Pink Saturday at SuzAnna's Antiques

Pink Saturday post - cute pink things spied while treasure hunting in the last few weeks at SuzAnna's Antiques here in town. Those great gals not only do pink, they have green, yellow, blue and every other color in the Pantone Color Guide.

Pink junk - cute junk!
...........and this is my favorite. No, not the pink chair even though it's cute, the BUGS sign which I definitely would put in my garden if it would ensure death to all mosquitoes........................before they bite!

Note: Other bugs I can handle, and some I even love because they are good for the garden, but mosquitoes have no redeeming value and they ALL love me!

Best wishes for your weekend - hope it's a super one.

Don't forget to visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound to view the list of all today's Pink Saturday participants - lots of fun people to visit.

Friday's Favorite Family Foto

Favorite? Yes. Treasured? Most definitely. This is the family photo I would strive to save in a fire or flood ~ it is the documented piece of my English heritage closest to my heart.

London, England ~ c. 1915

This amazing lady is my maternal grandmother, Olive Elizabeth, b. 1886 in London. Within a space of four years, following her marriage to my grandfather George, she bore five children! The eldest daughter, my beautiful Auntie Madge is on the left with the double hair bows, Next the twins, my dear mother Gladys on the right with her brother Edward. Then a second set of twins, the girls being held by grandma, Auntie May on the left, and Auntie Edith, the last one to die just a couple of months ago, aged 94.

Edited: Deborah's busy schedule will prevent her from actually hosting FFFF this week but she says to post anyway if you want....................as mine is ready to go, here it is!

Using Unusual Urns

My dear friend Vanessa at Vanilla Lavender wants to see your urns!

You don't have urns? Please don't say that because you'll make me feel strange, peculiar, the odd one out! On taking inventory of my urns I was certainly surprised to find I had so many. I already knew there were a few dotted around....................actually several. I LOVE urns of every description and have been gathering them for many years. Perhaps I was a Roman, maybe even an Etruscan, or some such urn using, urn loving being in another life.

If you've visited here before you'll remember I have a heavy iron urn at the cottage door, above. It held fresh and lovely hydrangeas for the recent Spring garden tour hosted by Cielo at The House in the Roses.
Below you can see a very large urn holding a conifer - this is the molded resin version now very popular as they are easy to move around and quite affordable. There's no way I could ever afford one this size made of iron!

This is probably my favorite - very old iron, has even been repaired to reattach both handles, these may not even be the original handles to this urn. I move this one around - last Summer is was on the front porch holding seashells. ...........then it moved to the French style guest room after the makeover in February.......................and now it's in the living room holding some lovely vintage balls of cotton and bits of lace for the Summer.


The resin urn below is now in the guest room on the small chest. It spent the Winter in our master bedroom because it's a true blue-grey shade and matched the wall paint. More cotton lace and vintage thread, a grapevine ball, and note the lovely doily crocheted by my cousin Sue in England.



This is a matching pair of very old heavy iron urns at each corner of my pine armoire. They are slightly rusted and the coloration is lovely with the honey shade of the wood. The Italian ceramic urn on the shelf is part of my collection of Tuscan dishes and serving pieces.


On my mantel there are small matching stone urns at each end. Recently I stripped the topiaries of their faux ivy ~ I like this iron look better.

These two concrete urns are a little more contemporary. I like their huge iron rings. The French Jardin china pot on the lower shelf even looks a bit like an urn too.

This tall urn, also made of concrete, has four interesting lion heads. It stands on the dining room table holding woven or grapevine balls, and at Christmas I like to jazz it up with sparkly glass ornaments, garlands etc.


Last, but by no means least, I love this stone urn on my kitchen island. Probably the most useful of my urns, it holds my wooden cooking implements, spoons, rolling pin etc.

I'm sure there are a few more urns hiding out in the garden - but these are my special ones. Vanessa wants ideas about what to put in her urns so hope you will share yours.

Now just don't ask me about soup tureens!!!

Best When Fresh

Early morning in the garden, the humidity wraps one in a damp blanket on opening the door and stepping out into a green world. Up early, I drifted past the large flower pots along the front path, an early rising bee was busy at the Lantana.

In the side garden, and raised bed, the vegetables are struggling, not unusual here in the hot and humid Summer weather of the Southeast. I picked a fistful of perfect haricots verts dangling from the bamboo tepees...............spied some delicate yellow squash needing a few more days of sunshine before harvesting..............firm green tomatoes are expanding their waistlines as they call out for more water..............and, best of all right now, the heat loving herbs are growing rapidly both in pots and beds.

My first picked bunch of Napolitano Mammoth-Leafed Basil.

"Napolitano has absolutely huge, light green, crinkled, savoyed leaves. Richly flavored, these mammoth leaves are perfect for serious pesto makers - height 24 inches".

That's me, a "serious" pesto maker! Off to stock up on Extra Virgin Olive Oil, pine nuts and walnuts.

Dreaming in Damask

For many years, before being permanently attached to a digital camera, I was taken prisoner by a sewing machine! How could the daughter of a seamstress to Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother, not have genes passed along which made fabrics and thread more important than tea and crumpets!

One of my great loves has always been beautiful patterned, textured damask fabric. I was always seeking out a yard or two to turn into a pillow, table cover or curtain, and quite often to cover the lampshades I made. I may be a cottage gal but I guess my decorating style is somewhat eclectic. I enjoy mixing different styles and textures and believe one should live with what one loves. I'd like to share a little history of this truly romantic woven fabric.

A pile of damask patterned fabric remnants I've used over the years ~ on my damask upholstered chair that sits at the top of the staircase.

In the Middle Ages, handwoven linen in original damask patterns was imported from Damascus, Syria, thus the name Damask. Jacquard weave, was named after French inventor, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, who invented the loom attachment in 1801, allowing patterned fabrics such as damask and brocade to be produced much more efficiently.

Damask is a textile that combines warp-faced and weft-faced twill or satin sections and is always reversible. Traditional damask has always been white-on-white. Prior to the 19th century, damask was the only linen fabric used in the dining rooms of the elite. After the 1920's it became more affordable. Colored damask was used in the late 19th century, but only for informal luncheons.

Damask linens with figures are unique and very collectible. Floral designs are the most common and easily obtained. The finest damask was produced in Ireland, Italy and France and it was the linen of royalty. Today mass-produced damask fabrics of other blends are readily available and, although not precious like the antique linens, can still be beautiful when used for many home decorating projects.

My sofa is upholstered in a cream traditional patterned damask used on the reverse side. I prefer this as it's a more matte finish and looks less formal. I purchased extra fabric and made large cord edged pillows, reversed to the right side which adds a little more texture and interest.

Above and below are lampshades I've made using two silk damask fabrics. Large shade above on my old somewhat funky lamp base ~ picked up at a consignment shop years ago ~ and the small shades on the dining room chandelier below, are an embossed type of damask which was actually a wedding gown fabric. The other lamp below is dressed with a beautiful tissue weight silk damask, again purchased in the bridal fabrics.

Dining Room chandelier decorated with a silk and crystal garland.

Next time, a new take on damask and brocade.

An Open Book

Realization that my granddaughter Jasmin, who spends a lot of time with me, is beginning to 'have an eye' for special things, makes me happy. I've taken her treasure hunting all her life - well she toddled along beside me, whether she knew what loveliness her young eyes beheld I don't really know. Now, a pre-teen, I've noticed she picks up items carefully and looks at them with a smile. She brushes her fingers across the yellow keys of old pianos wishing she could take one home to play, then throws an old feather boa around her shoulders and strikes a roaring twenties pose. She sorts through piles of mother-of-pearl buttons finding the big ones she knows I love, then gently slips on vintage rings and bracelets, hoping to add to her own collection of 'precious jewels'.

At SuzAnna's Antiques - June 2008

Yesterday, she stopped at the dining room table and looked at this old book written by a Romany Gypsy. I'd folded the pages to give it a new dimension.
"That's neat - actually it's really nice Grandma, what a good idea...................I like it".

In the eye of the beholder ~ life is an open book.

PARIS Pink Saturday II

The amazing Jeannie not only stocks a shop of her own in another town, Uniquitiques in Hillsborough, NC, but also brings beauteous French inspired treasures to SuzAnna's Antiques where I snapped these pics. She stocks her booth with irresistible items, the latest being these cowgirl hats with built-in tiaras. Anyone ready for a hoe-down or Texas Two Step, French style!!!?

This is such a pretty chair and I wanted to bring it home but just don't have a spare inch to park it ~ that pink damask seat with a double corded edge had me sighing, I love damask fabric.

A French inspired tiny chandelier ~ pink crystals and perfect for a young girl's bedroom. If only I was a young girl with a pink bedroom!!!!

Here's another of Jeannie's Parisian tags attached to the cutest gift she left for me, a truly feminine garden trowel with a pink foam handle (thank you so much Jeannie - you're always so generous). The two Bridge sets - small scalloped table cloths and napkins in pink and white linen - I did bring home and will use at teatime. Couldn't resist another German glass glitter PARIS sign too.


Hope Pink Saturday is a great day for you.
Be sure to visit Beverly at How Sweet The Sound
our truly fabulous Pink Saturday hostess - she will have a list of links to all the fun pink blogs!