Show & Tell Friday: Around the House

It's time for Show and Tell Friday! Once again, thanks to Cindy at My Romantic Home for hosting this event! It's so much fun to share ideas, projects and decorating ideas with others!

I had some random pictures of things 'around my house', so I put them all into one post here and then threw in a little Victorian trivia as well, so it's more fun! I love to write trivia posts for my Vintage Voice, but I don't often have my own pictures to go with the posts.

It might be fairly obvious already that I love peacocks. I love their colors, I love their fancy, showy feathers and I just love how they look in general. They are actually quite large birds when viewed up close, about the size of a wild turkey. Technically, the species name is peafowl; they are of the genus Pavo, a member of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. The males are peacocks, the females are peahens. There are two species of peafowl, the Indian Peafowl and the Green Peafowl. The Indian Peafowl have the blue-green or green iridescent plumage that most people are familiar with. A Green Peafowl, which breeds in Burma and Java, has green and gold plumage, with black wings with a blue sheen. The extravagant 'tail' or train, which the males display during courtship, are not actually tail quill feathers, but elongated, upper tail coverts (feathers which cover over the base of the tail feathers). I love this huge peacock fan, which was a gift.

Small details can sometimes make a big impact; especially when trying to reproduce the look of a period home. Picture hangers, like the one above, really make a statement. This picture hangs in my dining room. The medallion at the top, which is usually attached to an S shaped hook, has a pretty cameo in the center, with some jet bead fringe. Typically this was how pictures were hung and displayed in the 19th century. There would be a picture hanging rail, sometimes called picture hanging moulding, about 6-12" down from the ceiling moulding. The moulding would have a rounded lip at the top for the S shaped hook to attached. A medallion was often used, sometimes with a tassel, and decorative cord to hang the picture from the hook. This was of great use when homes were made with lathe and plaster walls, as it's hard to pound nails (or remove nails) into plaster walls without cracking or breaking chunks off the wall. As you can see, we do not have a picture hanging rail in our dining room. This picture hanger was converted to be able to be hung from a nail.

I love this old picture; it's beautifully framed too. The young woman, incidentally, is wearing a dress style that was popular during the 1850s, when fuller skirts became more in fashion, either supported by hoops or many layers of stiff crinolines, supported by horsehair braid at the bottom. The "jacket" bodice style, which buttoned in the front was often worn over a chemisette adorned with lace and ribbons. Wider pagoda (bell-shaped) sleeves were popular also, with engageantes (false under-sleeves) of cotton and linen trimmed with lace. For evening dresses, the neckline was low, falling off the shoulders with short sleeves. This neckline style was often called the "Bertha" style. The dress this lovely young woman is wearing appears to be an evening dress, appropriate formal wear for a portrait.

This picture of the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) in our bedroom is hung with a tasseled picture hanger. Again, we do not have picture hanging moulding in this room either and I have a picture hanger that is converted to be hung from a nail rather than a picture rail hook. I am sure that originally most of the rooms in our house probably had this kind of moulding, but it was probably removed over the years by previous owners. Picture hanging rail is still commercially available today.

This is the formal parlor downstairs, where we had installed a picture hanging rail after I painted and stenciled the room. This large picture is hung from the rail with a picture hanging hook, as would be typically done.

Close-up of the picture hanger, with a fancy medallion and tassel. I purchased my picture hangers online at Swan Picture Hangers; they have so many beautiful styles; some are very fancy! I encourage you to take a look.

Remember when I got my FREE furniture? (click HERE to read the original post). I found some pretty pineapple crochet doilies during my recent antique mall treasure hunt (click HERE). I got a pair of them for $1.50. I bought them to put on the blue wing chairs like this. Doilies and other decorative washable lacy fabrics that were placed on the back and arms of sofas, chairs and other furnishings during the 19th century were often called antimacassars. Macassar oil was an unguent in imported hair oil used in the 19th century, when oiled hair was all the rage. Decorative cloths were placed over arms and headrests of furniture to protect the fabrics from being soiled by the hair oil. They were often made of elaborate patterns in matched sets, decorated with crochet or tatted lace. Antimacassars were used in public transportation also, on buses and trains and also in theatres.
"Hunt, my good woman; have a good look 'round, hunt under the tables, poke up the chimney, shake out the antimacassars!" --Howard's End by E.M.Forster

Thanks for joining me!  I hope you had fun reading about some things from 'around the house'!

Tablescape Thursday: Wedding Anniversary Dinner

Thanks for joining me for another Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on The Porch!

As some of my followers already know, yesterday was the hubby's and my 3rd wedding anniversary. Since it was Tuesday night, we didn't really have much exciting planned for the evening, but I did put together a lovely tablescape for our dinner using our wedding colors and other things wedding-related.

Erik is one of those husbands who likes to buy me flowers; and not just for our anniversary. I usually get flowers on my birthday, on holidays, just-because.....I even got flowers after I had LASIK eye surgery. (I got flowers and a sub sandwich for when I woke up from my post-op Valium-induced 8 hrs of sleep; how sweet!)

I set the table for two, using the flowers he bought for me and also one of our silver candleabra with green candles.

Our wedding colors were lavender and  celadon green, so I used my round green quilted place mats, my good Noritake china and vintage linen napkins, tied with lavender ribbon. I tucked a couple faux flowers that I removed from the flower arrangement that was in a white metal birdcage on top of our card box (click HERE). These are the same flowers that  I used in my wedding bouquets.

Naturally, my new silver flatware is on the table!

These are the toasting glasses that I bought at a Renaissance Faire we often go to. I saw them the summer before we got engaged and made a mental note to myself that they would be beautiful as toasting glasses for a wedding. I went back the next year to buy them after we were engaged.(I also bought my wedding jewelry there; it was beautiful!) The base of each glass is a pewter peacock (of course!). We had these on our table at the wedding reception.

When the peacocks are put together like this, they form the shape of a heart! Awwww! They also have pretty colored glass in their tails.

Our cake topper from our wedding cake is also forming part of the centerpiece. I also made this cake topper, in addition to the wedding bouquets. I love the two green birds on top; they are so sweet.

This is a picture of our wedding cake (from the side). Our wedding cake was awesome. Several people couldn't believe it was a real cake, since the frosting was so perfect. We had white cake with a raspberry mousse filling and also two layers that were chocolate cake with a cheesecake middle. Yum!

We're going to have cheesecake for dessert, so I brought out our cake knife and server that I had bought for the wedding. Our names and wedding date is engraved on the knife.

I made a Caesar salad to go with our dinner (we had lasagna and also crusty breadsticks brushed with basil and a basil/pesto grapeseed oil I bought from Wildtree.)

Our wedding anniversary dinner wouldn't be complete without a wedding picture on the table!

With the candles lit. Almost time for dinner!

My mother-in-law had made a delicious cheesecake and brought over half of it for us to enjoy, so we had a wonderful dessert ready to go in the refrigerator.

This was our wedding day "tablescape". Instead of a large table for the wedding party, we did a "sweetheart table" for just Erik and me. We liked the idea of letting our wedding party sit with their spouses with the rest of the guests. I made this flower arrangement also.

Thanks for joining me tonight!

White Wednesday: My (Mostly) White Bath

Today I thought I would join Kathleen at Faded Charm for her White Wednesday Blog Event!

Our upstairs bathroom is mostly white....there are some blue walls above the beadboard wainscoting

And some blue mosaic tiles on the floor......

I wanted the bathroom to have a relaxing, spa-like feel....so I used mostly white in the decor, but I also wanted it to look vintage and cottage/shabby. I  lightly spray painted this light green metal floral bucket with white paint and then added a large bunch of silk roses that I bought for $1 each.

The white shower curtain is from Crate & Barrel and has a pretty rectangular block texture. The fleur-de-lis curtain hooks are from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

This white metal towel stand displays two pretty vintage guest towels that were a recent purchase.

My mother-in-law bought this, I think it was at a rummage sale, but then decided she couldn't use it and it made it's way into my house. The white paint is chippy and it's sort of rusty, but I left it as is because I think it looks better that way!

A white cutwork embroidery roller shade for the window.

(This picture is crooked, not the shade! LOL!)  

Thanks for joining me!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today Erik and I celebrated our third year of marriage! We were married on April 27, 2007. It was an evening wedding on a Friday and it was just lovely. Erik and I were both 36 when we got married; we had been together about three and a half years by that time. How time has flown by!

Erik brought home this beautiful flower bouquet for me.....he always tells the florist to include something pink and also to add pink Stargazer lilies when he buys me flowers. He knows they are one of my favorite flowers and that I love pink!

I put the flowers in a really huge vase that I have and made it part of my Wedding Anniversary Dinner Tablescape. The Stargazer lilies will probably be fully open in about 24 hours. I will be posting the rest of the pictures for Tablescape Thursday tomorrow!

In the meantime, here's a few of our wedding photos...........

Thanks for stopping by!

This and That: A Day of Hunting for Treasure

It was a grey, rainy and somewhat chilly day today.....good thing Erik and I had plans to make a trip to Columbus to the antique mall!. My mother-in-law came along with us. It was a really fun day for all!

Our day began at about 7:30 a.m when we left our house armed with coffee and the promise of finding treasures! The drive to Columbus from our house is about an hour.

The antique mall is housed in what I believe is an old canning factory. It's huge. I forget the exact square footage, but there are 3 floors and room after room after room of goodies.

In one of the first rooms at the beginning of the day.......and yes, that's my long-haired hubby there minding our treasure-hunting baskets. Erik always enjoys helping me look for items and he always finds plenty to amuse him. While I immediately make a beeline for vintage linens and dishes, Erik goes straight for vintage books, print ads, record albums and magazines. He is a vintage book junkie.

This is just one of a bazillion booths filled with dishes and glassware. The shelves on the right were literally exploding with Fostoria glassware. Much of it was in the Corsage pattern.

We got such a laugh over this, that I took a picture.  Can you imagine the uproar this advertising sign would cause today?  Give Camels for Christmas...gift wrapped even!!

Everyone came away with some goodies. As expected, I brought home a stack of vintage linens....

Delicious lace runners and guest towels.....

Fabulous vintage print tablecloths.......

I loved this red rose table runner also....I especially love the prices. Most of these linens cost between $2.00-4.00. I found a large white tablecloth that I can use on my dining room table for $5.00. A couple of them came from vendor booths that were having a 50% off sale.

I found these little oval frames for $1.00 each.

I remembered seeing this vintage tin at my last visit and admired it. I decided since it was still there, it was destined to become part of my collection. I have been trying to imagine what oysters that came from a big giant can would look like and taste like, but the image is too gross to contemplate for long.

I was able to locate from memory a vendor booth that I particularly liked on my last visit to the antique mall where there is often random pieces from old china sets that can be had inexpensively. I bought my twelve Royal York plates at this same place, two for one dollar. (click HERE to read about these dishes). Today I found some more that were two for one dollar........... I got several of these plates with pink roses;I liked how simple they were.

I also found eight of these. They are actually large saucers, but are quite cupped, and almost look like a bowl. I think they would work really well as a dessert/berry bowl or a small salad bowl.

I found 4 of these pretty cereal/soup bowls also. They were $1.00 each. I thought they would go nicely with my blue transferware. I did also find some Spode blue transferware dishes to add to my collection, but I will save those for another post...hopefully, Tablescape Thursday post!

Our best find was an antique piano/parlor organ bench with cast iron decorative legs and original upholstery on the seat! We were very excited. We've been looking for two years for a bench for our harmonium,(click HERE to read about our harmonium) with no luck. The screws that hold the legs in place are a little loose, but with tightening, it should be as sturdy as ever. I was somewhat unsure of the RED velvet seat, but other than some fading and a few threadbare spots, it's not that bad, so I might leave it as is. I might be tempted to add some fringe however!


Thanks for stopping by!
I really enjoyed sharing the "booty" from my treasure hunt!