Advent 2012 Oh Christmas Tree Tablescape

It was time for tradition.

It was time for the familiar.

It was time for Oh Christmas Tree, Spode that is.

 A centerpiece of fir greenery, red lilies and white spider mums graces the center of the table.

Low enough to talk over.

Long enough to fill the space.

Oh Christmas tree.

These dishes have been part of our Christmas for 30 years.

They survived our house fire.

It's tradition.

Antique pressed glass candle holders on each end of the table.

Fitz and Floyd salt and peppers add a bit of whimsy to the table.

Spode wine glasses along with Mikasa water glasses.

I didn't want to take away from the gorgeous woven lace tablecloth.

It belonged to my husband's grandmother.

Love these butter spreaders. 

They are of a quiet pattern and go well with most anything.

Spode's little mistletoe on each fork adds a lovely extra to the dinner ware.

My favorite Bordallo pitcher.

See the basketweave along the top?

And the lovely holly leaves and berries?

Bells hanging from the decked out chandelier add a lovely touch above eye level.

I used the Spode dinner plate, salad plate and the bread and butter plate. 

No mixing here. 

Simple.

Classic.

Vintage damask napkins monogrammed with a B.

Wrapped in the perfect red of the braided napkin holder.

Cast:

Dishes - Spode Christmas Tree

Flatware - Spode Christmas Tree

Wine glasses - Spode Christmas Tree

Water goblets - Mikasa French Countryside

Napkins - vintage; estate sale; embroidered on a Bernina

Candleholders - Estate sale

Salt and Pepper - Fitz and Floyd

Napkin Rings - World Market 2011

Red linen tablecloth - Williams Sonoma

Woven Lace Tablecloth - husband's grandmother

I am praying for the families of the sweet angels now in heaven. I hope you will join me in asking God to comfort them and reassure them that He is taking care of their angels.

I will continue posting daily through December 25th, but I know how busy everyone is, so I want to take this time to wish each of you the merriest of Christmases with dreams and wishes that come true. May we never forget the baby born in the manger for our salvation. Be blessed everyone!

Thank you so much for visiting and leaving your comments. You make my day!

I'm linking up to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish on Wednesday evening and to  Susan's Tablescape Thursday.

See you there!

Chris✞mas in July - A decorated Table

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You know it will be Chris✞mas before we know it. Look at the counter on the top right of the blog. Those days will be passing by very, very quickly. I mean, Fall is just around the corner, so Chris✞mas isn't that far behind. I know you've seen the Chris✞mas displays at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores. There were up July 5th!!!

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Since Yvonne at Stone Gable is having a Chris✞mas in July party this week, I thought what a cute idea and I wanted to play along.. the linkup party isn't until Friday. You still have time to pull it together. I did have a cute summer table all done up and ready to post, but that would have just looked weird in the middle of this Chris✞mas week. See the tablecloth in the above photo.. I used that just last Sunday for our family dinner.

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Clicking any of the source links under the photos will take you to the original blog post. Or you can just browse through and get some ideas for this year! Do you change up your table a little bit each year?

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Sometimes we eat kind of formal....

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and sometimes not! What do you prefer? Casual throughout the month and then only formal for Christmas? Or casual all the way through the month?

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This was a new set up last year. Loved those nutcracker plates! Simply adding a new set of salad plates and a tablecloth will certainly spruce up the Chris✞mas china and give you a new, refreshed table setting.

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Other than the colors, nothing on this table says Chris✞mas. Goes to show that if you use what you have, you can use it anytime with a seasonal color way!

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Are you noticing some of the same dishes? I hope so. Although I am a Chris✞mas nut.. loving all things Chris✞mas, I certainly cannot afford new Chris✞mas dishes every year. Wait, I shouldn't be buying new Chris✞mas every year. Find a way to combine the pieces you have to create something new.

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Pinterest is a very cool tool to organize all the pretty pictures you see on the web. Please respect the author's preference on 'pinning' though. I find a photo and use the 'pin' button and then select the board (think bulletin board) onto which you want to pin your photo. If you need an invite.. just leave me a message in your comment.

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Of course our fellow bloggers certainly know how to inspire us to set beautiful tables. There are just sooo many tables I see each week I would love to copy detail by detail. But you and I both know I can't go buying new dishes.. after all I made a resolution death sentence to not purchase any this year!! yeah I know. I know.. broken!!

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This has got to be one of the most pinned tables on Pinterest. I see it everywhere. I think it came from Country Living? Someone correct, I'm sure I'm wrong. I just pinned it from a blog.

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Once again a gorgeous table by a fellow blogger from California. Her style, her compilation of textures and patterns is always intriguing and just makes me want to go buy more stuff!!

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I know I'll be using my new dishes this year. I've waited a very long time for these and now I finally have them. Albeit not quite so guilt free..You know I did make the resolution death sentence. What are your plans for your Chris✞mas table? Have you made any yet? Oooh, I'm dying to know what ideas you have!

See you at:
Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish (Wednesday evening)
Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tricks (Wednesday evening)
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday (Thursday)

A Red and White Holiday Tablescape

Whether we are ready or not, December has arrived. 

Even when you've only got a few minutes to put a table together,

it's so nice when you do. The festive air it lends to dining is well 

worth the effort.

Simple red dinner plates, a white salad plate, favorite goblets, a few candles and a centerpiece and

you are ready to entertain. It's great to have a few standby tablescapes

that you can throw together in a jiffy! This is one of mine.

The white milk glass epergne (click HERE for some info and HERE for another epergne) is a wonderful tool to help you create a stunning centerpiece without much forethought. A few cedar or juniper clippings from the yard, some red ornaments and a couple of holiday picks are all that were used to pull this look together.

The runner was made from toweling yardage. It's linen and only gets better with each washing.

German candlesticks topped with a candle peg nappy (Cherry Kay of Entertaining Women blog shows some clever uses HERE) allows me to use a different type of candle.

 See the pretty picture I won above the leaded glass display case? It's an older oil and pretty darned cool. 

I was the lucky winner of the giveaway at A Beautiful Mess Antiques. You should go check them out.. very pretty blog!

This milk glass epergne was a wonderful piece I found at an estate sale for a small pittance. Love the grape design on the bowl and the insert. This is a crimped edge 12" Westmoreland paneled grape piece. More pieces can be found HERE.

The white linen napkin is very simply topped with a sprig of greenery. Can't get much simpler than that!

My favorite Mikasa French Countryside goblets always add a bit of flare to any setting.

 Villeroy and Boch Burgenland dinner plate

  Masons Vista dinner plate

 Spode Archive Collection Georgian Series Botanical

Spode Archive Collection Regency Series British Flowers

Signature by Old Company Plate

 Cast:

Table runner - vintage towelling

Candleholders - Villeroy and Boch Burgenland

Dinner plates - Villeroy and Boch Burgenland, Masons Vista, Spode Archival Series

Salad Plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Crystal - Mikasa French Countryside

Peg nappy and epergne - vintage

Napkins - linen

Greenery - from the yard

Red votive holders - vintage Crate and Barrel (I think)

Thank you so very much for coming by. I cherish your visit and can hardly wait to see all the lovely tables set for Susan's party every Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch! See you there.