New Antiques for the Store

Last week, Lynda and her Atlanta friends, Donna and Debbie, came to visit for a couple of days. As all of us are avid antiquers, we spent the days searching antique malls, stores and thrift stores in Wisconsin! That gave me the time to re-stock the store with some fun new antiques. Several themes seemed to emerge - the old Tuscan kitchen with vintage European linen dish towels, open cloches - perfect for encasing a vase of garden roses-, bone knives and forks, pressed glass and several great pieces of ironstone. A collection of mother of pearl knives - perfect to mix with silver plate flatware and a grouping of gold, white and crystal compotes and stemware is the start to a great display for the Christmas season. Gold Italian tables and candle sticks will be additions to this collection. All of this is stacked on my dining room table, ready to be washed, priced and loaded for the store. There are many more great finds to share from this trip tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Remnant of the Past

Al Capone hung out at Hawthorne House in the mid 1920's. It was said to be his headquarters when he moved to Cicero, Illinois. That historic old building was torn down and some of the architectural details were salvaged. While at a flea market today, I was immediately drawn to the face of the lion - the same architectural detail that once graced the high roof line of Hawthorne House. The antique dealer that had salvaged the 113 lions on the roof line was selling them at the flea market! He shared with us the pictures of the building and a little bit of the history. As my last name is Hawthorne, I knew I had to have a little piece of Hawthorne House. And as they were so beautiful, I purchased several more to have in the store. They would look great as book ends or as a piece of art on a mantle. These architectural gems , no longer used in modern construction , are now enjoyed in a new way. When I arrived to my home from the day of antiquing, I googled Hawthorne House and Al Capone and read a little more about the "goings on" at Hawthorne House. Check out www.chicagocrimescenes.blogspot.com/2008/11/capones-ciero-headquarters.html. to read more about the machine gun attack on Capone while having lunch at Hawthorne Inn. If only the lion could talk!

Garden Roses

Finally we have roses blooming in the garden. Mixing the different varieties from a garden is much more pleasing to me than getting a dozen red roses in a vase. I love placing the roses in unique containers such as this old culinary trophy from 1932.
I love the old fashioned David Austin roses, but Mr. RTH loves the tea roses. They mix together pretty well I would say!

New Orleans is Getting out of the Bucket!

It all started with her "bucket list", things she wanted to do before she couldn't! My best friend is turning 60 in a couple of weeks- yikes- we met when we were in our twenties! So I had to plan an over the top birthday for this special year. Last night I gave her the first installment of her birthday gift- clues to where we are going. Gold envelopes were labeled with clues that are unique to this beautiful American city, lagnaippe, Sazerac, Marie Laveau, Restaurant August, Bayona, Alexa Pulitzer. The envelopes held menus, shopping hints and history about the city. Next she opened the beautiful stationary from Alexa Pulitzer, a very talented New Orleans resident and finally, the beautiful book by Debra Shriver, Stealing Magnolias - Tales from a New Orleans Courtyard. Alas, she knew where we were going- New Orleans was on her bucket list! I had made the kumquats in orange liqueur from this beautiful book ( the page is open and behind my crystal compote filled with tasty concoction)We celebrate tonight by having it with a little bubbly.

After reading this book, I gained a different perspective about New Orleans, specifically their exuberant entertaining style. And as a added bonus, I had emailed Alexa Pulitzer about carrying her unique stationary in our store, and she called me back and gave me some great inside scoop on great shops, clubs and restaurants ! What a sweet person! We don't leave for a couple of weeks, so if anyone has any other insider info on New Orleans - places to go, see, great affordable antique shops etc. please email me. We want to experience the best of this incredible city, go where the locals go, and get in some killer shopping. We are looking for Old Paris Porcelain, gourmet treats, French antiques and great entertainment. After all, it is the Paris of America!

Screen Porch Refurbished!

This was the year to paint the porch- what a tedious project! But with an empty space and to make the most of a tough situation, I decided to re-decorate! Re-arrange the furniture, change the accessories and get some new outdoor rugs were all on my to-do list. I found that both Ballard Designs and Home Decorators had great outdoor rugs. The one shown here is from Ballard. I accessorized the burlap covered table with a vintage paper mache frog, my collection of resin mushrooms and chestnuts, and a little collection of green glasses- so pretty with tea lights in them in the evening hours. The green and gold tin fans are actually sandwich holders from France - given to me by a dear friend years ago. Both the chair and sofa are covered with outdoor fabrics from Robert Allen, an outdoor velvet and zebra printed chenille. The first roses of the year are in a vintage silver sugar bowl on the coffee table. Now with a pile of magazines and a glass of wine, this porch is the best place to be in the summer.

Late Blooming Peonies

You know what they say -"Better late than never!"

Arriving about 3 weeks late this year, the peonies did finally bloom this week. One of my most anticipated flowers of the summer, the peony is a glorious flower. The scent of the peony adds a heavenly scent through out the house. I love mixing the peonies with leaves of Hobbits Foot. It's grey misty color is a perfect blend with the soft pink and white color of the flowers. Such a beautiful flower only blooms for about 2 to 3 weeks. To continue to enjoy their wonderful fragrance, Nest candles has just introduced a delightful new scent, Blanc Peony! It's scent makes you feel like you still have a huge vase of the scented flowers on your table! Available at Romancing the Home, it's a must have fragrance for the summer entertaining season!

Sea Shell Tablescape

Maybe summer is finally arriving in Chicago- maybe?? So it's time to get out the sea shells! It's a similar rule to the one my mother taught me growing up in Virginia- you can only wear patent leather shoes from May to September and linen is only worn during the summer- same thing for sea shells in Chicago! So what that it's June 2 and it's only 56 degrees outside- They are coming out! This tablescape is one that we set for a home tour that was raising money for our local school district. Yards of fabric that resembled seaweed was draped over the table, while Arte Italica chargers held these beautiful salad plates of natural shell. I think one of the most beautiful things on earth is the nautilus shell and love using it for floral arrangements. Fresh kale, roses, fiddleheads, and baby artichokes were arranged in each shell. Fruit sushi was placed on the shell plate. Pink venetian stemware enhanced the soft pink glow from the shells, while vintage mother of pearl flatware added elegance to this tablescape. A mixture of mercury glass candlesticks with antique crystal shades sparkled on the table. Most of the items on this table are available at Romancing the Home. Be sure to visit www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for other inspiring tables.