Sweet and a Little Rough Around the Edges

This past weekend I had a few friends over for dinner.  It was a last minute sort of thing, which, in my opinion often turns out to be the most fun.  I found these tiny potted herbs at Trader Joe's that morning and could not resist them.  Later on, when we decided to get together for dinner I thought that they would make nice place card holders for the table.  

I stamped each person's name on card stock in gold and then trimmed the edges with scalloped scissors.  

I then decided that I wanted to make some nice napkins for the evening.  A while ago I found this beautiful linen from Italy.  It is a flax color with a fine weave.  I love the way it looks when it is right out of the dryer.  

I made napkins with a small raw edged ruffle around the perimeter.  I really like the look that the ruffle has been torn.  The downside is that you do have to clip some strings after washing.  

If you look closely you can see the the edges are a shade lighter that the rest of the fabric.  I like that effect as well. 

The best part of the evening, of course, was the company.  I remind myself often how blessed I am to be surrounded by wonderful friends and family.  

Have a great week

Michele

Pink Ombre Cake

Good morning! 

I have never written about food.  Though I love to eat and to cook, the primary focus of my blog is to show my projects involving antique linens, treasures I find at flea markets and what I do with them.  I am featuring this cake because it was a sort of project.  I am pretty happy with the outcome, though I will make it over and over again to get it just right.  (presentation wise, not taste wise)

My daughter Katherine celebrated her 8th birthday on Monday.  I took the day off from work to spend some time with her.  We went ice skating and shopping and had dinner.  I saw a picture of a pink ombre cake on pinterest and have not been able to get it out of my head.  

I began searching for a good vanilla cake recipe.  And with almost no effort at all I came across a wonderful one! My daughters and friends agree with me that this cake is very moist and flavorful. I finished it with vanilla cream cheese frosting. (Again, not my recipe.  All I did was follow it)  Please visit Glory's blog, Glorious Treats, for both of these recipes.  She did quite a bit of research to come up with them.  I think that you will be pleased. 

As you can see the top layer is thinner than the bottom three.  That is because I did not divide the batter evenly into quarters before coloring it.  I just added a tiny bit of red food coloring to the batter for the second layer and then added a bit more for the top two.  This cake was not much to look at from the outside but was a surprise when cut into.

There is a lot of room for improvement but it sure was fun to make and serve!  

Enjoy your day!

Michele

Sharing at


Primp

The Farmhouse Porch

Southern Savvy Style

Beautiful Blue French Bistro Chair....and a few other new items in the store

Bonjour!  

I was invited to see a friend's items that arrived in their recent container and look at what I found!  I love this chair!  It is a pale robin's egg blue.  It is chippy and worn and fabulous.  I was very grateful for the call to preview their treasures!  I was like a kid in a candy store.

I love that the edge of the seat is chipped off.  

There are layers of green, a darker blue, and red on the back side of it.  

I made this market tote last weekend.  I pieced two different sacks together.  

I love the shade of the blue.  And I think that it is special because of the monogram.  It is that of the farmer who used this particular sack.  I think that this would be a nice tote to take to the market, or beach bag to carry in Hawaii, or any beach for that matter.  The great thing is that it comes with history. 

Sold. 

This beautiful pitcher came from the same vendor but I purchased it a long time ago.  I love the patina on it.  There are a few white paint stains on it.  It is no longer watertight.  I place a glass in it to hold water for flowers.  

And last but certainly not least, I promised in a past post that I would be getting more enamelware canister sets in.  Here are three of the four sets I have found.  I am still waiting to receive the other one from France.  

I like the ribbing on the sides.  What a nice touch. 

The next two pics are sets consisting of two canisters.  I really like the faded gilt striping and gothic lettering on both of them.

All of the above items, minus the cream and gold enamelware pitcher (cannot seem to list that one yet :)) are available in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting

Michele

Sharing at 

Primp's Primp your Stuff Wednesdays

The Farmhouse Porch's Cowgirl Up

Common Ground's Monday Marketplace

Faded Charm's White Wednesday

French Country Cottage's Feathered Nest Friday

Jennifer Rizzo's Fabulously Creative

Decorating with Urns

Happy Sunday!  

I love to find old urns at flea markets or antique fairs.  The white one below came from a tiny annual flea market at Alamo Square here in San Francisco. I paid 10 dollars for it and it weighs about 40 pounds.  I like how the glaze is worn off in places.  It sits right inside the front door.  

This is one of my favorites. 

I love the color and patina.

I would have topiaries in every room if I could keep them alive longer.  I don't seem to have a problem with orchids, but topiaries are another story.

I also like to use moss balls wherever I can.  They are available everywhere online but I pick mine up at Michaels.

I drove 70 miles each way to pick up this pair of urns.  

I placed a very small bud vase inside this urn to hold these peonies.

I put moss around the base to cover the vase and fill space.  

Have a great week!

Michele

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!  I hope that you all enjoy your holiday.  

As most of you know, my home is very pale in hue.  So, in the spirit of our country's independence, I made a grain sack body pillow for the shop with red and blue stripes.  The monogram is that of the farmer. 

  

Enjoy the food, fireworks, fun, and most of all time with your family and friends!  (How's that for a little alliteration?) :)

Be safe

Michele

French Enamelware Canisters

I love how I say that I don't collect many things due to space and budgetary constraints.  When I look at the list, it is not that short.  And of course, I justify adding items by saying that I will put them in my Etsy store.  Well, a few of these have made it there and one remains unlisted.  Balance, right? ;)

This set quite literally arrived on my doorstep at 3:30 yesterday afternoon.  I finished my day job and promptly listed it at 5:45pm.

Isn't is beautiful?  All three pieces are in very good condition.  From what I can tell it dates to the early 1900's.

I love the gilt and calligraphy.

My favorite part is the ribbing on the side.  Do you ever wonder how we went from this sort of beauty and attention to detail to what we produce now? 

Anyways, this set sold within 30 minutes of listing it.  Of course, I am happy about that because someone else can now enjoy it.  Also, it allows me to reinvest in the store.  But I thought that it would hang out in my apartment for at least a week or two.   How's that for being ungrateful?  ;)

This beauty I am keeping for myself.

The best part, again, in my opinion, is the detailing on the side.  

I have found a few more of these which will be in my store in a few weeks, when they arrive from France.  

Have a wonderful day.

Michele

The Beach in San Francisco

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  While I was in college I was fortunate enough to live in the south of France for a year.  The beach was about 25 kilometers from campus, if I remember correctly. My classmates and I would hop on a bus as often as we could to spend time there. I miss it tremendously.  

Living in San Francisco, it is not often hot enough to sit on the beach without layers of clothes.  But today is one of those wonderfully warm days.   When I arrived at Baker beach, the thermometer in my car said that it was a scorching 67 degrees. :)

I realized yesterday, when I heard of this fantastic weather, that I did not have a beach chair.  I did, though, have a frame and some grain sack material.  The wooden part is from Germany and dates back to the 1950's, I was told when I purchased it.

The material is from Hungary.  I am not bragging to you about the construction of this chair by any means at all.  As I would not trust myself to take the chair apart and put it back together, I had to attempt to sew the fabric onto the chair itself.  You should have seen me trying to maneuver this enormous chair around my sewing machine.  I will certainly take it apart and redo it since I am not that happy with the outcome cosmetically.  But it definitely worked as a comfy (and a bit chic, if I do say so myself) beach chair amongst the sea of plastic drugstore ones.  

I would be lying if I said that I did not wish to be on the shores of Deauville or under the beautiful blue umbrellas in Nice.  That being said, I am very blessed to be healthy and alive, have healthy children and family members, and to be able to sit on the warm sand underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Please be sure to visit Dore's wonderful blog, Burlap Luxe.  She is hosting a very generous giveaway that you will surely not want to miss!

And

 Rachel at Shabby French for Me is hosting a great giveaway!  Check it out.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

xo

Michele  

Sharing at

Freckled Laundry 

Primp

The Farmhouse Porch

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia