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Starting the New Year Right


2014 
Happy New Year!

There’s nothing like a brand new year to excite and encourage me.  It’s a time for me to evaluate, reinforce and revise my daily actions, 
my plans and my dreams.
  
And to do all this I need to start my year as I start each day, with a few essentials.
  
That means a fresh “to do” list followed by a healthy breakfast …




… and having it on pretty dishes is a definite bonus.


This year Mrs. Claus added a few packages to Santa’s bag 
(just to help him out, although he does very well on his own 🙂
and she chose some gorgeous Burleigh to add to my growing collection.  She knows a girl needs dishes, and there is plenty of room in my cupboards for more blue and white.




Burleigh is one of the few remaining potteries which still actually manufactures pieces in England, and they do it in the same factories using the same patterns and processes as they did in the 1860s with clay from Devon and Cornwall.  
You can read about their history HERE, including information on the relationship of Burleigh, Burslem, and Burgess & Leigh.  
Although they also make some pieces in black, red and now plum, their blue and white patterns are the most popular.


Victorian Chintz, a pattern of roses and primroses, has been discontinued, 
so I Mrs. Claus scooped up several pieces, including the bowls and small plates on our New Year’s Day breakfast table.





Each pattern is beautiful but I love mixing them together.  
The Asiatic Pheasant pattern has been in production since 1826, when it quickly surpassed the quintessential Georgian blue and white pattern, Blue Willow, in popularity.


  


It is dainty, but not cloyingly sweet.





The pheasant appears on the back 
so your dining companion can enjoy this cup too!





Jugs and tankards come in several shapes and sizes, and one of my favorites is this plump one which I filled with a fern for our centerpiece.





Although we had a very white Christmas, all the snow melted during several days of rain.  
We had a dusting of snow on New Year’s Eve.





This view out my window gave me the idea to add a little “snow” of my own to the jug as a ground cover for the fern and to help draw attention to the detailing of the pattern.




I didn’t intend to talk about these pretty dishes today.  I was going to talk about my intentions and ideas for the new year, like eating healthy 
~~  (you know I’ll have that mother-of-the-bride dress to fit into!) ~~





~~ and learning how to take better photos ~~
(I had to add this one of a vintage glass we used here for juice, because I think I got it right)


~~ and upcoming renovations (house and blog!) and some local attractions and shops which I will take you to soon ~~

but I’ll save those for the future.  New Year’s Day is a quiet, reflective day for me, a time to plan, make lists, rev my engines and set my course for the year.
So for now, Miss Honey (here dressed in her Blue Calico)



and I

wish you a wonderful start 
to a most amazing, happy, fulfilling year in 2014.



Linda 🙂
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43 thoughts on “Starting the New Year Right

  1. I love that you started your new year with a beautifully set table overlooking the fresh dusting of snow~I know you must have been very energized to think and plan! Love your beautiful blues, and I think it’s very smart of Mrs. Claus to help Santa!
    Jenna

  2. What a lovely, lovely table! I can never get enough of looking at blue and white dishes, but your dishes and their patterns are exceptionally attractive! And you napkins complement the scene beautifully. Thank you for sharing, and have a great New Year! Rosie @ The Magic Hutch

  3. I just love blue and white tables, and you did a beautiful job with this. I love your new dishes the Clauses gave you. Happy New Year – Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com
    History & Home party, each Tue-Fri

  4. Hi Linda, Weren’t you, strike that, I mean Mrs. Clause smart to scoop up all those pretty pieces before they were all gone! I love the Burleigh blue and white. I especially love how you mixed these pieces for your “stack”. What a lovely breakfast setting to enjoy, and such a pretty view. Miss Honey is so charming too.
    Tomorrow I get serious about changes here, better and healthier recipes. I’m sure you will be a beautiful “Mother” of the bride. Look forward to reading about all your plans.
    Happy New Year to your and yours!

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

  5. Linda –
    Asiatic Pheasant is one of my very favorite patterns. I love it even more than Blue Willow, and that’s a lot. I have a lot of it by a different manufacturer, as I understand that lots of places made it at one time or another. Love the way your patterns complement each other. Beautiful breakfast!
    Linda @ A Toile Tale

  6. Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous. That’s what I have to say about you magnificent dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your blog. Thanks also for stopping by mine and leaving your nice comment.
    Happy New Year,
    Randee

  7. Love your blue and white and it is nice to know that there is still some pottery being made in England. You certainly can tell the difference in the Spode!

  8. I really, really, really like the way you so boldly meshed different patterns together to create one beautiful place setting! Gorgeous!!! ANd I REALLY love the napkin pattern you chose to go with it all!!! Very bold!!!

    I need a healthy eating partner. My doctor just gave me the bad news that I have high cholesterol and that I have to make some serious changes to my food intake. Rats! NOT what I wanted to hear!!! But getting my cholesterol under control will also help me to drop a few more pounds, so it can’t be all bad…right? I don’t have a mother of the bride dress to fit into (at the rate my stepdaughter’s going, I NEVER will!!!), but I have an incentive. We should buddy up! 🙂

    Happy New Year, Linda! Good luck on your goals!!!

  9. This makes my heart sing…blue and white lover that I am. Burleigh always seems to achieve the perfect shades of blue. Your table is absolutely gorgeous! Happy New Year, and thanks for inviting us for a peek. Cherry Kay

  10. Blue and white is my very favorite and you made this table absolutely beautiful!!! Love all the pieces you combined and the pretty pink glasses…….happy new year……!!

  11. Linda, You have me singing the blues with your beautiful collection of dishes at the table! Thank goodness Mrs. Claus understands that a girl can always use a few more pieces to add to her collection in the pantry 🙂 Love the pheasant on the back of the cup and Miss Honey! Happy New Year to you!

  12. Linda, you can’t imagine how my face lit up when I saw your very first photo on this post! Blue Calico makes me smile! I like how you mixed the patterns, too! That Mrs. Claus is so wise! It was thoughtful of her to lend good oil’ Santa a hand! The napkins you used were a clever choice, I had previously seen them on you “chili” post, but it would never have occurred to me to pair them with the Blue Calico! I didn’t make a new list yesterday, but I did go to the health club and worked out, so I feel like I’ve started the year on the right foot. Then I got a reminder from Martha Stewart to tackle some “winter chores” like clean out and organize the jewelry drawer . . . I guess I better get to that list . . . Happy New Year, Linda!

  13. Such a pretty way to start the day and to start a new year. Your china pieces are beautiful, and I love the fern in the pitcher. That photo of your vintage glassware is gorgeous! Yep! You definitely got it right. Wishing you a wonderful 2014! laurie

  14. How wonderful to start the year by having breakfast at such a beautiful table. I love the blue chintz, the Asiatic pheasant, and the calico together. The napkins are perfect picking up the darker blue in the calico and the light blue in the chintz. It all goes together so perfectly.

  15. Hi lovely lady.
    What a beautiful breakfast tablescape! I just love your Asiatic Pheasant china, it’s Gorgeous and I love how you put the table all together so sweet. Happy New Year to you and your family
    Diane

  16. I love this table, its variety of color and pattern. It seems a perfect way to start a new year, speaking of which, I look forward to what we share in upcoming months.

  17. Absolutely charming! That opening picture just stunned me and I wanted to pull the seat out and sit down with you. Who wouldn’t love to be at this table with all of the soft pretty blue and the pop of yellow! This would be a tablescape I would leave out for a long time just to cheer me up during January!

  18. Big prize to you for a perfect Blue Monday post and for having your ‘To do’ lists in order for the start of the year. You’re off to a brilliant start Linda and all your photos are amazing so I think you can tick that off as done as well!
    Have a great week!
    Wren x

  19. Hello Linda,

    You sure are off to a great 2014 with a breakfast table like this. I do love blue and white, and your honey is a darling!

    Thanks for sharing.

    Have a Happy Blue Monday.

  20. The perfect way to start the New Year! I love Burleigh. What pattern is the bowl and small plate in your first photo? So neat. I’d love to have you link to Seasonal Sundays.

    – Alma, The Tablescaper

  21. Such a pretty table! It’s fun to mix and match our special pieces. I like the little fern in the pitcher. Green, blue, and white.. love that combination. Hope your New Year is off to a great start!

    leslie

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