Category: vintage

bibliophile, herbal fare, vintage

Vintage Tea Party, a book reviewed

suzielinn

Vintage Tea Party by Carolyn Caldicott is one of those books that need repeated readings to be fully absorbed.

Once through just for the photographs, which are simply stunning. From the double page spreads of English landscapes to the smaller photographs of tea cups, finger sandwiches and beautiful tablescapes, the photographs draw you in and make you want to linger a bit.

Another trip through the book and you glean the history and importance of tea, the rise of afternoon tea, the difference between low and high tea, the joy of a fireside tea and the petite adventures of a nursery tea.

The book draws you back again for the recipes, which require another – now deeper – study of the photographs. The recipes are written in English measurements, but can be easily converted.

From beginning to end, this book is charming. To quote, Vintage Tea Party tells “how afternoon tea developed from its modest beginnings to become a much-loved celebration of indulgent pleasures.” A century and a half may have passed, but I am absolutely in love with Anna, the Duchess of Bedford’s idea of “a tea and a walk in the fields.”

How to get that vintage tea party look?

Step one: Check your attic or Grandma’s china hutch for cups, silver and linens. Antique markets always offer an abundant selection of tea party essentials. One need not have matching dishes. Mix and match and coordinate to please your tastes and style.

tea 2

Step two: The food… When homemade treats are not possible, shop at a local bakery or pastry shop for tiny morsels. A baguette sliced and topped with butter and fresh jam and a few bits of fine cheese are simple enough yet pleasing. I adore Ms. Caldicott’s advice: “You don’t need to be a domestic goddess to have a tea party. As long as the tea ingredients look home-made and are served with vintage style, there are ways to cheat and make life easier.”

tea 3

Step three: The tea… Ah. The tea. So many possibilities and so many personal favorites. The British Emporium in Grapevine is one of my favorite places to shop for tea, but most groceries now carry a variety of options.

Now, about that tea and a walk in the fields. Brisk fall days such as today are the perfect pairing!

tea 1

 

bibliophile, vintage

Once Upon An Autumn Day

suzielinn

Aren’t these saucers the perfect addition to a fall tea party?

fall dish 2

I will be reviewing Vintage Tea Party by Carolyn Caldicott later this week. (Sneak preview: Neat book! Loved the vintage dishes and photography.)

Tea time is a nice pause in the middle of a hectic day, a chance to settle in, relax, enjoy a quiet moment, reflect for a bit. Once a little boy, now a young man, my son still sits down to tea. The draw? Food. He comes to the table for a snack, stays for the tea and a poem or two. The best part of a vintage tea party is that one can mix and match the dishes, cut a few early fall flowers for a small bouquet. It need not be fancy (or the food homemade) to a perfect tea party.

fall dish 1

Once upon an autumn day,
Colorful leaves began to fade
In the midst of a chilly, frosty air
As multitude of trees grew steadily bare.

Once upon an autumn day,
The whispering breeze was here to stay
Moving aimlessly through the countless trees
Scattering leaves with the greatest of ease.

Once upon an autumn day,
The leaves whirled freely in every way,
Until at last they came to rest
Finding a haven in which to nest.

Once upon an autumn day,
The trees were dormant, and the leaves lay
Waiting for the winter snow to fall
To quickly obscure them one and all.

~~~ Joseph T. Renald

ihand with fan

 

 

 

 

bibliophile, vintage

Portrait by a Neighbor

suzielinn

dog

Before she has her floor swept
0r her dishes done,
Any day you’ll find her
A-sunning in the sun!

It’s long after midnight
Her key’s in the lock,
And you never see her chimney smoke
Till past ten o’clock!

She digs in her garden
with a shovel and a spoon,
She weeds her lazy lettuce
By the light of the moon.

She walks up the walk
Like a woman in a dream,
She forgets she borrowed butter
And pays you back in cream!

Her lawn looks like a meadow,
And if she mows the place
She leaves the clover standing
And the Queen Anne’s lace!

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

gardening, herbal fare, vintage

Lemon verbena

suzielinn

Long time garden friends will not be shocked when I say:

Lemon verbena still is – and will forever be – my favorite herb.

A delight to brush against on a hot summer night while out watering the garden, its scent is refreshingly lemony without being overpowering

It is easy to grow and mixes in easily in containers, cut flower gardens, vegetable patches -the list is endless. Lemon verbena will grow in full sun to partial shade. Just be sure to plant some near your kitchen door so you can step outside and cut some whenever you want a punch of lemon flavoring.  It tends to get leggy if not pinched back regularly, so prune back and use the leaves often.

lemon verbena in pot

Though an annual in North Texas, it keeps its flavor when dried for winter use. If you can find lemon verbena in the nurseries now, it isn’t too late to plant and enjoy before our first freeze.

While I am still experimenting with ways to use this herb, I want to share two of my favorites. (And I will share my all-time favorite lemon verbena peach cobbler recipe soon!)

lemonade with lemon verbena

Lemon verbena lemonade (adapted from Fredericksburg Herb Farm’s recipe)

1 handful of lemon verbena leaves and lemon grass stalks

1 large can of frozen concentrate lemonade

2 large lemons, juiced

1 lemon, sliced for garnish

Wash and pat dry herbs, and place them in a large glass pitcher. Cover with the lemon juice. Stir together, pressing down on the herbs with a spoon. Add lemonade mix and 3 cups water, chill overnight. Garnish with lemon slices and additional herbs, if desired. (Mint may also be added to the lemonade. Alas. My son has mint sensitivities.)

peaches with lemon verbena

Lemon verbena peach ice cream (adapted from Cuisinart’s strawberry ice cream recipe)

1 pint fresh peaches, peeled and diced

Lemon verbena leaves – about ¼ cup

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cup sugar, divided use

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

In a food processor, whirl together ½ cup sugar with the lemon verbena leaves until the leaves are chopped fine. (The scent will be amazing!) In a small bowl, combine the peaches with the lemon juice and the lemon verbena/sugar mixture. Stir gently and allow the peaches to macerate in the juices for a few hours.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the heavy cream and any accumulated juice from the peaches. Turn on your prepared Cuisinart ice cream freezer and pour in the dairy mixture. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add in the peaches during the last five minutes of freezing. (*Make sure the Cuisinart container is very cold, at least 24 hours in the freezer.)

 

bibliophile, gardening, herbal fare, nature, vintage

the melodious garden, explained

suzielinn

An orchestra pulls in many elements to make a wondrous song. The conductor. The musicians. The instruments. The acoustics of the performance hall.

And so it goes with gardening. A gardener pulls together plants, the elements, the sights and sounds of nature, to make a harmonious garden… a melody.

And such, the melodious garden is born. I seek to pull together the sights, sounds and textures of life, to pass along my love of books and gardening, beautiful creations and flowers and nature.

the melodious garden is coming together in pieces and parts. This blog. My garden boutique at The Grapevine Antique Market. (Booth U16, in “The Loft.”) Selling used books on Amazon. There are a few more garden related adventures on the horizon that will come together in time. My lovely sister-in-law, Kerri, is joining me on part of this journey, as she will be selling her floral creations in my garden boutique.

I have no idea where this path will lead, but life is always an adventure.

 

bibliophile, gardening, herbal fare, nature, vintage

The journey to the melodious garden

suzielinn

…
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
by Robert Frost

Not one to take the well-traveled paths in life, I start this blog and business adventure to mark a new beginning. My days as a stay-at-home mom less justifiable now than ten years ago, my fiftieth birthday fast approaching, I look ahead with wonder and excitement. Which path should I now take? The road is diverging.

Always a list maker, I start out. I know I want to be surrounded by nature and beautiful things and I want to work the soil. Return to an office job? No. Never again. My list of wants grows longer: flexibility, not doing the same thing day in and day out. I want to work with books and promote literacy. I love the design and functionality and beauty of vintage dishes and pottery. I love the texture and smell of wood and want to build and create. My list of wants grows longer still. But how to ever tie them together?

A melodious owl enters my life. Like the father and daughter out listening for owls on a cold winter night in Owl Moon, I hear the owl calling. “Overhead he heard the cry of what might have been a melodious owl, but it wasn’t a melodious owl. It was a flying saucer from Tralfamadore, navigating in both space and time, therefore seeming to Billy Pilgrim to have come from nowhere all at once.” (Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut)

And so it goes.

the melodious garden is born.