Paradise Found

We've all heard "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues."
Well "It ain't necessarily so." It just depends on the song!



Sing a different tune and find your paradise.



I found mine in this blue rose fifties print tablecloth!




I don't know what I was thinking when I failed to get the BEFORE picture. It would have been fabulous!



Take my word for it, the stains were the worst I've seen. I did long soaks with my usual treatments and they didn't work. So out came the big guns!



Chlorine bleach! Everything you read will tell you not to do this. But if there's no other way . . .




I've done the no other way a few times and often been happy with the result. It's probably one of life's lessons now that I think about it.




So when you're done with your no other way things today, I hope you get a chance to cozy up with something cheery and fun!










Here's to finding your paradise!
Ciao! for now!
Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!

Jacqueline


I'm joining Smiling Sally for Blue Monday
House in the Roses for Show Off Your Cottage Monday
The Tablescaper for Summer Sundays
Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

A Pink Saturday Surprise

I got the loveliest surprise in the post today!

A gift from my sweet long time friend and pen pal Kay!

The first time I met Kay we both may have still been in our twenties! She always had a baby girl on her hip. She was a gorgeous soft spoken LADY from the south, skinny, with waist long dark hair. I don't know why I didn't hate her for that immediately! Ha!



We have spent all the years since then talking philosophy, family, books and magazines, and decorating, sometimes from a very long distance away, as we still are now.



She's the kind of girl to remember your birthday even when you have mostly forgotten it yourself! I haven't seen this darling tissue paper around, but it looks suspiciously like Rachel's. Somebody we both love! But doesn't everybody? And tied with a sweet pink satin ribbon! Made my day!!



The gorgeous serving bowl I discovered inside matches the Bird of Paradise dishes I posted about last week! Kay reads and comments effusively on all my posts!



How's THAT for paying attention? Look how fabulous it looks with my plates!

Thank you so much Dear Kay!
Here's to starting on the next thirty years! Love, J.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Ciao! for now!
Hope you stay in the pink this Saturday!

Jacqueline

Visual Feast

The first time I laid eyes on this creamy china all I could say was YUMMY!!



It's the perfect shade of white for me, and I almost never manage to find it.




The subtlety of the roses suits me as well, so I decided to play up the creams and keep the pinks only suggestive.




In fact it's only when you sit down that you notice roses at all!




To punctuate the pink, I had a potted daisy on hand and dressed it in a linen towel for the table.




A candle and small pitcher round out the centerpiece.



The details of this Whitechapel translucent thermoware, as the back stamp has it, are fabulous! The fancy rims excite the pattern.



I have a mixed vintage group of glasses to accompany the matching dishes.



And monogrammed silverware that echoes the fluted edges of the china. This was a find rather than an heirloom. I would love it anyway, but the monogram fits!



I'm always looking for ways to use tags from Cavallini and Co., and these bird motifs are perfect today for either favors for my guests or place tags.



But the table linens are as big as part of the show as anything in this setting.



I used nubby off-whites to compliment the creamy tones of the china. This woven linen table square covers only the table top.




An even heavier linen weave skirts the bottom.



Best of all are the puffy napkins used, which are really antique damask linen towels!




I photographed the drape of them on the table to give you a sense of their size. You are seeing them folded in half! A luxurious napkin goes a long way toward pampering dinner guests.





Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch
My Romantic Home, Show and Tell Friday
Funky Junk Interiors, Saturday Nite Special

Vintage Picnic

My picnic hamper is always close by (I use it to store empty egg cartons--we have chickens--on the top of the fridge). But it's nice to haul it out for a picnic now and then.



I know I keep saying "this is one of my favorite WHATEVER", but I really do have a thing for vintage linens so you can see what kind of trouble I'm in with them. But I love applique embroidery work and this flower pot of ivy theme really sends me!



I came across a box of 500 doilies at the thrift store--I think they must have been from a restaurant supply--mine now! I use them everywhere.



Strawberry picnic ware.



Recent vintage chicken towel, but oh so cheery!




Here's a full view of my little polka dot pot tablecloth.



And 5o's print cherry table cloth--One of my favorites! What can I say?!




Thanks so much for popping over to see me! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Linking with It's a Very Cherry World for Rednesday
Work of the Poet for Ruby Tuesday
Coloradolady forVintage Thingie Thursday
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Favorite Things Saturday @ Bargain Hunting (and chatting) with Laurie

Too early for melancholy

Back lighting instead of backhanding.


Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Linking with Wordless Wednesday

A Few Shop Details

A lot of people remark about all the white in the shop, but as you can see there is plenty else! I like all white schemes, but I like classic finishes too. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Linked with Faded Charm for White Wednesday!