New Blues, Dish Overload

I've been in love with china for a long time now. It might have started once when I was on vacation in a small Utah town about forty years ago. There was a little china shop on the main street. It wasn't an antiques store, though there may have been a bit of furniture and a few accessories. It was mainly this dazzling wall of the prettiest china patterns you could ever imagine. I have never forgotten it. and I think I have wanted to have my own little china shop ever since.

It's funny how you gravitate toward things. Blue china is probably near the top of most people's list. But it's only lately that I have been possessed by it. So when I came across this box of English china at a seriously give away price I didn't give it a second thought. There is not a chip anywhere on the pieces of this very old pattern, so someone cherished this set a lot.

It was really the detail inside the cups that enchanted me, but all the details of the design are lovely.

I have collected stray pieces of beautiful blue china for the last few years with the intention of selling it, but the only pieces that have made it into the shop have been things I knew I would never use. Serving pieces and such. And now I have been inspired by the NYC cafe Maman that some of you no doubt know of. Their website link is here.  

Maman serves all their coffee and pastries on beautiful pieces of vintage blue transfer ware china in mixed patterns. But even if you never get a chance to go there, their website and Instagram pages are wonderful to peruse. And I think my family and friends are going to be seeing lots of blue china on our table for a while too!  

"The Thames" by Pountney & Co. Ltd.

I have still more blue patterns for mixing and matching tucked away. I would love to have my own cake and coffee shop!!! (Okay, maybe just go to one. LOL!) 

So what are you dreaming about these days?

I hope it's the start of a great week for you!

Happy April! (No foolin'!)

Jacqueline

Waking Up the Garden

The weather has turned for a few days. It's warm, and the time of year in Albuquerque where there seems to be a clash between the high temperature and the brown leafless landscape. 

Indoors, my now year-old shamrock has given me hope that there may be one or two things that will hang onto life with our very casual gardening. 

Case in point, this paper white bulb rooting outside the door where I tossed it in January!

Parsley has hung on in the patio over winter. . . .

And the chive.

The boxwood is hardy and evergreen and thrives in its pot year after year.

I say that the garden is waking up, but it is more like the garden has woken us up from weeks and months of our sort of indoor stupor. 

And a carpet of periwinkle already greets us with its cheery lavender blue.

The huckleberries have a brief bloom that is easy to miss.

We have a little spot outside our back door with the tiniest bit of earth next to it to sit and watch the birds in the early spring. . .

where lettuce and peas have been planted in little rows. 

A new little pot sits in a cement urn for the moment.

The Iris has been transplanted where it gets more sun.

Just a little spot of solitude for dreaming. Who doesn't need that?

Well that's it from this accidental gardener!

 I hope that you are loving the start of spring too!

So nice that you came by!

Jacqueline

Unsettled Weather

Do you get a little unsettled the week of daylight savings time? Springing forward just seems like one more thing to tilt things off a bit this time of year. 

Anyway, I am needing something green to get me settled down a bit. Spring fever!

I went out to find a few herb-y things for the patio garden and found these cool little pots at Home Depot. They are jardinieres, so I can just plop my ugly plastic pots in them while they are waiting on the window sill. So convenient for watering in place too!

My silver teapot is always close by so I got the idea to use it as a watering can. Very cheery. See? It's already working!

I had to clear out this corner to get some pretty pictures. This bench is all too convenient a spot to catch everything that runs loose around here. But it has the best light, and is perfect for little plants!

I also did something miraculous and caught a few plum blossoms at just the right stage! I always forget until it's too late and then have branch envy all over the internet. They are jaunty as all get out!

I wanted something arty, and it helped when petals dropped when I moved the branches. Made me a little less cranky! LOL!

I also did a bit of rearranging while I was at it, and put my canines all together for effect. Except for little ones, my collection of Staffordshire may now be complete. (Not making any promises though!)

Old shutters are so perfect for vignettes! They are adding a little depth to my daily experience. (Insert a small ironic smiley face here . . . .) (See how unsettled I am?)

I just found this fabulous old brown linen towel with a patch on it too! (Life is good!)

That little framed picture is all the change up I have done in my empty frame so far. (Such a good space for also changing your mind all the time.)

Thanks so much for joining in on my March Madness!

(I feel much better now. . . .) 

Hope it's a great finish to the week for you!

Jacqueline