Showering Blessings for Baby Beatrice

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.

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The past months have been filled with the blessings of anticipation and joy at our house.  Our daughter and son-in-love are expecting their first baby mid-September.  We can hardly wait for sweet Beatrice Emmaline to make her entrance! My cherished grandsons are excited to have a new cousin.  Several weeks ago, some of my dearest friends hosted a beautiful baby shower for KC and Beatrice.  I wanted to share some of the pictures that I took with you.

  We knew immediately that it was going to be a special day when we walked through the front door and encountered this magnificent tablescape.

Absolutely one of the most beautiful floral centerpieces that I've ever seen.  The container is an antique wicker baby doll bed that belongs to one of the hostesses.  Don't you love the tall pair of twisted iron candlesticks with the sculpted roses.  They make a gorgeous statement.  One of the hostesses asked to use our precious Nana's pink and white organdy cloth.  You see it here puddled under the centerpiece.  

Lovely goodies awaited the guests.

I think that I gained five pounds by the end of the party.  Sigh.  I loved every bite.

A mix of marvelous Limoges Luncheon Plates lent a touch of refinement.  The elegant antique Battenburg Lace tablecloth belonged to Barb's mother.  Tip:  Barb's table is custom made and actually too large for this cloth.  Her decision to use it anyway was a brilliant design choice.  I love the way that the scalloped edge kisses the edge of the table.  Do you have cloths that just don't fit...make it work to your advantage.  Be creative!  Tip #2:  Battenburg is a fine old lace, but it has been poorly translated in later years.  If you have a choice between the new and the old, when it comes to Battenburg, wait for one of the beautiful old ones to come along.

 See what I mean?  Magnificent!

The bar was set for guests to serve themselves a cool drink...

...perfect for a hot summer day.

Gifts were gathered in the library.  Entertaining Tip:  Two of the hostesses actually took charge of opening the gifts and displaying them to be viewed by the guests.  They also listed each gift...by whom it was given, and from which store it was purchased.  This makes it much easier for the new mom to write her thank you notes and exchange possible duplications if necessary and allowed KC more time to really visit with her friends who were in attendance at the shower.  Also, if you or one of yours is given a shower, I recommend that you toss three good size laundry baskets in the back of your car.  When the time comes, the baskets make it so much easier to collect the gifts for the trip home.

Barb's beautiful home provided some wonderful spaces for everyone to enjoy good fellowship...

  This is one of the best kitchens that I have ever known for working a party.  The butler's pantry is through those glass double doors.

We've spent wonderful times gathered in this amazing family room.

 The breakfast room...a good spot for some of our Bible studies.  See those wine stems in the hutch. I painted those for Barb many years ago.

From the left:  My beloved KC has always been blessed with a gaggle of "other mothers".  Two of them, my dear dear friends Cindy and Ann were two of the magnanimous hostesses for our glorious day. KC went home with so many lovely things for our sweet Beatrice.  The generosity of friends is always so overwhelming and humbling.  I can't imagine my life without my sisters in Christ.  I pray that you are also blessed with friends who will celebrate with you during the good times and come up underneath you to lift you in prayer during the hard times.  My friends, these mighty prayer warriors, make life so very sweet.

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "TABLESCAPE THURSDAY."   Hop on over and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 10:00 AM on Thursdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

When I think of July this particular year, I think of my daughter as she awaits the arrival of her new baby girl, come September.  How about you?  With thankfulness for her dedication and efforts, I'm joining the multi-talented Tablescaper for her fabulous meme SEASONAL SUNDAYS.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday evening is the seventeenth edition of Cuisine Kathleen's meme, "LET'S DISH".  So excited to be a charter member.  Pop over (pun intended for the Chef Supreme Kathleen) and join the fun!

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  KC has just released her 5th studio CD project, "The Tag Hollow Sessions".  The sold out CD release concert was this past weekend.  "The Tag Hollow Sessions" is available on iTunes or through her website.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!  

Destination Fantasy Land Tablescape

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.



Our grandson Jack stayed with us for four days last week.  We had a ball, and I slept most of the day after he went home.  One of our adventures was a trip to the Oklahoma Museum of Art and the Dale Chihuly installation of his magical works.  As I photographed Chihuly's works, I kept choosing different pieces that I wanted to use to set a fantastical tablescape.  I thought that you might enjoy a stroll through some of the exhibit, and you can select elements for your own fantasy table design...from plates to centerpiece delights...I can only dream because even if they were for sale, I couldn't afford them.  Won't you dream with me?

Soup Bowls

 Floral Centerpieces

 Candelabras

Dinner Plates

Charger Plates...Be still my heart!

   

Accent Plates

 

Buffet Tables

  

Magical Goblets

And this one is for Alycia at Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One.  It brings to mind all the amazing tall centerpieces that she uses with such skill.  Can't you envision a trio of these marching down the center of one of her tables?  I can!

I can already see my tablescape beautifully laid out.  Which pieces would you add to your stash? We can always dream!

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "TABLESCAPE THURSDAY."   Hop on over and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 10:00 AM on Thursdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

When I think of July, I think of precious times with my grandsons, during their summer vacation.  How about you?  With thankfulness for her dedication and efforts, I'm joining the multi-talented Tablescaper for her fabulous meme SEASONAL SUNDAYS.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday evening is the sixteenth edition of Cuisine Kathleen's meme, "LET'S DISH".  So excited to be a charter member.  Pop over (pun intended for the Chef Supreme Kathleen) and join the fun!

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  KC has just released her 5th studio CD project, "The Tag Hollow Sessions".  The sold out CD release concert was this past weekend.  "The Tag Hollow Sessions" is available on iTunes or through her website.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!  

Summer Gold + Give Away Winner!

First things first...We are truly blessed to have the means to set a pretty table and invite our friends to join us for good food and fellowship. I am mindful that many are not so fortunate. My daughter has a passion for the work of the Food Bank. As a singer-songwriter, she has written and recorded a song that is the anthem for the world wide Crop Hunger Walk project. Her song, "Raise Your Voice" is featured in their video. I've included a link in the side margin of my blog. I hope that it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.



Entertaining Women's first blog post was July 7, 2010.  It's hard to conceive that I've been blogging my tablescapes for two years.  I never dreamed that I would be "published" in any format. It was always my Aunt Ida's dream for me, and I think that she would be happy.  I'm having even more fun with my blog today than when my daughter-in-love, Jamiann at THE BLACKBERRY VINE, graciously helped me figure out how to even start a blog.  I look forward to my third year.  I adore the many new blog buddies that I've come to care about, and I am humbled by your support and unending encouragement.  Thank you seems so inadequate.  I introduced my blogiversary give-away several weeks ago... HERE.  I used the random generator to select a name, and  I am pleased to announce that the winner of the 12 Mottahedeh "Sacred Butterfly" Dinner Plates is SARAH @ HYACINTHS FOR THE SOUL  Sarah, please email me your address, and I'll carefully pack the dinner plates and send them your way. I think that you'll enjoy them for many years.  Congratulations!

The Mottahedeh "Lion" Tureen, another of my eBay finds for a great price, has been residing on the dining table for the past few weeks...

...with a pair of white reticulated and lidded lanterns. The floral arrangements left over from the Fourth of July table still look nice, so I removed the red roses and added them to the dining table vignette.  By this point, my brain was on a roll, and I visualized a tablescape design in my mind.  I call it "Summer Gold."

I recently came across this inexpensive pair of long green crinkled fabric runners at a local shop.  Tip:  These runners are twice as wide as shown here.  I simply folded them in two to create runners approximately the height of a place mat.  It would be so easy to buy 54" or 60" wide home dec fabric, split it down the middle and hem it with your machine or pull out the Stitch Witchery and steam iron.  I also plan to criss-cross them on a round table for a party of four.  So versatile and fun!  I think that I'll go shopping for more fabric.

    Once I chose to go with the tureen and it's gold accents and the green runners, my color story was set...white, gold, and green...perfectly cool and inviting for a hot summer day!

The Acrylic Woven Gold Charger Plates were a $.99 for 12 eBay find.  They're light, so shipping was minimal...a great deal.  The gold sets the mood for the table.  I used a plain white dinner plate with a gold rim beneath our Nana's wonderful vintage crystal  accent plate with the green border.  At first, I placed the crystal plate directly on my workhorse dinner plate, the Wedgwood "Countryware" dinner plate, but the embossed rim of cabbage leaves "fought" with the crisp design work in the accent plate.  I added an additional layer by inserting the Limoges 10" white dinner plate with its simple gold rim.  Tip:  Why did I leave the Countryware plate in the stack?  The gold charger is quite large, and I left the "Countryware" in place simply to improve the proportion of white to gold.  Proportion can make or break a design.  If something looks "dinky" to you when you're creating your tablescape, your eye is telling you that you have a proportion problem.  Think about a room that you've fitted with furniture that ends up being too large...or too small.  We've all done it at some point.  I've been guilty of buying the huge, extremely comfortable sectional...only to get it home and realize that it's way too large for my room.  I don't care how many years it sits there, it never looks right when it's out of proportion.

The crystal accent plate dictated the composition of the stack.  Its crisp stylized motif demands companions that don't distract.  Tip:  The Limoges Gold Rim White dinner plate was picked up for a pittance at a local antique store.  I bought a stack of them.  Some of them are the Limoges, and some of them are virtually the same plate by Johnson Brothers.  When shopping for vintage plates, don't be afraid to mix different brands.  Any minor differences will not be noticed by your guests.  Remember, in the final analysis, each person will be examining only one plate...the one that's directly in front of them.

The gold-tone bamboo flatware continued the tone for my design, and the Williams-Sonoma hemstitched linen napkin in a slim tri-fold added a nice crisp pop to the table.

The Waterford "Simply Lime" goblet 'played well with others today.  Can you see the horizontal 'slash' cuts at the base of the bowl?  I liked the way that they co-ordinated with the palm fronds in Nana's Lalique tumbler.  I also chose the Lalique because the frosted cut-work added another impression of white to the table.  I like the shape of the goblet mixed with the Val St. Lambert crystal candlesticks strolling down the center of the table.

  Our son and his family are coming tomorrow to spend the night before driving their older son to Kamp Kanakuk in Branson, Missouri.  Our younger grandson is going to spend a few days with us while they make the trip.  We are so excited, and we've been making plans to do some fun things while he's here.

I can hardly wait to have our family gathered around the table for supper.  It will be a kid friendly meal; Sweet Mister is going to grill chicken and hamburgers on his new grill.  I'm headed  to the grocery store to stock up on fixins' that we'll need while our dear ones are here.  Do you have family coming soon?  I hope that you do!

Thank you, yet again, to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hosting her magical meme, Tablescape Thursday.  I'll be linking my post to "TABLESCAPE THURSDAY."   Hop on over and check out the myriad of marvelous tablescape designs, after 10:00 AM on Thursdays.  You'll be glad that you made the trip...it's a wonderful adventure.

When I think of June, I think of lazy summer days and time to share a meal with friends.  How about you?  With thankfulness for her dedication and efforts, I'm joining the multi-talented Tablescaper for her fabulous meme SEASONAL SUNDAYS.  Hope to see you there!

Wednesday evening is the fifteenth edition of Cuisine Kathleen's meme, "LET'S DISH".  So excited to be a charter member.  Pop over (pun intended for the Chef Supreme Kathleen) and join the fun!


It's always a treat to learn something new when I go exploring in blog land.  Tonight I'm excited to join Yvonne @ Stone Gable for her new meme, TUTORIALS, TIPS, & TIDBITS.  Bring your notebook...there's so much to learn!

You can check out KC's music at www.kcclifford.com, on iTunes, and on YouTube.  I hope that you'll take a few minutes and give her a listen.  You'll also enjoy reading back through her blog on this site.  The girl can really write!  KC has just released her 5th studio CD project, "The Tag Hollow Sessions".  The sold out CD release concert was this past weekend.  "The Tag Hollow Sessions" is available on iTunes or through her website.  I hope that you'll give her music a chance.  I know that I have zero objectivity where she is concerned, but I think that you'll fall in love with her music and her!