Thursday, March 22, 2012

Early Spring Yellow & Green Tablescape

I haven't quite gotten around to bringing the Easter and Spring decorations up yet. I thought I would share an old spring luncheon table for a tea party I hosted for my book club friends quite a few years ago. Before blogging. Before owning a decent camera. Before understanding lighting...or how important close up shots are....and certainly before adding much color to my world - this was a very first attempt at color. It intimidated me, I only had pretty pastel girlie girl antique linens in pinks and lavenders - what's this? Wanting to be bold with color? HOW???

So we're talking newbie tablescaper here due to that fact I was super new in the color world - and big time out of my comfort zone. But I wanted to do a fun bright and cheerful table for this group of gals - they were/are more comfortable with bright happy tables and much less comfortable with valueable delicate antique china and lace.

So these shots were taken long before anything remotely close to understanding photography was part of my world (and it is yet to be discovered, trust me) so these pics are pretty lame......but this is all this sick gal is able to come up with to be part of this week's great linky parties!

I just look back at these pictures and remember how much fun it was putting it together and creating something bright and colorful and new for me, and for bringing some very dear friends close together. They are wonderful ladies whom I have known for many happy years. And anytime a tablescape can bring friends together is a good thing, right?










As napkin rings I simply made rings out of bright yellow paper and taped it together, then on top of the tape I hot glued a silk daffodil bloom. As placemats I used scrapbook sized card stock.


I only had 6 complete place settings with the bright flowered vintage china, so the end seats were just simply plain white. It is seldom that everyone can make a party - so I was somewhat happily prepared to add two more settings to accommodate!









Placecard settings were simply stamped with a bird and birdhouse motif in black ink, then colored in with the tablescape's colors - the name just printed in a bright blue from the computer.

I made two of these floral arrangements for either end of the table and they were the inspiration for this color madness I was experiencing that day. I do wish I had a better photo of close-up - of the two hand painted vases they were in - they coordinated with the floral china.  I found them at a favorite boutique here in my little town's historic district. I snatched them up super fast.








I daresay I bought the entire set of dishes place settings for 6 (salad plates, dessert plates, soup bowls, sugar bowl and gravy server) just for the teapot alone. I realize I have teapot issues, it's true.  I am not denying the fact, I am embracing it.  Haha.

The gravy server at the bottom of this pic is holding some homemade lemon curd I made for the occassion. It was good, but imported jars of lemon curd are equally tasty and no work whatsoever.  That works for me.  That was the first last and only time I ever made it, the end. 









The spring green napkins are homemade. I have since upgraded to a very wonderful set of antique linens in that same color - much nicer, but this worked for back then, all I had at the time that would work!

The ivy is in an old Ironstone teapot but so full you can't tell in the above pic - so here is another one after it has been clipped. I clip it down ALL the time and it takes off in other pots as gifts or whatever very easily. If you keep it clipped it stays green luscious and full, not thin and lanky.









Heading over (late) for the fun at BNOTP for Tablescape Thursday!

Note Card Party

This is a fun link party over at A Haven for Vee 's blog called
 A Note Card Party.

Simply find some of your very favorite photos (of your very own) that you have previously posted on your blog that you would love to see made into note cards. (Vee suggested using 4 images but I just had to add a couple more because I was having trouble deciding!)

It was such fun revisiting some old blog posts, too!

Hope you join in the fun over there with your own pretty post images!

Here are a few of my very favs I would love to see made into cards. And that is actually a very brilliant idea for gifts giving!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This was from my Bird, Books & Clock Vignette post.










This is from my Pretty Pink Summer Gloves post.










These were taken from my Teacart, Silver & Birch post.










This is from my Bluebirds of Happiness Post.










And lastly this one is from my Hopes and Prayers post.



Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wordless White Wednesday
































Please join the fun at these awesome linky parties below!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

Oh the sweetness of the spring blossoms!

I already missed the purple crocus, they came and went quickly after a big storm.

The fragrant pink hyacynth has returned. This pic was captured right after a light rain when the sun first came back out. This was part of a spring Easter basket planter I received several years ago from my DH. I just planted the bulb in the fall and it has come up every spring ever since.









Pretty red tulips - caught before the deer ate them to bits, being the candy they are to them!











The daffoldils are popping up all over - and yay, the deer don't eat these!













We have 3 pear trees that shade the back of the house nicely (faces full west and all the shade we can get is needed in the summertime!) I love it is starting to blossom!










Such a blue cloudless sky!













We have planted over 50 trees on our 2 acres since we moved here - these pears were planted about 5 years ago and have really grown!











Another early spring/early fall favorite with a delicious scent is the viola. Soon the whole garden will show these wonderful flowers ranging from a bright purple to just a hint of it, like these first up. They are hardy and really grow and spread quickly. To some it is considered a curse because one does have to pluck them from the lawn now and then. I love them, they have the greatest freshest fragrance!










And look who we found on the newly blossomed forsythia:









Heading on over to the Cozy Home Scenes link party!





Sunday, March 18, 2012

Chicken n shamrocks dinner

Some of you may know how sick I've been - antibiotics and the strong narcotic cough syrup hasn't helped much and it's been well over a week having this. Some may have realized due to this I had to cancel my Shamrock Tea that was scheduled for this past Friday.

And most of you would know how disappointed I am/was/still am that I missed the whole fun Blarney Weekend. And some of you would know how wonderful my Darling Husband (DH) is when he knows how disappointed I am in something as dear to me as St. Patrick's Day!

Mr. Finch Rest also knows how upset I was/am/still am that I don't feel really well enough for fresh new blogging, or at least staging some pretty new Spring shots, anyway. 

SO HE TOOK MATTERS INTO HIS OWN LOVING HANDS!

He decided to make me Chicken and Dumplings (he is a great cook) and made the dumplings into shamrock shapes to surprise me!!!!! And brought it to me on a silver platter with a new shamrock plant as well!  And if that wasn't enough, he took pics of the steps so I could blog about it, because he knew I we would love it. He knows me us pretty well, doesn't he?

I KNOW I said I was done with the shamrock posts, but this one I just had to share!










He said it was tricky not getting the lens steamy when trying this one handed, haha:









The delicious end result:







And my fresh new little shamrock plant that he brought on the platter with the food:







Sharing this for Masterpiece Monday link party!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

You folks must see this!

OK, it is St. Patrick's Day and I just found the most incredible blogger with the most amazing pictures of shamrocks to behold. She deserves big time creds with her talented photographer, so I am writing this to share with you all!

Check out GYPSEA NURSE blog post for today called a Little Luck!

Here is just a sampling of what you will find there. Please go visit there!



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO BLOGLAND!!!!



Well here we are, at the end of St Pat's green shamrock week of blog posts. Be sure to look back at my week of posts if you missed any - there was a Shamrock Tea, some outdoor shamrock pics, a  shamrock Rosary prayer time, etc. - was all fun the whole week through!

SPD was always a big deal to my family. Some of us would start the day going to Mass, then perhaps partake in the "Green Pancake Breakfasts." Or, if not that, there was always our annual three-hour pub lunch complete with fish and chips, naturally. Or we'd find some awesome various musical outings.

But to be honest most of the time, like in Ireland, it was a day to be home safe with family and let the non-Irish world celebrate St. Patrick's Feast Day. And as my loving DH always reminds me....St. Pat was ITALIAN, anyway! (Though he certainly was a great help to that green island, indeed!)



Here is a huge Irish linen tea towel with the nicest sentiment:







Here it is a little closer up to show the weave better:







I lived in Dublin, Ohio for many years.........that town always hosted the best parade and celebration festival afterwards.  (I have even been in that parade a time or two. Some family members have as well.)  It is all such grand fun. You can read all about this year's Dublin St. Pat's festivities here. 

But absolutely nothing except going to Ireland itself beats the fun of the Dublin Irish Fest always held the first weekend of August (Dublin, Ohio.)  This year marks their 25th anniversary of hosting this amazing event. I used to live within walking distance to this festival, my house practically backed up to Coffman Park. Oh what fun that was! I was a volunteer beer pourer many a opening Friday night back when. It is a weekend you don't want to miss if you are anywhere near Columbus, Ohio in August- trust me on that one.  I have been told countless times that it is the largest attended Irish festival in the States. Gaelic Storm plays there every year, they're a staple there now! They are really well loved.

My sister and brother in law own a little pub and members of GS have popped in after gigs in the past and jammed in their little pub till closing time. My BIL says they are the most awesome peeps. But they're Irish, so that isn't a big surprise!

Anyway I realize that I have truly beaten the proverbial shamrock to death this whole week, so let me officially end the green madness by saying GOD BLESS YOU ALL, have a fun but safe time today (never EVER drink and drive) and of course I bid thee  a hearty............


~~~~~~~Slainté!~~~~~~~
(Good health!)



Guiness: for your health!