Christmas Open House 2013

 

 

The Christmas Open House was a success!  There were only a few bumps in the road, like a bag was left at the grocery store that I didn’t discover until I started cooking.  The menu was changed slightly but no worries!  Then I accidentally put 7-Up in one punch when it was meant for the other.  Oh well, I didn’t let it get to me.

 

 

I made myself a promise this year that I wasn’t going to get overwhelmed and stressed out.  That is not the purpose of having this little get together.  It is to celebrate the season with our friends and family.

 

 

I told myself that instead of stressing to look at all the blessings that we have and just enjoy the Christmas season!  It’s a time for celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

 

It is a time to reflect back on the past year and acknowledge the blessings the He gave us!

 

 

It is a time to fellowship with family and friends!  To have a good time and a few laughs!

 

 

I think that was accomplished with this year’s Open House!  To see last year’s Open House, click here.

 

Wishing everyone a joyous and blessed Holiday Season!

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Kid Friendly Halloween Table

 

 

Wow, it’s been awhile since I did a tablescape!  I’ve had other things going on and haven’t had time to play with my dishes!  Even though I’m heavily involved in getting ready for a Halloween party, I wanted to take a break and do a table with some cute salad plates I picked up last year on Hobby Lobby’s clearance aisle.

 

 

Our local Dollar Tree had a few of these cute chair covers!  I thought they were perfect for the mood of this table!

 

 

I have had these cute metal jack-o-lanterns for years.  I put one of a candlestick to elevate it a little.

 

 

The black plastic chargers have a Halloween design around the edge and are topped with orange Fiesta dinner plates.  The salad plates have a vintage look.

 

 

Even though the blue plates have that Fiesta look, they are not.  I found them at Goodwill for 59 cents each and since I didn’t have any blue this color, I grabbed them up.  Ever since I painted the kitchen in the gray blue color, I’ve had visions of orange accents for the Fall!  To see more about the new color, click here.

 

 

Flatware is Reed & Barton and the vintage goblets were a yard sale find.  Have I mentioned that I still haven’t found my groove, so to speak, when taking pictures in my brighter colored home?  Before I had trouble with too little light and now I have too much!

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Soup Tureens on the Table

 

 

Lately, I seems that everywhere I turn, there’s a soup tureen.  I wanted some to display on top of my kitchen cabinets but only had one!  Within the last 3 weeks, I came across four and purchased three!  One was just a little too expensive for me plus it was a little too off white.

 

 

They ranged in price from 3 to 10 dollars each.  For this table, the place setting came first and while trying to think of a centerpiece, I decided to use the tureens!

 

 

White placemats ($ Tree), green wicker chargers (GW), white dinner plates (Pier One), green salad plates (JCP) were topped with a black floral salad plate (GW).

 

 

The black handled flatware was a Christmas gift from Savvy.  I think she purchased it from Amazon.

 

 

Pink napkins bring out the flowers of the plates.  The silver napkins were a Trash to Treasure find many years ago.

 

 

To add a little more silver to the table, I climbed up the ladder and dug these silver plated candlesticks that were in an upper cabinet.  I purchased them years ago off eBay and have never used them.  They were not quite what I expected when I ordered them.  Yes, I did take a moment to clean them!

 

 

The glassware is made by Mikasa in The Ritz pattern.

 

 

Please overlook the fan on the floor in the background!  I painted this room yesterday and used the fan to speed up the drying process in between coats!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Summer Table

 

 

I was going to start off by saying that I wanted to show off my new seafood plates from World Market when I realized that this is the first time that I’ve used any of the anything on this table, except for the vase!

 

 

The rattan chargers and the blue plates are both from GW.  My favorite here is the salad plates! I saw them online at World Market and they were marked down 1/2 half and since I was making a trip to the city, I dropped in the store.  They had 5 left with one having a chip but there was no sale sign.  I went to a sales clerk who scanned them and they WERE half off, and I had a coupon!  I love the bright red with the sea coral engraved in the white! 

 

 

That’s why I chose to use the PB coral in the centerpiece.

 

 

The red flatware is from JCP.

 

 

The vintage goblets were from a yard sale.  The napkins are from PB.

 

 

Two lobster, or for us Louisiana natives, crawfish plates and two crab plates!

 

 

Here’s an update on the breakfast are.  I ordered another blue button pillow from PB.  Now the pillows are balanced.  Next are the cushions.  I’m not liking the loose fit, I think I’m going to try some thicker fitter cushions.  What to do you think?

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Setting a Table with Purple Dinnerware

 

 

This is my first tablescape on the new breakfast table since this area was redecorated.  Instead of using a tablecloth, I took advantage of the white finish.

 

 

The centerpiece was the last thing to go on this table and I did walk around trying to find something to use!  I wanted something with a little yellow and went to grab these flower branches and decided to use the container they were being stored in. 

 

 

The place setting started with wicker chargers, vintage Homer Laughlin white chargers, purple dinner plates, floral soup bowls and vintage yellow napkins.  All pieces are from Goodwill, yard sales, and auctions.

 

 

Amethyst glasses are from Old Time Pottery.

 

 

Some votive cups with a little bling were also from Goodwill.

 

 

The flatware is made by Reed & Barton.  You can see the napkins bring out the yellow centers of the purple flowers on the bowls.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

Memories of Strawberry Girl

 

Livy, my summer helper, chose this tablecloth as the inspiration for this week’s tablescape.  It’s a beautiful green with a white bold print.  It was originally sold by Target but I purchased it at Dirt Cheap.  I then chose the strawberry bowls which started the entire theme! 

 

Source

 

They brought back memories of when I was a child and coloring in my mom’s copy of Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski.  Yes, I loved to color on things when I was little and all the black and white pictures were just calling out to me!  I can still remember laying on the the living room floor, under the coffee table, coloring underneath it…I actually colored the bottom of the actual table!  My mom still has her copy of this book, minus the paper cover, and I have asked her for it but keep forgetting to bring it home with me!

 

 

I was originally going to use black gingham napkins but I came across these vintage napkins with an embroidered strawberry on it.

 

 

The square red plates (JCP) were layered with green salad plates (JCP) and topped with the strawberry bowls which were a yard sale purchase.  The black handled flatware is from Amazon.

 

 

Candlewick tea glasses were paired with wine glasses from the Dollar Tree.

 

 

 

 

This pretty little tidbit server was a GW find, too!

 

 

How do you get inspiration for your tablescapes?

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life

 

Dessert Stations

 

 

Yes, I know the 4th is next week.  Yes, I know we’re expecting between 35 to 40 people for our annual 4th of July BBQ.  Yes, I know I haven’t planned any!  For goodness sakes, I just mailed the invitations yesterday!  Yes, I am a procrastinator, but I’m trying to get on the ball!  I wanted to set up a separate little area for desserts and have browsed Pinterest for ideas so at least I have a plan, kind of!  I have to tell you, I found some great ones!

 

Source

 

I love, love, love this first one!  Hunter has an old pie safe in the barn that I may get out and clean up to use.  I could use fabric or even scrapbook paper to line the back to give it a festive look.

 

Source

 

Putting food on ice is a necessity here in south Louisiana!  We won’t start our little shindig until about 6pm but it will still be pretty hot!

 

Source

 

I really like the idea of combining some nautical elements since we hold our party in the backyard around the pool.

 

Source

 

Party City has went all out on this fabulous table!

 

Source

 

I do love the vintage feel on this table!  I know the next one is going off theme here but I just had to share it with you!

 

Source

 

Just a simple bookshelf would work here!  Once again, line the back with some themed paper or fabric and you’re set to go!

 

Do you have any ideas for a dessert station!  If so, I sure would like to hear about them!

 

Sharing with:

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove

Centerpiece Wednesday @ The Style Sisters

Open House @ No Minimalist Here

Let’s Dish @ Cuisine Kathleen

Tablescape Thursday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Grace at Home @ Imparting Grace

Inspire Me Tuesday @ A Stroll thru Life