A Ladies' Celebration

This week at Applejack Lane, my friends and I celebrated  Ann who retired from teaching earlier this month.  Her favorite color is blue so I added a little touch of the 4th of July in the mix.

A table set for four lifelong friends...

A change of service for a dessert course...

A salad fork, iced teaspoon, and ice cream fork was all that was needed for our luncheon repast...

 The crystal pattern is Century by Fostoria...

Star napkin rings for the season... 

The silver is Fontaine by International Silver.  This is my favorite piece-an ice cream fork to eat our lime sorbet...

Tiny blue forget-me-nots on an antique salad plate made by Carlsbad china from Austria...

Queen's Ann Lace and what my dad referred to as "blue weed"  for the centerpiece in an ironstone pitcher...

 

A cozy celebration.for my dear friend...
Please join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for more tablescapes.

A Salute to the Red, White, and Blue!

We're getting ready for the 4th of July around Applejack Lane.  Please step in and visit a while!
For back door friends...

Betsy Ross..

A kitchen vignette...

What's a celebration without a red, white, and blue watermelon with a few black crows?

My favorite Uncle Sam...

A soft pillow...

 A simple project using two materials, star wire, and stuffing...

Even a bunny shows his patriotic colors...

Less we forget our fallen heroes on this day...

God Bless America!

Happy July 4!

Please join Centsational Girl and Anything Goes Here for special July 4th fun!

Blue Monday

We're having a girls' luncheon here at Applejack Lane tomorrow to celebrate a retirement.  I thought I would give a little preview of the table for a Blue Monday.

Thanks for stopping in.  Please join Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday fun.

My Favorite Things Saturday

Good morning from Applejack Lane!  I am so excited to share my new arrival  just in time for My Favorite Things Saturday!  Recently, Kim at My Domestic Bliss offered a generous give away from her ETSY shop, Larkspur Interiors, and I was the winner.  She said I could browse her shop and choose something I liked.  I was torn between two items, but finally decided upon one.  This week, a package arrived...

and my new tole hand painted tray was inside...

Isn't it lovely?  I plan to use it to entertain this week!  Thank you, Kim, for such a lovely find! So, remember to visit Kim at My Domestic Bliss and  and stop by her vintage shop Larkspur Interiors!
Special thanks to Laurie for hosting this week's My Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting With Laurie.

The Kahlo Chronicles-Part 2-Kahlo Goes To Work

Our buddy Kahlo went to the Hallmark store to help me with some late Father's Day shoppers.

When he got out of the car, he was eager to start the day and beat me to the door...

He had several duties this morning.

1.  Greeting each customer with a smile...

2.  Delivering excellent service to help our customers find that special card or gift...

3.  And policing the store to aid in anti-theft control...

Good job, Kahlo!
Since Kahlo has one blue eye and a blue dog tag, , he's linking to Blue Monday.
To read about The Kahlo Chronicles Part 1, click here.

The Kahlo Chronicles-Kahlo Comes To The Country!

It's Summer Sunday!  This is a red letter day for us at Applejack Lane for Kahlo, one of our favorite dogs,  has come to the country to spend his annual hot time in the summer time vacation with us.  Cathy and her friend Pete are off to Iceland for a  two week photo shoot, and Kahlo left Richmond to visit his country friends.  He arrived at 9:00 A.M. and has  traveled over 100 miles this morning to get here.

Kahlo is an excellent rider...

 He travels with his Frida Kahlo bag...

Murphy greets him at the door...

He is already relaxing, trying to stay cool, and making himself at home here at Applejack Lane...

Fun and games, chasing rabbits,and squirrels, oh, my!  Kahlo has to be one of our favorite things to share on a Summer Sunday!

Visit Cathy's new blog eat n' run to follow her journal of running and exploring Iceland's terrain.

Do Not Disturb!

I really hadn't anticipated participating in Outdoor Wednesday.  Instead, I thought I was going to prune my Virginia Sweetspires that seem to have gone awry at Applejack Lane.

So I started snipping...

And suddenly, I stopped snipping, and grabbed the camera...

so I could share my findings with you.  I hope I did not disturb this robin's habitat too much.

Please join Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for more Outdoor Wednesday posts.

Hurray For The Red, White, and Blue!

My spool cabinet is a piece of furniture that gets redecorated the most in the keeping room.  I am in the red, white, and blue mood for the summer.

Start with a Madame Alexander Betsy Ross doll...

And a patriotic stitchery from my friend Valerie at Snap Peas...

Put them with a pair of kitchen scales and apples, and you get...

A red, white, and blue spool top table for Tabletop Tuesday.  Visit Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for more ideas,.

Silver Sunday

It's Silver Sunday time.  I have some coin silver spoons that belonged to my Highland County, Virginia grandparents.  I don't know anything specific about them other than in the early 1960's, my grandmother wanted someone in the family to keep them.  Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver whereas coin silver has  90% silver.  These are made in a very simple Federal style. They do have hallmarks on the reverse side, but I have not researched them.  I don't know why there are five and not six or eight.

Please join  The Gypsy Fish Journal for more Silver Sunday finds.

Summer Sipper

Welcome to Applejack Lane.  Today, I have a refreshing  non-alcoholic Summer Sipper to share with you.

Summer Sipper

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup white grape juice-light white grape juice works well

1/4 cup orange juice

1 (1 liter) bottle ginger ale, chilled

1. Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and cool.

2.  Stir in juices and chill 2 hours.  Stir in ginger ale just before serving.
3.  Serve over ice or add frozen grapes.

4.  Sit back and enjoy!

 

Thanks for stopping by.  Please join Michael at Designs By Gollum for more Foodie Friday treats.

Just A Little Kitchen Nook

Welcome to Applejack Lane. I pulled out a lot of my patriotic decor this past weekend.  Here is a little kitchen nook I captured.

Please join the gracious Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for more Tabletop Tuesday ideas.

Sharing A Hallmark Moment

Last evening the Hallmark girls came out for a little picnic after the shop was closed.  The weather cooperated for a while so we could eat on the patio.

Here we have Connie, Nicky, and Vickie...

Nicole, Dottie, LeLe, and Connie again...

Nicole, our youngest employee, always puts a smile on our faces...

Iron Chef Guy did the grill work...

And we celebrated Dottie birthday...

We put a big dent into the ice cream cake made by moi...

Happy Birthday, Dottie!!!