Chicago Botanic Garden and Antique Show

Yesterday was an inspiring day.  Jill and her sister, Nancy, and I had breakfast, then headed for the annual Chicago Botanic Garden Antique Show.  It was a delight to wander through the show and just look at carefully edited displays of antiques for the home.  Some of the most beautiful urns were assembled for the show and filled with gorgeous flowers.  One of my favorite booths was a store called Leftovers, located between Austin and Houston in a small town called Brennan.  The first four pictures show the unique home accessories that they were selling. I'll have to send my friend Mariterese to check out their 10,000 sq. foot store!  There was lots of silver to contrast the crusty old garden elements- love the white roses in the silver samovar.  Picture number 6 was a clever way to create a gazebo effect in your yard without actually building one.  Notice the trellis backed stools placed around the table, creating this romantic setting by Craig Bergmann. (Gosh I miss his wonderful store.)  As you entered one of the tents, there was a romantic communal style table of white china, silver, boxwood and grass covered benches- to die for gorgeous!  Kimball and Bean"s booth was a delight for the eyes with the Venetian statues guarding the entrance of their dramatic black and white display.  but my favorite booth was the last 2 pictures - the over scaled crusty urn of flowers on the antique pine table in front of the huge zinc pier mirror.  It was simple, edited  with only the best elements and stunning!   What a fun day- we came away inspired and ready to create our own little versions of the displays!

Marie Antoinette Pastry Stands

We are in the process of getting ready for a home tour the first week of May. Romancing the Home has been assigned to a gorgeous French styled home and we are so excited. This is a large home tour of 4 beautiful homes to raise money for the local school district. For this tour, we will be designing 4 different tablescapes and have decided to use Marie Antoinette as our inspiration. We will stage a tea party under a tent on the back terrace, a pastry shop on the gorgeous kitchen island and a dinner in Paris, set in the formal dining room. Sunday, Laurell and I started on the props for the pastry shop. We cut the legs down on a coffee table to make it the proper height for a pastry stand. Next, after a coat of black paint, Laurell gilded the edges. It will look fabulous filled with cakes, cupcakes and pastries on the kitchen island. To accompany it, we gilded bird cage cake stands and metal cloches, then embellished the edges and details with rhinestones. (We used E6000 glue to add the rhinestone trim. It works great, adheres quickly and dries very clear.)Small decorated cakes will be placed under them for the event. Stay tuned with us, as we share our projects for this upcoming event. It's going to be a decadent Marie Antoinette Soiree!

Linens for Romantic Everyday Life

We have just received many new table linens that are meant to be used and enjoyed everyday. That means- no ironing- just wonderful linen that is meant to be wrinkled and used! So use them for everyday dining, throw them in the wash, dry and then use again and again! I must say that my very favorite is the new table linen collection from Bella Notte- especially the whispery muslin with the large ruffle edge. The first picture shows the fabulous hand towel- so romantic and pretty for everyday use! The white ruffled linen napkins with the velvet band are from Pom Pom and are charming. To launder, simply wash and then slightly dry. Remove from dryer and lay on counter and press out wrinkles and fold. The red and tan napkins are less expensive, but have a great look. Again, just damp dry and push out the wrinkles with your hands. The bronze monogrammed towels are available with all initials and are made from vintage French linens. They are exquisite and perfect to use as napkins, bar towels or hand towels in a powder room. Finally, the "Bon Appetit" linens napkins are perfect for everyday dining- whimsical and very soft and also launder beautifully. So say good bye to paper napkins forever and enjoy these everyday delights! They add a little romance to that Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner!!!!

Easter Table

Our Easter table finally was complete. My 3 grandson's had been "helping" me with the table, so it took a little longer than usual to complete! Mariano's, a local grocery store had gorgeous spray roses, so we purchased them along with purple stock and wax flowers for our table. Colored eggs, cement lambs and vintage chicks looked whimsical on the table. We arranged the flowers in a container that was the shape of half an egg and filled the other half with reindeer moss and eggs. Vivid floral vintage china dinner and salad plates and crystal were used for the spring table. The lantern was filled with moss, eggs and bunnies. Natural fiber linen was used on the table for the cloth and we added the white linen napkins from Pom Pom linens. It was a gorgeous 62 degree day in Chicago - perfect for our Easter Egg hunt after brunch! We will be joining Susan at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for Tablescape Thursday.

Easter Table Elements

Lena Benders Gum Paste flowers from her Etsy shop

Found on line from a baking supply company

Last night my grandson, Logan and I began to set our Easter table. We have a lot more to do, but I wanted to share with you some of the fun elements that we are using on our table this year. I have been on a search for pretty gum paste flowers this spring to use on cakes and table decor and have found some beautiful ones on Etsy. Yesterday a box arrived from a fabulous artist in Florida(Lena Bender's Gum Paste Creations) - and I was delighted when I opened them. Her flowers were very detailed and the colors were beautiful. Notice the ruffled petals on the peonies and the color of the morning glories. It is going to be a fun project to figure out how to use them for Easter. Vintage china and crystal from my mother in law are mixed with the wonderful ruffled napkin from Pom Pom linens ( sold at our store). The gorgeous chocolate eggs and solid chocolate rabbit are from Vosges Chocolates, located here in Chicago but available by mail order. We are going to use the large lantern as a vitrine for an Easter scene. The large cement sheep are from our store. The vintage majolica pitcher is filled with apple blossoms which are in full bloom right now- a real treat in Chicago to be here so early and in time for Easter. We will finish our table with more fresh flowers, nests and eggs. Stay tuned for our completed project. Today we will be joining www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for Tablescape Thursday where there will be lots of inspiration for spring tables.

Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine has Awesome Recipes

Have you seen a copy of the new Parisienne Farmgirl Magazine? The photography is amazing and the articles are full of new and interesting information from people who really are experts at the subject. But it's the food pictures that got me really excited! My best friend Lynda, who lives in Atlanta, is an awesome cook ( maybe even a chef in her own right!). On Sunday morning, when the magazine arrived at her "in box", she opened it, read it and decided to immediately make the gougeres. Now let me tell you - she had to get dressed, go to the store to get milk on a "meant to be lazy" Sunday morning. But she was inspired! Look at these puffy little bites of love and joy that she made - I am so sad that I wasn't there to have one. She's making them again this weekend and filling them with Chicken Salad for a small party that she's catering. Check out this divine recipe in the first issue of www.parisiennefarmgirlmagazine.com.