4th of July Celebration Table

Vintage red glasses, trimmed in gold, add the red to the red, white, and blue theme.

A collection of vintage patriotic pillows are added to the front porch wicker.

Vintage American flags are draped across the front porch railing to add to the spirit of the holiday.

Vintage blue and white plates depicting historical moments in our history are used with red organdy napkins and topped with a beautiful clementis bloom.

Crystal and gold flatware add a little glitz to the table.

A copy of the Declaration of Independence is the background for the menu card.




Jewel encrusted stars add holiday sparkle to the 4th of July celebration.


Join me with www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com to view other inspirational tables. Happy 4th of July everyone!

More Antiques

A tall pressed glass vase- elegant and worthy of special flowers.

A vintage gold and rhinestone hair chignon holder- gorgeous!

A beautiful brass box embellished with rhinestones - perfect for a watch and ring holder.

A never used compact from the 50's - decorated with gold vines and rhinestones.


A sweet little cherub dish standing beside the chignon holder.

A sparkly rhinestone pin - perfect to embellish a pillow or wear on a winter coat.





I'm sharing more finds from our antiquing trips last week. Collections of small mirrors, framed vintage black and white nudes on mirror mats (not shown as they are at the framer), fancy candle sticks, and a collection of antique hand painted plates, embellished with gold rims, will be a new statement for the store in a couple of weeks. I'm heading for the southern states of Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana on an antiquing trip next week and hope to find many more things to inspire us. All of these new items will be in the store around the last week of July.

New Antiques for the Store

Last week, Lynda and her Atlanta friends, Donna and Debbie, came to visit for a couple of days. As all of us are avid antiquers, we spent the days searching antique malls, stores and thrift stores in Wisconsin! That gave me the time to re-stock the store with some fun new antiques. Several themes seemed to emerge - the old Tuscan kitchen with vintage European linen dish towels, open cloches - perfect for encasing a vase of garden roses-, bone knives and forks, pressed glass and several great pieces of ironstone. A collection of mother of pearl knives - perfect to mix with silver plate flatware and a grouping of gold, white and crystal compotes and stemware is the start to a great display for the Christmas season. Gold Italian tables and candle sticks will be additions to this collection. All of this is stacked on my dining room table, ready to be washed, priced and loaded for the store. There are many more great finds to share from this trip tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Remnant of the Past

Al Capone hung out at Hawthorne House in the mid 1920's. It was said to be his headquarters when he moved to Cicero, Illinois. That historic old building was torn down and some of the architectural details were salvaged. While at a flea market today, I was immediately drawn to the face of the lion - the same architectural detail that once graced the high roof line of Hawthorne House. The antique dealer that had salvaged the 113 lions on the roof line was selling them at the flea market! He shared with us the pictures of the building and a little bit of the history. As my last name is Hawthorne, I knew I had to have a little piece of Hawthorne House. And as they were so beautiful, I purchased several more to have in the store. They would look great as book ends or as a piece of art on a mantle. These architectural gems , no longer used in modern construction , are now enjoyed in a new way. When I arrived to my home from the day of antiquing, I googled Hawthorne House and Al Capone and read a little more about the "goings on" at Hawthorne House. Check out www.chicagocrimescenes.blogspot.com/2008/11/capones-ciero-headquarters.html. to read more about the machine gun attack on Capone while having lunch at Hawthorne Inn. If only the lion could talk!

Garden Roses

Finally we have roses blooming in the garden. Mixing the different varieties from a garden is much more pleasing to me than getting a dozen red roses in a vase. I love placing the roses in unique containers such as this old culinary trophy from 1932.
I love the old fashioned David Austin roses, but Mr. RTH loves the tea roses. They mix together pretty well I would say!

New Orleans is Getting out of the Bucket!

It all started with her "bucket list", things she wanted to do before she couldn't! My best friend is turning 60 in a couple of weeks- yikes- we met when we were in our twenties! So I had to plan an over the top birthday for this special year. Last night I gave her the first installment of her birthday gift- clues to where we are going. Gold envelopes were labeled with clues that are unique to this beautiful American city, lagnaippe, Sazerac, Marie Laveau, Restaurant August, Bayona, Alexa Pulitzer. The envelopes held menus, shopping hints and history about the city. Next she opened the beautiful stationary from Alexa Pulitzer, a very talented New Orleans resident and finally, the beautiful book by Debra Shriver, Stealing Magnolias - Tales from a New Orleans Courtyard. Alas, she knew where we were going- New Orleans was on her bucket list! I had made the kumquats in orange liqueur from this beautiful book ( the page is open and behind my crystal compote filled with tasty concoction)We celebrate tonight by having it with a little bubbly.

After reading this book, I gained a different perspective about New Orleans, specifically their exuberant entertaining style. And as a added bonus, I had emailed Alexa Pulitzer about carrying her unique stationary in our store, and she called me back and gave me some great inside scoop on great shops, clubs and restaurants ! What a sweet person! We don't leave for a couple of weeks, so if anyone has any other insider info on New Orleans - places to go, see, great affordable antique shops etc. please email me. We want to experience the best of this incredible city, go where the locals go, and get in some killer shopping. We are looking for Old Paris Porcelain, gourmet treats, French antiques and great entertainment. After all, it is the Paris of America!

Screen Porch Refurbished!

This was the year to paint the porch- what a tedious project! But with an empty space and to make the most of a tough situation, I decided to re-decorate! Re-arrange the furniture, change the accessories and get some new outdoor rugs were all on my to-do list. I found that both Ballard Designs and Home Decorators had great outdoor rugs. The one shown here is from Ballard. I accessorized the burlap covered table with a vintage paper mache frog, my collection of resin mushrooms and chestnuts, and a little collection of green glasses- so pretty with tea lights in them in the evening hours. The green and gold tin fans are actually sandwich holders from France - given to me by a dear friend years ago. Both the chair and sofa are covered with outdoor fabrics from Robert Allen, an outdoor velvet and zebra printed chenille. The first roses of the year are in a vintage silver sugar bowl on the coffee table. Now with a pile of magazines and a glass of wine, this porch is the best place to be in the summer.