"Pining" for Christmas Tablescape

   It’s Christmas week, can you believe it?! With our weather fluctuating between 75° and 36° highs, it’s hard to get a grasp on just what time of the year it actually is.

I am in love with nature and the color green, so when these pine cone plates became available, I pounced on them. Both beautiful and educational, each one is different, and provides both the common and Latin name for the tree they represent as well as illustrations of the seed, greenery, and both mature and immature pine cones.

The pine cone salad plates (from Creative Co-Op) pair nicely, I thought, with the pine branch and pine cone-edged dinner plates that I got from Pottery Barn a couple of years ago. Both of these get a wonderful punch of color from the green edged, Italian chargers underneath from Roma New Works.

 

The wicker placemats set on top of my favorite checkered tablecloth on which I put a rustic table runner that I got from Pottery Barn this year.

The centerpiece of lighted greenery and frost-laden pine trees provides a nice backdrop for the Pottery Barn twig reindeer in both full-size and miniature as candle holders.

 The pine cone flatware is from one of my favorite places to shop for flatware, Cabela’s.

The “Fa La La” napkins with their text in muted gold are similarly from Pottery Barn, and brighten the table with a bit of sparkle.

The green water glasses were my mother’s. I love the jewel-toned depth of color here. The mugs are by Maxcera, and are in the “Postcard Owl” pattern. I found them appropriate because while they feature an owl on the front side, there is a lovely pine cone image on the back that I found suitable for this table.

 

 Because this table isn’t overtly Christmassy, I plan to use it to take me into the New Year, and a couple of days beyond. After which, this will be replaced with a more wintry tablescape.

Merry Christmas to all of you! Try to relax and enjoy.

 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

 

Red, White, and Blue Salad with Candied Pecans

This salad is perfect for summer and its patriotic holidays, as well as being elegant, and super easy to assemble. Have your blueberries and strawberries washed and prepped ahead of time, as well as the baby spinach. Candied pecans are a breeze to make, you can find that recipe here, but don’t eat all of them before it’s time to serve your salad because they are quite tempting. Then, it’s nothing more than piling it up on a plate, and dressing it with the best balsamic vinaigrette ever. Or, you can serve the dressing on the side.

Red, White, and Blue Salad with Candied Pecans

 

1 bag fresh baby spinach
1 4-oz. container blueberries
1 small container strawberries

Feta
Candied pecans
Balsamic vinaigrette

Place ingredients, in order, on serving plates. Drizzle with vinaigrette, or serve it on the side.

 

 

Wearing 'o the Green Tablescape

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up on Saturday, and my table is wearing ‘o the green in celebration.

I am a big fan of green and white, and, as a consequence, I thoroughly enjoyed putting this table together.

The Fitz & Floyd pitcher centerpiece belonged to my mother. When, a dozen or so years ago, I started having the St. Patrick’s Day dinner, she passed it on to me. It has become as much of a tradition as the corned beef!

I decided to fill it with flowers this year, instead of my usual pot of shamrocks. That turned out to be a bit of a mistake. This pitcher is huge!

It has a very wide opening, and the sad bunch of flowers that I had picked up at the market needed some serious help, so I filled in with some artificial flowers. I think I pulled it off.

I topped it with a vintage St. Patrick’s Day card from the collection of St. Patrick’s cards that I started a while ago. Isn’t it sweet?

This year, I’m happy to say, I was finally able to locate a pair of leprechaun salt and pepper shakers to match the pitcher! This Fitz and Floyd pattern goes back to the 80s, so they’re not all that easy to find. I’m happy to have this whimsical addition to my table.

The wine glasses are new this year and from Pier 1. I thought they added a bit of sparkle and whimsy to the table, plus they hold a lot of wine!

The napkins with the shamrocks are new as well. I found these, believe it or not, on Amazon. They are nice, large, and quite colorful, not to mention low in price. You can find them here.

The chargers, a gift from a blogger friend, are used more often than any others in my collection. The white plates, “Blanc Amelie” from Versailles, are also among my favorites, because they blend with everything. The raised border gives them a rather elegant look; the mugs are this pattern as well. 

 Lotus bowls that I generally use for serving Asian food, worked well here as vessels for shamrock cookies.

The lidded soup bowls I have had for about 40 years. They are handy for a variety of foods and make a very special presentation. 

If you are celebrating this year with a dinner or gathering, tell me about it, I love to hear what others do!

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Valentine Breakfast Tablesetting

  Yesterday I gave you six ideas for making some delicious breakfast or brunch dishes. Today I am showing you a simple but lovely table setting that you can effortlessly create to serve your delicious breakfast treats.

 Not all tables have to be over-the-top fancy and loaded with eye candy. Those tables are fun, don't get me wrong, but when I have the first meal of the day, I like to enjoy it in peace and quiet, sipping espresso and nibbling a croissant, while watching the birds at the feeder and listening to the rustle of the morning paper behind which Mr. O-P is huddled and happily engrossed.

  I chose a simple black and white color scheme with a shock or two of red, one in the Sur La Table Italian ceramic napkin holder (the napkins belonged to my mother), and the other in the Fiestaware pitcher full of white Alstromeria.

 

 The white plates were bought years ago for 50 cents apiece at Old Time Pottery.  That was one of the best investments that I ever made.  The white cups and saucers are from Amazon.  The white bowls and condiment set are from the Pottery Barn Great White Collection.

 The whimsical plastic flatware is from a picnic basket set that we got as a wedding gift (20 years ago) from Crate & Barrel.

 

 The little black polka dotted under plate is from 222 Fifth and yet another great investment as I seriously use these plates everywhere, here and here for example. No one has an inkling that they are Christmas plates.

 The glassware is my favorite La Rochere.

 

This post is linked to:

Table It Monday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Before and After Wednesday

Open House Party

Centerpiece Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Thursday Favorite Things

Tablescape Thursday

Create It Thursday

Home and Garden Thursday

Show and Tell Friday 

Friday Unfolded
Fridays Flash Blog
Simple and Sweet Fridays

What To Do Weekend 
The Weekend re-Treat

Feathered Nest Friday

The Weekend Social

Summer's Swan Song

 While white is not supposed to be appropriate after Labor Day, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create a final summer tablescape using as much bright white as possible.  With temperatures last week and the upcoming week in the upper nineties (What?!) it’s hard to believe that it is actually September and we are just weeks away from fall. So I am calling this table my summer “swan song.” 

I was inspired by these sheet music flowers that served as centerpieces on tables at the wedding of my very musical number two son, and his equally musical wife, nearly four years ago.

Set for brunch, I used white ramekins as the perfect holders for spicy bran muffins. 

 Chinese butterfly dishes, normally used for holding hot mustard and sweet & sour sauces, served to hold pats of butter on one side, and homemade jam on the other.

Mint and cucumber-infused water is especially refreshing on a hot day.

Mismatched silverware is both elegant and casual at the same time.

The edging on these napkins is interesting, I think, making them one of my favorites.  This was my first set of napkins, given to me by my mother when I was still in high school back in the seventies.

White makes things feel cool even on the hottest of days.

Placemats – Pier 1
Runner – Pottery Barn

Dishes – Old Time Pottery

Glasses – La Rochere

Ramekins – Home Goods

Butterfly Dishes – Pier One

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sundays

Amaze Me Monday

Tabletop Tuesday

Tutorials Tips and Tidbits

Wow Us Wednesdays

Centerpiece Wednesday

Inspiration Gallery Thursday
Transformation Thursday
Open House Party

 The Charm of Home
 At The Picket Fence

Let’s Dish!

Tutorials Tips and Tidbits

Tablescape Thursday

Be Inspired Friday

Feather Your Nest Friday
 Show and Tell Friday