Aiken House & Gardens

Pink Tea in the Cotswolds

2013-05-18T12:57:00.003-03:00

Hello everyone,
When we arrived at our charming little Twine Cottage(a rental) it was a beautiful sunny day so one of the first things I wanted to do was have an afternoon tea.

So I got out the tablecloth I had bought and a couple of pretty pillows.

And the pretty teacups I had picked up at a charity shop.

We had such a sweet little secluded garden with an amazing number of birds singing their little hearts out!

Building a nest in the hedge.

The view from the upstairs window.

I didn't do much shopping in England but I did buy this pitcher.

The magnolias were pretty there as well but when I got home to our own garden I was happy to see ours were blooming as well.

I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for the big birthday party for Pink Saturday.

I am also joining The Rose Garden in Malevik for show off Saturday.

Thank you for visiting me today and enjoy your weekend!

Carolyn

Twine Cottage

2013-05-16T18:47:00.003-03:00

Hello everyone,
While we were in Chipping Campden we stayed in what I consider to be a quintessential English cottage ~ Twine Cottage.

We had our own little enclosed garden and it was a 3 minute walk to the village.

The view from our garden.

So English!

The sitting area was comfortable and cosy!

It had a beautiful bath with lots of character.

The neighbours had their own enclosed garden as well. Love the cat perched on the garden wall.

The cherry tree was so beautiful and it was right outside our door.

I would love one of these cherry trees in our garden.

This was the view right across the road from us. I enjoyed hearing the ba's of the little lambs.

If you are going to the Cotswolds and are looking for a cosy little cottage I highly recommend Twine Cottage in the beautiful village of Chipping Campden with lots of tearooms,pubs,shops etc.. I hope I can go back someday.

Thank you for stopping by ,
Carolyn

The Winners and our Spring Garden!

2013-05-15T22:08:00.003-03:00

Hello everyone,
Well, it is now time to announce the winners of my book "Aiken House & Gardens" as we have drawn 2 names out of the hat as promised! The winners are Julie at Julie's Little House and D.Stewart (no blog) - congratulations! As soon as I get your full mailing addresses I will drop them in the mail for each of you and I hope you will enjoy. Thank you to all of you who left such nice comments, I only wish I could give one to all 204 of you!
Above is a spring bouquet sitting on the kitchen windowsill at Twine Cottage, our little home away from home in England last week.

The last two weeks made a big difference in our garden as there are hundreds of daffodils and tulips etc. blooming now. This is our hillside garden bursting with the cheerful colours of spring.

The island stone steps that my husband built are covered in moss now.I planted the new red tulips last fall but I thought they were much shorter so it isn't the look I had in mind but pretty none the less!

This afternoon was sunny here so I went out and took a few shots of the garden after supper before going to our granddaughter's dance rehearsal.I am amazed at all that is blooming now -we had a few hot days while we were away and that is all it takes to make the garden pop!

Congratulations once again to Julie and D.Stewart.

Take care,
Carolyn

Cotswold Life

2013-05-14T18:21:00.002-03:00

Hello everyone,

We just got home last night from a lovely holiday in England. Five years ago we went to England on a bus tour and enjoyed seeing many of the cities and town around England. We did get to see a lot but I always wanted to go back and spend time in the small quaint villages of the Cotswolds so a couple of weeks ago we packed our bags and off we went. We stayed in a few different places but much of our time was spent touring or hiking through the Cotswolds. We loved all the footpaths that took you through the beautiful countryside through hills and vales,by thatched roof cottages and fields of sheep with baby lambs.

I love all the beautiful stone churches and miles and miles of stone fences.

The stone from the Cotswolds has a yellow cast to it as you can see from looking at the cottages,shops and churches.

Some of the cottages have thatched roofs to add to their charm and most of them have have a lovely little garden as well.

This was a little village just outside of Chipping Campdon that we walked to on our last day there.

Walking back to our little cottage, we passed by through this field of sheep on the footpath.

I love this beautiful setting.I shot this through the window of the bus as we were going to Bourton on the water.

I could really enjoy riding horseback through the countryside.

Another thatched roof cottage.

The weather was beautiful for the first several days before a cool front moved in again the last few days we were there. It was a late spring in England compared to last year when everything was about four weeks ahead. There were so many different trees in bloom everywhere we went. I love all the hedgerows around the fields with cows,sheep or horses.

We went to Hidcote garden one beautiful warm sunny day and this little cottage was on the property. I love the interesting doors in all different colours in England.

Can you tell I am a country girl?

Andrew thought I took a picture of every sheep in England!

A small garden outside an old church.

So quaint!

Another field of sheep along The England Way footpath.Love those rolling hillsides with fields of sheep.

Such a beautiful setting for a lovely stone cottage. I love how all the cottages have names.

Love these doorways!

I hope you enjoyed walking through the Cotswolds with me-charming don't you agree?

Chipping Campden is a beautiful village that we spent five days in ~ in a little thatched roof cottage called Twine Cottage (more on that later).

On another note,I want to thank all of you who left such nice comments on my last post and on my book give away post and to all who placed an order as well.I was happy to hear from some of you who already received it -thank you so much for your kind words. Tomorrow evening I will draw 2 names from a hat and announce the lucky winners. If you haven't already entered your name you can still do so until tomorrow evening - just click here.
I have some more photos of England to share with you before moving on. Our garden has really moved ahead in the last couple of weeks so I will soon be inundating you with new photos of it.

Next week we have our first visitors from Japan for this season so I have lots of things to do before they arrive but I am looking forward to it-spring is such a nice time of the year!

Thank you for visiting me.
Carolyn

The Beauty of Nature

2013-05-03T01:00:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
I am just popping in to share some of the beauty of nature that is surrounding us this spring.We are still doing the finishing touches on our little boathouse but thought you might enjoy a little preview. I love how it reflects on the pond when it is calm out.

Such a relaxing spot to sit for awhile and enjoy the beauty!

Sometimes we have a pair of Canada geese and sometimes a pair of mallard ducks.

As you can see spring is slower coming this year but each day it gets closer!

They do look graceful swimming in the pond.

A thrift shop container will look good with different plants or bouquets.

So peaceful!

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and support ~ I am so happy with your response!!!

Take care,
Carolyn

My Exciting News!

2013-04-29T11:44:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
I have some exciting news to share today. Many of you over the past few years have encouraged me to do a book/magazine of my photos so I decided to take your advice and just do it! So, after putting in a lot of time on the computer going over all my photos from the past few years I have finally completed it!!!

It was hard to pick which ones to use. I wanted to use a little mix of garden, tea party and cottage photos.

It has 82 pages with over 185 photos in it for your enjoyment!

My good friend Snow and I enjoyed many hours together working on the text (Snow has a real gift for writing and is a fun person to work with) and then we added a few more photos we just couldn't leave out.Thank you Snow-can't wait until we can work on the next one! Ha!Ha!

The back cover.

It was pretty exciting to get the first shipment of books delivered.

Thank you to all of you for your encouragement and to my family and friends as well. It was fun putting it together and I hope you will enjoy it.

It is available to buy or preview through MagCloud just click on the link below

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/545753

MagCloud will ship to many different countries as well so check it out if you are interested.

For any local readers it will soon be available at Time Worn Treasures and Antiques - There is even a book signing scheduled there for Saturday,May 25th!

I am giving away one of my books to two of my readers anywhere in the world so if you would like to be entered in my giveaway please leave a comment and I will draw two random numbers on May 15th.

Feel free to spread the word by taking the photo on my right sidebar- thank you!

Good luck!!!
Carolyn

Happy Weekend!

2013-04-27T23:48:00.000-03:00

Happy Weekend!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend-it is a pretty cold one here for this time of year but warm sunny days are expected for this week.

While it is warm and cosy indoors it was pretty frosty out a few nights lately. I love to go out early on frosty mornings to take a few shots around our pond to capture the reflection.

The first daffodils of the season from our garden with hundreds more to come!

We have a couple of Canada geese and a pair of ducks that come and go from our pond.

I did say it was cold and frosty!

I have some very exciting news to share in the next day or two along with my very first giveaway so I hope you will come back to check it out.

Wishing you a cheery warm weekend!

Carolyn

Time for Tea

2013-04-22T20:20:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
It was sunny but cooler here today but I enjoyed spending the day in the garden doing spring garden chores-pruning,weeding,and my favorite chore, dividing and moving some perennials around the garden.

Anyway,after a day in the garden it is nice to come indoors and enjoy a nice cup of tea.

This pretty teapot was a gift from my husband a few years ago.

Love all the blooms on this geranium!

I have never been so absent from my blog but with all the spring cleaning indoors and out I just haven't had the time for taking pictures etc..I hope you will be patient with me a little longer as soon the spring chores will be done and there will be lots to blog about!

Today,I am joining Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage,
and A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life.

Thank you for visiting me,
Carolyn

Spring Cleaning

2013-04-17T16:54:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
Hope you are having a good week. I am still doing my spring cleaning here and garden season has arrived also~ so I have been a bit lax here on my blog lately.
A couple of days ago, I gave our little upstair sunroom a cleaning and when it was done I had to take a few shots of it.

It was a beautiful sunny day so it was quite enjoyable to do some tidying and cleaning in there. My daughter gave me back a little crib quilt that I had bought for her a few years ago so I thought it would add some charm to the sunroom table.

I keep my pink and white china in the old cupboard on the wall in the sun room.

My geraniums from last year are blooming now.

A sunny corner with a book for you to read~ unless you would like to help me finish my spring cleaning!

Our little sunroom is off our bath.

And our bath is off our bedroom , yesterday I finished spring cleaning them-yea!
I have had moments of thinking a little one bedroom cottage by the sea would be so much easier to clean,but I must forge ahead and soon I will have a clean house from top to bottom - Then I can get out to the garden and enjoy the warm sunshine!
We have our first visitors from Japan coming in about four weeks and have several tours already booked from then until Oct. It is looking like a good year!

Thank you for visiting,
Carolyn

Garden Chair Makeover

2013-04-15T21:45:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
It was a beautiful sunny spring day today and I was happy to go out and do some cleanup in the garden today. There are a lot more birds in the garden now so I enjoy their comings and goings as I work. After some spring cleaning indoors and out, I decided to give my $4 old wicker chairs a little makeover. They were natural and a bit weathered when I bought them but I thought the marina blue color from the door of the boathouse would perk them up a bit. I made the crochet throw on the weekend ha!ha!-just kidding! As you probably already know it was another thrift shop find-as were the Dutch wooden shoes.
This morning our pond was still mostly soft ice but as the day went on it all melted. We even had a pair of ducks swim around it for awhile.

The chairs will probably get tucked away in the garden somewhere but until then they will stay here on the veranda.

The wreath on the door-a $5. find!

I need to cover a couple of pillows and my little project will be done.

The temperature is going up quite a bit as the week goes on, so the grass will soon be green again.

Inside looking out.

Oh happy day, some colour in the garden

The boathouse is pretty much done inside now but needs to be painted and then the fun will begin. I have been collecting some linens,curtains etc. over the winter and I am excited to be able to 'play' in there soon.

I am joining BNOTP for Metamorphis Monday.

Thank you for visiting me,
Carolyn

Sunday Morning Breakfast in Bed

2013-04-13T23:08:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend- we escaped the snow we were supposed to get today.
It has been awhile since I had time to post-I had a busy but fun week. Today,for a little treat I thought I would serve you breakfast in bed-always a nice Sunday morning treat.

Enjoy your waffles and my favorite magazine!

or maybe you would like a homemade biscuit.

Since it is Sunday you could even indulge in a blackberry shortcake.

Smell the roses.

Get cosy in one of our guest rooms.

Dream a little.... or a lot!

I will pour your tea!

Hope you enjoy a lovely Sunday,
Carolyn

Going Vintage Style

2013-04-08T12:04:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
I hope you had a nice Spring weekend. I have enjoyed seeing our garden slowly starting to wake up. I love taking a little stroll around to see what is popping up as each day brings new growth.
Last week I did a little photo shoot on "Going Vintage". I found this old suitcase up in our attic awhile ago that I had forgotten was there. I gave it a coat of white paint for starters but I would like to reline the interior of it someday.A vintage crinoline,hand crochet linens and tulips complete this picture.

Image you are living at Downton Abbey and going by train to London for a few days. The antique tea dress hanging on the hanger is from the 1920's so we better pack it for an afternoon tea in Auntie's garden.

Close up of the delicate details.

The dress below and the camisole above both came from Time Worn Treasures and Antiques one of my favorite shops in town.

Just so you know it even came in my size so now I am all set for a Downton Abbey Tea - I am hoping to do a fundraiser Downton Abbey Tea in our garden this summer. I will keep you posted later on the details for any of you who may be interested in attending.

Well, I had fun going away in Vintage Style-hope you did too!

Thank you for visiting,
Carolyn

Peachy Pinks

2013-04-05T21:48:00.005-03:00

Hello everyone,
It finally warmed up a little here today and there are more signs of spring each day. We still have ice on our pond however,and last year at this time it had all melted and we had ducks swimming around in it.I am enjoying the honking of the Canada geese as they fly overhead ,returning from their more southern winter home.
Anyway, I am joining Pink Saturday today so I have some peachy pinks to share ..

I had a little visit at Time worn Treasures and antiques today and as usual came home with some pretty treasures.This beautiful covered butter dish is from Germany.

I picked up a fresh bouquet of peachy pink roses so of course I had to take a few quick shots.

I got some pretty linens there today also.

I seem to have a pretty good stash of pink linens- quilts,chenille etc.

This pretty vase was also an earlier find from the same shop.

These delicate teacups are made in Austria and the saucers co ordinate nicely with them but are not the same..

Hope you all have a Happy Weekend!

I am joining How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday,
And My Romantic Home for Show and Tell.

Thank you for visiting,
Carolyn

Vintage Charm

2013-04-04T16:51:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
On this sunny but cool day I enjoyed some time indoors with my camera. So I have a few photos to share with you today and some for another day.I am enjoying the pretty blooms of my geraniums sitting on a southern windowsill.

My Easter roses are still holding up pretty good.I like how they look with this old hatbox.

One of my thrifty treasures this week was this lovely cameo vase.It is such a pretty shade of green and I know I will enjoy it with big bouquets of peonies,lilacs roses etc.

I don't know if the vase is vintage or not but it has vintage appeal to me.

Just a few quick shots to share with you today-hope you enjoyed them.

Thank you for stopping by,
Carolyn

Favorite Color Combinations in the Garden

2013-04-03T20:46:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,

It is staying cold here but things are slowly popping up in the garden. April is probably my least favorite month here on the Island as far as beauty goes. It is usually a month of brown mud and patches of dirty snow and barren trees~ not a month I would recommend to come and visit our dear little Island! However, the good part is there is the promise of good things starting to happen in the garden and more heat in the sun along with longer days and the return of lots of birds to the garden.So, I think I already mentioned that I am a little staved for color lately. In light of that,I have gone through some of my garden photos looking for some favorite color combinations.

It will probably be obvious that purples,whites and shades of pink are one of my favorite color combo's.

Oophs! not really a color combo but one of my favorite colors and plants a deep rosy pink peony.

Roses, monkshood,mockorange and hydrangea.

I love the tall stately beauty of delphiniums in all the colors but I think this is my favorite with the beautiful purple clematis in the background.

Roses and clematis are a perfect pair.

Love these colors together also. This poppy is so beautiful with the veronica and peony in the background.

This wine red rose with the pink rose look very pretty together.

What could be sweeter then a mauve bellflower(pitchard's variety) and the delphiniums in the background.

I even enjoy some yellow(preferably pale) in the garden with the blues and purples.

I think this is one of my very favorite combo's.

In August we have lots of varieties of phlox but soft mauve with purple is very pretty.

Love the combination of light pink and rose geraniums in planters or window boxes.

Even enjoy this splash of color in the late August hillside garden.

In spring I am just happy to see any color and the brighter and bolder the better!

Although I am not so much a fan of bright yellows and oranges in our summer garden-I do love this combo in spring and can't wait to see it again!
The last couple of years we headed south for a couple of weeks in April but alas not this year so I will just have to be patient for awhile(please,let it be soon) and know that all this color is just ahead for us. In the mean time I have lots of projects to keep me busy-what about you ,is your garden already blooming or are you like me and longing for it's return?

I am joining A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden Thursday.

Thank you for visiting me,
Carolyn

A Garden Theme Tea

2013-04-02T14:45:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
It is a sunny but cool here today -way too cool and dull yet, for outdoor garden teas.So, I thought a nice indoor garden theme tea would give us a pick me up.So we can have tea and enjoy the flowers at the same time.I am using green and white toile and both fabrics and china. You know how I love toile in any color!

My tulips and roses from Easter are still hanging on.

My teapot from Winner's a few years ago is always a favorite. It has no markings on the bottom but I seem to remember the box said it was made in England.

Love these green and white toile teacups.

A garden theme on the mantel.

I have a hard time passing up these old china pieces.

I just got these teacups yesterday at a local thrift shop.I don't often see green and white here so I snapped them up pretty quick!

I am happy to have my geraniums from last year come into bloom again-reminds me of good things to come!

Well it may be on the cool side outdoors but it is warm and sunny in here so we can might as well linger over a good cup of hot tea!

I am joining Bernideen's Tea Time blog for Tea with Friends,
and Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday.

Thank you for your visit,
Carolyn

Longing for Color

2013-04-01T10:27:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
I hope you enjoyed a lovely Easter -we did as well. Today we welcome in the month of April already with all it's promise. We all know the saying April showers bring May flowers and so today true to form, showers are in the forecast for us . After a long winter (one that seems to want to hang on) I am longing for color in the garden...you too I am sure!

We still have some snow here and lots of brown but it will make the colors of spring all the more joyous!

Can't wait!!!

Rosy pinks and plums

Love our iris!

Lupins,iris and hardy geranium.

I look forward to lilac season every year.

I am noticing more bird songs in our garden- a very welcome sound!

What about you are you longing for color too?

Soon all the colors of spring and summer will be bursting upon us! In the mean time there is lots to do to get ready to enjoy it all.

Have a good day and thank you for all your kind words and good wishes.

Carolyn

Easter Blessings!

2013-03-30T18:03:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
It has been awhile since my last post,but time just seemed to slip away on me. I am sure many of you have been busy as well with Easter preparations etc.

I gathered up some of my vintage china and washed them for our Easter table.

I got some beautiful tulips and roses for our Easter table as well.Notice that sunlight streaming in-after several cloudy days we are now in for a sunny spell,

I spent some time setting our Easter tables for our family dinner tomorrow evening.

I am using a mix of vintage china in soft pastel colors.

The cross is a reminder of the sacrifice made for us and the reason we celebrate Easter.

The bunny with little treats for the kiddo's.

Pretty roses.

Our usual two tables for our big family who all live close by.

Wishing you all Easter Blessings!

I am joining The Rose Garden in Malevik for Easter Show-off .

Carolyn

In Light of Spring

2013-03-24T21:36:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
Hope you enjoyed a lovely weekend .After getting a little more snow overnight the sun came out this afternoon and there was a feeling of spring in the air this afternoon. We finally saw our first robin in the garden this year so spring must surely be on the way.

Anyway,it is spring in our sunroom so I can't complain.

I love to have the sunlight streaming in our little sunroom with some cheerful plants blooming on the windowsill.

A touch of Easter.

I planted these hyacinths several weeks ago and they are beautiful now and fill the sunroom with their fragrance.

Love this little bunny.

Thank you for popping by and I hope you have a good week.

Carolyn

Vintage Style Guest Bath

2013-03-21T19:48:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
I hope your week is going well. The weeks seem to be slipping by pretty fast-it is hard to believe that winter is officially over already. One of the projects that we were working on this past week was our small upstair guest bath.

So the wainscotting got a fresh coat of white paint as well as the floors.

The upper part of the walls were grey before and the curtain was a grey toile(sorry, I don't have a photo of the before) so this deep aqua color Behr Marina Isle is a nice change.

This pretty bucket from Time Worn Treasures and Antiques looks pretty holding some guest towels. The old cast iron tub got a fresh coat of paint on the outside as well.I love these comfortable old bathtubs.

Some of the little details.

I am happy with the new look of our little vintage guest bath. It is great to be getting some of these projects done because we will soon(hopefully) be able to get out and work in the garden again.

I am joining French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday,

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home.

My Romantic Home for Show & Tell Friday.

And Common Ground for Be Inspired Friday.

Thank you for visiting,

Carolyn

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Happy First Day of ....Spring?

2013-03-20T20:01:00.002-03:00

Hello everyone,

I wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy first day of spring and since we all want some spring color ~ I have some for you!

I sure do love all these spring colors.

Looking forward to our spring garden.

Scenes from around our spring garden.

one of my favorite shots from a past spring. It cheers me just looking at it!

However, the reality of our world today was this winter white scene. We had a mini storm blow through this morning and another is apparently coming on Friday. I have not spotted a single robin in our garden yet this year and last year they were around by the end of January-I think they know something about a later arrival of actual spring weather. The good news is -it will come sooner....or later!

I will leave you with a nice spring cup of tea! But, first I would like to thank all of you for your kind and encouraging words on my last post- they are my spring cheer!!!

Thank you for visiting,
Carolyn

Romantic Country!

2013-03-19T13:18:00.002-03:00

Hello everyone,

I have some exciting news I have been busting to share with you!

The new Romantic Country issue just hit the newsstands here and I am so thrilled that one of my photos made the cover!!! I took this shot a few years ago in the garden when the beautybush (in the background) was in bloom. I dressed up an old iron crib with some pretty linens etc. and enjoyed taking lots of shots but never dreamt they would be on the cover of a popular magazine one day!

another little thrill for me!

There are several photos inside of mine also..oh! joy!!!

Another photo shoot day in lilac season-looking forward to those days again!

Rush out and get your copy today before they are all snatched up!

My little bouquet for you!

I will be sharing some other exciting news with you later.

Thank you for visiting,
Carolyn

Our Bathroom Makeover

2013-03-17T18:35:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I think I mentioned that we were giving our downstair bath a bit of a makeover. So, I have some photos of it today.
It srarted with painting the pine floor boards white- which made the creamy white wainscotting look more yellow, so we decided to paint the wainscotting white to freshen it up. Then the wallpaper that was on above it now looked grungy so off it came and a nice grey mistint went on . I think you probably all know how one change seems to lead to several more!

We took out the small pedestal sink that was in here to replace it with this yardsale cabinet that I love. We got a new dropin sink that my husband installed himself with the new taps.

Some lace & linens to make it pretty.

The old cupboard was given to me a few years ago and we took off the old doors and put on these doors with chicken wire-I say we but Andrew did that too! It is great for storing quilts and linens.We also put the feet on it and the little trim at the bottom..

details

I changed the curtains to crochet lace valences on the top and white semi sheer on the bottom.The garden statue is waiting until spring to go back to the garden.

This doll house from a thrift store in Maine has been a well loved treasure for our little granddaughters.

More details. I love the mirror that we bought a few years ago at Cool Breeze- a garden centre.

I would like to replace the lights over the sink but waiting until I find the right ones

I still have a few little touches to do but mostly it is finished.

There is also a glass shower stall on the other side that I didn't photograph.

So,it is definitely fresh and clean and we are happy with the new look even if it did involve more then we planned orginally .Anyway, it didn't stop us from giving our small upstair guest bath a new look too-but that is another story!

I am joining BNOTP for Metamorphsis Monday.

Thank you for your visit,

Carolyn

Soft & Pretty Vignettes

2013-03-14T17:12:00.001-03:00

Hello everyone,
Hope your week is going well. It is a beautiful sunny day here but last night we had very heavy rains and with all the melting snow it has caused some flooding on roads and in some basements as well. I took a walk to our brook and it was running like a river this morning- a muddy river at that!
I am still working on projects ,so I haven't had time to take any new shots but I have some soft and pretty vignettes from around the house to share.

This reminds me that it is time for my tea-it won't be as pink and pretty today as this one though!

Thank you for stopping by,

Carolyn

Spring Changes~ Vintage China

2013-03-12T19:11:00.000-03:00

Hello everyone,

I have been spring cleaning lately,a bit early for some but I need to get the inside done before garden season starts so it is a good time for me to get it done. One of my little spring jobs today was to take down my collection of Friendly Village china which speaks of winter and dig out my vintage Crown Ducal Florentine (made in England) which speaks of spring and summer.

I love these dishes and I was lucky enough to get most of them in one shop for about $40.

I did mix and match just a little once again.

It was a lovely mild day here but mainly cloudy so I didn't have good light for taking my photos but you will get an idea of how they look anyway.

My husband's grandmother had some of these dishes and I always loved them.

I love when a set includes covered veggie bowls too.

I had a platter or two before but the rest all came together. Most of my collections of transferware I collected here and there ,one or two pieces at a time usually-which can be fun too if you are patient and as a Mama of seven I think I learned a thing or two about patience!

If you would like to see last spring's blue & white transferware dishes on display in this cupboard you can click here.

Well, that was the fun part of my spring cleaning chores-after that it was off to my bedroom closets where I always end up being cross at myself for being a' bit' of a hoarder. However, once I get started on weeding things out and donating I feel good about getting it done. Then, for awhile I stay away from the thrift shops but you know what they say"old habits die hard". Is there a support group for people like me??? Maybe we could all swap our stuff! ha!ha!

Thank you for visiting,

Carolyn