Summer Tea Time

A little tea in the garden with a sea theme.  

The little teapot has rope around the word tea and it looks nautical.

"To Die For Blueberry Muffins"  by Shirley of Shirley's World recipe here. 

You should have smelled the kitchen when these were baking! Yum.

 I will link this to all these tea parties:

Tea Time Tuesday at Lady Katherine Tea Parlor. 

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage.  

Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites.

Tuesday Tea For Two at Plumed Pen 

Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday at Silken Purse
Three or More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner.
Tabletop Tuesday  at Marty's A Stroll Thru LIfe.

Red, White, & Berry

I played with the red, white, and blue theme last Thursday for a tablescape.  I went to the grocery this weekend and I knew I had to pull out the dishes again!  We are so lucky to have all this amazing food during the summertime in the USA.  It all tastes good.  It is ripe and it smells good too.  The blueberry muffin was a recipe Shirley from Shirley's World posted last week.  She called them "To Die For Blueberry Muffins," and they are.  You can view the recipe here.  Happy Memorial Day and hello wonderful summer!
I am joining Mary for Mosaic Monday at her site Little Red House.  Please go over and view all the mosaic fun.

Go Figure.

We've worked so tirelessly to get the inside of our house feeling good and now all we want to do is go outside. 

Summer's here (ok, maybe not really, but it totally feels like it) and it's time to break out the sprinkler for the little guys to play in!!  I found this awesome vintage (I think) set of black iron outdoor patio furniture this week at Lucketts and I can't wait to bring it home in our truck today!!  It's really not at all like this one from High Society below (it has  much straighter lines)  but its' the first thing I thought of (and my husband too--  poor guy has an awesome memory & I've been filling his head with decorating!!) when I saw the set. 

It has kind of a modern retro-chic feeling that will work really well with the exterior of our {not-so-pretty}70s house.  Here's a photo of it when we first moved in last year. (below)  Enough good things haven't  been done to it yet to warrant an "after" picture.  (But we have moved the neon playset into a less conspicuous area until we can get the wooden one we're after, and the tree debris & drain pipe are gone.)

...The back and sides of our house are still beigey/ "nude" (I love to say that about our house...  it cracks me up) while the front is now a rich gray.  (Still??  Yes, still.)

{My little fern hanging on for dear life}

...  I know the neighbors much just love us...  but hopefully they won't think we're as worthless as we look once we paint the sides & back of the house as SOON as Dave off of work for the summer.  (High school English teacher :)  I can't wait!!  (Both for summer vacation and a fully-painted house.)  

Anyway, the patio set is kind of a combination of these (in black iron) but doesn't have pillows that we can use:

{vintage set}

{image from Maas Brothers recoating...  It has a simlar 'X' back but with a large "O" in the center which is almost exactly the same as the caged lantern in our front entry.  (see photo of entry a few pics up)}

{Crate & Barrel via Hooked on Houses...  It has similar straight, spare lines but it's black. }

I LOVE its size (a massive 3-seater sofa, a chair and a chaise!!) and it has awesome lines, but the paint is peeling off and of course we need to have cushions made.   I can't get the High Society cushions off of my mind but might  go with a solid fabric and do pillows.  (I wouldn't be going pink out there...  but possibly an enlarged "grandma" floral...  I'm also thinking about orange as I love it with the gray on the house...)

We've also got plans to work on the shed/ playhouse this weekend...

Below is a photo of the ceiling all primed & ready for paint...

I set up a Facebook Page for Pure Style Home last night & posted a couple more pics of the shed as it is now.  I'm not quite sure how to really work facebook yet but hopefully I'll get the hang of it.  I'm thinking I will post little updates & progress on projects there.  Not as exciting as "voila" before & afters but I know some of you like to see behind-the-scenes & "progress" pictures.

LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE

Hope you have a happy Memorial Day weekend & get a dip in a pool!!!  If you have some time, check out the new facebook page & send me some thought/tips/ideas!!  (I'm so slooooow with computers/ technology!!)  I'd love to know what you'd like to see on there.

xoxo,

lauren

Foodie Friday: Sandwich Nation

We are a sandwich nation.  America loves to be on the go and it makes sense we want to take our meals with us.  If your on the go for Memorial Day; to the boat, a parade, or any gathering, the perfect meal to take with you is the sub sandwich.

I have a personal favorite and it is the veggie sub on whole wheat.  I have had more experience with the sub than most people.   My BIL's  own a sub/pizza restaurant and I worked there several years.  I thought it would be a good idea to show you how to cut the sub bread.  Yes, the first time my BIL told me he wanted us to cut the bread this way I thought it was strange.  It turned out not to be so strange and I began to think it was a great idea.  Here is how it looks.

1. You take the sub loaf and cut down the right side of the sub bread.

2. You then cut across the bottom.  This cuts half of the sub.

3. You turn the sub around and cut down the other right side.

4. Then you cut across the bottom again.   The rectangular wedge of the loaf should lift out to reveal the shape above. 
You will no longer have your meatballs rolling off of your sub! 

Have a great holiday weekend!  

I will join Michael Lee for Foodie Friday at her site Designs by Gollum.

Vintage Memorial Day Tablescape

I thought vintage wares would make a nice tablescape for any Memorial Day gathering.

Mixing red and white transferware with blue and white instantly gives you the red, white, and blue theme.

Instead of a flower I put a flag in my vintage bottle for a moveable centerpiece.

Vintage souvenirs from a vacation taken years ago make the perfect mug to drink with.

  Berries in season now for our summer tables. 

Pink transferware by Johnson Brothers pattern Old Britain Castles.

Blue transferware by Johnson Brothers pattern Coaching Scenes.

Mugs by Wilton Armetale.

Vintage bottle junking find.

Vintage basket from flea market.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

I will link this to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at her site Between Naps on the Porch.
I will also add this to Vintage Summer Monday at Alabaster Rose Designs.

All around the mulberry bush

As you might remember, we moved into our house about a year ago...  One of the funny things about first moving into a house (especially in early Spring like us before the leaves are out) is that you don't necessarily know what kinds of plants & trees you have on your property.  This past year it's been so great to watch the place bloom around us & to find out what everything is.  One of our favorite "mystery trees" that we saw when we first moved in turned out to be a mulberry tree!

{Mulberries}

And we love to eat them!!  (Things just taste better outside & especially when they're from your own yard, don't they?)  It's so relaxing to head outside at the end of the day & pick mulberries.  I love that we don't have to do anything at all to keep them alive (because my thumb is the blackest of blacks.)

{Christian's getting so big -will be 3 yrs old in July- and can reach the lower branches}

{yum! yum!}

...After we pick them we head to the backyard to the adirondack chairs to relax & enjoy the mulberries ... and forget about how messy our house is, the work that needs to be done, and the craziness of daily life etc.

They're not the cleanest of foods...

{Mulberry-stained hands, feet and face}

...But they sure make us happy...

Chores, work, messes and "things" will always be there... 

Think of what you can do with the people you love to take a quick break from it all.

Savor all the little moments you can.

simple      happy      beautiful      living.

xoxo,

lauren

Whites For Summer

This is a little cabinet we have had in the boys room for years.  It held their storybooks.  My youngest has done away with nursery style decor.  So, I freshened up this cabinet and moved it to my empty dining room.  I am working to restyle the dining room in cottage style.  I touched up the paint a little and I sanded it in a few spots to give it a chippy white paint finish.  Then I shopped the house for linens and placed some sea inspired dishes in it for summer.    

I will be joining:

Kathleen at Faded Charm for White Wednesday.

Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday.

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

Laurie at Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie for My Favorite Things.