Wonderful Finds and a Bit of Easter Decor

I wanted to share with you today a couple of wonderful finds my husband brought home in the last few days and the tiny bit of Easter decorating I’ve done so far. 

My husband has been helping his uncle tear down an old barn and last week he found this vintage 3 gallon crock behind a pile of junk in the barn.  It was made by Marshall Pottery in Texas and is in almost perfect condition.  Marshall Pottery was founded in 1895 and is still in business today.   

For right now, I decided to sit it in the kitchen next to my Grandmother’s butter churn.   

Next to the crock and churn sits a small table holding my Easter tree and a little bunny candy dish.

 

I love peacocks and couldn’t wait to use this vintage graphic when I found it over at The Graphics Fairy!  I used Mod Podge to adhere the graphic to the bucket and then added a bit of glass glitter for some sparkle. 

The second treasure my husband brought home this week was this beautiful International Silver tray.  His uncle had found it in the same barn and just threw it on the trash pile.  My sweet husband knew I would love it, so he grabbed it from the trash and brought it to me. 

It does have a few scratches on it, most noticeable in the center and it was very tarnished when he brought it home.  A little Simichrome polished it up in no time at all.  The best part?  It’s monogrammed with a “K”  How cool is that since my name is Kim!!

After polishing it, I decided to use it in an Easter vignette in the corner of my kitchen.  I added in an Easter wreath that I found a couple of weeks ago at a local thrift store.

I added in some sugared eggs and one of my silver teapots.

Another bunny candy dish completed the vignette.  Looking at these photos, I’m not super thrilled with how this vignette looks…too much silver on one side and too much color on the other.  Tomorrow, I’ll probably move some of them around to better balance the colors. 

I’m late as usual, but I’m joining Marty for Table Top Tuesday.  Thanks so much for joining me and don’t forget to check out all the beautiful vignettes over at Marty’s!

 

Good Luck and Fortune on St. Patrick’s Day

Today I’m joining Kathleen for her St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl, Marty for Table Top Tuesday and Susan for Tablescape Thursday.

A decorated wooden tray sits on my Hoosier cabinet.

On the island in my kitchen is a silver tray holding cloche covered leprechauns.

I made this wreath from the rim of an old cotton basket that belonged to my Grandfather. 

The dining table is all set for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

The salad and bread plates are “Clover”.

Anchor Hocking Forest green depression glassware is  perfect for the holiday.

The chairs are decorated with green tulle and sparkling bows.

Another view of the table…

An Irish blessing sits on the counter in my kitchen.

Thanks for visiting me today!

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night,

and the road downhill all the way to your door

DG

Spring Cloche Party

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is hosting a Spring Cloche Party.  I’m joining in and hope to see you there!

Sweet little fairies have come to visit and to help usher in spring. 

 

This one sits on the buffet in my dining area.

This little fairy and her friends sit on a table in my living room.

The island in my kitchen is decorated for St. Patrick’s Day with happy little leprechauns under glass.

Thanks for visiting!  Hope to see you again soon.

DG

 

 

 

 

Mardi Gras…Laissez les bons temps rouler

Let the good times roll!  Mardi Gras…one of my favorite times of the year!  Many cities around the South now hold Mardi Gras celebrations.

One of the oldest, if not in fact the oldest, Mardi Gras celebrations is held in Mobile, Alabama.  Each year, there is a debate as to which is the older celebration – New Orleans or Mobile.  I am so not going there!!!

In 1702, the settlement that would later be known as Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana.  The first celebration held there was in 1703 by French explorers.  The first masked parading society, Cowbellian de Rakin Society, was formed in 1830 and has evolved into the Mardi Gras revelry we enjoy today. 

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I’m sharing a Mardi Gras table setting from a couple of years ago.  Traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple for Justice, gold for Power, and green for Faith.

Iridescent placemats and a runner, all made in traditional Mardi Gras colors, were layered over a gold damask tablecloth.

Gold chargers formed the base for each place setting.  Forest green glass dinner plates were topped with white , trimmed with gold, salad plates.  Depression glass sherbets were placed on each salad plate.

The gold flatware and napkin rings surrounding the purple organza napkins echo the gold glimmering from the chargers.

Green butter dishes were placed on white oval bread plates.

Gold baroque candleholders held purple tapers.

No  Mardi Gras celebration would be complete without beads!  Here they are draped from a vintage carnival glass compote holding a Mardi Gras mask.

Each chair was treated to green tulle bows decorating the backs.

Thanks for sharing Mardi Gras with me!  Hope to see you again soon.

I’ll be joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

DG

 

 

Tea Cakes

I’ve been on a Tea Cake baking spree for the last couple of days.  I don’t know about the rest of the US, but here in the South making Tea Cakes is a long held family tradition.  There are many variations in recipes - some use cinnamon or nutmeg, some use confectioners sugar, some are simply flavored with vanilla.    

Now my husband and I are at totally opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to Tea Cakes…we have greatly differing opinions on what the flavor and texture should be. 

He grew up eating the Tea Cakes made by his Grandmother.  She rolls them out super thin and bakes them until the edges are lightly browned.  The texture of the outside edges is very crispy, just perfect for dipping in tea, with just a slightly bit softer cookie center.  Her cookies are not very sweet.

For both batches of Tea Cakes, I used my largest size biscuit cutter.  The cookies are approximately 3” in size.

(Tea Cakes like his Grandmother makes)

On the other hand, I was raised eating my Grandmother’s Tea Cakes.  She would roll them out and cut them with a glass.  Her Tea Cakes were thicker, but  delicate, cookies with more of a cake-like texture inside.  The entire cookie was soft, much sweeter and subtly flavored with vanilla.

(Tea Cakes like my Grandmother made)

 

I’m including two recipe variations for Tea Cakes.  The first recipe produces a thin, crispy cookie like my husband’s Grandmother makes. 

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 t vanilla

3 eggs

4 cups flour

1 t baking soda

2 t cream of tartar

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the eggs, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla.  Sift the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar together, then add them to the eggs/sugar.  Roll the dough about 1/8-1/4” thick and cut with either a biscuit or cookie cutter.  Place the cookies on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  This makes approximately 5 dozen 3” cookies.

This recipe makes soft, cake-like cookies like my Grandmother baked.  The instructions are basically the same as above.

1 c butter

1 1/2 c sugar

3 eggs

3 1/2 c flour

1 t vanilla

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add in the flour and vanilla, mixing well.  Roll the dough 1/4” thick and cut.  Place on a greased sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  This makes approximately 2 dozen 3” cookies.

Two recipes, similar ingredients and instructions…yet two totally different Tea Cakes.  Which do you prefer…thin and crispy or soft and delicately flavored?

I’m joining Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday.

Thanks for stopping by! 

DG

A Miniature House Full of Love

I was browsing through my favorite antique shop a couple of weeks ago and spotted  a handmade dollhouse.  For a long time now I’ve wanted a dollhouse, but I never really had the time to make one from a kit when I was working. 

According to the owner of the shop, it was full of furniture when she purchased it, but she kept the furniture for her grandchildren.  Based on the style of furniture and people in the house, she felt like the house was built sometime during the 1950’s.  We really have no way of knowing for sure though.

Dollhouse when I first received it - front exterior view

The dollhouse is in pretty rough shape – it’s very dirty, there are missing shutters and trim pieces, super ugly faux wood contact paper for the flooring, and the roof needs serious help.  I came home and told my husband about it and how I would love to be able to restore it. 

Well, guess what I received yesterday for an early Valentine’s Day gift!  My wonderful husband bought the dollhouse for me…he’s such a sweetie!

View of the first and second floors

Now looking at the photos, you may be thinking “what a hideous Valentine’s Day gift”!  My sweet husband knows me too well though…I love to take things that others might think is junk and breathe new life into them.  Underneath all the problems the house has right now, I can see the hidden beauty just waiting to shine through. 

Bottom of the hinged roof lifts up for a view of the attic space.

The first step will be to restore the exterior of the house.  I’ll be putting new shingles on the roof and the house will get a new paint job and probably new clapboard siding.  My husband will make shutters and trim to replace the missing pieces.  We sat down this afternoon and designed a new porch that we’ll be building for the front of the house.

Exterior side view

Since I have to wait until I get the shingles to really get started, I spent four hours last night ripping up the contact paper flooring simply cause I was so excited and just had to start something!  Tomorrow, the house will be getting a thorough cleaning inside and out.  I probably should have done that first, but that paper was just calling my name and saying “rip me out please!”

Staircase on the first floor

I wish I knew who built the house and who the lucky little girl was that owned it.  I can just imagine she spent many happy hours playing with her dolls and all the wonderful furniture the house would have contained.

Interior view after removing all the contact paper from the floors and stairs.

I know I’m going to love owning it now and bringing it back to life!  I’m joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

DG