A Tablescape for a Rooster Party Parade

This is a dual post combining Tablescape Thursday and the Show us Your Rooster Party! It should be fun albeit a bit of a long post so hold on!


When I set my table for the Rooster Party I wanted it to be bright and colorful and fun! So I just went through my cabinets setting aside the brightest colors I could find!





The bright striped napkins, $.10 each, came from the Goody Barn in Flint, MI, long out of business. The Goody Barn was the best place to shop and so much fun. You never knew what they were going to have from one week to the next. I could literally spend hours in the store and because it was about the size of a Walmart I never really saw everything they had and I doubt anyone did! There was no rhyme nor reason to their stock, washing machines could be next to office supplies and mixed in with the office supplies you might find toothpaste.












I just picked up this small woven hen a few weeks ago at a local flea market. It's actually a music box and ironcially plays the theme from "Doctor Zhivago"! The weaving is very detailed even down to the little chicken feet!






I bought this shallow bowl years ago at TJMaxx. I usually serve our dressing it in at Thanksgiving.






My Revol Roaster! This is my favorite roaster and I use it all the time. Unfortunately this design is now discontinued!






My Mom gave me this set of little chicks. They usually hang out in my kitchen but can pop up just about any where I need a splash of color!






This is my Rooster Roaster and it's the perfect size to roast a duck!






This is my big Rooster and he usually stays pretty close to the fireplace in the Dining Room. On occasion he has wandered out to the porch and patio but he does not stay for long.






And last but not least is my Kitchen Twine Dispenser with a Rooster on top! I use my kitchen twine all the time and picked up this dispenser at Homegoods a few years ago.





Tablescape Thursday is graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you!

And the Rooster Party was the fabulous idea of Barb of Bella Vista. If you'd like to see more roosters on parade, click on over and have some fun.




All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Tablescape Thursday **There she blows

I had big plans for tonight's dinner. On the agenda was a light dinner of salad and freshly baked bread and I thought it would be wonderful to eat outside on our porch. But as soon as I started setting up my small bistro table I knew it was never going happen.

Even though it was a perfectly gorgeous day today, warm and clear blue sky, it was so windy! Geesh, I could hardly hang my wash out! When I finally did get everything hung, the laundry was really flying around and sometimes it was completely horizontal! Almost as soon as I got everything hung, it was dry and not a wrinkle in sight!













Tablescape Thursday is graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you!





All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Finally out on the Porch!

I've been so busy with enjoying my summer that I've not participated in Tablescape Thursdays for almost a month! I finally found a small table and chairs for our porch and I've been so enjoying it the past few weeks. Our porch is covered so even through rain storms I can sit outside and relax!

Today was the first hot day of summer and it almost reached 100 degrees. It was stifling. I did a little bit of yard work in the morning and decided to have my Iced Tea on the porch. Tinkerbelle decided to join me and what you're not seeing is she also enjoyed a few sips of my tea!











In the next village over there is a small Flea Market every Saturday and it's only about five minutes from my house. Last week I picked up some beautiful vintage tablecloths. I thought you might like to see them, freshly laundered and hanging to dry. I love them and although there's a few small stains the price, 1@$5, was not easy to pass up!





Several years ago we were in St. Maartin and I picked up these gorgeous very thick, 100% Cotton flour sack towels. They've been in storage for the longest time and I finally got around to washing them and hanging outside to dry. I love the fruit appliques. The towel furthest on the right is a vintage embroidered towel I picked up at a local church rummage sale.








Tablescape Thursday is graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you!


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

No Reason at All and My Kitchen Dolls

No rhyme nor reason for this weeks tablescape. Just some things I pulled together that I thought looked fun, colorful and reflected a bit of my own personality.




I just love these shallow bowls and the large white dinner plate. I bought both of them at TJMaxx in the clearance aisle for less then $2 each. Love the turquoise bowl and wish I could find the entire set!






Next is my Turkey Bowl, another favorite dish. I bought this about ten years ago for my Thanksgiving Tablescape. But I do use it throughout the year. I wish I could find more of these too. Oh maybe someday at a garage sale!






The Duck Tureen was a wedding present and it is huge. I do so love it but I've only been able to use it twice in 25 years. It's just so big that it's almost impractical. It came with a gorgeous matching porcelain ladle.




And here's another of my pitchers. This one is small and made in Germany. I bought it last year at a garage sale for $2. Honestly, it's one of my favorites and I use it all the time, not only for serving but I use it to hold liquids when prepping my recipes.




This little vase is absolutely my favorite vase ever. I actually bought it as a gift but then found something else more appropriate and the vase became mine. It has a little, removable frog insert, shown in the 2nd picture, to hold each flower stem. It's a clever design and I wish I could find more!






I have always been a doll person from the time I can remember. And I have every one of my dolls that I've ever owned. I now collect rag dolls and I do keep some in my kitchen to keep me company as I bake. One of my friends requested to see some and so here they are.

This little sweetie sits on my decorative cover to my range hood. She just sits there very peacefully and has not fallen yet. ;)



These 2 small wooden dolls were made in Sweden and they sit in my bookcase for my cookbooks.



These 2 cuties sit in the window in the eating area of my kitchen. Again, they just sit there and have not fallen out yet!



This is my Sink Doll. I have 2 sinks in my kitchen so most of the time she sits right here on the corner and seems to be very happy.




Tablescape Thursday is a weekly event hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see all the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you.



All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

Tablescape Thursday -- Black, White and Color

It's been so hot here this week. Yesterday it was in the high 80's and today the thermometer on our barn reached 91 degrees! This is May it's not supposed to be this hot yet! We just had 2 frost warnings earlier in the week and now we're up to 91 degrees!

Because of the heat I was going to do a cool, serene black and white table setting but then decided to throw a little color in too. I love black and white tablescapes but it really is not me. I just am too much of a bright-colored pottery person.

I started out with a wooden placemat and the black and white dinner plates. Then added the red and white Hawaiian print napkins and blue bubble glasses. Then I remembered my Monkey Banana Pitcher so added it as well. Tuesday I made Mango Bread and set it up on my new Pig Cutting Board. Then I added my freshly baked, albeit a bit lumpy, bagels. It was so hot my bagels rose too quickly and they were HUGE. Although they look odd, they were delicious! Click here if you would like to see how the bagels are supposed to look.

If you look through the sliding glass doors you can see Archie waiting patiently and drooling down the glass.





I bought the black and white plates in the clearance aisle at Homegoods for $1.99. The salad plates I bought recently at TJMaxx, not on sale but still only $1.99. Each salad plate was a slightly different design but exactly the same colors. I lined up all the plates and picked out my favorites.









The Pig Cutting Board is bamboo and it was $6.99 at TJMaxx. It is just the right size for serving, not too big, not too small. I love it!

The Fresh Mango Bread was our recipe this week for Tuesdays with Dorie.







This is one of my more decorative pitchers. I've had it for a long time now, at least 15 yrs. I'm pretty sure I picked it up at TJMaxx and I remember paying more then the usual $10 that I pay for most of my pitchers. But I loved the monkey so in the cart it went!





The last thing on my table is a crystal butter dish that my Mom picked up at a Resale Shop in Columbus, OH for $3. Although I have many butter dishes, this one is my favorite. I just love the little bird on top.





Tablescape Thursday is a weekly event hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and see all the wonderful tablescapes set out especially for you.


All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

A Country Kitchen Brunch

It's TableScape Thursday with a Thifty Thursday as a saddleback and I thought you might like to see my table I set for our Sunday Brunch. It was just my husband and I, but I had fun arranging my table and I've decided that each table I set should have the colors pink and yellow somewhere. I used my Spode Blue Room Collection, my iron fruit bowl, a new crystal pitcher, 2 of my flamingos in pond, a favorite cookie jar and some of my bedding Geraniums. Aren't those Geraniums the most gorgeous color! They are almost a neon pink and I could not resist them!

I've had my eye on the crystal pitcher for a while now and I was in Homegoods last week and it was marked down to $7 so I snapped it up! I needed a small pitcher and this one was the perfect size with a simple design and so pretty.







I love Spode China and pick it up whenever I can find a good price. The animal themed plates are each unique and I could not decide which ones to buy so I just bought 1 of each. I bought 4 plates for myself and a plate for each of my nieces. I have The Tiger Cages, Aesop's Fables (introduced c. 1831), Milkmaid (introduced c. 1814) and The Zebra Pen.











I have many cookie jars but this is one of my favorites. It's made by Los Angeles Potteries which produced artware and pottery 1940s - 1960s and was located in Lynwood, CA. I bought it a few years ago at a local garage sale for $10. I've seen this same cookie jar on Ebay and it always auctioned for much more then I wanted to spend. I became interested in Los Angeles Potteries while designing our home and researching Craftsman and Mid-Century Modern Architecture. I love the LA Pottery glazes, such gorgeous colors and so pleasing with any themed kitchen.





Here's one of my favorite things in my kitchen, my Iron Fruit Bowl. I'm not sure if the original intent was a fruit bowl but that's what I use it for. I saw it at a flea market but it was priced $45. I knew I would see it again and sure enough, a few years later I found it at a church sale for $3. It has been in my kitchen ever since.




I hope you enjoyed my tablescape this week. I had a good time putting it together and try to include items with some interesting history and of course some good deals as well.



Tablescape Thursday is a weekly event graciously hosted by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch.

And Thrifty Thursday, another weekly event, is hosted Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville.





All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog