It's the little things

I'm so loving a big cup of coffee this morning in our new mugs! We didn't bring quite as large a mug supply as we ended up needing here in Boston, so it was Williams-Sonoma to the rescue with these delicious basketweave treats:

They are ever-so-slightly more of a bluish-white than our creamy-white everyday china, but that is okay with me because they still look fab with our blue willow and manage to hold a quite large cup o' joe to help us ease into another day. The generous size allows optimal holding for early morning coziness. Plus, I'm really digging the basketweave and would be totally fine accumulating the rest of the set when we inevitably need more place settings (wink, wink). Close competition: Wedgewood Nantucket Basketweave, obvi.

Wifey Wednesday

We've had a few 70s/sunny kind of days and I've been inspired to spruce up for spring. Of course, my favorite way to do this is with my china.

You know I love mixing, matching and collecting china, so here's a little peak at some of my current mixes - you'll see that pretty much anything goes! 

Talavera (Mexico) and Herend (Hungary):

 My everyday is all white, so basically any of my favorite accent pieces can be easily mixed in for a different look. This time, I used my Twist Anna from Villeroy and Boch (coincidentally the same manufacturer as my everyday, Cellini). It is a pattern my mother collected for me while I was growing up. This is why I love an all-white base pattern. It's a nice clean palette to play with when you need a little change.

V&B and... V&B:

My all-time favorite pattern is Blue Willow (graciously borrowed from my Grandmother's museum-worthy collection). I have a few odds and ends from the collection so I have them scattered around our place. A few saucers make a nice statement on a side-table, and they look fab as wine coasters when we have company. Here, I've paired some saucers with a little teacup Mom collected for me as part of a dainty demitasse collection:

 Even my pinecones got a breath of fresh air. I added some rose sprigs from Hobby Lobby to transition them from winter to spring. I just couldn't put them away!

My main motivation for remixing my china was to use what we already have to make an impact. Take inventory at your house and then head to some of your favorite stores for inspiration and to see what new looks you love. You'll find that you can replicate a lot of them by re-working pieces hiding in your closet, or packed away in the cupboard.

Have a happy Wednesday!

White (Dallas?!) Christmas and Breakfast Strudel

After a stormy Christmas Eve, we awoke to this fresh winter wonderland! We hardly knew what to do with the white stuff, and I even had a good old fashioned seat-drop fall while taking little Dixie on her first snow-walk (yikes!).

Back inside, we were nice and cozy, and the Christmas morning traditions resumed. Hubby and I joined my parents for the morning, and his folks later that night. For the a.m. portion, Dad and I got to work on the annual breakfast strudel (we open presents after we eat, of course):

First, scramble the eggy yumminess on the stove (eggs, hash browns, diced ham, onions, bell pepper) until almost fully cooked. Let cool in pan while you roll out puff pasty sheets and prepare them for special wrapping:

Add eggy yumminess to center of pastry dough:

Wrap it up nice and tight:

Use extra dough to make cute decorations! Sometimes we spell "NOEL," or "JOY" too:

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese:

Bake at 350 for 20ish minutes until golden. The slice on the bias:

Serve and enjoy! Here's mom's beautimus Christmas brunch tablescape:

I was also really digging the cranberry-filled decanters. Cheerful and elegant at the same time:

Who doesn't love a Stein's Bakery treat? (Our favorite delivery of the year - thanks, Baker fam!)

And Pitman & Davis grapefruits? Heavenly!

Mom broils ours with brown sugar and coconut on top.

Such is the bliss of our traditional Christmas morning!

I hope you and yours had a blessed one as well. Here's to another fun year in 2010!

Trying to take nice pictures of china = not possible!

The Christmas china is officially unpacked! Now, our wedding registry pattern is the Spode Christmas Rose (excuse the horrid photos... china is so glossy and iPhone cameras are less-than-forgiving!):

I chose this pattern because it goes really nicely with one of our formal china patterns (Herend Golden Edge) and can be mixed in well during the holidays. I also love it because it is more winter-y than specifically Christmas-y. We've started our collection with salad plates because I figured we would most likely be using them for dessert and coffee (as the golden edge makes them slightly high maintenance and non dishwasher safe).

All that to say, we've also begun little collections of the original Christmas Tree pattern by Cuthbertson. Here are our basic dinner plates:

And our embossed octagonal salad plates:

Here's a closer look at the embossing detail:

I dressed our mantle...

...and china hutch with standing Christmas plates  for a little extra cheer:

More decor is underway... I am trying not to overwhelm our small space!

Talavera Tutelage

I cannot even think of where to begin, and I hate to be one of those constantly-apologizing-for-lack-of-recent-post bloggers, but...that said...my apologies.

I've been here on the Farm in Pittsburg,


and here on the beach in Cabo,


and here in the West Valley of El Paso (well, actually this is technically in New Mexico),


having a ball, yes, and taking many many photos to share on LAW (I'm not certain I love the acronym...sounds a little...serious), but finding myself without much time to sit down and hammer out some new reads.

So, without further ado, let's talk Talavera.


You might be familiar with the authentic Mexican pottery traditionally (and officially) from the town of Puebla. If not, I think I might be about to introduce you to some of the most fun, cheerful and beautiful tableware I've seen (I feel I've seen a lot, but that could be naive).

My Talavera affair first began when I was a child, visiting my mother's family in El Paso. My mother and grandmother both also love the plates, so I think it was basically in my genes.

In San Jose del Cabo, we came across the famous Necri store, an authentic Talavera dealer:



Inside, I was like a kid in a candy store (insert dreamy music here):







Finally, after literally three trips back to the store (I take FOREVER to shop... I am terribly afraid of buyer's remorse), I decided on this pretty little creamer and covered sugar and two matching mugs:



and I couldn't be more thrilled with the decision! I decided the blue and white was a good jumping off point for beginning my new collection. I'd eventually like to add the service tray, more mugs, and, well, the entire 12-person setting plus service pieces, to be honest :) Heck, it's dishwasher safe! Though I'm still afraid to test that out... :)

The real truth is, I love a good blue and white china pattern. Since I started off with a traditional all-white pattern for our everyday, now I'm free and easy to mix and match as I please. It was inevitable that I'd grow my collection quickly.

For any brides who love the stuff, NECRI has online registry! They'll even ship for free in handy custom crates :)