Two For Tea- Or Three-Or Four-Or Five- Or- WHAT? How many?

Don't you think this

is beautiful?

It is probably my favorite~

at least for the moment.

Do you remember when I showed

you Ruth's cabinet filled with teapots 

the other day? You can see it here

Several of you expressed

an interest in teapots and

asked for a closer look.

So-I snapped some quick pictures

of some of her teapots.

I didn't take them out of the cabinet

so you will have to take what you get here!

I am SO nice, aren't I?

Take a peek at a few of them.

Did you notice that about half of the teapots

have porcelain trivets under them?

I don't think I ever saw these before.

They are as pretty as the teapots.

Here's a close up of three of them.

This set has two matching cups-

Ruth sure does like PRETTY, doesn't she?

She has MANY pretty things.

Remember when I said she willingly gave me things?

I am drawn to things that are a bit offbeat.

(which explains why I married MyHero)

Well...look at this sweet little thing!

Guess what!!!!

While you are making tea

I will be 

Warming My Buns-

And NO! I am NOT sitting on a heating pad-

Thanks for asking!

Hope you have a great day.

Back with more staging pictures tomorrow.

I Ain't Dead Yet-Thank You Very Much

What were you expecting?

Pictures of me in a hospital bed?

Pictures of me with tubes 

entering/exiting every orifice known

to man?

Nope! Not me!

I want to show you this~

This book~

This book that is not only

a cookbook

.

but one that is infused

with real humor..

Southern style humor..

I have also included one

recipe from the book.

If it is too small to read

don't worry about it.

It is NOT a heart-healthy

recipe...it is NOT good for you...

but, man-oh-man, I can tell

you.....from experience...

that God put frozen hash browns

and cream soup and sour cream

on Earth just so that

we can make this dish.

Trust me-if you have NOT

eaten this at some big gathering

.

you have missed something special.

Amen!

  It says it serves eight.

However. if you live in Wisconsin it serves FOUR!

Oh- And I don't use the cheddar soup

I use a can of cream of celery

OR a can of cream of chicken soup instead.

You're welcome.

Eat hearty.

Remember- the fatter YOU get

the skinnier I look standing

next to you!

Baptism Sins And Smiles

Our friends, 
Rocco and Amy Canadeo 
had their two children.
Natalia and Giovani,

baptized in church last Sunday.
Yes-I know- I know-
I usually use CODE NAMES but Amy said it was okay.
Now I hope Rocco doesn't hunt me down and hurt me.

Isn't this a beautiful family?

Natalia is wearing a beautiful 

dress her Mom found for her.

It has little crystals sewn all over it.

Sweet Cheeks acknowledged that it

was a 

BEEYOUTAFULL DRESS.

However, not to be outdone she

showed Natalia her necklace.

Here she is showing if off.

That's pretty, said Natalia.

SweetCheeks smiled with pleasure.

Thank You! My Mom's friend

bought it for me in Paris (true)

and it is REAL DIAMONDS.

(so her friend told her).

Now that was NOT a sin because

she did not know she was lying.

See the church is still standing 

behind her...(and behind me-whew)

Don't ya love that "windblown" look?

This is not our church but it is beautiful and we

were honored to have been invited to 

attend this special family event.

So-wondering what the sin was?

Well, I think it is illegal in the 

state of Wisconsin for first cousins

to kiss in church-

At least that is what I heard!

Ask if HE cares!

Some sweet little girl pictures.

What's worse than being cousin kissed?
Being in the center of a 
Cousin's Sandwich!

Doesn't BigBoyE look like he is in pain?
I will be back with some 

more staging pictures tomorrow-

Lord willing and the church still standing!

Ruth's Living Room- Staged To Sell

I am almost embarrassed to show you

the pictures I took.

I don't know what happened but I think

my camera was on the wrong setting.

I am just going to give you a peek

because these are the only pictures 

that turned out.

Here is the Jasper secretary 

on the left side of the fireplace.

This fireplace is also an antique mantle 

that they salvaged

like the one in the family room here.

Here is kind of where we started.  

We had started sorting and had

packing materials on the floor.

The sofa moved to the wall that holds the TV.

The TV was given away and 

the two furniture pieces

you see on the left went to auction. 

See the Noah's Ark picture?

That's the one we moved to 

the "boy's room" here.

This is where the white chairs that are covered

with packing materials in the left photo above went.

They are where the sofa used to sit.

Hmmmm-just noticed I need to 

neaten up those cords.

The pillows have bits of color that 

pick up the color of the carpeting.

Here is the Jasper curio cabinet to the right of the fireplace.

We gathered and displayed 

Ruth's teapot collection in there.

This is looking out through 

the French doors towards

the foyer.

Can you see all the wonderful doors?

I will try to get some full room pictures

on Wednesday.  

Hang in there!

I promise you pretty!!!

Let The Run For The Roses Begin-CJK First Steps

Okay- So he's not really running 

for the ROSES

but he is walking towards

the Fairy Garden. 

which is a mess because it has been horribly neglected.

My son popped over to show me something

special.

Day before this CJK was sitting....

just plain sitting...

and smiling...

and waving.

However, this particular morning

my son lifted him out of his crib,

sat him on the floor and 

he got up and walked.

These are his first steps

OUTSIDE

on grass.

It lasts exactly

FOURTEEN SECONDS.

If you have kids you will remember these days,

if you don't have kids you can see for yourself

how precious those first steps are.

Enjoy!

I will be back tomorrow to show you 

how Ruth's formal living room looks

IF you watch my  CJK video!;>)

Staging Ruth's House- There's An Elephant In The Room

Okay-

Can you spot it?

The elephant!  Can you spot the elephant?

How about TWO of them-

Can you spot TWO of them?

Okay-then-smarty pants-

How about THREE of them- 

Can you spot THREE of them?

Look close-there are at least

THREE ELEPHANTS in the room.

Here is the room when we 

were using it for sorting things.

Yeah- It's a mess-we know it..

It didn't always look this way until we started

ripping things apart.

Can you see the wallpaper on the walls?

Abracadabra -loving the off-white paint that replaced it.

Out went 2 big pieces of furniture

and assorted other pieces.

We moved the bed to the wall on the left.

In front of the windows went a small stand.

The house has quite a feminine feel to it 

so the goal is

to make one bedroom feel like a boy's room.

What boy wouldn't love this sweet little dog?

The bedrooms are all good sized.

This is the smallest one and is still good sized..

Bits and pieces

Oh- And did I happen to mention that

EVERY BEDROOM 

has French doors into the closets?

Uh-huh

Don't you love that detail?

Looking like a boy's room now, isn't it?

More rooms coming up!

Y'all come back now and bring a paintbrush,will ya?

What's Rose And Turquoise And Staged All Over- The Family Room!

This is only a partial view of the 

Family Room.

It is down one step from the dinette.

It closes off with 

FRENCH DOORS

(which I don't have a picture of this time).

Ruth has always loved the colors of

rose and turquoise

so that is what we are working with here.

Once again, they did not have to 

buy a single item to stage this room.

This beautiful piece sits just inside

the doors to the right.

The light hit that clock face full force and almost blinded me!

Ruth has her large collection of 

Romantic Homes and Victoria, 

plus some china, stored inside.

I guess this is the only picture I took of that room

as we were packing up.

 Once the hutch was taken to auction

we re-positioned  the sofa and 

brought the chairs close to the fireplace.

This is that same corner now.

She already had all the oil paintings.

The one over the sofa moved from a bedroom

to this room.

To the left of the French doors sits a grand piano.

 This is looking along the left wall towards

the fireplace and other corner.

The blinds in this room are copper,

as are in the rooms throughout the house,

  and cast a rosy glow 

when hit by the sun.

Below is the view

dead center from the dinette looking into the room.

As in the other rooms, the carpeting will most likely

be replaced and there is an allowance for that in the price.

The mantle is an antique one they added to the home

several years ago.

It's amazing what you can do with someone's things,

isn't it?

All this furniture will go to auction, too,

when the house sells.

Except for this chair and footstool-

a family heirloom.

So far so good, huh?

Tomorrow- I will tell you about the

elephant in the bedroom!

You'll want to see that!

Let The Staging Begin- In The Dining Room

We have finished the sorting and clearing

of the first floor.

We are using things Ruth & Tom 

already had.

So far, they have not had to buy

one single thing.

Matter of  fact,

we keep subtracting from what

is already there.

Today, I am going to show you

THE DINING ROOM

even though we are not completely

done with everything.

I wanted to give you a quick preview.

I can't believe it but I did not 

get a picture of the dining room

before we started staging.

This room was the one that

we moved everything to  and 

then sorted thru it.

The room has a great big bay window.

The table and chairs were a secondary set

that Ruth had.

The big Chippendale set went to auction.

On the wall to the far left are these

beautiful cabinets.

See, I told you she had some 

beautiful things!

We set the table using her Noritake china

This is just a "test run" because it all has to be moved

so the carpets can be shampooed.

We will do a little more layering on the tabletop

before we are finished.

The carpets throughout the house are a deep turquoise.

Top of the line but the price reflects an allowance

to change the flooring throughout.

The front window looks out on a formal front entrance.

The blinds are solid copper and beautiful.

Here's a sneak peek at the outside of that window.

Notice the aged copper canopy?

Now, if you are very good

and promise not to 

eat the last cookie, 

tomorrow I will show

you the formal living room.....

maybe    
Off working on
another room-be back late!

Ruth's Red & White Transferware-It's Mine Now!

As you know I have been working

the past couple of weeks

helping my friend, Ruth, 

pack away her treasures for Florida.

However, she is not taking all of it

with her.

Some is being sold at auction

and some is being donated.

Some went to a consignment shop

and some

CAME HOME WITH ME.

When I got to the top shelf in her kitchen

I wanted to cry with joy.

LOOK what was hiding up there.

She had told me all along that when

we got to it 

I could have it.

Seriously?

I LOVE red & white china.

This is especially beautiful.

It is called  

English Abbey.

I carried it home and carefully

handwashed it.

I decided I needed to use it

for a quick little set up

because it is so pretty.

Here's the tabletop-set for one-ME!

Don't you just love it?

See that roll?

Yep- Hard as a baseball!

See those strawberries?

THOSE are FRESH!

Besides the set of

English Abbey 

there are several other pieces mixed together.

This is Moreton Old Hall by Wedgewood.

These cups are unmarked but so pretty

This is the inside of four cups.

It is called Enoch Woods  by Wood & Sons

But my favorite is still the

English Abbey.

There are more pieces of that than anything else.

I love the sweet image on it.

If you pop by I promise to buy new rolls

AND add a place setting for you.

You know the coffee pot is ALWAYS on at my house!

So- Come on over-

We'll dish the dirt on everyone we know!