Winter Wreath~Four Ways

Hello everyone,

The weather is beautiful today. I hear the birds singing outside while I'm writing this post. When I finish sharing my Winter Wreath makeover I will be heading outside to prune some rose bushes. I have two beds pruned and cleaned and  now I'm working in the pergola area...We haven't had a big frost yet so everything is green and healthy. 

Now~on to my Winter Wreath for 2015. I love to use what I have and bump it up a notch. This year I added some artificial forsythia and a chevron bow to last year's wreath.

 CELEBRATE IT® from Michaels Craft Store

I planted a forsythia bush in the garden last year, but it hasn't bloomed yet. I'm waiting for it to bloom and see how it looks in a vase on my sofa table in the living room.

A couple of birds found their way into my wreath. Just a little added touch of Spring. I can't wait until the garden is in full bloom again.

I love the dogwood as the base for the yellow forsythia. The artificial stems are so great to decorate with and a little burlap is the right texture for my Winter Wreath.

I think this wreath is a keeper for a few months. 

A few little changes and this wreath has been four different ways and I used it three different seasons last year.

My thrifty gene keeps me finding ways to make the old wreath look new and I love to see the Before and After results. 

 Do It Yourself~DIY that's me.

So I'm off to prune my roses and prepare for Spring.

Joyously,

Betty 

Linking to:
A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden
Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Thing 

  French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
Dandelion House for Farmhouse Friday Blog Hop
Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday 

The ROSEGARDEN for Showoff Saturday
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!

The Dedicated House for Before and After Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

♥My Favorite Tea Cup♥

Hello everyone, 

This past week the weather has been very dry for January.
 The dining room is so nice and sunny in the early afternoon this time of year. I picked one of my favorite tea cups today.
 This tea cup is very special to me because I am a GRANDMOTHER to six beautiful girls. When I found this  prayer for Grandmothers I knew I had to share it with you.

A Grandmother's Prayer

Dear Lord,  Thank you for sending my husband and me six girls the second time around. Please make the girls strong and healthy. Size 10 will do, thank you.  And see that they play bridge, tennis and the piano-the zither, if they insist.  

And learn to cook and dance and have inquisitive minds and be good citizens. And please, Lord, give them a sense of humor, too. 

A dear friend of mine visited France and brought back a box of tea for me. I love the lavender color printing on the tea bag tag and it matches my tea cup. The french words on the tag are beautiful.  

Beautiful detail inside the cup when I sip my tea.

Lenten Rose, Fern, Ivy and Dutchman's Pipe Vine fill the pastel flowered  vase. 

Lenten Rose

Dutchman's Pipevine

'Queen's' Rosina China Co. Ltd. Made in England

IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE A GRANDMOTHER

I have quite a generational thing going on here today. A Grandmother's tea cup and my great-grandmother's tea spoon. Two lumps of sugar for my french tea. And chocolate under glass...   

Thank you for your wonderful comments.
Joyously,
Betty
Linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
The ROSEGARDEN for Showoff Saturday
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage 

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse 

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

French Cafe♥

Hello everyone,
We are having another beautiful day today. The sun is out. The temperature is in the 60's and no wind...Love it.
I'm dreaming again about how wonderful it would be to travel to Paris and sit at a little table  watching the people walk by as I drink a cup of coffee and dip a croissant into a dish of chocolate.
Yum~Yum

I don't have a trip planned anytime soon, but I thought I would pretend. Yes, I'm pretending again. I made some pudding and baked some croissants and now I want you to enjoy a cup of coffee and dip your croissant into the chocolate. Please help yourself.

I found these darling dessert plates at TJ Maxx  last summer and I knew I would be setting this table. 

The sun shines into my dining room and I can sit and have a cup of coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. 

I have camellia bushes in the front yard. This pink double "Debutante" is loaded with blooms and in my 'Friendly Village' post HERE I had a bouquet of "Yule Tide" camellias.

French press coffee anyone?

Some candle light too.

This restaurant would be nice. Don't you think? If weather permitting we would sit outside...

And I love the look of this cafe.  So french!!! 

Well, my dream has come to an end. I do have some inspiration and I'm grateful I can enjoy my French Cafe right here at home. 

Hope you have a great weekend.
Joyously,
Betty
Linking to:

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
The ROSEGARDEN for Showoff Saturday
How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage 

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse 

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

*Tuck Box Tea Time*

Hello everyone, 

Hope your week is going well. I've been busy cleaning and putting Christmas away for another year. The weather is crisp and clear. We did have a couple of days last week in the high 30's. But I found some beautiful flowers in my garden in spite of the cold temperature.

"The Tuck Box" is a small restaurant in Carmel, California.

via
I've wanted to visit this quaint place for years. Maybe this year. My SIL visited "The Tuck Box" last year and brought me home some tea and Olallieberry Spread. The spread is delicious and I decided to make Surprise Muffins for my tea time today.
The surprise is when you open the the muffin the spread is inside. Amazing.

The bouquet of flowers is from my garden. I was so surprised when I found such a variety of blooms this time of the year. 

Roses, Camellias and Daffodils.

I went to an estate sale a last month and found this beautiful cup.

"ROYAL ALBERT' Bone China England 

Garland Series~Elegance

I found the tea pot also. No markings. The tea pot has a lusterware rim on the bottom of the pot and I love the pink flowers too.

Printable Recipe

Surprise Muffins

Beat slightly with fork............................1 egg

Stir in....1 cup milk, 1/4 cup cooking (salad) oil or melted shortening

Sift together and add...........2 cups sifted flour

1/4 cup sugar, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt

Stir just until moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

Do not overmix.  Fill muffin cups half full of batter.

Drop scant teaspoon of jelly on center of batter.

Add more batter to fill cup 2/3 full.  Discovering

the jelly inside the baked muffin is the surprise.

TEMPERATURE: 400° (mod. hot. oven).

TIME: Bake 20 to 25 min.

AMOUNT: 12 med. muffins.

I have my loose Tuck Box tea in the tin and my great-grandmother's loose tea spoon to scoop out the tea into the tea pot.

My grandmother's silver tea spoon with her engraved initials on the handle.

Hope you enjoy your tea time as much as I do. 

As you might know I love to pretend and I just love this adorable photo of the "The Tuck Box" 

(I'll keep you posted, if I visit someday)

Thank you for your wonderful comments on my Friendly Village post HERE

Joyously,

Betty

Linking to:

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
The ROSEGARDEN for Showoff Saturday
How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage 

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse 

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!
Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

Friendly Village

Hello everyone,

Let's get this party started. I've been enjoying this week.

  Resting and watching the Rose Bowl Parade and also plenty

 of college playoff games. I'm so excited about the new

 Downton Abby season five premiering on Sunday night.

 It has been a long wait. I've set a table for a dinner  by the fire while
Sweetheart and I enjoy the pleasures of English life at Downton Abby.

The table is set with Vintage Johnson Brothers Friendly Village.
I found two place settings at the Goodwill.
I inherited the silverware place settings from my great grandmother.

'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Jack Frost nipping at your nose.

Vintage brown teapot to enjoy my English tea.

' The Ice House' small cereal bowl or dessert bowl.

The vintage stemmed glassware were my mother's favorite.

Silver chargers remind me of a silvery ice skating pond.

'The Covered Bridge' square salad plate is delightful.

Silver votive candle holders from the Dollar Tree© and the Yule Tide
Camellias are blooming profusely on the front hedge.

'The School House' dinner plate.

I love the details on these old dishes.

Looking forward to a delightful evening.

2015 is a new beginning. I'm starting my sixth year of blogging.
What a great hobby to practice my writing skills
and my love for photography.
Joyously,
Betty
Linking to:

  French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday 
 The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 
How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase Party  

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home

Mosaic Monday at Lavender Cottage

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage 

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Farmhouse 

A Return to Loveliness  at A Delightsome Life 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop!