Chickadee Home Nest: April 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012

Joyful News -- Mr. Bright Eyes Has Arrived!

Well, Mr. B.E. arrived on April 16th., at 6:39 AM. A bouncing, beautiful BABY BOY weighing in at 8 lbs, 6 oz. Healthy and beautiful, we are thankful for the many blessings in our lives, especially healthy, happy babies.

As the time got closer I prepared for his arrival by getting the bassinet my grandmother "dressed" for me when my first baby was born. I can't begin to imagine creating this--it even has a "petticoat" under it--and she did it without a pattern!

You don't see these anymore--or at least not very often--but I did find some at Ababy.com. You'll want to check them out...some go for over $2,000! I also read that brides used to use their wedding gowns, or parts of them, to then have the "dress" for their babies' bassinet made. I think that's a very sweet idea, don't you?

Our tradition is European, where many of our family's traditions originated. A few years ago I saw a cover story in a magazine from Spain where the royal baby was "introduced," and there was the lovely, dressed bassinet.

It does kind of look like a wedding dress, doesn't it?
But softer, and sweeter.

Back when my grandmother made this, we didn't know our babies' gender until the doc said,
"It's a BOY!" or "It's a GIRL!" so yellow, pink, and blue...suitable for either.

And if there wasn't enough beautiful handwork in the bassinet itself,

my mother embroidered a sheet and pillow sham (no fears--no pillows used with babies!).
The stitching is masterful.

Now THREE of my grandmother's great-great grandchildren, and my mother's great-grandchildren have slept like royalty, thanks to their lovely needlework and devotion to keep our traditions alive. Since our family escaped from Cuba in 1961, our family heirlooms are rather new in comparison to others', but I think that makes us treasure them all the more, because we are the ones saving the precious memories to pass on.

I am happy to be the keeper of these beautiful things--my brother and SIL, and my sister and BIL each have their own as well, for their babies' babies. We think this is a beautiful tradition to carry on.

What have you passed down to your babies? Do you think they will continue to be passed down? I'd love to hear about your baby traditions.

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them! They encourage me and inspire me. And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post or pin it on Pinterest too! Thank you!

I hope you will follow me. If you’ll let me know that you’re following, I’ll be sure to follow you back.

These are the parties I’m joining this week; I hope you’ll stop by!

Sunday’s Simply Klassics at http://www.simplyklassichome.com/

Sunday Blog Hop at http://www.blissfulanddomestic.com/

Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

Sundae Scoop at http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/

Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Monday’s Blue Monday at http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/2007/09/blue-monday-all-you-need-to-know.html

Masterpiece Monday athttp://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

Market Yourself Monday at http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/

Monday Just Something I Whipped Up at http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

CraftOManiac Monday at http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/

Too Cute Tuesday at http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/

Sew Cute Tuesday at http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Wednesday at Tea Rose Home at http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/

We Did It Wednesday at http://www.sew-much-ado.com/

Wednesday’s Hoo’s Got Talent at http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/

Home and Garden Thursday at http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Vintage Inspiration Friday at http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Fridays at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Friday Favs at http://www.naptimecrafters.com/2012/04/friday-favs-party-60.html#more

Show and Tell Saturday at http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2012/04/show-and-tell-saturday-042812.html

Spotlight Saturday at http://www.classyclutter.blogspot.com/

From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Easter Table & Vignettes

Has Easter hopped right into this week without your even knowing how that happened? That's what happened at our house--it's here, before I knew it! So this post will cover lots of territory--from outdoor and indoor vignettes to my Easter tablescape.

Sprint has definitely SPRUNG in central Ohio, though we have a danger of frost until mid-May. For now, we're enjoying every bit of it, taking it as a GIFT.

And....guess who's lurking around waiting with his load of eggs to hide?!
(As I was taking pictures in the dining room the other day, some movement outside caught my eye...
yep, that's who it was!! I looked up just in time to see his cotton tail scamper under the bushes!)

A few of the touches of spring around our house...
my favorite Nicodemus piece--this chubby robin with a few eggs in her nest, in my Bombay chicken-wire cloche,
my wrought iron tiered server, chock full of eggs and carrots (close-ups of the carrots to follow),
and our resident duck couple. They are so cute; they're always together. I haven't found their nest yet.

And now for my Easter tablescape...

The centerpiece is a gorgeous Fitz & Floyd bunny cake plate my SIL gave me YEARS ago, so it's the good stuff, not what's out there now, and it is beautiful. I opted for a simple Depression glass sugar bowl (I must look up the pattern!) for the flowers, because I didn't want to hide the beautiful detail on the plate.

Large dinner plate/chargers are new this year (Home Goods) and boy, do I love them! I wanted to use these hobnail frosted salad/ dessert plates and the dinner plates were perfect with them. I wish I had at least four more of these dessert plates...I love them, but they were a gift years ago and was never able to find more.

The napkins are brand, spanking new--Easter clearance at Home Goods--and they were perfect for my Easter tablescape. What a happy find!

The napkin rings were made by my mother years ago.

Perfect for this pastel table!

Here is the yellow plate...I can't decide which color I like best/which place setting I would choose. I'd like to know which one you like best: YELLOW, WHITE, BLUE, or GREEN?

Carrot place card holders, pinned by--what else?

A tiny carrot clothes pin!

The large carrot is from a garland I found this year at Tuesday Morning--I cut them off the garland. And the tiny clothes pins? I've had them for years. They were still in the original package because I hadn't run across a way to use them, but I fell in love with them when I first saw them, and I am sooooo happy to get to finally use them!

What other ideas do you have for how to use them?

The lovely teaspoons? Another gift from my SIL--a hostess gift when I had a shower for her DIL. Lovely.

You just might recognize these darling cordials...I posted about them HERE, when my mother hosted a pre-wedding dinner party for our son and his fiancee.

And now, they have a new home!

She thought they'd be happy here, and I hope they're as happy as I am to have them. Perfect for my Easter table!

Our son and DIL gave me these sweet little bird s&p last year for my birthday--love them!

And my mother gave me the egg years ago...perfect!

I have a confession...of my many dish addictions, sugar and creamers are right up there...so when I saw these on clearance at Home Goods a few days ago, no, they didn't jump in my cart--I GRABBED them and brought them home with me!

Aren't they darling? Now, how could anyone pass them up?!

Do you understand? :)

And last but not least...our baby's high chair, set with what else, but Royal Doulton Bunnykins?