Mosaic Monday: Red Transferware

I think most of you have already caught on by now -- I have a "thing" for red transferware. It doesn't necessarily have to be old. After all, I did spend almost an entire year hitting all the different HomeGoods, TJMaxx's and Marshalls in my state of New Jersey collecting a set of reproduction Spode dinnerware for my red dining room.

At the same time, I always have an eye out for vintage or antique pieces as well. I do sometimes use them in my table settings, although most of the time they sit on my hutch and in my corner cabinet. There is something about the older pieces that just speaks to me.

I wanted to show you two pieces I got recently. The top two pictures show an antique plate from the 1830's or 1840's. It is part of the Florentine China transferware series attributed to Samuel Alcock & Co., a major pottery manufacturer based in Burslem, Staffordshire. Don't you just love the maker's mark with the beehive? The pattern is called Pearl. The plate is not in great condition, but I still love it.

The saucer (bottom two images) is a much newer piece, made in the 1980's by J&G Meakin. The scene depicted is Holy Trinity Church in Stratford - on - Avon. The maker's mark for that plate is beautiful as well. Both plates are currently displayed on my dining room hutch.

If you are a transferware junkie like me, you must visit Nancy, at Nancy's Daily Dish. Her dishes are to die for! Tell her Mary sent you. :)

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 inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz 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.

My Mess

You do this, right? Start to change out the dishes on your dining room hutch cabinet, and then get caught up with some other task... and pile the dishes on the dining room table, where they sit for the next week... you do this, right?

Please tell me I'm not the only messy one here.

But what is really pathetic (don't tell anyone!) is that I'll probably dust around the dishes at least once before I get my rear in gear and put them away.

*Sigh*

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Are you ready for another Mosaic Monday? Gosh, I am so not ready, and really late visiting you all! So if you don't mind, I may have to peek and run today. :)

Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Eastern time Sunday night. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your beautiful mosaics with all of us!

Season of Mists

I was so excited to wake up to a beautiful misty morning yesterday. I just love a good mist! At this time of year, it always reminds me of the Keats poem, Ode to Autumn: "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..."

These photos were taken at my favorite park, Natirar. I know I've shown you lots of other images from Natirar -- it's my favorite place to walk, and also one of my favorite places to take pictures.

I spent three hours walking the trails and stopping to take pictures every couple of minutes. I saw chickadees and spider's webs, and a whole flock of wild turkeys. As the mist burned off, the sun turned all the leaves golden. It was such a beautiful morning!

I'm linking this post to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thank you so much, Cindy, for being such a gracious hostess. :)

I'm also linking to My Story/Fall at iheartfaces.

Renegade

Ah, October! When the days get cooler, we start to crave heartier fare -- soups, stews, roasts. And being the perverse renegade that I am, (I'll bet you didn't know that about me) I always make one final salute to the bounty of summer.

I read a story in the New York Times last week about whole wheat pasta. Now, I've always been a traditionalist where pasta is concerned. When I was little, I refused to eat any pasta except my mother's (renegade, remember?). I distinctly recall turning my nose up at a neighbor's spaghetti -- she used tomato soup instead of good homemade tomato sauce!

Even as a child, I knew that tomato soup was not meant to dress pasta.

So having read the story about the new, tastier versions of whole wheat pasta, I decided to give it a try. While I boiled the cooking water, I roasted some zucchini, onions and grape tomatoes in the oven with extra virgin olive oil and salt. When the pasta was al dente, I drained it and mixed it with the vegetables, and topped the dish with freshly grated Romano cheese.

Delicious!

So that was my salute to the end of summer vegetables, and the widening of my horizons to include whole wheat pasta. (And probably the widening of my waistline, too.)

But after all, keeping up my renegade reputation entails some sacrifice, no? ;)

Mosaic Monday: All the Leaves are Brown

I'm using a mosaic that you have already seen here sometime in the past. I'm having some computer and Photoshop problems that I'll have to try to resolve tomorrow, so bear with me this week.

Whenever I look at these images, that old song California Dreamin' goes through my mind... "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray..." I guess I'm having a reaction against all the oranges and reds and golds that I've been posting for the past few weeks. :)

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 inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz 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.

The Little Tole Tray

Once upon a time, there was a little rectangular tole tray. It had pretty roses and daylilies and daisies painted on it. It lived in a dusty old antiques shop.

But one day, a nice lady came in and oohed and ahhed over the tole tray. She said, "You should come home and live in my Little Red House!"

And it did. And it liked it!

The End.

I'm linking this post to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thanks, Cindy, for being such a sweet host!

Artsy

No, don't adjust your monitor. Or reach for your reading glasses.

It's just me being artsy. :)

The colors on our maple tree have deepened in the last day or two.

And I just wanted to share the beauty with you. Happy Wednesday, dear bloggers!

Mosaic Monday: Amen for Autumn

I used to mourn the dying of the light in autumn -- the way that each day was just a little shorter than the preceding one. Instead this year, I'm celebrating our lives drawing inward to hearth and home. I'm loving the little things this season -- beautiful bits and pieces gleaned from nature, sitting down with my family to a warm meal as the day ends, enjoying a good book with a woolen blanket draped across my lap.

This season, I am grateful for butternut squash soup and cool, crisp days. I'm grateful for the blue sky overhead and crunchy leaves underfoot. I'm grateful for misty mornings and apple picking and the sound of the squirrels as they scurry through the underbrush. And as always, I'm grateful for the many blessings I've been given.

Amen for autumn.

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 inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz 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.

Autumn on the Porch

I've been so late this year getting my chrysanthemums. Some years I buy them as soon as they come out, and other years I don't get any at all. This year I seem to have gotten in just under the wire. Hopefully, we will not get a severe frost for a few more weeks yet, so I can enjoy their color.

I've gathered my mums on our small front porch, which is an area we pass by every day coming into and out of the house. You would think with all that traffic I would pay more attention to making this area look nice, but somehow it always gets overlooked. The bench is always on the porch but I've added most of the other things just for fall.

(Actually, the rather ragged rug came out of our mud room. And I think it ought to go on it's way to the dump!)

I set up a little basket here, with a homemade zucchini muffin from my favorite prepared foods and butcher shop, Perotti's. The basket is from Target, the cup was a thrift store find, and the pitcher belonged to my mother.

The brown transferware plate is by Churchill, from HomeGoods. I used a linen tea towel as a napkin.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, dear bloggers!

Autumn in the Kitchen

I wanted to show you all a few of the odds and ends I've collected in my travels lately, so I thought I would set a fall table in the kitchen. Besides, I love to play with dishes, right? ;)

Yes, those are the same faux flowers I showed you a couple of weeks ago. I did actually get some chrysanthemums to put on the table, but I want to add some little gourds to them and just haven't gotten around to doing that yet.

I set this table with a lot of mismatched china and thrift store/rummage sale finds. The covered casserole (shown above) was a HomeGoods find a few years ago. I bring it out every fall to add color to my table. :)

I bought this handsome canine fellow (above) at the recent Visiting Nurse's Rummage Sale for my dear friend, Robin. He's just visiting my table before I bring him to his new home.

I bought this little black urn (above) at the rummage sale also. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with it yet, but it comes in handy here to hold a little white pumpkin. :)

I set the table with three mismatched thrift store dishes. I only have one of the turkey dishes (above) and two of the country scenes (below). Luckily, there are only three of us eating dinner tonight.

And yes, I placed two more little white pumpkins on top of the wooden candlesticks. They are a recent thrift store find, and an unusual size. All of the pillar candles I've seen so far are just ever so slightly too big to fit them. :(

Woven rattan chargers, cotton damask napkins, mother of pearl napkin rings and Waterford crystal round out the settings. Oh, and my usual array of flatware -- antique bone-handled knives and vintage silverplate forks and spoons.

Happy autumn colors here at Little Red House. The tablecloth is Ralph Lauren. The curtains are Country Curtains. The wallpaper (which I swear I'm going to strip soon!) is Waverley.

So that's autumn in the kitchen here at Little Red House. :)

Mosaic Monday: Adamantine Mantel Clock

I'm showing you something that has been a fixture in my life for many years -- the Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock that belonged to my grandfather. I was quite young when my grandfather died, and my mother inherited the clock. It has sat on our mantel ever since.

It does not run now, but I remember it chiming the hours when I was little. It had quite a loud tick-tocking sound, too. I can remember my father winding it every week or so.

Adamantine is a type of celluloid veneer that was used to mimic the marble and onyx of the more expensive French mantel clocks of the late nineteenth century. Seth Thomas began making these adamantine black mantel clocks in 1882 for the American market, which wanted the look of the more expensive clocks but shied at the price. They were very popular from 1882 through 1911. If you are interested in finding one, there are a few on ebay, including one that is exactly the same model, here. If you are interested in a short history of Seth Thomas clocks, you can find it here.

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 inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz 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.

Saturday Morning

It's Saturday morning, the kids are still asleep, my husband is at the office, and I'm sitting here dreaming up decorating projects for the winter. Like stripping the wallpaper in the kitchen and painting. Moving the hutch from the dining room into the kitchen and painting the island. Carving a laundry room out of the downstairs bathroom. Painting my dresser. Painting my aunt's old breakfront that sits in the garage right now, and putting it in the dining room...

If wishes were horses... :)

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I'm still making the rounds of all your posts from last week, but I hope you will join me for Mosaic Monday this week. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday Eastern time, USA.

I Love My Plate Rack

When we had our kitchen remodeled a few years ago, the designer asked me for a list of the features I most desired in my new kitchen. At the top of the list was a plate rack.

Duh! I'm a dishaholic, remember?

I wanted it because of the way it looked, but I love it now because of the way it functions. It is so much easier to grab a few plates without having to open a cabinet door. That sounds like such a little thing, but it's true. And because our dishwasher is located immediately below the rack, it makes emptying the dishwasher easy, too. And finally, there is something just so very satisfying about slotting the dishes into the rack -- a place for everything, and everything in it's place.

I'm linking this post to Cindy's Show and Tell Friday. If you have the time, go check out all the links. You will be so glad you did. :)

I'm also linking Shelia's Heart of the Home Party. What could be more fun than taking some time to visit each other's kitchens, and maybe stop in for a little refreshment? :)

My name is Mary, and I'm a milk-glass-a-holic

This is my semi-annual post where I show you all the milk glass I bought for a song at the Visiting Nurse's Rummage Sale in Far Hills, New Jersey. ;)

I went there this year, saying to myself that I was not going to buy any more milk glass. I have way too much already.

But that resolve went right out the window when I saw these two beautiful pieces by Westmoreland (above and below).

One was $3. and the other was $2. The covered candy dish (above) is currently selling for around $25-$38 on ebay and bonanza. Score!

The beautiful goblet (below) was made by Napco. I love the simple shape and the almost translucent quality of the glass. I think this one cost me $2. -- a real bargain for something that gives me so much pleasure to look at. :)

I love the basketweave pattern on the plate shown below, too. It doesn't have a maker's mark, but I think it may be another piece of Westmoreland because it is so heavy. I'll have to look out for a few more so that I can set a small table with them. ;)

The hobnail, fluted-edge compote (below) has no maker's mark either, but it has the most beautiful opalescent glass. This makes me wonder if it is made by Fenton, which is famous for it's lovely fluting and mother-of-pearl glass. I've ordered a reference book on milk glass from Amazon. Can't wait to see if it helps with identification. :)

The little leaf-shaped candy dish (below) is definitely Fenton -- the daisy and button pattern. I just thought it was so cute, and for $1. it was another no brainer.

And the very first piece of milk glass I ever bought was an urn similar to the one shown below. I think I just responded to the classic shape. Now I have several of them. This one is by the E.O. Brody Co. I'm thinking of placing one of them on either end of the mantel in the library with some fall branches.

If you are a fan of Eddie Ross, you will know that he often includes milk glass pieces in his tablescapes. Early last week he wrote on his blog that he was shooting

a makeover story for Women's Day at the Visiting Nurse's Rummage Sale. I can't wait to see it, and see if it includes any milk glass! :)

Mosaic Monday: Autumn Postcards

Remember when we talked about the lost art of letter writing last week? I thought that I would add some new autumn postcards to my etsy shop, for those of you who still like to send a handwritten note. :)

So that is what my mosaic is made of this week -- six images of autumn, the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" as Keats described it it.

After the color and abundance of summer blooms, autumn has it's own spare beauty. I love the misty mornings, the muted golds and browns, the ripened berries and the call of geese flying overhead. I love the brilliant foliage and the softer light and the dew-drenched grass. And most of all, I love the bittersweet feeling that comes with this fleeting season. Soon enough the frost and the snow will come. Carpe diem.

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 inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz 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.