Ralph's Roses Tablescape

Roses in November

 The rich colors of the Ralph tablecloth required flowers that were vibrant and spoke volumes. The larger arrangement was on the table when guests arrived.

Amber glassware and salad plates along with aubergine napkins captured in beaded napkin rings play off the colors of the tablecloth.

Creating a bit of drama for your guests is always welcome!

Rosewood handles brassware is perfect for this table.

Special candles with gold lettering heighten the ambiance of the evening.

Lots of wood to repeat the element found in the flatware.

I love how the evening sun brings out the richness of the napkin color.

 A hardwood bowl holds a glass vase, which is partially obscured by the Spanish moss.

These beaded napkin rings in golden hues pick up all the colors used.

Note the smaller centerpiece for when guests actually sit down. Personal additions seem to be great conversation starters.

Old copper develops a lovely patina when left to age naturally.

An antique photo provides instant relatives for the other side of the table.

Fitz and Floyd has the most interesting pieces! Love having a pitcher of water on the table. 

Cast:

Tablecloth - Ralph Lauren

Napkins - World Market

Napkin rings - Pier One

Chargers - Teakwood, very old

Dinner Plate - Wedgwood Windsor

Salad plate -BIA Malibu Curry, Tuesday Morning

Wine hocks - Stein Mart

Water tumblers - Whitehall 

Flatware - gift from mother

I thank you much for your visit. Your comments are a delight to read and help me grow. I'm linking up to Susan's delightful dish party at Between Naps on the Porch - Tablescape Thursday. Hope to see you there!

Monday Photo of the week

Now this is the way to start a Monday morning isn't it?

Lucky me!!

I wish all of you a good week filled with many blessings.Thanks for droppin' by!

A Beautiful Mess Antiques is having another giveaway.. please go visit!

Click Here and Good Luck.

My newest love is shiny mercury glass!

Pottery Barn.. guess which one I ordered.

Loving this lamp.. 'tis it's fault that got me thinking that for Chris✞mas I'd like to see a wee bit more shiny in our home. I'm feeling especially Chris✞massy this year! PB

From Ballard Designs, an assorted collection of 5 candelsticks.

Also from Ballard Designs, finials. Regan would probably topple these over... frown.

Ballard Designs also has these lovely hurricanes.

Ballard Designs ornaments....

Ballard Designs pedestal. Now how cool would this be for your next get together?

Napa Style has this lovely cloche.. another great serving piece.

From Pottery Barn... some fun candleholders.

 How cool this is grouping. Would be so pretty on a New Year's table!

Maybe not mercury glass, but shiny and bright nonetheless. Perfect for a summer evening outdoors. PB!

PB ornament.. snowflakes on mercury glass. okay I'm hooked!

Restoration Hardware.. a lovely specimen indeed.

What are you thinking about adding to the decorations this year?

Something shiny perhaps? 

Thank you for your gift of time. I appreciate your visits and comments very much.

I'm linking up to the Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday party.. See you there!

I love Good Customer Service

Seems like this is the motto of the day, lately. 

Good customer service is becoming a novelty.

I don't expect to always be right, 

but I do expect to be treated courteously.

I don't expect for everyone to have a great day everyday, 

but I do expect them not to rain on my parade.

I don't expect to be the most important person they have seen that day, 

but I do expect to get help when I ask for it.

Lately, it seems that when I'm shopping:

• I can't find help when I need it.
• When I do, I'm usually interrupting something more important and made to feel it, too.
• I can't get change counted back.
• And if the store doesn't make a sale, it doesn't seem to make an impression on the staff.

So today.. I'll share with you some exceptional customer service:

• Cast Iron Grill, Lubbock - they make every customer feel as if they are royalty, they know your name, and the food is exceptional. Thank you Teresa! 
• Melinda at Pottery Barn Fort Worth - not only will she find what you need, ship it to you, but she loves to have you call her so she can help you! Pottery Barn has to have the quickest shipping in the universe. 
  
• Spears Furniture, Lubbock - service, they stand behind their product, they smile and they call you back! wow!
• United Market Street, 50th and Indiana,  Lubbock - don't have it, they will get it for you, and everyone in the store is smiling and helpful - ALL THE TIME.
• Ballard Designs - oh gosh call them and they will find you an answer as if you are the most important person of the day! And fast shipping - wow!
• Williams Sonoma Fort Worth - I could spend hours in there just to watch the staff smile and be glad you are just browsing. 
• Beth at JC Penney's Window treatments Lubbock - she not only found an item for less thus saving me tons, she helped me find the correct product to start with.

Thank you, I will have a great day and I will take my business elsewhere!!

Did you thank the last person who gave you exceptional service?

What is the best customer service you've had?

What is the worst customer service you've experienced?

Daylight in November Tablescape

With the leaves changing colors, I thought it'd be high time to set a table using these beautiful specimens of God's handiwork.

A white matelasse coverlet provides a textured backdrop for this table. Enamelware chargers that look like leather, Mikasa Daylight dinner plate and soup bowl, Ironwood salad bowls, brown napkin in silver napkin rings, and two vases filled with leaves.

Love this roll of grapevine mesh. Used it to take away a bit of the white and add some more fallish character. Also sprinkled pecan here and there.

The wooden candle holder is one of a kind made by a craftsman in Taos, NM.

 Love the way the leaves on the Mikasa dishes peek out and are repeated in the leaves tucked into the napkin rings.

See the faux stitching on the chargers? They really go with so many different things!

Ironwood bowls are fabulous.. just don't soak them in water for any period of time.

Most leaves in Lubbock never attain a wonderful crimson color. Mainly they are green one day, yellow the next and then on the ground the third. Well  maybe that is a wee bit of exaggeration, but it's close.

I love the amber wine hocks.. they really do go with most tables this time of year.

See how these dishes really do fit quite well into a fall setting.. the leaves are the same color as the ones in the vases!

I love how well Mikasa planned out the positioning of the leaves on the plates so that they are on opposing sides of one another when the dishes are stacked. Dinner plate and soup bowl.

Although I have the green chargers with the dishes, I thought the brown chargers grounded the dishes better for a fall setting.

Because it's good to see who is sitting across from you, removing the vases to the buffet and bringing in a grapevine basket filled with leaves for dinner makes good sense.

Brought in the mercury glass candleholder to pick up on the silver edge of the chargers, the flatware and the napkin rings.

Cast:

Matelasse - vintage

Chargers - One King's Lane; Golden Rabbit

Mikasa Daylight dishes - Mikasa, won on Alicia's Tablescape at Table Twenty One

Flatware - our everyday stainless by Gorham

Wood bowls - Ironwood

Wine Hocks - Stein Mart

Napkins - Tuesday Morning

Napkin rings - Stein Mart

Mercury Glass candleholders - Jackalope, Santa Fe, NM

Wooden candleholder - Taos, NM

Clear votive cups - Dollar Tree

White vases - Tuesday Morning

Grapevine mesh - Hobby Lobby

Pecans and limbs - outside our doors

Thanks so much for dropping in. I hope you'll leave a comment letting me know you were here and making it easier for me to reciprocate a visit. 

I'm linking up to the Hostess with the Mostest - Susan at Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday party. I hope I see you there!

 

Monday Photo of the Week - Nesting

We've had some glorious fall temperatures and weather.

Forget about the haboob we had several weeks ago.

Daytime temperatures have been mild.

Nights are cool.

My favorite time of year. 

we've been nesting. installing drapes. layering. ordered wood for the fireplace. pulling out the down comforter. getting out the jackets and sweaters. planning Thanksgivings. browsing catalogs. looked for a new Chris†mas tree.  Nesting.

What are you doing to get ready for the cold and holiday season?