Decor – Decorating with Plates

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When decorating our home, my design plan is to surround our family with things that have special meaning to us.  Over the years I have collected decorative plates by the Danbury Mint, Wedgewood, Norman Rockwell and Marty Bell.  Each plate comes with a certificate of authenticity. I don’t know if they have great monetary value but the ones that I have collected were purchased because they represent the places we have visited over the years or special events in our lives.  Some of the plates are of National Parks, historical places or scenes from the ocean that we love or the English countryside that we visited or commemorative plates depicting events or years that are important to our family.  I have also purchased inexpensive porcelain plates from our local discount retail stores.  I have even purchased decorative plates on our travels in England, Germany and Poland.  All these plates have been used in decorating our past and present houses.

Starting in our library, the room is a quiet place where you can grab a book, take a seat in one of the comfortable recliners and cover yourself in a soft blanket while reading a good book.  One wall of the room is filled with bookshelves which hold not only our collection of books but also our travel mementos.  Within the bookshelves several plates are displayed on easels, two collectible nature plates of ducks and wolves and a Native American decorative plate we bought during our southwest travels.  Above the bookshelves there is a collection of six Danbury Mint plates depicting scenes from some of the National Parks we have visited throughout the United States.  All these plates displayed in our library are in keeping with the room’s theme of travel and adventure.

Plates - library1    Plates - library2
Library bookshelf left    Library bookshelf middle    Library bookshelf right

The next room is our family room which has a large brick fireplace/mantel with two bookshelf/cabinets on each side.  This is the room where our family spends most of our time.  The room has beautiful wood paneling and a comfortable sofa and oversized chair/ottoman to sit in while watching the television.  In this room are several paintings and lithographs depicting serene landscapes from the English Countryside.  One of those is a painting by California artist Marty Bell called “Morning’s Glow”.  When this painting was hung in our California house over the piano, I wanted to give it a more substantial look.  I found an entire collection of Marty Bell collectible plates on E-Bay and purchased them at a reasonable price.  I hung five of the plates around the oval frame and they were the perfect complement to the Marty Bell painting.  When we moved to our new house I hung them in the same way and they look lovely against the wood paneled walls.

Plates - family room

Adjoining the family room is the kitchen, it has an open floor plan where both rooms are connected and divided by a railing near the kitchen table.  Near this area is a wall of upper and lower cabinets with a desk height marble counter with chairs.  My daughter uses this area to do her homework.  Above the upper cabinets there is almost two feet of space which is where I usually decorate each season for the different holidays.  Most of the year there is a picture, a couple of tea pots and three green porcelain decorative plates on easels.  Across this area, near the sliding glass door to the sunroom is a large decorative plate that was purchased on a trip to Poland many years ago.  It has special meaning because I had originally purchased it for my mother; her parents were born in Poland.  After she passed away last year the plate was returned to me.  I recently purchased an Italian decorative plate, my father was born in Italy.  I thought it would be a nice addition to the Polish plate and it would represent the countries my family immigrated from.

Plates - kitchen1    Plates - kitchen

We refer to our basement at the new house as the “California Room”.  This is where we have a wall of black bookcases filled with our Disneyland memorabilia.  Living in California, Disneyland was a place I visited as a child and also a place I frequently took my children.  (We miss our annual Disneyland passports!!)  Anyway, this room is subtlety decorated with beach items to reinforce that California theme.  Over the sofa is a large painting that I purchased years ago in Santa Barbara by a local artist.  The painting is of a beautiful Hawaii sunset in Kauai.  I have a collection of Robert Lyn Nelson collectible plates from the Danbury Mint that depict colorful ocean scenes of dolphins, whales and sea turtles.   I hung six of the plates, three on each side of the Kauai painting, and they are the perfect complement to the ocean theme.

I have used other collectible and decorative plates in others rooms of our house in California.  For my daughters old bedroom I had found some Beatrix Potter plates in an antique store and hung them on the wall in her bedroom near some framed Beatrix Potter lithographs.  I also had several Brambly Hedge collectible plates; we liked the Brambly Hedge books which are so beautifully illustrated in a style similar to Beatrix Potter’s books.  When I found a collection of the four seasons plates; Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter, plus the Birthday and Wedding plates we hung all six on the opposite wall in her bedroom and they looked so sweet.   When we moved to our new house, my daughter wanted a more teenage decorated room and the plates went into storage.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

In the guest bedroom we had a bedroom that was decorated in soft blue and white, a classic color palette.  I found some Wedgewood collectible plates, on E-Bay and in also in an antique store and the color was absolutely perfect for the bedroom.  When we moved, I changed the colors of the guest bedroom and those plates also went into storage.

DECOR TIPS:  Plates, both collectible and inexpensive decorative ones, can be an affordable, low cost way to decor a home.  Plates look great hung on a wall either singularly or in multiples, just purchase inexpensive plate hangers at your local retail or craft stores.  Plates can also look great on bookshelves; to display them purchase some easels from the craft store.  EBay is a great source for collectible plates.  Just do some research on the plate’s value before bidding, this will help you to determine a fair bid/purchase price.  Home Goods or TJ Max are great sources for inexpensive decorative plates, you can usually find the perfect plate to match your room’s color and decor.

Please send me your comments on what collectible plates you have and how you use them to decorate your home.  Also, if you have any other creative ideas on how to use plates to decorate I would love to hear your suggestions.

Travel – Mount Vernon, Virginia

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Mt. Vernon - Bowling Green side    Mt. Vernon - Potomac side

We visited Mount Vernon while on a road trip through Virginia to Washington D.C. back in 2002.  Mount Vernon is located along the Potomac River in northern Virginia and 16 miles south of Washington D.C.  If you are visiting Washington D.C., we highly recommend the short trip out to Mount Vernon, especially if you have school-aged children.  It is a wonderful way to learn about the life of George Washington and the history of our country.

George WashingtonGeorge Washington (Born: February 22, 1732 Died: December 14, 1799) was the Commander-in-Chief of the American forces during the Revolutionary War and the first President of the United States.  Washington inherited Mount Vernon in 1754 and even when he was away at war he personally oversaw every detail of the design, construction and decoration of the home and the plantation expansions reflect his status as a Virginia gentleman.  He and his wife Martha lived together at Mount Vernon for more than 40 years.  Today, Mount Vernon covers nearly 50 acres that were once Washington’s extensive plantation.  Visitors can tour Washington’s home and tomb, a new visitor center and museum, beautiful gardens and a demonstration farm with a reconstructed slave cabin.

A great place to start a visit to Mount Vernon is at the Ford Orientation Center.  This building is the visitor center at the estate and also the place to get tickets and tour information.  There are many different tours to take of the Mount Vernon property and several areas of interest such as the Pioneer Farm Site, which is a 4 acre demonstration farm with a 16 sided barn and a reconstruction of a slave cabin and the Distillery and Gristmill are located a short drive away.  While you are at the Orientation Center, be sure to see the minute film, “We Fight to Be Free”, which shows the important moments of Washington’s life.  Also, please take the time to check out the “Mount Vernon in Miniature”, which is an exact replica of the Washington’s Mount Vernon home.

Just a short walk from the Orientation Center is the home of George and Martha Washington.  As visitors approach the Mansion they will walk on a carriage road that circles a large bowling green area.  (A bowling green was a large grassy area used for playing lawn games that were popular during Washington’s time at Mount Vernon) When you first see the Mansion in the distance, look up at the top and there is a cupola in the center of the house topped with a gilded dove of peace.  As visitors enter the Mansion for their tour, they will notice the home features some of the Washington’s original furniture and a few reproductions.  The elegant furnishings and other decorations, such as the vibrant wall colors, reflect not only the Washington’s sophisticated taste but also their wealth and status.  Some notable historic items within the Mansion are the key to Bastille which was presented by the Marquis de Lafayette and a swivel chair which Washington used during his presidency.  Be sure to take a walk to the back of the house, which has a porch that stretches the length of the house and take a moment to sit and enjoy the views of the Potomac River.

From the front of the Mansion, located on either side of the bowling green are the gardens which grew the estate’s vegetables.  To the north (left) of the Mansion are the upper gardens and to the south (right) are the lower gardens.  Washington was very interested in horticulture and during his years as President, he wrote many letters home discussing his landscape ideas and planting suggestions for the gardens at Mount Vernon.  Extending from both sides of the Mansion are the outbuildings.  These areas on the estate were where the main work of the plantation took place.  On the left are the blacksmith shop, salt house, greenhouse and slave quarters to the right are the kitchen, storehouse, smokehouse, wash house and stable.  Beyond the lower garden, are the fruit orchards and a short walk past them is Washington’s tomb.

After retiring from the presidency in 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon.  He always enjoyed managing the plantation and was looking forward to quiet times.  But Washington was keep very busy with visitors, both social and political, which were constantly seeking out his company and advice. In 1799, he died in the master bedroom at his beloved Mount Vernon after a short illness.  Per his wishes, Washington was buried at Mount Vernon in a tomb located near the bank of the Potomac River.  After the death of her husband, Martha continued to live at Mount Vernon, seeking comfort from family, friends and her deep religious faith.  To the surprise and dismay of her family, just two and a half years after her husband death, Martha died on May 22, 1802.  She was buried alongside her husband.  Then in 1831, there was an unsuccessful attempt to steal the body of Washington.  At that time, the decision was made to build a new more secure tomb a short distance from the original location.  Upon completion of the second tomb, George and Martha Washington reached their final resting place.  After a short ceremony at the new tomb, the inner vault door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac.

Washington tomb 1

Since we visited in 2002, Mount Vernon added not only the Ford Orientation Center but also the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center in 2006.  The Museum features 25 state-of-the-art exhibit galleries and theaters where visitors learn about Washington through interactive displays, short films and over 700 objects that were personally owned by George and Martha Washington.  In addition, located on the property are a gift shop, bookstore, food court and the Mount Vernon Inn and Restaurant.

When visiting Mount Vernon, plan on spending several hours there because there are so many things to see and learn about George Washington’s life and legacy!  For information regarding admission fees and tours, please see the Mount Vernon website at www.mountvernon.org

GEORGE WASHINGTON TRIVIA

Everybody has probably heard the childhood stories claiming that a young George Washington skipped a silver dollar across the Potomac River at Mount Vernon or how he chopped down his father’s cherry tree and when questioned about the deed said, “I can’t tell a lie, I did”.   Where did these stories about Washington’s childhood originate and are they fact or fiction?

Parson Weems, wrote an autobiography, “The Life of George Washington”, in 1800.  After Washington’s death, Weems interviewed several people who knew Washington as a child and that is where these stores are supposed to have originated.  Weems wrote his bestseller describing several of these Washington’s childhood anecdotes to provide moral tales for the children of the nation.

After 1890, historians insisted on proof to validate those anecdotes and no alternative sources came forward to corroborate them.  Eventually Weems’ credibility was severely questioned and these stories are now deemed to be fiction.

Celebration – President’s Day (Part Two)

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A good way to celebrate President’s Day is by watching some great movies about presidents.  Two of our favorite presidential movies are about fictional presidents, “My Fellow Americans” and “The American President”.  Here is a suggestion to make President’s Day a special evening: order a pizza, make a salad and enjoy a delicious dinner with the family, then get comfortable on the sofa and watch the movies.  Please be advised: both these movies are rated PG-13 and might not be suitable for younger children.

To continue with the theme of fictional presidents, one of our favorite television series is “The West Wing”.  This show is so well written and the dialog is fast-paced and we also enjoy the balance of comedy and drama; it keeps the series fun and exciting.  I know you can’t watch all 154 episodes in one night, but this is one of those television series that is worth watching again!

My Fellow Americans

This 1996 comedy movie is about two fictional ex-presidents, President Russell Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and President Matt Douglas (James Garner).  These two former rivals of opposite political parties are drawn into a scandal by the current President William Haney (Dan Aykroyd).  Presidents Kramer and Douglas become reluctant allies on a desperate search for evidence to establish their innocence in the “Olympia” scandal and they narrowly escape into the Appalachian Mountains as they are pursued by government agents.  These reluctant allies are on a desperate search for evidence to establish their innocence in the “Olympia” scandal. Surprisingly, as these two former presidents travel through Middle America; they meet illegal immigrants, a homeless family and they even find themselves marching in a gay pride parade.  Wait for the plot twist near the end of the movie and the fun ending to the movie.   Supporting cast includes John Heard as the bumbling Vice President Ted Matthews, Wilford Brimley, Lauren Bacall, Sela Ward, Everett McGill and Bradley Whitford.

My Fellow Americans Trivia

  • The title of the film comes from the common phrase used as a traditional opening of presidential speeches.
  • The movie was originally supposed to be a Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon movie.  Unfortunately due to illness, Matthau was replaced with James Garner instead.  For this reason the film was unofficially known on set as “Grumpy Old Presidents”
  • Some memorable lines for the movie:
    “Hail to the chief, he’s the chief and he needs hailing. He is the chief, so everybody hail like crazy…”
    “Well, as usual, the Republican comes up with a plan while the Democrat just aimlessly wanders in the woods”

The American President

This 1995 romantic-comedy movie is directed by Rob Reiner (he also directed “The Princess Bride”) and written by Aaron Sorkin (he created “the West Wing” television series.  In this movie fictional President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is a widower with a young daughter who is preparing for his upcoming re-election.  Based on his high approval rating and on the advice of his chief of staff A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen), they attempt to pass a controversial crime control bill before the State of the Union Address.  Meanwhile, President Shepherd meets an environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) who has recently moved to Washington D.C. who has her own agenda to get legislation passed regarding reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  Spontaneously President Shepherd invites her to attend the upcoming State Dinner for the President of France.  A romance soon develops and causes problems when a political rival Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) uncovers some damaging information about Sydney’s past and tries to derail President Shepherd’s re-election plans.  The movie ends with the State of the Union Address.

The American President Trivia

  • Originally Robert Redford was cast as the President but he was replaced when he had a falling out with the director, Rob Reiner.  Also at one point, Emma Thompson was considered for the role of Sydney.
  • Michael J. Fox, who plays Lewis Rothschild an assistant to President Shepherd, based his character on George Stephanopoulos.  Stephanopoulos was the communications director during the 1992 Presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, when Clinton was elected Stephanopoulos became the White House Communications Director, then a Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy before he left in 1996.

The West Wing television series

“The West Wing” television series ran for seven seasons on NBC from September 1999 to May 2006.  The show takes place during the administration of the fictional President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and centers on daily work of the West Wing of the White House which is where the Oval Office of the President is located and also the offices of the presidential senior staff.  “The West Wing” ensemble cast centers on the President, the First Lady Abigal Bartlet (Stockard Channing), Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), Communications Director Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff), Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Alison Janney).  Numerous secondary characters appeared throughout the show’s seven seasons.  Generally the storylines involved the main characters with some advancing into other positions in the fictional presidential staff, some characters left and other characters where added over the course of the series.  During the series final two seasons, the plots involved both the final years of President Bartlet’s presidency and the campaign and primary elections for the next president.

“The West Wing” received critical acclaim and many entertainment awards.  What kept the show interesting were the fast paced, humorous scripts filled with intense dialog brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin.  The show developed a technique known as the “walk and talk”.  These scenes generally involved long conversations started between characters as they are walking from one location to another with various characters joining or leaving the conversation as they move through the halls of the West Wing.

The West Wing Trivia

  • The series was supposed to center on the presidential senior staff with the fictional President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) originally scheduled to appear in only four episodes per season but after the pilot was filmed it was determined that he was needed as a permanent character.
  • Martin Sheen had an injury to his arm when he was born and has a very unusual way of putting on his jacket and this unique style was incorporated into the character of President Bartlet.
  • A portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican President, traditionally is hung in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House during a Republican administration.  During a Democratic administration a portrait of Franklin Roosevelt, a Democratic President, hangs in the room.  In the Roosevelt Room of President Bartlet’s White House both portraits are used.
  • During the first season, reporter Danny Kincannon brings C.J. a live goldfish in a bowl.  The goldfish/bowl became a permanent part of C.J. office and whenever it appears in later episodes, the decoration in the goldfish’s bowl changes to match the theme of the episode.
  • Sadly, actor John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry, died from a heart attack in December 2005, about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack on the show. The cast and crew were devastated and a brief memorial message from Martin Sheen was broadcast before the episode “Running Mates”, which was the first new episode that aired after Spencer’s death. The loss of the character of Leo McGarry was addressed in the episode “Election Day”.

Celebration – Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day … the holiday of love and romance!

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year on February 14 in many countries around the world. It is a day to remember and honor your loved ones with cards, flowers, candy, etc. I personally think that we should be celebrating our love every day of the year and not just one single day. I know that I feel very happy when my husband brings me flowers unexpectedly … a guaranteed smile on my face!! But, how did this romantic holiday start?

The legend of the patron saint, St. Valentine, goes back many centuries and the origin of the tale has become something of a mystery. One legend says that Valentine was a priest during the third century in Rome. At the time, Emperor Claudius II decided single men made better soldiers and prohibited them from marriage. Valentine defied the Emperor and continued to perform secret marriages for the soldiers. The Emperor discovered this, Valentine was sent to prison and the Emperor ordered his execution. While Valentine was imprisoned he is said to have healed the daughter of his jailer and before he was executed, he sent her a note and signed it “from your Valentine”. There are several other stories about Valentine, but he is always portrayed as a sympathetic, heroic and romantic person.

In the Middle Ages, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem, “Parlement of Foules”, which is said to be the first recorded association of Valentine’s Day with romantic love. By the 15th century, Valentine’s Day had become an occasion for lovers to express their love by presenting flowers, offering confectionery delights and sending handwritten sentimental notes, known as valentines, to their loved ones. By the 19th century, paper valentines became so popular in Victorian England that factories started mass producing greeting cards with popular symbols of love such as: the heart, doves or lovebirds and Cupid with his bow or arrows.

In the United States, it is estimated that 190 million valentines are sent each year making Valentine’s Day the second largest card holiday. According to those statistics, women purchase and send 85 percent of those valentines. Those numbers do not include the mass-produced character themed valentines that students give to each other and their teachers. The idea of exchanging cards has extended into gifts such as: roses, heart-shaped boxes filled with an assortment of chocolates and in the 1980’s the diamond industry began to promote giving jewelry to that special someone! Now, with the Internet, it is estimated in 2010 that over 17 million e-valentines were sent.

l remember as a child, sending and receiving valentines in grammar school! Luckily, my mother saved us boxes filled with our school papers, art projects and within those boxes were the valentines cards from my fellow classmates. It is fun to see the old fashioned style of these 1960s valentines and remembering all those friends from so long ago. I kept up that family tradition of saving the valentines for my kids. For my daughter I found a cute Valentine-themed box and this is where she has saved her valentines from school. Every year she likes to sort through them and remember her old friends back in California and her new friends here.

Do you do any special ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day? I would love to hear from you, send me a comment with your traditions or ideas.