Fourth of July Tablescapes

Breakfast room

Dinning Room
Place Cards

Tablescape"THE" BunnyFront Door

Breakfast Table

A New Tea Time Recipe Book

This is the sweetest little cookbook ever. My mother in law bought it at a British Shop in Atlanta. She couldn't make out the ingredients and thought that I could. It recipes for cakes & buns from British Counties. Some of the counties are Banbury, Bath, Belvoir Castle, Brighton, Hereford, Derbyshire, Kent, Wiltshire, York, etc, etc. But the most fun part is reading the ingredient lists. In this particular recipe it calls for "lard, strong flour & mixed spice"This one is for "1/2 pint tepid milk, mixed peel, caster sugar."
Each recipe has a lovely picture like this one.
This recipe calls for "walnut kernals, clear honey, and sultans".

There are other recipes that call for unfamiliar & some slightly familiar things- black treacle, desiccated coconut, 'bicarbonate' of soda, self 'raising' flour, sifted icing sugar, rind of lemon, a scant of this or that, a coffeespoon of this or that, Kentish cob-nuts, ground rice, wheatmeal flour, demerara sugar, shortcrust pastry, glace` cherries.

This is a cute & interesting book and a must read for Anglophiles & tea lovers!

Brunch with the Butterflies & (And a Cutie Pie)

Yesterday while cleaning off my back porch my grand daughter asked "Could we eat on the butterfly dishes for 'Breckiss tommono Nana' ?" Of course I could not say no could I? So we had a lovely little brunch this morning with the butterflies and hummingbirds while overlooking my blooming garden. We shared a fluffy cheese omlet, rosemary & garlic new potatoes and cranberry scones with hot tea.

We had such fun! She loved eating outside and so did nana.

Pickled Shrimp

As promised here is the recipe to the pickled shrimp. It has a lot of ingredients and each one is important. It is best if you make it about 3-4 days ahead to let it marinate. It makes enough for about 20 appetizer servings. It is so good.

6 pounds of medium cooked shrimp peeled with tale on

2 cups of tarragon vinegar

2 cups of sugar

2 tablespoons of dill

2 purple onions sliced thin

1 cup of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of sweet basil

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

1 cup of olive oil

1 cup of vegetable oil

2 teaspoons of Lawry's seasoning salt

2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of parsley

6 small cans of sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons of seasoning pepper (I use Monterey seasoning for steak)

1 small jar of capers (an option that I use)

Mix all together and marinate for several days stirring twice each day.

Serve cold with crackers.

Miller -Williams Wedding

The place setting provided by Southern Touch CateringThe bride's mother Lynne, did a lovely job styling the tables before I set the place settingsThe plated first course:

Bibb lettuce with pink grapefruit, fresh peaches, blueberries, sweetened grapefruit juice, almonds and cracked black pepper. Appetizers- Pickled ShrimpHandmade Mini Assorted QuicheGetting the Tablescape togetherThe Menu of the night's mealFruited Water & Iced TeaMore TablescapeGreen beans with Bacon & Blue Cheese, Specialty Mashed PotatoesChicken Marsala (My Favorite!!)

Chicken CordonbleuThe Beautiful Bride Tara Miller Williams

Miss Bessie's Tea Room

I don't often have time these days to do the things I use to get to do. So when the opportunity presents itself, I jump. So was the case this past Friday, when on a visit to Barnesville to help with my mom, my sister Lisa & I had a break during mom's dialysis. So we each had wanted to visit Miss Bessie's Tea room and we are so glad that we did. (Lisa-she's gonna kill me for showing this!!! LOL!)

Quaint and Victorian styled with the largest supply of old fashioned hats that I have ever seen hanging in every nook and cranny.

The hostess and co owner Maggie Cameron told of how she acquired several of the hats and some have quite the history! (This is Maggie. She was always smiling- but I must have gotten her in mid sentence)
The food was very good and our pick of tea that afternoon was a black tea with berries & fruits ( I only wish I could remember the name of it) it was sooo good.
The atmosphere is very calming and comfortable and the girls working there are so sweet. It was a very relaxing meal and one we hope to enjoy again.

One last thing, all the tables are named with old fashion and Victorian names. There are three girls in our family me-(Teresa) and my two sisters Lisa & Elizabeth- The table that my sister Lisa & I were seated at was the Elizabeth table! Wasn't that neat!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the scones & lemon curd- The lemon curd was homemade and the perfect bit of tarteness but the scones, oh the scones, they were probably the lightest and best scones I have ever put in my mouth! They were strawberry-white chocolate and that made them even better- oh, my were they good.

A Light Affair for RE Open House

Spaghetti with home made sauce, garlic bread & salad.
Fresh basil, shredded Parmesan & cheddar cheeses to top the spaghetti.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway!

Visit Sew, Mama, Sew to join the fun and a chance at a giveaway. Just answer questions from their site here. http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=812

Here are my answers below.
What brand and model do you have? Kenmore 1357 in a cabinet table.

Good ol' Susie- what a gal!

How long have you had it? Since Christmas of 1978
How much does (did) that machine cost (approximately)? $195.00
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? Draperies, pillows, mending, crafts & use to sew clothing my children.
How much do you sew? Not as much as I want. About once a month now.
How much wear and tear does the machine get? Use to get A LOT!!
Do you like/love/hate your machine?Are you ambivalent? Passionate? I still love the old gal!
Does she have a name? I use to call her Susie because my husband use to call me "Susie Homemaker"
What features does your machine have that work well for you? All of them- I especially love that it still zigzags well!!
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? That I don't have a drop arm.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! My youngest daughter had been sewing on it the summer before she started college and she & a girlfriend broke the tension dial. So after letting it sit broken for a few years I finally found a shop to repair it. When my husband picked it up and brought it home, I cried. It has so many memories attached to it from sewing for my girls when they were younger, that I just lost it! I was so happy to have it back.
Would you recommend the machine to others? If it were still being made, yes.
Why? It is so easy to use. And such a good machine.
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
Ease of use, durability, made of steel rather than plastic, good reputation, not so many features that the price is out of hand, just good- realistic features.
Do you have a dream machine? One that could sew all by itself?! Just kidding. No I haven't been on the market for one lately, but if I had the opportunity to get a new one, I would love to have one that does a great job finishing edges and does embroidery. If you look closely you can see my own marking lines I use to follow while I do LONG drapes or trying to keep pillows straight. The blue tape is to keep the glare of the lamp light from bouncing back in my eyes.