Tuesday's Tablescape

Today's table is set in honor of Mardi Gras since it's Fat Tuesday.  Mardi Gras season actually begins on Epiphany (January 6), but is most celebrated on Fat Tuesday since that's the time people consume their fill of sweet treats before the beginning of Lent. Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday and falls 46 days before Easter.

The centerpiece uses the royal colors of Mardi Gras. Purple represents justice, green stands for faith and yellow-gold means power. Masks, boas and beads are worn by individuals for Mardi Gras celebrations.

King Cakes are slightly sweetened yeast treats that are usually flavored with cinnamon. Sometimes, though, they are filled with custards or jellies. The top of a King cake has colored sugar sprinkled on the white frosting. Since Epiphany (when Mardi Gras season started) represents the day the three wisemen first saw Baby Jesus, a plastic baby figure is hidden inside a King cake. The person who finds it is tagged to provide the cake the following year!

Although these little cuties cannot indulge in any sweet King Cake, they are celebrating a relaxing Mardi Paw and wish you the same!

Boas are so soft!

When the mask is too large for your little face, you can wear it around your neck!

Happy Mardi Paw Gras to you!

Bunny Lantern

Hoppy Monday! The winter snowflake in the winter lantern had to go! I'm spotting daffodils around town, so I tucked in some along with my little childhood bunny (he's really a bank!).

Every rabbit wants a tasty snack, right? My aunt found a few realistic-looking carrots for me at the thrift store. Using one was perfect for this little project.

May your day be blessed!

Easy Bouquet

When you're ready for some spring flowers inside your house, here's an easy idea. It's an inside-out bouquet, so you'll need artificial daffodils or tulips since no water is involved.

Begin with fake spring flowers of your choice, an old empty jar (or drinking glass or vase), two wide rubber bands and scrap ribbon (or lace or twine) of your choice.

Attach two wide rubber bands to your container, with one placed near the top and one near the bottom. My top band needed to be doubled around the jar due to its size. By the way, the lid does need to be removed, but I hadn't done so yet when I snapped the picture.

One at a time, slip in the stems behind the rubber bands.

When you're finished, wrap your ribbon to conceal the rubber bands.

Notes:

You'll want to select realistic-looking flowers for this project. I have found that Hobby Lobby or Michaels carries good selections and you can either hit their sales or use their coupons.

My jar was an olive jar and I needed about 35 stems for mine.

Enjoy your weekend!

Spring Swag

Welcome!

Since I'm chipping away at the winter decorations, I decided to take advantage of yesterday's cooperative weather and rework the front door. Why not climb up and down the ladder changing the flowers on a sunny 76 degree day? Down came the greenery and snowflakes. Up went faux spring flowers.

I  guess the springtime swag is not as premature as I'd thought. A friend just texted me a picture of her lovely daffodils which are in full bloom as of this morning! Having an entire row of the yellow beauties before the end of February is both an oddity and a treat in this area.

Don't you love the looks and scents of real spring flowers?

Snowflakes to Shamrocks

I couldn't look at the snowflake pillow in the solarium for one more day! I'm weary of penguins and snowmen, so I am packing away the winter décor until next year. It's time for early spring!

Last year I made this pillow by ironing shamrocks on a cover which I purchased from Hobby Lobby.  A bouquet of pussy willow branches sits on the table.

While I was at it, I added some bunnies in the dining room. I love these pieces that my grandma gifted us many years ago. Their color and detail appeal to me.

A little stack of antique china helps to balance the vignette.

Enjoy your day!

Tuesday's Tablescape

It's hard not to surrender to spring when the winter weather tricks us! Our area has enjoyed a stretch of unseasonably warm temperatures. It's hovered the 70 degree-mark for days and is to continue the remainder of this week. As a result, people are thrilled and plants and animals are confused. Throngs of children have been playing outside in the fresh air and adults are taking advantage of these days to pick up leaves, tidy-up planting beds and exercise. I have noticed tiny green leaves on roses, swollen buds on trees, greening henbit, bulbs sprouting up six inches tall and blossoming Lenten rose (which is just a week early according to the calendar). It's also been fun to see the sparrows busily collecting dried grasses in preparation for nest-building.  All of these observations prompted my early-springtime tablescape.

Forced paperwhite bulbs and a faux sparrow and nest make the centerpiece.

Attempting an "earthy look", I used my (maternal) grandparents' china, coupled with burlap-looking napkins.

What do you think? Has spring sprung?

Cherry Bars

Happy Presidents' Day! The story of George Washington's honesty in admitting he chopped down his father's cherry tree makes this tasty little bar perfect for today's holiday.🍒

Cherry Bars

1 boxed yellow or white cake mix

1 1/4 cups oatmeal, divided

1 stick better, softened and divided

1 egg

1 can cherry pie filling (I added 1 T. vanilla extract to mine)

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, 1 cup oatmeal and 6 T. butter. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup mixture. Add egg to remainder and press into the bottom of the pan.

Pour cherry pie filling over crust and spread to cover.

Add brown sugar, 1/4 cup oatmeal, remaining 2 T. butter to the reserved 1 cup of crumbs and blend. Sprinkle over cherry pie filling.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

(Please note that I substituted a red cake mix because I wanted that color for today's use. I have always used yellow or white in the past.) These bars are easy to put together and are good to take to potlucks and other gatherings. You can freeze leftovers for later use, too.

 I cannot tell a lie...I think you'll enjoy these!

Wash Away the Problems!

Does your bathroom sink ever get sluggish? As we all know, accumulation of soap residue, toothpaste and hair can slow drains. Have you ever used baking soda and apple cider vinegar to remedy the problem?

It works! Sprinkle some baking soda around the dry drain and push down as much as possible. Then slowly pour (at least) a half cup of apple cider on top and watch it bubble. I am told (although I can not personally confirm or deny the claim) that this works wonders on hair clogs. I plan to use it the next time it's necessary and if you have tried it, please let me know if you found it effective. The bubbling causes the compaction to loosen and somewhat surface. A crochet hook can then be used to reach in and snag some the culprit. I just know that baking soda/apple cider vinegar worked well on our bathroom drains when they were getting draggy...and I didn't have to do anything else. A little baking soda, a little apple cider vinegar and the bubbles did the work for me. Easy peasy!

A few years ago, a plumber told my parents that pouring plain apple cider vinegar (no baking soda) down the drain each month is an efficient maintenance method. They do this routinely and I am now doing it, too. It can't hurt and it's certainly cheaper and safer than using chemical cleaner.

Apple cider vinegar is touted to be good for many purposes. We all know that it's a natural cleaner and I have read that it also has anti-fungal agents. An article I saw indicated that some people claim that it completely resolved their toe nail issues. Now we know it's even good for washing away your sink problems!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Individual Pizzas

Some friends and I got together for stamping and card making. Since our time was going to stretch over the lunch hour, we decided to make our meal simple and fork-free. 😋

Rather than salads, we had veggie skewers (of marinated cauliflower, cheese-stuffed olives and cherry tomatoes) and fruit kabobs (of grapes, pineapple and strawberries).

Instead of dealing with pizza slices, our hostess made individual pizzas from crescent rolls. Maybe you have tried them or perhaps you'd like to make them sometime.

Individual Pizzas

1 tube crescent rolls

pepperoni

pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough into 8 triangles and pat slightly.

Place small amount of pizza sauce on each crescent roll. Add 3-4 slices pepperoni (meat will overlap). Top with about an ounce of mozzarella cheese.

Roll up each triangle and place them all on an ungreased cookie sheet, point side down.

Bake 10-14 minutes. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

BUTTON, BUTTON...WHO HAS THE BUTTON?

I am creating some greeting cards and the fronts will have small buttons incorporated in the layout. Working on the designs made me think about the useful little clothes-fasteners. Mostly made from plastic now, buttons were usually made from bone, seashell and metal in bygone days and people often saved them in a jar or tin. Did you ever play with your mother's or grandmother's button collection when you were little? We had this old candy tin at our house and it was filled with all sorts of buttons.  Yes,  I do remember playing with the contents.

Several years ago I made this lapel pin by stacking buttons from the tin and I have enjoyed wearing it.

About ten years ago, my aunt shared some buttons with me which had been in my grandmother's buttons. Randy took this antique treasure to the jeweler and had it made into a pendant for me. It was a birthday surprise and has complemented lots of outfits over the years.

Then there is the petite quilted sampler I made and embellished with buttons.

Button, button...do you have a stockpile of buttons? Aside from the intended purpose, how have you used them?

Tuesday's Tablescape

Our Deaconess Board hosts a Valentine luncheon for our widows each year and yesterday was the special day. Hostesses and guests enjoyed the day and I decided to share our tables for today's post. With a Victorian theme, the tables featured antique teapots.

A little nested sparrow was each woman's take-home favor and you'll notice them at each place setting.

 What's lunch without a bit of dessert?

Then when I got home, the teapot centerpieces inspired these cuties to have their own Valentine teapot tablescape...

and considering their breed, I guess that makes this a Boston (terrier) tea party! 🐶

Happy Valentine's Day!