When do stripes and polka dots go together?

Vintage tablecloth by Hidaco "Polka Dot", set with Retro Red Stripe Fiesta, an exlcusive from HLCCA.  Only the dinner plates are new Post 86 Ivory with the stripes, the other striped pieces are vintage.


More tomorrow on the new Retro Red Stripe Fiesta, so please check back!

Flowery Christmas Tree - Mosaic Monday

Join the Mosaic Monday fun over at Little Red House and share your Holiday Cheer!

See more about this year's tree over at Metamorphasis Monday hosted by Susan at Between Naps On the Porch.

Flowery Christmas Tree - Met Monday

Welcome to another Metamorphasis Monday hosted by Susan at Between Naps On The Porch!

Do you love silk flowers like I do?  They do serve a purpose in arrangements, wall decor, and the quality of the available products just keeps improving. But after awhile the dust and the original appeal generally tends to wear out its welcome.  Do you have old baskets, arrangements, loose silk flowers hiding out in a back closet or the laundry room or a forgotten top shelf??

What you need for this project:

Dusty and forlorn old artificial flowers
Spritzer with diluted dish soap or straight Windex
Garden Hose
(If your stock of silk flowers is limited, remember to hit Michael's or a similar source during their after season sales.  I just picked up some at their sale a few weeks ago ....... $2 for a sunflower bunch holding about a dozen blooms.)

Bring out those poor posies, hose them down, dry them in the sunshine and begin to bring them back to life!  Now that they are all clean and have their leaves curled nicely, it's time to decorate your Christmas tree.  I haven't done this for a number of years, but my Flowery Christmas Tree is back for a reprise this year.  You might notice that the bottom branches seem a little "bare" .... that's because my fur baby Homer The Cat has already starting sneaking away with ornaments near the bottom.  He takes them into the grandkids room and hides them under the bed linens.  I think his Mom dropped him on his head when he was just a slip of a kitten.

And this is one I did in 2002

Sunday Rerun: Lemons and Palms Part 2

On some weekends I'll be reposting some tablescapes from this past summer. Hopefully more visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy them on this second time around.

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Here's a different slant on yesterday's tablecloth, showing off the palm trees.  Post86 Fiesta Scarlet dinner plates, Sunflower rimmed soups, Turquoise small bowls, Scarlet Post86 Betty Bowl, Bauer pedestal cake plate, Cityscape flatware, vintage "Siesta Man" wall pockets, contemporary glassware, napkin rings and napkins from Home Goods and Bed Bath Beyond.

The greens are Crassula phyturus and the flower stems are Echeveria 'Cameo'.

Saturday Rerun: Lemons and Palms Part 1

On some weekends I'll be reposting some tablescapes from this past summer. Hopefully more visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy them on this second time around.

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This vintage tablecloth has a lot going on and depending on how it is set, can give completely different looks.  Fiestaware 2000 Juniper dinner plates, Fiesta White luncheon plates, Fiesta Sunflower medium bowl (6 7/8") Post 86 Sunflower vase, Bauer yellow compote, vintage green glassware, Cityscape flatware, contemporary napkins from Bed Bath Beyond.

Another look for this cloth coming in Lemons and Palms Part 2

The Black-Eyed Susans are Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'.

1950s Kenilworth Boo-Fay

Traditionally we always have some sort of buffet table set up with leftovers, extra salads and cold-cuts for most of the meals served on this day after Thanksgiving.  It gives friends and family the chance to come and go as they shop, pick up a tree, hang the Christmas lights or whatever they might be trying to accomplish as we move forward in this busiest of seasons.  Here's an alternative to that table full of leftovers or maybe just present those leftovers in a different way to make it feel like a whole new experience!

1950s Food Ideas -
Anything wrapped in bacon!
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Frosted Meatloaf (that would be with mashed potatoes as the frosting!)
Three Bean Salad
Chex Mix
Stuffed Pecans or Walnuts
Filled Celery Sticks
Broiled Mushroom Caps
Jello Salad with canned fruit
Jello Salad with chopped celery and walnuts
Jello Salad with .... just about anything! Do you remember Raspberry Ring, Grapefruit Intrigue, Sea Siren Salad
Swedish Meatballs
Angel Food Cake (NOT from a box!)
Baked Grapefruit

OK, I admit it, some of these things still appear on my table!

Some of the things that came to our tables in the 1950s:
Sugar Pops, Minute Rice, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, Dunkin' Doughnuts, Ore-Ida Potato products, Duncan Hines Cake Mix, Tropicana orange juice, Jack-In-the-Box, Taco Bell , Sugar Frosted Flakes, Pream non-dairy creamer, Dehydrated onion soup mix, Mrs. Paul's Fish Sticks, Sugar Smacks, Cheeze Whiz, TV Dinners, "Irish Coffee" (San Francisco's Buena Vista Cafe), Denny's,Star-Kist tuna, Eggo Frozen Waffles, Trix, Butterball Turkeys, Stouffer's frozen meals, Nonfat dry milk, Burger King, Shakey's Pizza, Peanut M&Ms, Marshmallow Peeps, Special K,Pepperidge Farm cookies, McDonalds (Kroc style), Kentucky Fried Chicken, Imperial margarine, Certs, Pam (nonstick cooking spray), Refrigerated cookie dough (Pillsbury),Tang, [Ruffles, Rice-A-Roni, Sweet 'n Low, Cocoa Puffs, Jif , Chicken Ramen, Instant Tea, Pizza Hut, International House of Pancakes, Royal Crown Cola, Frosty O's, Ocean Spray brand products and drum roll please ...... Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

Toss on your sweater set and those cute little pearls and pumps for this 1950s Boo-Fay (A friend of my mother's in the 1950s Chicago burbs used the word "buffet" in every possible situation she could.  I think it made her feel cultured in some way a la Hyacinth Bucket (Bouquet in her mind) of Keeping Up Appearances fame.

Kenilworth was a buffet-luncheon-snack set designed in 1955 by Don Schreckengost, Homer Laughlin's Art Director.  It is a very limited shape in terms of items offered.  Seems perfect for our 1950's Boo-Fay!

The recipe from the 1950's that I still prepare many times each year:
Chili Shrimp
Shrimp - fresh or frozen, gently boiled for 2-4 min depending on size
Bacon slices - thin sliced, cut in half lengthwise, fried on one side only
Bottled Chili Sauce or any cocktail sauce you prefer
Finely diced garlic to taste (add this to the sauce several hours ahead of preparation)
Wooden toothpicks

Dip pre-cleaned and cooked shrimp in sauce, wrap each shrimp with a strip of bacon with cooked side in, secure with wooden toothpick, broil for about 5 minutes or use outdoor grill, serve hot with extra dipping sauce.  These can be prepared a day or so ahead, refrigerated and prepared in batches throughout your gathering.

Everytime I use this vintage tablecloth I think it has spots on it ...... it is actually the very realistic fruit seeds printed on the cloth.

Once the food is cleared away you can bring out the coffee service and other beverage containers with their matching ice bucket.

Tea Party For Eight - Show and Tell Friday

I had originally intended to post about my childhood tea set for today's Show and Tell Friday over at My Romantic Home, but since I was unpacking some mugs/pitchers for Monday's post about my Inversé Glassware Rack I decided to do a tea party with some of the vintage children's dishes.

These comical animal character decals, "Tiny Todkins", were used by many different potteries.  Here's a shot of a full vintage sheet of the unused decals.

This tea party is set up for eight young guests with examples of these decals from several potteries including HLC, WS George and Syracuse.