New Year's Breakfast Table Setting

Before I present you with my first tablescape of 2018, let me encourage you to get creative with your tables this year. It doesn't take a lot to arrange an attractive and inviting table. It need not be over-the-top. It can be simple; you can use what you have on hand, and make a cozy and delightful table, as I have done here for a New Year's Day breakfast.

It has been cold here, and I'm talking single digits, so I have been embracing all of my fuzzy pillows and throws. This morning, as I shivered my way from the bedroom into the kitchen to fire up the coffee, it made me smile to see such a warm and inviting table, with my favorite fuzzy throw at center. Here, practicality has been tossed out the window. Today it is all about fun, and a meal at a warm and cozy winter table like this one is going to be a meal that is enjoyed.

This was very simple to put together. I made use of the silver houses and twig deer that I had on my Christmas table, as well as some favorite wooden chargers from Pier 1, topping the stack of plates with this delightful clock plate, representing the New Year, a part of the Old Curiosity Shop set of dishes by Royal China.

I'm going to have to do an entire post on that set of dishes, because each dish has a different, Dickensian drawing on it, making this one of the most charming sets of dishes that I own.

For now, pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy.

Happy New Year, everybody!

SOURCES

White chargers & Spice colored plates - Pier 1

Salad plate  - Maison Versailles "Amelie"

Snack plate - Old Curiosity Shop by Royal China

Mugs - Williams-Sonoma

Flatware - Cabela's

Twig deer - Pottery Barn

This post is linked to:

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Make it Pretty Monday

Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Grace at Home

Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

Tablescape Thursday

This post contains affiliate links.

Boxing Day Brunch

While most people tend to celebrate the holidays on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, for the past 10 years I've been celebrating Boxing Day on December 26th. 

There are many reasons for doing so, the biggest one, I suppose, is that it's very convenient to get everyone together on the day after Christmas, rather than try to work around so many families and schedules in order to have a gathering on the 24th or 25th. The Boxing Day celebration has become a tradition in my house, everyone is happy to be beyond the stress of the holidays, they've gotten their gifts, they've relaxed, and now they can get together for conviviality and a great meal.

 I've been mixing things up a lot this year, doing things differently, in order to make new traditions in what will be Chapter 3 of my life. In the past I've always had a Boxing Day dinner. This year I decided to have a Boxing Day brunch. Prior to her passing, my mother had always been the queen of the Christmas brunch. She served brunch on Christmas morning every year of my life. When she passed away, it left a tremendous void. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to fill her shoes, but have been told by all of the attendees, that I did it in spades. The tree candle holders here are very special. My dad made them, and my mother painted them. She used them for years, and now I am honored to have them as my own.

I tried to pay homage to both my mother and husband, by serving some of their dishes. I honored Jim, who hailed from New Jersey, with a New Jersey Coffee Cake; I served my mother's Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake as well. The other recipes were all new. A lot of people, I'm told, would in no way feel comfortable serving a meal of all new recipes to a crowd, but I'm fearless, so I dove right in.

I knew it was a success when the children in the group went back for seconds on green beans. Have you ever heard of children getting seconds on the vegetable? Huge success! I also developed a new potato casserole that got thumbs up all around, based on the ubiquitous party potatoes, but so much better. 

This post is to give you a look at the two tables that I set for the brunch; in the upcoming week, I'll be providing you with the recipes.

 

Stay tuned, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or sign up to get email notifications of my blog. You are not going to want to miss any of these delicious recipes.

Happy New Year!

(As a side note, I'd like to mention that the little rocking chair by the tree was my dad's when he was a little boy. He used it, I used it, and now my granddaughter gets to use it. The Santa pillow is one that I stitched, and my mother sewed together. Lots of family memories here.)

This post is linked to:

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

 Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

  Amaze Me Monday

 Busy Mondays

Happiness is Homemade Monday

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Tablescape Thursday

Grace at Home
Simple & Sweet Friday
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Creative Ways Party
Share Your Style

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - Dinner with Friends

Sometimes having dinner with friends means something other than a festive gathering of people of various ages and backgrounds around a busy table with a lot of good food, conviviality, and conversation.  Sometimes it means having a peaceful  meal at a quiet table surrounded by things that have become friends due to the love and companionship acquired over the course of years.  In this case, the "friends" that surround this evening's table are my books, as I chose to set the table in the library for dinner.  It seemed appropriate then, to have a few books on the table as a part of the centerpiece.  A miniature Toby Jug of Sherlock Holmes surveys the scene.

I absolutely adore this set of dishes that I've been slowly acquiring on eBay.  How perfect are they for a literary setting like the library?

I love these scenes of Victorian London.

The literary design on the cup in the background is the perfect complement for the books.

Sources:

Table Runners: Pottery Barn

Brass Candlesticks: Virginia Metalcrafters

Candles: Bayberry tapers by Colonial Candle

Sherlock Toby Jug: Royal Doulton

Dishes: The Old Curiosity Shop by Royal (eBay)

Flatware: Fiestaware

Glasses: A wedding gift

This is linked to