Hello Everyone! Take a look at my first blog!
I’ve been in love with dishes since my Aunt Louise gave me my first tea set when I was six years old. I still have it as well as 20 to30 other sets of dishes that I’ve been collecting over the years. Most are antique sets. I love knowing that these dishes have graces the tables of generations of families. I keep that tradition going by using all my dishes as often as possible. I don’t believe in putting them away and saving them for special occasions.
Three years ago I planted wisteria vines from Charleston, South Carolina on my backyard pergola. This spring the vines exploded with thousands of magnificent purple flower clusters. The view on the patio was too stunning for just my husband, Chris and I to enjoy alone. It had to be shared. It also inspired me to bring out one of my favorite sets of dishes.
An antique English china set that I bought at the antique market 10 years ago. They feature wisteria blooms and a gentle fluted edging. Great weather, a beautiful setting and the perfect dishes prompted me to host a Sunday afternoon luncheon for some of my favorite girlfriends.
I sent off an E-vite. (If you haven’t used these yet…..check out our tip of the week.)
I couldn’t resist setting a dress code…”show-up sporting your favorite spring hat!” Of course if you knew my friends then you’d know they are going to show up in some pretty crazy bonnets. But that’s what makes them so much fun.
I love to give parties but I don’t have time to spend hours cooking. So I made it easy on myself and asked everyone to bring a summer dish to share. I made gazpacho. Which worked out perfect since this set of dishes had matching bowls. Remember it’s all about the dishes!!
Here’s the recipe it turned out great! (I added hot sauce to the leftovers and served it with chips the next day)
Ingredients
- 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
- 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 red onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process!
After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.
My friends’ food was equally as impressive. As always, there was way to much! But there is always room for desert. I kept that simple, light and airy just like the weather, lemon sherbet serviced in antique cocktail glasses with a touch of mint from my garden. See this weeks tip on other great uses for mint!
The party started at 2:00pm and everyone brought a great bottle of wine. We had a great time just eating, laughing, drinking and enjoying the party until way after dark.
It was a wonderful way to kick off the season and share time together. You don’t have to have great dishes or blooming wisteria to inspire a party. Your girlfriends are reason enough!
Vicki:
How is the best way to repair an old table that has water marks?
Thanks!
Good morning, Peggy.
Try rubbing milk into the water ring, wipe it off, and polish with a good furniture polish. Thank you for your question and for watching the show.
Dear Ladies love, love ,love the show
I do have a crisis and I am hoping you will be able to help. It is of course the master bedroom. My husband and I have a small chicago bungalow, 3 young growing children and a big dog. I love to decorate and all of the house with the execption of our room is pretty well put together. I constantly edit and try to make good use of our space. until you get to our bedroom. It is right off our kitchen/dining room and is the catch all, sleep zone and office. I would love to make this space more accommodating. And did I mention the deer head!
Plesae help – I’m really stumped
Just this week (week of Dec 14th) I think Tuesday, I caught the last few moments of your program, while trying to chase our 2 year old around. The program included wonderful ideas for controlling water run-off from around the home. I have also been slowly building such a system as well, however I was especially interested in the part about the materials that allow you to catch and collect water run off from under the deck (the rubber liner and easy to cut down spouts). Unfortunately my two year old ran into the room and began sounding off that a snack was required at that time and I missed hearing who the maker/seller was of that product. Please help.
Thanks
Good morning, Jeremy.
The product is Rain Escape. Please visit their website at http://www.rainescape.com to locate a dealer near you. Thank you for your question and for watching the show!
I have my house for sale for 7 yrs now. Should I keep on the market until it sells or should I just take it off for now. The home need lots of changes, carpet, fixtures, cabinets, and more in order for me to stay and be happy in it. I would like to do a lot of the things myself but I do not trust myself and the ability to do it correctly. Are yo guys ever in Michigan? would you be willing to travel to assist me? I am depressed, and I just do not know what I should do. Please help.
Good morning, Gloria.
Okay, let’s look at this situation a different way. Take the house off the market until you have finished fixing it up. You need to give your place an affordable facelift. You didn’t tell me what financial position you are in but let’s assume you have some money ($1,000) to work with. Regarding the carpet, what is under that carpet? Do you have wood floors that could be refinished or painted? Fixtures, I think you are talking about toilets and sinks? If so, these are much more affordable and easier than you think. Buy a good book on bathroom makeovers or attend a class at your local home improvement store. If you don’t trust yourself to do it, ask your Dad, brother, neighbor, friend or boyfriend to help you out. You could offer to fix them dinner or clean their house, do their laundry, etc.…barter, barter, barter! I know you could paint the place yourself. It may take some time, but pick a nice neutral color that is fresh, clean and will lift your spirits. Cabinets can easily be painted. New hardware is affordable and will update the look of your cabinets. Tackle small projects first with an overall plan to fall in love with your home again. When the economy picks up, you can always put it back on the market or you may love it enough to say put for a while! Keep us posted on how it all goes. Best of luck to you and thank you for watching the show!
I stumbled across your show this morning. I loved it. My first love is interior design and anthing that has to do with the home. I’m so glad I came across this show. I will be recording it and looking forward to each segment.
Is there a list of furnishings and materials for each show?
Good morning, Claudia!
We’re so happy you enjoyed the show! There is a list of furnishings and materials for each episode that is made available by selecting the season from the home page (e.g. 2500 series or 2600 series). From that list, you can select an episode by clicking on the episode title (e.g. 2502 A Space of His Own) and the items should appear with an overview of the episode. If them item(s) in question were not available from this list, please email us for more specific information. Thank you for your question and for watching the show.
hi vicki,all the way from HONDURAS .
love you shows,i watch you on casa club tv
just love it,love it.you give me inspiration to be more creative.
you and sloan,keep going.
Good morning, Peggie!
Thank you so much for your encouraging words! We are so grateful that you enjoy the show, even in Honduras! Please be sure to catch this season for more creative solutions for your home. Take care.
I caught one of your episodes today for the first time and you were doing a backyard makeover with an above ground pond. I’m currently trying to do the same thing and you mentioned on the show that you had more video of it going together. I can’t seem to find that one but would like to check it out. Thanks!