Red and White Christmas Table

Welcome to my house!  Here in the entryway, we have a peppermint theme going on.  I made the peppermint topiary several  years ago, and I still enjoy it.  In the mirror you can get a glimpse of the simple red and white table set for December meals.

My inspiration for the table came from a Martha Stewart image I pinned, although my table doesn't really look at all like the original one.  I like the simplicity of the table, as well as the red and white color scheme.  I also love this china pattern and would probably choose it if I were a bride today!

I knew I wanted to use the red linen table runner and the faux white amaryllis for a table that could be used throughout December.  Plain white plates and the candy cane striped napkins continue the theme from the entryway, and my Georgian Ruby glasses add a little more red.  The table looked a little too plain, though, even for minimalist me!

Then I remembered these little tidbit plates I found a few years ago in the after-Christmas sale at the Crate and Barrel outlet.  Better!

Here's a closer look at these cute reindeer plates.
Here's a look at the table.  As we get closer to Christmas, I will replace the faux flowers with either real white amaryllis or lilies.  I will also add some votives for evening meals.  I like the combination of tall flowers with low candles.


I will be linking to Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish this week.  Be sure to visit her to see other copycat tables!

Texas Independence Day

As a transplanted Texan, I must admit that I could not have told you the date of Texas Independence Day.  But this year, March 2nd marks the 175th anniversary of the day that Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836.  After increasingly strained relations with the Mexican government and with the Alamo in San Antonio under siege, the authors of Texas' Declaration of Independence wrote the document overnight, proclaiming the Texas to be a "free, sovereign, and independent republic."  The Republic of Texas lasted until 1845, when Texas joined the Union as the 28th state. 

When we moved to Texas in 2000, it still felt a bit like we'd moved to another country.  Texans are very proud of being Texans!  It took us a while to learn the words to "Texas, Our Texas," which is sung immediately after the national anthem at football games.  Everyone else in the stands seemed to know the words and sang enthusiastically.  Anyway, celebrating a 175th anniversary suggested a tablescape!

Last year, the Texas grocery store chain HEB sold these melamine plates and star-shaped bowls, and when they were finally marked down to fifty cents each, I bought some! 

The placesetting also includes plain white dinner plates and red salad plates, my red Georgian-Ruby goblets, everyday flatware, plaid placemats, and my mother-in-law's red napkins tied with striped ribbon.

Here's a closer look at the cute melamine pieces.  We'll use the star-shaped bowls for extra barbecue sauce!

I didn't have any red flowers on hand, nor is it time for the bluebonnets to bloom just yet, so I made do with a red lantern as a simple centerpiece. 

Here's a view of the table, set in the breakfast area. 

And one from a different angle. . . .

We have enjoyed living in Texas, and have found the natives very friendly.  For example, shortly after we moved here and before we'd gotten our Texas license plates, the woman who took my groceries out to the car (I told you HEB was great!) spotted our out-of-state plates and said, "I see you're new in town.  Have you found a church home yet?"  She then invited me to hers!

Here's to the great state of Texas! 

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I will be linking it to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch, so be sure to check out other tablescapes there tomorrow! 

Red and White for February

How can it be February already?  This time of year I like to pull out my first set of everyday dishes, Royal Doulton's Fireglow, chosen back in 1972 when we married.  We used them daily for 25 years, so they would definitely be classified as "discounted due to slight imperfections" by Replacements.com, but I still like them!

This table is set in the breakfast area, on our new round table.  Since we've never had a round table before, I haven't had any round tablecloths.  I remedied that situation a couple of weeks ago when we visited a Home Goods in Houston. This one was in the Clearance section, marked down to $7.

I've sandwiched a plain red salad plate between the Fireglow dinner plate and salad plate topped with a ramekin, and I'm using my Georgian-Ruby goblets.

The little ramekins are my favorite pieces in this pattern.

Here you can see the dinner plate alone, as well as my silver, Lunt Belvedere. The red-bordered napkins were originally $18.75 EACH, if you can imagine, but I got them for $1.99 each at the Bloomingdale's Home store in Chicago last summer.  I believe that's my best bargain ever! 

And here's a "rim shot," so you can see the flower at the base of the fork matches one of the posies in the china pattern.

A bird's eye view. . . .

For a centerpiece, I placed white tulips into several bud vases (purchased for tables at my son's rehearsal dinner in December) set atop a white serving plate.  You can also see some of my red and white pieces on the baker's rack in the background.

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I hope you will leave a comment before you leave to visit all the wonderful tablescapes at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch!

Wedgwood Potpourri Redux

For this week's contribution to Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch, I decided to set another table with the Wedgwood Potpourri dishes recently passed along to me by my father-in-law.  In May, I posted a table highlighting this pattern with blue placemats, napkins, and other elements, so this time I decided to try it with deep red instead.

I really love the cream soup bowls, with the floral design inside.

I also like the shape of the plates against the deep red placemat. I'm using my silver, Lunt Belvedere, along with soup spoons from the silverplate my inlaws passed along to us a few years ago.  

Here's a view of the dinner plate by itself.  Fruit, flowers, birds, butterflies -- this pattern has them all!

The Georgian-Ruby water glasses have been featured in several previous tablescapes, and while I wasn't sure they were quite the right color for this china pattern, I think they work.

Here's a view of the whole table.  I would have preferred different flowers, but not enough to make a trip to HEB for them!  I decided the pink alstroemeria highlighted the lighter reds in the china pattern nicely.  Note the two kitties enjoying the late afternoon sunshine -- one on the floor to the right and one in the seat of the chair on the left.  They were most put out with me for trotting back and forth while they tried to nap.

My mother-in-law collected many wonderful pieces in the Potpourri pattern, and I've included a few on this table.  Here are closer views of the sugar and creamer, salt and pepper, and a vegetable bowl.

Here's one more view of the whole table, with the late afternoon shadows.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you will leave a comment before you leave to visit all the wonderful tablescapes at Between Naps on the Porch!

Fourth of July

It's time once again for Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch.  People across the USA will be enjoying outdoor activities and picnics to celebrate the Fourth, but here in central Texas, we will be celebrating INDOORS where it's not 100+ degrees.  My table is very simple -- just some stars, some stripes, and a wee bit of tinsel to add some festivity.

Here's a 360-degree tour of my dining room, starting with the view from the entryway:

Moving counter-clockwise around the table, here's the view toward the sideboard:

Moving around to the hostess' end of the table, you can see the entryway and the old green cabinet we bought as newlyweds to hold wedding gifts.

One last turn brings us to this view.  Why, yes, we DO have a piano in the dining room.  Doesn't everyone?  We moved it into the dining room when we needed more room for seating in the living room, and it has worked out pretty well.  Things get a little crowded when we add the table leaf for large gatherings, but we make it work.

For the Fourth, though, we'll just have four around the table.  Here's a view down the table from the host's seat.

You'll no doubt recognize my new favorite lantern seen in recent tablescapes, this time with a little red and blue tinsel inside.  You've also seen the Georgian-Ruby glassware recently. Here's a closer look at both:

The placesetting includes a navy and white plaid placemat (Kohl's), a white dinner plate, red salad plate, and a cobalt blue Fiesta fruit bowl.  White napkins from my mother-in-law are tied with striped ribbon to add a festive touch.  The flatware is our everyday stainless, Towle Beaded Antique.

Happy Fourth of July, y'all!  Thanks for visiting, and check out all the other tablescapes at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch. 

Something Old, Something New

For this week's Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch I am featuring my original everyday china, selected as a bride in 1972, and some new table linens that were an incredible deal at Bloomingdale's Home store in Chicago.  The china is Royal Doulton's Fireglow, and I still  like it, even though I moved on to a different everyday pattern after my 25th anniversary. Fireglow was one of the early freezer-to-oven-to-table patterns, and I like its cheery floral border.  I even had kitchen wallpaper to match in one house we owned in Tallahassee back in the 80s!

Here's a close-up of the pattern.  I've tended to use red placemats and napkins with it, but green also works well.  Today I've layered a red salad plate from Bed, Bath & Beyond with the Fireglow dinner and bread & butter plates, atop the new placemats.

The linens were an amazing deal.  When I was in Chicago recently for a conference (with a few days of shopping tacked on), I visited the always-wonderful Bloomingdale's Home store. (I think Heaven will be somewhat similar!)  I enjoyed browsing the china and table linen departments, and at the checkout desk, I spotted a stack of these placemats and napkins with a sign reading "$1.99."  I had seen the same linens back in late December when we were there to celebrate our 37th anniversary, but the prices were still way too high for the likes of me.  In true Dull & Dutiful fashion, I waited patiently by the stack of linens until the salesman finished a complicated transaction with the woman ahead of me, then asked, "Are these REALLY $1.99 each??"  He assured me that was correct, whereupon I gleefully grabbed eight placemats and eight napkins, then gave him my 20%-off-the-sale-price coupon!  Here are the original and marked-down prices for the placemat...

and for the napkin:

I can't even conceive of anyone being able (or willing) to pay the original prices for these placemats and napkins, but for $1.99, I was there! 

Here's a view of the table, which includes Georgian-Ruby (by Viking, now discontinued) water glasses, a red lantern purchased recently at Pottery Barn in Austin, and some preserved boxwood topiaries from the Williamsburg catalog.

The little ramekins are favorites of mine -- so versatile!

Here's another view of the table that gives a better view of the lantern and topiaries. You'll probably see the lantern again soon in a Flag Day or Fourth of July tablescape!

Here's the guest of honor's view, distinguished by a rose from one of our Knockout rose bushes.

Here's a closeup of the rose:

Here's the best bird's eye view of the table I could manage.  I don't know how the rest of you do it, but I'd have to hang by my knees from the ceiling fan to get high enough to snap the whole tabletop unless I used a ladder, and my recent foot surgery precludes that option for now.

I like this bird's eye view, which includes the centerpiece elements and parts of the placesettings:

And here's one last view of the table from another angle:

Thanks for visiting!  I love to get your comments, and please also stop by Susan's Between Naps on the Porch to see some beautiful tablescapes.