China Far And Near, and Dion Speaks!

If you are new to That Old House, you might not
know that a month ago, our daughter got married.

Alida, our daughter, on the right.  Josh, not-our-daughter but our newly minted son, on the left.

After their New Jersey wedding, Alida and Josh returned to their new apartment in Los Angeles,

and then took off for a 3-week honeymoon in China.  They got back to California on Sunday.

Much to the relief of all their parents!

They have jillions of pictures, and Alida says that when things settle down

for them, she will do a couple of guest posts about their China adventure for That Old House.

About places they visited

I spy the terracotta warriors!  Look behind you!

 

And about things they ate.

 Look!  Blue and white china!

 Love the Tablescape, below.  I think I need one of those pots.  Goodwill, maybe?

Mmmmm . . . .

And even about things they cooked.

 If Josh knows how to vacuum, I see a long and happy married life ahead of them.

 Well, I see that anyway.

Now my daughter is a little like me, in that she can be moving in a straight line toward a goal,

and find several detours along the way.  But we'll remind her of her promise to guest blog, won't we?

Tourist!

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Speaking of china . . . 

it's what we need to make a Tablescape on this Thursday, a day in which I have been

detouring 

to fabric sites online and other tempting distractions and not settling down to the task at hand.

Focus!

And let's have tea in the Parlor, shall we?

A couple of weeks ago, I scored a Queen Anne style mahogany tea table at an antiques mall.

For 47 dollars.

I have only cleaned it -- not refinished it -- and popped it into the Parlor, where I think it looks right at home.

Today, we put the tea table to work, in the Parlor that just last week looked like this:

Now, that's a big improvement!

Dion is convinced there must be crumbs here somewhere!  He can smell cookies.

Pictures of the tea table, awash in blue and white.

 Johnson Brothers Indies Blue china cups, sugar and creamer -- one of my very favorite patterns.

 A blue and white tea pot.

 And the cake plate I got at Goodwill on Monday is already making itself useful.

 Made in China, it is not food safe (probably lead in the glaze) so I am using a little cobalt-and-gilt plate to hold

the dark chocolate cookies atop the pedestal plate.  I can hear my husband:  "What? We have cookies at home?"

 Sugar for our tea, in the shape of little pink roses.

A silver bud vase, fashioned from vintage flatware.  I love this piece, a gift from my sister-in-law Phyllis.

 On the mantel . . . not much.  We're going spare and Zen today,

because I am completely out of ideas for jazzing up the fireplace.

"I sniffed that whole floor and no crumbs.  What's up with that?"

Mr. Dion DiPoochy lodges his complaint

about cookies that are out of his reach!

Click to view; it's short.

Dion has perfected that high-pitched yap for when he really wants to get your attention.

Or a Beanie Baby tossed at him.  -- Cass

Linky Parties for Thursday!

At Between Naps On The Porch, it's the Mother of All Linky Parties -- Tablescape Thursday.  Click here!

At Tales from Bloggeritaville, check out Thrifty Thursday.  Click here!

Colorado Lady gives us Vintage Thingy Thursday.  Click here!

and

At Shabby Chic Cottage, it's Transformation Thursday.  Click here!

A Brief But Illustrious Stage Career For My First-Date Dress!

I always seem to have a grab bag of oddball stuff on Friday;
must be that end-of-the-week thing.
Loose ends and all that.

Today, I'm going all nostalgic and theatrical,

taking a look at my latest furniture find,

and peeking in a looking glass.

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Back before Alida's bridal shower in early June, I tried to find the peignoir set my own mother gave me at my shower.

And couldn't.

But then, two weeks after the wedding, my old peignoir turned up in a Rubbermaid bin in our cellar.

It was stored with the dress I wore on my first date with Howard,

when he took me out to dinner and to see Kentucky Fried Movie, of all things,

and that date didn't end until after breakfast at a diner at 7 o'clock the next morning,

because we were talking so much.

Really.  We were.  Talking.  We still talk a lot.

When I hung the peignoir up to feel all nostalgic and sentimental, I also hung up the dress.

 Here's where the story gets complicated.

Our daughter Anne is costuming a musical that opened this month at the June Havoc Theater

in New York, part of the Midtown International Theater Festival.

Ocean In A Teacup takes place in India in 1944, so Anne was up to her eyeballs in

saris and linen tunics and pants, U.S. Army uniforms and 1940s Western-style dresses.

"Hey," said I, "you could almost use my old dress;

it's from 1977 but it was a vintage 40s look."

And so she did.

One of the actresses wore it opening night!

However, it's been retired and replaced by another dress in a paler fabric

that shows up better against the black box look of the theater.

But my dress had its brief moment of fame, its 15 minutes in the spotlight.

I certainly won't wear it again!

But I loved this dress.  I could cut it apart and make a neckerchief for myself . . . .

****************************************************************************

Speaking of myself, and yourself, do you ever do this:

Take a picture, and not notice you've caught yourself in the mirror?

Anne and I were browsing at Scranberry Coop in Andover, New Jersey yesterday.

I really went just to look.  Not to buy. Just to look!

So, as my husband might say, if you went just to look, how come this is on the driveway next to your car?

Please ignore the commuter cup and the old straw handbag,

just like you ignored the old bag in the previous shot.

Instead, look at the table.  It's a Queen Anne style Tea Table.

With candle slides!

Mahogany, and I'm thinking it will be just right in front of the camelback sofa in our Parlor.

Back before there were low cocktail tables, or coffee tables, people had tea tables

and they were tallish fellows, so that it was easy to reach and pour tea, slurp it, and gobble up the cute little cakes . . .

I've been looking for a real tea table for a long, long time.

Now, I don't like to pay more dollars for a table than I can count out on my fingers and toes,

so it's been a long wait, and I did have to add Annie's fingers and toes into the financial calculations,

but it still was a really good buy.  And that's the best kind.

It's in great used condition, sturdy, a few wee flaws in the finish but they are easily fixed.

If you are in the New York area, and would like to see Ocean In A Teacup or any of the other productions
in the Midtown International Theater Festival, click here for the website and ticket information.

We're going to the Sunday matinee and then to dinner to celebrate my 102nd birthday,

but Howard better get me home before 7 on Monday morning or
I will turn into a pumpkin, and not one of those cute little pumpkins but a big ol' warty one.

Anne is also costuming The Giantess, a new play based on the real-life Giantess of Nova Scotia, Anna Swan.  For info on that one -- which according to my daughter is very funny and is opening in August at the Paul Walker Theater, 721 Broadway in New York for a very limited run -- click here.

Link Parties!

Miss Mustard Seed and her Furniture Friday.  Click here!

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.  Click here!

And have a fabulous weekend!  Any special plans?  -- Cass