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

Making a Christrmas Eve Memory

Doesn't she look like she has a secret?  This is Tammy (or Tinsel),  She is a registered Percheron belonging to Derek and Rebecca Smith.


Here's what she had planned for us on Christmas eve day!  A surprise horse-drawn toboggan ride!  (That's me....that black lump in the cart beside Driver Derek.)

Here's the cast of characters: Owen, our youngest grandchild; Lizzie, his cousin, who is Rebecca and Derek's daughter; and Teddy, our middle grandson.  Adam, our oldest, was invited, too, but he had a date with Mr. Pressed Pants.  We missed them both.  That little guy over Teddy's shoulder is not related to me! 

Derek takes the gang down to the paddock area.  Rebecca and Derek recently bought this wonderful old farm called Valley High.  You can see a canine and an equestrian tablescape I did at her house just after she moved in here and here.

This photo of the Smith's herd was taken a few days earlier, before the snow.  The little pony, Licorice, seems to be in charge here!  She's leading 6,000 pounds of Percheron, bless her heart!

Well, this majestic girl was picked to be our playmate. Tammy, aka Tinsel, is a registered Percheron, a draft breed that originated in Perch, France. (That is probably why I like her!).  This is the breed that built America. The were important in farming, coaches, taxis and hauling, and most well known as the horses that pulled up the tents for Ringling Bros circus.  They almost went extinct after the war, when the tractor took over.

Into the barn she went to get all geared up for us.  There were even brass sleigh bells for her, but she was a little new to this, so after we all admired her bells, they were hung back up.  Man, this is WORK getting this done!  That's a lot of horse to manage and a lot of hooks and stuff!

Here's Rebecca getting her hooked up to the pretty, red forecart.

And off she goes for a little spin without kids first!

How much fun is this????????  A horsedrawn tobaggan ride!  How cool!

Look at those smiles!

The Smiths have a large front yard, which will have lots of hoof prints in it come spring, since the ground was not yet frozen.

Just look!

It's a good thing Derek knows what he's doing, because that's a big animal to control!

There were a few dumps, but they could run to catch up.  And I'm surprised to say that I didn't see anyone intentionally pushing someone off.  Real surprised!

Here's Rebecca thanking Tammy for all of her work.  And I want to thank them for all of their generosity.  It was a very special moment in the holiday.  Our daughter, Susie, was especially grateful, as Christmas eve day is a time when she needed the boys to have an activity.....out of the house.  Know what I mean?

And afterwards, I suggested the boys hop into the old sleigh for a photo op.  See what's in both guy's hands?  What do you think happened just after the camera snapped?  That's right folks!  I got two snowballs in the head.  I still love them dearly and was so very, very, very glad to be able to spend the most special time of the year with them and the rest of my precious family.

The Sporting Life - Equestrian Style

Doesn't this look like fun?  When Rebecca Smith, owner of Rebecca Ray Designs invited me to come to her house and play with dishes, I couldn't wait to start.  My last post was the first table we collaborated on, titled "The Sporting Life - Canine Style".  You can see it here.  Then, we quickly put those dishes and accessories away and pulled this breakfast table together.  We switched to equestrian style with these beautiful pieces.

Again, we just set up one end of the table with three placesettings.

My first choice was these vintage hunt scene napkins and placemats.  They went directly on the old Baker table.

Next she offered these old Fitz and Floyd plates.  How perfect!

But wait!  It gets better!  Then she remembered these dessert size plates that were perfect on top.  They are Wedgewood and the pattern is "Hunting Scene".

Then she threw open this closet full of glass and crystal and said, "just pick some glasses".  Well......I think I did pretty well.  Rebecca doesn't know anything about these beauties, as they came from an estate sale.  I grabbed the water goblets ......

and the compotes.  Score!

After that, I was on a roll.  Rebecca got some unexpected company, so I just wandered around the house filling up the table.  There were so many beautiful things to pick from.

Like these sterling silver and cobalt glass salt cellars.  Do you see what is on top????  A fox!!!

And I found more foxes to use as knife rests.

Then, in the silver drawer, I found these engraved silver dishes.  I'm not sure what they were intended to be used for, but I'm showing them here as butter plates, and I've added these silver plate individual butter spreaders.  These were all Rebecca's grandmother's.

One has to have a teapot for breakfast, right?  I first thought that this was a fox on top, but it really is a cat.  Still, it's perfect.  I only used one of a pair of these.

Now, I'm on to the centerpiece.  Out in the kitchen, I found a basket of white peaches, just picked that morning from their orchard, and a single dahlia that "matched" the peaches.  Onto a green bordered plate they went, and they were perfect to soften the table.

Rebecca suggested this cement horse for the center of the table.  It is one of a pair and very special.  It is signed and dated "Hughette Wheeler, 1930".  I did a little research and found that the sculptor is often called "Tex" Wheeler and did the life sized statue of Seabiscuit that stands in Santa Anita Park.  

Naturally, we added these old stirrup cups for some extra color.

And there you have it!  It only represents a tiny fraction of the beautiful decorative accessories Rebecca and Derek had available to me.  And they were still unpacking!!!

Yep!  You'd never guess from this angle that they had JUST moved and that much of their stuff was still in boxes.  This house is undergoing some major changes and I can't wait to see what they do.  

For now, I'll just give them a huge thank you for inviting me to do this photo shoot and hope that it won't be too long before they can actually take the time to sit down and enjoy a meal at a table like this.

Talley Ho!

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