Horse Lovers Come to Dinner

 

There's an adorable couple that we've been wanting to have to dinner, and last weekend we finally had them over.  They are horse lovers, so I dug into my stash of equine decorations and put together this table.  I'll admit that it was very hard for me to use these colors in summer.  They just say fall to me!  I guess I am very seasonally inspired.

But, I pulled out these Ralph Lauren linens and started with a rustic look.

I remember that when I saw these chargers at Pier One, I hesitated forever.  I have so many chargers and many of them are wooden.  Did I need any more?  No.  But, of course, I bought them.  And I love them.  The dinner plate and dessert plate are from ZGallerie. 

This flatware is some I use so often.  I played around with a light wood handle instead, but decided on this dark wood. 

 I was so happy to use these pieces.  I made the napkins from Ralph Lauren yardage years ago, and the rings are made by Rebecca Ray designs.

Don't you love the detail on this copy of an antique rosette.  Each of them has a different horse featured.

This glassware is some I use over and over.

My favorite stationery company, Seven Barks, makes these coasters with similar images to the napkin rings.  How cool are they?  

They also make these letterpress placecards with a snaffle bit design.  This image and many other great ones come on note cards, too.  They have a whole line of equestrian designs.  Check them out here.

We have a great nursery close by with a beautiful gift shop.  I found these stirrup candlesticks there last week. 

These faux bois salt and pepper shakers seemed to fit the bill.

I often use two, or even three runners in place of a tablecloth, especially if I am making them.  It is super easy to just cut and hem.

The colors of these flowers lift the feeling of the table, but still complement the colors.  Roses and alstromeria work together so well.  These are arranged on a wooden round and toped with a horse head.

These colors spoke to me!

This horse head is actually one side of a pair of bookends.  I just wrapped the base in a bit of plastic wrap and sat it on top of the brick of oasis floral foam that I used for the flowers.

I love a table for four!

Here's what greeted them at the front door.  I change out the wreath so often and I have a lot of them, but none of the seemed right for this evening, so I used the horse shoe.  It gave our guests a hint about the evening.

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Sundays at Home

The Greenbrier Look

It's no secret......I love the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.  It is a truly timeless hotel that has such iconic decor that it has spawned it's own style.  "Greenbrier Style" says it all.  Originally decorated by Dorothy Draper, it is resort style at it's best. It's Chinioserie, it's Chippendale, it's tropical, and it's BEAUTIFUL.

So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this fabric on sale for less than five dollars a yard.  Yep.  Less than five dollars. (Thank you Amy Barfield for this awesome source of deeply discounted designer fabric!)  This is really from the Williamsburg collection, but it says "Greenbrier" to me!

Don't you agree?  This green is a shade that is on trend right now.  Emerald green?  Maybe, but it's Greenbrier green to me. And I knew the pink would give me another fresh, preppy color to use on this table.

And here's the detail that put the table design squarely into the style I was looking for.  I painted the grey metal palm tree candle holders that Target has for sale right now with white glossy spray paint.  Bingo!  It goes old-school tropical and is perfect for what I wanted.

Then, I remembered that I had a pair of these white Chippendale style chachepots.  I used one of them for this arrangement of pink roses and alstromeria.  

So here's the way the table came together.  I set it up early in the day on the round white deck.

I spray painted an inexpensive plastic charger from Old Time Pottery with green paint from Home Depot, and used one of my favorite white wicker patterned plates from Portugal.  The salad size plate is green Depression glass, and I topped it with a white lions-head tureen.

This green handled flatware is from World Market.

I was so excited to find these hobnail goblets at Homegoods.  I bought the only four that they had and paired them with Reidel stemless wineglasses.

Here's the placesetting.

The napkins are also from Homegoods and I thought they looked just right without any special folding or napkin ring.  

It was even prettier by evening than it was earlier in the day. 

I can't say that 28 presidents have had dinner with us, but it does make me feel like we're dining a la Dorothy Draper.

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Diamond Jubilee

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Dear Queen Elizabeth!  She really knows how to remain regal, doesn't she?  The world will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this week and I found that I could take a small part in the party!

A few weeks ago, I had lunch for a small group of friends who call themselves the Distinguished Divas.  We met volunteering for several arts organizations and have become fast friends.  Since we have each been honored at one time or another by Atlanta Ballet, we chose this silly name to "brand" ourselves.

It wasn't until I was sorting through some photos of this luncheon that it dawned on me that it was a "Queenly" post and because I chose a glitzy, diamond(like) theme that I could pretend that I was posting for the Diamond Jubilee!  As you see here, even the centerpiece was arranged in a crown like container.

The white caterer's linen tablecloth was the basis and then I ran this rhinestone ribbon down the middle.

The flowers were going to be all white hydrangeas, but I didn't have quite enough, so I added these soft pink alstromeria.  Did I spell that right?

Then, to bring the pink into the table again, I used these scalloped linen napkins and pretended that these tiny dolly tiaras were napkin rings.  I just took the little comb out.

My mis-matched silverplate and mother-of-pearl handled knives fit the bill for flatware.  The dishes are Lenox with a very simple platinum band.  I usually go for much more color, but I was letting the flowers along the terrace be the color.

Waterford's Lismore pattered crystal stemware seemed just right.  (It's Irish and Queen Elizabeth reigns over Ireland, doesn't she?)

This is how each place setting ended up.

And here's the whole table.

The rest of the girls brought salad, entree, and sides, but I was in charge of the dessert.  To keep the Diva theme going, I put red velvet cupcakes in these little ceramic crowns that I got at Michael's last year.  I think they are meant to be candle holders.

 I made the plate a little more interesting with a couple of lamb's ear leaves and a pink bloom.  (I'm not going to try to spell that flower again!)

Aren't they cute?

Even Queen Elizabeth would love these homemade cupcake picks I came up with.  These crowns are actually made of white felt and have some clear glass glitter on them.  I stuck them in a toothpick and thought they ended the meal with a royal flourish. 

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The Tablescaper