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

New pieces from Noritake tablescape

You cannot imagine my delight when I got an email from Noritake a few weeks ago. It said I had won the Noritake Piedmont Platinum Accent Plates. Wow. Oh yay!! Can you spell excited??!!!

I just knew they would work so well with many of my dishes. I had planned to deck the table with my these pale blue accent plates and my wedding china, but I think I'll save that for another day. Isn't the square shape wonderful. That's platinum on that plate!!

 

For our Sunday dinner with my 97 year old dad, I pulled out the pale blue Williams Sonoma linen tablecloth and as much crystal as I dared put on the table. 

 Including crystal knife rests from the mister's grandmother. 

 Mikasa Parklane water goblets, Libbey Rock Sharpe wine goblets and unknown Champagne flutes.

White flowers always pop on a pale cloth. Simply mini-mums keep the table from looking too formal. 

The guys already cringe at white napkins!

 

Wedgwood Windsor dinner plates and Old Company Plate's Signature silver complete the look.

 The silver Gorham Chantilly candlesticks are hard workers around here.

How do you keep your white napkins clean? I place mine in an oxyclean bath directly after dinner.

Let them soak a while. It will not hurt. 

Whereas bleach weakens the fibers. Always.

I'm still collecting silver trays. Can you ever have too many?

I love how many different edges are available. It's so hard to pick a favorite.

Do mums make you smile? Oh gosh, these last so long and bring so much joy.

 I hope you had a pleasant visit. I'd love to have you grace our table!

Thank you Noritake for the wonderful pieces!!!

Cast:

Tablecloth - Williams Sonoma linen

Silver chargers - vintage silver trays

Dinner and bread plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Salad plates - Noritake Piedmont Platinum

Flatware - Old Company Plate Signature

Water goblet - Mikasa Parklane

Wine goblet - Libbey Rock Sharpe

Champagne flute - unknown

Candle holders - Gorham Chantilly

Crystal basket - unknown

Joining Tablescape Thursday over at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch.

Hope to see you there!!

Leaving you with our blue moon!

Hoppy Easter 2013 Tablescape

 

I welcome you to my warren. A warren of bunnies that is. 

 These darling bunny plates hopped their way from their warren at Williams Sonoma to their new warren in Lubbock, Texas via UPS!  Here's a tip: If you see something on line that is out of stock.. call the catalog, they can tell you which stores still have stock. Call the stores, order your merchandise and it shall come to you!

Ordered some. Needed more. Followed the tip above. 

Aren't they darling?

I paired them with their matching napkins on a gingham placemat that I was the lucky one to win from Linda at More Fun Less Laundry. Just love these. So very versatile. Run over and pay Linda a visit and tell her I sent ya!

And I pulled out those green DT goblets again. You know, the color is just so good. I keep checking to see if they get them back in. A girl can never have enough dishes, glassware or shoes! They are still available online HERE.

I might just have to order a dozen more green, the blue is out of stock :-(!!

And then. 

I invited the Pier One dancing bunnies. They sure know how to party.

Just say I told you so. 

And the green vases I found a while back from, ya you guessed it, Dollar Tree.

I just knew they would be so perfect to march down a table.

With all the frivolity going on, the silver came out to tone down the partying bunnies.

I used some fabulous fauxs for this table. Just because it's not quite Easter - yet.

Even the sun came out to play when it saw how much those frolicking bunnies were having.

Silver trays for chargers, white Wedgwood plates, Old Company Plate silver and World Market floral napkin rings. Here's another tip: if you can't find the finishing pieces to Estate Sale silver, check Ebay. You be surprised at how reasonable you can find the missing pieces. I have enough of this now to serve a small army, or the entire family and their friends.

Some is monogrammed, some not. Antique dealers want 5x more than what I paid on Ebay.

This pattern came about in 1950. The majority of the pieces came monogrammed. 

Pier One had the cutest bunnies this year. I did remove the brown gingham ribbon from around their necks and change it out for some green. I've got a few more around the house sporting pink, orange and blue neckware. 

Promise I'm not on a ladder. My Canon has a vari-angle viewer. I reach way up by the chandelier, point down and click away.

For the new potatoes, I like to serve chive butter in individual butter dishes. 

Set the butter out to come to room temperature. Work it with a fork, or the beater blade of your mixer. Add in a bit of salt, I always buy unsalted, and then the chopped chives. 

I was so excited to be able to use chives from my basket on the kitchen porch! They came back from last year. Oh yeah, I was pleased as a peach.

Cast:

Placemats - checked and yellow - Villeroy and Boch

Silver trays - estate sales

Dinner Plates - Wedgwood Windsor

Salad Plates - Williams Sonoma Yellow Banded Easter

Napkins - Williams Sonoma Yellow Banded Easter

Silver - Old Company Plate

Candlelabra - Vintage

Green vases and Goblets - Dollar Tree

Bunnies - Pier One

Butter dishes - One Kings Lane

Napkin rings - World Market

Wishing each of you a beautiful day and a blessed Easter. 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! On the third morning He arose, Bright with victory o'er his foes. Sing we lauding, And applauding, Hallelujah!

John Mason Neale

I love your comments and get to know you more that way! What a blessing that is.

I'll be sharing my joy at

Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish

and

Susan's Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. 

See ya there!