Pomegrantes and Pumpkins!

I recently (and unexpectedly) bought some plates from Pier One. I used them in a pear-themed tablesetting a few weeks ago. I love these plates and have been using them almost daily this fall. We  hosted another couple for dinner and I wanted to use the plates but not do the same pear emphasis (I get bored easily!) The plates also have figs and pomegranates on them.  It just so happens that I have a big box of pomegranates in my garage as I am starting my annual pomegranate juicing/jelly making production. I started thinking about how I could incorporate those pomegranates in my tablesetting. 

During the fall I usually have this antique dough bowl filled with small pumpkins and gourds.  It's so simple and pretty. I added a few pomegranates to the mix.  Wow, that spark of red added a lot of color and tied the plates into the centerpiece perfectly! Combining pumpkins and pomegranates had never occurred to me before but I really like the combination of colors it makes.

 

 

I added some gold napkins, my Woodland Spode silverware, and some amber water glasses. Votive candles in gold holders added a little sparkle. I was able to put together a pretty table with little effort. I love it when things go together like this! 

I made the burlap table runner last year, see these instructions.  It's simple but has a little touch of elegance with the white ribbon. 

Please join me at Tablescape Thursday for more tabletop inspiration!

Pear Tablesetting (and how shopping can be dangerous!)

It all started with a table runner.  I got an e-mail from April Cornell with their latest fall designs and fell in love with a yellow and blue runner, with pears and blue birds on it. A few weeks ago I set it out as part of my introduction to this year's fall decorating.  It's just too hot around here right now for me to be thinking about decorating with pumpkins just yet! As the runner has birds in it I grabbed a birdbath-shaped ceramic bowl and filled it with pears and topped it with my bird salt and pepper shakers.  It made a nice display on my dining table.  I had no plans to do anything other than that.

Then I had to go to Pier One.  We were down to two wine glasses
in our motorhome and we like the cute and inexpensive wine glasses they sell. As I walked to the wine glass display I passed the linens section.  I needed some new white napkins so grabbed six of them.  I fell in love with the blue/green variations on the wine glasses, they will go well with the interior of the new motorhome we just bought, so, in my basket they went!  As I turned the corner to go to the cash register I spotted a dish display with plates and bowls with figs, pomegranates and pears.  Yes, pears! My mind started whirling, thinking of the table setting I could make with these plates and my runner. Yes, they also went in my cart! A quick trip into the store ended up being a little pricier than I had budgeted for! (I also have to figure out where I'm going to put six more plates in my already-full garage cabinets!)

My Hubbers had been hinting around that I hadn't made sugar cookies in a while.  It just so happens that I have a pear cookie cutter. All this hoarding does sometimes pay off!  I think they made an adorable table decoration as well as a tasty treat for our guests!

Coincidentally, the wine glasses went well with this table setting.  I may need to buy a few more to keep at the house as these are going in the RV!

Now I'm on the lookout for material or a table runner with pomegranates on them.  These plates will be used for many fall dinners.

I'm linking up to Tablescape Thursday.

Sunflowers and Bees!

Each year I plant a package of sunflower seeds in a corner of my flower bed. I love watching them grow, some days it seems like they grow a foot overnight! I look forward to when they will bloom, they are such a bright and festive flower! Once we have blooms, the bees flock to the flower heads, they are a natural pairing. In the fall, once the flower heads have dried up, I harvest the seeds and leave for the birds during the winter months. My flower beds are full of color but they also serve to nourish the birds, bees and butterflies.

I brought sunflowers and bees into the house for this tablesetting. The sunflower plates are new (Pier 1), everything else I had, so it was just a matter of mixing and matching until I got the look I was envisioning. I ended up having a lot more green than I wanted, so added a pop of pink in the Gerbera daisies, to bring out the pink that is in the pitcher.

 

Our front door even has a sunflower in the form of this wreath I bought through an Etsy vendor.  I have had so many neighbors stop and tell me how much they like this on my bright red door!

Today I'm linking up to Tablescape Thursday.

A Bicycle (Dinner) Built For Two!

My Hubbers is an avid bicycle rider.  He has ridden across the U.S.A., up and down the west coast, along the Pacific Northwest, Iowa, and along the Mississippi River, just to name of few of his jaunts.  Each summer, he and his small group head out on a 2-week bike trip.  This year it was to southern Idaho/Northern Oregon.  They were gone 12 days. He was home one day before I headed to Disneyland with my granddaughters and their moms. By the time I got home we were both missing each other and longing to catch up on all our events. It was time for a nice quiet dinner!

I bought these napkin rings a few years ago at Sur La Table.  Using them was especially fitting for this evening, I thought! They more resemble the beach cruiser bike I ride than his touring bikes (he has 9 bikes, including 2 tandems!) but I knew he would appreciate the sentiment.

 Again, I just mix 'n match pieces I have until I come up with a table setting that pleases me and matches my theme for the evening.  Tonight's table setting was especially festive and colorful! I used some yellow Fiesta Ware as well as the red Pioneer Woman salad plates. The red in the napkins picked up the red in the napkin rings. The placemats are reversible, a two-for-one purchase I think! The yellow flatware was purchased at Target, many years ago.  I only paid $12.99 for the four place settings, the tag is still on the box!

We had a nice filet mignon dinner, some good wine.  He told me all about his trip and we talked about my trip with the girls and how fast they are growing up.  We had a decadent dessert, too.  We probably should have gotten on a real bike afterwards and burned some calories!

Today I'm linking up to Tablescape Thursday.

A Cherry (& Cheery!) Tablesetting

I like to set a nice table and to play with dishes. Perhaps I never outgrew that from when I was a child? It's a creative endeavor for me and I like making my guests feel special, that I went the extra mile for them. Doing so doesn't take too much effort, I'm already setting the table anyway, so I look for ways to make the table settings a little more festive.

My husband thinks I have a vast reserve of dishes somewhere because he will swear he's never seen a certain one before.  I have about four sets of complete dishes or china, the rest are mix 'n match pieces.  I like to buy solid-colored plates and then accent them with decorated and color-coordinated salad plates.  I buy them at garage sales, thrift shops, Pier 1, close-outs at Macy's. He teases me about my obsession but he also enables me.  Recently I saw these salad plates at Pottery Barn.  I sent him an e-mail link along with a big hint.  Low and behold, they showed up on my doorstep not long after!

On this night, I paired the plates with these red dishes I bought at Wal Mart.  They are from the Pioneer Woman's collection. They look so much more expensive than they actually were.  I love the raised detailing on the rim.

 

 

I made the table runner a few years ago, as well as the embroidered napkins. I originally made them for a cherry-themed luncheon I hosted.  I use the table runner a lot around the 4th of July as the colors are very patriotic.  The red silverware was purchased, on closeout, at Target.

This jar carrier sits on my dining table the majority of the time.  About every 10 days I head to the flower market and buy some fresh blooms. When I win the Lottery the florist is going to be added to my speed dial list, I love fresh flowers around the house!

Today I am linking up with Tablescape Thursday.  You will find a lot of inspiration there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My table is set, pumpkin pies are cooling, pie dough is ready for the apple pie. Vegetables have been washed and prepped.  The serving dishes are assembled, wine fridge is stocked.  I think we are ready for the big day!  We will have a small crowd this year, only 8 of us.  We started with a larger number and it's gradually gotten to this.  Alas, I ordered the turkey for a larger crowd, have a 21-pounder in the fridge. Yikes! My guests will get take-out containers of turkey and I'll be incorporating leftover turkey in all sorts of things in the coming days! 

I kept the table pretty simple this year, some pumpkins, gourds and a few flowers.

Our menu is pretty basic and doesn't change much from year to year.  On this day of the year it seems that everyone wants the familiar menu, it's not the day for change.  We will be serving:

Roast turkey
Cornbread dressing (we don't stuff the bird)
Mashed potatoes and giblet gravy
Sweet potato soufflé
Sauteed green beans with cranberries and bacon
Cranberry sauce (homemade and my Hubby's favorite, the canned jellied kind!)
Homemade yeast rolls

Pumpkin pie
Apple streusel pie

I love the Woodland Spode dinnerware. Someday I will splurge and get the china.

I love this holiday.  It incorporates so many of my favorite things, I call it the 4-F holiday...Food, Family, Friends and Football.  And naps.  How bad can a holiday be when you get to stuff yourself with a great meal then get to take a nap?

 

I love a little splash of purple with the traditional fall colors.

There is a lot of turmoil in our Country right now but we all have so much to be thankful for. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt "Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds."

Mother's Day Luncheon

I think this is the 6th year that I've hosted a luncheon for Mother's Day.  I always do it the Saturday before Mother's Day to eliminate conflicts with other family celebrations.  It seems to work out well this way. This year we had a full house, everyone was able to attend, from my Mom to my six-day-old great-nephew.

I tend to find a theme for my gatherings.  It helps me stay on track with decorating.  This year my theme revolved around doilies. I made banners sewing scraps of material onto paper doilies. I incorporated doilies in a Mom banner I made.  My dessert dishes and cake plate have a doily-style edge to them.  And, of course, I incorporated doilies that my Grandmas made.

My sister provided the lunch food.  We dined on chicken salad and egg salad sandwiches, pasta salad and fresh fruit.  Just enough to satisfy our hunger but left room for dessert, a yummy strawberry lemonade cake (decorated with a doily banner!)

I used lots of flowers on the tables. One can never have too many flowers!  Each adult was able to take a mason jar arrangement home. 

In addition, I made each adult a tote bag, stenciled with a doily and their initial.

For the kids' table I covered it in white paper and put crayons on the table.  This entertained them for a while but soon they were off to the bedroom to play, letting the women catch up with each other and enjoy some laughs. 

It was a wonderful time with the most important ladies in my life and our children. Happy Mother's Day!

I'm linking up to Inspire Me Tuesday!

Mother's Day Brunch

I've hosted Mother's Day Brunch for 4 or 5 years now. It's on the Saturday before Mother's Day. That way there are no conflicts with kids' in-laws or their own family plans. This year we had 11 in attendance...my Mom, my sister, my two nieces, two great-nieces, my step-daughter, daughter-in-law and two of my grandaughters. It was an age span of 17 months to 74 years!  Unfortunately, the 3 a.m. "crud" hit my daughter's house so she and my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter were unable to attend.

I try to keep the brunches to a theme, I find it gives me a direction for my decorating and food choices. This year the theme was "cherries". As cherries are now ripe in our area it's a timely theme, too!

I set two tables; one for the children and one for the adults. I kept the kids' table very basic and kid-friendly using paper plates, napkins, paper placemats. I included color crayons, some games, cherry-flavored popcorn. Also, at each place setting, were cherry-themed necklaces my niece made.

For the adult table I found some vintage-looking fabric and made a table runner. Again, I kept things pretty simple but it was still pretty. I found cute red pots at Beverly Fabrics and had a local floral shop put flowers in them. Each of my guests got to take an arrangement home.

I also made some cherry bath scrub that was set at each place setting.

I saw napkins similar to these on Pinterest so put my spin on them.  I used one of my rubber stamps to make the outline for the stem & leaf, emroidered them with a simple backstitch, then added buttons to make the cherries.  My Napolean Bee silverware adds to the springy theme.

We had a nice lunch of chicken salad (with dried cherries), fresh fruit salad & sour cream muffins.  Desserts were sugar cookies and chocolate cupcakes, filled with cherry filling, topped with cherry buttercream and chocolate ganache.

One of the gifts for my Mom was also cherry-related.  Again, a Pinterest-inspired creation.

 Here is my Mom and 4 of her 6 great-granchildren.  I think the smiles show that we had a wonderful brunch and many memories were made!

It's Thursday and I'm joining the group at Tablescape Thursday!