For years I’ve kept a “Dinner Party Diary” where I write about special parties ~ for the memories ~ it’s part diary, part scrapbook. And this MUSICA is for you, also for the memories . . . we can only imagine how many kisses there’ve been with this music playing in the background! (Just click on it and come right back, it will play while you read.)
♥ ♥ ♥
I started keeping track of parties in this book in 1993, but not every party I’ve ever given is here . . . it’s a tiny book and probably has only twenty parties. I only do them when I remember, or I’m in the mood, or the party is so good that I have to do it! Our Sunday Breakfast Party went right into the book: I remembered, I was in the mood, and it was good!
♥ ♥ ♥
Our 9th Anniversary is in this book too . . . that one was an afternoon tea party and we hired a piano player to play The Glory of Love, and all the other old songs we love. I always write down the names of guests, the menu, the dishes, and the weather. (And sometimes what we wore, and sometimes poems people say at the table.)
And here we are, getting ready for our 25th Anniversary Party. Starting with putting a clean tablecloth on the dining table; Girl Kitty had grown fond of the old one and wasn’t letting go of it so easily.
And then the flowers . . . it was supposed to be a combination Valentine’s & Anniversary party, but with the gorgeous weather, it turned out to be an impromptu celebration of Spring! We even had the door open! Birds were singing. It was gorgeous.
You can’t celebrate spring around here without daffodils! They are the cheeriest things!
A little pink for the coffee table.
Happy singing bird vases, a heart teapot, a matelassé bedspread for the tablecloth ~ and what breakfast party is complete without chocolate kisses?
Love? Romance? Hearts and flowers? Old music, best dearest friends . . . and delicious food. And everything pretty in pink!
I made the place cards; luckily Joe has a cork fetish and never throws them away, so I thought, what says celebration and happy memories more than a popped champagne cork . . . ? ♥
I tucked the cards into the wires on the back.
We needed a centerpiece. Joe and I took the QEII on what we called “our test run,” to see if we liked it, in 1997 from New York to Bermuda. Sailing on the QEII was something we talked about the first time we met — not necessarily doing it together (it was too soon for that at the time) but something we both wanted individually! So, of course we saved this little bottle of port we found waiting, when we finally did go, in our stateroom, and now it’s part of the glory of, the story of, love. ♥
Almost there, need napkins! Need food!
Jack helps by bouncing off the walls and aerating the chair backs with claw holes. Thank you Jack!
Yes, actual food will be served. I do adore setting the table, but I know that our guests are going to expect food, not just dishes and flowers! Here, Joe’s making crepes the day before, for the Cheese Blintzes we’re serving.
There they are, the blintzes; the lemon, basil, and ricotta-cheese filling is all rolled inside…. we covered the pan and put it in the fridge; the next morning we browned them in the frying pan before serving with delicious jams, applesauce and sour cream. The recipes for all of this will be in my new Breakfast Book!
Did the MUSICA go away? Noooo. Say it ain’t so. Can’t have that. ♥
Is there anything better than plain, old-fashioned, ice-cold, juicy-pink grapefruit on a spring morning? No, and I do what my mom taught me; I cut around each segment for easy eating.
Mmmmm, crisp-edged, crunchy Blueberry Corn Cakes and hot maple syrup! Gotta have it!
Homemade Applesauce made with Granny Smith’s, so fresh and appley! Yummy with Corn Cakes, delicious with pork sausages, perfect with Cheese Blintzes.
My Applesauce is full of apple bits with a little tooth to them, not the smoothed out stuff you get in the market . . . we served it cold. I put some roasted cranberries (left over from the cranberry marmalade I made for the blintzes) in the middle as decoration.
We had bacon, sausage, sliced steak and buttermilk biscuits too . . . the platters warmed on top of the stove. The southern style breakfast at Tara, with Scarlet O’Hara’s family, I read about in Gone with the Wind, was my inspiration for this . . . believe it or not we didn’t touch the decadence they managed to come up with! But we tried!
Margot and Tom weren’t able to make it 🙁 , they’re on their way to New Orleans 🙂 , but before they left, they stopped by with Margot’s gorgeous bouquet of Valentine roses ~ which were still beautiful; she thought we might like to have them at the party.
She was so right! I recut them and put them in a shorter vase and here they are, a little more Valentine love DNA, gracing the granola-yogurt-and fresh-fruit buffet we set up on the sideboard. Thank you Margot! (BTW, that sideboard was here when we bought the house; Mrs Bowditch (a previous owner) told me it was here when she bought the house in 1949; maybe it’s been here since the beginning, 1859, when the house was built and the Smith family moved in! I would like it to talk!)
Man Food.
And there it is in all its glory; we turned on the music and toasted to love and each other with icy tangerine juice and bloody Mary’s; we had tea, coffee, and everything you see on these plates! We talked about local island news while the birds sang outside the 
window; what’s been in our papers, what the ferry boat is up to these days, the weather (of course), how far up the daffodils have come, the blooming snowdrops, our gardens, Facebook, Twitter, movies, spring vacations; and we ate, and ate. I didn’t do a dessert (although I was tempted to make baked stuffed apples in a cream bath!) — but did we actually need anything more? No. We did not. Then everyone kissed good bye and went home; we washed the dishes, read the paper, and took a nap, then we went to the movies and saw the new silent movie called The Artist. And THAT was Sunday, pretty good huh? Love morning parties!
And for your patience for reading through this, not to mention WILLARD, who has spring fever just like me, and is going out to play all day today and tomorrow; you have a reward . . . I have something I’m really excited about . . . a giveaway I think you will love. Ready? OK, it’s these ~
Two Johnson Brothers, Rose Chintz Teacups! Yes! With saucers! “Sing Ho for the Life of a Bear!” My own set actually has twenty cups-and-saucers, many more than I will ever need! So I am giving away two of them! They come with invisible magic as they were right there on Sunday, at the party of love. (But, of course, just like the sideboard, they won’t talk!) All you have to do to be entered is to leave a comment; “Vanna” will draw a name in about three days . . . want to make sure you all get a chance to enter to get a little springtime pink in your life. ♥
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY GIRLFRIENDS! Sing HO!
I think Joe is the luckiest man alive 🙂
I will tell him you said that 🙂
I love to eat blintzes with cherries or blueberries on top! Pink grapefruit and maple pork sausages too. I love making brunch, but on Sunday we went to Pocahontas Pancakes. THE best pancakes ever! Named the best in Virginia Beach, VA.
Hi Margot, I think you asked me one time for a breakfast blog? You wanted an egg white omelet and one of my smoothies? I haven’t forgotten, will get there one of these days . . . hope you like this breakfast even though the menu wasn’t quite what you asked for! will have to Pocahontas Pancakes on my future-find list!
Yes I did ask for a breakfast blog. Good memory Susan! So Morning Thunder is a smoothie? Good. I just read Willard, I love Willards from friends!!!
Yes, Morning Thunder is in my Girlfriend’s Book, in case you have it!
No, I don’t have that book. I have searched. B&N said they have it, and when I got there they didn’t. Then, they tell me to go to one of there other stores. A sweet lady in Cary, NC said they pulled it and it is in boxes in the back rooms of the stores to be transported to their warehouse to sell on-line! No one else had it around here. Can you print that recipe in some blog?
Yes, I’ll do it soon!
Well Susan getting “Willard” from you is like getting a letter from an old friend!
You insipre me to, cook, to clean, to decorate, to listen to old music,( I need to find my Fred Astaire CD), most importantly if gas prices dont go out of site, I have been “pulled” by your photos and stories of Marthas Vineyard, to take a trip in April or May to your lovely haven!
Thanks for brighting my day!
Carol
Hello Susan,
What a beautiful table! I wish I could create something so lovely. Thanks to you I can, as I am quite good at copying! Yes, I know that’s cheating, but I will give due credit!! Thank you so much, for many moments of joy.
Blessings
Looking at your Dinner Party Diary reminded me how much I miss your stickers. I have some calendar stickers (from many years ago) that I carefully remove from one calendar and place on my new one. Thank goodness for adhesive remover. With repeated use, they aren’t quite as vibrant as they were, but I love looking at them. I was smart enough to buy duplicates of some of the others that are no longer available before they were gone. I love your blog and look forward to reading each one. Very inspiring. Congrats on your 25th Anniversary. We celebrate 35 this summer. : ) Keep posting! Warm regards, Kathi
Susan,
When I receive your newsletter, I smile. I know when I open it up and begin to read, there will surely be pretty things to see and lots of love. Your post is just gorgeous. I love the music and that you journal your memories. I love everything that you do, because it is always wrapped in a pretty eye candy and I can see the love.
Wishing you a Happy Anniversary.
Karen
Wow!!!!! what an inspiration you are in incouraging us “Back To Pretty”
Thanks
Bernice
Susan you did it again, Romance just flows out of you! I’m so happy you chose the Rose Chintz tableware for your party, it was stunning! Happy Anniversary!
Love the Rose Chintz its beautiful and would grace any home. Loved your parties useful suggestions and decorations. THANKS!!
Your blog has made me crave brunch and a bloody mary more than I have ever craved it before! Oh, and spring, too, of course 🙂 I apologize in advance for blaming you when my husband asks me this evening why I have spent so much money on flowers for our apartment. I need spring, now!
I know how you feel!
Hi Susan, thank you so much – reading about your your brunch party was a wonderful way for me to start my day. I too have been keeping a “party journal”. It’s fun to review the good times we have shared with friends – and it keeps me from serving them the same thing over and over again! You are an inspiration to me – you always seem to live each moment fully and to treasure the “little” things. I wish you many many happy returns on your anniversary.
xoxox!
Those teacups are gorgeous. Such big roses….I think it’s time I invited my friend Elaine over for tea.
Dearest Susan,
I have been wanting to share the news that you inspired me to invite my girlfriends with an age range of 35-80 years old to my home for a craft luncheon. Also included in the day was my granddaughter and several of her friends with an age range of 4-8. My home was decorated with pretty flowers and yummy food was served and a good time was had by all. I too am a dish person, it is a very bad habit that I have no interest in breaking. I own these lovely milk glass luncheon sets, so everything was set in white milk glass, so pretty. The big girls crafted red wool hearts and I shared my button collection with them for adding 2 or 3 buttons to make a snowman or just one for a pretty accent on the heart. Thread hangers were added to hang from a door knob or a twig. I have the best twig tree with light up branches that I decorate for whatever holiday it is and this was used for a beautiful centerpiece on my coffee table for all to see and take inspiration from. The little girls were set to craft with Valentine foam kits that saw them making pencil toppers and book markers to share with their friends too! It was truly a magical afternoon, I could feel the fairies on my shoulder! Smiles, Hugs, Belly Laughs & enough memories to fill your heart to overflowing! Now I am busy planning a simple tea party for a few girlfriends to celebrate St. Patrick’s day and I am so excited to use my clover dishes and green depression dishes I can hardly stand the wait! May the smiles follow you everywhere you go!
Baskets of Blessings,
Roseann
If I had ANYTHING to do with all of that, I can just be grateful that you’ve told me! It sounds like a wonderful time! Good Job!
What a coincidence – I have been away for a few days up at my sister’s in New Hampshire, where we helped her give a Valentine/Almost Spring party! She went with lots of red and white, and our husbands also went out and got lots of fresh flowers that just make such a difference! Had such a great time there, after a very hectic week of work. My sister and I also keep journals of party menus, and ideas – I love looking back and remembering what worked, what didn’t and all the fun we had. My mom also taught me to always section the grapefruit! It’s the little things! Thanks Susan, for once again sharing all those ‘little things’ that make us so grateful for your blog! I, like so many other girlfriends here, feel so relaxed when I read it. You always have the right music (love it!) and such a wonderful way of painting not only with your hands, but with your words! Truly a gift! Oh, and the teacups! who could ever have too many? so nice of you to share!!! Thank you my generous friend ~ so glad you and Joe got to celebrate and enjoy your anniversary so many ways! Many more happy days ahead!
Dear Susan, Happy 25th Anniversary to you and Joe. And here’s to another 25.
Dear Susan: I hand wrote you a letter several years ago. It contained my sadness about losing my Father. Thank you for replying. Your sentiments helped me through a difficult time. Now, I am at peace with the fact that he is at peace and watching over me.
On September 17, 2011 I married my soulmate Allen. We are as happy as can be. A little high in the years of age, but we don’t care; we found true love and that is all that matters!
I would love those two beautiful cups and saucers. Allen is an avid tea drinker, and I like my cup of coffee in the early morning. May the best girl win! 🙂
Happy 25th Anniversary to you and Joe. May you love and celebrate many many more years together.
Question: Are those journal books going to be in your e-shop? I would love to journal with words and photos of our special day with our family and friends. We had a luncheon, which was lovely beyond words.
Don’t want to take up so much of your time. Please keep Willard coming our way; we love your writing.
~Best,
Kathy Mariano-Underhill
So nice to hear from you Kathy, love hearing you married your soulmate and that you’re happy!
Hi again susan! i am so excited for your new breakfast book! i just ordered your girlfriends forever book. i know i should probably have it already, but i was a late bloomer to your books. but i am so glad i have found them!
it’s so neat you are having a new book out. i was thinking to myself the other day why you didn’t have a gardening book out?? maybe after the breakfast book?? haha. see you soon!
ally
HAPPY 25TH ANNIVERSARY TO YOU AND JOE. Thanks again for making all of us feel like we are family. (Sisters). I so enjoy “brunch” get-to-gethers… Love is in the air. I am going out today to find a DIARY what a great idea. I hope I am celebrating “TEA FOR TWO”
I was just talking to my sister-in-law about how I needed tea cups and saucers. She offered to give me her cups, but not the saucers. I think I will take her up on it and make them in to small gardens and bird feeders. And look for more cups w/saucers at Good Will.
So YUMMY looking everything looked so delicious!!! have a wonderful Day!!!
Yikes….after viewing this post,
all I can say…….is two words…….”I’m STARVING”.
Hope you don’t mind, if I reach, right in
and snatch one of your Blueberry Corncakes.
In your signature, Susan Branch style,
everything-
food, table & ambience
looks wonderful, warm, cozy & smackety-lip delicious !
WOW! Don’t think I’ve ever had a breakfast as elegant as yours!!!! Congrats! That’s one for the books……..LOL. Uh, one for your new book, that is! It’s like you can read my mind………When I saw Jack on the dinning room chair, I wondered if he clawed at them. My lovely cats have destroyed my favorite wing chair. It started when my surgeries did. I stopped sitting in my country checked Lane rocker recliner (disguised as a wing chair) and was in my bed for many months. The cats had a hay-day with it. They haven’t ruined anything else, thank God. I will recover my chair. My sofa is covered in fruits and roses, the only piece I splurged on after my kids were gone……if they got it, well I’d be very sad. But how much can one pay for constant companions with purring motors and whisker tickle kisses? I mean, what’s a whisker tickle kiss going for these days?
Just one country checked Lane rocker recliner disguised as a wing chair!
Apparently!
You are truly an amazing woman. I have only been following your blog for a few months but this one has to be my favorite. Love your table settings. Love your choice in music as well. <3
Recently subscribed to your wonderful blog at the urging of my cousin, Gail. Seriously, how could I resist? My husband and I are also Sue and Joe from Massachusetts and I love the Cape and Islands, roses and flowers. Seeing your beautifully set breakfast table in today’s blog has inspired me to get more creative. Time to spark things up….to pull some of my old china out and start using it…to share some of the memories they hold with my children and grandchildren.
Your blog is the nicest way to start the day. Thank you.
Happy happy 25th Anniversary! Thank you for sharing your “gifts” of love in your life so freely, and for helping everyone believe in the power of romance in our lives!! xx
Happy 25th Anniversary Dear Susan & Joe!
What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary. We will celebrate 30 years of bliss this fall. Thank you for your sharing your life. Many blessings to you and yours.
What a wonderful, wonderful give away!!!!! I love teacups and would be so honored to have 2 tea cups that came from YOU.
Thank you for making life so much FUN.
Mae
My favorite picture is Girl Kitty wrapped up in the tablecloth! What a beautiful table setting you created~~Thanks for inviting us!
Count me in for the drawing. I would love to have cups and saucers from your house.
Congratulations, Susan & Joe, on your 25th Anniversary! My husband and I celebrated our 40th last December and, as they say, “Keep your fork… the best is yet to come.” I want to start a “Dinner Party Diary” (will you have these available soon?:-). What a lovely way to re-live the good times & memories. And I loved that Margot brought over her Valentine flowers so you could enjoy them even though she could not be there…sweet friend. The teacups are lovely and my fingers are crossed. All the best to you.
Janice, we just celebrated ou 40th in Dec. The 27th. When was yours?
Hi Carol, ours was Dec 18th. Congrats to you!!!
Susan, what a lovely party….I too love morning parties and brunches, you’ve given me some great brunch ideas, your tablescape was beautiful, Happy Anniversary to both you and Joe, and many many years of Joy, Health and Happiness. So looking forward to Willard 🙂
I love love love that pattern! I think I might start collecting it! Thanks for sharing!
Love your party! So Pink!!!
I try to be alone to really digest the beautiful blog!
Thanks so much
Happy anniversary to you and Joe! We are 34 years this year and this an inspiration for our celebration in July. And, you have given me courage to actually use my pink Desert Rose dishes for man food! Funny, I have a huge set, but always used Franciscan Ivy if guys are included. No more, lol. And the pink tea cups would be right at home as a touch of the Vineyard in California. Really looking forward to the breakfast book after drooling over these pictures.
Oh Susan, how I loved all the detail and wonderful pics from your Most Enchanting Anniv/Val/Spring A.M. Soiree. Happy 25th anniversary to you and Joe :)!! It must be dreamy to attend your wonderful parties and your friends surely must value your preciousness!!! I read Willard this morning but not before I got a cup of French vanilla coffee in my bright spring green mug. You write about so many things I am thinking about too….like spring! Yesterday I blew out 6 eggs bc I can’t wait any longer to start crafting stuff for Easter!! (btw, I copy catted u and made the little valentine garland with letters and red raffia). I always find inspiration from you….thank you over and over. I hope I win your teacups….they would so adore living here 😉
Hi Susan,
I often see some of the ladies say that their comment disappeared, but I’ve been with you since the beginning and have never had that happen, until now. Guess it was my turn. lol But in looking for it, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the sweet comments that have poured in. Wouldn’t it be the grandest tea party ever, if we could all come together!! I saw that the main dining room at the Grand Hotel seats 1500! Oh, just the thought of that has made my day!……but back to your beautiful breakfast~ it was just lovely, and I thank you for sharing all the wonderful pictures, and for your generosity of sharing your gorgeous teacups. If you weren’t a famous artist, you and your sweet Joe would make the perfect Inn keepers. You have a wonderful home on a beautiful island (with the cutest kitties scampering about) ~ your B&B would be booked all the time!!
I always thought it would be at the Grand Hotel! We just got back from our walk and we talked about having a B and B when we were out at the water! Funny! Don’t worry, we’re not doing it!
LOL! You’re not? I’ve always loved Newhart. You’d have to find a Larry, Darryl, and Darryl! 🙂
At least!
Ok, I’ve been really bummed about the lack of Winter, but it’s official after Willard and your blog I’m officially embracing spring! On come the flowers!!!
Perfect! Bloom where you’re planted!
What a lovely party!! Happy anniversary. I love reading your blog. I always save it for a quiet little break in the day to savor. Our 30th anniversary is coming up and I think I feel very inspired by your party. Our anniversary is in June and it would be fun to do it out on the patio with our spring flowers all in bloom. Oh wouldn’t the tea cups be lovely! Maybe… I will keep my fingers crossed!
Your Willards and blogs are gifts in themselves, but the offer of the teacups is too good to pass up! I have always loved Johnson Brothers’ patterns and yours is my favorite. Happy anniversary to you and Joe. Hugs to Girl Kitty and Jack. And please let Vanna know that I’d love a chance to win!
Terrific breakfast/brunch setting and feast! Now, how do you top this? Have a Kidnap Breakfast when your weather warms up!
I remember those from when we were kids Dad, and they were fun!!
I’m intrigued – what is a “Kidnap Breakfast” – or will it be in your book?
I actually wrote a little bit about it in my first book! It’s a breakfast my parents and their friends had when I was really little and they were really young . . . My mom was 17 when she had me. They would go to each other’s houses (we lived in California) and wake each other up along with their kids, and put everyone in the car in their jammies . . . for an early morning “Kidnap” barbecued breakfast in our back yard with a jillion little kids in jammies and all the parents in robes and slippers. It was a lot of fun!
Dear Susan,
You torture us! Now I’m starving. After reading this entry, salivating, and having stomach grumbles, I have decided that your next raffle prize should be a home-cooked meal at your house! I would pay for my own transportation and lodging. I promise to make your teacups and sideboards talk because I have magical powers that can make anything talk! I can even make your kitties talk. I can even beam myself up! (I was a teacher in Newton, MA for 38 years. Nothing is impossible or scares me.) A good try, don’t you think?
Thanks for your response regarding the “When You Marry” prints now for sale. I’m the one who kept asking and asking and asking for them. When framed they make an excellent and mighty appreciated wedding gift. I can testify to that. Oh, oh, oh … the redbirds and robins are calling. Time to go outside and play! I’ll be taking my black & white tuxedo cat for a ride to the park in a cat carriage. Really. See ya!
VERY good try! 🙂
Happy Anniversary Susan and Joe. Thanks for sharing your little piece of the world. I always feel like I have been on vacation after checking in on your site!
O boy, o boy, o boy!!! I’m in some kind of heaven thinking about this brunch and then…..you spring on us these georous tea cups!!! I’m humming a happy tune today!! Luv u Susan!
How very fun to see all of those pretty pictures of your party, I felt like I was there with you 🙂
Happy Anniversary! You have already put me in the mood for Spring with your Willard and this post as well. Thank you for being so cool!!
I am going to have an “I Can Walk Again Party”. I have been unable to walk since last September. One more surgery and I should be fixed. So those little pink beauties will be welcome.
Thank you for sharing your life which at times makes me laugh, at times makes me cry. But always makes me feel.
xoxo what a WONDERFUL party that will be!!
Go Bonnie Go!!!!
I’m jelouse! In a good way, of course ;).
What a great party. Love the dishes and the food looked fabulous. Love your blog and Willard.
Happy 25th anniversary!! Oh my gosh…….how I wish we lived closer to you and Joe! Finding another true-heart romantic couple is very rare and you two certainly are just as romantic as my sweetheart and me.
Congrats on #25! Love anniversaries- May will be 40 for my hub & me- can not believe it’s been that many yrs. I’m planning a trip for us to Nova Scotia & surrounding areas, in lieu of the “other” Scotland. Keep on “showering the people you love w/love” as James Taylor sang!
Always love your inspirations. I love your party scrapbook idea. I have a file folder that has my recipes and notes about Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter dinners and I keep thinking I’ll put them in the computer so day, but I like your idea of cutting and pasting things into a book like that. Can’t wait for your Breakfast book to come out to get the recipes. I would love to sit and have tea in your cups and read your book.
I love those tea cups, but more importantly I want the invisible magic they come with!
What a beautiful table and fantastic food. Happy 25th anniversary, Susan! We celebrated our 35th anniversary on Sunday. It is amazing how quickly time passes. But if you celebrate each day as you do (and share with us so generously) the time that passes is glorious.
Happy Anniversary Susan and Joe!
Susan, you are *amazingly* creative, thank you for sharing your fabulous ideas with us girlfriends!
I’m going to look for a special journal to begin a party journal; it makes me sad to think of all the parties I haven’t recorded, but better to start late than never, right?!
And those champagne cork place cards are to die for! (But I’ll have to figure out a way to make them with wine corks ~ sadly, we don’t drink much bubbly in our house…)
Ohhhh, those blintzes! Just one more fantastic thing to look forward to when your new book comes out (I can’t remember if you’ve mentioned… do you know when it will be published?)
Lastly, thank you for your very generous heart ~ you always present the most awesome give-away opportunities! Thank you for a chance to win the cups and saucers. I inherited several pieces from my cherished Aunt last spring; sadly, she was the last relative in my Dad’s side of the family, it breaks my heart. But, I have her Rose Chintz to remember her by. Would love to collect enough pieces to set up a lovely table like yours! xoxo
Thank you Diane, so sorry about the loss of your Aunt. I hope the book will be available next fall, if I get busy!!
Hi Diane~
I can help with the corks ;)!
See how helpful the girlfriends can be?? 🙂
Just wishing you a happy Wednesday, Susan! Also, want you to know that your Spiced Pecans will be on the reception table when one of our daughters marries on March 17! xoxo
Ohhh that makes me feel good!!
I made your recipe for the orange and chocolate chip tea biscuits this morning and they were delicious! Thanks for the great recipe. The tea cups would add a certain charm to that recipe
! Thanks for all your great giveaways.
Thank you for sharing your “Magic” with all of us on your blog! What a treasure those sweet,sweet tea cups are. Happy anniversary!!!!
What a lovely day you created and beautiful, out of time, brunch for your friends. Your images are so inspirational and show me the beauty in my everyday!
Sharyn P
Oh Susan,
All I can do is “sigh”….for the loveliness of it all…..
Are you watching Downton Abbey on PBS? Your dinner reminded me of it a bit!
I wish! xoxo
I love the idea of the “party diary”. I do that for Christmas (keep notes each year) but this is terrific. I’m going to start this because as much fun as they are to make – to read them later in life is REALLY fun!
Today’s blog was an inspiration to invite friends over!
What an opportunity!! I love reading your blog and have a passion for dishes. Imagine me…sitting here…sipping from those cups. I am getting the shivers. Happy Anniversary. I love reading your stories and your sharing.
I just think it is such a marvelous idea to celebrate Love the way you and Joe do, with friends. Your table looks very nice, and to be honest every time I see pictures of your cups and plates it makes me wek, they are so pretty.
I meant to say they make me want them…. I guess I had a blonde moment writing wek…
Not a blonde moment~ a sensitive keyboard~ like mine!! Ha~ha 😉
Hi, Susan and Joe.
I discovered you when your illustrations appeared in Country Living magazine in the 1980s. I ripped each of those out and still have them “to frame someday”.I have been a fan since then and consider you part of my family. My dear Mr. Wonderful is always on the lookout for anything Susan Branch. Your cookbooks are part of who I am, really. Have read them over and over and told my daughter, Beth, about Santa using your story in the Christmas cookbook. Though she’s now nearly 24, she still remembers that! My husband Rich and I are both the youngest of 5 kids and really identified with your dedication of the cookbook to your mom. The great portraits you did of your brothers and sisters really felt like home to us.
Anywhooooo, I was delighted today to see in your pix that you have some Winchester pattern from Johnson Brothers!!!!! I got my partial set at a synagogue’s flea market over 20 years ago and this is the first time I have seen it elsewhere! Such good taste, we have! (Yoda reference!)
Thank you for the lovely art, recipes and pieces of your lives that you share so lovingly. If you knew how ingrained your gift is in our lives…..It is indeed like having a dear, dear friend that has never met you face to face, but heart to heart. God bless you, both!
Pammy Ann
xoxo thank you Pammy Ann!
Pammy Ann, I agree! I always refer to Susan as my friend. Such as — I got this recipe from my friend Susan Branch. or I’ll say my friend Susan Branch came up with this decorating idea 🙂 or…..Susan Branch has a Beatrix Potter bedroom and keeps a Laura Ashley hat on the bedpost. ha!
oh!!! yesterday I got a NEW Emma Bridgewater coffee mug from ENGLAND from my friend. it’s a new pattern that I haven’t seen before 🙂 beautiful tulips in a new style plus an Emma pen and Emma tissues for my purse – joy! 🙂
Lucky Barbara! Thank you! And, just in case we have girlfriends who’re interested and don’t have a friend in England, they can take a look at what’s causing all the excitement, Lovely Emma cups!
Happy Anniversary to you and Joe! That was a very romantic and delicious looking Anniversary/Valentine breakfast!
Happy Anniversary to you and Joe. My daughter is coming to visit from Utah in a few weeks and you have inspried me to throw a little party for her.We would love to include the pair of teacups and saucers. She loves pink!
She’s going to love that!
I just love receiving your blogs,,they are always so beautiful, funny, and all that I could ever imagine doing! It looked like such a fun anniversary for you and your friends,,,I just can’t figure out how you do it all,,,,and have such precious cats, I am a cat person and love seeing all that they do, loved girl kitty on your table!!! Didn’t mean to leave Joe out…he must be the sweetest man of all..and congratulations on your 25th anniversary,,,we celebrated our 50th last year,,started going together in the 7th grade,,awful isn’t it?? Thank you for sharing your life with us!!!
Sounds pretty wonderful to me!
Congratulations on your wedding anniversary! We will celebrate our 39th this September. Feels like we’re still kids :o) About the beautiful cups and saucers…my family always gave my mother pieces or sometimes a place setting of her beloved Rose Chintz dishes for her birthday. She is gone now and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of those beautiful dishes when she passed away. The hubs and I were painting the dining room on Sunday and had to take all the Rose Chintz dishes out of the hutch to move it and it reminded me that I still need a lot of pieces to complete a whole set of dishes. It would be a wonderful surprise to win these cups and saucers and add them to my Mom’s treasured collection. Of course it wouldn’t hurt to have the good vibes that obviously will come with them. PS Love your blog and Willard! How sweet and honest you are.
Thanks!
Cecelia G.
Now that was one lovely “love” party! Thank you for sharing yourself, your life, your home and your “Jack” with us.
A very Happy Anniversary to you and Joe! What a lovely way to celebrate! Such a delight today to find in my email not one, but two charming respites from the day-to-day! Willard, as always, was so timely as Spring is definitely in the air here in Southern California. It is a glorious day today! Thanks to your inspiration, I spent a lovely morning and afternoon with some very dear friends yesterday over tea, coffee, treats and a charming craft. We had a blast! You have reminded me how vital it is to keep those girlfriend connections…well…connected! Thank you!! We have vowed to make it a regular event as well. I’m so thrilled! As I prepared for my contribution to the festivities; the tea and coffee; I realized that although I have several mugs suitable for the occasion, what would have been lovely were some tea cups for those of us who prefer tea. I use my favorite mugs when it’s just me, but girlfriend time just seems to call for tea cups. You are so very generous to share with your girlfriends the way you do. We truly are spoiled. Thank you for your beautiful blog and for Willard. 🙂
Hugs to you from So. Cal.
Thank you for offering this beautiful giveaway. What a treasure!
Cathlyn
oh what beautiful teacups and saucers! I collect them and what pretty additions they would make. 🙂
Loved my Willard today as I bask in the sunshine of Texas Hill Country visiting my daughter, thankfully avoiding the wicked weather going on at home on the Oregon Coast! I’m all ready for spring to spring now, thanks to you! Learned an old Swedish tradition from a young friend on Facebook. She was recently engaged & she’s already received three tea cups from her female relatives! Thank you for all the sweetness today. Sue
Happy Anniversary! It looked like a “lovely” party, with great friends, great food and a beautiful setting. Your blog is a joy and the adventures of Girl Kitty and Jack always make me smile. In fact, I’m really a dog person but one more adventure from them and I could be at the local shelter. And I’m sure my Irish terrier “Scarlet O’Hara” would love to have a cohort.
Oh I’m sure too, a fuzzy boy named Rhett Butler! I think I can work up the adventure that will propel you! 🙂
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL TABLE, I LOVE HOW THIS LOOKS, SO PRETTY, AND FOOD LOOKS GOOD TO. LOVE EVERYTHING YOU DO.
YOU MAKE IT LOOKS SO EASY,
It really is easy, that’s the secret!!
flowers and love everywhere…… and kitties to share…..more love to come
Kathy
What fun (as always!) to read your blog and your Willard!
I grew up reading your cookbooks, and was in heaven to discover your work in a new medium. 🙂
I’m so happy you chose the makers-of-singing-hearts pink dishes. They were perfect and you must be the MASTER OF ORGANIZATION to pull that off.
You make my little theme lunches blush with shame.
It’s my mom, who said every day, Organization is the Key to Success. Of course she had eight children, so she knew what she was talking about!
Susan,
I saw the picture of your rose chintz dishes on the table and I felt so happy just looking at them. They’re wonderful and you do an amazing job making everything so special. Lucky Joe, lucky friends and lucky us for being allowed into your beautiful world.
Linda Trokey
And lucky me too!
Oh How Lovely! What a wonderful to celebrate a love of 25 years! God Bless you & Joe and your wonderful friends, and all of us that are allowed to peek in on the fun!
Hi Susan, this was such a beautifully written post! Your breakfast spread was just awesome and very inspiring. All the food looks so scrumptious you can almost smell the yummy goodness! Thank you for the inspiration to create our own breakfast of love. Please enter me for the draw for those lovely teacups!
Love your blog, the pictures, the parties, the decorations, *the kitties* :o)
Greetings Susan!
Just poking my head in the door, to say ‘hello!’ friend! I’ve read ALL your comments and there’s not much else I can say which hasn’t already been said.
Never doubt that you’ve made a positive influence on me, one of many of your “girlfriends.” The message of your blog, and perhaps of your life, is one of CREATING your OWN happiness. It’s not a destination, but something one does along the way, which brings happiness, isn’t it? As you’ve had your guideposts, you are one to me…one to many. Your blog has become one of my ‘touchstones’ to connect with ALL that is GOOD. *smile*
With much love,
Erica
So sweet Erica, thank you!
I love that your inspiration came from Gone with the Wind, one of my favorite movies and books!
Mine too. Beautifully written, a real miracle!
How generous you are to share all the lovely details of your delightful breakfast celebration! The food looked so yummy and my favorite was the bird vases…what a reason to sing with flowers on your wings!! Thank you for the joy you bring in every little thing.
You are so generous! Jim and I would love to sip our morning “double bergamot” from your Rose Chintz cups with their “invisible magic”. But, even so, your magic fills my day each day. Thank you.
i loved how you shared your anniversary breakfast,,i loved the cat sleeping in the linens! wow i just loved every lil thing! thank you so much for putting some brightness in my otherwise dreary day!
stay sweet
marie
Working on it! 🙂
Thanks for your letters/blogs…so enjoy reading them while enjoying my cup of tea. My Sonny (Oscar for others) and I have celebrated 55 yrs. together and looking forward to many more! I have a valentine he sewed on his mom’s old Singer, back in highschool – it comes “out” every Valentine’s day.
Have a great day – looking forward to our spring down here on the Gulf Coast area. Just glad to get much needed rains!
Loved your Anniversary display and food and what a great idea to keep a Diners Diary……I love the love you send
Happy 25yh Anniversary. Am adding touches in my living room of pink. The two cups would add a delightful touch.
I love breakfast (brunch) parties they are so much fun and can be charming and informal. Your table setting was absoluting gorgeous. Congratulations on 25 happy years.
I am so content..until read what you’re doing..then, I’m inspired and jealous that I’m not there with you and you’re not my best friend! Well, we could be if you’re ever available 😉
I have only one of those plates and would be ecstatic to win those tea cups. Thank you for making me smile and my heart happy..it’s really awesome to know that there’s others that love what makes me happy,
Hugs,
Susan Vicary
Dearest Susan~ Your wonderful breakfast is inspiring to say the least! *yum*
I love your newest “Willard” and all its inspiration as well.
I do hope you won’t mind……I’ve added your ‘linens drying on the line’ to my desktop. I absolutely *adore* my own clothesline my Dad made for me years ago, and which my husband even faithfully dug-up and moved with us a few years back. Whenever you get around to adding the photo to your blog I can add it to my Pinterest board “clotheslines”. I seem to remember always having a fondness for them; watching the textiles floating in the breeze, knowing there are some kindred souls living in the home with a clothesline in the backyard.
Just one more thing to bond around through cyberspace.
xoxo
~Carolyne
Nothing more to say, Susan, but, Thank You for “inviting” me, too. It was divine 🙂
So funny. . . I was reading this blog while eating my mid-afternoon pick-me-up, pink grapefruit sprinkled with sea salt, all nestled in my Johnson Bros Strawberry Fair cup. People call me “Ms. Martha”, but I quickly refer them to your blog. “Ah, yes,” they say, “I see the resemblance.”
LOL! Ah yes!
Another beautiful blog, and more wonderful music–it fills my heart! You inspired me also to have an intimate luncheon for my five best girlfriends (all over 60) on Valentine’s Day. With e-mailed “Smilebox” invitations complete w/ Eartha Kitt singing “An Old Fashioned Girl” and a Susan Branch original lady in a hat making an offer of “Tea” while holding a martini glass for the image on the screen to my grandmother’s beautiful flowered Austrian china, embroidered white linen napkins, a pink tablecloth, the “good” silver, fresh flowers, champagne punch, fresh salmon & salad for lunch, and a decadent dark chocolate heart shaped truffle for dessert, we had a wonderful time. I’m already looking ahead to next year.
Thank you so much for always making me smile and inspiring me to reach out to those I love.
Your fan always,
Judy
Beautiful!!
How could anyone possibly call a house a home without at least one cat around?
so Happy Anniversary, hope you two make it to 50 years, love the breakfast party, and love your china, I can so relate to you and want to thank you for making my days a little more cheerful!! Peggy
Congratulations on 25 years of marriage! The table was lovely, I know the food was delicious and, best of all, you and Joe shared it with your best friends. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Every time I read your blog I am left with such a happy feeling. Your true heart always shines through. I hope you and Joe are fortunate enough to be able to celebrate 50 years of marriage as my husband and I did this past November. It was wonderful! So many friends and relatives came to help us celebrate on a beautiful fall day.
The tea cups are so pretty. Thank you for the chance to win them. I have my fingers crossed.
As said by everyone else, your table was beautiful!
I love setting a table. Actually, think I love, too, the preparing to set the table. Getting things out…. remembering where they came from… finding something you haven’t seen for a while… deciding what to do maybe a little different for this occasion… Writing this makes me want to plan something!!
Maybe I’ll have to pull out the “saved dishes” for dinner tonight for hubby & me!
Would love to add those two pretty cups & saucers to my collection & when set out later, have a nice memory to reflect back on of them.
The cups and saucers are beautiful, just like your blog. Arlene from Minnesota