Ready for Tech Football!

 

Covid-19 has affected so much this year. 

We have been partaking in social distancing since early March. 

I'm officially tired of it and ready for a bit of normalcy.

Texas Tech is supposed to play this weekend. We shall see.

 

 

My sweet husband brought home this delightful arrangement so I wanted to showcase it in a table setting. Not that we are having dinner guests. :(

 

 

  

 And there was a challenge to post your football tables on a Facebook group to which I belong.

 

 

As I was sitting at the dining table working this morning (I try to change venues so that it doesn't feel so much like being sent to my room), I thought of what i could do quickly. So in about 15 minutes...

I pulled out these black and white place mats that I purchased at Detours (shopping at La Fonda) in Santa Fe, my red Juliska Berry & Thread dinner plates and our Pipestone salad plates (another Santa Fe purchase from the Chile Shop) and red cutlery.

So in love with the red roses!

These silver candlesticks came home with me from my favorite antique store in Lubbock, A Beautiful Mess. 

Sadly, I think the Berry and Thread are no longer available. They are the perfect shade of red. And i don't remember the maker of this cutlery. It too is the perfect shade of red.

I flanked the flowers and candlesticks with two Texas Tech signed footballs. And other than the red and black, that is the only ode to football on the table. 

The black napkins were also a Santa Fe purchase from the Chile Shop.. They wash like a dream. Napkin rings came from World Market a long time ago. 

I paired a Mikasa French Countryside water goblet with an Ajka Arabella wine glass for a touch of glamour.

For a total of 15 minutes, this came together very quickly. It can be done!

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2016

Every year we host a Christmas dinner. Each year I try to come up with a different theme or color combinations, use conventional and unconventional Christmas china, and present a different menu. Each year in January the menu, tablescape and decor is set. Next year's theme was chosen while we were in Vail and a trial table has already been pulled together, so I'm way ahead of schedule! 😉

For this year, the theme was rustic; brown with green. I so badly wanted to use magnolia leaves in garlands around the house and on the table. A Williams Sonoma jacquard tablecloth was the first layer and provided the backdrop. 

However, the idea was sparked from this Kim Seybert beaded runner found at Cielo, Santa Fe, years ago. When they were still open. When they had so much eye candy that I could actually feel myself feel faint when entering into the store. It's always a bit sad to know that when we go to Santa Fe, Cielo is no more. Tears flowing! 😭😭😭

I monogrammed the matching napkins to the tablecloth. I just love the addition of a monogram on table linens. 💓 It's all in the details!

Etsy provided the perfect wooden tree slices for napkin rings. A wooden charger is the base for Spode Delamere dinner plates and Noritake Royal Hunt salad plates.

Vagabond stag flatware (natural sheds!), vintage crystal knife rests, Mikasa Parklane iced beverage glasses and Ajka Arabella wine hocks finish out the place settings. 

A recent trip to Bonnes Amies, a delightful store in Plainview, Texas. yielded the wooden tags used for placecards. Some die-cut winter branches, a few beads and handwritten names personalized the tags in a hurry! The name tags rest on some resin antlers sold by the pair as Christmas tree ornaments from Wal-Mart.  

Sterling and not sterling candleholders combine on each end of the table to provide ambient light at the table. A very vintage lace runner that belonged to my grandmother-in-law and then to my mother-in-love ran down the center of the table to break up the mass of brown.

 Lenox Holiday Tartan votive holders add some light at table level. Resin antiqued silver deer gussied up with a double-faced satin ribbon and a small bauble finish the centerpiece.

A silver Revere bowl provided the vessel for the flowers; white roses, alstroemeria, magnolia leaves and pheasant feathers. The arrangement lasted well over a week!

For dinner parties, I like to serve a salad to seated guests and then serve the remainder of the meal buffet style. It certainly breaks up the formality and gets guests up and moving! It's always a nice touch to add a menu to the table. It whets the appetite!

A rustic Christmas dinner indeed. The red touches add the perfect holiday touch to the table. 

Cast:

Tablecloth and napkins - Williams Sonoma

Chargers - Pier One Baroque

Dinner plates - Spode Delamere

Salad plates - Noritake Royal Hunt

Flatware - Vagabond House stag flatware (Horchow or Nieman Marcus)

Iced Beverage - Mikasa Parklane

Wine hocks - Ajka Arabella red cut to clear

I pray you had a blessed Christmas and wish you many blessings for the New Year ahead.

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2015

Christmas Dinner with Friends 2015

We love to open our home to acquaintances, friends and family throughout 

the year. However, one of the times I enjoy the most is our yearly 

dinner with friends. I try to choose a different theme each year so that 

the dinner is not only a feast for the tummy,but also a feast for the eyes. 

I do try to plan several years in advance so that should I choose to make any 

purchases,they aren't full price. 

This year's theme was the Night before Christmas. Luck was on my side last year

and I snagged the 'Twas the Night... tablecloth and dessert/salad dishes on sale from

Williams Sonoma.

Last Year's set of plates

This year's set. I sure wish we had a Williams Sonoma near us. I would have purchased

the Nutcracker plates!

I selected a red Thomson dinner plate to pair with the WS 'Twas... dishes. These were placed on

a Jay Imports gold charger. Gold flatware completed the setting.

I found the fun napkins at Home Goods and embroidered them with a big B.

I love to add the personal touch to our table. The color green in the embroidery

was selected from a very dominant green in the tablecloth.

For the life of me, I do not remember from where I purchased this embroidery font.

.

The Fitz and Floyd reindeer (found at an estate sale!) fit perfectly on the table

 as they repeatedthe colors of the tablecloth and kept the conversation 

flowing withtheir cheerful faces. Several years past, I had seen the idea to 

glue ornaments to a mirror as individual vases. I will admit it was

a bit tricky until I came across some circular foam with a center hole

from a CD stack.

 Another theme that paired well with the 'Twas idea, 

was an abundance of ornamental balls. I had them 

strung on the chandelier, in bowls, and outside in planters. 

With a venture of that undertaking, I made several trips

to our local Dollar Tree. You had to be there early to get

the ones with designs on them! Let's say I started in November.

I used a tureen to hold the flower arrangement, which consisted of 

eucalyptus, red roses, green buttons and white mums. An extravagance

that made the table feel sumptuous!

 Our Ajka Arabella wine hocks paired up with the Mikasa Parklane iced teas. Whereas

the clear crystal might have faded into the background, the red pop of the Ajka crystal

added a bit of color on yet another level.

On overhead shot. I just stand on my tippy toes and point down with the camera. 

My canon has a vari-angle lens so I can see the shot before I take it.

Each guest went home with an embroidered stocking. 

I designed and embroidered the free standing fabric 

holly leaves that had wire inserted in the embroidery process.

Not nearly as scary as it sounds. The names were 

embroidered on a ribbon that was knotted and then hand

tacked to the stocking cuff. Filling them was a blast!

In these last photos, you might notice that I decided that the napkins

needed a napkin ring. I love to add table jewelry when it seems to fit.

Thanks for stopping by, I know it's been a while, praying that the year

ahead will afford me more time to be more active on line. A family, still working

full-time, and being a BSF International bible study leader eats up so much of my time.

I would love to be able to spend some time with y'all.

Joining:

Between Naps on the Porch

The scoop #203 @ Confessions of a Plate Addict