Thanksgiving Dinner Preparations

In the midst of preparations for my sale, my house suffers. Laundry piles up, boxes are stacked all around, dishes remain in the sink and nothing really gets more than a quick clean.

With Thanksgiving dinner this Saturday, I've been spending my time trying to bring order back to our home.

Along with cleaning, there are some other preparations I'm very much looking forward to:

Baking my pies, setting the table, arranging a centerpiece, and of course preparing dinner itself.

Tomorrow I will be doing a deep clean of the house. Sickness didn't effect me enough to believe that my house will remain in such order until the weekend, but at least the morning of I know I will simply need to do a light clean.

I've also taken out my silverware to give it a quick polish, brought down my table linens to be washed, planned my menu and written my list for the market.

I know that a lot of people can't be bothered with such details. After all, they aren't necessary for a wonderful time together. But I personally enjoy the preparations nearly as much as I enjoy the dinner itself.

I feel much more relaxed as things start to declutter and return to normal.

I think this year I might include some of my brown transferware and use them as serving pieces.

My mom and I have been collecting silver-plated tea and coffee pots, as well as cream and sugar sets. They are planning on including a small tea room area in their shop and so we've been putting a collection of serving pieces together. These are my particular favorite.

On another note, last weekend I went to sale by Oliver and Rust. Meg, the proprietor, did a wonderful job! It's always so nice to find someone who chooses pieces that you yourself are drawn to. I found this antler and this beautiful framed watercolor painting. It's a cozy rural scene and it matches my other frames in my living room perfectly.

I also picked up another pair of beautiful brass candlesticks. These will be used in my table setting as well.

Kitchen Shelves and New Peonies and Roses

This morning I dusted off my shelves in the kitchen and moved things around a bit.

I've been browsing Etsy for some pieces of brown transferware to tuck between the white serving ware come the Fall, and I have my red transferware for the Winter. I think for the Spring and Summer however, I will keep the shelves simple and white. 

As you can see, I'm clinging to the last of my beautiful Lilacs which are nearly finished. Actually, they are most definitly finished, I just can't quite bring myself to get rid of them just yet. There's the tiniest bit of life still left in them. I will prune them this weekend to promote new growth for next Spring. 

While at the grocery store yesterday, I browsed through the garden center looking for something to fill a bare spot in my front garden. I was so excited to discover they have two varieties of David Austin roses! I've wanted to order some for a couple of years now, but haven't quite dared. As the spot I needed to fill was in full sun, this would be the perfect addition.

I purchased two shrubs called Winchester Cathedral. Their beautiful double blooms are white with hints of pink. They are very fragrant and have a classic rose smell with hints of honey and almond blossom.

This is what they will look like once blooming. It was exciting to see quite a few buds on the shrub already. I haven't kept any roses in the garden so I've been researching how to care for them.

I also purchased another variety of white Peony that I don't have in my garden. It's a double peony called Gigantico. It will look similar to the Duchesse de Nemours (above) and Bowl of Cream varieties.

Our peonies are full of buds and the ants are busy helping them open into beautifully fragrant blooms.

I can't wait for everything to open fully. It's always nice to be able to have clippings from the Peonies and Hydrangeas around the house. I had to laugh because it reminded me of the flower show in Season 1 of Downton Abbey. I thought it was such a quaint idea - an award for Best Bloom in the village.

A Collection of Red Transferware

I'm so excited to finally get to share with you some beautiful pieces of red transferware that I've been assembling over the past couple of weeks.

I have quite a large collection of white ironstone pitchers, as well as a few tureens and serving dishes and until now, I've kept my dish collecting to just those few pieces.

However, every time I browse through an antique store, I can't help but be drawn to the pieces of transferware in their pretty shades.  Putting together a collection would be quite hard in this area and though there are so many lovely pieces online, shipping can be so expensive.

Then I came across an ad for a collection of transferware in the local classifieds and immediately inquired. A son was selling his late mother's collection from her estate as the family no longer had any use for the china. Most of it (the "Woodland" pattern by Woods and Sons) was purchased here in Canada, but a few pieces (the Mason's "Vista England") that are worn and old, but still lovingly cared for, are what is left of her set that was brought over from Germany almost 100 years ago. Though I'm always hesitant to believe the history of any piece I buy (I'm sure it wasn't quite 100 years...), I still found this one to be a charming idea.

Regardless, I couldn't be happier with my new collection. I can't possibly keep all of it as there were over 80 pieces altogether, but I have set aside a set of 6 and a few extra serving pieces.

I've begun listing the remainder of the estate in the shop which you can purchase here.

THE GROWER'S DAUGHTER

The platter in the back is one of the old Mason's transferware pieces, along with the small pitcher to the right. 

Set of Four Demitasse Cups and Saucers - $20.00 

Set of Six Bone Dishes - $25.00

Set of Two Serving Bowls - $35.00

Set of 4 Soup Bowls - $30.00

This was one of the most exciting parts of the collection. There was a set of four serving platters (see the platter in the top photo). There is a small, medium, large and extra lager platter in the set. These are the four patterns depicted on each starting with the smallest (top left) to the largest (bottom right). They are stunning and would make a gorgeous wall display!

Do you have anything in particular you collect, or would love to start collecting?