Nice Casual Table Setting & Turkey Post Roast

I am doing one of those double post thingys.  Very nice since these two are so close together. :-)

Thanks you Susan with Between Naps on the Porch for hosting TableScape Thursday every week.

And thanks to Gollum with Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday every Friday!  

Please click on these links to to go these ladies blogs and see all the wonderful tables and food.  A site to behold indeed!  Many many ideas as well.  Now for my post. ;-)

I wanted some plain dishes that I could use and mix and match as needed. And I need a 6 piece place setting. I found that set at... Big Lots! Actually that was 5 months ago. I found them onsale, 30+ piece set on sale for $19.99. At that price, I could use them once and donate them! It came with a serving platter and a large serving bowl, 6 of each: coffee cups, dinner plates, salad/luncheon plates, soup bowl and ....

Cereal Bowl. Yep, 6 (one was broken) honk'in big cereal bowls! 3 heaping cups of cheerios in the bowl! Can you say "Portions?" LOL!

I kept two of the bowls and I use them for serving bowls. :D they are a perfect size!

I love the creamy colour and how it stacks so well on the table.

                     I can mix and match anything with it. I love my fall napkins with the dishes.

 

The turkey plate looks great! The dinner plate almost looks like a charger.

Speaking of turkey....

Foodie Friday's menu is:

Turkey Post Roast
Kale
I started out with a 4lb boneless turkey breast. Any brand or size will do. If you have one of those really large crock pots, you can do a whole turkey.

As usual, I rarely measure anything. Just pour or shake until it looks right.

Or until my nose starts burning...  I did use about 1/2 c of white cooking wine, 2 T of olive oil.

I chopped up some potatoes and carrots to cook with the turkey. You can add onion and celery, mushrooms, what ever your family will normally eat with a pot roast.

Put it all in a crock pot and let it cook all day.

Kale:
Wash kale very well and chop. Place in pot with a tad of salt, 3 cut winter onion, pepper, minced garlic, ham if you have it on hand.

Bring to a boil and turn heat down to a simmer. Cook until tender then add a tad of olive oil.

UMMMMMM UMMMMM !  this stuff is good!

Tender and juicy! Just plate it up and watch it disappear.

My family loves turkey cooked this way and I never throw any of it out.  We often have leftovers for 2-3 meals.  The turkey will also make wonderful sandwiches, if you have enough left over.  It is very good!!! And anything that my family will eat, will make me happy to cook.  You can put this in the crock for the day and supper ready that night!

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to go by Susan's blog Between Naps on the Porch to see more tablescapes or to participate in Table scape Thursday.

Then go by Gollums bog Designs By Gollum to see for food and recipes!  Thank you ladies for hosting!.

Chic Day!

Have y'all missed me! I have missed you! Very much. Looking forward to blogging more in the future. :-)

Today I am participating in Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan of "Between Naps on the Porch". Thank you Susan for hosting! After reading my post, stop by her blog to see more Tablescape posts. Many beautiful ideas there!

Wed the 11th, being Veterans Day (Veterans and those currently serving in our armed forces, thank you so much for your service to our country.) school was out. DD and I had a long awaited "Chick Day" planned. We were going to watch Sense and Sensibility (the PBS one with Hugh Grant...), but somehow we watched Spiderwick. I guess you could make that a "Chick Flick" if you use your imagination hard enough. LOL! Then we went on a bike ride. That was fun and we had the perfect weather for it.

Now our "Chick Days" always involve going to a Tea Room. DD and I just love Miss Rosemarie's Tea Room in Hoover, Alabama.

And I thought, "I will get photos of the Table Scapes as well, and I will participate in Susan's Tablescape Thursday!"

Miss Rosemarie's tables are always beautiful! Lovely china, some matching, some not.

She has shelves of teapots, tea cups, teas (many her own blends),  cookbooks and other wares for sale all about the tearoom.

DD is hungry! Looking forward to FOOD!

Most of the tables are antiques or vintage.
She has a layer of glass over all of them to protect the finish.

Each table also has a Mint Julip cup with roses. Very pretty.

The tea of the day is Orange Spice! Only served this time of year. It is wonderful!

DD got a tall glass of Sweet Iced Blackrasberry Tea. It is so good!

DD ordered Roast Beef with Tomato Basil Soup.

I ordered quiche, crab crapes, salad and a cup of mushroom soup. YUM!

I love Miss Rosemarie's soups. And I love how it is served in this lovely tea cup!

No more pictures mom!!! (She cleaned her plate and bowl!)

I had a Walnut Maple Scone for dessert,
but it jumped into my tummy before I could take a photo! ;-)

I just love all these tea sets.

Don't forget to stop by Susan's blog, Between Naps on the Porch, to see more table scape posts or to participate yourself!

And if you are ever in the Hoover/Birmingham Alabama area, go by Miss Rosemarie's tea room. You will not be disappointed.

A kewl thing I forgot to mention about Miss Rosemarie's Tea Room is, if you are wearing dark clothes you get a black linen napkin. If you are wearing light colored clothes you get a white linen napkin. Reason? Lint that the napkin leaves behind. :-) Rosemarie, who usually wears dark slacks or skirt, told me once that she always hated going into a restaurant, place a white linen napkin on her lap and have the lint on her clothes the rest of the day. And the black napkins do the same thing to lighter clothing. So she keeps plenty of both. Great idea!

TableScape Thurs~The McLean House

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday and thank you Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) for hosting your 44th TT!

In Appomattox, VA., where Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate troupes to General Grant, you will find the McLean house. It is a beautiful 3 story home.

The McLeans lived in Manassas, VA. He was a banker and also speculated in sugar. After the war started they moved to Appomattox, VA. History tells us it was because of 'business'. But there is also a legend that during the battle of Bull Run (Manassas), which was also the first battle of the Civil War, a cannon ball went through their Manassa home.

In their lovely home in Appomattox the kitchen was on the first/ground floor. The morning table setting of breakfast for the head cook, housekeeper or even Mrs. McLean would look something like this.

Mr. McLean would have had his afternoon tea set in his study much like this.I believe this is Flow Blue. I was behind a barrier and there was a big ranger woman watching me. I suppose she was afraid I would make off with the china....

On the ground floor, across from the kitchen, is the dinning hall. I bet there were many dances in there as well. I love those empire sideboards.... but this is about table settings. Mrs. McLean (or her servants) set a lovely table. And look at the painted cloth under the table. It is beautiful! Expensive for the day and forerunner to our vinyl tile.

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. To see more Tablescapes or to Participate in Tablescape Thursday, go to Susan's blog Between Naps on the Porch.

Tablescape Thursday

This is my first Tablescape Thursday. And I hope that I do not bore you with this tablescape! Thank you Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape every Thursday.

Now you see, because I do have a lot of dishes, and I lust, I mean admire all the dishes I see out there, and because I made the 'Dishaholic Award' a few of you accused me of being a Dishaholic! Now I have never been awarded the Dishaholic Award. :D But I think you do have to buy a lot of dishes to be a Dishaholic. ;-) (Tee Hee)

Well here is one set that I have actually bought. And some have already fallen victim to my granite tile counter and terracotta floor. (Sigh....) I certainly am glad that I only paid $9 bucks on clearance for a 4 piece place sitting for 6 at Big Lots. One of the Dessert/Salad plates was cracked (all of the boxes had one cracked Dessert/Salad plate thus "Clarance" for $9 bucks!)

A lovely white stoneware set that goes with anything!

I had to have some lovely flowers for my Tablescape so I got these from my garden. They look perfect in the vase. A friend gave me that vase for my birthday several years ago.

My Chateau (by Oneida) stainless flatware (wedding gifts) looks just right with this set of dishes. Here in the south, or at least in this house, our iced tea glasses are huge! I bought the glass (I do buy my glasses and I try to keep about 10 - 12) you see here, a Libby Glass from Wally World. .97 or so. When it falls victum of my counter top or kitchen floor, I go buy another...

The placemats and napkins are a gift from my mom. I think I have had them at least 20-25 years. Not sure. They used to go with a set of stoneware I had when I was single.

I found this little square plate on clearance somewhere last fall. It goes with one of my homemade cloches. (I borrowed it from the cloche.) Now after seeing it with this tablescape, I want 5 more.... (is that lusting or sinning? Am I a dish-o-holic?)

Guess what? When DD came along, we got several sets of Chateau baby/toddler flatware! I guess Oneida makes it for little ones too! Well I think the knives look just like individual butter knives so that is what I use them for. :-)

I thought everyone in Bloggerville had a set of these but me. Then one day I was in that French store.... Tar'je' (Target) and there they were! I plan to make tassels out of them.

The bread basket was a wedding gift. It was silver plated. Last fall, after reading all the paint parties on the blogs, I primed it and painted it blue. See, I did not buy it either and I was about to give it away. (I have given tons of stuff away. But I continue to be blessed!)

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment. To view more Tablescapes or to participate, stop by Susan's blog @ Between Naps on the Porch.

Have a blessed day,
Hugs,
Melissa