May7

a very veggie birthday

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Alison

Once upon an afternoon,

For a Very Special 2 year old Boy ,

There was a Very VEGGIE Birthday

With loads of fun and food and joy!!

the theme was taken from

Veggie Tales- his favorite cartoon!

party friends were greeted by Bob and Larry on a chalkboard sign...

there were Yummy French peas cupcakes &

Madame Blueberry Punch

as well as

Veggie straws, cheese puffs and stuffed Baby Bobs!!

another chalkboard sign with veggie friends    !

flowers from Nana’s shop…

everywhere!

Party favors in a farmer’s crate made by Uncle Jared * …

pictures of the guest of honor, such a cutie!!

chicken salad stuffed cherry tomatoes

(baby bobs)

there were outside games, face-painting and

veggie coloring sheets for the kiddos

Hopefully you can get some ideas for your own

VERY VEGGIE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

Pease come back and visit :0)

* The Farmer’s Crates hold one or two 9 x 13 casserole dishes

and are great to carry food in for picnics.

They are custom made in 3 different sizes and

are for sale at the Flower Girl..866- 510 -3839 (tollfree)

20$ 25$ and 32$

Apr25

Plum Creek Art & Antiquities

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Alison

Plum Creek Art & Antiquities

Well I have opened an Etsy shop!!

The name is

Plum Creek Art and Antiquities

I already have lots of items listed-

from FUN

to funky

a bit of floral

and even functional!

there’s stuff for kids of all ages!

So stop by when you have a minute or two-

Maybe there’s something

there waiting

just for you!

https://www.etsy.com/your/listings?ref=si_your_shop

Apr24

Barbara Nell

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Alison

Barbara Nell

this post is a

A Tribute to my Mom-

Barbara Nell George Cain,

who passed away on March 8th

She was an Elizabeth Taylor

look-alike back in the day

I LOVE this photo of her and my Grandaddy on the

streets of Fort Worth-

she reminds me of Scout Finch from

“To Kill a Mockingbird”

Mom and Daddy on their Wedding Day,April 22,1950


Me and the siblings (I am in the middle)

Mother sewed a lot when we were kids, she

probably made my dress,

my sister’s and hers in this photo.

(That hat would fetch a pretty penny today at a vintage clothing shop!)

In her later years,she took

up watercolor painting-and WOW

was she ever talented!

Here she is with one of her Cowboy paintings-

she went on to be a signature member of

the American Watercolor Society

love the loafers and rolled-up jeans!!

I will miss her and my Dad (2002)

so very much!

On a related note- my Etsy store has changed names-

it is now called Plum Creek Art and Antiquities.

We are going to be selling prints of my Mom’s

retro/vintage fashion illustrations,which

she drew for various department stores

from the 1940′s through the 1970′s

And they are amazing and FABULOUS!!

will keep you posted…

Apr11

Saying Goodbye to Grandma…

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Alison

Saying Goodbye to Grandma…

I know it has been a long time

since anything ‘s been posted…

We have had some losses this year, so I

decided to write a little about them.

In late January,my wonderful

Mother- in -Law passed away after a

bout with pneumonia

You might guess by looking at her picture

that she was always smiling!

Vivian Rosemeta Frederick Piantanida

She was so beautiful as well as her name, but she never thought so...


 the first time she met my oldest daughter-in North Carolina 1981.

My three girls on her back deck,

all dressed up for Church!

She was a nurse who loved sailing

and married a sailor who built her a house!

 Grandma and Grandpa on their honeymoon

We will miss her SO VERY MUCH!!

She was a prayer warrior & hugger,

a letter writer,needle-pointer

cat lover ,treat cooker ,Mom, Grandmom,

Great- Grandmom and all around Amazing Lady!

Will miss her slight British accent saying “Wee”

“dear-dear” and ” A gain”

Just one day  after getting back from her memorial service,
my Mom passed away...
Will post about her next time.

Feb6

Rooney Claire…a baby shower

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Alison

Rooney Claire…a baby shower

Now that sweet little Rooney has arrived-

it’s time to show off her Baby Shower!!

The shower spread was in my dining room and

hanging from the chandelier over the table are

beautiful satin ribbons with tiny silk balls

I can’t really give the look a name, per se-

its just ROONEY

the color palette was a bright and sweet array

of pinks,limes,yellows and Tiffany blues.

Her parents might want to start discouraging anything

with the word Tiffany in it right now.

Can you believe it? PINK burlap!

paper hearts

Emily,one of the hostesses,made miles of scrapbook paper heart garlands to hang @

the windows and little twig heart wreaths were put in the center of each one.

maybe there is a name for this look…Rustic Baby

twig heart

Mason  Jars were wrapped with twine and lace and filled

with white rannuculas and hydrangeas,pink baby roses

queen anne's lace, kermit poms and sticks-then

placed on a log "platter" with a tiny stone urn & camdle

rooney flowers

And oh MY!! the FOOD at the shower was Amazing!

  
   green apples and nut-topped fruit dip

Better than Crack Dip...*not my recipe or name

Mom’s favorite little cucumber sandwiches

and a pickle/relish tray

and Last but not least…

the Amazing & Yummy

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes!

And on the sideboard buffett...

  more pink burlap,log circles,flowers,sticks and a BIG yellow " R"

rooney invite

the chalkboard inspired invitation- so cute!

And I will leave you with this-

our thoughtful hostess gifts from the Mommy-to-be

potted red and white amarylis plants!

Will try to post a photo of little Miss Rooney Claire soon

(need to check with her parents first)

Cucumber Sandwiches

2 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese 1/4 tsp. salt 2 med. cucumbers (peeled,seeded,grated)

1 small onion grated 2 tsp. dill weed 3 tbsp. mayonnaise

Combine cream cheese(softened) cucumber, onion salt, dill weed and mayonnaise in bowl. Mix thoroughly.

Spread on your choice of bread with crusts removed.A thin coating of butter on the bread is recommended

if not serving right away. Cut into shapes with electric knife.

  Happy Eating!

Read the rest of this entry →

Feb2

goin’ junking…goin’ junking

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Alison

goin’ junking…goin’ junking

Well today I went to the monthly flea market

where I found quite a few fun & junky items!

they will show up soon in my Etsy store...

yep - I bit the bullet (can I say that in today's world?)

and started me an Etsy shoppe!!

Aunt Nellie’s Antiques

(the flowers in the picture below are on my Esty banner)

tandem bike

today’s haul

where I will be selling olde and other stuff.

but shopping today was such relaxing time-

I tried to stop and take in the sights

great sign we junkers love to see!

and

smells

kettle corn guy

and sounds of all the free market activity!

old Glory flapping in the breeze

Thanks for walking with me today!!

and NO-

I did not eat any junk(ing) food!

Jan28

The Name’s Been Changed

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Alison

The Name’s Been Changed

This is just a quick post to

let you all know that I am

changing the name of this BLOG.

Now it will be known as

PETALS PLATES & PARTIES !!

The main contributor to the this BLOG

is me…Alison… the flower girl

SO-

the other 2 PEAS will guest post from time to time

about art and painting and crafts.

But the main topics will be

PETALS flowers & weddings

PLATES- tablescapes & recipes

& PARTIES- which will be

about,well, parties…

I am working on moving this entire BLOG

to a .blogspot.com so that it is more user friendly.

But I am not that smart yet.

the web address is still the same for now, however.

 Will keep you posted, (no pun intended)

Jan24

A Simple Valentine

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Alison

A Simple Valentine

Hi! I have been gone a

long time from the blog-

and am I ever Glad to be back!

As you know, I have a flower shop-

so I will be swamped with Valentine’s-

flowers & plants & candy!! & bears (oh my!)

 so at home, I decided to keep my Valentine's decor

 to a minimum ...hence the name of this post

a simple valentine

the simple ones are the best, anyway!

vintage Valentine post cards on the tea cart

with a red and white amaryllis-trust me I have the tag

red & white demi- tasse cups on a

white scrolled stand

and my cut glass cake stand with faux petite fours..

these candles are co cute and look good enough to eat!

And on the table, my red and white

raised bowl with apples- KISS !

The little transferware plate comes in handy to catch

drips from my cute little succulent thank-you

plant I got from the couples shower we hosted

last weekend for our newlywed friends.*

*I will be blogging about that soon

but if you can't wait - you can  see a preview at robolady

Until next time...

you can see me at these link parties!

Dec11

my Chocolat station

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Alison

my Chocolat station

I have seen so many cute and creative hot chocolate

stations all over Blogdom…

so I decided to give it a go-

the little drop leaf table in the corner

of my dining room  seemed like a good

place to set it up!

I had some homemade hot chocolate from

my neighbor in this cute square jar

and in these apothecary jars..

fun straws from my grand girl’s birthday

also chocolate chips & marshmallows

felt poinsettia flowers my Mom made for a holiday card table (Bridge)

a vintage door knob spoon rest

I am planning to buy cinnamon sticks for  the mini ironstone pitcher.

And the red napkins find their spot

on this

Fitz and Floyd holiday platter

I tucked in some real Noble fir

and some cute little mini garland to finish the look-

all it needs is a Christmas verse on a chalkboard!

We have been using it and this is a hit with the fam!

Some of the fam at Maguire’s

school Christmas play… we went for ice cream,

not hot chocolate.It was in the 80′s

(not sure what's the deal with Uncle J-rod...)

Dec10

the accidental collector

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Alison

the accidental collector

I have several Christmas Houses…

but I don’t LIVE in all of them!

I only live in one of them.

 And today I thought it would be fun to show you my house decorated for Christmas!

the tea cart with vintage postcards and little tea cake candles

A framed “Wonderful” bible quote,

an old Santa boot and little St. Nick.

jingle bells from Jodi

I have several collections,most of them accidental!

EXCEPT for the little houses…they are quite intentional!

the latest thing I’ve begun to gather are

Christmas Tree skirts.

here-it’s used as a Table-Topper

And this one was ours growing up, my Mom made it

And if my dear siblings are reading along,

I know it’s not MINE per se

Love this retro-pastel colored applique one!

It's in the hall underneath some of my little winter cottages...

Years ago I used to do the whole tree in Americana…

so I have a patriotic Christmas collection-

now its all on my oak sideboard, below the Mt.Vernon print.

more red white and blue Christmas!

yes Virginia-some of those cards are

from the White House (years ago)

I have wound up with many vintage

ornaments through the years,

both from hand-me-downs and junking-

they wind up on the tree

& on the wire tree

and scattered all through the house!

Mom’s sequined and beaded balls are hanging from the

dining room chandelier this Christmas.

last year I had them in a glass compote

click on compote to see last year's Christmas house