Back Porch Musings

Bouquets and Bell Jars

A new silk floral arrangement for the coffee table began with a visit to The Flower Petaler, Saint Charles, MO.

I chose six silk stems, at the shop. Two Dahlias, three Peonies, and one green Hydrangea.

The summertime chartreuse pillows, on the sofa, were the catalyst for the colors.

                      A soup tureen serves as a container.

I added bits and pieces from my supplies to fill out the arrangement.

Inspiration was drawn from the Junior League/Traditional Home Showcase Home (Adamsleigh), in Greensboro, North Carolina. The home was toured by several from around the land of blog.

I saw photos of the show home silk arrangements at Shirley’s (Housepitality Designs) and knew I would be looking for just the right silks to put together an arrangement for the living room.

Figurines, from a recent tablescape, complete the coffee table vignette.

While I added and subtracted in the living room, I put together a new vignette for the wine cabinet.

                     View from living room to the back porch.

Information for the chalkboard print can be found at Dear Lillie.

LINKING TO:

HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY

PROJECT INSPIRE{D}

THE SCOOP

INSPIRE ME TUESDAY

CLOCHE PARTY

TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME

WOW US WEDNESDAY

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

BE INSPIRED

Leaves of Three

         Let them be…now is a good time for this little reminder.

We passed by this barn during our Saturday drive on country roads.

All the Poison Ivy photos were from the truck, a safe distance from the Poison Ivy, using a Canon 70-200 L series lens. It is one of my favorite lenses, especially for these kinds of shots. I can get an up close image without being up close.

Flowers and trees and fields look so pretty this Spring. Everything is lush and rich and gorgeous, in our neck of the woods.

These two photos are a hint of more to come. I shot some amazing Locust trees, among other things. I’ll post about those soon.

Other plants in this post include Virginia Creeper, that looks a little like Poison Ivy. Virginia Creeper has 5 leaves.

Meanwhile, I am working on a couple of small projects around the house and photographing them, hopefully for a Monday post.

LINKING TO:

AMAZE ME MONDAY

OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

OH THE PLACES I'VE BEEN

One last photo.

Straight out of camera image. This Geranium, that matches the umbrella, sits on the patio table. It spent the Winter in the basement.

Petals

Rain is expected. Wind and other stormy weather is predicted. Typical Spring forecast for our neck of the woods. It is arriving a tad later, this year.

The light is wonderful; overcast with fog. Time for a drive in the country and photo ops.

These photos were shot this morning (Saturday), around our yard. I hope you don’t mind portrait style photos. The Irises just seemed to call for portrait.

I didn’t plan for a post today, but when I saw these photos, I couldn’t wait to share them.

                   Enjoy your weekend!

LINKING TO:

SEASONAL SUNDAY

AMAZE ME MONDAY

OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

WOW US WEDNESDAY

ARTIST AND ART

Thursday evening we attended an art show and reception at Saint Charles Community College.

Work from students, K-12 Fort Zumwalt District, was chosen for exhibition.

                                                ART

                    Yellow Cat in Water Color and Crayon

                                             ARTIST

                      Grandson Drew, 1st Grade Student

My photos show only a small portion of the incredible work by amazing young people.

We are so very proud of Drew in having his beautifully creative Yellow Cat included.

                                       A MILESTONE

Following the art show we saw grandson Noah graduate Pre-K. He’s on his way to big school. Mommy Kim will home school Noah as she did his big sister Xanti.

LINKING TO:

PINK SATURDAY

MOSAIC MONDAY

AMAZE ME MONDAY

SEASONAL SUNDAY

OH THE PLACES I’VE BEEN

On a design note, notice the gray walls in the gallery. I was told gray is a wonderful backdrop for artwork. Just something to think about.

A gorgeous end to a wonderful day. Sunset on our way home, Thursday.

Cobblestone, Poultry & Posies

I set the dining room table for a farm style breakfast, using Pfaltzgraff Antiqued Hen dinnerware and striped Pfaltzgraff glasses. A mix of white accessories finishes the table setting.

The center arrangement includes this silk peony from The Flower Petaler.

The cloth is from Cobblestone, a shop located on South Main Street, Saint Charles, MO.

Showing a small change in the foyer. I changed the lamp and added the blue and white.

The floral is from The Flower Petaler on Historic South Main Street, St. Charles MO. The basket tray is from Pottery Barn.

The lamp was purchased at a local furniture store. It’s from Uttermost as is the painting above the table. The table is from Hooker, purchased at the same local furniture store.

In addition to the table, for Let’s Dish, I am adding a mosaic for Oh the Places I’ve Been!, for a combined post this week.

Cobblestone Cottage is another favorite shop on South Main in Historic St Charles, Missouri. I bought the cloth for this week’s table at this shop and the candle used in the centerpiece.

Cobblestone Cottage offers Americana and Primitive style furnishings. A portion of the shop is located in an old house. I enjoy browsing this shop and wonder if we should have these sort of furnishings in our home, since we both really like this look.

Bridal Veil Spirea, growing across the street from Cobblestone.

Stone work like this can be seen all around the Saint Charles Historic District. This was inspiration for the stonework on the foundation of our home.

FAMILY NEWS

Youngest grandson Noah is graduating Pre-K, this week. We can’t believe it is that time already.

In other family news, 7 year old grandson Drew has artwork on display at an area community college. We will be going by for a look.

I will have camera in hand for both events.

LINKING TO:

LET’S DISH

OH THE PLACES I’VE BEEN!

SEASONAL SUNDAY

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY

FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

BE INSPIRED

A Farmhouse Kitchen

A package arrived over the weekend, containing the head of a heifer. I’ve looked for something like this for awhile. When I learned that Barb, of The Everyday Home, was going to sell these in her shop, I couldn’t wait to order one.

EDITED: Thursday morning 5/16, I added the platter to the shelf beneath the head. I believe this completes the look I was going for.

The framed photos were above the stove since we moved here in 2003. J took these photos one wintry day many years ago.

They show the lane that led to our home in the back pasture of the farm and cows in the cow lot near the barn.

We crossed a cattle guard entering the cow lot. After passing through the cow lot, we came to the lane. The lane was the evolution of what was originally a path for livestock.

After we passed through the lane and entered the back pasture, we crossed another cattle guard into our driveway. We were about 3/4 of a mile from the main road and our mailbox. For many years we were about a mile from our nearest neighbor, J’s brother’s home, also on the farm. J’s mother was our nearest neighbor until her death in the mid 1990’s. She lived near the main road.

I can’t tell you the number of times I would need to stop on my way in or out of the cow lot, round up calves and guide them back across the cattle guard, after they escaped the confines of fence by leaping across the guard.

It took the UPS guy 20 years to find us in the back pasture. He’s more than made up for it in the 10 years we have lived here.

The inspiration for the stove top vignette is from Housepitality Designs. Shirley and friends visited a North Carolina show house, recently. When I was reading about their tour, I found a photo of a stove top dressed up with a large bowl of lemons. I couldn’t wait to try the idea in our kitchen.

If you would like to take a tour of the home and see the photo that inspired the look, click this LINK.

You will also find gorgeous floral arrangements in the home. I will be using one of those arrangements as a guide for putting together a floral for the living room coffee table. Look for that post soon.

J’s Iris gardens are beginning to bloom. It looks like Spring is here to stay a while.

                                     LINKING TO:

                                 THE SCOOP

                                    INSPIRE ME TUESDAY

                        HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY

                             WOW US WEDNESDAY

                          FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY

                                     BE INSPIRED

Snapshots & Salsa

                                  Porch & Garden Progress

             The porches are almost ready for the 2013 season.

Cabinet top vignette of rusty chicken wire cloches, a tiny shovel and lantern. A mud dauber’s nest adds to the look. Can you spot it?

We ordered two outdoor wicker rocking chairs for the back porch. They should be here next week. That will finish the porch for this Summer. I’ll take more photos and post them after the chairs arrive.

With the roller coaster weather of Spring 2013, garden prep has been slow. J plans to mulch all the gardens and do more clean up. He is enjoying the process.

We have a new fountain for the dining room garden. The fountain that was here before was cracked beyond repair a few years ago. Rather than discard it, we repurposed it as a planter for the side garden.

This shows the old fountain planted with white petunias, Spring 2011.

We didn’t get around to buying another fountain, for the dining room garden, until this Spring when we found this one at World Outdoor Emporium (Wentzville MO).

The new fountain looks beautiful against the rock bordering the dogwood tree. Those rocks and others, used in the gardens, were brought here from the farm ten years ago.

           A basket of silk stems beside the door adds a bit color.

                                        SUSTENANCE

         I found the recipe for Avocado salsa at T&G Interiors.

I substituted a sweet red pepper for the mild hot pepper. Other than that, the recipe is the same.

When it came time to grill, we opted to use the oven, since it was a tad windy Saturday afternoon.

I served it with a tossed salad and rice. The wine was Steinberg, a white wine, from Stone Hill Winery, Hermann Missouri.

We both like this salsa and will have it again.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper

Avocado salsa

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced

1 small red onion, sliced

3 mild hot peppers, seeded and deveined, diced or sliced

Juice from 2 limes

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs finely chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Mix the salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat the grill.
3. Combine the avocado, onion, hot peppers, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
4. Grill the salmon to desired doneness.
5. Serve the salmon topped with the avocado salsa, and with rice and patacones or thick green plantain chips on the side.

                                              Enjoy!

                                        LINKING TO:

                      HOMEWORK WEDNESDAY

                                WOW US WEDNESDAY

                                  AMAZE ME MONDAY

                                TUESDAYS AT OUR HOME

                                   INSPIRE ME TUESDAY

                                  OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

                                   ON THE MENU MONDAY

                                          FOODIE FRIDAY

TEA WITH dOT & MARGIE

J’s mother Dorothea’s sherbet dish holds blackberries and a gooey butter cookie.  The blue and white Wedgewood Countryside belonged to Dorothea.

My mother Marjorie’s 1950’s hen cookie jar is included in the vignette.

Margie is to the left, looking toward the photo.  Dot is on the right.

The ladies were still in their teens when the photos were done around 1939 or 1940.

Our mother’s loved music.  Both were singers.

My mother, under 5 feet tall and less than 100 pounds, most of her adult life, was surprisingly athletic, playing softball and basketball during school years.  My PE teacher, in high school, was Mother’s PE teacher.  Mrs. Johnson was quite dismayed that I did not inherit Mother’s athleticism.

Dorothea’s photo was taken when she was named Miss Wentzville (Missouri).

Two of our daughters attended kindergarten, in a four room school house, where Dorothea attended high school.

Both our mothers were spiritual women. Marjorie was Baptist and Dorothea was Catholic.

Dorothea raised four sons on the family farm.  Marjorie raised two daughters, much of the time as a single parent.

Dorothea, born and raised in rural northeast Missouri.  Marjorie, born and raised in the Missouri Ozarks.

Great Depression Era women who taught us well.

This Mother’s Day post is from 2012. I thought it worth repeating.

I am taking a couple of days off to celebrate Mother’s Day and just celebrate life in general. See you Monday.

Happy Mother’s Day…Enjoy the weekend!

LINKING TO PINK SATURDAY

Historic South Main Street

Wednesday was a gorgeous sunny day. We took advantage of the great weather and drove to Saint Charles, Missouri, where we visited one of our favorite places; Historic South Main Street.

Our first stop was The Flower Petaler, one of my favorite shops on South Main. The shop sells excellent quality silk florals and accessories for the home. I made a purchase.

We had lunch at Magpie’s, on South Main Street.

A Chestnut tree was in bloom, near the garden gate.

Pattie, of Olla-Podrida blog, posted about the Asparagus Soup at Magpies. I chose it for my lunch, and a half vegetarian sandwich on wheat.

Click the highlighted link for Pattie’s soup recipe.

J’s lunch was Loaded Baked Potato Soup and half a BLT on wheat.

This old fashioned Snow Ball (Viburnum) was growing beside our shady table on the terrace.

Wednesday was an iced tea and sunglasses kind of day.

I am participating in:

Tuesdays at Our Home

The Scoop 

The Tablescaper’s Oh the Places I’ve Been!,

Michael’s Foodie Friday,

Debra’s Be Inspired.

Breakfast Room Garden Walk

Spode Woodlands Plates~Shepherd Hills Outlet Lebanon Missouri

Flatware~Bass Pro Shop

Woven Chargers~Grandin Road

Napkins and Napkin Rings~Pier One

Runners~Target

Nests~Mikasa Clearance

Boy and Girl Figures~Old Time Pottery (many years ago)

Lily Pad Stand~Evergreen Mfg. Osage Beach (many years ago)

Plants for Table and J’s Gardens~Sunnyview Garden Center Troy MO

Cut Flowers~Kroger

LINKING TO:

Wow Us Wednesday

Rock n Share

Let’s Dish

Tablescape Thursday

Be Inspired

Seasonal Sunday

Tweaked the barn board cabinet and leaned a large basket tray against the dough bowl.

Seasonal change in the island lantern-cabinet.