Fall Dinner for a Blog Friend

I’ve read about it plenty—bloggers who become virtual friends and eventually meet—and I thought that such meetings must be so fun! Well, Maria, of Dreams and Epiphanies, met in person last weekend! She and her husband, Lee, had a standing invitation for anytime they came to Ohio to visit their son in college, and she emailed me to say they would be in Ohio and would October 18 work? Of course! We’d make it work! We invited them to our home for lunch if they were up to it, because yes, we’re in Ohio, but not en route to Miami University, and the answer was “yes, we’ll come visit!” Yea, Lee, for being a good sport!!

My husband Terry and I decided a traditional Cuban meal was in order, and he chose the menu, based on his favorite meal: Roast pork chunks with Cuban seasonings, rice and black beans, and guacamole—Cuban guacamole…you’ll see that treat in a minute! We also had corn soufflé (recipe here), rolls and butter, and a good pinot noir selected by our son, the chef.

There was no lapse in conversation from the minute they arrived! I’d asked that they arrive hungry, and they said they had heeded my request, so first we had some appetizers ~

I love to serve palitroques—bread sticks—especially with appetizers, because they were somewhat of a staple with my family, so I always think of them as a Cuban item, though I don’t know if other Cuban families enjoy them as much as we do. I forgot to ask Maria—we’ll need to get together again to talk some more. :)

Our table (as well as the meal, really) was simple and fall-ish: Burlap runner, woven “straw” placemats and twig chargers, with simple white dishes and aubergine napkins held by twig napkin rings.

The pork and the rice…and back to the tablescape~ funny how a table decor unfolds. All I had in mind was the burlap and twig things, and simple white dishes. As I was looking for these items I ran across this purchase from last year:

Metallic gold leaves that I bought for a whopping $.97 on clearance last December. I actually thought they were golds and bronzes, but no, all gold. So there went the table—gold leaves on the burlap runner for contrast, and gold accents, including my “gold” flatware that my dear, sweet grandmother, who obliged me in every way she could, bought for me just because I wanted them, to go with the Lenox Holiday dishes she had also given me. She was such a sweet, dear, giving person, never, ever expecting anything in return.

Originally I intended to use this Tea Leaf tureen—it was perfect—until I took the lid off and saw the crazing and damage to the porcelain. Not safe. I’d gotten it at an auction, and at the time I wasn’t concerned about the damage, since my intention was to use it for display purposes, but I’d forgotten about it. So off the table and back to just looking lovely, as she always does.

  And about that Cuban guacamole…ours consists of chunks of avocado and of fresh pineapple, with a bit of salt (some like to add extra virgin olive oil and a splash of vinegar and thin onion slices, but mine was sans, as I prefer it). As soon as Maria saw it she referred to it as guacamole. That was fun. And since pineapple is not exactly a fall dish, I compensated with the corn soufflé, served in a hollowed pumpkin.

And now for the BEST part~

Two new friends—in person! Well, actually FOUR new friends…our husbands did join us at the table, but I have to admit, they were super nice, and super patient with these two ladies, talking incessantly about tables, and bloggers, and dishes, and….  It was a fun, fun day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Fall Decorating ~ Inside

Last weekend the fall “bug” finally got me, and the front porch (HERE) and screened porch got their decorations.  While still under the influence of a bright, beautiful fall day, with perfectly blue skies I just kept on going and even did the inside of the house.  Do you ever get on a roll decorating and really need to curb your enthusiasm, lest the house start to look like a shop instead of a home?  There’s always that danger possibility around our place!

I LOVE to make seasonal changes in the china cabinet—that’s my “toy box,” where I get to shift things around so I can see and enjoy the things I love.  (You can see other china cabinet posts by doing a SEARCH of my blog.)

With the high ceilings in our home, it’s especially fun to also do the top of the china cabinet.  I love bittersweet, and when my husband and I went to Back Roads to purchase our mums, (HERE), Lisa also had bittersweet bundles.  They’re so hard to find around here that I immediately grabbed a couple of them.  I sure am enjoying their unstructured growing habits!

Not too patiently, I’ve been waiting to use these Rouen antique dessert plates I bought at auction this summer.  According to an eBay listing, these plates were made by Villeroy & Boch Mettlach between 1850 & 1899!  When I bought them I had no idea!!  I just knew I liked the rich colors, the “wavy” red rim, and of course the colorful birds.  I also liked the combination of blue and rust.  I CANNOT wait to set a table with them—Thanksgiving perhaps??

 

 

The Powell & Bishop Tea Leaf pieces, with their “copper” design, fit right in with the fall colors.  Exotic feathers complement the feel of the bird dishes.

                                   

             The big pumpkin was a “gift” from Sweet Baby Love…she picked it right up from her yard decorations and gave it to us to bring home.  Obviously, it needed to have a prominent place in the fall decor.

Speaking of Sweet Baby Love…she’ll be five in a few weeks, and she is just enthralled by the colors of fall this year.  She gathered these leaves one day when I picked her up from preschool.

  The picture of Sweet Baby G with a pumpkin was a first last year.  I stored it with the fall decorations to use it as fall decor.  The terracotta pot was a gift from years ago that I love so much that I use it year after year in the fall.

And on to a bit more indoor decorating…

My huge tole tray (see HERE for a full view of it) was pressed into fall service as the base for this quick vignette on the entertainment center.

The fall soup tureen was a gift from my mother years ago…Love it.  I hope to fill it with some yummy soup for a family dinner soon.

And the centerpiece on our dining room table…

The starting point of this vignette was the gorgeous hydrangeas that my SIL gave me.  She was busy and sadly cleaning out her dad’s home after his passing when I went to visit her, and his hydrangeas were just beautiful.  As a memento of the kind and loving and genuine gentleman that he was I asked her if I could have a few of them.  The rest, including the brass candlesticks I haven’t used for quite some time, just fell into place.

And the last touch of fall inside…

You’ve seen these in many posts, because they’re so versatile!

Perhaps next week I’ll be able to post the pictures of the screened porch.

So don’t forget to answer my question at the beginning of this post:  Do you find that you have to curb your enthusiasm when you’re decorating, or do you fly free and put as much as you want out?  I can’t wait to hear back!

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

Real Thanksgiving Table

The tables we set for "play"--or to post--are sometimes not real tables.  The centerpiece might be too tall, or too big to allow for the other necessities that must go on the table for a real dinner--bread baskets, pitchers, wine bottle coasters, butter dishes, etc., so this is a post about our "real" table.

Our big family dinner was at my brother's this year (at their log cabin--another post for another day).  The Friday after Thanksgiving has always been our day at home--with turkey and all the trimmings again--initially for our children and my parents, and now DILs and babies too.  It's a more relaxed day, and a more relaxed table--our "real" table. 

I used the pomanders I made a few weeks earlier (tutorial HERE) as the basis for the centerpiece.
The amber platter is a recent find at my first auction.  It's an old Tiara piece.  I'd never heard
of Tiara until then, and now I'm in love with this dish.  Perfect for fall.

I L.O.V.E. this flower pot.  My cousin gave it to me years ago; I wonder if she remembers?
I use it every year for fall decorating.
Earlier in the season I had it in the china cabinet (HERE)

I imagined these twig pumpkins long before I found them, so...
THE SEARCH WAS ON!
I found them at a $$ store, where I paid $2 for them...(how does that work?!)

The PGBs (Precious GrandBabies) had their own placesettings with their Royal Doulton Bunnykins

dishes and feather headband for full Thanksgiving effect.



I used white dinner plates as chargers, and though they're not large enough
to be chargers, they added a bit more ummmppphhh to the setting.

Dinner plates are Friendly Village, and the salad plates--I don't remember.



Somewhere along the line I decided that the pumpkins I had so much wanted
were covering up the turkey plates I so love, so I moved them to the top of the plate,
'where I could enjoy both.



The view from our front door--our glorious American flag x 2.

Then...Christmas arrived at our home.

Every year my husband comes home with 2, 3, 4, 5 poinsettias, and every

year I am surprised and thrilled to see him walk in carrying the first one, then

another, then another.  This year was more of a surprise, though, because he came home

with them earlier than usual--because he also brought one for my mother

and one for our DIL to take home with them.

So fall met Christmas...

and we're ready to transition to
the joys of the season.

Tell me, do you have "real" tables that are different from you posted tables?

From our nest to yours, I wish you a sweet and smooth transition into the Christmas season.~

    ~Zuni

Miscellaneous:

Napkins: Crate and Barrel

Table runner:  My pashmina

Goblets:  Pottery Barn many years ago

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