Friday 26 April 2013

Cinnamon bun & tea ...

After a busy week, what better way than to relax with a hot cup of tea & something sweet ...

Hot Ikea cinnamon buns, the frozen ones you bake at home, & tea :)



Some of the vintage-cutlery and coloured-cutlery being used again.

I love the details on the mugs & plate set too. It just makes for a relaxing cup of tea!


Perfect end to a busy day ♥

Hope your weekend is relaxing; take time to just sit & enjoy life too. Thanks for stopping by, always pleased to return the visits.

Dee ~♥~

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Time for some fruit crumble ...

While out at a favourite place in Dorset last weekend, we ordered 'apple & rhubarb crumble' for dessert only to be told that only apple crumble was available because our poor Spring weather had not been good for the rhubarb harvest.

Luckily, once home, I found some fresh rhubarb at a farm shop so knew exactly what we wanted to do with it ... apple & rhubarb with a generous crumble topping


 
 

 



Absolutely lovely with some custard. Are you a crumble fan? What fruit combinations do you favour?  Cream, ice-cream, custard or plain?

Thanks for stopping by, please subscribe & leave your link so I can return the visit to your lovely blogs.

Dee ~♥~

 

Sunday 21 April 2013

Using the coloured cutlery at home ....

I shared my cutlery organising vintage-cutlery-needs-vintage-cutlery-trays and this is how we use & enjoy them at home.

STREETLIFE, Royal Stafford breakfast

Petra Tilly designed Streetlife, Royal Stafford

Mother's Day breakfast

Granola, fruit & yoghurt breakfast

{breakfast}

Conservatory breakfast on a wet day

Morning tea & cake in the garden

Royal Wedding Watch Party

A Shropshire Thanksgiving

Birthday tea for a friend

Breakfast in the conservatory

Breakfast in the conservatory

Carrot cake for tea

So as you can see, coloured cutlery can be formal or informal but it is enjoyed by us & used often - isn't that the best use of something you enjoy?

Thanks for stopping by & leaving a comment so I can return the visit to your lovely blogs too.

Dee ~♥~

Thursday 18 April 2013

My space

I have shared my personal space before ....

Handbags galore

My vintage desk was originally dark wood but when it no longer fitted in, I painted it in Fired Earth Cream paint & it fits in perfectly in with the cream furniture in my bedroom.

The desk is a compact version which is a very convenient space to catch up on letters, cards & keep special letters & cards.

Instagram


I left the inside dark because by then I was all 'painted out' from several coats of paint but I am now tempted to paint it a lighter colour too.


I am inclined towards a cream paint or should I just go bold & do red?

Decisions, decisions, decisions ... what would you do?

Thanks for stopping by, always pleased to return the visits to your lovely blogs
Dee ~♥~

Tuesday 16 April 2013

To frame or not to frame ....

... that is the question!

My space - catching up with cards & letters...

I bought this original art work some years back simply because I loved the elegance of the subject.

I knew right away where I wanted it to go - above my ladies desk in my bedroom so I could look at it every day & just enjoy it.

I only have art / painting / photos up that mean something or I really like so this one is personal just because she caught my eye & I enjoy it.

The mezzotint engraving is by Henry Macbeth Raeburn & is signed by the artist & carries a copyright inscription dated 1926 ... 





I bought her unframed from a private collector & have been contemplating to frame or not to frame ever since. I have heavy gold framed mirrors & gold frames elsewhere in the house so that is one thought but .... does she need a gold frame?

 
I have also always wondered who she is? The artist & Henry_Raeburn is known to have done many important portraits & I wonder who this elegant sitter was. Please share if you do know anything about her ...

So ~h e l p~ to frame or not to frame - what are your thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated
Dee ~♥~

Saturday 13 April 2013

Vintage cutlery needs vintage cutlery trays ....

Isn't it strange how one small task can lead to a whole lot of other tasks ...

While browsing the vintage markets on a weekend away in Dorset, I found a wooden cutlery tray & knew right away that I needed it ....


Kate at Cornucopia Bridport produced a second, matching one & I knew exactly where they would be used!

I love old cutlery, especially coloured cutlery that I use with my vivid table settings & just the week before a friend had moved & needed a cutlery tray so I gave her one of mine but plastic trays are never a favourite ....


Our cutlery is divided between the sideboards in the conservatory ...


.... and the dining room


Two additional vintage cutlery trays & 4 drawers of cutlery meant that it took a whole afternoon to sort it out into a workable order.  Sometimes these simple tasks - transferring cutlery from plastic trays to wooden trays - just escalate into a whole afternoons sorting, especially when it involves photos too.

There is actually an order to the seemingly random drawers - conservatory trays hold the 'tea & cake' cutlery while the dining room drawers should contain knives, forks, spoons & serving cutlery ...


I love coloured cutlery - they just make ordinary place settings look special but they are not easily available & mostly hand-washable but we still love them. I like to mix old & new so the sorting reflects this ...

These are the 'tea & cake' drawers once they are sorted - do you have any favourites?


Some are vintage family cutlery from both hubby & my side for the dining-room


The coloured cutlery are all different styles, era's & patterns but are used together







Hand beaded gifts from South Africa that I use often

























So a job well done - all the cutlery sorted. I know we will use them more often because they are easy to find & there is even a whole lot that no I no longer have any use for because you should not keep things that are not useful or beautiful :)


Do you have a cutlery drawer - or two, or three, of interesting bits or is your home streamlined?

Thanks for stopping by, always pleased to read the comments & return the visits,
Dee ~♥~

Wednesday 10 April 2013

Pocketwatch time ....

I have shared my favourite sideboard plates several times on my blog

setting-the-table 

the-chirstmas-sideboard-is-done

Birthday presents ....

The daughters found the original Ralph Lauren Pocketwatch plate on the top left some time ago & I just fell in love with the quirkiness of it.

I am very fond of the top right one & for my birthday last week the daughters found a large charger plate in the front & a wonderful find of a single black plate in the centre back.

Is it not a really lovely plate & I love how it sits amongst the others on the shelf ....

I really love the challenge of finding a special piece to go with a set & these pocketwatches are such a challenge.

Because they were manufactured several years ago for Ralph Lauren's series, they are not readily available.

Thanks for stopping by, your comments are always appreciated & the visits returned
Dee ~♥~