Celebrating The Epiphany--the Three Kings' Long Trip

"Celebración de los Reyes Magos" - Having come to the U.S. from Cuba in 1961, our family still celebrates "El Día de los Reyes Magos" (The Day of the Three Kings), and the Kings still bring presents to our children.  Our 4-year-old granddaugher explained to her pre-school teacher that they come to our homes "because our family is Cuban."  :) 

The "Reyes Magos" are such an integral part of Latin culture that my mother told me recently of a wonderful toy store in Havana (Cuba) called "Los Reyes Magos."  Isn't that a great name for a toy store?!  Surely it didn't survive much after 1961.

This year my husband and I hosted our family's Three Kings celebration, now that our granddaughter is old enough to understand the story.  The Three Kings brought some gifts and left them under the tree for them (yes, we keep our tree up until The "Reyes Magos" come), but to make certain that the spirit of the day wasn't lost, the central figure in my tablescape was my childhood Baby Jeasus, which my grandmother managed to bring back to me in 1983 when she was able to visit Cuba.  She gave it to me originally, and gave it to me again...isn't that {AMAZING}?!

A celebration of the Three Kings is really about Baby Jesus.

The Three Kings:  Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar
We know they brought frankincense, myrrh, and gold,
but we don't know which gift each brought.
The red candle urn (left) is Tiara.

Crystal Three Kings and Baby Jesus
After I took this picture I added the the full text of Matthew 2: 1-12,
telling the story of The Wise Men.
A battery-operated candle behind the vintage trees
gave the scene in the cloche a soft glow.

In our invitation we promised cookies and hot chocolate and other "kingly" treats...
The table was set in jewel tones--befitting the gifts that the Three Kings brought.
Here's what we served~
Christmas tree carrot Bundt cake (in s/p cake stand with wonderful high dome,
from Bombay Company, a gift from my mother years ago)
Cream cheese with hot pepper jelly (red) and green pepper jelly
with buttery crackers (lower right)
Gem shortbread cookies
Candy cane-striped meringue kisses 



Jewel-toned vintage Tiara platter and Cambridge Caprice bowl
(the latter a gift from my SIL years ago)
Sterling compote holds whole cashews and dried cranberries,
a simple, yummy combination.



Since we were serving buffet style, the "star" stacker seemed quite apropos, don't you think?
Ribbon candy is a must during the holidays...in another Cambridge Caprice bowl,
surrounded by a mix of sterling and crystal candle holders.
Dishes are Lenox Eternal and the clear ones in the first two tiers are vintage Federal, Heritage pattern.
The bottom ones are vintage, of unknown lineage, but pretty.

We served Golden Pineapple Punch in our sterling punch bowl--a gift from my MIL,
complete with ladle, platter, and lid. 
Have you seen many punch bowls with lids?  I haven't,
but it's quite old now, and perhaps it was something more common in the past.

We served the punch in our "vintage" ARBY's goblets (can you say "vintage" and "goblets"
in the same sentence as Arby's? :) ) 
I have many of the glasses, and our son found these at Goodwill recently
and wrapped them up as what he thought would be a funny gift--

ARE YOU KIDDING?!  They're PERFECT! 
Funny, when I set them out I actually admired how they glistened!  :)

~~~~~~We also served the BEST CAPPUCCINO HOT CHOCOLATE EVER,of course
topped with whipped cream from my iSi Cream Whipper
(to find out more about it see HERE)
Everyone raved and asked for the recipe.
Sadly, I forgot to take a picture.
I served them in old footed punch cups--very pretty. 

I wish you a happy, healthy 2012 with much to be thankful for.

Does your family celebrate the Epiphany?
Do the Three Kings visit your home and leave gifts?
If you do a celebration, I'd love to know about it,
and if you have posted pictures, please be sure to share them with me!

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them!  They encourage me and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

 Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

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

 House in Roses Show Off Your Cottage Monday at http://houseinroses.blogspot.com

 Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

 Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple   

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

 Tabletop Tuesday at http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ 

 Wow Us Wednesdays at http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/ 

 Mrs. Hines’ Wednesday Show & Tell at  http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=120723&type=thumbnail

 Tablescape Thursday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

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

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

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

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

 Show and Tell Friday at http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

 In and Out of My Nest’s Saturday weekend party at http://inandoutmynest.blogspot.com/2011/12/r-r-weekend-party_29.html?showComment=1325569309720#c8749613812899918207

From my Chickadee Nest to yours~

    Zuni

Bejeweled Thanksgiving

This past summer I was on Cloud Nine when I found a set of 8 beautiful Limoges plates at Powell Antiques close to home.  And now...[drumroll please]....here they are!  Their debut to Blogland!



Eight plates, two of each of four patterns.
Through my research I can't find a pattern name...
I'll name them EXQUISITE--aren't they?


My first thought was the expected thought--"I can't wait till Easter/spring to use them!" Then other fall and Thanksgiving posts using non-fall china challenged me to use them NOW!

The inspiration finally came--from the most unexpected place and item:  Kroger Marketplace & bargain placemats in a BEAUTIFUL, RICH, SHIMMERY purple!

OK...I'm making this a smmmmaaaalll picture, because, REALLY?! $.79 placemats for LIMOGES?!!

But I love them!  I love that they're shimmery and a beautiful shade of purple, or...
let's call them AUBERGINE--that makes them FANCY!

I already have aubergine napkins that I blogged about and how they came into my life HERE.  Though they're not the exact shade, I now have the placemats to work with too!

Here's the table:

I decided to create a second runner with the placemats by layering them on top of the gold linen runner,
 and not use them at all four place settings.
The centerpiece is the last HURRAH for the roses I dried from our son's wedding HERE.  I got
a month's worth of enjoyment and lots of pictures/memories from those beautiful roses.

Instead of traditional placecard holders I used our Lenox Eternal cream soup bowls with a dried rose at each place.
Amazingly, the colors of the dried roses were perfect for the setting!

The layers:
Lenox Eternal charger
Limoges dinner plate
Heritage (by Federal) Depression glass salad plate
Lenox Eternal cream soup bowl and and stand/plate










Dried Wedding Roses and Crystal
(Berwick juice/cocktail cups)



Color is so amazing, isn't it? Same dishes, yet the setting looks so different
with different backgrounds.
The Heritage salad plate not only adds texture, but it also plays with the
colors of the Limoges plates.



And finally...the LIMOGES plates.  Ta-dah!






Coffee service at the china cabinet/buffet~

Lenox Eternal cups and coffeepot
1847 Rogers Brothers Columbia silver spoons--a {WONDERFUL} hostess gift from my SIL
Crystal server bowl...pattern not known.  (Can anyone help me on that?)
Vintage napkins from my linen collection.








Other pieces:
Water goblets ~ Pottery Barn
Wine goblets ~ Pristine, by Reizart/Gorham
Gold linen table runner with velvet trim ~ Pottery Barn
Gold linen tablecloth ~ Don't remember
Gold flatware ~ gift from my dear grandmother, years ago
Oval s/p tray ~ GW find
Brass candlestick ~ Baldwin Brass
Crystal candlesticks ~ Various/unknown

So...was I able to convert my spring Limoges to fall?

Would you like to be invited to this Thanksgiving table? (I'd love to have you visit!)

Thanks for stopping by.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them!  They encourage me and inspire me.  And if you like what you see a lot J, maybe you’d like to +1 this post too!  Thank you!

I will be joining these fun parties; please stop by to see all the great things there!

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

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

 Carrie’s Amaze Me Monday at http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

 Home Savvy A to Z Monday party at http://www.homesavvyatoz.com/savvy-homemade-monday-13/

 Susan’s Metamorphosis Monday at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

 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

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!