The Fall Table Setting

A beautiful fall table setting with silk oak leaves wrapped around sparkly gold candles at the center of  the table; a little glass pumpkin on the bread plate adds to fall look.

Gold-rimmed glasses and gold sparkly flatware complement the gold chargers and the other decor.

 

An old napkin from the family estate, embellished with applique and embroidery held together with a beaded and wire floral napkin ring in similar fall colors all coordinates with the fall theme.

Tea Royale

Some days you are lucky by birth or by circumstance.  In this case, it was birth that gave me entrée to a lovely Scottish estate belonging to my cousin.  We had a traditional Tea Royale, which means we began with champagne and ended with Madeira wine.  In between sweet and savory treats were served up in the traditional way along with hot tea imported from Ceylon.

 

Let's Have a Tea Party!

Two of my old friends are coming for a visit and what better time to get all girly and have a tea party!

 Pink and roses - the perfect combination for a tea party setting

Delicate place cards continue the rose theme and add to the complete look of the table setting.    These place card holders were my mother's, passed on to me, and made by Stafforshire porcelain, England.

Elegant monogrammed napkins are another addition to say, "This is a special occasion!"

A unique lotus lamp that I purchased in Hawaii has seen many uses.  It sheds just the right amount of light on the table. 
 

A little tea table holds all the tea selections.

Another table holds the sugar and creamer.  An old but still elegant cigarette holder is the place for packets of Stevia. 

 These next three photographs show a little trick I learned years ago about how to shorten a table cloth that is not the right size or shape.  It adds that little touch of the rose theme down at the floor level.

I hope you enjoy having a tea party with your friends, for a special occasion or just because.

Birthday Table Setting

What's a birthday without a big banner??

For a person with more than nine sets of dishes and lots of miscellaneous dishes and bowls, the only ones that seem to appear on this blog lately are the blue glass dishes.  That has more to do with the fact that I just moved to a house that is less than half the size of my former house and there is no room for anything in my teeny-tiny kitchen.  I also like the fact that these dishes were made in the USA, so I use them a lot.

Hand made cards for the one celebrating a birthday.

 A funny little place card.  Hope you can read it.

Happy Birthday to all and wishes for many more, whatever day happens to be your special day!  Or, as a certain fictional hare would say, "A very happy unbirthday to you!"

A New Tablesetting for 2015 ...Something Blue ... Something New

Here is a new table setting, with some familiar blue plates and some new napkin rings.  The napkin rings were a gift from a friend who bought them in Brazil from an artisan.  They look like paper but are really made of metal.  Very unique.  Each rose is a different color.

I hope you'll be inspired to set a pretty table.  Do something romantic, even if it takes a little more effort.