A Toile Tale

I'll be posting at the following blog parties:

Tabletop Thursday

Wow Us Wednesday

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Inspiration Friday

www.atthepicketfence.com

Fridays Unfold

www.stuff-and-nonsense.net

Spring Bag Lunch

2012-02-16T08:41:00.001-05:00

I held a committee meeting here today to work on an up-coming event, followed by a board meeting. In order to have a simple lunch that we could work all morning and meet while we ate lunch, I decided that a bag lunch seemed like a good idea!

Most everything was purchased at the grocery store, but quickly transformed into something a little more festive. I'm lucky to have Mom visiting, so we just cranked this out this morning before everyone got here.

Pimento cheese spread and thin-sliced Pepperridge Farm white bread made tulip shaped sandwiches.

And ham salad.....

with wheat bread made flower-shaped sandwiches.

Into cellophane corsage bags they went.

I had already topped wooden skewers with some free downloaded printables.

They made pretty fruit kabobs.

Then I slid them into this printed plastic bag from the Dollar Store.

This egg shaped pan from Martha Stewart made a pretty dessert. Martha included a complicated recipe for cake, but I just use a white cake mix. I used a melon baller to scoop out a bit of cake and dusted the top with confectioner's sugar. Then I filled the hole with prepared lemon curd for the "yolk". She suggests a colored glaze on the bottom, but I didn't to that.

Wilton cupcake holders made colorful holders for the cakes, and these were placed in a corsage bag, too.

Deviled eggs cut to make a zig-zag hat are just a slight twist on a picnic favorite. A carrot beak and olive eyes finish them off.

So here's lunch before it is packed in white paper bags with colorful tissue and ribbons.

Since there were no serving pieces necessary, the table setting was very simple.

The event we were prepping for is an Easter dinner with a craft project for the women of our church, so I decided to rush the season a bit and do an Eastery look with bright pink and green.

I grabbed a bright pink quilted place mat, pink linen napkins, a wooden bunny napkin ring and some pink and green flatware. These square plates are pink and white plastic toile from Target that I bought several years ago.

I'm generally not fond of painted glassware, but I love these stems that are painted with Easter baskets. You can see how I used them for Easter dinner here.

The tablecloth is from Target and is part of the "Swell" collection from Cynthia Rowley. My mood is always improved by pink and green!

A small hot pink azalea in a Guy Wolfe pot is the centerpiece. It was a bit small for the table, but I was going with what I had around the house.

Here's the bag on the table.

All we had to do was unpack and enjoy dining together. This is a remarkable group of women and they are sharing so much with me. I was happy to share lunch with them!

I'm posting at:

Tabletop Thursday

2012-02-08T00:29:00.001-05:00

I'm looking forward soooo much to Scott's Antique Market this weekend. It's a monthly show with 2,000 to 4,000 dealers that is held just south of Atlanta. I'll be searching out Craig Ringstad's booth for tartan, tartan, and more tartan. I want everything in his booth!

I found Craig's booth last year, and I feel like Alice In Wonderland everytime I see this incredible collection!

Stop by and say hi to Craig if you're in Atlanta this weekend. He'll be in the north building, section B, booth # 230-231.

Here's his contact information if you can't be here:

Craig Ringstad

612-743-5753

ringcvr@msn.com

Master Bathroom Before and After

2012-02-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

Won't you come in?

I know! Late last fall, I promised the master bath remodel post was next, but there was Christmas, then there were house guests, and life kept happening. So, if you're still interested, here's what our master bath looked like when we bought it. This is the view from the master bedroom. It was blah, blah, blah with a "garden tub" that took up most of the real estate in the room. You can just see it in the corner. I like to call these porn star tubs, because who else would need all of those steps, shelves for buckets of champagne and "toys"? Since we are not tub people and there are three other tubs in the house plus a hot tub, it was not a big decision to sacrifice the tub for a far better layout. See this long double sink vanity? Well, the person standing closest to the door got hit with it every time the door opened, plus I hated the lighting, the mirrors, the floors, and every finish in the entire place. "GUT IT", we declared!

We were able to do this with only a little rerouting of the water lines for the sinks and no change in the toilet or shower area or window placement. Those are always a money savers and I'm all for that! We spend a lot of time and money reworking the lighting and the outlets.....stuff you can't see and admire, but make it soooo much better.

The shower was not luxurious by any measure, but good enough for us. It's large enough, has a seat, and an awesome shower head. It stayed!

Oh, my. Were you ever less inspired?

AFTER:

Here's the view from the bathroom into the master bedroom. You can see a post about that remodel here.

Here's what that long vanity became. This is Mr. Pressed Pant's domain. These cupboards came from France and we waited and waited for them. I don't think I've ever had anything come into the country that I haven't had customs problems with. As a designer, I make sure that any client who wants to order from out of the country understands the implications. I'm glad we did, as I love them so much. We were able to totally custom the room and I think we got them just right.

Here's the dresser for the sink base that we chose for him. We just had room for the sink and two chimney cupboards between the door and the window.

It seems so luxurious to have a chair in here. This one came from an estate sale several years ago.

I chose to use two different styles of mirrors. This one is the more masculine style.

The faucets are unlacquared natural brass and came from France, as well.

And the top is crema marble.

I love the detail on the mirror. It was actually an old picture frame that I ran across and I put mirrored glass with a bevel into it.

I'm still thrilled with the sconces we chose. They are natural brass, single arm from Circa Lighting with a cream linen shade. Disregard the caution sticker that you can see! A normal size person doesn't see it from this angle!

Fortunately, we were able to order the chimney cupboards to open right and left. They are perfect for towels and paper supplies, cleaning products, etc. The window is treated with a wooden blind from Smith and Noble and a simple Roman shade. I have a slight regret that I didn't choose a darker wood for the shades.

The hardware is awesome. Check out the hinges,...

and the escutcheons with the knobs, also in natural brass.

I chose towel rings for our hand towels. Believe me, I took a really deep breath before I drilled to put this one on the side of the chimney cupboard. The Enchanted Home did a very interesting post on towel bars vs rings vs hooks vs rolling. I've done a little of everything in our house.

This is my end of the room where the tub was. Isn't this a better use of this space? I used a triple dresser for my sink base. It's so hard to see in this photo.

This is better. Can a woman have too many drawers makeup draweres?

My mirror is also a French find from 14th Street Antiques in Atlanta. I love the feminine details here.

Love this! This was the last piece I found for the room. Notice how much lower my mirror and my sconces are hung than Mr. Pressed Pant's? There is more than a foot difference in our height, so we could address this as we went along. This is the luxury of remodeling just for YOU. All of these details can be addressed, but you must be on top of things and work very closely with your contractor. I acted as the general contractor and met with them every morning. We addressed the scope of the work for the day and any details that pertained to it.

In order to have more light, and because I had more room on either side of my mirror, I went with a double sconce in the same style from Circa Lighting.

Some dried hydrangeas in a zinc bowl give me a bit of softness and join an oriental pot for brushes and a little glass holder with a squirrel on it for Q-tips.

The other side has the necessary magnifying mirror and my favorite verbena scented soap from L'Occitane.

Under the oil rubbed bronze clock, we wall mounted a small tv. How classy is it that I snapped just when the toilet paper commercial was on? Oh, boy! I never cease to embarrass myself!

I love the porcelain tile floor. Here's another place where communicating with your craftsmen is so important. I used 4x4 squares to border the room, and 2x4s set on the diagonal for the field. This is such an improvement over the shiny green mini squares!

This Brunswig and Fils paper is one I've wanted to use for years. It may seem odd to have squirrels in the bathroom, but I love them, especially with the soft metalic gold acorns. The blue is a perfect match to the blue of the master bedroom.

Nothing terribly exciting here. I ran the same floor in and elected to paint the same as the bedroom instead of papering this intimate space.

This beautiful engraving is entitled "Marguarite".

Simple details here. Oil rubbed bronze accessories and a willow tissue holder. I just can't get into the idea of the top of the toilet tank as a place for a "vignette". Expel me from blogdom, if you like!

Now......if you think I'm going to show you what's behind this door, you're crazy. Our closet is neat as a pin, and makes the very best use of the space possible, but it is just NOT blog-worthy! I'll just let you imagine that my side is filled with size 0 designer clothes from Chanel and lots of Jimmy Choos!

Plea for wisdom:

I've recently switched to Google Chrome and I'm learning to navigate a new format for editing my posts. If this one seemed sort of rambling, it's because I couldn't change the order of the photos once they were loaded. (like that chair that pops up out of nowhere). Before, I could just copy, paste and remove to change the order, but that isn't working here. Can someone give me a little hint about how to do this? It can't be hard!

I'll be posting this at:

Metamorphisis Monday

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesday

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Open House Thursday

http://nominimilisthere.blogspot.com

French Inspiration Thursday

http://frenchcupboard.blogspot.com

Transformation Thursday

www.theshabbychiccottage.com

Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com

Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Show and Tell Friday

http://myromantichome.blogspot.com

Inspiration Friday

www.atthepicketfence.com

Fridays Unfold

www.stuff-and-nonsense.net

Are You Ready For Some Football?

2012-02-04T21:57:00.002-05:00

With nothing more than a placemat, I made a fun breakfast tablescape for breakfast this morning. We have such a busy weekend that this was my only chance to give a nod to the Super Bowl.

Everyday dishes and flatware with plain white linen napkins made an easy table.

These place mats came from the Dollar Store last year, I think.

Besides melon and strawberries, I made football shaped pancakes. The recipe for the pancakes was handed out at a friend's father's wake. It was the dish he was famous for, so the family shared it at this special, special moment.

These flowers were left-overs from the dinner party I had last weekend. You can see it here.

Just family and giggles.

What a nice way to start the weekend.

Bill's Famous Hot Cakes

Sift into a large bowl:

1 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

2 T. sugar

Separate 4 eggs and beat whites until firm.

Beat yolks with fork and add 2 T. vegetable oil

Add 1 c. milk to yolks and stir

Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir only until moistened. Mixture should be the consistency of thick buttermilk. If not, add a little flour.

Fold into egg whites and cook on hot griddle. Blueberries may be added if desired. For best results, spoon berries into hotcakes after batter has been poured onto griddle, buy before flipping.Enjoy with plenty of butter and real maple syrup.

What a lovely way to continue the legacy of a family favorite!

Who Has A Jack Russell?

2012-02-03T16:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, while shopping for accessories for a client, I ran across this darling needlepoint pillow at Boxwoods, my favorite store in Atlanta. I love pillows with this lumbar shape, as it allows the chair to show more or looks so good in the center of a sofa. But, I am a particular sucker for dogs in design. If you have a Jack Russell terrier, you must be lusting for this pillow by now. It was a bit pricey at $190, but doggy love makes us buy things we might think were a little excessive, doesn't it?

Just look at this little guy!

THEN look at what was in the next chair....the rabbit that the Jack is chasing!!!! It's a co-ordinating pillow of the same size and colorations and just makes it the most charming set.

Leave me a comment if you want information on purchasing these from Boxwoods.

Don't you think you might want these for Valentine's Day?

Chickens Again

2012-02-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

My Mom is still visiting and since she loves chickens and loves blue, I decided to do this very casual table when we had one of Mr. Pressed Pant's golf buddies here for dinner. It was not girly foo-foo fussy but Mom and I had fun putting it together. I started with these napkins from Old Time Pottery, bought with her in mind. Here's a link to the chicken table I did last year when she visited.

I just took those colors of cream, navy and red and started setting the table.

These place mats were from Old Time Pottery, too, and the red flatware was from some other discount store. I can't even remember which one.

Then I added this squarish blue dinner plate, also from Old Time Pottery, and the red scalloped salad plate from Ballard Design.

The red water goblets are vintage, and these wine stems are Juliska. They were a gift from a reeeeeealy good friend!

The napkin was gathered into a point at the center.......

and held with a chicken wire napkin ring from Pottery Barn.

Also from Pottery Barn, these chickens held simple placecards.

I chose two of these red pots with scalloped edges and..........

filled them Kroger daisies and nandina berries from our yard. These simple flowers seemed like farm-yard blooms.

Boy! I should call this post "Ode to Old Time Pottery", as this rooster is from there, too. I used him for a post about a breakfast table I did a few months ago. You can see it here.

Here's how the center of the table looked with the rooster and two pots of daisies on a cream twill runner.

I have some chicken salt and pepper shakers, but I couldn't find them. I don't have Alycia Nichols' (Table Twenty-Two) inventory system!!!! So, I used these, as I thought they had a farmhouse look.

And this held peach pie, as our guest, Corey, was leaving Atlanta after about five month's of business here, and returning to California. I wish I had thought about serving him grits, too!

I'll be posting at:

Tablescape Thursday

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Tabletop Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

America's Mart 2012

2012-01-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

One of the largest gift shows has just wrapped up in Atlanta at America's Mart. It happens twice a year and sets up thousands of temporary booths in addition to all of the permanent show rooms. Many of the bloggers have taken us on a tour of the show and featured their favorite showrooms. I've decided to feature what I feel was the most creative temporary booth that I found in the High Design area.

Hign Design is a juried area that features what the show producers feel is the best and most unusual exhibitors. Here's a look at the booth of Rebecca Ray Designs and this is Rebecca here in the red skirt. Not only was the booth beautiful and welcoming, but the product was incredible. Classy, unique and exceptional quality!!! Lets tour..........

Photographs of the wares are generally prohibited at the show, but I asked nicely and got permission to show you these images. Keep in mind that this is a temporary booth and it must be shipped out in five days. However, they have managed to make it look like you have stepped into a beautiful den or tack room. Look at the way this fireplace wall lends warmth to the display! Even the fresh flowers were special. These gorgeous orange roses picked up the colors in the booth and there were even real blackberry canes in the arrangements.

This is the back wall, complete with shelves and window seat. Look at the vintage image that represents their philosophy. Their merchandise features the American lifestyle, especially the sporting world. Dogs and horses predominate in their images, but fishing and farming are often seen. Custom images can be used and you can often find an image of "your" dog or horse to make your product even more special.

There were two mannequins in the booth, each creatively outfitted with their merchandise combined with clever ephemera.

This one has a skirt of award ribbons from horse shows....

and broaches centered with their rosettes with a gift tag from the stationery line.

Her hat and veil sit upon a fresh flower arrangement.

Edwina stands on the other side of the booth. She's more casual with a jeans jacket cuffed with ribbons, a moss purse, and a skirt made out of this fabulous wrapping paper.

Oh! The stationery line! It's a new addition to the company and is called Seven Barks. It uses vintage photos to make the three collections: equine, canine, and farm/fair. The quality is exceptional and the designs will make anyone smile. I walked the entire show and never saw anything like this.

You'll find journals, book marks, gift tags, luggage tags, mouse pads, postcards and wrapping paper.

I LOVED the file folders. All of this beauifully detailed packaging is done by developmentally delayed adults. Rebecca has a background in social services and one of their goals is to give these employees the sense of accomplishment and the pride of a job well done.

Here's the gift wrap made into a pleated skirt for Edwina, the mannequin. It comes in dogs or horses and is beautifully heavy quality.

Here's an example of the handbags she offers. This one took over a year to bring from design to production. All of the hardware in the line is authentic equestrian hardware and this stirrup is a real pony stirrup!!! I wish you could pick this up and feel how lovely it is. All of the pieces are bench made and they use master harness makers for their leather. And everything in the entire booth is entirely made in the USA. Not made somewhere else and assembled here, but MADE here!

OK! I lied about that a teeny bit. There is this exception. This bag is made from antique french grain sacks. The other bag you see here is made from vintage Hudson Bay blankets. See the belt, too?

This grouping is made from canvas and these pieces with the grain sack images are the hottest thing!

How about some dog collars or leashes?

Or small leather goods and jewelry?

Loved these bit bracelets!

As a special bonus, the printer.......

and the production manager for Seven Barks were there. They welcomed feedback and suggestions for new items. At least they pretended to! They were the sweetest men!

It's admirable to see a vendor who has a vision and commitment and sticks to them both. To see more of this line, go to http://rebeccaraydesigns.com.

I'm still unpacking catalogues, line sheets, business cards and other literature from the show. Three buildings, thousands of vendors, and many cups of coffee later, I am stunned and appreciative of all of the heart that these vendors put into their merchandise. What an endorsement of the American way of life. Call it commercialism, capitalism, or anything else, but I see it as a way of bringing a dream to reality.

Asiatic Pheasant

2012-01-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

Mom is visiting and she is very much a blue and white girl. We had a lazy morning planned together, so I set the breakfast table with a tablescape I thought she would love. I used a common, but beautiful china pattern called Asiatic Pheasant.

I've had these old blue and white linens for a long time. I wish they could tell me about some of the dinners that they have "seen". Someone loved them very much, as they are in beautiful shape.

Here's the design on the table square before I set it with dishes. The embroidery is simply breathtaking.

Just two for a lovely morning!

Here are the details on the pattern name and stamp.

I set the Asiatic Pheasant on a white scalloped plate from Z Gallerie, and used some of my mis-matched silver plate flatware.

I used this pearl handled knife. I never use it if the food is not very easy to cut, as I'm fearful that the handle will come off. That has happened to some similar serving pieces that I own.

These individual salt and pepper shakers seemed to be perfect for the morning.

Whole Foods had these very soft blue hydrangeas that were perfect to go with the linen cloth.

This held lingonberry jam for Mom and lemon curd for me. I used cream soup spoons for the jam.

I love a French butter keeper and this bright white one is very adaptable to many tablescapes.

Someone gave me this blue and white wine coaster.

I use it here to hold a porcelain topped water bottle.

The cobalt blue juice glass was the only strong shot of strong color.

I love spoiling my mom a bit!

I'll be posting at the following blog parties:

                                                          Tablescape Thursday
                                               http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

                                                                 Seasonal Sunday
                                                  http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

                                                                Tabletop Tuesday
                                                    http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com

                                                             Wow Us Wednesday
                                                http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Vintage Pinecones

2012-01-18T08:01:00.000-05:00

Last summer, I bought these vintage pine cone dishes at a garage sale. If you have read my blog at all, you've seen pine cones appear again and again. My very favorite pine cone post is here. This dinner party was much, much more casual and I put it together in a snap. We had out of town guests and there was no time to fuss.

Here's a close up of the pattern. It's very graphic and simple.

This is all it has stamped on the back. I'm guessing that it was made in the 50's. The serving pieces and cups, which I forgot to photograph, have that space ship feeling which was so popular then.

Here's the way the table came together. I used a dupioni silk runner from the floral wholesaler. This runner is so much wider than the ones you see in tabletop stores. Then I added these quilted placemats from France. These are actually used on the reverse side. I'll admit that I added the placemats to protect the runner! We were having jambalaya and I knew it had the potential to be messy. And it was....at a certain person's place.

This huge pottery bowl of pine cones usually sits on the coffee table in our second floor tv room. I about gave myself a hernia carrying it down here and back and then didn't use it. More on that later.

These handsome candlesticks are back for another dinner!

As are the rattan wine coaster and faux bois s/p shakers.

And you've seen this flatware very frequently. I never realize how often I use some of my stuff until I post about it! But it is funny how my favs have changed through the years.

These pine cone embroidered napkins didn't photograph very true to color. They are really a better match to the runner than they appear.

These pine cone etched wine glasses have been another frequent visitor to the table this year. I promise that I'm about done with fall/winter tables!

I decided to use these amber glass salad plates for salad.

These pine cone plates have such great texture. They came from Target last Christmas. They held our Banana's Foster for dessert. Wow! Was this ever a big hit! And sooooo easy. I'm putting this recipe on the top of the dessert file, for sure.

Here's a close up. This was taken before we ate, but I swear the plates were almost this clean after everyone finished their dessert.

Here's the centerpiece I ended up using. I actually liked the big pottery bowl better, but I remembered that our guests gave us this for Christmas several years ago. I thought it would reinforce how much I like it if they saw it on the table during dinner. It usually sits on a chest in front of the sofa in our terrace level family room. Boy, does it ever look pretty at Christmas time when I fill it half way up with fresh cranberries. I was going to cover the bottom with some natural colored rock, but I never circled back to do so. Oh well.....the fellowship of the dinner is the most important, as Sandy at The Reluctant Entertainer tells us so well. And that was just great!

I'll be posting at the following blog parties:

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

Seasonal Sunday

Tabletop Tuesday

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com

Wow Us Wednesday

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

More Dog Decor

2012-01-04T13:51:00.001-05:00

When Alison from The Polohouse announced that she was having a linky party featuring collections, I put together a post on our dog art we have hanging in our home. You can see that post here. While photographing the art, I thought I'd do another post with dogs in our decor.

We've got paper mache trays,

pewter trays,

desk accessories,

pencil holders,

doorstops,

bronze bookends,

porcelain bookends,

terra cotta hearth dogs,

weather vanes,

(still with Christmas bows, apparently!)

Spode plates,

hand painted plates,

transferware plates,

Staffordshire (esque) dogs,

spill vases,

lamps,

chalk dogs,

wall plaques,

gate weights,

tie backs,

wallpaper,

chairs and ottomans,

with spaniels,

and hounds,

pillows,

skirted tables,

needlepoint pillows in the family room,

and needlepoint in the bedroom.

You get the idea. I could go on and on. Sadly all of these pretty things do not give me the comfort, companionship and love that the real thing does. I'm hoping that it will soon be a good time for us to open our home and hearts to another English Springer. When I'm ready, Mr. Pressed Pants isn't and vice versa. We'll get there!

I'm going to share this post at the following parties:

Open House Friday

Inspirations Friday

Fridays Unfold

Wow Us Wednesday

http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday

We've Gone To The Dogs

2012-01-01T21:37:00.004-05:00

Note: Alison at the Polohouse's "Favorites On the First" linky party this week has the theme of "Pets"! Well, since I prepared this post for her last party, "Collections", it just happens to be pertinent to this week, too. Our sweet pet is deceased, but our hearts are filled with love for her and her presence is felt in our whole house. So...I'm double dipping and posting this one again in the Pets category. Be sure to go to http://thepolohouse.blogspot.com to see this fun party.

One of my very favorite bloggers, Alison at The Polohouse has started a new blog party, "Favorites on the First". I want to be a part of anything she does!!!! I love every single solitary post that she has ever done. If I can't live at her home (a former stable for polo ponies), then I wish to vacation there. A long vacation! Her topic this week is "Collections". Even though, due to the holiday chaos around here, I am late joining up, that is an easy topic for me. So here goes.....take a look at our collection of dog art.

My favorite piece, by far is this old oil of three different types of setters. One year, shortly after we moved into a new house, my husband and I unknowingly got each other art for Valentine's Day. This was my gift and it now hangs in our dining room.

This photo is poor quality, but it shows you some more detail. Awesome frame, too, huh?

I've shown you this before. We call this the Chairman of the Board. It looks exactly like our beloved English Springer Spaniel, Nittany.

These hang in the hallway between the staircase and the living room.

This looks logical.....a springer hunting,

but I laugh every time I think about putting a dog in a fishing boat. Our dog would have swamped the whole thing, she was such a spaz.

One of our guest rooms has this hanging in it. It's a precious oil with another great likeness of Nittany.

She was never supposed to be on the furniture, but she would boldly sleep where ever she liked. Oh, the dog hair!

This picture of the beagle pups with the bunny hangs in the same room.

In the terrace level family room this grouping hangs over the sofa. PLEASE disregard the reflection of the photographer. She is such a dope.

This is a little closer, but still hard to see with the reflection.

This often-seen reproduction hunt scene shows another pack of beagles.

Another trio of dogs, this time hanging over the fireplace. This picture was reproduced for a calendar in the 30's.

Here's a little non-framed reproduction that sits on my grandfather's desk. Do you see the magnifying glass with the dog handle?

I'm sorry for the blurriness of this, but it is so sweet and has such great colors that I had to include it.

Here's the detail that makes it special.

I'm sure you've seen lots of these Player's cards from cigarette packs. They come in a variety of subject matter and are often found framed.

This is a modern print that hangs in Mr. Pressed Pant's office. It is Millie, the Bush's dog and that is the White House in the background.

Now we're in the second floor family room and it gets very little natural light. That means you either have to use a flash and get an enormous reflection, or you see the reflection of the chandelier. You got the chandelier!

And here it is again in the picture that hangs over the fireplace. It has another of my favorite subjects.....a stag.

Also in this room hangs our younger daughter's senior portrait that she elected to have taken with Nittany. I recently had a copy of this photo made for our son-in-law, since he threatened to take this every time he was here. It seemed like an easy project, but copyrights, a photographer who went out of business, moral high ground and lost paperwork made it much harder than it should have been.

As I was photographing this artwork, I decided that my next post will be our dog STUFF. You didn't think that I could contain my dog-love to art, did you?

Be sure to link up to:

http://thepolohouse.blogspot.com/

for

also see this post at:

wow us wednesday

open house friday

inspiration friday

friday's unfold

seasonal sunday

The Tables of 2011

2011-12-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve is always a time of reflection and making plans. I have to admit that I am particularly looking forward to leaving 2011 in the past and moving on to a new year and all that it has in store for us. Let's take a look at what 2011 looked like at our table!

January

My mom spent a couple of months with us last winter and she loves chickens. We had a good time putting this together and it was such a bright and happy table on a dreary day. We were ready for some color and this did the trick. You can see this post here.

February

Trying to have a special dinner in a restaurant can sort of be like trying to have a good time on New Year's
Eve in a restaurant. Not!!! It's often a night of forced "romance" while the staff is focused on turning the table for the next couple. To counter this, Valentine's Day has become one of our favorite times to give a dinner party. See our pary here.

March

Spring was soooo welcome here in Georgia. I know that our winter was tropical compared to many places, but to us, it was much colder than usual. This fabric with birds inspired me to do this table. You can see it here.

April

Spring is so beautiful in Georgia and we are so blessed to have lots and lots of azeleas in our yard. As a celebration of them, I put this pink and green table together. You can see it here.

May

Peonies were the next flower that we celebrated. I had a particularly good year for them, unlike some years in the past. This table on the lower terrace was vibrant and fun. See it here.

June

My bridge group came for lunch in June and I had so much fun planning this bright and fresh luncheon. Take a look here.

July

Our two youngest grandsons came for a week in July and we had fun, fun, fun!!!! Almost all of our meals were eaten pool-side, and were pretty darned casual, but they helped me set this charming table to match their swim trunks. Inspiration can come from anywhere. See what we did here.

August

I thought I'd show you an August table set up in the garden. Our woods were full of lush ferns and I brought the theme onto the table. It can be seen here.

August

When I found these unusual martini glasses, I began planning this tablescape. I was thinking about heading into fall colors, but I loved this coastal look on this table. Take a look here.

September

Labor Day was sort of unusual for us, but I did try to surprise Mr. Pressed Pants with this picnic. Hurricane Lee had a different plan for us, but you can still see my ideas here.

October

This was a chance to have my bridge friends here again. They are always so appreciative of a pretty table, so this is what I arranged for their fall lunch. Join us here.

November

Thanksgiving was a delightful weekend with some very special friends. We cooked, we ate, we laughed, we ate, we lounged, we ate, we shopped, and then we ate some more. This was the night before Thanksgiving table. See what I am so thankful for here.

December

I thought I'd show you a non-red-and-green Christmas table. This is seasonal, but not really Christmas. I really, really love stags, so this came together easily. Won't you join us here.

New Year's Eve

Here's what I'm planning for this year. It is going to be the same as last year's table but with a different menu. It will be a lovely way to end the year . Here's the link.

Thank you all for your inspiration, your entertainment, and your support this year. This blogging thing is enriching my life in a very surprising way. I hope you've enjoyed the walk down memory lane with me. I'm looking forward to a new year of tables and entertaining, but most of all, I'm looking forward to being with the people sitting around our table. If "food is love", then tablescaping might be adoration!!!

I Got An Angel for Christmas

2011-12-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

Here's my Christmas surprise!!!

I got an angel for Christmas!!!

Due to my Mr. Pressed Pants' job commitments, we were not able to travel from Atlanta to our family in Cleveland this year. That meant that it would have been the first Christmas in my life that I would not be spending it with my sweet mother. I thought I was being a big girl about it, but he caught me in a weak moment of tears and with the help of the entire family, hatched a plan. I WAS expecting our older daughter, Amy and her son, Awesome Adam, but when they deplaned, they were pushing a wheelchair with my mom in it!!!! I know it took enough planning to invade Poland to do this at the very last minute, and I am so touched and grateful for everyone who helped. Brother, niece, nephew, daughter, grandson, and especially my husband. It was the best gift ever! Soooooooo.....we've all cooked lots of yummy food, set lots of beautiful tables and enjoy a million beautiful moments, but I've not stopped to take one picture. I'm in the moment......in incredible, non-replaceable moments and I'll blog another time.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!!!

One More Christmas Decor Post

2011-12-14T19:27:00.000-05:00

I shot a few photos very quickly of the dining room and guest powder room. "Quickly" is the important word here. You'll see. For example, this room is not leaning to the left, it was user error on the camera equipment! But, it gives you a look at the buffet and it's decorations.

A beautiful woodland Santa with his burlap bag sits amidst the greenery.

And the heavy green pottery plate gets an asymmetrical bow.

Over on the chest, I have a little forest of faux trees and paper mache deer.

Mr. Pressed Pants has a collection of walking sticks and canes in the corner. This lucky one got a red bow.

I did a post last year on how I used this cloche filled with pinecones for a pinecone themed dinner. See that post here.

No watering this centerpiece!

This little elf likes to sit in the sun on the bench.

The last white poinsettia just ended up on the floor.

In the guest powder room, I spruced things up with a bit of greenery. "Spruced" them up! Get it?

I still love this beautiful glass log that my friend sent me last. I did a post here on it when it arrived last year.

The corner shelves held little pastel bottle brush villages.

Top shelf.

Middle shelf.

Lower shelf.

The vanity has a few additions for the season.

The best of which, are these lovely pine cone candles.

Whew! Done! Time for a glass of wine amidst the twinkle.

You'll probably see this post at:

Metamorphosis Monday

A Little More Decor

2011-12-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

My last post showed you the way our front door, entryway, and living room turned out. You can see it here.

Today I'll show you our bar, breakfast room and kitchen. Here is the English Setter tray on the wall as you enter the bar in the back of the house. This photo must have been taken from a funny angle, because I promise you that this greenery isn't this strangely shaped! It looks like a hat you could wear to a royal wedding! But you get the idea. Don't stand still around here or you'll end up with a bow and some greenery!

The drop leaf table holds an arrangement with the resin pheasant that you've seen here. The top shelf holds some canvas Santas and the bottom one has several wood grained candles from Pottery Barn.

I've used a lot of the same items here that I have on the tree in the living room.

Under the pub sign, I've placed some very special Santas. They are hand painted wooden cutouts that my mom and dad made for me years ago.

The keeping room lends itself well to the colors of the holiday.

I temporarily replaced the green plant here with the poinsettia.

Love this acorn mirror with a bit of fluff!

I don't know if you can tell, but the black forest sconce is a stag and so is the design on the plate.

The other end table.

On the breakfast room table, I've replaced some mums with poinsettias and left the ferns in there.

A yellow glittered Santa is on top of the step backed cupboard.

I like to think about this guy as our kitchen mascot. He came home from France with us and he likes this bow and greenery.

Can you read this title? It's "Some Well Known Characters of Charles Dickens". I prop this against the back splash, but I move it if I'm really slinging hash!

I love this guy, even if he does look a bit judgemental.

This green pottery pedestal usually has fruit on it, but I've replaced it with a bunch of bottle brush trees and "snow" that is really Epsom salts.

Last room! The well used powder room off of the kitchen.

The salt glazed bottles on the acorn sconce hold a bit of greenery.

Even this little guy says "Merry Christmas"!

Tomorrow I'll show you the dining room and guest powder room. Hope you're all done. How's the shopping going?

Some very generous bloggers are having some parties! Stop by and view them.

Metomorphisis Monday

http://nominimilisthere.blogspot.com/

Open House Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

http://www.atthepicketfench.com/

Inspiration Friday

Fridays Unfold

Seasonal Sunday

Wow Us Wednesday

I Got it Done!

2011-12-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

We're entertaining tomorrow and I finally finished our Christmas decorating. Starting at the front door, I used lots of fresh greens and bows. It might seem silly to use this antique winter sports equipment in Georgia, but I hadn't used it in years and I wanted to pull it out again.

This old sled is a left-over from when I owned an antique business.

These single runner skates are a present from a former skating partner of Mr. Pressed Pants. He used to be a professional ice skater many, many years ago.

These are usually on display on our terrace level family room.

Come inside! Here's what will greet you in the foyer.

These dogs get their own fresh greens and........

they hang out with this fleet of nutcrackers.

This was our living room a few days ago. I posted more pictures of it here.

And here's what it looks like tonight.

I use bright green, rosy red and white balls with green silk hydrangeas.......

and little stuffed pheasants.

The fireplace mantle is graced with our good old stuffed pheasant.

At Thanksgiving, he sat in our dining room on the chest.

I put only a couple of large things on top of the armoire. Look closely for the red glass ball on the antlers.

This silver tray is filled with silver vintage and reproduction items. I have it on the glass coffee table.

On top of some Christmas books, I've placed our silver antlers and an old silver stag inkwell is beside it, as well.

These skaters were also a gift.

Even the dogs get a little Christmas color.

The Chairman of the Board gets a little special attention, too.

More stags with satin bows.

I've vacuumed the stray needles, stored the boxes, lit the fire, and now Mr. Pressed Pants is pouring the wine. What a guy!

Linky parties are so great this week with lots of pretty posts.
Check these out:

Metamorphisis Monday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Open House Friday

Inspiration Friday

www.atthepicketfence.com

Fridays Unfold

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

Seasonal Sunday

Wow Us Wednesday

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Christmas Decorations So Far

2011-12-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

Haven't you seen all of those millions of blogs this week showing us how perfectly DONE blogger's houses are? Or at least we are shown a foyer here or a family room there with every stray pine needle already vacumed and the boxes put away. Well, I thought I'd show you how far I've come with my decorating!

You've probably also seen tutorials with hints and advice about special containers and papers and cushioning for storing your decorations. Here's the truth.........cardboard boxes work!!!!!!!

Not one surface is a pretty little vignette.

Pointsetta are currently existing on the same table as orchids. Artwork is on the floor. And I'm probably not even home. I'm probably on the way to the store to buy MORE lights!!!!

Not to worry! We're having a party on Sunday evening, and I can't promise that all will be done, but I can say for sure that the cardboard boxes will be out of the middle of the floor.

Anybody have advise about how to get the pine tar off of your fingers?

Let's Raise A Glass!

2011-11-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I posted "Bravo To Heinz". You can read it here. It was to thank them for being such a visible supporter of our veterans. One of my great friends who is a big muckedy-muck at MillerCoors emailed me that Miller High Life is doing something even better! They donate a dime for every Miller High Life bottle cap or pull tab turned in at stores to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran's Association ( IAVA.org ).They donated $1 Million last year and 2012 will be their third year of doing this. Their slogan is "Getting Vets a Piece of the High Life"!!!! Warms my heart! Let's all raise a glass to Miller High Life and their support of this great cause! I'll go first!!!!!

Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T13:40:00.001-05:00

T'was the night before Thanksgiving and our guest were arriving at dinner time after a long drive. I wanted to greet them with a pretty table, but I wanted it different from our Thanksgiving table, which was the same as I used last year. See it here.

I decided to go dark, since the next day was going to be gold and white. There were lots of pops of color, though. Here's the sun hitting the table in the late afternoon.

I've been wanting to use this dark brown poly-silk cloth all season. Can you see the texture of the embroidery? These flowers are almost like chenille.

And these are so colorful.

Even though I promised myself that I would not buy any more dishes for fall, I wondered into World Market, saw these, and wondered out with eight of them. Hey! It happens!!!

Here's why I had to have them. I've had this guy for years and my favorite way to display him is as a centerpiece. I did a cream and brown dinner party with him last fall. You can see it here.

Then a trip to the floral wholesaler provided these flowers.

I used a round oasis ring for the flowers and I love how they echoed the colors in the cloth.

The charger is an old tan, opalescent plate and then the dinner plate was a cream scalloped one from Z Gallerie.

The dark brown linen napkin looks pretty faded here, but I don't think it really is. At any rate, the coral wired ribbon and pheasant feathers perked it up. My much-used brown handled flatware kept this from being too formal. Silver would have given it a totally different feel.

Someday I'll learn how to photograph glassware. This is the stem I used for water. It is etched with maple leaves and acorns. Then I added a plain Tiffany wine goblet. Whose hand has all of those sun spots on it? Yikes!

Three old wooden turned candlesticks were on each end. Aren't they handsome?

These little pewter salt and pepper shakers are pheasants, too.

After I had taken a lot of shots, I decided to add these bright green tapas plates as bread and butter plates and then placed horn handled fruit knives on each as a butter knife. Not exactly proper use, but Emily Post wasn't on the guest list.

This is sort of the cousin of the centerpiece. It's on a chest in the dining room where I've done a fall vignette with the same colors and feel as the table. You can see a post here that I did last fall with this pheasant as the centerpiece.

This sort of says it all. Here's Michael, our very special friend after dinner on Thanksgiving day. Can you say low-key and laid back weekend? When I look back on this wonderful weekend, this will forever be my memory. Not a moment that we didn't thoroughly enjoy!

And here's Michael the next day, sleeping and reading in the rowboat. This is a busy man who knows how to relax. How did we get so lucky to have them for friends?

This was an easy menu that was flexible if they were delayed.

Menu:

Double Cranberry Croustini

Roasted Pear Salad

(I've posted this recipe from our New Year's Eve dinner here.)

Chiopinno (Fish Stew)

Hearty Bread

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

(from the cover of Nov. '11 Southern Living)

See this post at these fun blog parties:

Tablescape Thursday

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Open House Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Inspiration Friday

Fridays Unfold

Seasonal Sunday

Wow Us Wednesday

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On the Menu Monday

It's Arrived!!!

2011-11-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

I'm not saying that I have never won anything, BUT I promise that I have never won anything this nice before! Nice? That's an understatement!

Feast your eyes on this giveaway I won from Alycia Nichols at Table Twenty One. Can you tell that it's over two feet tall? Can you see the gorgeous patina to the silver? Can you tell that I love it? I almost never enter giveaways, but this baby wanted to be MINE from the minute I saw it. Alycia's handsome husband, Ramon pulled my name! (I'm so grateful that if I were having more children, I might name one after him.)

If you are not already a follower of Table Twenty One, waste no time in checking this out. You're going to want to open every link. Alycia is a retired professional in the event planning arena and her talent in this field shows in every post. She shows us such creativity and delight in large scaled events or intimate dinners. She totally follows my philosophy of "It's not done till it's overdone"! I'm looking for a way to go to Kansas City to thank her personally. Anybody have any frequent flier miles???????????

Bravo to Heinz!!!!!!!!

2011-11-14T17:12:00.001-05:00

I really meant to post this for Veteran's Day, but I was out of town on a delightful vacation. Not to worry....this will forever be timely.

I found this at Kroger last week and it was in my grocery cart in a heartbeat. What a wonderful idea! Wouldn't it be terrific and fitting if vendors and manufacturers promoted this idea with thousands of items that we buy. Just like the Susan G. Komen foundation has reached out to so many, many companies and partnered with them for a portion of their profits, why couldn't companies partner with Wounded Warriors, or similar organizations to support our incredible men and women in the armed services?

Are you listening, corporate America?????

How can we make this happen?

Master Bedroom Before and After

2011-11-07T11:30:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our master bedroom. You asked....I finally am posting! This is a rather long, slow trip around the room, so go get a cup of coffee and settle in for the tour. We have lived in 12 different places and our bedroom has always been blue. Here it is painted a calm, grey-blue by Divine Paint called almond. I know, that color name makes no sense, but that is really a wonderful kind of high-end paint.

This is the way the former owners had the room. I can't believe that this is the only "before" photo I have. The art work is clearly the stand out in this pale room.

Here's the star now. This king bed is the first thing you see now.

This fabric was the jumping off point for the room. I most often work like this. You KNOW how I love toile and this one was just what I was looking for. The dark color in this can be read as black or brown, depending on how you want to use it. I layered this duvet over a cream matlasse .

The Euro shams are the perfect size to use this repeat of the fabric. I found a beautiful crewel for the brown pillow and the small linen pillow in the front is covered in the same fabric as I put on the loveseat.

I have to give Mr. Pressed Pants credit for finding this leather bed with nailheads. It is a Charles Rodgers bed that he saw in an ad in House Beautiful and suggested that we get it. I was very reluctant to order sight unseen, but I was so touched that he found it, so I gave it a go. Well, let me tell you that this is the most wonderful, quality piece of furniture. I've used this source since, I am so happy with this. He was adamant that the bed not have a footboard and so he's happy, too.

I have collected black and white engravings for this room. It seems that they look great with this toile. This one is called "Vue de Naples".

This end table is my side of the bed.

I have a few very special photos and.......

some reading material. This decorated toe shoe is an award I received from The Atlanta Ballet.

On the wall, over this table hangs the announcement and envelope from my father's birth. His name was Fredrick Owen, and just below it in one of the photos is our youngest grandson, Owen Fredrick. Oh, the circle of life!

And this is Mr. Pressed Pant's side of the bed. I promise you that I took these photos just "as is", and you can probably believe it when you see this one!

The toile tableskirt is trimmed out with just a subtle bit it cording. You can see the carpeting well here. It is the most expensive carpeting we put in the entire place. I love sisal, but in order to add comfort underfoot, I chose this with sisal on the bottom of the weave and wool on the top. This would never be a good choice for a family with kids or dogs, because it is almost impossible to clean because of the combination of materials. But, we are very careful with it and we love it!

These very heavy silk linen draperies were here from the previous owner. They are lined and interlined with a very heavy fabric called "bump cloth". I've never seen it used other than under tablecloths for a luxurious feel. These would keep the light out if we ever closed them, but we don't need the privacy and they are always open. The trim on the edge was a black fabric when we bought the house. I didn't care for it, but the draperies are awesome, so I added a leading edge of linen and topped it with this stripped ribbon trim. You can see a glimpse of the back yard, so you can understand how we love this big window and spend lots of time looking at the deer playing and the lake.

The love seat is one of a pair that we have had forever. It is a Williamsburg blue twill that I didn't care for, but I wanted to keep the pair matching, so I just slipcovered it. This needlepoint pillow is special, because Mr. Pressed Pants bought it for me just as our darling Springer Spaniel, Nittany, was dying. The Anichini throw is a most luxurious gift from my friend, Jan, who is a remarkable gift giver. She visited us from California once and saw this room. Somehow she managed to remember these rather unusual colors just perfectly.

I chose this playful little pleated skirt.

This zinc pot with dried blue hydrangeas is from the tablescape I did here.

The wall across from the bed holds a large dresser and a couple of cherry bamboo chairs. That clock like thing is the timer for the security lights. Don't you love the look? I told you I just shot things without editing!

Here's a portrait of our younger daughter, Susie, taken a year or two ago. (Ahem) That baby doll went everywhere with her. I considered it our third child.

And here is big sister, Amy. Does the Dorthy Hammill hairdo and the Little House On the Prairie dress tell you anything?

These old black and gold metal trays have the feel of old tole trays, but don't add unwanted pattern to the space.

I'm still charmed by this peasant girl feeding the birds. It is called "Le Poulailler", or Poultry Yard.

And this one on the other side is "Les Petite Bergeres", or The Little Shepherdesses.

This chest on chest holds Mr. Pressed Pants clothes. Every time I "improve" the vignette on the top, I find it removed and these small Lladro figurines returned here. I guess that's the way it will stay! Weird! He sure picks his battles!

This last engraving that hangs over the chest is called "Golden Hours". I just love that big Bernese Mountain Dog and the little puppy.

These watercolors are very sentimental gifts from our daughters. They are of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where we once lived and they have both chosen to return to. The top one is the gazebo in the center of the village, and the bottom one is the hill that goes into the village where every Halloween, the senior class rolls hundreds of pumpkins down to smash at the bottom. Great memories!

I almost forgot to show the chandelier from Restoration Hardware we hung. I just couldn't do a fan, although it might have been nice to have the air moving in the spring and the fall. I'll sacrifice this and take airconditioning in order to not have to look at a fan, thank you.

OK. We've been touring long enough. Now let's go down the hall and grab a glass of wine. Hope you enjoyed the visit!

I'll post the master bath renovation next!

I'm posting this at:

Metamorphis Monday

http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

Amaze me Monday

Inspire Me Monday

http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/

Masterpiece Monday

http://boogieboardcottagel.blogspot.com/

The Golfing Gods Come to Dinner

2011-11-05T18:16:00.001-04:00

Mr. Pressed Pants took an out of town business associate for golf today and then the foursome came back here for dinner. I thought it was the perfect time to set a golf themed table. What???? Did you think I would make them use paper plates?

Here are the linens that were the inspiration for the table. I can't remember where I got them.

They are embroidered with golfing scenes......

and the napkins have a cool laurel wreath with crossed golf clubs.

Nothing here is special, but I like the way it goes together. On these wicker chargers, I used our every day white pottery and then a dark green salad plate from Walmart.

I love this flatware. Can't you tell? I use it so often.

I found this vintage salt and pepper set at Scott's Antique Market several years ago. The "P" is worn off of the pepper!

I grabbed these flowers at Kroger's and put them in this dark green pot. I thought they looked a little too "pretty" for this table and I decided to add something to make it look more rustic.

I remembered these scabiosa seed heads that I dried from this post.

There! Much better.

I'm happy with this table, but it's not too fussy for the fearless foursome.

Then I remembered this teapot that I had in the "vault"! If any of the men want hot tea tonight (Yea! Right!) they're all set.

Well, the shadows are getting longer and they should be back soon. I think I'm out of here.

See this and lots of great posts at:

Tablescape Thursday

Help!

2011-11-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

Calling all blogging travelers!!!

Help! Mr. Pressed Pants and I are thinking about spending a long weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. He has a long weekend off for Veteran's Day and we want to get away, but go somewhere close by. Can anyone give me any advice about Birmingham? Hotel? Dining? SHOPPING????????

We went to Birmingham once to see Pavarotti, and stayed at the Tutweiller Hotel. When I checked it out on line, I see that it is now a Hampton Inn. What's up with that?

I remember that shopping and dining in the Mountainbrook area was great. Is there a place there to stay? What restaurants would you recommend there? What unique shops are not to be missed? Any performers in town that would be great? Any events?

As you can tell, we are in the very early planning stages, but it is not very far away and we need to get on it!!!

Anybody???????

Halloween Decor

2011-10-27T09:29:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I posted about our annual Halloween dinner party here.

The post got rather long, so I'm posting today about the Halloween decor for the party.

The front door welcomes our guests. We set up a fog machine and when someone rings the gate, we crank up the fog, so that they approach the house in a spooky haze. See this little grill in the door?

See this mechanical hand? We open the little door and stick this hand out into the fog. It always sets the tone for the giggles of the night.

The living room has a spooky, bat covered candelabra and a bright pot of mums.

And there's a glittery pile of bones.

The end table holds a pottery bowl filled with acorns and sparkly fall fruit.

In the powder room, there's a pile of Halloween hand towels.

And in the corner, there's another pot of mums.

This feathered vulture ponders the future of this little pumpkin.

The black cat checks out another one.

One more Halloween detail is new this year.

This vignette sits on the kitchen counter beside the sink.

This end table in the keeping room holds a sweet little bouquet from the cutting garden.

I put together this arrangement in the dining room with flowers from Whole Foods. The flowers turned out so vibrant that they actually look fake.

They sit on three different sizes of faux bois pottery logs that I found at Homegoods.

The bar holds this arrangement on a bird topped metal tier.

And I used a small pumpkin on the console on the bar.

This little French peasant girl is a new piece. I found these teeny little fall vegetables and filled her brass baskets with hay and vegetables. It's her first Halloween with us and I think she's a bit nervous about all the scary stuff. She shouldn't worry. Our guests are harmless!

Boo!!!!

2011-10-26T19:54:00.001-04:00

Our favorite dinner party that we give each year is the one we do for Halloween. It's always no more than 6-8 people and we never have repeats guests.

I start with this black linen tablecloth and top each place setting with an orange straw placemat. The the chargers are black French wire. Don't they look like a spider web?

The next layer is our everyday white dinner plates. Nothing precious here!

The glassware is a Waterford wine stem in the Lismore pattern and the water stem is etched and painted with a black harelequin pattern. Here's another example of how my tables are usually a mix of high and low, meaning that some items are high quality, but they will be mixed with low cost, often mass produced items. Some occassions call for pulling out the best of everything, but not for this dinner. Fun is the goal here! You can see a Waterford wine coaster here, too. I used this for the water, which you will see later in the post.

These napkins are vintage linens that I found years ago. Some have black cats, some are pumpkins, and some say "boo". Many years later, I found tea towels that match.

What's better than plastic fangs for a napkin ring? Every single year that I've done this, someone has put these in their mouth. Last year, it was a judge!

I bought these tiny little zinc signs to use as placecards. I used chalk on these to make them look like a tombstone.

These mis-matched pieces of silverplate get used more than any other set of flatware I own. I've collected it for years and the only thing the pieces have in common is the keystone shape of the handle.

The mother-of-pearl handled knives are pretty special, though, don't you think?

I'm not too sure what these little pumpkin-like things are, but I got them at Whole Foods. I put them in a white footed urn which shows up well on the black tablecloth.

Then in these white chippendale squares, I put these wonderful roses in the most vibrant orange I could find.

There is no doubt what holiday we are celebrating here!

These kitchy salt and pepper shakers were the girls' favorite from the time they were little tykes. Here's part of the high/low combination. They're pretty low, but fun.

Check out the wine we found.

This is a French Syrah by Montperoux Estates. The lable is done by designer and visionnaire Christian Audigier. It might be just be too perfect to open! One thing's for sure.....I won't be throwing this away when it is empty. It's begging for a drippy candle, don't you think? The wine coaster is sort of gothic, too.

I replaced labels from water bottles with some from the Martha Stewart line at Michael's. Then I put these plastic bottles in that Waterford wine coaster!

This setting is nothing but fun.

I about broke my neck to get this shot!

I wish I could be sure to get these every year. Are they persimmons? Anybody know?

Here are the bar glasses set out for drinks.

And these cocktail napkins are so cute. They are actually orange cotton appliqued with this cute black cat. I've had them a long, long time.

The coffee tray is set up early. The pumpkin cream and sugar set is old, as well. There's that tea towel I was talking about.

Mugs, not cups for this party. We are so casual and this allows us to linger at the table until late.

My friends give me the best gifts. Knowing how I love Halloween, Ann knew how much I would love this handmade apron. You can just barely see the petticoat like ruffle on the bottom. Isn't it the cutest?

Bows, appliques, and sparkly fabric! All I'll need is a pair of black pants and a t-shirt. And killer heels, right?

We'll be dining at the witching hour!

This is getting pretty long, so I'll be posting on the decor and the menu in another post.

Please check out these wonderful blog parties:

Tabletop Thursday

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Open House Thursday

Home Sweet Home

http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday

Inspiration Friday

Fridays Unfold

Seasonal Sunday

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

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http://vignettedesign.blogspot.com/

The Versatile Blogger Award!!!!!!!

2011-10-26T10:44:00.000-04:00

                                                          Holy moley, go get a cannoli!!!!!!
                                                    I just got my first blogging award!!!!!!!

         My friend, Carolyn from Sweet Chaos Home tagged me with the Versatile Blogger award, here.

If you haven't found Carolyn's blog yet, do yourself a favor and check it out immediately. She blogs about her beautiful home which she is lovingly caring for in the midst of raising four boys! Her banner, alone, is worth the visit when you see those sweet little bare toes among the beauty of flowers and design. You'll love it! I'm so shocked that it has taken me several days to accept and respond. I found it really hard to find seven interesting things about myself and THEN narrow my favorite blogs to fifteen.

Here's the criteria to accept:

1. Thank the awarder. (check)

2. Provide a link to her blog. (check)

3. List seven interesting things about yourself. (coming)

4. List fifteen blogs that you follow and wish to bestow this award to. (I guess I can.)

Here goes:

1. You'll probably never know this from following my blog, because I'm pretty sure I'll never post a photo of myself, but I am very short. Under five feet! Legally, I could probably qualify for "special needs", since I can never reach above the first shelf of dishes!

2. We have had 11 moves, many of them corporate transfers and while I've resisted every one of them, I have loved everywhere we've ever been. I firmly believe that each move is not all good and not all bad, but it IS what you make it!

3. I really believe that the only award that I deserve is the Great Mother award, if there is such a thing. I have raised the two most beautiful daughters who have grown into lovely young women and fantastic moms. I clearly consider this my greatest and most important achievement. When I see them parent with such love and joy, I feel a reward that I can never explain.

4. I was a physical therapist, but I discovered early in my training that I could not work with geriatric patients, as they made me cry constantly. I chose working with children exclusively for this reason.

5. I'd choose a bowl of popcorn over a steak anytime. Not that one ever gets this choice, since they are not both really meals, but if I ever have to choose that "last meal", it won't be a dinner, it will be a big bowl of popcorn.

6. I've finally taken sky diving off of my bucket list.

7. (Do I really have to find one more interesting fact?) Mr. Pressed Pants says that taking me to play tennis is like taking no one........the ball never comes back! Not my sport. So I've tried to be a golfer and I have played for over thirty years. For the last fifteen, though, my handicap has never gone down. I really must get acquainted with the driving range!

Ok! Enough about me!

Here's the fifteen bloggers who deserve the Versatile Blogger award in my estimation. Some of you are tag-free, but I'm like Carolyn. I'm going rogue and giving this to you anyhow! In no particular order:

Vignette Design

Velvet and Linen

http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/

Tablescapes at Table Twenty One

http://tabletwentyone.wordpress.com/

Home is Where the Boat Is

http://homeiswheretheboatis.wordpress.com/

Stonegable

http://stonegable.blogspot.com/

Polohouse

http://thepolohouse.blogspot.com/

Three Pixie Lane

http://threepixielane.blogspot.com/

Willow Decor

http://willowdecor.blogspot.com/

Swede

http://swede.typepad.com/

French Country Cottage

http://fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com/

For The Love of a House

Styling by Coty Farquhar

http://cotyfarquhar.blogspot.com/

Between Naps on the Porch