Saturday, December 27, 2014

Christmas, 2014


I wanted to change up my Christmas table a bit this year.  I have one set of Christmas dishes that I use every year and my table pretty much looks the same each Christmas, so I decided to try something different.  Here's how the table turned out:




Here's How It Was Created:

I started with my usual red Waterford tablecloth.  But then I added a new-to-me lace tablecloth I found while antiquing in Bakersfield, CA.   Once we put in all four leaves of the table I have to use a banquet size cloth, but eventhough this new lace cloth is slightly small, I felt it worked well as an overlay. I love the lace pattern in this cloth!



I started my place setting with my usual "gold" chargers from Big Lots, purchased many years ago!  It's almost time to do some replacing since a couple of them were cracked when I took them out of storage (good thing my guest list was a bit smaller this year!)



Then I added my beloved Christmas plate. I love this set, although I admit I've seen other patterns over the years that have attracted my attention.  Since I only use these plates for Christmas dinner, I really feel a replacement is not needed. And, besides, when I revisit them each year, it's like welcoming an old friend to our holiday meal!



Normally, I would use the red napkins that match my red tablecloth, but since tartan plaid was such an item this year, I found new napkins while in HomeGoods and decided to get them. This meant I had to also change my napkin rings, since my usual napkin rings are tartan plaid already (just a slightly different coloration) and wouldn't have worked together. So, off to Bed, Bath and Beyond I went to find some gold napkin rings!



My place setting was completed with my late mother-in-law's silverplate and my Mikasa glasses I bought many years ago when the Mikasa Outlet was still open in town (how sorely I miss that store!) I would love to have gold flatware for this occasion, but the set I have on loan from my cousin has only six place settings and wouldn't have worked this time.





The inspiration for my centerpiece began when my beloved nephew and niece sent me an extraordinary floral arrangement this year for Christmas. It is a Lenox Santa Claus figurine surrounded by a boxwood wreath! I actually gasped when I opened the box! I knew it would be the center of my Christmas table and I surrounded it with new red candle holders I found at Michael's and my very special lead crystal candlesticks I use on my dining room table.  I had one Christmas runner that didn't complement the elements very well, so I searched the house and found that the runner I had on my sideboard worked much better because of the tartan plaid border, so that helped complete the look I wanted and didn't detract from the beautiful floral arrangement. Here it is:



Isn't he a precious Santa? He is going to be a cherished heirloom in my holiday decor and will be a part of all my Christmases. Thank you, Patty and Chris, from the bottom of my heart.


This year I took pictures of the "Kids' Table" as well.  I had to share the focal point of this table, because it, too, was a unique surprise gift I hadn't expected for the season.  My cousin's sister-in-law, Deb, from Massachusetts had crocheted a gingerbread house that I had admired and lo and behold a couple of weeks ago, a package arrived with the same gingerbread house!!  Deb had heard how much I loved the house and actually made one for me, as well! Can you imagine my surprise at such a thoughtful gesture? Thank you, Deb, for your efforts, creativity and kind spirit.  Here is the "Kids' Table":


Can you believe the intricacy of that gingerbread house? It is something I will always treasure.



I used my smaller Johnson Bros. plates for the kids:





And that was my Christmas, 2014 table. I hope everyone's holiday turned out well!


I'll be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net. and
Christine's Table It! at www.rustic-refined.com . Please stop by and see all the lovely tables from Christmas!



Thursday, December 25, 2014

Season's Greetings!

Hi, everyone!!  Just waiting for the family to arrive for Christmas Dinner with all the joy and chaos that ensues with a hubby, four daughters, four sons-in-law, six granddaughters, two grandsons and a granddog in attendance! No cooking today: I ordered from a wonderful Italian restaurant so we'll be feasting on baked lasagna, baked eggplant parmesan, meatballs, green salad and garlic bread.  The dessert table is full of pumpkin eggnog pie, cherry pie, brownies, Italian sugar cookies, and gelato.  Santa has left presents wrapped in red tissue paper (that way everyone knows which gifts he has left behind).  I'll be posting my Christmas table later today or tomorrow, depending on how much steam I have by the end of the day.  I just wanted to wish my special family and friends in blogland a WONDERFUL Christmas Day full of love, laughter and those memory-making moments that warm and strengthen us during those times throughout the year when we need some joy.




                                                         With love,

                                                                               Rosie

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Taking a Christmas Challenge

Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen issued a Christmas Challenge to find a tablesetting from Pinterest or another source that we liked, and to reproduce the same setting.  I  found a place setting that appealed to me for its rustic look.  I also realized I had very similar components to use to reproduce the look.  It's such a crazy time of year and I never thought I would have the time to complete the challenge, but I took the afternoon today to see what I could come up with and here is the result:

Here's the tablescape from Pinterest and I pinned it from hometalk.com:
Just in: after looking at Cuisine Kathleen, I do believe she chose the same entry from a different angle and she revealed the actual link is http://anita-faraboverubies.blogspot.com. Thank you, Anita!



Here's My Reproduction:



Here's How the Look was created:

The closest charger I had to the one in the photo is a plastic basketweave charger I had gotten from Michael's quite a while ago. No placemat or tablecloth was used on the original table, so I did the same.



The original tablescaper used all white dishes, so I did the same thing, starting with my Metaceramica dinner plate from HomeGoods.


There were two dishes on the dish stack in the original photo, so next I chose my Madeline plate from Pier One. I still love the scalloped edge on these plates!



The setting was completed with my Mikasa Regent Bead flatware, a red-checkered napkin in a holiday-festooned grapevine napkin ring, a red water goblet from HomeGoods and an Italian pottery mug. The inspiration photo used a white cup and saucer, but I didn't have one, so I chose the mug.  I fudged a bit on this element.  The cup actually has a Christmas tree painted on one side, so I turned the mug around for the photo!








While I was putting this table together, I kept thinking, "What will I do for a napkin ring that is similar to the one in the picture?"  I started digging in my napkin ring stash, and in the back of the drawer, I found four of these perfect napkin rings! I must have bought them at an after-Christmas sale last year and totally forgot about them!! I was so excited to find them, especially since they mirror the inspiration picture so well!!



The centerpiece first attracted me to this particular table setting. I love the wood boxes that have become so popular with tablescapers.  I had found this antique shoe polish box a short time ago, and have been using it in various tablescapes.  I still would like a box that is larger and covers more of the table, but this works fine for now.  I placed some Christmas greenery in it, added candles and pinecones, then perched it on a Christmas placemat.  I couldn't exactly see what the original centerpiece was layered on, but I figured it must have had a Christmas decoration to it.



So, I attempted Kathleen's Challenge!   It was fun to do!!





I'll be linking up to Kathleen at www.cuisinekathleen.net.  Please stop by to see how all the challenges turned out!!
I'll also be linking up to Susan's Tablescape Thursday at www.betweennapsontheporch.net  and Christine's Table It! at www.rustic-refined.com.  Many thanks to these ladies who give us a chance to share our tables!

I love to hear your comments. They really do make my day! Thank you.......
Have a wonderful Holiday Season!!