a CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

SURPRISE!!! 
This Post IS NOT about Christmas! 

In fact it is all about
SUMMER
and
enjoying a lazy day
 Breakfast in Venice at Villa Leone.

WHY summer you ask? 
and WHY now? 

Well,
it's because last week
 I received an
Unexpected GIFT BOX
 from the
Incomparable Jodi Hippler 
of 

MY MINIATURE MADNESS

http://my-miniaturemadness.blogspot.com/2018/11/playing-dress-up.html

Jodi sent me an assortment of
her Most MARVELLOUS hand-made MINIATURES

And this is what was inside: 
First: a box full of Summer with a running theme, 
 which I'm certain you'll see!
❧❤️❧

I am so Stoked about this tall aged stone planter!
It is absolutely Ideal for my future Italian Garden, 
Fully Loaded with Sunshine!
But wait- 
that was not all
oh no,
Jodi sent me 2 pots of her fragrant white Casablanca lilies.

Her lilies are planted in 2 stone Lion-head pots
I LOVE IT! 

Jodi also included
 a small pot of purple geraniums.
ALL SO BEAUTIFUL!
Below you can see how Lovely the flowers look when grouped together
ESPECIALLY 
between those 2 "guarding" lions!
with the plaque also from Jodi 

But if all this wasn't summery enough-
Jodi sent me a selection of her
AMAZING bird houses as well! 

 I have specific homes assigned to each of them!

But Wait
THERE'S STILL MORE!

I also received some of Jodi's tea towels,
 and a tea cup with tea with spoon and
 a used TEA BAG on the saucer! 
Incredible!
 I would have been driven MAD as a Hatter attempting to do what she has so Successfully done! 
She obviously didn't name her blog
"MY MINIATURE MADNESS" 
for nothing! :D


Inside her woven TEA BASKET were 
her custom tea towels,
a jar of raw honey,
2 tiny boxes: one containing Peak Frean-style tea biscuits 
and the other individual tea bags! 

ARE THESE AMAZING OR WHAT!!!???

and still
MORE GOODIES!

A golden lion
and an Elegant golden chair
upholstered in a lovely Merlot- coloured
textured fabric!
Jodi included a Fat Square of the same fabric in her parcel and when I reversed the square
I knew that AT LONG LAST- I'd found my drapes!  

I was so excited that

I made the drapes almost immediately using Jodi's fabric
and wouldn't you know it; there was just enough!


 Below are the new drapes-
pleated, valanced and fringed AND coupled with a new set of net curtains behind them.  

The drapes are weighty enough to block the most intense summer heat whilst the net curtains filter the light 
and maintain privacy. 

Once the drapes were up,
the rest of the room really came together.

Linda Park's Incredible "VL" needlepoint cushions were already on the sofa 
and compliment the new curtains so well.

The hefty-gilded mirror was a resin Christmas Ornament
I'd found at a local thrift store,
which I'd repainted and aged to (hopefully) look like old and weathered wood.

One thing led to another.

The 2  black chairs are from a set I'd purchased earlier 
from Celia at
K.T. Miniature Journal
http://ktminiatures.blogspot.com/2018/06/some-not-so-old-dolls-house-furniture.html

I loved them at first sight because of their shape
and their open backs
 which gives a lighter look to the Morning Room
and allows you to easily see through and beyond them into the main entry.

 
The 2 original French chairs which used to live 
in the Morning Room,
were moved upstairs to the Music Room.
(see my previous post for details) 
These 2 chairs were re-upholstered in the same fabric as the drapes, then quite naturally,
 I wanted to re-set the entire table.

After looking for an entire day for my missing round tablecloth,
I FINALLY located it EXACTLY where I'd put it so that I could always easily find it. 
go figure? 



 I then set the table for 
A CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST.


I set out my treasured mismatched Sam Dunlap china.

The cups are bigger than average
 but I couldn't resist the fancy scroll-shaped handles on them!

The small blue and white plater depicting an Italian countryside 
is by Carrie Lavender
of 
A LAVENDER DILLY
https://www.etsy.com/fr/shop/alavenderdilly?section_id=19541821

My Continental Breakfast begins with a hot cup of herbal tea.
On the table is one of Jodi's opened tea boxes containing her UNBELIEVABLE  TEENY WEENY TEA BAGS!
I removed one and placed it on the saucer beside the teacup. 

Each teabag is wrapped with a string and has a label securing it!
Honestly,
I don't know HOW Jodi managed to do this
as it must have been such a fiddly, time consuming job.

These individual bags so cleanly and so perfectly made...
 THEY ARE TRULY AMAZING!!!

The silver tea pot 
which I purchased last year from the Seattle Show 
holds the Hot Water. 
The Flakey Croissants were made by Valentina of
 Pink Cute Sugar
http://valentinapinkcutesugar.blogspot.com/search/label/%E2%9E%BD1%2F12%20scale%20miniature

The jar of raw honey was yet another Wonderful gift from Jodi!

The peeled orange is by Yulia Yakobson in Estonia.
I have her oranges displayed in several locations throughout the Villa and I NEVER get tired of looking at them.  

As the morning wears on, the music teacher is
up and down the stairs,
grabbing a quick bite in between.
She's left her Betsyville handbag with her sunglasses
and shoes as she dashes up the stairs again to get her house keys before she leaves the house.
She's Always forgetting something!
But what she lacks in Organization,
she makes up for is her Dedication and Passion for her art!

The fimo purse was discovered inside a grab bag from the thrift store,
whilst the black mules were formerly wine glass tags
also found at the thrift store.
Janine made me the Hermes shopping bag with their signature  brown ribbon draped over the top.   

The iron statuette was moved out of the Morning Room,
and down into the hall and wears the music teacher's sun hat 
by Fatima

I love the way you can see the assent of the stone staircase
from this angle in the Morning Room

ah me...
it appears that
Breakfast is officially over

The Gondolier is out
"gondolling"
and the
music teacher is elsewhere
perhaps checking her appointments for the day.
 I expect she'll be back any minute though,
 because she's forgotten to take her book.

It's by one of her Favourite Authors-

Jodi Hippler

A BIG HUG and THANK YOU to Jodi for 
each and every one of her Marvellous TREASURES! 
I FEEL SO BLESSED! 

 Yes
Tis the Season...  ⛄️

even when it's "Summer"😎



elizabeth