You: Who's there?
Me: Orange.
You: Orange who?
Me: Orange you glad to see me? 😁
I guess I'm pretty lazy to leave a Veteran's Day post up for three weeks, but it turned out to be a blessing for me because I got to read more of your own stories in the comments than if I'd jumped to the next thing and I loved each one of them.
Even now when everyone is all over the subject of Christmas and the holidays ahead, here I am lagging behind with what should have been posted in October.
Because I'm talking orange today, orange and UK Christmas magazine issues, specifically my dreamboat of a magazine, Period Living.
(I don't know about you but I am head over heels in love with this tangerine and white kitchen with touches of hot pink.)
Years ago when all the fancy-smancy US shelter magazines started ignoring Christmas in their December issues--yes, I'm talking about you, House Beautiful American version--I gave up on them and started buying the British magazines' December issues.
I won't link to it here because there were only a few comments and one of them was from my son, but I even wrote about it at my other blog back in 2012 in my first month of blogging.
(I adore artist Vanessa Arbutnott's kitchen in her 1890 house in Gloucestershire, England.)
I've saved many of the British December issues over the years, those that are timeless, and many of them are.
But the one I search high and low for each December is Period Living, the one I discovered just a few years ago. I don't even pack them away with the other December magazines as they inspire me all year round.
The Period Living shown in the first three pictures above are from this year's October issue. RH brought it home to me as a surprise when I was so sick that month and I loved the touches of orange featured in the issue.
I don't really have much orange here in my rooms but at Valley View I indulged my love of it, as you can see from this picture of our family room. (Look at the partial wall behind the two hanging light fixtures.)
Our last Christmas there in 2015, I even incorporated orange into my Christmas decor, not ready to toss October's pumpkins. The purples and pinks of our Christmas tree took on a new zing with the orange.
Now, on with more orange!
Years ago I saw this ad in one of my vintage magazines.
I was going to make this dessert of Caramel Bavarian Mold and post it back in 2014, even bought two copper melon molds.
It never happened, but this year I bought two bags of the Kraft Caramels and in early November I finally made it!
I worried about those 3 raw egg whites, would I give us all salmonella by folding them in raw? I couldn't risk it and folded them into the hot custard gradually which meant my mixture was not as glossy as the picture. Still I stuck the two molds into a glass casserole to hold them upright and put them in the fridge and poured a small bowl of the leftover custard to chill too, sampling it later that night. Delicious!
Supper plans with some family members got cancelled and there the Caramel Bavarian molds sat in the fridge, uneaten for a week. RH couldn't eat the dairy in it and I wondered if I really wanted to eat all of that high fructose corn syrup that was in the Kraft caramels.
Seven days after making it I unmolded them and posed them on a silver tray and took pictures.
And then I slid the blasted things into the trash can.
If I ever make this recipe again I will buy my caramels from the Duck Fat people here...https://www.oliveandsinclair.com/shop/duckfatcaramel
Of course the caramels then would cost me $40--what!!
That's my serving of orange for you, dear friends.
I'll pack away this old woven spread that we found years ago for $24 and move on to catch up with the rest of you knee-deep in Christmas colors.
But how can I resist first doing a little name dropping and saying that a year after buying the spread I saw it in a full-page color Ralph Lauren room, draped over a hassock! And then the next year I found another one in an antique shop in Mount Dora, Florida for over $300. What!!
I take good care of this woven spread of orange, red, and green and hope one of my children will some day--don't you dare donate it to GW, kids, or I'll haunt you every October. I'll leave my melon molds to you too. Ha, those will get tossed, or maybe not as I have one daughter-in-law who has a wall of them.
I wonder who will claim my Spode collection, like my stack of 11 old plates that I've never been able to identify the pattern name. Anyone out there know it?
Orange you glad this is the end of my post?
I love Spode but never saw that particular pattern so can’t help you there. Did I ever mention I use to be a Bridal Consultant? I picked up tons of knowledge, not to mention silver, China and crystal, for great prices but of course like so many of us I rarely use them.
ReplyDeleteNow about that spread...if your kids don’t want it I’m next in line ;).
xxx
No, you never told me you were a Bridal Consultant at one time! I would have been a kid in a candy store working in the china and crystal department, Doreen. In my first job in downtown Nashville I'd go to Phillips & Burtoff on my lunch break. They sold nice china, crystal, silver etc. and most of my small paycheck went there.
DeleteJust tried to comment twice but it didn’t take so I’m trying on a different browser.
ReplyDeleteI’ll keep it short just in case...if your kids don’t want that spread I’m officially next in line.
xxx
Hi Doreen, I'll pin a note to the spread that it's yours if the kids don't want it!
DeleteFor some reason, I haven't been able to have a note show that comments here are moderated and I do try to get to them as quickly as I can to hit publish on them. I've tried to fix this over and over. I think I need to just include a note at the bottom of every post saying that they are sent to be moderated first before being published but I do get them!
And thank you for trying again!
I was wondering where you had disappeared to.
ReplyDeleteYou are one of my favorite blogs. Welcome back!!!
I save my favorite magazines (I’m a magazine junkie) and put out years of each month ‘s, to thumb through, over and over.
I can’t believe I haven’t seen Period Living before !?!?
Thank you so much, Christine! And I know you would enjoy the magazine, try Barnes and Noble if there's one near you.
DeleteChristine, I just came from your post and watched the video of your family's Thanksgiving weekend. It was absolutely the best!
DeleteHi Dewena
ReplyDeleteThe Spode plates are unique. I don't think I have ever seen that pattern.
Have a great Sunday.
Hugs
Kris
Thank you, Kris! After giving some of my floral Spode patterns away to family, I've kept 3 patterns that I love so much, including my wedding china and it's the only one I know the pattern of, Spode Blue Bird. Would love to find out the other patterns but so far no luck.
DeleteI love all the orange!!! I think orange is my new blue. My whole life I have loved blue everything, but lately -- even before I went to India :-) -- I started collecting the orange clothing that seemed to be in abundance at the thrift store.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it has a little bit to do with being Orthodox. We have a lot of blue in the icons, and one woman who used to do the flowers in church a lot, may she rest in peace, told me that she liked orange flowers to complement the blue and other colors in the icons. We even tried to plant orange flowers in the church gardens so that the flower people could walk around the grounds and find extra things to put in the arrangements.
When the woman who became my landscape designer came for a (free!) two-hour consultation three years ago, one of the questions she asked me was what color flowers I liked, and I first said, "Orange." She said that was very unusual. But I got lots of orange in my landscaping :-)
Well Gretchen, nothing goes better with orange than blue! I can understand your landscape designer being surprised that you requested orange flowers first for your garden because so many people don't seem to want it in theirs. I thought I didn't want it in our new one here but when an orange plant surprised us, some kind of yarrow I think, it looked so good with the blues and purples we had focused on.
Deletewhat a happy post. it made me laugh! when you "threw the blasted things away!" LOLOL!
ReplyDeleteI like orange too. I'm not sure I've ever had a wall painted in it though. but the picture of Valley view... oh my. it's just so beautiful!
I always thought Zack was the youngest brother! and there it's Daniel! that surprised me!
tomorrow I have to go to Barnes and Noble and hope they carry Period Living. I dearly love British magazines. xoxo
Hi Tam, at first I was confused wondering if Zack and Daniel Defee were in this post and then I realized you meant from the post at Across the Way! Yes, Daniel is our baby!
DeleteOrange was my high school's color and I actually had a long narrow wall in my bedroom painted orange as a teenager where friends signed their name in white paint. Can. You. Believe.
B & N should have the magazine! You, my English cottage friend, would love it!
I'm very glad to see you post again. Orange isn't really on my radar screen except for a pumpkin or two during October. But it can be very striking.
ReplyDeleteI really like the British shelter magazines, too. They photograph rooms that look real and cozy - like something one could actually live in. I have a subscription to Country Living UK and save the December issues from year to year.
I like the UK Country Living too, Lorrie. And they do look like actual unstaged rooms, or not overly staged anyway.
DeleteI loved your 3-part Christmas story at your blog!
What a fun post, dear Dewena. I would never have thought of painting my kitchen tangerine (mine is tiled in lavender with white cabinets) but it really works, especially with the hot pink. Love it. I also love magazines, especially Country Living UK, Victoria and Mollie Makes. I'll look for Period Living next.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Amalia, I won't get up my nerve to paint my kitchen tangerine, just wouldn't work here. But that one sure does take my heart!
DeleteYou're adorable, Dewena!!! I love orange also, I use it in my summer and fall decor. After Christmas, once I put away all the red and green decorations I'm anxious for an absence of color, so that's exactly what I do!
ReplyDeleteWe do crave different colors in different seasons, Debbie. I agree!
DeleteOh, I've never heard of Period Living before, Dewena. It sounds delightful. I love the color ORANGE! Don't have it in my home either, but I love seeing the orange pumpkins at Fall. Your Christmas tree with the purple ornaments looks pretty against the orange pumpkins. And your plate collection is unique and looks a bit Christmassy to me. Those copper melon molds are charming, and I've been looking around for a copper tea pot, but haven't found one yet. I enjoyed your Orange post today, Dewena. I read one time that Orange is the happiest color, and I believe that's true. : )
ReplyDeletelove, ~Sheri
"Orange is the happiest color"--that's a nice thought, Sheri! I'm glad you love orange too, even thought we don't paint our walls with it. Maybe someday I'll try it again.
DeleteYes, I have missed you! I am normally not a fan of the color orange, but when we had our basement family room walls painted about 8 years ago, I had them painted a deep orange (more like pumpkin) color! The contractor thought I was crazy, but I knew with the limited light down there and the white wainscoting on the bottom halves of the walls, that the deep orange would look warm and inviting. And it does! I have never regretted my decision on that color.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I love the British magazines, especially the Christmas ones. They're the only Christmas magazines I buy, too. Though I've never seen or heard of Period Living! Unless I haven't noticed it at Barnes and Noble. I'll have to double-check next time I'm there.
Your throw is gorgeous...and what a deal you got on it! Your caramel dessert looked so pretty, too. What a shame that no one got to eat them. At least you still have the pretty molds. ;-)
And your Spode plates...ooh, those are lovely! I've never seen that pattern. I hope someone can identify it for you.
I missed you too, Melanie! You must send me a picture of your pumpkin walls in the family room sometime and I'll send you a pic of some magazine pages of another orange room that I've had for years. It's one of those rare houses that I could move into and be perfectly happy.
ReplyDeleteDewena, I love candles with the scent of Jasmine, it's such a pretty scent. At Fall time in my kitchen I love spice scented candles, and at Christmas, a nice pine scent suits me. I used to have a candle that had the scent of something from my childhood, and I couldn't figure out where I smelled it before, but candles with the scent of memories are the best. That's so nice of your son to bring you Starbuck's. My son knows that I love chocolate, so he treats me now and then. Yes, it's the little things that count. Wishing you peaceful and joyful days this Christmas season, Dewena.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
I hate you threw your Caramel molds away...they look so pretty!! I love pops of orange...it is such a pretty, warm color. I would love to flip a mid-century modern A-frame house and have an orange accent wall...I would definitely use your spread as a throw on the sofa or a chair...it is gorgeous! I love magazines but try to not purchase them that often as we do not have a lot of storage space here. I could sit for hours and look through some of them though...so many beautiful things to see and so many wonderful ideas! Much love to you!!
ReplyDeleteBenita, a mid-century modern would be so much fun! And yes, when I look at magazines from the 50s and 60s orange was very much present and in the 70s too when all the earth tones were popular. I hope you two do it!
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteOrange gets a bad rap, it really does. Everything you shared is lovely. I like your throw a lot, it is a fun pattern. Really, I think orange is a great color. :-)
I have a white kitchen with yellow and blue accent. I could see a white and tangerine kitchen in my future.
Oh, please do that, Carla! Live my dream kitchen for me!
DeleteOh no...you had to throw them away? So much work...ah well, it happens, I guess. At least you can say you finally made them!! I am only recently enjoying orange. I think it's because of the inexpensive roses are my grocery store. The orange is definitely the most striking color. I buy them often...even now at Christmastime. Growing up we had an orange countertop and big orange formica island...surrounded by orange flowers on the wallpaper, orange beads hanging from the ceiling between the kitchen and dining room topped off with an orange floral carpet...all in the kitchen. So you can see why I shied away from the color for so long. ;) I think I'm ready to embrace it again!!
ReplyDeleteKim, that sounds like an 80s or late 70s kitchen, especially the orange beads. But then my parents had red formica in their late 50s kitchen and red plaid wallpaper on the ceiling! We bought it from them in the 70s and replaced the countertops with matte black formica. I wonder what it would be now if we'd stayed there? Hmm.
Deletei enjoyed your post! The caramel dessert looks and sound so good. I've never hear of the dessert before. I only seen to use orange is around Halloween. Its a pretty color! You're so lucky to have such a beautiful and expensive throw. I often think about who would have my treasures when I'm gone...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cathy!
DeleteI keep hearing that young people today don't want their parents' stuff but I wonder if their kids will someday because everything seems to come around again, doesn't it?
I love that pretty pink and orange artist's kitchen, Dewena, and just about everything I've ever seen in the UK's edition of Period Living, especially, at Christmas!
ReplyDeleteYour tribute to this citrus hue at Valley View has always been one of my favourite presentations of orange, such warmth and friendliness in your spaces. That multi-coloured check spread is the perfect accessory just about anywhere, but I can see how it would complement an orange based space.
Too bad about your beautiful, Caramel Bavarian Molds! I wonder, could they have been frozen for another occasion? They look delicious and I'm sure they were!
xx
Poppy
Thank you, Poppy! and I never even thought about freezing them. Oh well, on to other recipes, right?
DeleteI can see you appreciating that artist's kitchen! Although I can never picture you without red in your kitchens. And just as I say that you might completely surprise me and go in an entirely new direction!
Loved this post! That first picture with the orange kitchen,the one with the pink tablecloth, I LOVE THAT KITCHEN! So bright and colorful. I don't like these "all white" kitchens and living rooms, etc. but to each his own. I like alot of color. I am old school and STILL LOVE MAGAZINES, and love a "real" magazine to hold, to read, to look at, to clip things out of, to go back to time and again. Sitting down with a big stack of magazines, to me, is a perfect and relaxing evening! You can see alot of my favorite magazines down lower in my side-bar. I've never heard of Period HOme!! (oooops, Period Living)---but it sure looks good. Sorry you had to throw the candies out....they sure looked good.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I love it too, love a lot of color too. And even though I don't subscribe to many magazines now, they are such a treat when I do buy one. Nothing like holding one in the hand!
DeleteI loved your late "orange" blog post! We flew from early fall straight into winter weather here in Kansas, but hopefully, will be back in the forties next week for a few days. We had the coldest November on record in our area.... and snow already, several times!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary Ann! I've suspected that you've been cold their in Kansas. Our November here was pretty cold too but nothing like yours. Very little snow here yet but Sunday night might bring us some. I'll love it!
DeleteI always love your blog posts and don't get over here near enough - i will change that! I love orange also but can't say I've decorated with it because i really don't decorate much in the house we are renting in the mountains. I use to in my old house which I sometimes miss. Have a great holiday season and I'll be checking back.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sandy and I understand because life is very busy and there's not often enough time to sit in front of the computer to reach every blog we like. I know your part of the country is going to be beautiful for Christmas, surely you'll have snow, probably already have. Enjoy it!
DeleteAge 6 was able to choose carpet for my bedroom, in new home we were about to move in to. Orange, Burnt Orange, by name to be more specific. A HAPPY room. Bright white walls, white canopy bedroom suite chosen from Sears catalogue, and custom made orange brocade for drapes at window, on bed. Oh my. In memory still makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteIn my closet were white leather GO-Go boots, with tassles, and on my desk the new Polaroid Swinger camera. Bottle collection on the windowsill, and rock collection in large bottom drawer of my desk. Still have huge bowl of those stunning rocks !! In my office now, setting at right of fireplace.
Yes, I like orange. Especially, grown up, how the Italians do orange.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Love those dishes at bottom, never seen them anywhere. I have a walk in china closet....it's awful. Stop me from buying more china !
I loved reading about your childhood bedroom, Tara. It does sound like a happy room to sleep in and to begin the collections that would be your passion for years and years. And I can just see pretty 6-year-old you in those GO-GO boots. Wish you still had them!
DeleteAnd once a china collector always a china collector. I've shared some of my Spode with family but there are a few patterns that will be in use as long as I am!
What a gorgeous orange post, I enjoyed it from start to finish :)
ReplyDeleteThank you.
All the best Jan
Thank you so much, Jan! And I know you would say it was best that I did trash those desserts, right?
Delete43 comments!!! You are so loved and appreciated in this blogging world! I just came from the no comments blog and I had to tell you how much I loved that little horse story. It actually brought tears to my eyes. The Madeleine L'Engle book is a favorite of mine. I wanted to be in that family. I am fond of orange but I think how I get it in my house is via my Fiestaware dishes - a few are orange, and the light that comes from parchment-y like lampshades. Have you seen or do you have the DVD of A Child's Christmas in Wales. It is achingly wonderful. My daughter wants to come tomorrow afternoon and watch with Hazel and us.
ReplyDeleteHi Nan! We don't have the DVD of A Child's Christmas in Wales but two of my cousins remind me every Christmas that I should. And meanwhile that I should at least watch it on Youtube. And I mean to just as soon as I get a chance. My kids loved L'Engle's 24 Days of Christmas so much that one year when they had families of their own that I bought each one of them a copy. I think we all wanted to be that family too!
DeleteThank you for loving my little china horse's story! And RH has Fiestaware dishes too. We alternate between his Fiesta and my Buffalo white with green stripe for our everyday dishes.
'Twas a gorgeous orange post -- enjoyed it from beginning to finish.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a lovely day...
Brenda