Ambience

Ironing Diva. Ambience. Beautiful Tables To Sit At. Number 3.

The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies is the hook I hang my business hat on. My beautiful rural property in the picturesque Central Tablelands of NSW is the hook I hang my heart on. ~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

Photo Courtesy Of Eat Grow Live Paleo

Spring has sprung in the southern hemisphere.

And outdoor eating will be de rigueur for many of us.

Especially those of us who have large country gardens.

Many of my rural farming friends have huge outdoor tables. Too big for indoors. Passed down from one generation to the other. The timber planks of the tables mellowed. With a patina of sheen. Created by the passing of time.

I vividly remember my first invitation to a family gathering. On a farm in Mudgee NSW. 40 family members. All gathered to celebrate the birthday of the father. Second generation farmer.

Under the shade of huge eucalyptus trees.

Three tables were lined up. With mismatched chairs.

Covered in mismatched table linen.

Tablecloths. And napkins. All garnered from charity shops. And hand me downs from family. Over decades.

And ironed on Val’s treasured Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover.

[Read more…]

Ironing Diva. Ambience. Beautiful Tables To Sit At. Number 2.

Photo Courtesy Of Pinterest. Kika Junqueira.

When I finished university in the country of my birth, America. My first job was working at George Washington University. In Washington, DC.

I worked for the Dean of the School Of Business Administration.

It was a small office.

Dr Docherty. The Dean. And his personal secretary. Sophie Goff. Who had worked for him for more than 20 years.

I was a newcomer to the office.

In the Mad Men era.

I was assigned to working with the MBA students. Many of which were mature students. Returned officers from the war in Vietnam.

One such student was John. A Commander in the Navy.

John was an avid sailor. And sailed every opportunity on the Chesapeake Bay.

Every so often, he would invite friends to sail with him.

I accepted his first invitation.

Although I’m not a sailor. Never will be. I loved the experience.

And at the end of the day. His guests were invited back to his terrace house in historic Georgetown. In the salubrious inner city of Washington DC. Located on the Potomac River.

Which he shared with his wife Sally.

[Read more…]

Ironing Diva. Ambience. Beautiful Rooms To Iron In. Number 2.

Photo Courtesy Of Better Homes & Gardens

I’m a great believer that ambience changes everything.

Tenements have been transformed by the addition of window boxes in all apartments. Planted out with beautiful flowers. Tended by the occupants.

Add a lick of paint to the front door.

And you have a change of attitude about where you live.

Tonight in my farmhouse is the night I iron my cloth napkins for the week.

Many moons ago I banned paper napkins. And plastic dishes. Other than refrigerator storage containers.

From my farmhouse.

We use cloth napkins, in napkin rings, every day. Breakfast. Lunch. And dinner.

And I iron them once a week.

[Read more…]

Ironing Diva. Ambience. Beautiful Rooms To Dress In.

The Dressing Room Of Jennifer Lawrence. Photo Courtesy Of Yahoo.

I run my worldwide business, The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies, from my farmhouse.

On my remote rural property in the picturesque Central Tablelands of NSW.

My rather small 3 bedroom home is very modest.

Owner built by the previous owner in 1982. It has few frills.

He didn’t believe in spending a penny. If he didn’t have to.

To my continued utter surprise, it has a generous dressing room off the master bedroom.

I’ve never had a dressing room before.

And I just love it.

It has a built in dressing table. With mirrors on each side that go up to the ceiling.

A window straight ahead that looks out onto the property.

A large, full length mirror elsewhere. To preen in front of.

It faces east. So it’s a lovely, sunny place to be in the morning.

Although I share it with my partner, Victor Pleshev, the architect who designed the Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover for his mother. To help her with her ironing when she was recovering from a stroke.

[Read more…]

Ironing Diva. Ambience. Beautiful Tables To Sit At.

Photo Courtesy of Pinterest. Elegant Table Settings.

My mother was a couture dressmaker in New York City. Before she met. And married. My father. And became a wife. And mother.

My father was a very talented pencil artist. And illustrator. Who worked on large advertising accounts when in New York City.

The home they made for themselves. And my sister. And me. Was always beautiful.

My mother made all the curtains. Bedspreads. Slipcovers. Tablecloths. Napkins. Not to mention clothing for herself and her daughters.

My father got transferred. So we traded in our brownstone apartment building in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. For a house in Pennsylvania. Not far from the Amish countryside.

There my parents discovered the Amish community’s deceased estate sales. And bought the most beautiful second hand furniture. Which my father refinished and brought back to its former glory.

As well as gorgeous glassware. Dinnerware. Vases. Table linen. Chiming clocks.

So many pretty pieces to add glamour to the table we sat at.

And both my mother and father were fanatics about how their table was set for breakfast. Lunch. And dinner.

Always a tablecloth. Cloth napkins. No bottles. Or boxes. Of anything. Milk in a glass pitcher. Condiments in separate dishes. And in the middle. A vase of flowers picked from their garden.

I’m very much my parents’ daughter. And set a mean formal table for breakfast. Lunch. And dinner.

Except my table is set with candles as well as flowers.

And my cloth napkins, which are pressed on my ironing board cover of choice, the Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover.

Are always encased in a silver napkin ring when we sit down.

[Read more…]