Garden Friends Christmas, 2016

I'm thrilled to begin entertaining for this year's Christmas season.  It's been a long time since I've been able to keep going through the preparation, the event, and the clean-up process that follows; it's such a blessing to have more energy again.  Today I am hosting the Christmas luncheon for my precious Bible study, the Garden Friends.  We're in the dining room, and I've prepared a table for 8.  Come on in...

 This table seemed to happen organically.

 I pulled the charger and dinner plate first.  After that everything seemed to say, "Here I am...pick me!"


This is the second time I've used the Vietri gold charger.  You also saw it here.  It's quickly becoming one of my favorites.  The Oneida Gold Beethoven flatware, an estate sale find, continues to get a good workout this season.  Although I've had it for quite a while, this is the first time that I've used the Waterford Anya Red tablecloth.


The keynote speaker for my design was the Royal Crown Derby Old Avesbury dinner plate.  Although definitely not an identifiable Christmas pattern, the Avesbury is absolutely a desirable choice for any celebration...such an exuberant and beautiful design.


The white hemstitched linen napkin with gold embroidery design was a recent eBay acquisition.  I think that these lovelies will be found on my table frequently!  The napkin ring is a Macarone ornament that I sent home with my guests as a party favor.


I love the deep amethyst tail feather on the exotic bird in the Avesbury dinner plate.  It was the reason that I chose the Waterford Simply Lilac goblet.  The wine is Glastonbury-Lotus Goldenrod.         



Voila!   Ready to party.


I took an old Glastonbury-Lotus gold bowl filled with floating orchids...


 ...a glittery gold garland that loops like a ribbon...


...a pair of Williams-Sonoma Brass Arlington  Hurricane lanterns...


...an assortment of sparkling gold Christmas trees from Hobby Lobby...


...a pair of hand blown amber glass balls...


...and bam!...we had a festive centerpiece for our Christmas luncheon.

 We dined on Chicken Tetrazzini, green salad, hot bread, cherry pie, and Texas chocolate sheet cake.  I was still full when dinner time rolled around.

Although it was a bitter cold day outside...

 ...it was welcoming and warm around our table today.  We lingered at the table a long time after lunch, laughing and sharing funny stories and sweet Christmas memories.  That's my definition of a successful Christmas party!

This week I'm joining:

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Blue and White for Four

Once again, I've missed you all terribly.  Let's just say that it's been an interesting year health wise, but as of now I'm feeling and moving better than I've felt and moved in years.  I'm pretty excited about the possibilities.  I'm going to give my blog another go.  I certainly have a backlog of tablescapes to share with you.  At times I'll probably share two tables at a time, or I'll never catch up.

This luncheon took place in early February, 2015.  A small group of close friends joined me for lunch, and the menu was Soup Soup.  Soup Soup is a wonderful company that literally makes homemade meals and stocks the display cases every single day for customers to come by and pick up meals or a la carte items to go.  They will even accept a recipe that you particularly like and prepare it especially for you.  When I say home cooking, I mean home cooking.  I may never cook again. Come on in.  We're dining in the living room at the games table.

I'm a died in the wool blue and white girl, and once I move past the holidays and hit the first of the year, I find myself heading straight for the blues and whites again and again. 

 A creamy matelasse tablecloth, an eBay find, suited my mood this day.

 Keeping it fairly simple, I found myself happily choosing a variety of blues.  Flowers were kept to a minimum with roses in a array of colors placed in small Waterford posy vases.

 This is Copeland Spode Ermine.  I love the design work on the finial and the handles.

 A pretty tureen is often one of my go-to centerpieces.  There are several reasons that I enjoy utilizing them.  They are really pretty.  They are a great height for a dining table, and your guests can easily see across them to visit with each other.  Finally it takes about five minutes to create your centerpiece, and on occasion you can even put soup in them.  ;-)  The quartet of candlesticks are cobalt depression glass.  They and the centerpiece are more of my eBay finds.

 The Zrike cobalt charger rested peacefully under the Copeland Spode Ermine dinner plate.   Today our everyday stainless steel flatware, Wallace Antique Bead sufficed nicely. 


Water was served in the Goddinger Sutton Place goblet, and the Libby cobalt goblet from Dollar Tree was available for guests who wanted wine with lunch.   

 Once you are seated, enjoy your view of the table!

 Lunch was comprised of King Ranch Chicken, simple salad, and an incredible, giant dinner roll...all courtesy of Soup Soup.  For dessert, I served my homemade Brandy Ice.


It was a cold winter's day, and after lunch we visited long into the afternoon.  At some point we all need to "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off." (Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse musical from the early 60's.  Most memorable song: "What Kind of Fool am I")  Next time you're having one of those 'Stop the World' days, come on by.  I'll pick up Soup Soup when I know you're on the way.

This week I'm joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Through Life

Tablescape Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

Thoughts of Home with White Spray Paint

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Christmas Gold

Continuing on with the non-stop onslaught of Christmas, 2014 tablescapes, as I make up for lost time.  I'm excited to finally be able to post these.  They've been sitting in my camera for what seems like forever.  Today I set a table for a small group of my high school friends.  Three of have known each other since the first grade!  We're seated at the games table in the living room.  Won't you join us?

I knew that I wanted to go strong with red and gold.  I really had fun with this one...

 You'll recognize the old ruby glass bowl in my centerpiece.  This is the second luncheon for this arrangement...it's lasted really well.  I made the tablecloth years ago...it's Dupioni silk.

There didn't need to be too many extra accoutrements for this table.  The gold pushed it almost over the top very quickly. 

 

Nana's monogrammed napkin in the holly napkin ring added a needed touch of softness.  

 The Waterford Simply Green was another soft touch...paired with the Glastonbury-Lotus Goldenrod goblet.  The Glastonbury-Lotus chiller was used for a first course of soup today.

 The base of my place setting was an acrylic woven gold charger...an estate sale find.

 Another charger, the Bormioli red plate was even more dynamic when placed on the gold chargers. It added a big pop of glitz to the design.

 The dinner plate is Coalport Cairo gold.  It added a nice quotient of "star power" to the design.

 You'l also recognize the gold flatware, a Dallas estate sale acquisition.

It was a great day for good food, precious friends, and Christmas fellowship.  Thanks for stopping for a visit.

Today I'm joining:

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

A Kaleidoscope of Sisterhood Memories, 10.17.14

"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 during this harvest season, it will encourage you to support projects in your community that contribute to the effort to overcome hunger.

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About every two years, I host a luncheon for the sorority sisters with whom I lived during my four years in college. This past Friday, I hosted the fourth luncheon for these precious women, and it was a perfect day in almost every way.  The October weather was delightful; we didn't even have our normal prairie wind sweeping down the plain.  Sisters arrived from all across our beautiful nation...from coast to coast they came.  Today I set 8 tables for my guests.  We're dining on the back porch and under the big tree in the back yard.  Come on out...

 Do you remember the black and white stripe tablecloths from the party that we did for my high school reunion this past June?  I knew then that I wanted to use them for this day...

 I liked the graphic quality that they lent to the design.

 I also knew that I wanted to use lots and lots of color.  Early on the word "kaleidoscope" kept coming to mind.  So how did I translate my inspiration into a cohesive theme for our luncheon?

 Each table featured one color of my collection of Bormioli glass charger plates...found on clearance two summers ago at Gordman's...

 ....one color of the Vietri Optic goblets, still available at a jewelry/gift store near you.  Oh!  Vietri is on sale at my local store this week.  Maybe it's a national sale...you might want to check around.

 ...one color of colorful flatware at each table...


...and one each of 8 colors of hemstitched napkins tied with a variety of organza ribbons holding a mercury glass owl...the party favor for each guest to take home.  The dinner plate is the Wedgwood Countryware.  The centerpiece was kept simple for time management purposes...the black tole jardinieres from Hobby Lobby each held a pre-made mixed "local" bouquet from Whole Foods Market, snipped to the proper height.  Hint: If you need to secure a larger quantity of florals from Whole Foods, be sure to order them at least 3 weeks ahead of your event.  They place their own orders that far out.  They have a beautiful selection, and their florals are quite reasonable.

 It's always satisfying when an idea that looks a certain way in your mind's eye ends up looking the same way in reality.  I wouldn't have changed a thing for this party.

 The luncheon began at 11:30 a.m......

 There was constant laughter....unending smiles...and sparkling eyes...

 The last guests left sometime after 4:30.

 My summer pots of geraniums made a wonderful comeback after the heat of the summer...

 They were joined by pots of yellow mums....and that gave us our sorority colors of "Cardinal and Straw."

Memories of this special special day will last long after the onset of colder days which wait just around the corner.  I can hardly wait for October, 2016, when we shall gather again.  I'm already mulling ideas for the next tables in my mind.

I'm having my first knee replacement surgery next week, so color me invisible for the better part of the next month.  Although I may not be heard from for a spot of time, I think that exploring your delightful blogs will be a wonderful way to spend some hours while I'm recuperating.  I covet your prayers, and I look forward to blogging again as soon as possible.

This week I'm joining

Tablescaper Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch