Swede

Thrifty Treasures: Les Passees Stock Exchange

 

If you are anywhere near the intersection of Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri or Mississippi between September 16 and October 29, I encourage you to go to the charity consignment store Les Passees Stock Exchange located in Collierville, TN on Shelby Drive immediately behind the Avenue mall. You can read about it HERE -- all about how to consign your items and how they support childrens' charities.  All the women who run this consignment store are volunteers and they do tremendous work. It is only open for six weeks so there is urgency - when you see something you like you had better grab it.  They consign mostly items for the home -- furniture, antiques, glassware, jewelry, china, silver and even fur coats.

I thought I would share today a few items that I purchased this year. I am linking up to Southern Hospitality's blog feature Thrifty Treasures on Monday.

 
You can see all the links on Monday, September 26th on the Southern Hospitality blog HERE.

Here is my greatest bargain.  Handmade porcelain peapods by Pamela Tidwell of Vieuxtemps in Georgia.  I have seen her fabulous porcelain flowers and vegetables for years but they were out of my price range. I saw this one in the front jewelry case and asked to see it.  I knew immediately what it was as I always loved the peapods. The volunteer took it out of the case and I could find no breaks, cracks or damage to the piece. When I looked at the price, there was no question that I was going to be the new owner of the peapods.

 
I knew these were in the $300+ price range so I went home and looked online at Vieuxtemps website and it was $329. You can see her other fabulous works HERE.  I would love someday to have her potted flowers.

 
Here is the backside which sealed the deal. I joked with my friends that this must have been a gift from somebody's X-husband as certainly everybody knows how to Google to find out what it was. Crazy price!!

 
Here is my next bargain. A fitted boxed set of sterling and mother of pearl handled knives in perfect condition made in England.  These will go great with my other MOP handled pieces in my collection for tablescaping.

Below are a few more pieces that made their way into my cart. I won't show every item, but I think you will like my $5 finds.

 
Hand painted German pedestal 10" cake stand in mint condition. Great fall colors to display my pear, peach and guava Apple Annie's fruit pieces.

 
Mint condition lattice edge milk glass bowl.

 
And its white partner, a pedestaled bowl for $5. Sorry, I already removed the sticky tag before I took this photo.

 
Mint condition Waterford decanter for $65.

 
Carnival glass footed compote.

 
Handpainted platter.

 
Italian porcelain cupid pedestal bowl at 10" high for $20. No broken tips on the flowers - perfect condition.

I'll show one more.

 
These antique stoppered bottles for $12.50 each.

If you are a treasure seeker, you know how great it feels to find something wonderful for $5 or $10. You go home beaming because you also helped an organization of women assist kids who need help.

Best wishes,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Tablescape: The Color Purple

 

This is a two-part post. First my weekly tablescape and then a note about Mr. and Mrs. Perrin.

When Fall comes, I gravitate to the color purple.  This tablescape has a quick centerpiece that anyone can do. Just pick up two potted plants from the floral section of your grocery store and put them in a basket.  How easy is that? I am striving to use less in the center of my tables. All I have added are purple mercury glass votive holders. I decided not to add candlesticks.  When searching through the cupboards, I found some dark sweet cherries made of crushed walnut shells and resin. You may remember the Kentucky company called Apple Annies who made all kinds of fruits and vegetables in the 1990s that looked very real. I don't think they are in business anymore.

 
I sprinkled some of the dark cherries on the table.  I'm still debating whether they look dorky or fun. I've had them probably 15 years and never used them, so this is their debut.  People can't resist picking them up and looking at them.

 
I am using shameless flameless candles in the purple mercury glass votives.

I love the color of purple Asters.  Potted plants are great when you are in a hurry after work to throw a table together.  I find I can always count on the floral section of the grocery stores in my town to have blooming potted plants in many different colors. The Asters will be planted in my garden after the event is over just like I do with Hydrangeas.

 
For service plates, I am using old purple transferware. I think it is fine for an appetizer but I don't use them for a meal. This pattern is called Washington Vase.  I only collect transferware which is not crazed so the search is a long one. The charger is Anna Weatherley in violet.

 
When planning a tablescape, I generally decide what color I want to use and then look in the cabinets for china in that color.  I start with what I want to put in the center of the table.  Sometimes I select objects and sometimes an idea will spark when I see flowers at market in a particular color.  I am always open for ideas.

 
Dinner plates are Wedgwood's Cuckoo bird pattern. I am pulling out the purple color of the bird's feathers and the Peony flower.  I have had this china since 1977. It was the first formal china I purchased. Even though it is English, I bought it when visiting Germany and had it shipped. The dollar conversion rate was very good at that time so it made it worth shipping. My sister helped me add to the set when she lived in England in the early 1980's.

 
The tablecloth from Williams-Sonoma is a beige damask that has paisley designs among the leaves and flowers.  I love the scale pattern on the gold plated stainless steel flatware. It is by Ricci of Italy and was on sale at Neiman-Marcus last month.

 
Close up of the napkin ring and the true color of the hemp napkins. You will notice that the napkin is more of a reddish purple. Napkins are from Williams-Sonoma and are made of 100% hemp. Silver napkin ring is in a grape cluster pattern. 

 
The stem on the left is Royal Scot's Society pattern in Home! James amethyst. I never knew the pattern name of the stem on the right as it wasn't labeled when I purchased the set about 10 years ago. The camera light makes these look more reddish purple, but in real life they are a true purple. I've noticed that lighting really changes the colors a great deal in the photos.  I wish I could shoot this in natural light.

 
I still love this little bird and try to find ways to update this china by mixing it with other patterns.

 
Even though I have cups/saucers, salad plates and serving pieces in this pattern, I've never liked the look of using all the same pattern on a table. Two pieces alike is my limit.

 
The Wedgwood Cuckoo cream soups serve butternut squash soup that my husband loves to make with Granny Smith apples and the squash I grow in the flowerbed. It is very creamy and rich so these smaller bowls work very well.

It seems all my purple items are a slightly different purple. Some have more blue undertones and some more red. No matter -- I will blend them.  

 
Dessert plate is from Royal Crown Derby in Olde Avesbury. The Wisteria flowers are the exact shade of purple but there aren't many of them in the design. Not to worry, though.  The plate will be covered up with cheesecake.

  
Dessert is a mini cheesecake with chocolate stars and raspberries on top. I resisted the temptation to use dark sweet cherries.

Casa De Perrin   

Have you seen the website of Casa de Perrin? This husband and wife team have a tabletop rental business in Los Angeles.

 
I'm sure Mr. Swede thinks I have too much tabletop stuff. Ha! Honey, I've only just begun.  What a stash! So much eye candy here.

 
Have you ever seen so much beautiful colored glassware? I see my turquoise tumblers in this photo.

I have to admit as a dish addict it would be easy to have dish envy of their cupboard contents.

 
Where do they find all the beautiful plates? Maybe when I retire I can volunteer to dust their shelves or wash dishes just to admire them all.  Take a look at their site HERE. What a fun business. I wish them much success in following their passion.

I am participating in Tablescape Thursday this week on the blog Between Naps on the Porch.

To see all the entries, after 9:00PM Eastern on Wednesday, go here:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Summer

Photos: Swede [except last three -  Casa De Perrin]

 

Travel: Laduree Paris - Bringing Home the Macarons

 

One of the treats Mr. Swede brought me from Paris last week were macarons [French spelling vs. English] from Laduree. This treat was for my big "O" birthday Friday.  The number before the "O" keeps getting bigger.  So I'm another decade older.

 
I, along with millions of others, love Laduree's packaging.  It is one of the reasons you buy them.  They've got marketing down. They've had a few years to get it right, though, since 1862.

 
I wonder if the new New York store will have the same packaging or if they created American styles.

 
The New York store opens this Friday, August 26th.  There is just something about buying the macarons in Paris that make it an occasion. It's the ambiance of the city of Paris that make these cookies special. If you travel, you can find their stores other places in the world -- Kuwait, Ireland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- but they are just not Paris. Read more about Laduree Here.  The macarons are not exclusive to Laduree either as other bakeries in France make them.

 
As of today, they are about half gone. Yum, yum!

All the best,

Summer

Photos: Swede

 

Shops With Beautiful Things: Iron Gate, Nashville

 

For Valentine's Day my husband treated me to a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the annual Antique and Garden Show at the downtown Convention Center. While we are in Nashville, we never miss driving down to Franklin, the cutest little historic town about 30 miles south.  My first stop in Franklin is always Iron Gate. I believe I discovered this shop about 13 years ago.

Have you seen the first issue of Canadian virtual decor magazine Dabble?  They did an extensive story on Nashville and mentioned Iron Gate in Franklin. The gals who put virtual magazines together really amaze me. See it here: Dabble  

Come with me to check out this cute interiors shop.

 

Iron Gate is at 338 Main Street in the old section of downtown Franklin. You can't miss it. Here is their website: Iron Gate

 

This mirror-topped table is the first thing you see when you walk in.  I love mercury glass anytime of year, not just at Christmas.  These items were beautiful.

 
They had a few pieces of the currently popular industrial look. This cabinet was very large.  You can see the mirror better in the photo below.

 

I loved this mirror behind the light fixtures. Those are Jan Barboglio iron pieces in front of it.  I like the way they make iron flowers. These are glass pillar candleabras on iron stands. You can see them better in the last photo.

 

Readers of my blog know how much I love white natural coral.  My  husband has gifted me many pieces over the years from this display cabinet.

 

A decor trend that has been strong the past few years is taking metal casement windows and replacing the glass with antiqued mirror. I think they are wonderful.  Iron Gate had two of them.

 

And the romance of a white sofa with a gold frame!

 

Just dreamy. They also had pieces of Tara Shaw's Maison line. A dining table, corner cabinet and chairs.

 

This large mirror is wonderful also. This credenza was exceptionally large.

 

This iron bed is in the front window.

 

The lamps on this French buffet look like they are made of squares of Capiz shells.

 

The linen room has nationally known bedding lines such as Shabby Chic.

 

Note the mirror behind the headboard. Lots of beautiful white linens to choose from.  Cute light fixture.

 

The day I was there they had a large selection of Jan Barboglio's iron pieces. They are so unusual.

Another cute little shop to check out while you are in Franklin is Scarlett Scales.  She recently got a nice mention when Country Living magazine featured a table she and her Dad covered in zinc.

 

If you have a couple hours, be sure to stop at the Franklin Antique Mall on the same street as Scarlett's shop.

 

There are many wonderful shops in Franklin. Another favorite that I don't miss is The Registry a wonderful tabletop and bridal china shop. The Registry

 

Main Street in Franklin is typical of other older historic downtown areas as it has wonderful old buildings.

I hope you have seen something that has delighted your eye in this shopping trip with me to Iron Gate.

Summer

Photos: Swede