Father's Day - A little bit of Chicken Fried... tablescape

 

Welcome!

Father's Day didn't quite sneak up on us, I actually found a present and card for my husband weeks before, but the meal itself did. Was I thinking we would fast that day?

The boys did agree it was high time for some 

Chicken Fried Steak!

From Wikipedia:

Chicken fried steak (also known as pan-fried steak,^[1] CFS or country fried steak) is a breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of steak (tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried. It is associated with Southern cuisine. Its name may be due to its similarity in preparation to fried chicken.

Chicken fried steak resembles the Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel and the Italian-Latin American dish Milanesa, which is a tenderized veal or pork cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs, and then fried. It is also similar to the recipe for Scottish collops.^[1]

After reading that little tidbit.. nope that is not what ours resemble! We use a nice thin cut top sirloin, pound it within an inch of its life, dip in flour, dip in beer batter, dip in flour, dip in beer batter, deep fry. All this takes place outside. Yes, sweet husband has perfected cooking the chicken fry on the charcoal grill, with mesquite chips over hot coals. Let me just say... Umm, it is soo good!

 

The trusty Sky Ranch dishes came out to play that day. 

I was busily plating salads in the kitchen when I realized I'd better jump to taking some pictures!

Still trying to figure out which flatware speaks Cowboy.

any ideas?

The napkin rings and centerpiece came from a quaint little shop in Weatherford, Texas, Just to the West of Fort Worth, on highway 180.

I have had these rusty ol' cowboys and cowgirls forever! The store at which I purchased them is now a faint memory. They are made by Two's Company and I did not see them on their website this time around.

I love setting the larger ones on the table for display or using them on a buffet with the name of a food item inserted into their lasso.

The rustic bird's nest chargers from World Market worked really well into the theme.,

Somewhere in the lost items from the last move was a box of cd's of embroidery designs. 

In that box was a western font set. 

Until either the box surfaces, which I seriously doubt, or I find the font again, these napkins will have to do.

This really worked pretty well for a guys table, simple, non-frilly and not fussy.

I pulled out the amber Whitehall quilted tumblers and paired them with the Dollar Tree crystal. 

Both pieces are rather chunky and therefore work really well with the heavy Sky Ranch plates.

Cast:

Chargers - World Market

Plates - Sky Ranch

Napkins - not quite vintage but older

Flatware - Gorham

Amber quilted goblets - Whitehall

Wine glasses - Dollar Tree

Napkin rings and centerpiece - Weatherford, Texas

Western placecard holders and decor - Two's Company

Thank you for dropping by! I do so love reading your comments, they inspire me to do better.

I hope I'll be seeing you at both Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish

and Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Candle Wraps

 

 Notice the candles on the right of the picture? They are all "wrapped".

Decorated. I mean who can have un-adorned candles?

Seriously.

When we were coming home from Dallas on our last trip there, 

we stopped at the Design Center and Western Heritage. They sit sideby side in Weatherford, Texas.

You can enter their world HERE.

 

 I knew I wanted 3 candle warps and I wanted them to sit on the buffet.

So after our trip home, I stopped at a local shopping heaven, Coyote Candle Company.

Furniture, candles, decor items. Just NO website. Hello... NO website? In this day and age. really?

 Also stopped by Tandy leather and picked up some pieces out of their scrap bin.

The leather wrap keeps the wrap from sliding down your candle.

This one has a rusted rose, a horseshoe and a turquoise nugget.

Oh yeah, a strand of turquoise that hangs down, threaded on wire.

 I had All the pieces for this cutie.. 

Thank you Michael for shaving off some of the thickness of the cross.

I use Tim Holtz distress inks to color the top of the cross.

Glued the cross on, done.

The large piece has both the ornamental wood and the once silver colored metal flower

further distressed with soldering black, paints and Tim Holtz distress inks.

Another turquoise nugget rests in the center.

 Details:

the leather wrap is 2.5" tall and 1.5" shorter in length than the circumference of the candle

I used leather weld glue and locktite

do not glue the entirety of the decoration down.. only the center as the wrap has to be able to curve

punch one hole in each side of the back/ cut ends of the wrap

thread a gorgeous ribbon through and tie in a pretty bow

Enjoy!

Thanks for dropping by today. So glad to see you here.

I'd love it if you'd comment so I can find your blog, know you were here and reciprocate!

Hugs...

Linking up to Season Sunday at the Tablescapers! See you there.

Tablescapes, a bit of travel and a fabulous store!

Alycia, (Tablescapes at Table Twenty One) this one's for you. I saw it and you popped into my head. 

At the grocery store. 

I believe $150.00 - ya think we could make this for less? The top and bottom of the vase are wrapped in wide ribbon. The vase is filled with ornaments, the top is stuffed with silver botanicals.

Sorry, all these are phone photos. I hadn't planned on stopping in such a fabulous store. They have not been photoshopped or cropped. Sorry...

The pictures were from two stores in Weatherford, Texas, west of Fort Worth on US 180.

The Design Center and Western Heritage Furniture and Accessories

www.westernheritageweatherford.net

These were fabulous place mats. Do you see the large ruffle on each side? The main fabric was a stamped velvet. Also used for the napkins.  Super flatware, too.

Sorry this is so dark, but my phone has no flash. So archaic!!

Love the muted colors of the different dishes. All by the same maker that I don't know.

Place mat is a silk with crossed pintucks.

This kiddie toy was for sale, too. Did you see that price tag? Omg, but it was sooo cute.

 Loved this wall arrangement. The base of this arrangement are steer horns, lots of 

pheasant feathers, and natural plant materials.

I loved the turquoise and brown tumblers. Did you notice the candle 

jewelry? It was everywhere. I've already gathered the supplies

to make some of my own. I'll share with you probably next week.

These plates had a beautiful silver ring around their irregular edges. 

The bowl has a wood like texture. 

These seemed to be leather place mats. Notice the dishes also were available in

white. I love the look of both colors together.  The cute bundle on the table are

napkin rings. 

I noticed a lot of turquoise throughout the store. In the dishes, the furnishings,

chairs, rugs, throws. candles. Actually, in both stores. 2010's color of the year. Last

year was honesuckle - a rather vivid pink.

This year's is Tangerine Tango. Will this be creeping into your home?

 On our way to Weatherford, aka the road home, we had to make a wee little detour to Pottery Barn.

I had dog eared some of the pages in the catalog and wanted to see some of these things up close and personal. Yep, I still want it - ALL. But settled for these. They weren't in the catalog.

These being napkin rings! Love the high relief and the rustic design.

Love these!

We also ate at Blue Mesa grill. Lubbock is really lacking in shopping and eating!

Saw this plate on the wall, which reads:

God gave us food.

The Devil brought cooks. 

Thanks for stopping in and visiting for a bit. It's always nice to have company. Thanks, too for your kind comments. I'll be linking up to Susan's tablescape party at  Between Naps on the Porch. Cya there!