Farmhouse China Hutch - Finished...

Hickory Hill Farm China Hutch

When Handsome arrived at the farm, he carried the last of our china with him. This is the set we purchased shortly after our marriage to be "our" wedding china. I didn't want it damaged in transit, so we kept possession of it ourselves to keep it safe.

We brought the (heavy) box into the farmhouse when he arrived, and I unpacked the contents yesterday. I carefully unwrapped every single piece, and we were happy and relieved to find that everything got here just as it left Florida.

I'd left "place keepers" in the hutch that I removed, and then I started placing the last of our china where I'd imagined it would go.

Farmhouse China Hutch Inside Left Side

The plates standing on the second shelf are our wedding plates. They're Spode "Gamebirds" plates, and they represented the best of both worlds for us. The gamebirds were the outdoor touch that Handsome and I both love, while the floral border was a more "traditional" touch. It speaks perfectly to who we are, and I'm so glad it arrived intact.

Farmhouse China Hutch Inside Right Side

Now, everything is here and it's all in the hutch. Please don't judge. I know I have at least three complete china sets, plus a Scottish tea set and two different Spode "sampler" sets. There are also a few odd, precious pieces, like the little lavender-colored, acorn and oak leaf honey pot in front. It was a gift from my dear friend, Denise.

I've also placed our gamebird glassware - which used to belong to Handsome's parents - in this cabinet. We have used it nearly every day since it came to us thirty four years ago. While it's in the china hutch now, once our kitchen is renovated, it will reside there to use with our everyday sets.

Tom Beardsley Carved Farmer Mouse

Handsome and I also emptied out the cargo trailer he pulled behind him this last trip. It was filled with all of his percussion equipment (which also arrived safely), along with things he needed to have with him for the last weeks he spent in Florida. It also held all our outdoor equipment from our little shed behind the house. Garden tools have arrived just in time!

 

Our little mouse was a present from a talented wood carver and dear friend, Tom Beardsley, here in Wisconsin. We have a number of pieces, all of which we cherish, created by his gifted hands. Sadly, Tom passed while we lived in Florida. It's hard to believe that there will never be a new piece in our collection, and that we'll never share an afternoon or evening with him again. We'll miss him.

By the time we were finished unpacking, we were both tired. I made dinner for the two of us, and then, like Tom's tiny, carved farmer mouse, we decided to put our feet up and relax. It was a fitting end to our first, lovely Mother's Day weekend at Hickory Hill Farm.

Blue and White Bliss...

After Thanksgiving, I gave you a little teaser about my latest acquisitions (here).
Although I promised more about it in that following week, I got a little sidetracked.
Better late(r) than never, right?

Just in time for my Birthday, I got a new set of Johnson Brothers china to add

to my collection of British transferware. I love this set which features castles!

It came with a lovely, little serving dish, too. If we're not using the American

"Memory Lane" everyday set, we'll be using these dishes. Any food looks good

on blue and white dishes...and blue and white fits perfectly with our decor.

I actually have another Johnson Brothers coordinating pattern for the soup and

fruit bowls, but just realized that I neglected to photograph them. I'll share those

in a random post in the future. I will say that they have acorns in the border!

I also found this antique British Staffordshire china covered serving dish. Whether 

using our blue and white Spode Wild Bird Hunt set or the blue and white Johnson 

Brothers set, this serving dish will be a standout complementary piece on our table.

The pattern on the inside of the dish also coordinates with our other patterns.

These pieces are all antiques that I've had for years (and the new

serving dish fits right in). They're on display shelves in our kitchen.

I love having them where I can see and enjoy them every day.

I was talking with Aunty Margaret recently and found out that we both

share a love for blue and white china. I never realized that, but was

happy to know. It seems the older I get, the more she and I have in 

common. The fact that we were both born in England was just the start.

It's time to say "goodbye" to all the Hull Brown Drip Ovenware

dishes and serving pieces I have. They're wonderful, and have been

a part of my life since I first moved out of the house at eighteen, 

but I'm looking forward to someone else enjoying them.

What's your favorite pattern or style?

I'd love to know!

Tea and Transferware...

Thanksgiving Day is over. The leftover turkey and trimmings are in the refrigerator. Dishes are washed and put away. Today, I'm going to sit with a cup of tea and contemplate the past year, as I plan my strategy for my annual Christmas projects. It's hard to believe that Christmas is less than a month away. I'd better get crackin' soon!

My original Wednesday post was going to tell you about my English transferware and my latest acquisitions, but that can wait for another day. I did manage to find this plate, which was on my "must have" list. I even found a second one (same pattern) in red/white to go with my Memory Lane (American) transferware set. (Thanks, Denise, for starting my Memory Lane set for me. We now have a service for 4 of that pattern with the lovely acorns and oak leaves to use everyday!)

This iconic image of John and Priscilla Alden graced our dinner table yesterday for the first time, and will now serve to remind me of Mom and my first Thanksgiving without her. Don't worry. It won't be a sad reminder, but one of happier days and times spent together.

So, I now have this piece to use with my beautiful, antique Spode set, but I also have other new-to-me pieces I'll save to show you next week. I need to take more photographs first. Today, I'll make that cup of tea, make my lists and count my blessings.

Look What I Won...

One of my favorite blogs to follow these days is Nancy's Daily Dish.

I love transferware and have two full (different) sets that I use all the time. 

This set  (Memory Lane with acorns and oak leaves) for everyday, and my 

blue and white Spode wedding set for Sunday dinners and special occasions.

Nancy's Daily Dish gives me that regular "fix" of beautiful dishes and I learn

more about transferware from her knowledge and ever-changing collections. (She

 also has a SHOP selling gorgeous pieces, sorted by color! Purple is stunning, btw.)

I happened to read her post about her current favorite treat in this post, and saw

 that she was offering an assortment of Almondina™ biscuits to her readers. 

It took me a while to get to the "giveaway" part because I spent a lot of little

time exploring the photos from a past Home Beautiful photo shoot she featured.

 All that blue and white, along with beautiful decor, sidetracked me again!

I got all the way down to the bottom of her post to find that I would be the first

commenter.  I know. Who ever wins if they have #1? In all the time I've been

blogging and offering giveaways, I think the Random Generator has only picked

 the #1 name once or twice. I left a comment anyway and hoped for the best.

  Well, I saw on Nancy's Facebook page that "Brynwood Needleworks" was picked! I hurried over to her blog to confirm that I'd really won. (here) and then I sent  her an email. I was tickled to try her treats and babbled away on her FB page. (BTW-If anyone knows where I can find a pilgrim plate like the first one in Nancy's post, please let me know! It would fit right in with my Spode set!)   I soon received an email from Frank Gelman at Almondina™ and my favorite UPS driver delivered my package late last week. I brought them inside, made a cup of tea and snapped a few photos so I could write this post for you. Then, I sat down and enjoyed my first taste of my Original recipe Almondina biscuits. They are biscotti, but guilt-free. They are tasty, thin biscuits loaded with  texture and flavor, and they're perfect for an afternoon tea break at Brynwood. In case you're interested in tasting Almondina biscuits for yourself, here's a link to their website. (I'm actually hoping that Frank reads this and sends me an email offering an assortment for my own giveaway for my Brynwood friends! I'm  actually raving about these delicious biscuits with no prompting or compensation!)   Thank you again, Nancy!  Thank you for your lovely, inspirational blog and for your delicious giveaway.   Take a minute or two to visit Nancy's blog (the bold-faced, italicized type words in my post are links.) Just know that you might get hooked like I did!