Valentine Table for Two

I don’t know about you, but over the course of time, it becomes more and more challenging to come up with a holiday table different from those that I’ve done in the past. This year I decided to put my clear  Duralex luncheon plates to good use by placing them on top of a plaid dinner plate from Pier One, and then use floral wrapping paper to place beneath the clear plate to make it appear as though it had a cluster of roses in the center. I have used these Duralex plates in the past here, here, and here, and enjoy the creativity involved in coming up with something suitable to put underneath each time. It can make a table setting deeply personal.

I wanted to incorporate neutrals, and I did by using a brown table covering, white shabby chic charger, and square black plate to form the base of my place setting. The red flatware I inherited from my mother.

The napkins were made by my cousin years ago. My mother taught her how to hem napkins, and these were among the first that she made. Happily, tiring of them over time, she gave them to me. 

I decided to use both red and pink in my table setting. The white pitcher is filled with pink tulips. A scattering of Valentine M&M’s add a bit of whimsy, not to mention dessert.

Speaking of dessert, I made delicious white almond cupcakes on which I piped pale pink almond butter cream frosting. I shared this with my number one son and his family, and they were over the moon with these.

I wanted to add a bit of crystal sparkle, so incorporated knife rests that I inherited from my mother, and used the crystal candle holders that the late Mr. O-P bought me as we celebrated our first Christmas together.

 

While I did send Valentines this year, opting to send them through Juliette, Georgia to get the special postal cancellation and cachet. I didn’t get as many done as I had hoped, so used the remaining as tabletop decorations.

 A trio of glassware rounds out the place setting. The cranberry cut glass liquor glasses hadn’t been used in quite a while, and I thought this would be a good time to get them out. The LaRochere wine glass will be put to use as will the pale pink pressed water glass.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours.

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Planning for Spring Tablescape

 A candlelight breakfast? Why not? Gazing outside imagining what will soon be, on an overcast but warm day like today, when the temperatures tickle 60°, I am champing at the bit to garden. With all of the seed catalogs that arrived in January, I am plotting and planning. This table is a tribute to people like me who get deliriously excited at a time of the year when others are wondering what to do.

 

I started with a neutral tablecloth and runner. It seemed only fitting that this table be topped with green leaf placemats.

On top of them are green Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf chargers. They are topped with a neutral, black square plates, on which I have placed a square green leafy luncheon plate by Fitz and Floyd, in their “Manhattan Garden” pattern. Plaid napkins are from Pottery Barn.

A Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf dessert plate tops this; a Longchamps wine label appetizer plate rounds out this garden inspired plate stack.

Mixing old with new, toast is being served on a vintage toast rack.

Adding a bit of whimsy is the garden gecko salt cellar from Pottery Barn, years ago.

The choice of stemware is a bit serendipitous. Is it properly placed? No. Do I care? Not one bit. Having recently stumbled upon the cranberry liqueur glasses that I bought about 35 years ago, I decided to get them out, wash them up, and use them for whatever beverage I like. The green water glasses are Villeroy and Boch; the wine glass is by Mikasa in their “Parklane” pattern.

What garden doesn’t have a butterfly or two? I had to add my white butterfly dishes that worked perfectly for serving butter pats and jelly.

The greenhouse at center gives an overall gardening feel. The sleeping Buddha, will awaken come spring.

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Serene Winter Tablescape

After all of the fairy lights, and bold colors of Christmas, I am more than ready for serene. I want soft tones, muted colors, peace, and quiet.

The first thing I thought of when I unwrapped this beautifully packaged black stoneware dinnerware set was that it reminded me of something that the Flintstones may have used at a fancy dinner party. That, or something excavated from an archaeological dig; I mean both of these statements in the nicest way. This stuff is gorgeous! In my opinion, it is a work of art. The free-form style of the plates and bowls is pure poetry. The cups that work for a hot beverage or cold without the handle are inspired. This unique pottery is certain to draw lots of comments.

It can be dressed up for something a bit fancier, or down for something delightfully bohemian. It will pair with absolutely any color that you happen to have on hand; ergo will work for any occasion, at any time of the year. It can be flashy or subtle based upon linens and accessories, like this darling cup from a set of Polka Dot dinnerware.

I was going for subtle, so that the food could sing. A wonderful way to highlight what you’re serving is to do so on a dark, subtle background.

 I used a chocolate brown tablecloth, topped with some of my favorite chargers of tin, and used beige linen napkins.

The polished black flatware gives it a bit of an elegant feel as does the crystal in the Mikasa “Parklane” pattern. A bit of added sparkle comes from the saltcellar set a table center.

The centerpiece consists of the candle holder (once my mother's) and one of my new favorite things, a Table Top Fire Pit; it runs on rubbing alcohol, can you believe it?! I tend to like a busy centerpiece even at the simplest of tables, so I added a trio of black vases. Come spring those vases will be used to force branches (hopefully forsythia) and that will make a nice contrast.

I wanted to do this understated tablescape to start off the New Year to show you how beautiful quiet can be. May the peace of the New Year be with you…and your table settings.

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Day of the Dead Table for Two

If you remember my Festive Fall Table from a couple of weeks back, then you also remember how beautiful the flowers were in the skull vase. They lasted so long that I had to use them again in this Day of the Dead tablescape. It is a simple tablescape, really, but it’s that simplicity that allows the individual elements to come through.

This Calavera fabric from Alexander Henry is quite eye-catching. Because it’s so busy, I tried to keep the table as clutter free as possible, while still driving the point home.

The skeleton candlesticks are new this year and from Michael’s. Aren’t they wonderful? I can see myself using these throughout the year in various mystery tablescapes.

For years I have been stalking the skeleton barware from Pottery Barn, this year I had enough rewards points to finally get a pair of wine glasses. They exceeded my expectations. They are good sized; the skeletons are detailed, and great fun!

The rhinestone studded ruby chargers are usually reserved for Christmas, but I thought they worked well here. They are topped with bright yellow Waechtersbach dinner plates on which I have placed a smaller skull plate that I got a couple of years ago from Pier One.

Gold flatware adds a bit of sparkle to the table.

When coffee or tea is offered up with dessert, I will do so with the addition of skull spoons as well as skull shaped sugar cubes that I found on Etsy.

Framed photos of those past would make a nice addition to this or any other commemorative table. Think of those you’ve lost and celebrate their memories.

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Festive Fall Tablescape

I honestly had no idea what I was doing with this table setting. It’s kind of a hodgepodge of all things fall. My aunt was coming for lunch to help me celebrate my birthday, so I decided to use some of my favorite things at the table in the conservatory. I used a chocolate brown tablecloth topped with a bohemian style runner, and woven placemats.

Number two son had brought me this lovely bouquet of flowers. The prior year he had brought me the skull planter with a succulent in it, but considering the succulent had outgrown that planter, I decided to use it as a vase, and loved the outcome.

 

The plates (that I had lost track of for almost a year) are my favorites for fall. They are by Maxcera and are the sunflower pattern. The green chargers (that weigh a ton!) I inherited from my mother. They have no markings on the bottom other than that they are made in Italy. I paired these with yellow stemware, and rust napkins.

 

The BoHo napkin rings are a new acquisition, and I just love them! You can find them here. They are packaged beautifully, and come with their own comb!

 

The mugs are a new acquisition as well. I thought they would pair nicely with a dark and spooky table using solely black and green, but they worked here as well.

The leaf bowls that I used for salsa are actually a partof a relish set. It’s rare that I use the relish set, but quite often that I use the bowls. In some pictures you will see little amber tea light holders. I used those to give a lovely glow to the table when the skies turned dark and ugly.

We had a delightful lunch and I suppose that’s all that matters. Hope you are enjoying a colorful fall!

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Cock-a-doodle-doo! Table for Two

I’ll bet, like me, you have a lot of things that you haven’t used in a long time. Apparently, I haven’t used this large chicken that makes up the centerpiece at this table in more than 10 years because I’ve never written about it on the blog, and I’ve been blogging for more than 10 years.

 I ran across it in the belly of the beast last week, decided to bring it upstairs, give it a good cleaning, and set a table around it. Here are the results. I think this is one of my most favorite tables. The colors are like an autumn sunset, so bold and beautiful.

 The bright red tablecloth that I used here is another one of those inexpensive linen tablecloths, of which I have many. There’s no reason not to stock up considering the low cost and the wide varieties of colors offered.

 I was tired of using the woven placemats that I believe I have used in the past three table settings, so I went with black to give it some drama.

On top of the placemats is a plate stack beginning with a Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf charger. This is topped with a deep yellow Waechtersbach plate that is then topped with an orange plate that I got from Pier 1.

I struggled with the napkins here. I tried a variety of autumnal solids, a couple of plaids, and ultimately decided that this cream colored napkin with the rooster on it from Williams-Sonoma was my best bet.

 

The flatware is Noritake.

The chicken glassware belonged to my mother. I don’t use these as often as I would like, but I think they work very well here.

The teapot and oversized mugs featuring a rooster on one side and a sunflower on the other are in the “Orange Rooster” pattern and are by Maxcera.

Aren’t the corn cob candlesticks the cutest?! I do not remember where I got them, but it was in one of the shops along Historic Main Street in Saint Charles, MO. (That really narrows it down for you, doesn’t it, particularly considering that stretch is about a mile long.) I don’t use these often, but when I do they always get comments.

 

What a colorful way to enjoy breakfast in the morning!

 

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