" things!

 

My FAVORITE pattern is Royal Winton's "Welbeck".  It has a sunshine yellow background with beautiful flowers crowded all over!  I don't have any of this myself (it is too expensive for me), but I do love the pattern.

 

Isn't this square plate just beautiful...

 

And this teapot is just adorable...again that square shape is so pretty

 

Here is my little set...I bought this from a little second-hand store.  It is so pretty and the price was right.  It was just $25 for the entire coffee set for six! 

I love the square-ish shape of these pieces

This is so cute for a little afternoon coffee and sweet treat

These cups are small...almost demitasse size, but we can just refill more often!

Here is a close-up that shows the overall floral pattern...so charming!

 

This feels very pastel and spring-y

Here are the only other chintz pieces that I have

I also have this pretty chintz Old Country Roses teapot which was a gift from my friend Terry...she knows I am a nut for OCR!  That little creamer is from my mother-in-law in England.  It is actually Royal Winton.  The pattern is "June Roses".  It's hard to see, but the background is pale yellow. 

 I don't that that rose colored bowl even counts as chintz, but I love it!

Now for the dish on the dishes...

• The chintz coffee set was a great find at a second hand store
• The tablecloth is another that my sister brought to me from Ireland
• There isn't much in the way of silver, but I used my Oneida "Damask Rose"
• The flowers are from the grocery store...$9 for the whole bunch of roses!!
• The dish with the cookies is Limoge...given to me by a very close friend

Hope you enjoyed my "chintz-y" post today!  Thank you for stopping by.  Please visit Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch"(the button is up on the right).  You will see AMAZING tables!

Tess