A Touch of Pink

Again this week, my table began with a glass -- pink this time.  I had admired these at Pottery Barn, so when they put them on sale in December, I ordered them.  At the time, I had no idea how I'd use them to set a table, as I have no pink dishes or table linens.  I just bought them because they were pretty!

I looked for pink placemats and napkins online, but apparently pink is out of vogue, because I didn't find any I liked. I decided to bring in more pink using flowers instead.  Here's a "diner's view" across the table -- white placemats and napkins, pink and white alstroemeria in short glass vases, Grandma Rachel's china, and our wedding silver.

I use these bud vase napkin rings, a gift from my daughter, all the time.  They are wonderful for bringing a little more color to the table.  Oops, that napkin could have used ironing!

Here's a view of the table, set for a lunch with friends.  Just enough pink for me!

Here's a closeup of Grandma Rachel's china -- it's the Admiral pattern by Heinrich H&C.  The little cluster of pink flowers is the only pink on any of my china patterns.  (I'm more of a blue girl.)  I think Grandma Rachel would be tickled to see me pairing her pretty vintage china with glasses from Pottery Barn!

The alstroemeria included the perfect shade of pink!  And 15 stems were just $7 at Sam's Club.

Another view. . .

Couldn't resist this closeup.  Those two central striped petals form a heart!

One more look at the placesetting.

Thank you for visiting!  I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Start with a Purple Glass

It all started when I saw some pretty purple glasses in the clearance pages of a Ballard Design catalog.  They were marked way down, plus I had a coupon, so I ordered them.  They arrived in just a few days, and they were even prettier in person.  If you look closely, you can see the pattern includes a crown. 

I asked my husband to bring home some purple flowers from the grocery store, and he obliged, selecting these lovely Dutch iris.

I tried several combinations of china patterns and placemats and even briefly considered ironing a giant white tablecloth before I came to my senses.  I only have one set of napkins in my stash that includes a little purple, and no other linens in the "right" purple, so I finally settled on using the plain white backside of some placemats.

I used plain white plates set on silver chargers -- really silver trays we received as wedding gifts.  Each one is a little different.

 Silver was apparently a LOT less expensive way back in 1972, because we received a lot of it!  Over the years my trays have played a role in many receptions, bridal and baby showers, etc.

Once I settled on using the silver trays as chargers, I pulled out more silver to continue the theme.  The silver goblets were also wedding gifts.

The tiny salt and pepper shakers belonged to my in-laws.  Aren't they sweet?

I happened to remember some purple candles, left from our Advent wreath, so after a quick polish of the candelabra, the centerpiece was complete.

Here's a placesetting. 

And here are a few views of the table.

Thank you for visiting! I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch later this week.

Bring on the Daffodils!

Who's tired of wintry weather? Hands? I thought so. We Central Texans have had to wear COATS lately.  Yes, they are Texas coats that wouldn't protect us from, say, a Chicago winter, but most years, we only have to pull them out a few times.  This year, they're getting a workout.

While at Home Depot over the weekend, I spotted these miniature daffodils in pots and couldn't resist the hint of spring they offered.  Of course, I had to set a table to show them off.

Yellow and green was the obvious color scheme, so I pulled out green placemats and linen-look napkins with a green blanket-stitched edging, then added a green and yellow salad plate (Williams-Sonoma, two years ago) and a yellow appetizer plate that was a gift from my daughter.  A green water glass and our wedding silver complete the placesetting.

The daffodils were soaking up the late afternoon sun in the dining room after several overcast days.

Love this golden light!

When daffodils appear, can spring be far behind?  Come on, Mother Nature!

Thank you for visiting The Dull and the Dutiful this week!  I will be linking to Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

In Praise of Pansies

Pansies bloom throughout the winter in our part of Texas, and even our recent VERY cold (for us!) weather has not daunted their spirit.  Planted in October, when the weather finally cools off, they brighten the flower beds when most other flowering plants are dormant.  We are lazy gardeners, so we've started buying hanging baskets of pansies and planting those, rather than flats of the smaller plants.  Much less kneeling and digging required!  In past years, I have chosen the yellow and purple varieties, but this year, the purple and white ones spoke to me.  Here's one bed, at the end of our driveway.

I have been wanting to do a table celebrating pansies, but I have very little purple in my house.  In fact, I have trained my husband to bring home any color of flowers EXCEPT purple, because it just doesn't go with our decor.  So.  Time to hit Pier 1!  They had mailed me some good coupons, so off I went.  Just inside the front door on the Clearance table were purple hemstitched placemats and napkins.  Sold!  With my coupon, the napkins were under $3 each, my kind of steal deal.  They also had three different kinds of stemware in purple, but I reluctantly realized that a) I would not use them very often and b) I do not have room to store them.  Such restraint!

I knew that I wanted the pansies to be the star of the table, so I limited the color scheme to purple and white.  For the centerpiece, I pulled out my pansy ring and elevated it on a white cakestand.

I also wanted to use my bud vase napkin rings.

Here's a look at the placesetting.  Simple white plates with our wedding silver and crystal.

Also new to my collection are the silver pea pod place card holders.  I couldn't resist them in Williams-Sonoma's clearance sale.  I will also use them to identify dishes when we serve buffet-style.

Here are a few more photos of the table.  The host's view:

 The pansy ring looks like a cake in this one.

 A guest's view:

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be linking with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Reading in 2013

Inspired by a number of my favorite bloggers who have posted a list of titles read last year, I decided to join in and post mine.  I love to read and have always read for fun, even in the throes of graduate school and while working full-time and raising children.  Reading keeps me sane, I think!

Unfortunately, I did not keep a comprehensive list of everything I read last year, but since the vast majority of my reading is done on my iPad, my Amazon digital orders provided a list of all the books I bought there, and that's the list you'll see below.  (Of course, that also allowed me to tally up how much I spent -- yikes!  "One-click" shopping can be dangerous!)  I did read several "actual" books, usually gifts, and I also was delighted to  learn how to download library books to my iPad.  If you aren't using Overdrive.com to borrow from your local library, you should be!

One indication I'm reading too many e-books?  More than once I've found myself tapping the side of the page of a real book, expecting that to turn the page like it does on the Kindle or iPad!

Title	Author
Yesterday's News	Kajsa Ingemarsson
The House at Riverton	Kate Morton
The Forgotten Garden	Kate Morton
The Sound of Broken Glass	Deborah Crombie
Downsizing Your Home with Style	Lauri Ward
Winter of the World	Ken Follett
The Violets of March	Sarah Jio
Coming Home	Mariah Stewart
Home Again	Mariah Stewart
A Week in Winter	Maeve Binchy
Devlin's Light	Mariah Stewart
Sand Castle Bay	Sherryl Woods
Three Sisters	Susan Mallery
A Different Light	Mariah Stewart
Starting Now	Debbie Macomber
Down the Garden Path	Beverley Nichols
Tapestry of Fortunes	Elizabeth Berg
Life After Life	Kate Atkinson
Semi-Sweet:  A Novel of Love and Cupcakes	Roisin Meaney
The People Next Door	Roisin Meaney
Life Drawing for Beginners	Roisin Meaney
The Daisy Picker	Roisin Meaney
One Summer	Roisin Meaney
Something in Common	Roisin Meaney
A Room Full of Bones	Elly Griffiths
Wind Chime Point	Sherryl Woods
A Dying Fall	Elly Griffiths
Villette	Charlotte Bronte
The Coffin Trail	Martin Edwards
The Cipher Garden	Martin Edwards
The Arsenic Labyrinth	Martin Edwards
The Serpent Pool	Martin Edwards
The Frozen Shroud	Martin Edwards
The Hanging Wood	Martin Edwards
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls	Anton DiSclafani
A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet	Sophie Hudson
A Single Thread	Marie Bostwick
All the Lonely People	Martin Edwards
The Burgess Boys	Elizabeth Strout
How the Light Gets In	Louise Penny
Red Sparrow	Jason Matthews
And the Mountains Echoes	Khaled Hosseini
The English Girl	Daniel Silva
As Always, Julia	Joan Reardon
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage	Ann Patchett
Faithful Unto Death	Stephanie Jaye Evans
Safe from Harm	Stephanie Jaye Evans
Lowcountry Boil	Susan Boyer
Lowcountry Bombshell	Susan Boyer
Dear Life	Alice Munro
Miss Buncle Married	D.E. Stevenson
Miss Buncle's Book	D.E. Stevenson
The Goldfinch	Donna Tartt
Cool-Season Gardening in Central Texas	Melody Fitzgerald
The Wedding Machine	Beth Webb Hart
Sycamore Row	John Grisham
The Racketeer	John Grisham
A Bird in the Hand	Ann Cleeves
King and Maxwell	David Baldacci
What My Mother Gave Me	Elizabeth Benedict
Whole Latte Life	Joanne Demaio
Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes	Joanne Demaio
Only the Innocent	Rachel Abbott
The Sixth Man	David Baldacci
Split Second	David Baldacci
Hour Game	David Baldacci

That's 66 books, so a little more than one per week.  December was the big winner, with nine books read that month.  Yay, Christmas holidays!  Many of the books are "light" fiction -- good escapism and relaxation!  You'll also see that when I find an author I like, I read a lot of his/her books. I love discovering a new prolific writer!  Also, there's very little non-fiction here.  I read a lot of that for work, so stick primarily to fiction for recreational reading.  

I am always up for book suggestions, so please comment with any titles you'd recommend!  

Christmas Around the House

I'm posting a few pics of our Christmas decorations this year, as a reminder for future years. I've enjoyed being able to look back and see what worked -- and what did not! The baker's rack in the breakfast area is always fun to decorate.  I usually like a whimsical theme for this area, and this one includes polka dots and candy -- sure to be the favorite of my grandchildren when they arrive. 

This year I copied an idea seen on Pinterest for using small  houses, figures, and trees to create a mini Christmas village in my covered trifle bowl.

Here's a closer look:

This counted cross-stitch piece is old, but I still embrace the sentiment.  We are blessed to have both our children and their families with us this Christmas, as well as my 91 year old father-in-law!

Moving on to the living room, I used my late mother-in-law's Father Christmas collection on the bookshelves.  Last year, my sister found the little plates featuring Father Christmas at Kroger and sent them to me, and I think they are the perfect complement to all the figurines.

The mantel I kept simple, adding candy-striped candles and berry candle rings and tying ribbon around the topiaries.  Since taking this photo, my husband surprised me with a large lighted faux boxwood wreath, so we replaced the bluebonnet painting with the wreath.

I set up another mini Christmas village on a side table, using the tray from my silver service as a base.  This was a fun way to "play" without setting up a whole village.

The photo below appeared in my previous post, but I'm including it here, too.  I've had the horn candlesticks for eons, and I made the peppermint topiary several years ago.  The Norfolk Island pine spends most of the year outdoors, but it's inside for the winter, so is decorated with a few red bows.

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas with friends and family!

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!