Happy New Year!

My husband and I are not New Year's Eve party people.  We're lucky if we make it to midnight (are we boring or what??).  BUT... New Year's Day we have one of my sisters and friends for dinner, including her college friend.  We've had them for dinner for a few years now.  So it's become a wonderful part of our holiday season. I decided to break out the Old Country roses.  I usually use these dishes for accent to my Royal Albert white Val D'Or.  Recently I have added to my collection and can set the table with mostly OCR.  I wanted to use holiday colors still...sort of a last hurrah.   And it certainly was colorful!!!

Pretty busy table, but I love lots of color!

I was happy to be able to use my Christmas centerpiece again

These cream soup bowls are Val D'Or.  Doesn't it look like the roses washed off OCR bowls????

I have loved this pattern for soooo long...

Too much holiday??  I don't think there is ever too much holiday...

Placecards with a cardinal.  They just say winter to me...

The bird's eye view of the whole place setting

Desserts were served on the buffet...

All sorts of desserts....

My sweet hubby is always outnumbered by women (he was taking the photo)

Somebody found a nice spot while dinner was going on...

But didn't like being awakened!!!  CRANKY CYRIL!

We had a full turkey dinner with all of the usual sides.  And there were desserts!!   We had so many that I sent some home with my sister, took some to work on my office day, threw cookies in the freezer, and  there is STILL trifle in the fridge!  Certainly not helpful for anyone's New Year's resolutions!!

Okay...so I am finally giving in and admitting that the holidays are over...

I wish everyone a wonderful, healthy, happy, and safe New Year!!!!

I love that you came by and please be sure to visit "Between Naps on the Porch"...Susan's button is up on the right and she hosts a wonderful tablescape party

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• Of course...all of the Old Country Roses in my china cabinet-wedding gift and lots from ebay
• Silverplate is Rathmore by Reed and Barton (my favorite)
• Iced beverage glasses are Waterford Marquis-Brookside pattern from TJMaxx
• Napkin rings-ebay
• Placemats and runner-gift from DH's family

Christmas Eve Table

I trust everyone had a Merry Christmas with loved ones!   My family gets together for Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve.  I like Christmas Eve because it is cozy with the fire going and the lighted decorations.   We no longer exchange gifts, but pool "gift" money...we each choose a charity close to our hearts and randomly select one to receive the gift money.

Christmas Eve dinner!

The table set for four

Top view to show JUST how crooked everything really was!

I removed the soup bowl and underplate so you can see the Christopher Radko salad plate...I thought they blended well together

I know there are beautiful new color schemes for Christmas,

but I am VERY traditional and

still love red and green the very best!

I love the way the dishes layer. 

The centerpiece is made of  roses, carnations., pine, boxwood,

baby's breath, and REAL holly (very prickly!!)

This is my Damask Rose sterling...I don't have a lot of it, so I fill in with other silverplate patterns.  The placemat is part of a set given to us by my husband's cousin.  I LOVE these

With such a huge guest list of four, we definitely needed place cards and holders! ;-)

Our dining room looks into the living room.  It always looks so much bigger in photos!

Dessert was set up on the buffet...Lots of home-made goodies and plenty of chocolate!!!

So warm and tempting...

We popped our Christmas crackers...

A tradition that my English hubby brought to us...

we have been doing this since we've been back in my home city

My sister L. (no feathers tonight!)  She ALWAYS puts on her crown.  My sister P. won't so we don't have a silly crown pic of her!

This is what was going on in the living room during dinner!!  Prime sleeping real estate!

The fire was going and the lights were lit...

This is the thing that sold me on our house and believe me, it gets a work out all winter!

Well...that's it!  Dinner was delicious (if I do say so myself!).  We had cream of spinach soup, salad, pork roast, roasted potatoes, green beans, peas, italian greens, rolls and those sweet desserts!  

I hope you all had a warm and wonderful Christmas and have a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

Tess

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• Christmas china is by Gibson from Winterthur catalog AGES ago
• Christopher Radko salad plates-ebay
• Damask Rose and contrasting silverplate "fill-in" pieces-ebay
• Waterford Marquis "Brookside" iced beverage glasses-TJ Max
• Tablecloth-Linens'n'Things (when they had actual stores)
• Red hemstitched napkins-on line (don't know what company)
• Holly and berry napkin rings (the berries are little jingle bells!!)-ebay
• Table runner and placemats-my DH's cousin sent to us from England last year
• Ornament place card holders-ebay

I can't wait to see all of the lovely tables on Susan's blog "Between Naps on the Porch".  Visit her by clicking on the icon up on the right!

Thank you for stopping by...I love reading your comments and knowing that you were here!!

Annual Christmas Outing

My sisters and I have an annual tradition (for about 5 years, but traditions have to start somewhere!!)...we go to a local Christmas tree farm to buy wreaths.  I have an artificial tree because they make me break out when I touch them and the real wreath adds a bit of fresh pine scent to the house. 

So we always start with breakfast at a favorite little restaurant.  Though I am linking with Tablescape Thursday, the only tablescapes in this post are the background of the restaurant and a peek at last year's Christmas table since I will be using elements of that table for this year's table.  

Last year, I took a picture of them playing with the restaurant's decorations and this year I looked up and saw P. with yellow broken reading glasses and L. had a feather in her hair!!  I started laughing so hard and of course, we all got hysterical!  It always happens when we are together!

This is the place where we get our wreaths...this is the first  year we didn't have snow!! : - (

 This is the huge barn with rows and rows of beautiful fresh trees!

 Another view...

 We chose our wreaths from this wall...they already have bows and holly berries but you can dress them up however you want!!

 Looking into this area, there are lots of wreaths that are decorated beautifully and ready to buy

 

Okay...here they are!!!  P. has her glasses with the missing arm and L. has feathers on the right side of her head!!   I noticed both things at once and just lost it!!!  Then we all started...like we always do!

Now to make this a "legit" Tablescape Thursday post, I've included a couple of photos of last year's table.  There will be changes made for this year...Hope you stop back to see it!

 

I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away!!  I hope everyone is done with what has to be done and that you enjoy Christmas with family and friends.  Be sure to stop by Susan's blog "Between Naps on the Porch"  Just click on the link up on the right...The tables will be an inspiration!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

                                                                Tess

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is over and we are hurtling headlong toward Christmas!  I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving.  There were so many beautiful tables and warm sentiments posted that I'm sure you did!

Our family is very small.  There were just four of us for dinner.  I don't know how you ladies with HUGE guest lists do it all!!  We did have a wonderful meal and family time.  My husband is from England so Thanksgiving was new to him when he first came here, but even though it's not a traditional holiday for him...he enjoys it!

So here is our quiet Thanksgiving for four...

I love autumnal colors and mixed as many as I could ... lots of rust, orange, red, brown, and yellow

I love the little turkeys (there is one on the other side)...my mother had turkey candles that looked just like this.  We didn't ever burn them...they were decorative and appeared on the table year to year.  I also love the leaf-shaped butter dish.  It's really a jam dish from my mother-in-law.  

Dinnerware for all the courses...square soup bowl and underplate, salad plate and dinner plate.  I found oak leaf place card holders and made place cards on the computer.  I know...there were only four of us, but I think they are so pretty.  Dinner was butternut squash soup, tossed salad, and the usual turkey and gravy, dressing, sweet and mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, peas, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and desserts!!!  Sound familiar? ;-)

I guess my "leaf motif" is pretty obvious!  Not a very good picture of the maple leaf napkin rings, but they are so autumnal...I've seen some beautiful leaf plates on several tablescapes this holiday and love them all!!  The flowers I picked up at the grocery store when shopping for dinner

Desserts were served from the buffet...Unfortunately, the other two desserts were in the refridgerator so it looks a little bare.  This is the apple pie but we also had pumpkin pie and a chocolate trifle.  My hubby loves whipped cream so we had home-made whipped cream to go with the pies (or by itself for whipped cream lovers!!!)

Pssst...by the way, I don't know if you noticed the placemats. I really do have four matching placemats and went crazy looking for the fourth one.  I could NOT find it so I mixed two patterns in the same color family.  Not ideal, but I think it worked out fine!

Sorry the pics aren't better...it seems that photos always happen at the last minute!!  I have to really spend some time working on my blog...but I am so busy with our new computer system at work and the holidays coming that it won't happen for a while!

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• Dinner plates are Royal Albert "English Garden"
• Salad plates are from Big Lots
• Square soup bowls are Temp-tations "Old World" cranberry with Wedgwood underplates
• Hemstitched orange napkins, napkins rings, and place card holders are from different vendors on  ebay
• Butter dish, again, from England (thanks to my mother-in-law)
• Placemats (both styles) are from TJ Maxx
• Yellow leaf plates were a find at TJ Maxx and there were only four of them
• Square floral dessert plates from TJ Maxx
• All of the crystal is Waterford Marquis in the Brookfield pattern from TJ Maxx
• The silverplate is a variety of companies and patterns

Thank you all for stopping by...I hope you enjoyed our small Thanksgiving.  Be sure to hop over to Between Naps where Susan is hosting Tablescape Thursday...she hosts an great party(her link is above right)

Autumn Dinner

Saturday, we had guests for dinner.  My sister Lynne and friend Diane came for a "comfort food" autumn dinner.  I love this time of year and set the table for the season. (I took photos in a hurry so they are worse than usual!!!).  I never seem to get pics of the food either :-(

It was just the four of us so we left the leaf out of the table

A closer look at the place setting...

  

The leaf serves as the bread plate (you can see the chandelier reflected on the table!)

A white dinner plate, black toile salad plate, and a casual footed soup bowl

Leaf bordered place cards in fall colors

The table is "small-ish" so the only centerpiece is a cute ivory pumpkin and candles that match the bread plates

Our dining room is open to the living room so you HAVE to have 

a cozy fire with a comfort food dinner!

Dinner was definitely comfort food.  We started with homemade chicken veggie soup.  Then we had salad and rolls.  Main course was pot roast (with chicken cooked with it-I don't eat red meat), mashed potatoes (my husband's specialty), fresh green beans, and peas (the only green veggie he eats!).  For dessert we had a chocolate trifle made with chocolate cake,, chocolate pudding, and fresh whipped cream.  For you purists, there is no fruit or liqueur because DH doesn't eat fruit either.   It was a relaxed and  leisurely dinner and we had a wonderful time!  

Now for the dish on the dishes:

• The paisley dinner plates are from TJM...I bought two several weeks ago and was mad at myself for not getting more.  I happened to be in there last week and there were still two there!!!! Yippee!!!
• The black toile salad plates are also TJM
• Ditto the leaf plates...they are from last year and there were only four.  Wish there had been more.
• The place mats are from Linens & Things several years ago.
• The paisley napkins are Ralph Lauren (also at TJM).  I have matching placemats-stay tuned!
• Silverplate flatware is an ebay find
• The pumpkin is from TJM last year...love that color!
• The crystal is Waterford Marquis.  Wine glasses are from my friend Joanne and I then purchased the waterglasses myself

Thank you for stopping by to see my autumn tablescape.  Thanks again to Susan at "Between Naps on the Porch".  If you didn't get here from there, be sure to click on her button up on the right and see amazing tablescapes!!!

Tess