Victorian Sideboard

Busy weekend for the the Sea Witch as I moved out Halloween decor and began setting up for the Christmas holidays.  Queen of Hearts, like so many antique stores in our area, is preparing for their annual Holiday Open House.  Always so much fun but a lot of prep work behind the scenes.  I have been wanting to bring in a lovely, late Victorian sideboard that I had in my dining room.  It is an English sideboard made of hand carved oak and a heavy red marble top.  But the real jewel of this piece is the oak and glass display case that sits upon it.  This sideboard has a ton of storage space and I made marvelous use of it these years.  The display cases were my favorite item on the sideboard as it kept silver from tarnishing so quickly and kept the dust away.

As sideboards go, it is not a massive piece so it doesn't take up a lot of space in the room you place it in. 

Close up of the original and very heavy marble top and the glass cases.  Beautiful architectural glass and mirrors show off your best treasures.

Silver just sparkles in these cases.

I was fortunate this year to come across a lot of pretty silver and silverplate. One of my favorite things to share and sell during the holidays. 

As long as I was moving out the last of my high Victorian pieces, I decided to bring in my pair of cherry parlour chairs.  Beautifully carved accents with original patina and upholstery.  The seating brocade had begun to shred where you bend your knees so I covered it with rich red taffeta.  I never remove anything that is original and leave any re-upholstering to the new owners.  

It's starting to get crowded in my booth and I haven't yet begun to "dress it" for the holidays.  See the pretty desk blotter on the desk and behind the mirror?  I found that beauty this weekend.  It is the softest leather in pine green and I nearly squealed with delight when I saw it still had the original hand marbled paper on it.  Lovely post Edwardian desk piece.

 A fantastic find.  Actual book value of this flow blue piece is in the $400's but it has issues.  Four major cracks in the lid and heat damage to the glaze on the top portion of the tureen.  Still, this is such a pretty piece that I couldn't resist it.  Priced it cheap so I know it will find a welcoming home who will use it as a decorative piece for their flow blue collection. 

I adore soup tureens, they just invoke a different time and place for me. Family sitting around a table, exchanging the events of the day, all enjoying a hearty soup from a pretty tureen.  Okay, okay, one of my sins is showing...I fantasize meals. LOL.  Especially soups.  There is just something so magical about them...must be the stirring of the pot that draws me to them.  Of course, I come by this honestly, my mother adored a good soup or stew boiling over the stove.  Peasant food, my dad would tease here, but he always enjoyed the board of fare she would lay down at each meal. 

Found two deviled egg trays. These sell like wild fire this time of year.  Can never have too many to offer up.

A real find.  A rare, Clarice Cliff red transferware planter.  Took a lot of digging to find out the value as they are not easily found.  This one has lots of crazing and a 2 inch hair line crack from use. Still, it is a pretty thing and a nice piece for a red transfareware collector.

A yard sale find.  I don't usually stop at yard sales in my area as they are pretty much baby clothing and blue jeans.  I saw this pretty centerpiece display and added a tall glass vase and candle holder courtesy of my dollar store.  Poured a cup of white rice in the bottom to seat the candle and liked the look so much I almost kept it.

Another pretty find, 6 holly leaf/berry dessert plates from Portugal. What fun to serve drop in guests your best Christmas cookies on.

You know me and carnival glass funeral vases.  I'm a sucker for them. Uncommon pattern and the lustre is fantastic.  I'm keeping this baby for my own for now.

Pretty vintage etched bottle with old cork and metal pull top. 

I like copper clad baby shoes.  They make me smile.  I will put holiday picks and pretty ribbons in these.

Yup, that's a gator head.  About 6 inches in length sitting next to a cow horn.  As you can see, the treasure I found was quite eclectic this weekend.  I'm thinking of tying his mouth up with a pretty red ribbon and adding a candy cane.  Holiday picks will go in the horn for hanging on a tree or mantle.

A real treasure that I will keep.  If you are an "old school" Catholic, you will recognize this piece. A lovely Chantilly lace with rhinestones headscarf from France.  Original tag still attached.  WW2 era, these were brought back as gifts to mothers, sisters, wives & lovers.  My mother would wear one to Mass during Lent. 

Now the real find. I love American Primitive and this small traveling trunk is fantastic. Lots of wear but still has the original paint, drop handles and a name penciled on the front.  You can barely see it but it reads "John M Quigg..."  Have to break out my black light to see if I can get a good read of the rest of the name and the location underneath it. Couldn't believe my luck when I fell into this lovely item. 

Now below, is my ...

new "old" sideboard.  I moved the Victorian piece out and found this lovely, oak sideboard with even more storage space...which is what I really needed.  I also like the cleaner lines of this piece...more my style then the fru fru of classic Victorian.  Still, I will miss the glass cases for display.  I really liked that but you trade one thing for another.  What this piece does allow me to do is display my Early American Pressed Glass (EAPG) lidded compotes and servers.  Many of these are missing the lids as they are the first to go from either being dropped or so chipped they are tossed aside.  I love stacking them like cake plates and filling them with pretty foiled candies for the holidays or antique ornaments.

The mirrored back drop is deep enough that I can display antique copper lustre and a few of my carnival glass funeral vases.

A closer photo of the EAPG pieces.  Many of them are a pale sun purple and I know that is a deal breaker for the opinionated collector of EAPG...but I love it and embrace it.  This was the glassware of the common people of the 19th century.  Lots of pretty, elegant, flowery, political and animal patterns are available.  Often overlooked at flea markets and thrift stores, at first glance it looks like cheap pressed glass. Once you know what it is you can spot it a mile away. Because it is not easily recognized for what it is, you can often walk way with valuable pieces for a few dollars or less.

The queen in my personal collection. This piece stands 12 high, about 10 in diameter and in perfect condition other then the pale shade of sun purple. 

So it was a wonderful weekend of interesting and terrific finds.  Hope the world treated you as kindly as it did me and blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch

Tis the witching time.

Happy Halloween my bloggers.  I always welcome the moment of time you afford to spend with me.  When I'm not planning my time in the sea, I always enjoy a pleasant ride around the block with my favorite mode of transportation.  Honk and wave if you see me fly by.

Non-commercial, public domain photo. 

No snow for those of us who presently reside in the southern states.  Beautiful, fall weather with the tail end of the northeaster' breeze from up north made it perfect for a little running around with my sister.  As always, sis and I have a marvelous time gossiping, shopping and just being silly.  We laugh so hard and often that you would think we would lose 10 pounds on the sillieness alone.

Not a lot of treasure found,but what I did find was worth the trip. 

Check out this pair.  LOL.  A perfect, late 19 century water pitcher with pretty gold lustre trim.  These pitchers are usually chipped up and cracked and this beauty is in perfect condition. Even missing the crazing often found at the bottom.  Love Love Love the 1850-60s box with pretty aqua milk paint.   The dovetailing on this piece is amazing. 

Closeup of the large pitcher.  You know you got a workout lifting this bad boy when it was full of water.

Found a pair of beautiful Italian tapestries...on the cheap.  Quality pieces and highly detailed. Brought them in to the Queen on Sunday and already sold the pastoral scene above.

My personal favorite. Smaller than the one above but this 18 " by 12" weave is finer and more detailed than the pastoral scene.  

Another unique find.  A hand carved banded onyx vase/jar that stands 11 inches tall.  Very heavy and the label below it says Restoration Hardware.  If you are not familiar with this marvelous chain, then you must visit their web page or store.  The devil is in the design details and this store offers a comfortable yet cerebral design to your life.

A warm and toasty Pendleton motor robe.  These carriage or motor robe blankets are the perfect size to wrap up in when the cold comes to call.  Used on steam ships, travelers would wrap themselves in them as they communed on the wooden lounge chairs...every open Model Car car had a few and of course those who still utilized carriages.  The quality of Pendleton wool blankets lives on and this new, with original tags Pendleton blanket will keep someone nice and toasty. 

A gorgeous and heavy Williamsburg brass chandelier. This bad boy is a big one, almost a yard in width.  Tall faux candles and traditional candle cups.  For those who want traditional American elegance, this chandelier is the perfect choice.

The trees are on fire around our neighborhood and I had to share a few with you. This is the tree in my neighbor's front yard.  What a lovely site that greets me each day.

I am fortunate to work on a beautiful campus at Cisco Systems.  Lots of hardwoods mixed with soft and the views are just lovely.

Brilliant shades of scarlet and orange.

Prettiest parking lot in town.

 What I see as I drive down the campus road to my building.

Happy Halloween my pretties!

 Blessings and treats to you and those you love.  Sea Witch

Hot Apple Crisp

My honey and I spent a marvelous day last Saturday driving around the North GA mountains and through Apple Alley where we purchased several bags of fresh picked apples.  I mentioned in the previous post how much I really enjoyed the variety called "Arkansas Black" and wanted to make up a pan of apple crisp with these meaty apples.    It's an easy peasy recipe so here it is and let me know if you made a pan.

You will need 6-8 apples.   

Peel and slice and put in ice water to keep from turning brown.

When you are finished peeling and slicing, drain water out of bowl and sprinkle 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar and a couple of heavy shakes of ground cinnamon on the apples.  Toss apples in sugar/cinnamon mix and let sit while you prepare the "crisp".  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crisp ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 unbeaten eggs
• stick of melted butter for final step (do not mix with other ingredients)

Mix all together until crumbly.  Now lay apples in an 11 x 16 baking dish and place crisp mixture over the apples.  Shake a little cinnamon on top of the mixture and now melt one stick of butter (must be real butter) and drizzle over mixture in pan.

Place pan in 350 degrees oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Edges should be browned with juices bubbling along edges.  Of course, the heavenly smell from your kitchen will have men and small children at your door willing to do chores, paint your house, wash your car...anything...for a plate full of this delightful dish.

First plate went to my honey.  I wish I had thought to purchase french vanilla ice cream to put on top.   Nothing like vanilla ice cream sitting on a piping hot plate of out of the oven apple crisp. Sooooo good.  (recipe can be cut in half in you want to use an 8 x 8 baking dish.  Have a wonderful weekend all and autumn blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch

Apple Highway

It was a lovely fall weekend in Atlanta with true Indian summer weather making it perfect for a drive into the North Georgia mountains and on to the Apple Highway to buy fresh picked apples straight from the orchards, fresh pressed cider and my honey's favorite...cider donuts.

The leaves are just now bursting with color and we saw splashes of it as we drove into the mountains.

Sunlight through the windshield.

Lake along the highway and just above Dahlonega, GA.

 Large outcroppings of granite signals cliffs are just around the turn.

Ah, I remember these cliffs.  Their were soldiers from Camp Frank DeMerrill (US Army Ranger training camp) practicing rappelling moves and it brought  back memories of my first rappel.  It was on these very cliffs (no more then about 100 feet) that I first learned how to wrap a swiss seat with a rope and then "on belay" and rappel...year - 1974.  Good times.

Nope, that's not family members walking across a meadow.  LOL.  Just a friendly flock of wild turkey's going for a walk.

After a lovely 3 hour drive, we are driving along the apple highway.  Approximately 12 family apple orchards both large and small were open to the public for apple picking, apple tasting, cider pressing and everyone's favorite...fried apple pies and cider donuts.  We purchased several varieties which included Rome Beauties, Cameo, Fuji and a new variety that we had never tasted before...Arkansas Black.  Fell in love the Arkansas Black, a crisp, mildly sweet with a blush of tartness apple with a dark, merlot to black skin.  This is a great eating apple and I'm going to make a simple apple crisp with some of them as well.  Will post that recipe and pics later this week.

Sunday, brought in a few items to the booths at Queen of Hearts.

Nice, Art Deco wool blanket.  The definitive blanket found on American beds throughout the 1930-40s.

Pretty Art Deco bullet boudoir lamp.  This one has a lovely hobnail effect which spreads beads of light throughout the room.

I don't come across true, vintage Halloween items very often as they are highly sought after and usually cost prohibitive for me to purchase.  I lucked out with this great 1940s Halloween noise maker with marvelous lithographs on it.

How cool and yet creepy is this Japanese smoker?  Very popular in the 1930s-50s, the cigarette is placed in the mouth of the smoker and smoke rises out of the ears.  This is one of 7 in a musical series.

I love these yo-yo quilts. 

This is a pretty, vintage table runner from the 1950s.

And finally...had a pair of great wooden shoe lasts that I shoved an autumn pick in and tied up with a ribbon.   These are always fun to decorate for the holidays.  I like the way these turned out.

The other shoe last with a different fall pick.  These make such interesting, autumn decorations.  Hope everyone is enjoying the rest of October.  So hard to believe that the month is nearly over and we will be turning the clocks back on November 6th.  Have a great week. Sea Witch

Occupy your wallet.

If I'm going to support an "occupy" cause then it is going to be "occupy my wallet".  Economic times are tough on everyone and I'm always looking for a way to save a little money. I shop at Hobby Lobby, Michael's and Joann Fabrics for fabrics, trim and embellishments when making costumes for my raviolis.  All offer paper coupons but I usually forget them at the house and often never get to use the 40% off coupon.  I was at Hobby Lobby a week ago picking up more glitter tulle for fairy dresses when the gal at the counter asked if I had their coupon.  I had forgotten it again and she said, "No problem, do you have a smart phone?"  Yea, I do and all I had to do was call up their website, click the coupon button and up pops their 40% coupon.  

They scan the code and I'm golden.  No more cutting out coupons and remembering to bring them and I get to shop more economically...and the coupon loves keeps on giving 'cause I can use it again and again throughout the week.  I love that Hobby Lobby has gone techie.   But wait, there's more!

Joann Fabrics also has a iphone app to utilize their coupons via your iphone and they also have an app for other smart phones to have coupons sent to your mailbox.  Yea baby, because I use their 50% and $5.00 off coupon for fabrics all of the time.

Not to be left out, Michael's also has smart phone coupons.  Love, love, love that I know longer have to carry paper coupons and that a coupon is available at the tip of my smart phone fingers every time I need one. Now that is applied economics.

Now for some dinner savings.  Sold an item on Craig's list this evening so my honey and I met them in our local shopping center (LOL...so clandestine) but it's safe as I don't want to have Craig's list buyers come to my home.  We closed the deal and decided to have a quick dinner at Johnny Carino's.  We had never eaten their before and can be described as a chain that is a notch above Olive Garden.  We were greeted at the door by a friendly hostess and our waitress, Anna, was a doll.  On Monday's, Carino's offers a 1/2 off their family platter meals normally priced right around $30.00 each.  So my honey and I decided to share a Chicken Parm family platter.  Each family platter will feed 3-4 at a table. We added Caesar salads to the meal for $1.49 and while we waited for the meal, we had piping hot, homemade bread with toasted garlic in seasoned olive oil. Heaven. 

I wish I had taken a photo of the platter they brought us. It was huge and filled with four, very large chicken parm cutlets on a bed of spaghetti. Fresh grated cheese all around and we enjoyed a marvelous supper for ... wait for it...$14.00.  Yup, now that is applied economics.  We had so much food left over that we now have our supper for tomorrow evening.  Sweet Anna added two loaves of fresh bread and you just couldn't beat this economical meal by this restaurant. There is quite the menu selection for the family platters and well worth the Monday night restaurant visit.

We will be back again on another Monday as I am dying to try the Lemon/Rosemary chicken.   The price of this Monday offering can't be beat, but what made the meal delightful was our wait staff.  Anna was attentive, charming and fun.  We look forward to being her guest again in the near future.  If you have any good deals or other cost savings apps, please share in your comments so we can all apply a little economic savings to our lives during these tougher financial times.   Sea Witch

 Non-commercial, public domain photos.

It's all about motivation

I came across this delightful International video for water. Ya know, women are simple creatures, a little neon pink light, some fun music and an exercise bike will produce laughter and healthy living.

I gotta get me a bike setup like this. How about you?

A few items found

Busy few weeks and they all got away from me again. I forgot I had a few photos of items I found last weekend.  Not a lot of treasures because it is getting cooler now and the yard sales have all but come to a screeching halt.  This is the time of the year when I really miss living in the midwest...the fall auctions are always a delight.  I love schlepping through the boxes of items piled on the hay wagons.

Found this reproduction antique lock with keys. Works like it should and what fun to have on the back gate if you have one.  Someone appreciated it for what it was because it was in my booth for only 24 hours.

Found a few more blue transfer ware saucers and dessert plates.  I adore vintage/antique transferware and it always moves so quickly.

Pretty serving bowl cover.  So often you find these covers without the bowl.  I used to display a variety of these lids on my dining room wall over a Victorian sideboard. 

A pretty little bone china chocolate cup and saucer. Really fine china with rich cobalt blue and gold slip decoration. 

Found a pretty vintage candlewick cake plate.  It's hiding under the Phaltzgraff coffeepot and oil and vinegar jugs.

Any time I place a lamp on this Victorian desk, the lamp sells.  I've sold three lighting pieces in as many weeks so I moved the pretty  Tiffany Lamp over to it. Besides, I like the way the light from the lamp lights up the eyes on these china doll heads.  LOL

Decided to finally part with this magnificent hand crocheted bedspread.  I has this on an old brass bed in a guest room in the sprawling Victorian we had in Illinois many years ago.  I've been holding on to it for years and came across it as I was cleaning out a trunk.  Decided it needed to move on to a new soul who will love it as much as I did.  Perfect condition with no holes or repairs and is a beautiful ecru color.

So, I need to publish this post and get ready to leave for and apple orchard run. My honey and I are road tripping it through North Georgia today in search of the perfect Apple Pie and Apple Cider donuts.  Photos will follow.  Have a marvelous day everyone and blessings to you and those you love.  Sea Witch