Saturday Meanderings
Happy weekend! We are currently visiting our son in the DC area for the weekend. I hope you had a wonderful week and an even better weekend. It has been SO hot here but that is no surprise! Grab a cool beverage and let’s get started and chat about all good things this week.
New Show We are Watching
If you love grandeur, breathtaking backdrops of the ocean and a gorgeous hotel, look no further than the Hotel Portofino. This period drama television series will transport you to the Italian Riviera without leaving your couch. It is 6 episodes about a British Hotel in the 1920s in Portofino, Italy. With only a few episodes watched to date, I love the costuming, the hotel decor, anything about Italy and so far the characters are fun, too. Hotel Portofino is available for streaming on the PBS website, on Amazon Prime and Vudu and maybe BritBox?
My Online Store
I am in the process of updating my online store and hope to have new items in September. One of my favorite pieces, a Coalport Hot Chocolate set, just sold this week. It was hard to pack it up but I hope it is going to a good home. I’ve never seen one like it, especially with 12 adorable cups and saucers.
Southern Peach Bread
Michele, from Vintage Home Designs shares a Southern Peach Bread recipe that I made this week. Since I am not a fan of anything too sweet, this bread is perfect for me. Since I no longer have fresh peaches from our tree, I made this with fresh frozen ones. Very easy and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. You can see Michele’s post here.
The only picture I took is before I put the pan in the oven. Thankfully Michele has many wonderful pictures of this bread.
The Importance of the Right Coffee Cup
My Instagram friend, Paige Geiger posts this saying but who is in agreement? I truly get such joy out of having my coffee in just the right cup. Is it weird to have a good memory of a trip based on a coffee cup you experienced? When I think of our recent trip to Boise, one of the first things that comes to mind is the coffee cup I loved (I even posted about this) at a breakfast place.
Of course, at home I have my “happy” cups (unfortunately discontinued from Anthropologie). Do you think I’m losing it or are there others out there who agree with me?
A Mystery Houseguest
It appears we have a mystery houseguest. Each morning as I enter the dining room, I notice plaster debris on the floor under the sliding pocket doors. We are checking the attic for evidence of some critter but have found nothing to date. Apparently, whatever it is, appears to be residing between the first and second story.
A visit by our organic exterminator brought some head scratching and we have not been able to figure out what is doing this. There are no droppings either. We sweep up the plaster mess and the next morning there is more. Certainly a mystery so far. Any thoughts?
Grape Arbor
The grapes are almost ready to pick from the arched arbor in front of the garden entrance. I have never made any grape jam or jelly. I would imagine the most difficult part is getting rid of all the seeds (unfortunately these are not seedless). Has anyone made grape jam/jelly? I am wondering how difficult it is before I embark on another overly ambitious project. Maybe just eating time off the vine is a good idea.
Speaking of the garden, I am still harvesting. Generally I let the garden go fallow over the summer months but I am getting ready to pick watermelon and the mystery gourd looks like butternut squash (which I didn’t plant) from an incomplete composting batch. What an interesting gardening season it has been!
Hydrangeas
We cannot grow hydrangeas here. When I buy them, they last a day or two and then wilt. Mary from Home is Where the Boat Is has a great tip on how to preserve hydrangeas. I will try it because they are rather pricey here and it’s disappointing that they cannot be enjoyed for long. Plus, this post is full of gorgeous hydrangeas from her garden.
An Amazing Door Decor Tip
My friend, Chloe from Celebrate and Decorate is someone with a big personality and a generous heart. I am always in awe of what her clever mind creates. This post shows the contraption Chloe designed for her entry door that allows her to do things like this for a pool party….
Or this gorgeous front entrance for the Spring…
Her post shows a very detailed tutorial on how to make this with PVC pipe. This is definitely the next project for my husband!
Well that’s a wrap for another edition of Saturday Meanderings! I always appreciate you visiting and reading my posts! Also, I am painting again and hope to show you the finished piece next Saturday.
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I’m actually scared to find out who or what your house guest is. I love my happy cup Mary! I love having the same one as you. I look forward to hearing how the alum works for the hydrangeas. Always love catching up on your blog every Saturday.
Kim, Scott ordered some sort of a camera that we can slide up in between floors…..I’m a bit nervous about it but better to find out sooner rather than later. I need to try the alum. All the years I bought hydrangeas from the grocery store only to have them wilt the next day has created an aversion to this flower! Thanks for catching up on Saturday!
Thanks for the tip about Hotel Portofino, Mary. Chris and I spent a wonderful 3 weeks in Genoa, St. Margherita in Ligure, Portofino and the Cinque Terra in 2018. It will be great to revisit the area! I really enjoy your blog. Thanks so much.
Carol, your trip to Italy in 2018 sounds so wonderful. We are aching to return and really spend some time exploring. Yes, Hotel Portofino has many great scenes and it is such a beautiful place. Hoping the rest of the episodes are good! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Mary,
Your mysterious house guest could be a mouse in the walls on either side of your pocket door.
Our daughter in Madison, WI picks Concord grapes and makes jam. Would you like her recipe?
Louise, yes please send the recipe. Mine are not Concord grapes but I assume the process and ingredients may be the same? Yes, now that we are back home I need to do more sleuthing on the mysterious house guest.
Water leak, carpenter ants, or wood boarers that kill pine trees?
Nancy, I didn’t think of a water leak, but we are now seeing some plumbing issues arise (replaced everything over 20 years ago). Now that we are back home, I need to spend some more time investigating this. Thanks for the suggestions.
Mary…First of all, I love your “Saturday Meanderings”. Looking forward to watching Hotel Portofino, trying the peach bread and preserving our hydrangeas. Surprisingly, we can grow hydrangeas here in Boise. I’m hoping they survive our triple digits for the next week. Wish I could attach a photo as they are huge and gorgeous this year. I love Big City Cafe but haven’t been there in a while so I’m inspired to go again and enjoy that delicious looking pastry and being served in that beautiful cup. Good luck solving the pest mystery and keep us posted. Carpenter ants could be the culprit as Phyllis said. If so, it might need something less organic to get rid of them. We have them at our cabin and have to stay ahead of them each year.
Melody, I do not know why I fail to remember you are in Boise part of the year. Next time we head there for a Peregrine Fund board meeting, I need to see if you are around. Lucky you to have beautiful hydrangeas! And I will look into carpenter ants. It’s hard to see where the mysterious house guest is but somewhere between the floors. So frustrating.
SO many great ideas Mary, and I’m totally with you on the happy cups. I’m so excited for the person who got your hot chocolate set – I need to remember to check your store more often! Hope you have a lovely time in DC. Stay cool!
Barbara, I haven’t updated the store in quite some time so I’m looking forward to doing so soon (I hope). I’ve heard it’s been rather cool where you are? If so, lucky you!
I didn’t know you were in DC again! I was in Bethesda for about 10 days myself! I was getting my granddaughters’ trunks and duffles all packed up for summer camp. They leave for camp in a short two weeks! That was a lot of labeling of clothes and other miscellaneous things to make sure their names were on every item! My husband has a very specific rule for his coffee cups, so I understand your requirements for a perfect coffee cup. When does your son pack up and head west for school? I hope he is looking forward to it! Thanks so much for sharing my decorated front door! I can’t wait to decorate it for fall…my favorite season!
Chloe, well this may be my last visit to DC as my son is moving to Chicago next month. But how fun that would have been to meet with you there!How fun that your granddaughters are going to camp~fun summer memories! Your decorated front doors are always my favorite!
Get thinking about front door entrance ideas, house is Mediterranean, style, your post always get my juices flowing but still immobilized.
Love the coffee cups. You’re the best!
Bev, send me a picture of your front door and I will help if I can. My email is [email protected]. I love envisioning someone else’s entry.
I hope you are having a marvelous time in DC! I’m in the Texas hill country and we are blessed with wild mustang grapes (or cursed, since they can take over, lol). They are a pain to pick, because they aren’t in large bunches on the vines and can make my hands itch. But they make a wonderful tart/sweet jelly. They also have seeds, but it’s not difficult to get them out: use a mesh strainer. My recipe calls for washing the grapes, then cooking them with a small amount of water until the skins start to slip off – they cool for 20 minutes, and then strain the juice. I’m sure that would work well for your grapes too! I think you should absolutely try it – if you have enough, homemade jelly makes great gifts. I don’t get a large harvest from mine, but I can get at least a dozen or so jars by using the 4 oz ones 🙂
Patty, thanks for the grape information. Yes, I did read that you want to separate the skins from the seeds. I may go and pick them now and see how it goes! Really appreciate you sharing this.
Oh I’m excited for the Italian TV show. Thanks! could it be the cat?
Andrea, the cat is pretty sequestered in the mud room, library or family room so he is away from that area. I will spend some time on this problem this week as I want to solve the mystery…
Mary, your photo of grapes is so beautiful!
Thank you for all the fun suggestions…I like happy and memory storied cups and mugs too. So happy you are painting and looking forward to your next post.
Sue, thank you so much for your sweet comments!
Regarding your mysterious plaster mess, it could be carpenter ants. They are not easy to get rid of but do not ignore them. Talk to your exterminator.
Hope this helps.
Phyllis
Phyllis, thanks for the recommendation. Now that we are back home, I hope to focus on this problem this week.