Texas Ruby Reds

The daughter of one of David's co-workers was selling grapefruits

for a fund raiser for school.  Not just any grapefruit ~ but Texas  Ruby Reds.

I love them.  My favorite grapefruit.  Sweet, delicious and juicy.

 Perfection on a plate.

Even better served off a cute melamine tray.

Still cold and gray and dreary here today.  Any bit of 

happy cheer is welcome, and this fun tray does it for me.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Daisy Fresh Farmhouse Tweaks

After the Christmas holidays when I finally start to pack all the

decorations and put things away, I do what many of you do too ~

tweak vignettes.  And what better place to start tweaking than in the

kitchen?  If you are like me, I spend lots of time in this room and

I like it to be a fresh and happy place.  

I added this new enamelware vase for my daisies that I usually buy

when I go to the grocery store each week.  I love daisies and they 

always make me happy.

This dairy slab was an after Christmas gift to myself.  I bought it

when Joanne Hudson was having a sale.  Despite the sale it

was still a bit extravagant, but I have wanted one forever.  It

is now organizing the coffee station.

These red velvet mini cupcakes have nothing to do with decorating

or organizing but they are so yummy and each one is a sweet and

tiny treat.  If you were here with me in my kitchen I would offer you

one.  Only one mind you, not because I am not generous but because

we all have to watch our waistlines :-)

I hope you enjoyed seeing the fresh as a daisy tweaks in my kitchen.

I can't wait to see what y'all have tweaked this week.

By the way ~ did you notice how Lady Mary is tweaking her

love life on Downton Abbey?  What do you think it was that

she asked Anna to buy for her?  David thought it was a

condom and I was thinking it was a diaphragm.  

Metamorphosis Monday
Tweak It Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

My Love Affair With the Butler's ...

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When I was growing up the house we lived in had a butler's pantry.  I

was always fascinated with it's glass cabinet doors filled with all of my

Mom's crystal.  Champagne glasses, old fashion glasses,  martini glasses,

water goblets, wines glasses and more.  On the counter was Daddy's

martini shaker and various decanters filled with scotch, or vodka or gin.

It was what I always thought of as the special events corner of the house.

A place where the preparations for big parties and family gatherings
were staged.

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There was and is still, a butler's pantry in my Aunt Susan's apartment
too.  Hers is a bit bigger than ours was and is much like the one pictured
above.  Hers has a sink and old polished antique walnut countertops.
The layout is similar to this one from House Beautiful.



So that's how my love affair of butler's pantries began, long ago
in my childhood.

And you thought I was going to tell you about my love affair with
the butler ;-)  You can admit it, I led you on a bit with that blog post title
didn't I???

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So now I collect pictures of these special places.  This one above is a gem.
It has everything going for it ~ beautiful cabinetry, deep moldings and
storage galore.

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This is certainly good use of a narrow space.  While I tend to prefer white, these
black cabinets are stunning!

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This one makes me so homesick.  It looks very much like the one in
the house where I lived as a kid.  I wish my parents had thought to
take pictures of our old pantry but they never did.

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This one really makes me swoon!  It is elegant yet has a friendly and
approachable atmosphere.  If you want to see more of this exquisite home
in North Carolina visit Sagee Manor here.

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Another elegant pantry.

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But this one ~ this is the one that stole my heart!  This is the sweetest
butler's pantry.  Lovely polished wood countertops.  Pretty little copper sink.
Love the window, the cabinets everything.  This is so me!  This darling little
spot just screams welcome.  Come and I will get you a cup of tea or perhaps
a glass of wine?

What can I say, just my cottage loving nature showing through.  If you want
to see more of this precious place in Carmel, CA go here.

Just think ~ tonight we can sit back and dream that we have our own
butlers as we watch Downton Abbey, episode two of this season.
Hope you had fun day dreaming with me.  See you tomorrow.  I will have
a little tweak in my kitchen to share with you.

Not to worry Bentley.  My heart still does and always will
belong to your daddy!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

What Is Your Favorite Perfume?

I am running out of both of my favorites ~ Lauren by Ralph Lauren (which

I have worn forever) and Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel.

You can see a bottle of Chanel No. 5 in the background, but it was 

a gift and I am not a huge fan, or shall I say I don't like the

fragrance on me.

I keep a bottle of Youth Dew on my dressing table because it was the 

scent my Mom wore forever.  When I miss her I just spray a little bit

around and it is though she just walked into the room.

I suppose that Lauren is my signature scent, at least that's what my

husband David thinks so I always have to have a bottle of that scent.

To me I am more of a Coco Mademoiselle girl or at least it feels 

more like me.

But it never hurts to try new things.  What is your favorite scent?  Do you

have any suggestions for a new fragrance for me to try?

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Sometimes I Drag My Feet

I have not yet put away my Christmas decorations.  I unfortunately did not 

inherit my Mom's efficiency.  At first I told myself that I would wait until

after Epiphany to pack everything up.  Well, Epiphany came on Tuesday of

this week and the decorations are still here.  I have no excuse now.  It's a

rainy day and a perfect day to take everything down and box it up.  So why

am I dragging my feet?  

Excuses, excuses.  I can hear those words from my Mom in my head.

I suppose that if she has interrupted her heavenly bliss to send me this 

message I better get with the program :-)

But first ~ I have something to show you and something to tell you.  It's all about

this darling ceramic basket.  It came from Home Goods.  You may not believe

this, but I had never been to Home Goods until the weekend before Christmas.

We did not have a Home Goods in Boise, Idaho.  How did I live before???

So the Saturday before Christmas David suggested that we head towards

Houston for the day for some fun.  Houston is a couple of hours away.  Now

in the great state of Texas a two hour drive is nothing, and away we happily

went for a day of eye candy and good food.

We were in Sugar Land, Texas ~ just west of Houston and conveniently

located on the highway we take to get there.  We had stopped for lunch

and David noticed a Home Goods store.  He asked me if I wanted to go 

there and said to take my time.  Well I did and what fun I had.  I quickly

realized what I had been missing all these years.  I found this cute little

basket and a sweet little platter too that I will show you on another day.

So that's all for today.  I better get busy on the task at hand because

I can easily find a million excuses to get out of it.  

See you back here tomorrow!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley