Wimbledon Breakfast Party

 Last Sunday I hosted my annual Wimbledon Breakfast party. It is always the morning of the gentlemen's final.

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The nice people at Pondview Florist in Winchester accommodated me and did custom floral arrangements for me. I brought them two tea tins and one trophy and asked them to design something wonderful in the Wimbledon colors of purple and green.

I got this tea tin when I was in London in 1998. I bought the tea specifically for the tin since it was a Wimbledon tin.

 My sister made strawberry lemonade. Yum! Here's the recipe.

Here's the trophy I used as a vase. It's actually a loving cup.  And those vintage photos are from an antique store in Concord.

My friend Mary made the scones.  We had lemon curd, strawberry jam and mock devonshire cream.

I used my prettiest tea cups for the occasion. And tea strainers were needed for the Harrod's No. 42 loose tea. That's an Earl Gray tea.

I collect footed lustreware teacups.  This one is from an estate sale.

Here's a closeup of the Wimbledon Tea tin.

I used the table runner I used for my Easter brunch tablescape. I never get tired of those twinkle lights!

 Another view of the floral arrangement in the Wimbledon Tea tin. 

 I took this sign out of storage for the event.  Seemed appropriate.

Molly was a little put out by all the company but she warmed up to them eventually.

Another tea cup from my collection. I used some of my cups with green and purple colors. I have a few violet motif cups and they fit in perfectly with the color scheme.

Before the main course,  the guests munched on grapes, crackers, cranberry cinnamon goat cheese, sharp white cheddar, and an English Wensleydale with cranberries.

The other tin was also purchased in England in 1998.  And this one portrays Kensington Palace.

Here's my overnight baked french toast.  It's so delicious and easy to make.

Here's the fruit and cheese plate again. I used a silver tray underneath a square doily. I bought a package of square doilies for a song from a shop that's going out of business.

The Harrod's teapot always makes an appearance at the Wimbledon Breakfast.

For dessert, a fruit tart on a wire cake stand.

Again the fruit tart.  It was store bought and very good.

This is a lemon zucchini bread.  I had purchased it at the Winchester Farmer's Market the day before the breakfast.

We also had fruit salad of strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. I love my little bluebird bowl.

After all that caffeine, we switched to a Lady Grey decaf tea by Twinings.

In Search of Americana

It's the 4th of July.  I decided to search for America or Americana right here in my own neighborhood. I wanted to see how my neighbor's show their patriotism.

I started with my own home. My upstairs neighbor Penny spruced up the outside of our building with a flag and hanging flower basket. The place definitely looks more homey.

You've seen this barn in the winter through my kitchen window. It looks great in any season and especially on American holidays.

The neighbors who live in the house behind the barn decorated their shed.  This green grass was a virtual lake during some of the torrential rains over the past year.

Big or small old glory waves proudly.  This house is on my street.  Sadly, I have never met the owners. Too busy in our own little worlds I guess.  It would be fun to have a block party. Food for thought!

Little touches of Americana are just as important. A simple flag in a flower basket, sweet!

 Banners are popular in the neighborhood too.  This house is one street over from mine.

The owners of this house painted a flag on their home after 9/11, in remembrance of that horrible tragedy.  It is faded now, just as the memory has faded but will not be forgotten.

This is my favorite house in my neck of the woods. Love the porch. Would love to spend a warm summer's day sipping lemonade on the porch.

I love bunting on a home but you need the right kind of porch to display it. These neighbors have a flair for decorating.

And their garden isn't bad either.  Perhaps they can bring a green thumb to my house which is one street over?

It's a historic home too.  I was inside the house once when it was for sale many years ago.  It has a sleeping porch upstairs!

I also visited the local cemetery.  I was pleased to see the graves looked good and had not been neglected. 

All the flags waving in a warm summer breeze. Life is precious.

And life is good this Fourth of July. It's been a great weekend and the weather has cooperated. What more can you ask for, right?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Where are the kittens?

So we've been feeding Miss Marble for almost four weeks now and there's still no sign of her two kittens that had not been rescued.  My sister and I are sharing the feeding schedule.  Miss Marble is living the high life. Eating premium cat food and sunning herself on the deck of my sister's studio. Everytime we feed Miss Marble we ask her, "Where are the kitties?" Or as my sister says, "Miss Marble, show me the kitties!" Miss Marble is keeping Mum.

The little trickster will even throw us off by heading in the direction of one house, then when she thinks we've stopped watching, she'll head in the opposite direction. I have scoured the neighborhood but no kittens!  They would be at the age where they would be tagging along with Mum.  I don't want to think that something bad happened to them.

It remains a mystery.  In the meantime, we will continue to look after Miss Marble.  She's already looking better than when we first met her.  She's trusting us a little more and eventually she will have a home. We might know a few people who would be interested in her. Of course, all prospective parents will have to undergo a rigorous interview process with us. They will need to provide references and meet with our approval.  We take our job as foster moms very seriously!

Unique Summer Dining in New England

It's Summer in New England!  Finally after one horrendous Winter of 2011, we are seeing warmer temperatures. Time to go out and play and really have some fun. I am such a foodie, my fun always involves eating.

So here are my picks for unique dining experiences in New England.

My first pick is to dine in a lighthouse in Newburyport, Massachusetts.  Here, you can watch the video.




How about dining in a restored train?  Doesn't this look like fun? I think I might like to go on this ride through the White Mountains of New Hamsphire during foliage season although I am sure it is lovely in Summer too.  Here's the link to Cafe Lafayette.


How would you like to eat a farm fresh dinner on the farm?  Then check out the video  http://youtu.be/vyUloLnAEO8Checlk   and their website .

Dinner in a church? Yes, the Belfry Inn in Sandwich, Massachusetts has a restaurant and guest rooms in a restored church. Here's the Belfrey Inn Bistro's website.

Wouldn't you love your very own gondola ride? This one cruises in Providence, Rhode Island and although there's no meal, you can have wine and cheese.  Here's the link.

So which one is your fave? I think the lighthouse dinner and the dinner on the farm will be on

my bucket list!!!

My Kitchen- Making it Personal

                                       

When I bought my condo in 2008, the kitchen looked like this.  I loved the granite countertops and the stainless steel appliances.  I was used to a galley kitchen at my old place so this kitchen was a luxury to me.

Honestly, if I were renovating I'd go for white or cream colored cabinets with a vintage feel. This kitchen was like new so of course I left it as is.  I decided it just needed to be personalized to my taste.

I changed out the fruit print curtains to a black and white toile balloon curtain.  I love the view of the neighbor's barn.  Makes me feel like I'm in the country.

 Next to the refrigerator I set up a caffeination station.  I have my large assortment of teas in the cabinet above this area.  Excuse this poor photo I used flash on it.

I put a cat rug in front of the sink.  The kitties love it.  Oscar like to sit by the fire, does he think it's real?  No he's my genius cat and he knows it's fake.

My latte mugs are right at home at the caffeination station.

One of the walls is used for wall art.  I love that Steinlien print of the woman with all the animals.  I first saw a poster of this at my cat's vet's office.  I ordered mine from Ebay.

Another view of my French themed wall.  There's also a watercolor of a boulangerie on another wall which I neglected to photograph.

I found this vintage label at an antiques fair.  I had it matted in a burgundy suede and framed in gold. It hangs over my sink.

Molly like to use this chair as a step stool for looking out the window.  I have grain sack cushions on the chairs.

Here's another view of the barn.  It's so pretty in Winter.

I have two tea racks. This one is right outside the kitchen in the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Here's the second tea rack.  I bought it from Harney and Sons tea.  I use the bistro set as my kitchen table. When I entertain we use the dining room.  The clock is from Target.

 All set for entertaining friends.  This party had a British theme. I love my little plates from Home Goods. Got them years ago.

My chalkboard platter is from Pottery Barn. It always has a message on it.

I use boxes and baskets for my storage.  This biscuit box is from French Garden House.  Again bought at least two years ago.

Oscar loves the grain sack cushions and they hold up well to scratching.

There's Oscar again, now he's looking out at the barn! This seems to be a popular spot.

All decorations are constantly changed or moved. Except for my Keep Calm and Carry On poster that's to the right in this photo.  It is a constant reminder to always keep calm, don't stress, move on.

Now that you've finished my post you can continue your kitchen tour at Sarah's Modern Country Style.
You will find the links for all the participants there.

Let's Have Fun this Summer

The other day my sister said to me, " I want to have fun this Summer."  She is a teacher so she is out of school for a couple of months. Me? I of course will be working most Summer days although I will take a vacation day here and there and probably a week or so in August.

Her statement made me think about past Summers. When did I have the most fun? And what year was it?Who was I with and what was I doing?  Then as I reminisced, songs popped into my head. When I hear these songs on the radio (they're considered oldies at this point) it brings me right back to those days when I was young and yes carefree.

I made a new playlist based on songs that bring back memories, not all of them are  Summer memories but some are.  Like Cruel Summer by Bananarama, I was heading off to England in July 1984 when this song was popular. Every time I hear it  I think of that wonderful trip and the tumultuous romance that I was leaving behind in the States.

I had my first real romance in the 70's and I remember the song How Long by Ace was playing when 4 of us rode to Cape Cod in my boyfriend's 2 seater Fiat.  This song was also playing in my head when I fell head over heels for another boy when I was still dating Fiat guy. And Best of my Love by the Eagles was playing when the second guy, head over heels guy, told me that he hadn't missed me that much after we'd not seen each other for a while. I was devastated.

Faithfully by Journey was playing on the car radio when I called off an engagement. No, he didn't cheat on me.

Do you remember Boy George from the Culture Club in the 80's? My sister used to love the song Karma Chameleon so naturally I think of her when I hear the song.

And the guy I broke off the engagement to? Well our theme song was Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar. Actually that is probably still my theme song!

When I was a young banker, my boss used to sing Uptown Girl to me.  I was always trying to dress for success and for the job I wanted in those early days of my career.

So feel free to click on the songs on my playlist and take a trip down memory lane. Let me know what songs take you back. And I hope you can make some fun Summer memories in 2011!