♫ ♫ I went to a garden party….♫♫

".... to reminisce with my old friends

A chance to share old memories

and make NEW friends again!"

Okay, so I took a few liberties with Ricky Nelson's song.

We have new residents in our development &

I invited a few of the neighborhood gals

to meet her & enjoy lunch together.

Since the SUN has finally returned to Ohio,

we gathered at the big square table

in the SUNroom.

This is the one that is 60" x 60" &

next to impossible

to find tablecloths to fit.

I used Martha Stewart quilted placemats to start &

layered these beautiful HUGE BLUE

glass plates as chargers with my Antelier.

I found the blue ones on sale at T.J.Maxx

last year but this is the first time

I've had a chance to use them.

They are by Luigi Bormioli

who makes many different lines of gorgeous glassware.

The good old Dollar Tree BLUE stems

looked beautiful in the sunlight &

echoed the colors in the plates.

I had little wine glass stem markers

with various garden themes to them.

Some are garden utensils,

like a hoe, trowel & shovel.

The little salad plates have garden themed

decorations around their rims,

so they coordinated nicely.

Even the cups are decorated with

clay pots of flowers!

There are also wicker baskets &

potted plants as markers, too.

Everybody got a packet of my

favorite seeds to plant...Morning Glories!

Some WHITE & some BLUE.

My grandfather & I used to plant them

every year, after soaking the seeds overnight.

I used my " lipstick plant"

(nickname for a cyclamen)

as a centerpiece in a white

cache pot, decorated with asparagus.

Everyone also took home a BLUE & WHITE

pot with purple pansies to plant in their yard.

They were as close to the BLUE color

that I could find.

I just love their little blossoms...

they look like little faces to me.

I had a few...shall we say

*unusual*

serving pieces, too.

I found these cute little toy

garden tools at Target last year.

I've been saving them for just

such a party!

I ran them through the dishwasher &

yes...you guessed it....

Yep, I did!

Thankfully, everyone laughed

at my humor &

no one was horrified by their use.

(stop back later in the week

for that chicken casserole recipe)

Dessert was

chocolate pudding

with crushed Oreo cookies on top,

better known as

"DIRT"

I also had candy rocks &

gummy worms to add to the

authenticity.

The plastic carrots are filled

with powder candy...

GREEN APPLE

CHERRY

ORANGE

& BLUE RASPBERRY!

Its a good thing these gals

all had a sense of humor!

Various other plants in the sunroom

added to the garden party atmosphere,

since it was still too chilly to eat outdoors.

Thanks for letting me share my

"Garden Party" tablescape.

I wish YOU could have joined us, too!

I'll see you at Cuisine Kathleen's party

"Let's Dish"

on Wednesday at 7 PM

The theme for April 18th will be

"GOOD EARTH"

This post should fit right in!

Susan's Between Naps on the Porch for

Tablescape Thursday

&

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday.

Welcome SPRING!!

The Life of flowers (Жизнь цветов) from VOROBYOFF PRODUCTION on Vimeo

I thought you might enjoy watching this short video that was filmed over several days in the life of different flowers. I found it fascinating to see how they appear to be waking up, stretching out their arms & yawning as they awaken from their long winter's nap.
Be sure to turn your sound up!

My flowers, both inside & outside the house are awake, too!

It is very early for such blooms here in Ohio,

but the recent very warm temperatures...

(record breaking 8o's last week)

have everything off schedule,

including me!

I like to cut a few stems of my hyacinths

to enjoy indoors, as their heady

fragrance can perfume an entire room.

We've have other signs of spring too,

like the daffodils & the crocus.

But the hyacinths are my favorites

at the moment.

I've got some displayed in my antique

French Haviland et Cie Limoges tea or coffee pot,

which I THOUGHT was a

chocolate pot at first.

Due to its diminutive size, though,

& the curve of the spout as well

as the little filtering holes inside,

the antique dealer from whom I bought it,

felt that it was truly a

tea or coffee pot instead.

Around the end of the XVIII century(1780 - 1800) ,

Europeans started preparing chocolate

with milk and sugar to create what we know

today as Hot Chocolate.

In fact the drink became so popular many of the leading

European porcelain manufactures such as Limoges in France began

making specialized pots and cups just to serve chocolate.


It can be difficult to tell the difference between

a coffee pot and a chocolate pot.

The two features to look at are the spout on the exterior of the pot

and the inside of the spout.

Coffee pot spouts are typically long &

sometimes arched.

A chocolate pot has a fairly short spout.

The inside of a coffee pot just before the spout

typically has a filter

(a small partition with holes)

that keeps grounds from getting into the cup.

A chocolate pot would not have the filter.

(mine has the holes)

I don't care...I fell in love with its delicate little

curvy handle & the pretty pink &

purple floral decorations on it.

Chocolate pots can be quite expensive.

Just do a google search on the subject &

you will be stunned at the prices

some of them are going for.

My paternal Grandmother owned one &

since it had the family's initial,

hand-painted in gold leaf on the front,

it was given to my brother.

SOMEWHERE on this computer

I have a photo of it, but I'll be darned

if I can find it right now.

I will edit this post when I do,

so you can see how pretty it is!

In the meantime, I guess you'll

just have to enjoy this one.

Thanks for visiting The Gazebo House today.

I'd gladly make you a cup of hot chocolate

or coffee or tea if you could stop by for real.

I'm joining Marty's party at

A Stroll Thru Life

for Table Top Tuesday

&

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday.

My Smocking Friend’s Tables

I completely forgot that I wanted to share

with you my smocking friend's beautiful Valentines Day tablescapes!

You don't mind seeing them a little late, do you?

Nicole & I gather to smock & sew once a week, along with several other very talented women, who willingly share their ideas, tips & projects.

I happened to have my camera in the car with me

when we met at Nicole's lovely home in February &

she graciously allowed me to photograph her pretty settings.

Nicole is blessed to have inherited some GORGEOUS antiques,

this pair of candlesticks being some of them.

I am head-over-heels in ♥♥♥ with her beautiful dining room!

Swoon!

Her exquisite wedding china is the Lenox pattern,

Monroe from their Presidential series. *sigh*

The burgundy & black bands of color are accented

with gold twisted rope patterns around the rims.

Her crystal stemware, another wedding gift,

is Waterford's Castlemaine pattern.

She has TWO of these gorgeous antique

Imperial Acanthus Leaf carnival glass compotes.

*Drool*

(check out that pretty bolster pillow in the background that she made)

This hammered metal serving tray is from

a well known local artist, Don Drum.

I have a few of his pieces & must remember

to photograph them to share with you soon.

None of mine are as pretty as this one, though!

I love how Nicole used her little ♥ shaped

place card holders to display words from Corinthians 13:4.

And lastly, get a load of these desserts!!!

Aren't they wonderfully yummy looking??

She also made individual little martini glasses of chocolate mousse &

attached a ♥ shaped cookie to the side of each glass.

CUTE!!

"...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Thank you, Nicole, for letting me share your beautiful home!

I'm joining Cuisine Kathleen's newest weekly party

Let's Dish!

along with Susan's Between Naps on the Porch

Tablescape Thursday &

The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday.