Sunday Lunch in January

After all the Christmas and wedding excitement was behind us, I was in the mood to set a simple, maybe even austere, table for lunch on a cold, wet Sunday.  The leaf was still in our dining room table from the holidays, so I opted to set four places, two on each long side.

I started with some spring green placemats and some plain white porcelain plates.  I first tried the matching green napkins, but decided the black and white printed ones added interest.

I pulled out some olive green stemmed glasses, added my silver, and the simple placesetting was complete.

For the centerpiece, I brought in some white tulips I'd had on the breakfast room table, then decided to add the preserved boxwood topiaries from the mantel to continue the green and white theme.

A few more photos. . . .

The Details
Green placemats:  Crate and Barrel Outlet
Black and white napkins:  Pottery Barn Outlet
White plates:  Pier 1
Olive green glasses:  The Great Indoors
Silver:  Lunt Belvedere
Preserved boxwood topiaries:  Williamsburg catalog

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

A Few Wedding Photos

We don't have the official photos yet from my son's wedding, but here are a few I like!  I thought this one my daughter took of my father-in-law and my grandson sharing a laugh on the back pew before the wedding was priceless!  At ages 88 and 4, respectively, I believe they were the oldest and youngest present at the wedding festivities.

Here's a photo of the bride -- my new daughter-in-law, Amanda -- with my grandchildren who served as the flowergirl and ring bearer. 

Here's one of the bride and groom cutting the groom's cake.

The ring bearer got a little impatient, waiting for cake. Here he is, begging them to cut the cake, already!

Here he finally gets a slice!

Busy Time!

Thanks to all my faithful followers who have let me know they've missed me in Blogland!  I have been busy with family events -- Christmas, our son's wedding, our anniversary trip, and a trip to Nashville to help out after my sister's surgery.

I posted a few photos from our Christmas celebrations in a previous post, and then we immediately plunged into the final preparations for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.  Everything went smoothly, and it was a beautiful and meaningful wedding in our church, followed by a lovely reception.  The newlyweds are back from their honeymoon and enjoying settling into their new apartment.  Here's a photo of the happy couple!

The wedding was held on our 38th wedding anniversary, the 30th, so New Year's Eve was spent taking down Christmas decorations, and on New Year's Day we flew to Las Vegas for a few days of R&R.  The day after we returned, I flew to Nashville to be with my sister and her family following her major surgery.  She is doing very well, and we enjoyed our time together.  It snowed while I was there, so that was fun to see, as we don't get much snow in central Texas!

I hope to get back to tablescaping -- and perhaps writing reviews for some of the tablescaping books I received for Christmas -- very soon!  Thanks for bearing with me during this extra-busy time for my family!

What Santa Brought

I believe my family has taken note of my interest in tablescaping, as I received some lovely gifts to support my habit!  In my previous post, I featured the sparkly placemats and wonderful napkin ring/flower holders from my daughter.  Here's another look at the napkin rings:

My son, husband, and mother gave me tablescaping books -- a total of five new sources of inspiration!

I look forward to spending time enjoying the wonderful photos and reading the tips from the experts!  I am linking to Marty's Anything Goes Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life, so be sure to check out the other links there! 

Christmas 2010

I hope everyone is having a lovely and relaxing day-after-Christmas!  I plan to sit with my feet up all afternoon, if I can get away with it. We had a wonderful couple of days with our family.

Our daughter and her family arrived Christmas Eve morning, and our son flew in that afternoon.  My father-in-law joined us that evening for dinner.  Here are a few photos of the table I set for that meal.

I've had the plaid tablecloth for years.  I really like the emerald green glasses with it -- they first belonged to my husband's grandparents, then his parents, and now they've been passed down to us.  I believe they were originally a grocery store premium, but they have a lovely shape and wonderful color. The pattern is called both Inspiration and Burple, from what I've read about them.

I used my Christmas china, Dansk Winterfest, again for this table.  I have napkins that match the tablecloth, but they get lost in a sea of plaid, so I used some white ones tied with red and green cording. You can also see the tree-shaped placecard holders I featured in an earlier post.  My granddaughter wrote our names on the placecards when she arrived.

The centerpiece is almost the same as the one in my last tablescape, with the addition of some fresh greenery and some glittery green ornaments. 

Here's a view with the candles lit.

My adorable grandchildren posed for the obligatory Christmas pajamas photo before going to bed that night.

The men of the Dull and the Dutiful family opened matching shirts on Christmas Eve, which they wore on Christmas Day. From the left, my father-in-law, my husband, our son, and our son-in-law.

The grandchildren also dressed festively for Christmas Day.

My wonderful daughter gave me some gorgeous placemats and napkin rings for Christmas, so I quickly incorporated them into our table for Christmas dinner..

The centerpiece was simple -- just evergreens with white mums and green hypericum berries in a glass and silver bowl.

The new placemats are sparkly silver with ruffly edges, and the clear acrylic napkin holders have a small opening to hold flowers or other small items. I used more of the white mums and greenery for this table, and I'm looking forward to using these special holders on many tables in 2011!

Here's a look at the placesetting, with my wedding china, silver, and crystal. 

Here's another look at the table.

And here is my family, all waiting for pie after the meal!  We were blessed to have four generations around our table this year.  Clockwise from left are my father-in-law, our daughter, our grandson, our son-in-law, my husband, our granddaughter, and our soon-to-be-married son.  The wedding is now just a few days away!

Thank you for visiting! I hope you'll leave me a comment before you go!

White Christmas

Kathleen of Cuisine Kathleen is hosting a White Christmas/Winter White party this week, so I did my best to set a table with only off-white, silver, and greenery.  If you've visited any of my tablescapes before, you know that I really like a lot of color, but this was a good challenge for me.  Be sure to visit Kathleen this week to see other White Christmas participants' tables!

I started with a textured pale ecru tablecloth and my Lenox Windsong, which has a subtle pattern and a platinum rim, and my silver, Lunt Belvedere.

To complete the setting, I added the matching napkins, tied with a sheer silver ribbon, and my crystal, Lenox Moonspun, a pattern several others in the tablescaping tribe also have.  I know that Debbie of Words on Wheels, Laurie of Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie, and Sue at I Need Mom! all  have Moonspun.  I'd love to know if any others have it!

Each placesetting also includes a sparkly silver tree as a placecard holder.  Here's a closeup of one of them. I also have them in sparkly green.  I think I bought them at Fifth Season in Little Rock a few years ago.

For a simple centerpiece, I started with a pretty silver sandwich tray that belonged to my in-laws and added three cream pillar candles, clippings cut from the bottom of our Christmas tree, and some silver ornaments. Here's a bird's eye view.

The sandwich tray has very unusual claw feet!  I like this shot with the spiral shadow from one of the placecard holders.

Here's a view of the whole table, set for six.  I'll expand the table for Christmas, when we'll have eight family members -- and four generations -- around the table.

In this view, you can see the sideboard, with the blue and silver that I'm using in the dining room this year.  My son is getting married soon after Christmas, on our 38th wedding anniversary, and the wedding colors are blue and silver.  "Presbyterian hymnal blue," to be specific!  That's the color the bridesmaids will be wearing, so they'll coordinate with the hymnals in our church!

For the first time, I was able to capture some "blue hour" photos of the table, with the candles lit and Christmas tree lights glowing.

The slim tree also belonged to my in-laws, and my father-in-law was pleased to see it in our front window this year.  It is also decorated with blue and silver ornaments and ribbon.  Our larger tree is in the living room, but it's fun to have one in the dining room this year.

Finally, here's the host's view by candlelight.

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I am also linking to Susan's Between Naps on the Porch, so be sure to check out other tablescapes there starting Wednesday night!

Dansk Winterfest

For this week's Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch, I'm featuring my everyday Christmas dishes, Dansk Winterfest, which we use throughout the holidays.  I found these dishes at a wonderful Dansk outlet that used to be in the French Quarter in New Orleans.  I was so disappointed when I discovered it had closed!  The table is set in the breakfast room today.

 Here's a look at the placesetting.  I was drawn to the pattern because it includes blue, my favorite color, and because of its casual, modern look.

Here's a bit closer look at the pattern.

And here's the "rim shot."

 The pattern also includes glasses and mugs.  I'm using only the glasses for this table.

A few years after I bought the dishes and glasses, I found the matching candleholders at an outlet near Princeton, NJ, while visiting my daughter and son-in-law.

The simple centerpiece also includes a rustic wooden tree from Pier 1 several years ago.

Here's one last look at the table.

Finally, here's a closer look at the baker's rack, decorated for the season.

Thank you for visiting my table this week!  I hope you will leave a comment before you check out the rest of the tablescapes set for this Tablescape Thursday at Susan's Between Naps on the Porch!