Food & Entertaining

Tablescape Tuesday: XOXO

February 10, 2015~ Decorating, Tablescape Tuesday

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love”
1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭13‬

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means here at Everyday Living…tablescape!! From the blog’s beginning, I have posted a dining tablescape, but today I digress. You can see my Valentine’s settings here: Love is in the Air! and here: Sweet & Simple.

In an early celebration of Valentine’s, Butch and I went to dinner this past Friday at our favorite restaurant in Birmingham, Bottega. It was a perfect meal and we enjoyed getting away for a few hours! AND to top off an excellent night out, our culinary hero, Mr. Frank Stitt himself actually came to our table! No trip to Birmingham is complete without a stop at Whole Foods for items that we can’t find in our smaller city. While shopping, Butch spotted a great buy on roses…red, white, pink, and yellow-two dozen for $22.99! Now he likes a good deal and I love flowers, so we left the store with two dozen red roses! Win! On Saturday morning, I thought I would arrange and display them in our foyer rather than our dining room. I gathered accessories from different rooms that gave a romantic feel to the space-just in time for Valentine’s Day! I love having a different look to enjoy!!

With the exception of the lamps, the vignette on the foyer chest is completely changed. I love the ornate detail of the gold mirror and it makes the small space more spacious!

The roses are the star feature!

I added a rattan tray for texture. This helps to pull together dissimilar accessories!

I always add books…I have so many! They make a great foundation and they can add height to objects. The colors of the accessories add a romantic touch!

This sweet covered Fitz and Floyd bowl was a gift. The detail is beautiful!

I have a small collection of miniature jeweled boxes. This one adds a little glitz to the vignette!

A majolica plate adds more color. Majolica is a collectible that has soared in price since I found this one in the back of a musty antique shop thirty years ago. Should have bought more!!

A scented votive in the turquoise glass (Anthropologie) adds warmth and a heavenly smell!

Red roses always speak romance!

The hand painted Maitland-Smith chest lends itself to a romantic feel!!

The book cover was the inspiration for the tablescape! Its title is “Vintage Vavoom-Romantic Decorating with one-of-a-kind Finds!”

The textured sunny walls are a great background!

The lamps add elegance to our small foyer. You can see the antique grandfather clock reflected in the mirror!

Butch and I will celebrate Valentine’s at home, as we always do. My planned menu is:

Linking with Pieced Pastimes , It’s Overflowing , Be Different Act Normal , Silver Pennies , By Stephanie Lynn , Life on Lakeshore Drive , Thoughts From Alice , Creatively Living , Rustic-Refined , Three Mango Seeds, Pink When , Mod Vintage Life , Coastal Charm , Knick of Time , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia , The Dedicated House , Dwellings-Heart of Your Home , Savvy Southern Style , Ivy and Elephants, French Country Cottage , From My Front Porch To Yours , Stone Gable , Confessions of a Plate Addict ,Worthing Court , Between Naps on the Porch , Cedar Hill Farmhouse , A Stroll Thru Life , The Style Sisters , The Charm of Home , The Winthrop Chronicles , Cornerstone Confessions , A Delightsome Life , Imparting Grace , Craftberry Bush , Posed Perfection , Katherines Corner , The Vintage Farmhouse , My Romantic Home , Chic On A Shoestring Decorating , Rooted In Thyme , Share Your Cup

Tablescape Tuesday: Sweet & Simple

February 3, 2015~ Food & Entertaining, Tablescape Tuesday

“We love because he first loved us”
1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19

It’s nice to go out and have some great food in a splendid atmosphere that has a unique and romantic ambiance. You know, one of those fine dining establishments where you are treated very special by everyone. Like royalty almost, at least for about an hour and a half! I don’t even have to park my car-wow! We really do enjoy the privilege of doing that on occasion. Seriously, I do love such an evening and we are considering something of the sort as part of our upcoming weekend plans. But I must share what I’ve truly felt and stated very plainly for almost 42 years now…and I make no bones about it. There is no place on the planet I’d rather have dinner than at our home. The food is untouchable. The ambiance is unmatched. It’s quiet and intimate and I could never be treated more special by anyone anywhere than I am by Pam right here in our space that God has graciously allowed us to occupy! It’s sweet. It’s simple. It’s the best. And I still don’t have to park my car.
-Butch

The dining room table is set for my sweetheart and me! Butch and I plan to enjoy Valentine’s dinner at home with a savory meal, soft music, and sweet conversation rather than a crowded and noisy restaurant!

The table is dressed in shades of pink and creamy whites!

The tablecloth is vintage lace that was given to me. I layered a sparkly silver scarf as a table runner over the lace, which I often do!

The chargers are round silver trays. You also see pink toile dinner plates and dessert plates, both by Churchill. The creamy white salad plates and cups are American Atelier that are a mainstay in my tablescapes!

Cups were filled with rose petals and a votive candle

The rose patterned antique plates used for bread and butter are marked Bavaria

Pink linen napkins with sterling napkin rings and a fuchsia rose tucked in adds a touch of elegance!

Flatware is a mixture of sterling and silver plate with crystal knife rests. I love mixing patterns!

The centerpiece is a silver cake stand topped with a pillar candle and four crystal votives with a sprinkling of rose petals. On either side are mint julep cups holding miniature roses!

We both love M & M’s, and Valentine’s gives us an excuse to indulge!

Another sweet treat, Lindor truffles on a pink heart plate!

One of Butch’s favorites-shortbread cookies! They sit on an antique Limoges plate, a gift from a precious lady shortly before she passed away.

Vintage silver candle stands with creamy white porcelain figurines on each side!

Vintage Fostoria stemware

Adding candlelight to any table setting makes it feel celebratory!

Just a little glitz from the chandelier, looking down on our little romantic setting!

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver”
Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬

Tablescape Tuesday: Love Is In The Air!

January 27, 2015~ Food & Entertaining, Tablescape Tuesday

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth”
‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4-6‬

With Valentine’s Day approaching, most of us think of a husband, a fiancée, or even that high school sweetheart. And isn’t it fun to be the recipient of chocolates, and maybe even that beautiful necklace you’ve been eyeing!? I think we love the “holiday of love” because we feel special and made much of on that day. But can we step back, if even for a moment and look at the bigger picture, of the greatest gift of love ever given? Even the greatest love a human can show us will not compare to the complete and unconditional love of God. You see, the greatest gift of love is this: Jesus, who gave and is the perfect gift. He is the one true love.
-Katy Watters

With “Mediterranean Spice” walls in our dining room, the colors of Valentine’s Day are a perfect match!

During winter months, I love the way the sun strikes the walls and table!

As you can see, the setting is all red and white

Beautiful white roses in a tall ruby red vase serves as the centerpiece!

A pair of smaller ruby vases hold feathers, just to add whimsy! You can see another tablescape I did with feathers here: Peacocks & Feathers.

A pair of white pillar candles in hurricanes sits on either side of the roses

A lacy napkin along with a red one bound together by a heart napkin ring!

White cotton tablecloth was used with playful heart placemats, plain white dinner plates, and ruby red salad plates! The silver plated flatware pattern is used often and is a special treasure, as it was given to me by my mother!

The ruby cordials were a gift from my friend, Kathy and they are being used as votives. Love to repurpose items!

This is a very simple setting and easy (and fun!) to do with what I had on hand!

Perfect morning sunlight makes me wish I had planned a brunch!

The ruby stemware is ideal for this holiday of love!

This is such a fun setting to me! Red heart napkins, placemats, napkin rings, stemware, and salad plates were purchased many years ago from a favorite department store that closed-they always had the best tableware!!

The white plates were purchased at Pier 1 for our son to use at college

The cute heart candles were found at TJ Maxx!

Because I have loved tablescaping for years, friends often give me tableware gifts. I love Paris, (a most romantic city) so it goes without saying that I love the Eiffel Tower place card holders given by a sweet friend many years ago!