BLUE MONDAY: BOWLS, CHIPS, BERRIES & TRIPS

Today is the ever so wonderful Blue Monday hosted by Smiling Sally. This is a great way to start the week and to do so, please stop by Sally's to see a list of all the gals that are participating, then pay a visit, see some blue and rave a little! It's fun!

Today I am showing off a set of blue bowls I bought last year. Until I started to participate in Blue Monday, not only did I find that I had more blue things than I had thought, but I also have some collections of sort, or perhaps better called obsessions. I got on a bowl kick about two years ago. (Before that it was a platter kick). For some reason I couldn't pass a set of bowls without wanting them. The usual excuses: "I don't have any bowls in fuchsia", or "I want something for Groundhogs Day", that sort of thing. Anyway I have enough bowls to host a Pillsbury Bake~off. Some are serving bowls, some are mixing bowls and some are just pretty containers for potpourri or candy, popcorn or baubles. They are useful and fun. Have I justified my collection, er... obsession??

The above bowls are from Gooseberry Patch. You HAVE to visit them if you haven't already. They have really darling things if you are in the mood for whimsical and they have a lot of bowl sets. These blue and white bowls are very spring-like and look pretty just by themselves on the counter around springtime. If you are feeling creative, you can even put something in them. I guess I have awhile for the idea's to start germinating, ha ha...

Below are close ups of the cute details:

Can you see the cute little chippy table they are sitting on? I bought this for $10.00 at the little antique shop I mentioned last week that just opened a few blocks away. As I said then, I like to fool around with inexpensive pieces like this, painting, distressing or whatever strikes me. Since I love rustic, shabby chic sort of things, you can see there won't be much fooling around here... However if anyone has any fun ideas, let me know. It is very light weight but sturdy. I thought it might look cute on a patio or balcony with a few plants (or maybe in the garage to hold a few cans of motor oil). Should I leave it all chippy or should I paint it? Should it be fun and whimsical or simple and pretty?

Below is a view showing the legs. They sort of remind me of the Jenny Lind furniture from way back when, they made baby furniture that really wasn't the best quality but affordable. I had a diaper changing table (oh, those sweet memories!!!). Maybe I can put a plastic tub on it to bathe Milo & Layla.

If you are starting to think my Blue Mondays are looking quite alike, I probably should mention that I pretty much stage everything in front of my quilt rack in my bedroom. The true confession is that I have so little available wall space in my wee little old house and I have too much furniture for said wee old house. So this is my perfect backdrop. That or the stove. Besides, I want to show off that antique tablecloth I'm so dying to use in my as of yet to be Tablescape Thursday. Note: Tablecloth on quilt rack . Obviously no room for linen armoire in wee little old house either.

Below is a close up of the top.

When I was foraging through the cabinets for the blue bowls I happened to notice this little page I tore from a magazine and taped inside the door. I open these cabinets a few times a day but sometimes you just don't notice things you've had forever. I looked closer and I saw that it was from Country Living, 1996, the year we renovated the kitchen. I have to laugh thinking that at the time I thought it was so Martha Stewart of me to have a place setting guide in my plate cabinet. As if I would forget how to set a place! Ha Ha. Well er...yeah, I do sometimes. Minor things I will say, like if the knife is turned in or out and where you put the butter knife. And, I have a question. If you are serving berries, perhaps for a brunch, where would you put the berry bowls? I lose sleep over that one. This little portion of my post has no relevancy to Blue Monday but I'm throwing it in, along with that burning question about berry bowls.

Finally, a picture I came across during an organizing frenzy. It is a picture of me in front of a blue shingled store in Martha's Vineyard 7 years ago. The husband and I went there for one of his milestone birthdays. We had one of the best trips ever, so simple and laid back. I will be having the same milestone birthday next year and this is where I want to go. In fact, we probably would have returned by now but it was such a special time it's best to save it for milestones. Now, Paris is a place you would want to go to every couple of months just to get away, blend in with everyone, catch up on your reading...

Happy Blue Monday to all. If you haven't wasted the last few hours reading all this, try to visit Sally to see all of your fellow bloggers that are participating and share the blues!!!

xoxo

Janie