No, It's Not For Thanksgiving...

I can't believe it is Thanksgiving and Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps On the Porch. If you want to see some spectacular tables check out Susan's website!

This wasn't our Thanksgiving table... but it was our table for Veterans Day. Simple... red, white and blue plus a big thank you.









Red charger-Umbriaverde-HomeGoods
Red dessert plate-Waechtersbach-TJMaxx
White salad plate-Ralph Lauren-TJMaxx
Blue dinner plate, berry dish, pitcher-Liberty Blue bought in 1976 from grocery store
Cobalt glass-got them at same time as Liberty Blue
Flatware-International Stainless-Amazon
Blue/white placemat-have had for many years, can't recall where I purchased them from... Wal-Mart?
Napkins and napkin rings-Mervyn's many years ago

Hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment, I really appreciate it.

Soup's On...

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons! I can make soup a few times a week without heating the kitchen up! One of our favorites is cannellini Bean that I have been making for a few years, now.

Cannellini Bean Soup

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, peeled/diced
1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans cannellini beans, drained/rinsed
6-8 cups chicken stock/broth
½ bag of fresh spinach, washed/torn into pieces

In a large soup pot heat olive oil. Add the carrot/onion/celery/fennel/fennel seed/rosemary/red pepper flakes/garlic and cook until the vegetables begin to become translucent.

Add the beans and chicken stock/broth. Bring to an almost boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 30-45 minutes, uncovered. A couple minutes before serving add the spinach, simmer just long enough for it to wilt.

Serve hot with shaved or grated Parmesan and herbed breadsticks or rosemary flatbread. Enjoy!

Soup and Salad for Two...

I am going to post early this week, will be busy baking from tomorrow until Thanksgiving, but will link up to Between Naps On the Porch. Susan, thank you for hosting Tablescape Thursday.

You may click on the photos to enlarge them.

Another simple table from In the Middle of Nowhere. I just don't do fancy, it isn't me at all...ask anyone that knows me. I love fancy in someone else's home, but not mine. I very seldom will use real flower centerpieces as my kitties all love to get on the table and tear them apart, so it is easier to use something they don't care about or the dreaded artificial ones!

I started with a cute rusty red tablecloth I found a few weeks ago at Goodwill. Next was a castor set I found in Columbus when we visiting Howard's twin and wife back in September. It wasn't very expensive, around $20, if I remember correctly. The caddy doesn't sit straight at all but all the bottles are in great shape, no chips. The caddy itself isn't silver/silverplate; maybe pewter. The candles and holders were found at TJMaxx, on sale, of course. The rooster I have had for several years and have no idea where he came from.





The dinner plates are from Wal-Mart, the vintage salad plates are from Savers, there are no markings on the bottom, and the soup bowls are from HomeGoods. Flatware is family silver that I mixed and matched. The iced tea glasses and wine glasses are from the thrift shop. Napkins are from World Market.















Thank you for taking the time to stop by and you know I love comments! A very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Not Quite What I Had Planned...

I had planned on doing a mostly white table setting atop a vintage tablecloth but it sort of turned into something else with the turkey tureen I found at Good will Saturday.

Another Thursday has rolled around, Susan at Between Naps On The Porch is once again hosting Tablescape Thursday. Please stop by her site so you can check out all the other guests beautiful tables.

























Tablecloth-Goodwill
Napkins-Williams/Sonoma
Napkin rings-Estate sale
Turkey tureen-Goodwill
Chargers-Goodwill
White dinner plate-Thomas Rosenthal Group/TJMaxx
White salad plate-Ralph Lauren/TJMaxx
Yellow soup bowl-Primagera/Home Goods
Flatware-Towle stainless
Stemware-Goodwill/A.R.C. Thrift
Turkey salt/pepper-Goodwill
Black candelabra-Goodwill, it was brass and I spray painted it black
Wooden turkey-Have had it for many years

Thank you for visiting. Hope to see you again next week!

Why Do I Do It.....

I am going to join Leigh at Tales from Bloggeritaville for Thrifty Thursday again this week. Please stop by and see what the others have found thrifty this week.



Why do I keep going to the thrift store when I should be down-sizing, not buying more for my kids to sort through when the time comes? I really, really need to stop doing this but every time I go in the door to the thrift store something just jumps into my cart and won't leave until I get to the checkout counter...leave?....it does....with ME!

The weekend started out with a trip to a couple of thrift shops. At the church run thrift, I found a small bamboo steamer basket ($2). This little gem is only a bit over five inches wide...I didn't know they came that small. It is perfect for two! I know where my 10-inch baskets are going...thrift shop!


Howard doesn't like when a cold glass sweats, so he asked me if I would look for one of those double walled mugs that were so popular a few year back while I was thrifting. I have been looking for almost 6 months...nothing. I found not only one, but a set of four. They set me back $1.50. I have 3 in the freezer in case anyone wants an ice cold beer.....the other is sitting on the stand by Howard's recliner.



Then on to Goodwill where I found another soup tureen, this time an all white turkey ($4.98), hen/tom turkey salt/peppers ($2), another metal candle holder, this one will hold a 6-inch diameter candle (50¢), and a hurricane type holder (50¢) for a tapered candle. The tureen is small, holding about 6-7 cups, just about right for Howard and I, with enough left over for lunch the next day.






Yesterday, at Goodwill, the only thing I found were a little terra cotta colored ram and 4 white/black chargers. The ram was 74¢, which included the senior discount; the chargers were marked at 49¢ each, so they ended up costing less than $1.50 for all four! I will be spraying the ram white as soon as our rainy/snowy/sleety weather dries up a little. I will be using some of these treasures for Tablescape Thursday.







I now have four soup tureens, not counting the Liberty Blue that goes with my dishes, with no place to store them! I have been trying to think of where they can be stored, think maybe a good place to display them would be on top of the china cabinet....that would take care of storage, don't you think?


Lastly, I promised I would show.....the coffee pot, sugar/creamer from last week's thrifting. They are quite pretty all cleaned up, don't you think?

For the Mere Price of......$9

Another Thursday is upon us...that means Tablescape Thursday with our gracious hostess, Susan, of Between Naps on the Porch. Please stop by so you can drool over the other guests tablescapes, too.



I wanted a really simple tablesetting to show off the soup tureen I found last Friday in a little shop a few towns north of us. I walked into the shop and the first thing I noticed was this bright yellow soup tureen...I was the only one in there at the time so I knew I wouldn't be fighting anyone off! I wandered around a little bit before going over to the hutch where it was displayed. I picked it up, checking to see if there were any chips or cracks...there is a small chip out of the ladle, none on the tureen itself. When I turned it over I noticed it had Peg '78 inscribed on the bottom...wow, my guess is this was someone's ceramic class project. For being over 30 years old it was in excellent shape. I negotiated the $11.75 price down to $9. This tureen goes perfect with my Orange Rooster dishes, too!


It would have been fun to do a red/yellow table, but I have done red the past two weeks, so it had to be blue/yellow/white.



I started with a plain yellow placemat, added a blue charger then added a dinner plate, salad plate (both the same pattern) and soup bowl.



















Soup tureen-second hand shop
Placemats-WalMart
Napkins-gift from Cuisine Kathleen
Flatware-Towle stainless
Blue chargers-Home Goods
Dinner/salad plate/coffee/tea cup-Arcopal (France)'Provincial'-Thrift shop in Fort Scott, KS
Soup bowl-Noritake 'Larkspur'-ARC thrift shop
Salt/pepper-TJMaxx
Stemware-Goodwill
Sugar/creamer-Goodwill
Candleholders-milkglass flower pots turned upside down-Goodwill
Rooster-TJMaxx

Thank you for visiting, hope you enjoyed my simple little table. Feel free to leave a comment, I love them!

The "Candy" Store...

I will be joining Leigh at Bloggeritaville's Thrifty Thursday, once again. Please visit her to see what everyone else has contributed. Thank you so much for being such a gracious hostess, Leigh!


Monday we went to Kansas City so I decided to stop at a couple Goodwill's, which are known in my house as the "candy" store. The ones in the city do not give a 25% senior discount, like the ones down in this area. It is hard to pay "full price" after getting that discount!


First off was another heavily tarnished, matched silver service, coffee pot, sugar and creamer. Sure wish I could find one with a teapot. Check back later and you may see them all pretty and shining! They were a little more pricey than I am used to, around $12...but what the heck, they will be all clean and sparkling...soon, and I will forget all about what I paid!


Now to feed my dish habit.....4 pale aqua soup/salad bowls by Pfaltzgraff 99¢ each. A small green mixing bow 49¢. I also picked up another black metal candle holder for less than a dollar.


This cute 1950's red/white striped pitcher found it's way into the basket. It reminded me of a hot summer afternoon drinking green Kool-Aid when I was a kid, which was many, many years ago. It has no chips but a little of the color has worn thin in places, which only tells me it was used lots.



Also found were 4 tablecloths, the yellow/lime/white flowered one is probably from the 60's...the others are fairly new. Those were only a few dollars. The one with the sunflowers was almost purchased by the lady in front of me at the cashier's counter....when she decided not to take it, I offered to buy it so it wouldn't have to be taken back to the rack. If that woman is anything like myself, she will get home, spit and sputter because she didn't buy it! This one has never been used and is a good sized round. Can you believe I didn't own a tablecloth with sunflowers, living in Kansas where it is the state flower? Well, I do now!



Last, but not least....an Easter Egg tree for $2.99. It was missing one of the eggs, but I think I know where to find a replacement.

Thank you for visiting and commenting.