Tea and Cannoli

How has your week been going so far? It's been busy here, with lots of errands in addition to the usual laundry, cleaning and clearing the garden.

None of which I've finished so far. lol

But you know me -- anytime is a good time for a cup of tea and a snack. Mmmm, chocolate cannoli.

(Do you think that has anything to do with my utter lack of ability to lose weight?)

Our lilies of the valley have just opened this week, and their dainty blooms and perfume are perfect for my tea tray. I have set the tray on the sofa in our library; the needlepoint pillow you see in the background of the photo (above) was a Mother's Day present a few years ago.

The cup and saucer belonged to my mother. It is hand-painted Fan Crest fine china, made in Japan. My mother collected tea cups.

The dessert dish is actually the saucer for another tea cup -- Royal Sealy China, also made in Japan. The tray itself is an antique tole tray, which I won on ebay a few years ago.

(Don't you love the phrase "won" -- it sounds so much better than "paid entirely too much in a last-minute bidding war.")

The delicate embroidered linen placemat is vintage, another heirloom from my mother.

So what do you do when you sit down to eat by yourself? Read, of course. The book here is Shakespeare's Art, published by L.C. Page & Co, Boston, in 1901. Don't you love old books? They are so beautiful, with gilded cover art and deckled edge pages. I've added a hand-made bookmark, created together with my friend Toni Anne. We used one of my photos, some ribbon and beads.

If I ever get my act together, I'll list a few of them in my etsy shop.

I'm linking this post to Susan's Tablescape Thursday. You must visit Susan's beautiful blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for more tablescapes.

I'm also linking to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thanks, Cindy, for hosting this fun meme. :)

My Beautiful Breakfast

I have a thing about setting trays. Maybe it's because I tend to collect tole trays and individual dishes when I see them, at thrift stores and rummage sales. Maybe it's because we don't entertain very often.

It's a chance for me to "play" with my dishes... a creative outlet, if you will.

I set this breakfast tray yesterday, and sat in the sunny library window for an English muffin and orange juice. :)

The blue transferware dish belonged to my mother. It's a little chipped and worn, but I love the scene on it, and as it's the only one I have, I like to use it occasionally for a single setting like a tray.

I used a Waterford water goblet for my orange juice. My husband's family and my mother gave us a few pieces for Christmas and birthdays for the first few years after we were married. It's lovely to use them and think of all those happy celebrations years ago.

I love monogrammed silver. This tiny piece was given to me by my dear friend Robin. It fits perfectly in my Waterford jam jar.

German silver spoon and bone handled knife, from local antiques stores. Are you getting tired of seeing these in each of my tablescapes? :)

Here is the jam jar, a gift from my mother. Do you use pretty pieces every day? I often think I should not save these things for a special occasion. How much more gracious would life be if we dined on Spode and Waterford every day?!

Actually, it would be a lot more work, because I wouldn't dare put Spode and Waterford in the dishwasher! lol

So here is my breakfast tray -- a little bit of elegance for my English muffin. ;)

The flowers are white azaleas, from shrubs that grow in our yard. The bud vase was a gift from a very sweet blogging friend, Sue of Rabbit Run Cottage.

I'm linking (late!) this little "trayscape" to Susan's Tablescape Thursday. Thank you so much, Susan, for being such a wonderful hostess! I am also linking to Cindy's Show & Tell Friday. Thanks for having this wonderful party, Cindy!

BTW, the tray shown here was a gift from Cindy, who was so kind and helpful to me when I first began to blog. I will be forever grateful to her for her kind and encouraging words and her generous support. :)

A Moment of Grace

First of all, you have to understand that I hate to vacuum. I mean I really hate to vacuum. As a reward for finishing that hated task this week, I decided to treat myself to a carrot muffin and a cup of tea.

So I took a moment and set a tole tray with a small Limoges plate from the consignment shop, a linen napkin with lace edging that I bought on a strange antiques-buying expedition, and a thrift store fork.

The tea cup belonged to my mother. Both cup and plate are strewn with pink roses. Sometimes a girl just needs some roses, right? ;)

Oh, and I almost forgot the monogrammed coin silver spoon -- one of my favorites.

I added some Bridal Wreath spirea in a tiny milk glass vase. And so a ten-minute tea break became a moment of grace in a busy day.

Don't you love it when that happens?

I'm linking this post to Susan's Tablescape Thursday and Cindy's Show and Tell Friday. Both Susan and Cindy have the most amazing blogs. Be sure to visit them!

Happy Friday, dear bloggers! :)

Tablescape Thursday: Playing With Dishes

Sometimes I set the table for a special occasion, and other times I just play with my dishes. You do that, right?

It actually saves time when you have to set a table for a special occasion, because it's like a dry run.

Truly.

And playing with dishes is therapeutic.

I swear.

All those pretty, shiny things...

Beautiful colors and textures...

Flowers and ribbons...

OK, so I might have a slight problem. :)

Many thanks to the beautiful Susan from Between Naps on the Porch, for hosting Tablescape Thursday. :)

salad plates: German antiques

dinner plates: Wedgwood "Hamilton"

water goblets: Waterford "Donegal"

wine glasses: thrift store, pattern unknown

flatware: assorted antiques, thrift and antique stores

Tablescape Thursday: Formal Soup Luncheon

Cold weather calls for soup, so we are having a little formal soup luncheon today. :)

The antique transferware soup bowls were my can't-possibly-leave-the-store-without-them thrift store find. I got four of them for $24. You can read about it here.

I have paired them with another partial set of thrift store finds -- dinner plates made by Paragon, an old English manufacturer.

Dupioni silk placemats, Oneida silverplate soup spoons and antique bone-handled knives. They are a tiny bit worn, but I love the intricate monograms.

Rogers & Smith monogrammed dinner forks and RC Co. salad forks. Damask napkins and Target mother-of-pearl napkin rings.

Waterford water goblets and candlesticks, thrift store wine glasses, pierced creamware cachepots from Michael's and (I'm sorry to say) faux roses.

Would you like some soup?

Many thanks to our gracious hostess, Susan, of Between Naps on the Porch. Do visit Susan for more wonderful tablescapes. :)

Tablescape Thursday: A Tray in the Library

The weatherman has promised us a nor'easter here in New Jersey today, so I thought a little bling might chase away the dark and dreary rain.

So here is a tray in the library, with a bit of gold to brighten the day for all of us. :) The dish is Minton; it's the only one I have of this pattern, and it belonged to my mom. The flatware is my usual -- bone knife and German silver spoon. Are you sick of seeing them yet again? ;) The placemat is actually a napkin. I can't resist things with a bit of gold in them. Can you?

Mother of pearl napkin ring from Target. (We pronounce it Tar-shjay. Doesn't everything sound better when you pretend it's French?))

The silver cup is a thrift store find, and the flowers are (unfortunately) faux.

Wherever you are, I hope you are getting better weather than we are! Many thanks to our gracious hostess, Susan. Please visit her blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for more wonderful tablescapes.

Tablescape Thursday: Autumn Luncheon

It's beginning to feel like autumn here in New Jersey, although I could stand the temperatures to be a bit cooler. The fields are filled with goldenrod, though, and the sun slants at a different angle in the sky, and the farm stands are filled with corn and tomatoes and zucchini. So I put together a small lunch for my friend Toni Anne.

A flowered tablecloth from Ralph Lauren set the stage with it's autumn hues, and made a nice backdrop for the simplicity of creamware serving dishes and pitchers.

You've all seen my dishes by Atelier at Home, and my assortment of thrift store and antique flatware before. :)

Napkins are cotton damask, with antique silver napkin rings that I love to leave in their untarnished state. Goblets are pressed glass, and belonged to my mother, as did the creamware pitcher holding goldenrod, queen anne's lace, chrysanthemums and dried seed pods.

Lunch included a salad of mixed greens with yellow pear tomatoes from the farm stand,

and orzo salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and corn. This was a sort of fly-by-the- seat-of-your-pants creation, and I'm proud to say that it turned out quite tasty. In fact, I ate the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. lol

Many thanks to our wonderful Tablescape Thursday hostess, Susan! For more lovely tables, please visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.

Tablescape Thursday: Plain and Simple

A bouquet of queen anne's lace was the inspiration for this simple trayscape. The fields around our Little Red House are filled with the flowers right now, and I couldn't resist picking some.

I love the simplicity of this country bouquet in it's clear glass antique bottle.

A simple vintage embroidered napkin is paired with a bone-handled knife and German silver spoon. All from area thrift stores and antique shops.

A Waterford goblet in the Donegal pattern is part of our wedding crystal. And gosh, do I need to wash it!

The simple white plate is by American Atelier at Home. I am really craving simplicity these days -- getting a little tired of anything too colorful or fancy.

And what could be simpler than these beautiful gifts from the sea?

Many thanks to the fabulous Susan, of Between Naps on the Porch, for making Tablescape Thursday such a fun time for all! Visit Susan for lots more wonderful tablescapes.