Kitchens I Love!

These are kitchens I could feel very much at home in. And every one of these kitchens has a vintage quality to it. And most of these kitchens are white and bright. So when we renovated our kitchen and I had the opportunity to create anything my heart desired, why did I choose a style of kitchen with a more modern edge rather than vintage? Why did I choose cherry wood cabinets instead of white or a chippy painted finish? And why did I choose Dakota Mahogany granite counter tops instead of wood or white marble?!
I know my husband is still very happy with the choices I made (he always says that shabby chic is not good for resale value as it only appeals to a small market ~ keep it simple is his motto), and while I am not UNhappy with my choices, the shabby chic girl inside of me is still longing for tattered elegance.

Picture Sources:
The Lettered Cottage
Cottage Home Decorating
Coastal Living
Country Living
Retro-kitchen
New Orleans Lady
Dominion

Tablescape Thursday ~ It's A Rooster Party!

I have used my rooster dishes to celebrate both Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch and also the Rooster Party on Friday hosted by Barb @ Bella Vista. A big thank you to both of these talented, creative, generous women!
Please visit Susan for Tablescape Thursday.



And then make sure to visit Barb and join in the fun of her Show Us Your Roosters Party!



I have been participating in Tablescape Thursday for a few months now and I've enjoyed visiting the many innovative blogs that have been giving me so many tips and so many wonderful ideas! Today my tablescape is all about the rooster!


I started my tablescape off by laying down a runner with colors that complimented the colors of both my dining table and my dishes :



And I also used lace placemats in the shape of leaves:



I used my rooster dinner plates and salad bowls for this place setting:




The napkins were purchased many years ago with matching placemats and pot holders (long ago discarded).


The glassware was purchased a few years ago at Target.


The flatware is one of our everyday sets, a recent purchase from Target.



The salt and pepper shakers were purchased at a small country store.

I'm not really into country decor, but there is something about roosters that I love so much!



Two serving dishes came with this dishware set, they are a perfect size for holding side dishes of vegetables.


The serving pasta platter doesn't belong to the dishware set, I purchased this because I loved the gigantic size of it, we can load it up with a whole twenty-five pound turkey at Thanksgiving! Plus I loved the handsome rooster!










I have many, many, many roosters, unfortunately most of my roosters are wrapped carefully, boxed, and packed away in the attic. And it's still much too hot here to climb into the attic to retrieve them, but I do have a few favorites that I keep out always. These two little ones I usually keep on my kitchen window sill, the glass one is so beautiful with the sun shining on it, it acts like stained glass and gives me little rainbows all over my kitchen in the mornings. The other colorful one is a gift that my Aunt brought back to me from her trip to Portugal.



This glass one my friend gave to me for my birthday this year:



And this one from Portugal is hand painted and I think it's beautiful:


These other two that I've used on my tablescape are also very special. The big one was given to me by a few friends as a gift when I was going through a rough time. And the tart warmer was a gift from one of my sons for Mother's Day. I loved that he remembered that I collected roosters!



I keep the big one on my kitchen counter and it is a nice reminder of supportive friends:



I also keep the tart burner on one of the kitchen counters and he fills my home with wonderful aromas!


Please visit Barb @ Bella Vista and click on the other participants who have joined in the fun of her Rooster Party!

Tablescape Thursday ~ We Want To Be Alone!

My husband and I should be empty-nesters by now, but not only do we still have grown children living under our roof, we also have our four-year-old grandson sharing our lives and our home with us. And while it's very nice to have a fun-filled house, on the rare occasions when we have a quiet house, it is most welcome!

On this quiet late summer afternoon we decided to do an early dinner. My husband popped in a movie and I set up a little tablescape on the big ottoman in the livingroom.




First I set down a beautiful table runner that my husband's grandmother had embroidered.







Then I used the dinner plates we had recently purchased from the Williams-Sonoma Outlet store for only $3.99 each!



I love how the swirl design of the dishes mimics the swirl design of the embroidery pattern.





Not only was I drawn to the soft swirl design when I spotted these dishes on the store shelves, I also loved the colors and the price was right, so I just had to have these plates!





I loved both the yellow and the blue and I was having a hard time deciding which color to purchase. I don't have any blue in my kitchen, and the yellow was much better suited to coordinate with dishes I already own, but the soft blue was calling to me. In the end I went with yellow for the dinner plates and blue for the salad/dessert plates.






The flatware is our everyday set purchased from Target.






The napkins and napkin rings were all purchased at the Pottery Barn Outlet store. The napkins were $1.97 each, and the rings were only ninety-seven cents each! I love the napkins, but I'm not really all that fond of monkey napkin rings, but at that price I couldn't pass up these little guys!


I guess I can always try to hide them under the napkin, but...

...they are really growing on me!







The glassware we're using are two Ravenhead English Dimple Pint Beer Mugs purchased years ago at a local church White Elephant Sale. We won't be drinking beer though, it will be lemonade with dinner for my husband, and iced tea is my choice.






The centerpiece is just a simple trunk candle purchased from Pottery Barn for $3.95. As late afternoon turns into evening, this candle will be lit and we'll sip a nice after dinner grappa to enjoy with our dessert.





Wait a minute! What's this little smiling dimpled face peeking at me from behind those dimpled beer mugs?
When did the rest of the crew sneak back into the house?!
Oh well, I guess we'll be setting a few more places for our early 'alone time' dinner! And I guess we'll be popping a Disney movie in to watch, and dessert will be ice cream sundaes instead of grappa. (Sigh)

But that's okay.

My husband and I both know how truly Blessed we are to be surrounded by the joyful noise of family, (and we also know how Blessed we are to survive the strain of all this joy), we really do live a fairy-tale life, but I still think it doesn't hurt to have a tangible reminder sitting and staring us in the face:

Please join Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch, she is the hostess of Tablescape Thursday, go here to view all the participants beautiful dishes and unique tablescape creations.