The Whimsical Vase That Graced My Brunch
I am not going to lie…I love beautiful pottery. I have a passion for the arts, and this is one area where I have full respect for the artisan’s craft. The talent it takes to create magnificent pieces only happens throughout a lifetime of trial and error. I have attempted the fine art of clay making and trust me…it isn’t easy!
Creating pottery is absolutely a Zen like experience with a little frustration added in the mix. It takes time and patients to create beautiful pieces. For now, I will keep my little pinch pots and lopsided bowls I mastered and will continue to try to be better…it’s all in the process for me.
When going through one of my favorite magazine’s published here in Connecticut, cottages & Gardens, I ventured upon a potter that just spoke to me. Frances Palmer Pottery has a design aesthetics that is both laid back but with an elegance about it that stands on its own. I love that it is both whimsical and fanciful at the same time. It took my breathe away as soon as I laid my eyes on a few of her pieces. Truly there was something about her style that really resonated with me. What was it!
Elegant with a whimsical look all its own
What did I do? I bought a vase! I expected it to be really very delicate and fragile but it wasn’t. It is super sturdy but also has the beauty that can grace fine florals such as David Austin Roses as well as make your backyard garden sunflowers look spectacular.
Frances Palmer has been creating ceramics since 1987. As I was reading her history, I found instantly what I was seeing in her work. She not only is a potter but a gardener as well, which explains so much to me. As a gardener, you see flowers as different textures and shapes. Each bloom has a feature and story all its own. All have their own natural and individual beauty and color. Each one comes alive and blooms at its own time in nature.
Gorgeous Frances Palmer vase. You can find more like this at www.francespalmerpottery.com
What I saw in Frances pottery is exactly that. It became clear to me that the whimsical form and function comes from her relationship and harmony with nature. As an avid gardener myself, I instantly got it. Her pottery reminded me of a garden flower. Put many of her pieces together and you have a beautiful whimsical garden. This nonsensical balance you find in nature is fully represented in the design of her beautiful creations.
Each flower in a garden is carefully grown with love, often a bouquet is gathered and placed in a special vase for all to enjoy. It brings deep health and wellness into our home.
“I don’t make or grow things to hold onto them, but rather to send them out into the world for others to live with and enjoy… Each piece, no matter how large or small, is considered and individual.”
My little gathering
I wanted to put together a little breakfast brunch for my family and thought that I would bake some home-made pumpkin biscuits.
Pumpkin Biscuits
Pumpkin Recipe by Life As A Strawberry
These biscuits were an extremely easy recipe to follow. They were very good and super tender and flaky. I must admit that I did change the recipe up a bit. I added 1/2 teaspoon more cinnamon and added some allspice and a hint of clove. I like warm fall spices and wanted to have that flavor front and center when biting into my biscuit. If you like a sweeter biscuit much like a scone, I will add 1/4 cup of sugar to the recipe. I personally didn’t do that this time, but it is something I often do when making biscuits.
Once the biscuits finished baking and cooled, I added a Maple sugar glaze to the top of the biscuit. I like a little sweet with a savory biscuit.
Maple Glaze for Biscuits and Scones
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/8 teaspoon of maple flavoring
Mix all together and drizzle on your biscuit.
I used my favorite Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup made by Litchfield Distillery here in Litchfield, Connecticut. It has a remarkable depth of flavor due to the bourbon barrel notes found in it. For me, when I am cooking and baking it is important to get a more down-home cooking experience and using local ingredients just feels right to me. It is just a spectacular product and bottled in a beautiful way. I will often buy this maple syrup and give it as gifts. Their bourbon is amazing as well.
Hint: When serving maple syrup for pancakes or waffles, I often heat up the syrup in the microwave. it fills my home with an amazing scent. If this doesn’t speak Fall, I don’t know what does!
Follow this link to Litchfield Distillery
Big Tip: When heating syrup in the microwave be very careful. The heat of the maple syrup can burn you since it is sugar. I would heat it up in incriments of 10 seconds only checking each time for the correct temperature.
All I did was take a spoon and drizzle the maple syrup glaze onto the biscuit.
I wanted to use my new vase and so I ran out to my local florist and ordered some David Austin Roses and some salmon colored ranunculus. I love that the ranuculas arbitrarily fall here and there. They are a great flower if you are looking to have pops of color in your centerpiece and are looking for a cascading bloom.
Here is one of my salmon colored ranunculus. The colors are lovely and go well with gold. I used it to garnish my dishes for a pop of color and to tie it in with my complete design.
I love mixing vintage with modern design. This is an antique tea pot that my mother handed down to me. It is hand painted with 22KT gold. Who does that anymore! I believe that adding vintage items to any design gives an added layer of warmth and texture.
These lovely gold rimmed plates are a modern style I found this past year. They go well with both the tea pot and the vintage teacups I purchased in Germany years back. The flatware and linen napkins are modern as well.
Ambience
Lighting creates a wonderful mood therefore spend some time to get it right. Candles are the easiest way to create soft lighting and illuminate different areas. I scattered a few votives around my kitchen just to create a warm atmosphere.
Hint:
Fill a large tray with all different sizes of candles and place it in a corner here and there or use pillar candels along with votives to create a beautiful room when entertaining. Try tucking a few twinkle lights inside a few lanterns or under a glass dome. I actually like to do all of these lighting methods at once. It really sets the mood for a warm environment.
Little vignettes such as this are easy to create. I had this tiered tea caddy and put a few Kate Spade plates on it. The light pink was perfect for the total design. I put the biscuits below and butter along with some French jams on top. I garnished with a few flowers from my centerpiece.
Later I added some other items to eat such as eggs, bacon, and waffles.
The thing is…if you love something and it is special to you, use it. Place it in your design. There is no better time than the present. I used my beautiful new vase along with antique pieces that I have gathered from the past. They promote fond memories and allow for creating new ones. A warm atmosphere promotes wellness, and you can’t get better than that.
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Relax and enjoy the memories you’ve just created
As with everything I post on my blogs, please feel free to comment or if you have any questions, please email me through my contact page. I welcome it anytime!
Design with your heart™️
Happy entertaining my friends!
Mary
“may your home be a place where friends meet, family gathers, and love grows.”
