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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Why You Don't Marry Furniture

A busy Tuesday at That Old House.

My Dad is still in the hospital with pneumonia -- thank goodness the hospital is only ten minutes away. And I'm expecting overnight house guests -- my brother Kirby and his wife Doris, although they are family so they are easy guests.

They have to love me even if there are dust bunnies under their bed.

Yes, they'll stay in the pink room; this is a year-old picture, but I still don't have the draperies sewn for it!
The neighbors are quite scandalized. . . . but the dust bunnies don't care.

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Computer time is limited this week for me, but I wanted to post today,
and I decided to reach back almost a year ago, to a post that was great fun
to write, and I hope will be great fun for you to read.
Highlighted words lead to other posts or websites.
So -- from March 5, 2009:

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I am going to have tea in front of the fireplace, and have a slice of Grandma Cake! Come with me, as I walk you through the recipe for Tea in the Parlor. . . .


Start with a parlor, a blank slate:


Paint it to your liking, and add ... well, stuff. Furniture is a good place to start.

Drive 200-plus miles to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, to order period-style furniture from Angel House.
Stir in some blood-curdling "we don't have that fabric anymore"
moments, dash to Calico Corners and order fabric to go!

Then,
wait ... wait ... wait for the call that the furniture is ready. Pester Angel House.

Pester Angel House again, till patient lady in the office begins to sound testy on phone. Rejoice when furniture is ready!

Send husband Howard and his ex-wife (oops, ex-roommate) Mitchel on a 400-plus mile round trip in a rented truck to fetch new parlor furniture in Massachusetts to save whopping delivery charges. Offer to pay for their lunch en route. At Burger King.


Fall in love with the furniture.
Ask it to marry you, then remember you are already married.
And that furniture would make a poor husband,
as it has no means of taking out the trash.


Ruthlessly shove furniture around over and over again because
you can't find an arrangement that works.

Realize that for the purposes of a blog post, you can fudge it
and just use one wee bit of the room. Move appropriate furniture into place:

An Angel House (very comfy) wing chair, and the old
barley twist table your sister-in-law was donating to charity
and you snatched from her garage, claiming, "Charity begins at home. My home!"

Discover, too late, that the bottom side of the wing chair bears evidence of the
passage of a cheeky little white and brown spaniel who left a bit of himself behind,
on the upholstery fabric. Clean off for future pictures.
(Enlarge to see Dion's contribution to the wing chair.)

Add a bit of old table linen that doesn't need ironing, realize you don't have anything
that doesn't need ironing, so resort to a bit of old lace.


Add Johnson Brothers "Indies Blue" china, an old "Blenheim" pattern silver spoon (it hasn't been polished so just claim to like that vintage look), the cobalt and gold Meissen teapot, change your mind about the Meissen teapot as you don't have any cup & saucer to measure up to it, realize you don't have enough nice china and hear your husband scream all the way from midtown Manhattan, replace Meissen with unknown maker blue and white teapot, and, finally,
a slice of Grandma Cake to make it all worthwhile.


And there we have it....
Tea in the Parlor, or:
How To Get The Most Posts Out Of One Homemade Cake.


I'd light the fire, but it's a gas gizmo and I am mortally terrified of it.

And I still don't have a satisfactory arrangement of furniture in this room.
Someday.

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So I'm jumping in to three blog parties today . . . go visit them! I am afraid I'll have to owe visits for awhile; I hope you understand.

While the sofa and chairs in the parlor were new, just about everything else in this post, from pink bedroom to parlor, is old -- bought used, or handed down in the family. Even our house is a 2nd Time Around-er . . . so thanks to Diane at A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words for Second Time Around Tuesday.


Tabletop Tuesday was going to be about our hall bath, but instead . . . it's the little table by the fireplace, with all the blue and white dishes and old linen. Thanks to Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for hosting! Marty's got gorgeous blue and white in her own post today.


And Tam -- thanks for one of my first-ever favorite blog parties -- Three Or More Tuesday. My 3 or more today are the three Angel House pieces -- the sofa and two chairs in the parlor. Go visit The Gypsy's Corner for more things in threes. Or more!

Now . . . I am leaving soon for the hospital; I wish I could stay and read and read and read blogs all day today. Thanks for the many kind wishes you've expressed for my Dad; he's doing fine. -- Cass

21 comments:

  1. I am not a pink person but I love the room. Very nice...and I will have a slice of that cake! Thanks

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  2. What a lovely home and you made such a lovely setting!

    ~Liz

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  3. Oh Cass I L♥ve your home girl...now that GWTW lamp is to die 4...and hey dust bunnies are here because of Easter coming...of course I have them also at Christmas time but then I call them snow fluffies ha ha!! Prayers coming for you Daddy my friend...I feel so bad with the year you have been having my friend...You know I'm here for a support system for you...Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

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  4. Praying for your Father's quick and full recovery. Enjoy your company.

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  5. You have a beautiful home! Thanks for linking to 2nd Time Around!

    Love you photos! It all looks like something out of a magazine!

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  6. I love this post. I think I read it the first time around.

    I'm thinking of you and your family, Cass, with heartfelt prayers.

    xoxo
    Jane

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  7. Cass, I LOVE that lamp! And you know I love the lace on the table (that I also love!) Not much I don't love about that old house!
    xoxo Pattie

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  8. What a welcoming room for your guests. I hope your dad feels better soon. Love the tea pot set arrangement....Christine

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  9. I love the linens and china in your beautiful and welcoming scene.

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  10. Best thoughts for your dad.

    Scribbler

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  11. Oh I love this post. Your room is gorgeous and your furniture is stunning, no wonder you wanted it so badly. Your little table is perfect for tea and the china and tea set is perfect. The grandma cake looks delicious. I am so glad to know that others fuss with a room too and have a hard time finding the perfect arrangement. I love this, great post. Thanks so much for joining the party. Hugs, Marty

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  12. Hi cass, i hope your dad gets well soon!!! I just love your home,it's just so gorgeous....Kathy

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  13. Those bunnies sure live in a nice hutch! Just the perfect shade of pink too.

    Di
    The Blue Ridge Gal

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  14. along with the hot cocoa mix, I have to get you an iron... :)we will miss you but you have a lot on your plate, take care friend.
    My best for your Dad, give him a smoochie for me.

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  15. Cass, cute post and I love your home! That blue and white napkin is so pretty. It all looks very colonial to me. A cozy place to have some tea. Glad to hear your Dad is better. Joan

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  16. Beautiful! I enjoyed the cute story along with the pretty photography!

    Love the tea table!

    Katherine

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  17. I love the bed the lamp, I would love to stay there! How I love your Dream home! The parlor, well I had a good laugh. Love the sofa, the tea table and tea setting! I starting a new meme for anything tea. Your going to have to use this! I hope your Daddy gets better soon!

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  18. The bedroom is gorgeous, really beautiful.
    The parlor is also a very beautiful room, the furniture is perfect for it.
    I also enjoyed your sense of humor, I suppose that has come in handy while remodeling, eh?
    Hugs, cindy s

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  19. The pink room is inviting, even without curtains. I especially like how you built the color scheme from the lamp.

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  20. Good thoughts for your dad and for you.
    I would love a room like that, curtains or not (I don't care about the neighbors)especially the bunny.

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