Thanksgiving Table

I wanted to share with you a Thanksgiving Table centerpiece & Post I did last year at my mom's house. (11/25/08!) I'd just started blogging and I had so much fun setting a pretend table.. How odd it seemed at the time but now it seems totally normal!! Just ignore the lack of silverware & napkins for my imaginary guests! ;)

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The items used are all flea-market finds from a trip I recently took to Strasburg, Virginia. I started with a simple oat-colored linen runner and put the large white pillar candle holder in the center. (Only $2!)





Then I layered ouwards symmetrically with the pair of smaller milk glass urns & topped them off with pumpkins ($10 for the pair!)




I tucked in a second, larger milk glass urn with a squash in it to informally balance the small milk glass candleholder on the opposite side. (When dealing with thrift-store flea market finds, since it's often hard to come by pairs, you get to have a lot of fun with mismatched pairs & informal balance.)



At the end of the arrangement, I used 2 busts of a little boy and girl. I debated over buying them & am now so glad I went for them. At only $8 for the pair and now seeing how quirky they look on the table, I don't know why I wasn't crazy over them from the beginning! (I love weird little objects :)



And finally, I added this little tree made out of amber that my mom & stepdad found on a trip to Lithuania. It's like a little gemstone bouquet. It looks good no matter where you put it.




I think my mom's wedding china looks perfect with such a simple arrangement. The room's crewel draperies, stained-glass window & bold-patterned rug made me want to do a really simple table setting.




Here's a close-up of the large urn with the squash in it. I thought it was a pretty picture. :)




Here you can see my mom's cabinet full of crystal. It's got some beautiful pieces given to her by my grandfather & also an amazing vintage cut crystal collection handed down to her from my stepdad's family. She's never had it displayed before & recently purchased the cabinet & was finally able to enjoy it!




Anyway, I'm off to pack for our trip to visit my dad for Thanksgiving! If I'm able to, I'll post some pictures of our table there! (His kitchen is finally in & I cannot wait to see it!!!)
Here's one last picture & have a very happy & beautiful Thanksgiving!!! Keep it simple & have fun!! xoxo







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Hope you enjoyed the little trip down memory lane! Thanksgiving will be at my mom's house this year & I'm already getting excited for my grandmother's homemade noodles!!! mmmm mmm mm!!!
xoxo,
lauren

A Kitchen Table

Well, since it's Thursday & we're finished with our kitchen & I received a special gift in the mail, I thought I'd join Tablescape Thursday on Between Naps on the Porch!

This table setting was all about simplicity. No tablecloth, white linen napkins and an easy combination of our daily Pottery Barn dishes paired with the vintage Camelia dishes I scored for $33 (for a set of 8!) this summer.

I love how the plates mimic my black and white etching wallpaper in the breakfast nook...

Here are some armatel-like silver bowls with a vintage serving bowl set inside. I found it for $1.50 and just love the old platnium detailing around the rim:

And to add some height to the table, I used this aluminum serving dish ($7) on top of an aluminum jello mold (69 cents!) ... It's like a little stand:

And I added in our wedding crystal for a little sparkle: (Waterford Tall Lismore)

And the inspiration for this table was the pair of 18" tall black handmade tapers:

I'm SO excited to share with you that Eddie Ross now has his first line of handmade candles!!! (that's the link to the Eddie Ross Etsy store) They come in this simple elegant packaging (surprised anyone?) and in 12" and 18":

They're black so they go with pretty much everything & I think this table setting shows that they can work in any season. They're long-lasting and are black to the core. (I've never had 18 inchers before!!) I'm hoping these will be the first items in a long line of Eddie Ross products!! (A tabletop line anyone?!!!) I absolutely love them with all of the black touches in my kitchen!

And of course, I had to do the king of cheap chic justice by placing his candles in these beautiful etched candleholders I scored for only $8! (below)

SO there you have it: a simple setting in our new (old) kitchen:

Hope you enjoyed and also thanks so much to Eddie & Jaithan for the gorgeous candles!! You're gonna rock this industry!!!

xoxo,

lauren

to check out the whoel kitchen, click here

A Sweet Surprise: ( a casual) Tablescape Thursday

Saturday morning one of my best friends, Alissa, stopped over while we were gettting our lower level wall-to-wall seagreass carpet installed. I had to miss a little party some of our friends were having because I had to stay & supervise the install, so she brought over BREAKFAST!!! I've been meaning to do Tablesapes Thursday with Between Naps on the Porch for a while now & figured this was the perfect opportunity! (This one is definitely more food/ friend focused!)

Below is Alissa withher delicious goodies!!!

Now my husband's always said the way to my heart is through food. (He used to bring me beef jerky, not flowers, in college. hahaha) Anyway, the breakfast looked so pretty- being the blogger that I am- I had to make everyone wait to dig in so I could get a couple of pics. It was so simple but so perfect- fresh fruit, o.j., bagels, croissants and I toasted & loaded mine with hot ham & cheese mm mm. (I will now crave that sandwich all the time..)

The pink zinnias in the old jam jar (from my garden- yay the one thing I haven't killed!!) were already there & worked perfectly with all the bright colors in the fruit. I've been dying to use the pitcher that the o.j. is in: It's cut glass with palm trees on it that I found at a thrift shop for $4. The plates are Pottery Barn Classic white and the bowls are vintage soup bowls with a pretty green design on them from Lucketts for $4. So thanks so much to my Tikie Torch (just a nickname for Alissa)- we love you!!!

Hope you enjoyed!! There are so many beautiful tablescapes waiting at Between Naps on the Porch, so go check it out!!

xoxo,

lauren

Happy Birday Ke-che!

My little guy Christian, AKA "Ke-che" (how he pronounces it) is turning 2!! We're having a little family 4th of July party for his birthday and he is so excited. He is constantly talking about "baby's bir-day party," reciting the guest list and more importantly (hee hee) the menu: "Ice cream, beans (he loves beans) cheeseburgers, cake, pizza..." The funny part is he added in the pizza himself. We hadn't been planning on serving pizza but he brings it up every time so now I feel like maybe I should do one of those little personal ones for him. (Let's be honest, if there's time.)

Although it's a birthday party, since we're having it on the 4th, I figured we'd go red, white & blue with the decorations. Here's a little preview:

I thought you might enjoy seeing these adorable little plaster of paris flag holders my grandmother made for the table centerpieces. They're so easy to make & can be reused year after year. (Just put plaster of Paris inside disposable cups and make little holes up top for the flags to slip into once dry. When it's all dried, tear off the cup & add the flags!)

I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July!!!

xoxo,

lauren

ps- if you haven't already, check out the rug giveaway. Winner will be chosen Sunday night!