April In Paris - An Update on "Those French Plates"

I'm joining Sunday Favorites at Happy To Design
French Inspiration Thursday at The French Cupboard
Originally posted March 2010.
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Put on your party dresses and find your place card at my fantasy table!

(You might want to grab a cup of coffee or a cocktail.....this is a long post!)

Mother Nature cooperated with a nice Spring Rain to set the tone

for an "April In Paris" dinner party.

Dinner is served.

My bell was shown a few weeks ago in a post titled

"Burlap With A French Twist"

Party favors for the ladies, the gentlemen will find vintage

cuff links as their favors.

Below is one of the two new salad plates I was able to track down thanks to an ID by a reader of The Little Round Table. The other six have been in my family for six decades. You can read about them in the original post
"Those French Plates" and again in a follow up to that post  
"I should have taken French, not German and Spanish..."

The French antique dealer that I dealt with via eBay was just a dream to work with, as we each struggled to communicate in an unfamiliar language. The plates arrived beautifully packed and in under two weeks time! He also included this lovely newly published book on collecting these pieces.

One of the two new plates is called "Le tonnelier" ("The Cooper") shown below.
Images of the original six plates can be seen on the post "Those French Plates"

And the second of the two new plates I have just added to the collection.
Do you see the garden "cloches" ??? It is called "Le galant jardinier" ("The Gentleman Gardener")

The salad plates are vintage faience by Utzschneider & Cie in Sarreguemines,

France, with artwork by Antoine-Albert Richard in a series called "Enfants Richard ." The tin glaze used in faience (aka majolica in Italy) is actually a lead glaze that has been rendered white and opaque by the addition of tin oxide. In the production process, an unglazed article is fired in a kiln and is then dipped in the tin glaze, which is allowed to dry. Designs are then painted on the glaze.

Love these vintage inspired napkins and @ $24 per dozen they are a bargain!

Meissen covered bowl, which was featured in a post last week

"Happy Anniversary Meissen" for Meissen's 300th Anniversary.

Homer Laughlin China Company jam pot.

The copper pieces are all vintage from my collection,

which was featured a few weeks ago on "Warm Wonderful Copper"

Porcelain large platter, probably French, but it could be German.

Milk pitcher by Homer Laughlin China Company.

French decorated fruit bowl is unmarked.

Vera Wang "Infinity" crystal.

The time passed much too quickly, the party is over and we bid Adieu to Paris until next time. Throw your own French inspired dinner party and think of Paris in the Spring!

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This is an updated post on "Those French Plates"

which I first showcased back in early November 2009 for:

Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps On The Porch

Vintage Thingies Thursday for another party over at Coloradolady

Show and Tell Friday at Cindy's My Romantic Home

I'll Be On Cloud Nine, If You'll Be My Valentine

This post was originally published in February 2010
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I'll Be On Cloud Nine, If You'll Be My Valentine

These are three of the vintage Hummels circa 1950 from my collection.

"The Postman" has a special Valentine just for you!

"The Adoration" 

 common along country roads

"Stormy Weather"

so appropriate for the monsoon rains we've had for the last few weeks

Originally posted Feb 2010 for:

 My Romantic Home for a Valentine Show and Tell Friday

I'm joining:

Sunday Favorites at Happy To Design
Blue Monday at Smiling Sally

A Tale of Three Lamps

I'm reposting this for Vintage Black Friday over at The French Cupboard

A Tale of Three Lamps

It was pretty common in the 1950s to make vases into lovely table lamps.  These two belonged to my folks and they came to live with me about 10 years ago.  They evoke memories of times past, where they sat on side tables and lighted a family's activities.  I replaced the shades as the originals were thread bare and am happy to say that they very closely replicate the original shades.  The treasure trove of lampshades at Finishing Touch Home Decor in Walnut Creek, CA gives you many choices for making your lamp all it can be.  Be sure to take your lamp(s) with you if you visit a lamp shade shop.  It's just like shopping for a new outfit, you need to take "the body" with you for a proper fit. All three of these shades were off the shelf, not custom made.

This was a vase picked up in Greece and it originally had a foot that matched the body of the vase.  The lamp maker cut off the foot and added the brass embellishments and marble base.  It's a much prettier lamp than it was as a vase.

This glossy black vase became a lamp too. It's original shade was yellow silk pleated very much like the replacement I chose.  To replicate the yellow would have been about three times the cost as the off the shelf version.

And a third lamp that received the perfect little shade is a vintage Fiesta Syrup in Cobalt.  These were made into lamps back in the day, but mine had lost its shade somewhere in the intervening decades.

And an old image from when I acquired the Fiesta Syrup Lamp about 10 years ago.  Somehow I manage to work Fiesta into most every post in one way or another.

This post was originally posted in 2009:
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Show and Tell Friday - What Should I Wear Today?

I'm joining Cindy's weekly event over at My Romantic Home.

Join in all the fun of an old fashioned Show and Tell Friday.

I've shared other things about my childhood years spent in Germany after

WWII.  I lived there with my family from the time I was 4 until I was almost

ready to enter high school. Because we were civilians attached to the Department

of Defense, we didn't rotate out every few years like the military families did.

My dearest friend all through our years in Germany was a little German girl

named Regina.  We were like two peas in a pod, both Tom Boys who loved

adventures. Here we are in about 1951, that's Regina on the left, all decked

out in our Lederhosen.  The best kids' clothing around.  They are made of leather,

wear like iron, and last forever.  The ones in the picture that I am wearing

had the green oak leaf pockets and I soon outgrew them.

Shown below is the pair that came next still with the same suspenders, which are adjustable.

My favorite blouse embroidered with flowers.

Carved embellishment on the suspenders and the leather detail

on the cuffs of the Lederhosen.

I kept change for the street car in the little pocket at the cuff.

The blouse came from a trip to Italy if I remember correctly.

And my Dirndl that I wore every chance I got. With its little white apron and

white half blouse that has elastic in the sleeves that can be cinched up to make

them all puffy and pretty.

The blouse and apron are cotton, while the Dirndl dress itself is rayon.

And my red felt suit that I adored, usually worn with a plain white blouse.

Metal buttons and embroidered flowers.

As I grew and my arms got longer, the jacket arms were altered and a cuff added.

Eventually I outgrew all these favorite outfits,

but they hold so many wonderful childhood memories.

Click on the following link to read about

more memories from my childhood in Germany

Thanks for coming by for Show and Tell Friday!