Christmas at the Lake Tablescape

This is a table that came about quite by accident. I was clearing things off of the large table in the dining room, placing some of the pieces on my table for two in the conservatory. Before I knew it, I had a nice table setting coming together, so I just went with it.

 The canoe once belonged to my mother. She had a very rustic, woodsy guest bedroom that I always loved. When I had to clear out her and dad‘s house, I took everything from that room, but up until now wasn’t entirely sure how to use it all. I had brought the canoe up from the belly of the beast and just set it on the table in the conservatory and loved the way it looked. I decided I was going to go with a rustic, in the woods, by the lake kind of vibe.

The placemats are among my favorites and are from Pier One. If I’m ever struggling to get in the Christmas spirit, these placemats always do the trick.

They are topped with tin chargers on which I have placed both an earth tone stoneware dinner plate, and black stoneware salad plate, each from different collections. On top of the plates are super cute little sauce pitchers that I am absolutely in love with. They work well at breakfast for syrup, or at dinner for barbecue sauce, mustard sauce, or horseradish sauce, depending upon your entrée.

The napkins and the twig reindeer (one of a set of three) are from Pottery Barn. I’d like the casual, knotted look that forms a half circle around a green-stemmed dessert dish that I inherited from longtime family friend, Betty. To replicate the bells in the placemats, I chose larger bell ornaments, and I love the look. Each guest can go home with one as a remembrance of the gathering.

The coffee mugs are new this year and I think they work well here. The champagne flutes I have been using for a variety of different cocktails, so I couldn’t resist putting them on this table to give it a bit of sparkle.

The flatware, one of my favorite sets, is from Cabela’s.

 The rustic tea lights (aren’t they adorable?) are bits of hollowed out bark. They are perfect for this table! In the photos you’ll notice that I used real tea lights. I think I would use faux tea lights if I planned to have them burning for any length of time. I wouldn’t want to catch the wood bases on fire.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this table as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Pretty much everything on this table came from Amazon. Click on the highlighted names of the various pieces to take you directly to the listing.

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

 

Chilling in the Northwoods Tablescape

Today my mother will be gone six years. I tell you this only because, with the passing of time, dad has found it a tiny bit easier to part with her things. I never ask him for anything, I just wait for him decide, and accept gladly.

This past week he was in the “Northwoods” theme guest room, looking around at things, and asked me if I would like the display that she had on the shelf. It was just getting dusty in his house (and much to my chagrin some of the dust is still visible in the pictures), and he wondered if perhaps I could put these things to use. Absolutely!

It had been a long time since I had last seen these things, so I have to admit that they really tugged at my heart. I thought they would make a wonderful centerpiece for a Northwoods table, and I do believe that I was right. It makes me feel as though I’m dining with my mother. Once the tablescape is taken down, I plan on finding a cozy little nook to put these things, they are just too precious to tuck away.

I hope you enjoy this table as much as I do.

The runner is a recent purchase from Anthropologie, and I absolutely love it.

The white chargers are from Pier One, and are topped with wonderful pinecone-edge plates from Pottery Barn.

Salad plates from Maison Versailles provide a base for the handled chili bowls.

Flatware is from Cabela — one of my favorite places to shop for flatware.

 The stemware, among my favorites because the smoky color goes with so many things, once belonged to my mom. 

The pinecone salt and pepper shakers look right in place on this mini charcuterie board.

The mini deer candleholders came from Pottery Barn years ago. I use them at Christmas and throughout the winter.

The gray plaid throw is from Pottery Barn, and I honestly don’t know where I got the pillow, but it expresses my sentiments during wintertime.

Stay warm everybody, I wish you all could join me for chili and cornbread.

This post contains affiliate links.

Home for the "Owl"-idays Tablescape

Here's a bit of presto change-o with my tablescape, changing it from my Boxing Day table, to a more informal table for a soup and salad supper. You may notice here that the table looks a bit smaller than the one that you saw in my Boxing Day post. You're right, it is a bit smaller. It's the same table, it's just that when I want to expand it for eight people from the maximum of six that it generally holds, I bring in a 4’ x 6’ piece of plywood to put on top in order to make it a bit bigger. (I also have a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood that I use for my larger dining table that makes it big enough to serve 10, or if we squeeze in tightly, 12.) You might consider this yourself. It's a whole lot cheaper to buy some plywood than it is to buy a new dining set if you need to seat more people.

This is a fun, simple, informal table, where I'm going to be serving bowls of my Busy Day Taco Soup, Italian salad, and homemade Everything Rolls.

If you follow me on Facebook then you'll know that I have gone over the moon for this Maxcera dinnerware pattern called Postcard Owl. I've only, thus far, been able to get the serving platter, the salad bowl, and four mugs, but I have been putting it to good use this season, I can assure you. I absolutely adore this set. The mugs are sturdy and heavy, and I have had many cups of soup out of them. I've also used them for cocoa and hot, spiced tea, talk about feeling all warm and cozy inside, they sure do it for me.

I was having a difficult time parting with the tree candleholders (that I mentioned in this post) that my dad and mom made for the season. When dad uncovered these this year and gave them to me, my heart just sang. I well remember when mother made these and how much I loved them at the time. It gave me the most wonderful feeling to have them on my table this year. So, I have decided that I am going to make them work in a variety of table settings all winter long.

The centerpiece has gotten bigger since you saw it last week. A dear friend of ours whom I’ve known for 23 years sent this to me. His name is Lennie, and he is a wonderful man. He got me through so many rough times this past year. I was shocked and pleased to see this beautiful arrangement arrive a couple of days before my party, but so happy to have it. It brings me such wonderful feelings of joy.

I've identified all of the plants in this arrangement (and I do love arrangements that I can replant and continue to watch grow), but I haven't been able to identify the little evergreen plant on the lower right just above the bow. If any of you know what this is, I’d really appreciate knowing in order to properly care for it.

I always love to include rustic elements with even the most elegant of tablescapes, so once again you're seeing the round rattan placemats. They're topped with red plates from Pier 1, along with a green pinecone plate that is new to me this year; they are very versatile and I absolutely love them.

I also love my new flatware from Cabela's (Did you know they sold flatware at Cabela's?) I'm going to be using this until springtime.

Take a look at these napkins! Aren't they darling, and just perfect for this table setting? These are paper napkins! I never use paper napkins, but when I was out with a couple of friends for lunch and a bit of holiday shopping, I stumbled upon these at one of my favorite places to shop, Oma’s Barn in St. Peters, MO (That you can read about here and here.), and had to buy these. I just love them, and I'm already thinking of ways in which to use them in holiday decor for next year. 

Keep this table setting in mind when you're out shopping the after Christmas sales. Informal lunches can stand to have paper napkins, particularly when they are this beautiful.

I hope you're able to relax these days, and enjoy the rest of the holiday season. Put your feet up and take it easy, sip some soup, and brace yourself for 2017.

Round Placemats – Pier One

Red Plates – Pier One

Green Pinecone plates – Amazon

Pine cone S&P - Amazon

Owl Mugs, Bowl, and Tray – Ebay

Flatware - Cabela's

Stemware - My mother's

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

 Inspiration Monday

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

Tablescape Thursday
Grace at Home
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
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