Winner!

Congrats to Sherry at Ties 2 The Past who is the winner of the MyMemories Digital Scrapbook Software!

And what's a post without a photograph?

La-TEA-Da, Rochester, NY

Last week I visited my daughter in Rochester and she took me to La-Tea-Da Tea Room and Parlor for lunch:

The first thing we did when we arrived was to find attire in the tea room, so that we were dressed appropriately!

They had many hats, stoles, gloves, etc. My sister-in-law, Cathy, joined us:

And here's Caitlin, my youngest daughter:

Each table was set with a tea pot, cups and saucers and a bell to ring if we needed service:

All of the china was mix and match:

The two rooms were decorated with cute tea paraphernalia ....

and tea pots in every theme imaginable!

We had a great lunch of chicken salad wraps, salad and fresh fruit!

I immediately spied this hand painted Chippendale mirror in the "dress up" area for children:

And it was suggested that we try their signature dessert....sorry, but we dove into it so quickly that I never got a photo of the strawberry covered scone with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate syrup...

So, if you are ever in Rochester, NY and looking for a fun place to have lunch, try La-Tea-Da

A POLKA DOT CAKE!

I usually don't want the latest in kitchen gadgets, but this year I told my husband I wanted a cake pop maker:

It's a small piece of equipment and I LOVE IT!

I mixed up a small cake mix to try it out:

And they came out PERFECT the first time:

And I even took this a step further.....

and decided to make a polka dot cake. I put the cake balls into cake batter:

During the baking, I pushed some deeper into the pan, so that the polka dots would be at different levels:

and it turned out well:

Next time I want to try a chocolate cake with white balls!

And it was served on really cute depression glass cake plates that I bought at the flea market last week for only $2.00!

Sharing my Polka Dot Cake with

Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tutorial Tuesday @ Hope Studios

Last chance

to enter my

MYMEMORIES digital scrapbook software GIVEAWAY

Valentine's Day Brunch for 2

My table is set for Valentine's Brunch:

Each place setting has a milk glass covered dish to hold cheesy scrambled eggs:

Eggs, fruit salad, apple cinnamon muffins, crisp bacon, mimosas and tea and coffee will be served.

Cheery poppies brighten up the table:

The fruit bowls ($.59 ea at thrift shop), cups and saucers ($.39 ea at thrift shop), and main dishes (6/$3.00 at a garage sale) are Westmoreland milk glass. The Toscany heart shaped dishes were purchased years ago at Marshall's.

I handpainted the charger plates:

as well as the individual butter dishes and salt and pepper shakers:

And for the sweet tooth: 2 jars of candy :

Please don't forget to go here to enter my

MYMEMORIES digital scrapbook software GIVEAWAY

Sharing with Tablescape Thursday

and Thrifty Thursdays

Another MacKenzie-Childs Knockoff!

This time I wanted to imitate the retired buttercup pattern. I have the covered baking pan and the squash pot, so I thought I would see if I could make a canister:

I bought a glass canister with a wooden lid, similar to this, at the thrift store for $.49:

I "yanked" the wooden knob off the top, "pried" off the plastic seal and primed and painted the wooden lid with white paint:

I scrubbed and sterilized the jar and set it aside:

I bought rub-on decals for $.49 at Michael's, similar to the flower pattern on original MacKenzie Childs Buttercup pattern, and rubbed them onto the wood:

The flower pattern is different, however the colors are the same:

I used my pot lid so I could imitate the polka dots:

I painted an old wooden bead a similar green to that of the original and then pulled out my old trims and beads. The gold crown piece is actually a M-C piece from their old Odds and Ends store:

I stacked everything onto the wooden lid and adhered with super glue:

And here is my version of the Buttercup pattern:

Not too shabby, huh? And my investment was only $.98 and an hour of my time:

Sharing with Met Monday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm, Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple and Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

Please enter my

MYMEMORIES digital scrapbook GIVEAWAY

(winner chosen at the end of January)