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

Favorites on the First - Gifts

I have a quick post to join Allison at The Polohouse for her Favorites on the First.  

Her theme this month is "Your Favorite Gift To Give".  Here are my picks:

I'm going with a brown craft paper look this year for all my gifts, and these tags make the packages look soooo cool.  It is always a challenge to find great pieces for men, but these from Seven Barks are a great choice.  They come in themes of dog, horse, boating, and fly fishing.  Aren't they great?

Also from Seven Barks, these drink coasters have become my go-to host or hostess gifts.  They are heavy weight paper, almost like fine chipboard and come 30 to a package for only $20.  They also come in dogs, horses, fly fishing and boating.  Each theme comes 4 different images to a beautifully decorated package.  Stock up, people!  Everyone I have ever given them to loves them.

And, how cute are these?  These die cut correspondence cards are soooooo wonderful.  Same themes as above.  They come 10 for $24 and have bright orange envelopes.  Don't you LOVE them?

And for those special gifts, I'll using this awesome, heavy weight wrapping paper.  Five large sheets to a pack, with the same themes.  This sure makes a present stand out.  I went to Orvis' wharehouse sale and picked up some fishing lures that I use to add that "sumthin, sumthin" to the top of the package.  I love to spoil my men!

You can find other stationery items from Seven Barks on the web under Rebecca Ray Designs.  She also has lots of other choices for really special presents, and has recently added to her men's line.  If you hurry, you can find Seven Barks selling on One King's Lane today.  Go!  Now! Hurry!

Bonus Question:
What would you give if you had all the money in the world?
Answer:
College Scholarships!

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!

Joining:

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America's Mart 2012

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.