Month: February 2017

Well with St. Patrick’s Day coming up, who could resist setting up an all green table? Not I, so here I went…

As usual, with the intent to avoid the expected, which in this case would have been four leaf clovers and leprechauns, I opted to concentrate on the color green. Low and behold I found this holiday tablecloth and napkin set which I had purchased at Crate & Barrel a few years back.

So now I had the base and inspiration for my setting. I continued with the all green theme by using a fern as the centerpiece, Granny Smith apples as the “place cards” and finally, moss green taper candles.

To continue highlighting the green, I used glass tableware which would allow the pattern of the cloth and napkins to seep through and only contrasted with the silver of the silverware, chargers and candle sticks.

The napkin fold can once again be found on my favorite site, thenapkinfoldingguide.com

I did have actual guests, my parents, so I decided to go with comfort food, starting off with;

Ina Garten’s Roasted Leak and Potato Soup;

Irish Stew served on a bed of mashed potatoes (not shown here);

And delicious Cinnamon-Applesauce Cake by Williams-Sonoma drenched in Irish Cream Icing;

Irish or not, I think this meal is fit for any lucky guests!

Let’s bring out the old red, white and blue in honor of the upcoming Presidents’ Day!

I start out with my navy blue table cloth as the base of my table which would contrast nicely with the white, red rimmed (holiday) place mats with matching napkins.

In keeping with my love of contrast, I next place the blue denim chargers, a white main plate and the denim blue salad plates.  Notice, blue, white, blue, white, blue…and that pop of red for drama.

The rimmed napkins usually work well for napkin folds, and this dimensional fold looks wonderful (check out napkinfoldingguide.com).

I’m placing simple red and white carnations, since you cannot find navy blue flowers, in a simple white container.  In keeping with the simplicity, I place two medium height red tapers on either side to anchor the centerpiece.

Once again, it’s important to mention that some of these items have been bought in holiday sales and I can use red for Valentine and patriot themes as well.

The featured menu item is Ina Garten’s Salad Veronique:

And there you have it, patriotic, delicious and fun!

 

I found these two ballerina teddy bears in Homegoods and considered them the inspiration I needed for a little girl’s play date luncheon.

I loved the country look of the bears as they have burlap on the soles of their paws, on their ears and at the tip of their nose.  It’s a beautiful contrast to the white tulle of their tutu’s and the rosettes on their leotards.  Adorable.

So to pick up on the country look, I covered my table with a matchstick runner and coordinating place mats.  To go for that layered look I love, I added one additional round woven mat to each setting and placed one as well in the center of the table to anchor the flowers.

Speaking of flowers, I should have purchased white rose buds to match the outfits’ rossettes but what I had at home were the hydrangeas so I used those instead.  I think they still worked well.  The burlap box I used as the floral container is actually one I utilize for storage and I placed the floral square glass container inside.

Then I placed the bears facing each other to mimic them interacting as little girls would, unless they’re on their phones!  The burlap bags holding the utensils and the votive candles were a Papermart find.

I would serve Ina Garten’s homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.  And for that special treat, Ina’s meringues with fresh berries, whipped cream and raspberry sauce!

And there you go, a simple, delicious luncheon deserving of an encore for the very best of prima ballerinas!

Good morning!  How about creating a children’s breakfast setting to battle the usual Monday morning blues?

I found these adorable dog bowls at Homegoods the other day and I simply couldn’t resist the idea of delighting children with this unusual setting.

For those of you that may already be terrified, let it be known I won’t actually serve their meals out of them.  I’ll just use them to anchor their cereal bowls.  Relieved?  Well, let’s continue.

As I usually do with my rustic settings, I am lucky enough to have the distressed wood table that serves as my perfect backdrop.  I then set the two gray plaid runners (which I usually use for winter settings) sideways to give the illusion of dog blankets and then place the galvanized metal chargers to match my dogs’ kibbles bucket which I use as my centerpiece.

I love the layered look to add texture and drama to my settings so I first place the main meal plate to anchor the dog bowls.

Finally, I place the white linen napkins inside the matching white mugs and add hurricane lamps with white pillar candles to add height to the overall look.

The recommended menu is Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Sunday Morning Oatmeal:

As promised, the “human cereal bowl” is placed inside the dog bowl. Chow down!

Ok, with such an important sports event as the Super Bowl, there is no way we cannot come up with a table setting.  Usually we think of beer, chips and barbecue but this time I want to come up with something different.  Let’s prepare a sit down lunch in front of the set.

If you’ve been keeping up with my posts you’ll recall I don’t like to over-theme my settings which is why there are no footballs in sight here!  I did, however, pick up two important colors that remind us of the game.  One is the color of the ball and the other is the color of the field.  Basically, this two factors are what it’s all about.

I leave my rustic tabletop to create a masculine base. Then I place the woven mats in the color of the football and my “The Friendly Village” tableware to pick up on the earth tones.  I then arrange the white linen napkins with the green borders and embrace them with the pewter napkins rings, which you can still find at Pottery Barn, as well as the pewter bowl holding the dried earth toned vase fillers.  The green water glasses continue to pick up on one of the two important colors.

The pewter candlesticks, which I purchased at an antique shop, hold my lucky find of the day, which are the taper candles in the same brick color as the mats.  Perfection!

My suggested menu is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Family Style Volume:

Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil

Lasagna With Turkey Sausage, and

Tiramisu

With our meal planned and our table set, may the best team win!