White Dishes

Hello everyone!

I know I've mentioned my love of lamps and pillows, but I've also got a love of white dishes.  In fact, I don't think I can fit another one in the house!  LOL!  

They don't have to be made of ironstone and they don't have to be vintage.  They don't have to be from another country either.  I just like good ole fashioned plain white dishes.  Simple enough huh?

They are very easy to find when you loosen the requirements for them too!  I have found them EVERYWHERE.  So lets take a little tour, shall we?

The most obvious place to start would be the kitchen.

These are our everyday dishes.  I actually have more than this in some other cabinets, but the white ones go here.  Looks like it's time to empty my dishwasher since this cabinet is not very full right now.  

This is a display above the stove/oven combo.  It's just a mixture of pitchers and tureens.

In the dining room...........

I have this pine hutch on the wall and I've filled it with plates, gravy boats, teapots and creamers.

I recently changed up the sideboard in my dining room too by adding this vignette of white dishes.  See?  I have plenty!

In the sitting room.........

I hung these plates with ribbon on each door panel of my secretary.  I really love how this looks.  I used to have little boxwood wreaths here, but I have moved them to other places. 

On the wall, close-by, I hung some white platters.  My old hay rake looks right at home keeping them company.  These platters show up better in person, by the way.

And finally, the family room..........

This is my favorite collection.  I love this glass armoire and so some of my favorite pieces went in it.  I know you've seen it a dozen times!  

The best part about decorating with white dishes (for me) is that they don't look cluttered when massed together.  Some collections with a lot of color or pattern look too busy to me, but white dishes are soft and subtle.  They are both functional and pretty to look at which is my favorite kind of decor.  

Do you like white dishes too?  Do they have to be old and considered a collectible for you to buy them?

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~ 

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesday 

Happy Weekend!

Hello everyone!

We've got a fire going and are kicking back to enjoy a restful weekend.  It has been so cold here today.  School was closed due to ice on the roads, but they never really got too bad.  The kids aren't complaining though!  

Have a great weekend and keep warm!

~ Kelly ~

Revolving Lamps

Hello everyone!

Do you love lamps as much as I do?  It's a weakness of mine to go along with the pillow addiction that I have as well.  I think lighting is so important in a home.  If I had an unlimited budget, I'd do a major overhaul of some of the lights in my house (especially the chandelier in my foyer).  But since I don't, I enjoy what I can change easily which are table lamps.  I have several around my house, but recently a new one was added to my collection.  It was intended to replace a lamp that I no longer loved and didn't really work too well any more.  But, after I got it set-up in the spot it was intended for, I decided to place it elsewhere.  Then, a major lamp frenzy ensued and the next thing I knew, every lamp in the house had changed places with another one.  Didn't see that one coming!!!  LOL.

So come along with me and I'll show you where everything ended up and the new lamp that started this whole mess in the first place!

This is my new lamp.  It came from Joss & Main.  It is called a spindle lamp.  It has a taupe colored silk shade and is very well made.  It has a nice amber glow at night.  

If it looks a little purple, it's just the glare from the sun.  It is NOT purple.  LOL!

So, where did the lamp go that used to be on this table?  

It went here. (Note:  The crown is not part of the lamp.  It is just sitting beside the lamp.)

And the lamp that was on this tea table went here.

The lamp that was on this secretary went here.

Still following me???

The lamp that was here................

is now to be donated, sold or saved for future use.  Still deciding on it.

But the lamp frenzy is not over.  Oh no!  The lamp in the foyer got switched out too.

This lamp used to be here.

So, that brings us to the end of the lamp tour.  For now!  Time will tell if any of them move around again.  The nice thing, though, is that they are all neutral enough to move from room to room easily.  And if I wanted to, I could even swap the shades around.  Oh no...........pretend I didn't say that!!!  I think I'm content for a while.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

A Good Sunday

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a nice weekend.  Ours was good.  We finally had beautiful weather.  It was sunny and mild today after a threat of snow just a few days ago.  The weather has been so fickle lately!

I woke up and had my favorite Starbucks coffee (Breakfast Blend).

Then I tried this new cereal from Special K.  I gave it two thumbs up!

Then I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies for the game later.

We watched the ATL Falcons play the SF 49er's.  We came so close to winning, but in the end the 49er's won.  Arrgghh!  

Then I made a chicken potpie for dinner.

This is a favorite of ours.  Doesn't it look good?

It is such an easy recipe too!

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can Veg-all (drained)

2 cups cooked diced chicken (~ 1 lb)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

2 9" deep dish frozen pie crusts (thawed)

1 egg (slightly beaten)

Combine all the ingredients together and spoon into pie crust.  Cover with top crust and crimp together with a fork.  Slip top crust and brush with egg.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 min.

Yummy!

Hope you will give it a try.

Wishing you a great week ahead!  Tomorrow school is out for the MLK holiday.  

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~

Ticking Stripes and Plaid

Hello everyone!

Hope your week is going well so far.  It has been so cloudy and rainy here for the last several days.  I miss the sunshine!  The house has been dark and dreary as a result.  

I did manage to get a few pics of the new pillows and throw that I received recently though.  I bought these at Pottery Barn during their winter clearance so everything was 50% off and free shipping!  

I have recently fallen IN LOVE with brown and white ticking stripes!  So, when I saw these European shams for sale, I knew just where they would go.

I like the fact that they fill up the entire back side of the chairs.  I placed one in this chair by the fireplace and  in the other chair on the opposite side of the room.  

It just says farmhouse to me!  It also blends perfectly with the white and burlap already in the room.

Here is a close-up of the stripes.

These pillows blend in nicely with the smaller ones on my sofa too.

I also purchased this plaid fringed throw.  It is so soft and the colors work perfectly in here too.  We use our throws every day. No kidding!  I have this one and a thick charcoal grey one that gets a lot of use in the winter.  

So, since it's raining and cold out, we may just have to use these throws tonight and build us a fire!  

Oh..........and do any of you watch American Idol?  The first show of the season is coming on tonight!  Yay! Can't wait to see it. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

My Hay Rake

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm officially trying to post my blog using Google Chrome now.  Let's see how this turns out!  I'll let you know at the end of this post.  LOL!  

I have been eyeing old hay rakes for a few years now.  Most of them were very expensive or not exactly what I was looking for.  I stumbled upon one the other day at an antique store and decided it was time to bite the bullet.  I snatched it up and brought it home with me.  

Then, I had to decide where to put it.  I tried many places.  I thought it would go in my kitchen or dining room at first.  I even had it in my foyer for a brief moment.  Then, it ended up in a better spot, in the sitting room.  I liked it leaning up against the secretary in there.  It just seemed to fit.  

So here it is in all it's vintage glory!

You can see that it is rather large.  Now you know why it was a challenge to find the right spot for it.   Look how old it is.  It is obviously hand made.

At first, I worried it was too rustic or primitive to go in my home, but then I liked the fact that it was a nice contrast to some of the other items I have.  I think that is what I like about it the most.  I don't want everything to be old or everything to be elegant.  I want a mix. That keeps things interesting.

I decided to move my striped runner in here too.  I just folded it in half.  I liked it against the grey.

So, if anyone needs some hay put out, I guess I've got the rake for you!

Now, my verdict on Google Chrome is..............SUCCESS!  It is slightly different than what I was accustomed to, but it did allow me to load pictures and it downloaded them quickly.  Score!  So, hopefully, this problem is solved for good.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Vintage Styling in the Kitchen

Hello everyone!

 

I wanted to share a few new finds for my kitchen that have a vintage flair.  In fact one of them really is vintage! 

 

I love the look of grain sacks, so I found this red and white one with some body's initials on it and knew it would be a nice addition to my small collection.  This is my first red one though!

 



 

I have it draped over an ottoman in my kitchen.  I realize the initials are backwards, but if I turn the grain sack around, you can't see the initials, so this will have to do!  LOL!

 

 

 

On my kitchen table, I added this striped runner.  It blends well with the other burlap items in the room.  It also adds just a touch of red.

 

 

 

And, finally, one of my Christmas presents got delivered.  I ordered this enamel bread box.  I even use it to store bread in!  I've always wanted one, but didn't want to pay $100 for an authentic vintage one, so this is a reproduction for about half the cost. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm really enjoying the added vintage touches in my kitchen.

 

I wish, however, I enjoyed putting together this post!  Not so!  It took me twice as long since Blogger is STILL giving me fits about posting pics.  Then, it continued to give me problems in the HTML format.  I don't know when this issue will get fixed.  I don't think I should have to switch to Google Chrome, either, if this is a temporary problem.  Blogger needs to do a better job communicating with its members about what is going on.  Sorry for the rant, but with this being such a widespread problem and lasting so long, you would think SOMEONE would have some answers by now. 

 

******UPDATED NOTE********

 

Well, looks like this is a permanent problem and not a temporary one.  I will have to make the switch to Google Chrome then.  I really appreciate everyone's advice on how to handle this situation! 

 

I really appreciate your visit!

 

~ Kelly~

Pom Poms and Pillows

Hello everyone!

 

Monday came in with a bang!  My son went back to school today and my husband is sick with a stomach bug.  This will be a hectic week, I'm afraid.  I also have a couple of appointments to go to this week.  Is it Friday yet??? 

 

I did want to share with you something I made recently though.  You may recall that I made a small pom pom wreath during the holidays.  Well, that was just a practice run.  I decided to make a bigger one and use it in my dining room.  These wreaths can be used year round ya know (minus the Christmas ribbon).

 



 

It was very easy to make. I actually used a large embroidery hoop to hot glue the pom poms on. I've seen several different ways to make these wreaths.

 

                              The cream color of the yarn is a nice accent in here.

 

Also, I received some new pillows from Decor Steals not long ago. If you follow their daily deals, you may remember them. It's a set of 3 faux grainsack looking pillows in blue and white. They came in 3 different sizes. I placed a couple of them in this basket.

 

 

 

                       The largest size is now gracing the bench in my dining room.

 

One other thing, this morning I had trouble loading pictures on my blog for this post, I found out that other bloggers were experiencing this same problem. Someone suggested to upload the post in HTML format instead of Compose format for now. It worked!   This must be a temporary glitch with Blogger. Just thought I'd pass this on to you in case you experience any problems with it too. Also, if anyone has anymore experience/solutions to this problem, I'm all ears!!

                                                     Thanks for stopping by!

                                                                 ~ Kelly~

New Year, New Look

Hello everyone!

 

I hope every one's new year has started off well.  Mine has been a mix of lazy days and working around the house.  School is still out and won't start back until next week, so my schedule is still a bit off from it's normal routine.

 

I wanted to share a new look for my fireplace mantel this year.  It's nothing new for me to change it out, but this time I wanted a more farmhouse vibe to it.  I've been embracing that look lately mixed with my neutral color scheme and really enjoying it.

 

First, I got these brown and white ticking striped pillow covers for Christmas.  Got them early, actually!  LOL!  They are what started this whole new look for me.

 

 

I have some larger ticking stripe pillow covers on order too.   

 

On my mantel, I wrapped ticking stripe material around the base of my topiaries.

 

 

Then, I added some cotton branches in with my curly willow.

 

 

In the center, I added some vintage leather books and a plant.

 

 

And finally, the ultimate farmhouse accent, some cow artwork!

 

 

You may recall this used to be in my kitchen at one time. 

 

My sweet sister gifted two of these to me!

 

Here is the full view of everything put together.

 

 

I'm really enjoying the change.....again! 

 

As soon as the other pillow covers come in, I'll share where they end up too. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~ Kelly ~