Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal

I haven't done a tablescape for a few weeks; afterall, we did have a wedding to prepare for--and happily.  But amazingly, I've missed my tablescape blogging friends, and since I'm new to blogging I have now realized that there are different friends for different types of posts.  I'll get this all figured out soon, I hope.  :)

I've done quite a bit with fall now, so I wanted to do something a little different.  I decided I wanted to do a fall table, but using my blue and white floral Spode...something that I could maybe use for our Thanksgiving table.  Hmmmm.  I usually think of blue and white as a cool, summer setting, or perhaps a winter one, but fall?  I really had to think on that one. 

Then it came to me--add brown.  Not orange (I'm kind of OD'd on orange right now).  I envisioned small twig pumpkins for each placesetting, but how many stores would I have to hit before I found them (I did hit 2--nothing of the sort).  So "shopping" at home was the next best thing, and here's the end result.

My first challenge was the table cover/linens, because I wanted the warmth of textile.
My pashmina/silk shawl, in blues and browns and golds fit the bill.
For the real Thanksgiving dinner I think I'll use a neutral tablecloth, and use the shawl as
an additional layer.

Because the shawl has gold in it too, I wanted to work with golds instead of silver...
and it just so happens that my dear grandmother gave me a set of gold flatware
years ago.  It was starting to come together.
I used our Lenox Eternal dinner plates as chargers, only to bring the touch of gold and
additional dimension.
Blue & white dishes:  Spode Delamere
Brown turkey plates:  Royal Stafford
Water goblets:  Pottery Barn, many years ago
Wine stems:  Pristine by Reizart/Gorham

Amazingly, my shawl has blue accents...perfect for the dishes.
Isn't it awesome how things sometimes just come together?
We might not know where we're headed with a tablescape, and it slowly begins
to evolve as we shop the house.  FUN.

More accessories falling into place...
The acanthus leaf centerpiece from my mother years ago, snippets of brown leaves
from the fall decorating bins, and candles and crystals from
our son's recent wedding.
Repurposing!

Remember Bombay Company? Much of my blue and white is from there...still miss that store.
The beautiful paperweight was a gift from our DIL's uncle--handmade by him!  What a beautiful piece!

Rumpled linen napkins (Crate & Barrel) to match the rumpled shawl.

See who's watching all the goings on??  Jack-o-lanterns!  They're making sure
I don't forget THEIR holiday and go directly to Thanksgiving!

Daytime...Chance to see what the REAL table will look like.

So tell me...will you be serving Thanksgiving at your house?

Do you know how you're going to set your table?  I'm glad to have my table setting

"issues" resolved!  But I'm wondering about the candles.  Do you light candles

during daylight meals?  And if no, do you still have them on the table?

I love to hear from you. Every comment goes to my email, so I won't miss it.  And if you're

kind enough to follow me I promise to follow you back.

I'm joining these fabulous parties this week, and I hope you will too.

 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

 Homemaker on a Dime, Sunday at http://www.homemakeronadime.com/p/link-parties.html

 Motivated Monday at http://becolorful.typepad.com/  

 Debbie’s Newbie Party on Monday at http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

 Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Open House Party Thursday http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com

 Courtney’s, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com

 Creative Princess at http://acreativeprincess.blogspot.com/



Tea for Cookie

I am blessed to have a long-time friend who moved away many years ago, and we have maintained our lovely friendship the old-fashioned way--through letters.  Her letters are so special, that when one arrives my husband sets it on top of all the mail, so I'll see it first.  Sometimes I don't read it right away...I save it for when I have time to enjoy our visit.  Often we don't respond to each other's letters right away--for me, part of my enjoyment is thinking about what I will write next.

In August she was in town, and we were able to visit!  The logical choice--come to our home for tea.  A restaurant would've been far too impersonal for this sweet friendship and rare visit.

Our Tea Party ~

We enjoyed our tea in the great room, where we could sit comfortably.  Dessert plates are Depression glass, Heritage pattern, by Federal (a gift from my mother), and the precious Depression glass tea cups, from my mother-in-law, are Cherry Blossom, by Jeannette Glass.  Pitcher is Waterford Lismore.

The iced tea goblets are Godinger/Shannon, Sutton Place pattern.

The silver flatware is Oneida King James.

OUR MENU

Mini croissant cucumber, cream cheese and chives tea sandwiches

Blueberries in silver Revere bowl

Chocolate chip mini muffins

G'Day Melaleuca Herbal Tea

The creamer (Fostoria, "American" pattern) (and the matching sugar bowl) as well as

the beautiful sugar spoon (1847 Rogers Bros., "Columbia") were a hostess gift

from my sister-in-law when I hosted her daughter-in-law-to-be's bridal shower.

I bought the sweet little violet plate (Victoria Carlsbad, Austria) at this year's

Decorator's Show House gift shop.

I bought this precious miniature cake plate as a gift...

but found I couldn't part with it.

The linens are vintage, collected over many years.

Flowers from our garden.

So tell me...do you still write letters?  If you do, whom do you write?  Do you save the letters you receive?  What stationery do you use?

Thanks for stopping by.  I love your comments, so please stop by and let me know you visisted me.


I will be linking to:

 Susan's Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Courtneys, Feathered Nest Friday at http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

 Honey's Potpourri Friday at http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/

 Inspiration Friday at http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/  

 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

 Trisha at Sweetology: http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/

http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/2011/10/tea-party-tuesday-fast-and-fancy-ways.html

Be sure to visit their fabulous parties!

Hydrangeas and Pumpkins

Friday, September 2, 2011

Labor Day weekend is upon us, and here in Ohio the leaves are starting to change ever so slightly.  I'm always sad to see my favorite season come to an end, but invariably I fall in love with fall, year after year.  This table setting is from a a few years ago, before I dreamed of a blog.  It's from an intimate dinner party my husband and I hosted to celebrate my cousin's engagement and to welcome his beautiful bride-to-be into our family.

The china is my wedding china--Lenox Eternal--which I still love after all these years, because it mixes and matches with so many other patterns.  The crystal is Pristine, by Reizart, which was bought by Gorham shortly after I registered it for my wedding.  The bridal consultant advised me to change it, but I was--and still am--in love with it.  It was produced from 1969 to 1974.  Its fine cuts and crystal make it super-special--and super-fragile--but well worth the tender care it requires.

And the pumpkins? :)  I've done this several times--real pumpkins to serve squash soup.  Early the morning of our party I went to a pumpkin "patch" at a local church and scouted around (with the help of the gentleman manning the "patch," who said he'd never heard of using pumpkins for soup) until I found perfect, similar ones.

Dusk is upon us.  Another view of the full table, with a hint of the hydrangeas, used as simple centerpieces and as accents with the hors d'oeuvres.

A close-up of the pumpkin...see the little tendril?  I made sure they all had them, to add a bit of "sweet" to their earthiness.  I like the contrast of the fine bone china, crystal, and hydrangeas with the pumpkins.  Maybe some day soon I'll do a post on how to prepare the pumpkins, and share the squash soup recipe.  Linen napkins from Pottery Barn.  The "placemats" are also linen napkins from PB, and the flatware is by Oneida, pattern unknown.

  Sweet little pumpkin.

This picture isn't very clear, but no engagement celebration would be complete without champagne to toast the happy couple and wish them health, wealth, happiness, and continued love for a lifetime.  Napkins are vintage, given to me by my mother-in-law from her own collection from when they lived in Mexico.  The marble lazy Susan is from TJ Maxx, many years ago.  The champagne bucket and the sterling compote are gifts from my mother many years ago.

This first post is dedicated to Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch, and Bill, at Affordable Accroutements, who have generously given me much of their time to help me get started.

I'm joining:

 Marty's Table Top Tuesday:  http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

 The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sunday: http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

 Kim's Wow Us Wednesdays: http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

Please be sure to visit their blogs too, and to leave a comment.

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