A New Soup Tureen

   My creative/art projects have fallen by the wayside temporarily as we get the house ready for fall weather.
   That includes yard clean up and installing new chimney piping for the wood stove.

   But I've also switched the menu over to more fall-inspired dishes.
I love soups and stews and make them at least 3x a week when the weather turns chilly.

   I found this tureen on eBay for....wait for it....$55!!
Its a Danish made, hand painted soup tureen in Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Fluted.
Mint condition - its like no one ever used it!
Had to have it.
   I collect RC Blue Flowers but in the Curved version - but who cares!  When a beautiful Danish soup tureen presents itself for that price, I'm not passing it up because of technicalities!  LOL

   I couldn't wait to get it home - and yes, already used it!  Its pretty big though, and its just the 2 of us.  But it will look spectacular on the table Christmas Day with my traditional lobster bisque in it. SIGH

Kitten Stuey in the background: he is fascinated by candlelight so I have to keep flames up high where he can't reach them!

Violets are Blue...

"We are violets blue, For our sweetness found careless in the mossy shades,

Looking on the ground.

Love's dropp'd eyelids and a kiss,

Such our breath and blueness is."

             James Henry Leigh Hunt

This is a new fabric I designed, I've called Violetta.

I needed to balance out all my pastel blues and white designs with a little drama, a rich blue background!

Blissful Mornings

    I am up at the crack of dawn, or sometimes before....4 AM-ish on most week days.

I  have three students to get out the door for early morning classes. I make breakfast,  pack lunches and help locate missing items like keys and hats, all in a rushed flurry before they are all suddenly sucked out the front door as if in a whirlwind, by 6AM.  I wave to them out the top of the dutch door one last time, shut it, and take a deep breath.

   At that exact moment, it becomes calm and peaceful, with just me, my watchful cats and a quiet house.

That's when my day begins for myself.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to take more time for myself.  Create a more relaxing space for myself to dwell in.   Eat in a prettier space, read more and do more art.

One of my new habits I have been developing in January is to not sit at my computer and wolf down breakfast, but instead, sit at the table and eat slowly, in a relaxed attitude.

Its quite dark out this time of year so I light the candles (which we light every night at dinner, so they are always conveniently on the table), and begin my day with the most important meal of the day - breakfast.

I happened to have plenty of flowers on the table today - left over from my Winter Tea Party I hosted on the 20th, and they add to the ambiance.  Its nice to sit in front of flowers to dine, when outside the typical Seattle winter day is dark, gloomy and wet!

My only "guest" at the table this morning was my tomcat Sushi.  He eased up onto the edge of the table and watched me patiently.  Shortly after taking these photos, I went to the kitchen to get something and came back to find he had inched closer and was about to set his tail on fire as he laid it down over a tealight!  Indeed, the smell of burnt hair rose up in the air as I chased him away.  LOL  Those who live with cats will understand - you cannot keep them off ANYTHING!! 

 Sushi waits, ever so patient...

 Musee Blue Toile chair pads, vintage 1940's Irish linen tablecloth and Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flower's Curved china.

 I light the fireplace sconces up too - with minimal modern electric lights in the dining room, candles light our way through most of the year and makes for a more relaxed, special meal each time.

Taking delight in blue & white

The very talented Carolyne Roehm has a new book out: "A Passion for blue & white". This book is a must for any person passionate about the most classic color scheme of all: blue & white. ( "most classic", in my humble opinion) Soothing and serene, blue is the color of the sky and sea. It's a natural part of our everyday life here on Mother Earth. My love of blue & white influences my every design decision from the way I dress (navy and white), my linens and vases, the dishes I eat off of (Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Curved), to my home's interior decorating scheme. I love "Restoration Hardware's" Atmosphere Blue paint. It's a pale, moody blue that changes hues with the time of day or weather. But it always coordinates beautifully with many different blue shades. Come this spring/summer of '09, my home "Elinor Cottage", will go from a washed-out, pale yellow exterior to the soft "Nordic Blue" from Waverly's paint selection. (with Honey White trim). I also use "Musee Toile Blue" in every room of my house. It's a pattern I never tire of, in a classic mid-tone blue on a crisp white background. Being 100% cotton, it is easy to launder at home and is durable enough to use for upholstery as well as draperies and other accessories such as pillows. Country Curtains sells an entire line of bedding and curtains in this blue toile.
And don't even get me started on blue & white stripes and gingham - love them!
Whether you use blue & white throughout your entire living space or just as an accessory, blue & white will always add a fresh note to a room. What is your favorite shade? here are a few: navy, baby, Atmosphere, cobalt, cerulean, azure, indigo, lapis, royal, sapphire, teal, ultramarine, sky, sea, beryl, turquoise, kingfisher, iris, steel, delphinium, lilac, robin's egg, Parrish, electric, French, Gustavian or denim. I just cannot get enough of blue & white and Carolyne Roehm's new book feeds that passion and reinforces my decision to go all blue & white in my life. Enjoy these images from "A Passion for blue & white". (and get the book! It's well worth it)

Tea and Strawberry Cake

As I gazed out the window a few Sundays back, watching the cold rain pelt my spring flowers (this IS Seattle!) I thought "What could be better on a day like today then tea and cake?" A cozy fire in the fireplace, sleepy kitties scattered about the room and warm tea with strawberry cake.

I found a delicious cake recipe on Paula Deen's show on the Food Network. Here it is in case you'd like to make it:

CAKE:
1 (18.25 oz) box white cake mix
1 (3 oz) box strawberry-flavored instant jello
1 (15 oz) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 (9") round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed starwberries, eggs, oil and water. beat until smooth. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on racks.
STRAWBERRY CREAM FROSTING:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup pureed sweetened strawberries (about - maybe slightly more)
1/2 tsp strawberry extract
5 cups confectioner's sugar
Combine all ingredients until smooth and frost the cake when it's cooled. Use some frosting in between layers to hold top and bottom sections together.
Decorate with fresh sliced strawberries or edible flowers, if desired.
The few changes I made were to bake 5 minutes more and to use raspberry extract as I could not find strawberry extract. It all worked out fine!

TEA: I love Trader Joe's English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast teas. On this day I used English because the flavor is milder. They are both rich and tasty though. I mixed in a tbsp of rich amber-hued honey per tea bag, directly into the tea pot. I also provided fresh sliced lemon to put in each cup. I love this combination so much, I have given up coffee and now carry a thermos of this tea mixture with me to work every day.

I collect Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Curved porcelain so naturally, that's what you get your tea in when you come to my house! The pattern is very romantic and fresh and has a lovely embossed swirl pattern along with a scalloped edge to plates.

Cheese: I love me my savories and being a native of Wisconsin, cheese is my first choice.
I offered up 2 choices of English cheddars; one flavored with wine and the other with Irish whiskey. They countered the sweet tea and cake perfectly. I served the cheese on a lovely old chintz plate I found at an antique shop in Snohomish, WA.

With a couple of warm blankets and comfy down filled pillows on the sofa, we were comfy, well fed and quite satisfied for the rest of the day!