U.S. CAPITOL CELEBRATION

My granddaughter was selected to go with some of her classmates on a trip to Washington D.C.  The night before she left, I set a very quick table to celebrate her “big girl” adventure.  (I had some assistance from four grands.  They kept picking things up and moving them around, or completely removing them from the table.  I didn’t notice until I saw these photos that there is a glass missing from one of the place settings.  I also had to snap the photos very quickly, before they dismantled the table.)




Although they traveled in a very nice chartered bus, I don’t have any bus glasses.  These are the only glasses I have that went with the “trip” theme of the night.

Thank you for stopping by.   laurie

In the French Countryside

This weekend, we celebrated our daughter’s and our son’s birthdays with a dinner.  Although the food, at their request, was all American, I served it on a table set in Country French style. 

I used clear glass plates over aluminum Quimper trays for the place settings.


We ate from another family’s bowls.  Of course, that’s what we usually do at my house, because I purchased almost all of our china at estate sales and flea markets.  Usually, the other family’s names do not decorate the china though.  I just love the French names on the bowls. 


In the center of the table, tiny French people surround peonies from our yard.

Candles glow from inside Quimper cups.

Napkin ring vases hold faux flowers.

While I’m showing you some of my Quimper, I’d also like to share a wonderful tile that I received from a dear friend.  Knowing how much I love Quimper, she brought it back from her trip to France.  It fit perfectly in the space on the wall next to my shelves where I display some of my Quimper pieces.  I hung it under my Quimper door push tiles. 

I am so fortunate to have such a generous friend to think of bringing me a gift from her trip to France.  If I’m ever able to return to France, I’m not sure I’ll be thoughtful enough to shop for anyone else while I’m there!  I’ll always treasure this special reminder of the thoughtfulness of my sweet friend.
Thank you for stopping by to visit me.  I hope you’ll come back soon.  Laurie

LOVE GROWS ON TREES!

Well, at my house, love is growing on trees.  I’ll admit, I’m using a very broad interpretation of  the word,“tree”, in this post.

The trees of love on my mantel have been planted in champagne buckets.

Trees of love are growing out of table tops.

One even sprouts from the fireplace hearth.

They are growing out of cones on my doors.

To prove how broad my definition of “tree” is, I’m even counting this wreath on a chalkboard stand as a tree!
And the queen and king of love are growing out of cherub vases on the buffet behind our sofa!



Even I, with my broad use of the word, cannot tell you that there is a tree of love on this table top.

But if you look closely, you’ll see a photo of the day these seeds of love were planted, 42 years ago last August!

I received an invitation to a Valentine party . The invitation stated that we should bring some of our favorite candy in bags to give to the other guests.  I’ve been seeing all of these witty ideas on Pinterest for tags for candy, but I couldn’t find anyone who had a tag for my favorite candy.  I came close to switching my favorite to something that some of you clever people had crafted witty tags for.  The ramifications of that just seemed too great.  (i.e., If I had candy left over, I’d be forced to eat it.  Why take in all of those calories for a candy that isn’t my favorite?  If someone wanted to give me a gift of candy in the future, they might remember what I had said was my favorite at the party, and they’d bring me the wrong kind!)  You can see my predicament.  So, I was determined to come up with a tag for my favorite candy.

There is a tree on this tag, so it ties into my Trees of Love post.  (Boy, I am really stretching things with this post!)  Do you “get” it?  Maybe it’s too small.  Let me give you a close up.

Now, did you “get” it?  I’m afraid the other guests are going to wonder what in the world Peppermint Patty is saying to Charlie Brown.  I know…I really had to stretch the language to get this, and I know, I’m as lame as Charlie Brown says I am, but since I spent so much time trying to come up with something for my tags, I had to share it.

Not a tree in sight in this picture, but you knew you wouldn’t get away without me reminding you of the Valentine party on February 10th.  Thanks so much for putting up with my manipulation of the English language.  Laurie