Amazing Quilts

Greetings Friends~ ~ ~
Last week we enjoyed a day at a huge quilt show held locally in Lancaster County. If you are like me and not in touch with quilting in 2010 you will be amazed at the quilts here. Your Grandmothers quilts they are not but oh my, are they lovely and creative.

I adore the flowers on the pink one above. All applique.

This was stunning also.


The quilt above was only one of just a few of the old fashioned looking quilts among hundreds that were displayed for judging. I kid you not, hundreds!

I found the one above amusing, how about you?

This quilt with all the points was beautifully made and won Best In Show!
If you sew, this will make you lose sleep!

Pretty, pretty.

Intricate.

I love this one with the vases of flowers. Wouldn't this make a great cloth for a table scape?

I can see it hanging over a big round table with

Lots of white dishes on it.

Interesting?

These two were on display in a booth and the patterns were for sale.

I just had to share the fun and beauty with you.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

To Paint Or Not To Paint?

Hello Friends~ ~ ~

I would like to share with you some of my methods for painting furniture that I have used successfully. Maryjane mentioned on her comment that she would love to paint her furniture, Did I do it myself. Yes! The reason most of us don't just jump in and do it is fear. Can I really do this and how will it look when I'm done? Well gals, if I can SO CAN YOU!


Let me share with you that I was no different before I painted all of this. The only reason I didn't hesitate is that I didn't have time to!

(Please notice below the fancy carvings on the cabinet doors were not there before. I bought them and pasted them on Before painting, adding a sweet little French Touch to the piece)

We had just bought this house so that Mom could move in with us. It was perfect for the situation in many ways but it was and still is decorated Victorian dark! Deep wine red and cream is the color scheme. I love Shabby Chic white but never did it right. Mom loves Victorian and I knew that she would love this house. . and I was right. All of her furniture worked right into the design and colors.

So, what was a Shabby Chic Gal to do. No more time to hesitate about weather to paint or not to paint just choose a color girl and git going! I painted all my furniture white thinking it would lighten up the house without doing a total house redo. That's coming up much later in my budget.

This French paste wax is soft and creamy and the final step of my paint job. No polyurethane finish for me I love the soft glow this wax imparts. It's softer than an English paste wax because the French furniture has all the elaborate wood carving and this soft wax more easily flows into the carvings. It's amazing.

This is a little table I painted last summer.

I have no before and after pictures of the other furniture because this all happened Before the blog and I wasn't in a picture taking mode. Funny how blogging effects your life. Now everywhere I go I've got my camera with me!

Step 1. Lightly sand the piece to rough it up a bit.

Step 2. Paint with KILZ This stuff is amazing, covers everything

Step 3. When dry sand lightly again and do this Before every coat

Step 4. Paint. All my furniture was darker than this table and I put on 2 coats.

Step 5. Let dry for a few days to a week. Than wax.

Ta Da! Pretty white furniture. I did not ruff mine up to age it. That has happened over time and I like the look.

See the corner of the buffet in the back of this picture~ ~It's next on the paint list.

I used Behr Paint and choosing a shade of white was agonizing. I didn't want white white or gray white so I choose a darker shade of white but looking at this furniture you wouldn't guess it. I used "Cottage White" and I'm very happy with the results.

Any questions? Just ask.

Love you all
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

Networking With The Ladies

Greetings Friends~ ~ ~

A new season and a new venture. I'm so excited and so ready for Spring. Please join me for a ladies luncheon as we brainstorm and put our intentions out to find the perfect connections for my new business.

What I need right now is someone who can set up a large website for me. I have a rather large list of items that this website must be programed to oversee. I'm not a computer guru but I could really use one right now. If you are one or know one please let me know. I would be thrilled if the magical person for this job would come from my list of blog friends. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Back to the table scape. I set up a table for a little luncheon. I got out the pale pink tablecloth I bought at a flea market. I love this cloth. Look at the jacquard roses woven into it. See them above the place setting. It's so soft and pretty.

I used my vintage hankies for napkins again and I'm finding that I just love this idea.
Around here they are relatively inexpensive $1.50 -$3.00 each.

This pink vintage napkin with the scalloped edge is my favorite.

I love these little clear leaf plates. I often use them for a bread plate. They are a little difficult to see on the table so I tied each one with a snippet of ribbon and placed a few candy eggs on each.

I have used two different patterns of vintage china for the place settings. Two with lavender flowers and two with pink flowers. Don't you just love mixing things up? Each tea cup is also different.

These are some closeups of the centerpiece. I used lots of small Easter pieces I have saved over the years. I love how some of you gals are using much larger pieces for your centerpieces. I must start collecting bigger pieces. I love how they make a big statement.

This little sugar bowl is one of my favorites.

These two hobnail shoes belong to Mom.

Lavender M&M's how great is that!

Antique salt & peppers.

A pretty little tea cup and a sweet set of Cambridge Blue sugar & creamer.

The creamer holds tea bags.

My Thanks to Susan for hosting this Tablescape Party at

Between Naps On The Porch

Hop on over and see the links to many more beautiful tables.

Hope you all have a Great Weekend.

~ ~ ~Ahrisha~ ~ ~

Antiquing & Brunch

Greetings My Friends~ ~ ~
A birdseye view of our Sunday Brunch table. Ahhh, I feel Spring coming on but I am getting ahead of myself. Before brunch we did a little antiquing.

Sometimes I have something specific in mind when I hit the antique markets but today I was lovin' all of it. I want to share with you some of the sights. Two sets of deco lights, be still my heart I adore the set on the left and they would look amazing in my house but at $950.00 for the set, not today thank you!

This set was sweet too.

I have the perfect spot for these but I really only need 2 and they were priced at $3500.00 for the set of 3! I would love to have one on either side of my Victorian picture over the bed. Sigh!

I want to go shopping with Bill, He gets the greatest deals, doesn't he? In his neck of the woods I could probably get them for $50.00 for the lot.

I adore this Deco light.

The shades looked like Carnival glass.

This is amazing too.

Good thing I don't have to choose.

Pretty, pretty set of dishes. Love the flowered center.

A few pieces of white ironstone~ ~always makes me swoon.

After a fun morning of antiquing we came back to our home for Brunch.

These sweet little napkin rings were a

yard sale find 10 for $6.00.

That's more like it. I love a bargain, don't you?

Here is my recipe for

"Breakfast Casserole"

4T. Butter

1 med. onion, chopped
2 chopped cloves garlic

Saute till transparent add 1 lb. cleaned shrimp saute till done.

season with 1/2 tsp. Thyme

set aside

Butter a 9 x 13 pan

cube 8 slices of bread

(I use crusty french or my homemade bread)

put half into the pan

layer half shrimp mix over bread

top with half shredded cheeses

Do all 3 layers again.

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss Cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
~ ~ ~ ~

Mix in a bowl
7 beaten eggs

2 T. flour

3 cups half and half

1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. black pepper

pinch of red pepper

Pour egg mixture over layered bread mixture.

Cover and refrigerate overnight

In The Morning

Bake UNCOVERED about 50-60 minutes till knife inserted near center comes out clean.

You can substitute bacon or sausage for the shrimp if you like.

This dish reheats nicely or cut into squares and nuke for a quick breakfast.

Keeps for a few days in the fridge after baking.

Thanks for tagging along on our trip.

Hope you had fun

I am linking to Susan at Between Naps On The Porch

for Tablescape Thursday

Also linking to Michael Lee at Designs By Gollum

for Foodie Friday

Make It A Great Weekend!

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

My Favorite Tea Cup

Greetings Friends~ ~ ~

Here it is right in the front. The prettiest tea cup I own. Why not show us yours. Whenever I have a cup of tea I like to use this cup. I must admit to coffee as my first love, Sorry tea. I occasionally like a cup of Black Chi Tea, Stash Brand in the red and black box, with a big spoonful of local honey. I also enjoy Earl Gray tea.

I was invited by Lady Katherine to join her for Tuesday Tea. How could I say no.

I set my table with my new quilted table cover over a lace cloth. You all know that I must have lace. Love it.

Sweet pink lace edge on the napkin too.

I added a small Spring centerpiece to the table. The sweet little bird is holding the place for the bunny. Can you believe I had the cutest little bunnys in an egg last year and I can't find them! Must be a gremlin. I have looked everyplace. I really hope it shows up before Easter.

Oh yes, I made brownies too in honor of the tea.

Best brownie recipe I have ever eaten.

I found it at one of my favorite

cooking blogs, "2 Stews".

If you are not familiar with this blog you really should check it out.

These girls can cook!

I made the full recipe and baked it in a 9 X 13 pan for about 2 hours.

When I make them again I will use two 8 X 8 square pans instead.

Just saying. They are decadent!
Oh yes, and I added pecans too.

The ceramic eggs are Moms. Many years ago she made ceramics and every year we have sweet little eggs to put out for Easter.

This is my Easter Egg tree. It's a wire tree and I drape eggs on it for Easter. These little peeps are so sweet and I love to get them out every year. Isn't it fun each year to see all the old and treasured pieces we have gathered over the years. I enjoy greeting them each Spring.

Please visit Lady Katherine for Tuesday Tea

if you have a few minutes.

I'm sure that she would love to see you.

Thanks so much for visiting me and enjoy your week.

~ ~Ahrisha~ ~