Dining with "The Rabbits"!

 After the long, deary days of winter On Crooked Creek, informality and whimsy have finally arrived! This darling "pair of hares" set the stage for the upcoming Spring garden planting and rapidly approaching Easter celebration.



To ground this whimsical centerpiece, I placed three green lettuce leaves atop a soft sage and ecru cotton tablecloth. Next came the turquoise planter filled with delicate pink and yellow pastel hued faux florals. This arrangement stays low enough to allow for easy flow of conversation. "The Rabbits" came straight from their Spring garden planting dressed for casual dining. A bowl of pastel speckled jelly beans close at hand for nibblers completes the simplicity of this seasonal tablescape.

Instead of place mats, I chose white dinner plates as chargers . . . followed by a scalloped sage green plate, giving the appearance of ruffled lettuce leaves. A white embossed salad plate completes our casual dining needs On Crooked Creek.

This time of year, our bubble glass water goblets hold ample amounts of ice tea, lemonade or water.  For its dishwasher safe qualities, everyday Oneida beaded flatware is my favorite. The flax linen hemstitch napkins are held in place with brown wooden napkin rings.

"Mr. Rabbit" donning his English Cottage finery looks adorable in his crisply pressed, orange collared, single button shirt and green bloomers. As a hostess gift, he has brought us a hand painted Easter egg...how thoughtful!

"Mrs. Rabbit" is fashionably dressed in a green and yellow plaid maxi~dress, covered with a polka dotted pinafore apron, complete with a touch of orange rick~rack at the neck. And did you notice how she has picked a fresh Sunflower for our table? That little rake is a sure sign that, perhaps, she helped "Mr. Ed" plant rows of Sunflowers for my viewing pleasure On Crooked Creek!

Informality. . . whimsy. . .casual dining for Spring simplicity. . . with "The Rabbits"!

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

On Crooked Creek will be joining our sweet hostess Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for Tablescape Thursday. Be sure to visit her blog for inspirational tablescaping ideas from Susan and her participants!

Until next time. . .

We Interrupt This Blog. . .

Dear Ones,

We interrupt this blog for a short period while I prepare for the upcoming weekend visit from a dear friend of over 40 years.

This is only a brief interruption as I dress the guest room. . .

freshen the guest bath. . .

and set a festive table.

Please standby, as I promise to return in a timely manner.

Until next time. . .

Cream or Sugar?

"Cream or Sugar?", one often ask while serving tea.
But with this post, cream or sugar takes on a whole new meaning!

Cream?



or Sugar?



Cream



and Sugar!



Cream and sugar, please!

I have been extremely blessed with inherited family treasures! But when you are nicknamed Martha, blessings can, at times, be frustrating. These lovely cream and sugars. . .creams or sugars. . .are an ongoing search for missing mates.



What now appears to be a glorious matching set was once a lonely single creamer. This pink depression creamer in Buttons and Bows was gifted to me by my dear Mother~in~law, Mary. Many years passed before I found the lidded sugar bowl. Then in this last year, the larger milk pitcher was in a local Antique Shop ~ Roadhouse Antiques. This darling little pink Fostoria pitcher was found at our local Thrift Shop! Now when I ask "Cream or Sugar?" I'm wanting to know which preference for your tea.

When asking "Cream or Sugar?" before, it was when we were searching for missing mates for the above pieces. Did I need a Creamer or a Sugar bowl?

Just this past year, I found the matching creamer to this sugar bowl. On several different occasions I had found the creamer and sugar bowl as a set. Couldn't buy one without buying the other. No one wanted to break the set. Understandable.  Now when I use this set, I can again ask, "Cream or Sugar?"

Unfortunately, for this lonely sugar bowl, my question will still continue to be Cream or Sugar? I haven't given up the hunt, nor the hopes of finding the matching Creamer. It's a new year. . .one just never knows. . .but one thing is for sure. . .the hunt continues On Crooked Creek!

www.thegypsyscorner.com

I'm joining our gracious hostess, Tam @ The Gypsys Corner, for Three or More Tuesday. Consider joining this weekly meme with three or more of some of your collectibles. Please visit The Gypsys Corner and be inspired for creative ways to display those treasured items in your own home decor.


Until next time. . .


Lightening Up For Spring!

Lightening up for Spring continues with the built~in china cabinet On Crooked Creek.

Streams of sunlight warm and brighten the dining area allowing for a timely decor change.

Before . . .

Fall and Spring are the two main seasons of change On Crooked Creek. Silver makes its shining appearance early in the Fall to aid in the reflection of light as the days shorten.

. . . After



Pastel hued floral china coffee and tea sets arrive early in the Spring . As our days begin to lengthen, we find On Crooked Creek our entertaining, once again, begins after winters solstice.

This year as I began to "work my magic" with my extensive coffee and tea set displays, I added several dessert and decorative plates behind the collections to soften and lighten the interior of the cabinet.

A gift from dearest of friends, this soft white with delicate pink roses is my favorite coffee set. I placed two dessert plates behind to help camouflage the wall paper. Stacked high are the remainder of the dessert plates and saucers, serving as risers to heighten the stacked cups,adding visual interest. My Mother~in~laws hand embroidered cocktail (tea) napkin repeats the colors and softens the hard edges of the wood shelving. A soft spray of faux
roses and vines fills in the dark corners with Spring florals. 

This Easter tea set, another gift, is from my Illinois pen pal. It rests on an egg shaped tray. The tea pot, creamer and sugar all have egg shapes and share the same color palette as the coffee set. I used reticulated, decorative, cream, I. Godinger and Co. salad plates to showcase this adorable tea set. By using the same napkin and Spring florals, a continual flow follows across the entirety of the upper shelf.

Because the center shelf doesn't have the same height clearance, it won't allow for a plate background or a coffee pot. Not a problem! I accept this challenge as an opportunity to showcase some of my acquired vintage glassware. Pink depression era ~ Buttons and Bows ~ pitcher, sugar and creamer combined with a pink Fostoria creamer.

Odds and ends, of sorts, of blue vintage glassware. Fruit compote, bon bon compote and a lonely depression glass sugar bowl. This shelf also displays the various tea cups from my heirloom collection. A harmonious blending of styles from both my Mother and Mother~in~law.

The lower shelf is the perfect place to display my continually growing  Turquoise Blue and cream Homer Laughlin Epicure China. Dinner plates, bowls, cups and saucers, sugar bowl ~ all of which will be used soon and frequently On Crooked Creek.

The final coffee set displayed is one Made in German Democratic Republic. White decorative vintage plates are the perfect size for my two and three tier plate racks. The proximity of  these items allows for quick access for Spring entertaining On Crooked Creek.

Behind the closed doors of the lower cabinets are all the other various Spring serving pieces!

The top shelf houses the extra pieces of my Homer Laughlin collection, coffee and tea cups and saucers to the above sets. . . and finally my Christmas dessert plates. White china and crystal glass individual floral vases, salt cellars, individual cup cake stands and a toast rack.

The bottom shelf  holds larger crystal and vintage heirloom Spring serving bowls and trays, a punch bowl complete with cups and ladle, a set of stemware and crystal dinner bells.

The two drawers above these doors contain cloth napkins and napkin rings ( on the left) ~ decorative seasonal linen dish cloths (on the right).

Fall  ~  to  ~  Spring . . . 

Silver  ~  to  ~  China. . .

One thing remains the same On Crooked Creek. . .

Seasons change . . . and so do I!

On Crooked Creek is joining our gracious hostess Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday. Be sure to stop by for a visit and be inspired to make changes in your own home decor.

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Until next time. . .

One Year Anniversary!

One crosses many milestones as they experience the journey of life. Our One Year Anniversary was a memorable milestone for "Mr. Ed" and I.

Most young couples spend their first year of marriage together. Not the case for this newlywed couple. You see, March 27, 1970, 
I sent Ed away on a Greyhound Bus.

I vowed not to let him see me cry. I remember standing there trembling on the inside.

As the bus turned the corner, I felt my whole world had just left with him. I remember getting into the car, lying my head onto the steering wheel and just letting the floodgates flow.

Ed had just left for the Induction Center in Kansas City.

When I was graduating from High School, "Mr. Ed" was graduating from Basic Training.

The following morning, I boarded a TWA flight for Fork Polk, Louisiana.

By evening, I would be re~united with my husband.

During his first furlough from the U. S. Army,
we celebrated our One Year Anniversary!

We drove to Kansas City and saw the opening of the movie Funny Girl starring my all time favorite Barbara Streisand at Glenwood Manor.

We spent the night, ate year old wedding cake and exchanged gifts. I gifted him with a Timex watch.

His gift to me. . .this French Couple porcelain busts.

During our many military moves, the male bust was broken beyond repair, leaving the female bust alone, for the better part of twenty years.

Shortly after our Fortieth Wedding Anniversary,
on our Annual Trout Fishing Trip to Bennett Spring State Park,
I spotted a lonely porcelain male bust on a high shelf at the Heartland Antique Mall in Lebanon, Missouri.

As I carefully removed him from the shelf and turned him over ~ the same insignia was on his blue felted base. An exact match to the base of my female busts. 

I cradled him close as I carried him to the cash register where he was wrapped in layers of tissue.

Again, I stood there trembling on the inside. My heart was racing as I begin to think of a reunion, of sorts, for my lone bust.

Arriving On Crooked Creek, 
I placed the male bust on the shelf ~ along with the once lonely female porcelain bust.

Twenty years she waited, alone, to be reunited with her mate. More than twenty years I, too waited, for "Mr. Ed" to finally come home.

A journey that has led us through many milestones. 

The experience of life's journey continues for "Mr. Ed" and I
. . .On Crooked Creek.

http://www.astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

I'm joining hostess Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday! Be sure to stop by and see all the lovely table tops blog land ladies have prepared for your viewing pleasure!


Until next time. . .