March "Welcome Spring!" Table

On the day after a foot of fresh snow fell, I set my March Welcome Spring table anyway! With Easter so late in April this year, I decided it's still Springtime, even though in Utah, we'll enjoy snow through May. So, I let my table says spring anyway!
I used three of my little Hummel figurines that were bearing flowers as gifts. We're so ready for flowers!

Not being much of a St. Patty's Day gal, I still wanted to use lots of green for the table. The green vase with soft green flowers, green dishes and sage green napkins all came together well for not being even closely related.

This, being a spring tablescape, didn't need lots of candlelight, so I opted for an ivy garland woven with a garland of twig patio lights just to give it some pop!

I love this garland with the dew drops on the leaves!

No placemats, just a simple doily across the table.

This is the first tablescape that I've created, in which, I've loved the daytime photos better than the nighttime candlelit shots. The morning sun shining and reflecting off the foot of snow in the front yard was perfect!

Even with all that snow, this table screams "SPRING!!"

I really want to open the windows!

For years, I've kept my Hummels stored in the Curio cabinet, but tablescaping has given me an opportunity to take them out and enjoy them even more! LOVE IT!

It may not bring spring any sooner, but it was my own way of welcoming March in like a Lamb.

Thanks for stopping by!

February Table

My Valentines Day table underwent a metamorphosis while being created. It started out red and black and white, then went red and black and pink and then changed again to red and pink and white. In the end, I love it!I gathered many red accents from around the house and the Valentines storage bin.
Lit a few candles!

Added some pink candies... if you haven't tried Strawberry Whoppers, you're missing out. BUT. Do not set a tablescape with Whoppers in a south facing window or they'll look like this on your first mid-winter sunny day.

Red silky napkins tied with hearts that are meant to hang but made for cute little "napkin rings".

Some hearts and a few cinnamony heart candies... which are excellent in a wintry south facing window, if you like gooey chewy jellied candy. MMMMM!

Those yellow looking candles really are RED.

I love the look of the cream on pink on red plates. None belong with the other but don't they look great together?


A little shabby chic box filled with handmade hearts was a perfect accent!

The pretty red round placemat took the place of a charger this time and I love it! Bought after Christmas for 75 cents each.

This table didn't have as many candles as I usually like but the little lamp with it's red shade gives a romantic feeling to the table without.

This table calls for a little romantic evening! Don't you think?

January Table

Since I got my lovely table last year, I've anticipated my January tablescape. I couldn't wait! I'd had ideas of white and snow and silver-looking pretties everywhere for months. I could hard wait to take the photos. And then. It was done. And I didn't like it. Not at all. Ironically, several friends came in and said that it was their favorite yet. For me, not so much. I needed a string of lights with white wires. I only had green wired lights. So, after Christmas, I was shopping with Doug and, being that what he does for a living involves LEDs, he thought that we should only buy LED. To Doug, fine, if we're talking about car headlights, but for my tablescapes, never again. I didn't care for the blue tint of the lighting on the LEDs. I much prefer the softer, gentle looking lighting from the old-fashioned traditional Christmas lights. Enough said about that.

But, I did love using the silver chargers and white plates and white napkins and rings. White on white on white. You have to love that!

Liza bought me the little lantern, Carol bought me the snowflake cake pedestal, Denise bought the snowflake tin candle holder. So, the table was filled with goodies from my favorite people! What's not to love about that?

The little garlands and snowballs and snowflakes in silver and clear glass were also things that I absolutely love!

My cute little Arby's (of all places) goblets from the 80s are still some of my favorite things to use during the winter months. They're lovable too!

In looking at it, it will never be my favorite, but, I do love this table.

EXCEPT for those darn lights!

December table

My December tablescape was, by far, most most favorite yet! So much that I took photos of and spent every night looking at it and didn't realize that I'd not posted it on the blog! OH NO! I loved it so much that, for the first time in our lives, we didn't put the Christmas tree in the front window, but in the corner, so that the table could remain at home in the bay. It was simple, a bit rustic, a bit elegant, just the way I like them!The idea for this table was to make it elegant and yet keep it a bit primitive. I think I accomplished the goal.
It's only during the winter that I can use my Johnson Brothers Friendly Village dishes. So, I was thrilled to have them out every day in December! My first set of 8 was a gift from my favorite Uncle Bobby when I graduated from High School. My next set of 8 were inherited when Uncle Bobby passed away. He'd bought mine to match his all those years before. They are truly one of my most precious worldly possessions!


Believe is our "theme" for Christmas each year. I pulled the torchaire lamp in my living room from the corner and made it a part of the tablescape this year. Since the tree wasn't in the front window, we needed that extra holiday lighting and it did the trick!

Mom had a set of 12 little red dessert dishes that I also inherited last summer. I couldn't wait for Christmas to use them! And that red bell... I bought it from AVON with babysitting money when I was a teen. (It's sitting on top of a light, so that it really pops.)

After putting a few different candlesticks on the table, ironically, Go-Go, our puppy pulled a fur garland from the Christmas bins into the room to play. I cut it into pieces and wrapped the candlesticks for a little extra. I think that, besides the lights, it was my favorite thing on the table.

The lights! WOW! I purchased a new box of fifty white lights ($2) and left them semi-coiled, the way that they come out of the box, then placed this holly garland over them. Honestly, I think I spent more time looking at the table than I did the tree! I love lights anywhere, but on the table, this was the best!

I love this antique table. It gives me a perfect place to tablescape but I love the roughness of the wood that keeps things old and the tableware makes the statement that it's new. It's warm and inviting and welcoming. It's truly my favorite thing in my home!

Merry Christmas! (or memories as it may be!)

Thanksgiving for the Kids!

Thanksgiving is always such a fun time for cousins to get together and enjoy eachother's company. This year, we had ten children, ages 2 to 15 and I wanted to create a fun but beautiful table for them too! I set up a banquet table and went for it!

I've never used paper plates until a few weeks ago for the Seniors Dinner and since I had some leftover, and had so many people coming for dinner, I thought I'd try it again. The grown-ups got the left over Senior's plates and the kids got more of a youthful themed table. I bought this brown and red plaid paper plates at Target in their Christmas section last week. They were perfect for a Thanksgiving table and were made just to go along with my table favors, the paper cup turkeys filled with what else, but red and brown Tootsie Rolls!

I made these darling little turkeys from brown paper cups (purchased at Hobby Lobby) and used my cricut to cut the leaves/feathers out for the tail. I got the idea from friend, Marilyn, who did not use wiggly eyes. Friend Connie and I trade favors all the time and I'd agreed to make her some too. She picked up the eyes and came home with wiggly eyes. I thought they were perfect! I made nineteen cups in less than an hour, start to finish!

One thing that I didn't have on the table when I took the photos was the tags. I used Staples 1 1/4" circle tags with the metal rings on them. Then, stamped a fall leaf, chalked it, wrote each child's name on their tag and tied it to the handle of the cocoa mugs. The kids thought that it was pretty special!

Seriously, Thanksgiving dinner served on paperplates and chargers was the ticket for this many guests! I didn't have to hand wash the fragile china and clean up was a breeze! With all the beautiful paper goods out there, I may be doing this more often!

A friend commented, "Why do you go to all that trouble when it's over in 30 minutes and no one will remember anyway?" I beg to differ. My kids love to talk about the cool tables that they get to eat at. This will be the "Tootsie Roll Turkey Thanksgiving" for them. Worth every minute of preparation, indeed!

Thanksgiving Dinner Table

When I suddenly had everyone we'd invited to Thanksgiving dinner accept, I decided to use chargers and paper plates. I'm loving it! These were leftover plates from the dinner I'd served two weeks ago to the senior widows in our LDS ward. But, I couldn't create the same tablescape twice, so here was table number two with the same dishes...paperplates from Hobby Lobby.

I used a wine colored tablecloth and when it all came together, I was not loving it, until I remembered these beautiful berry wreathes hanging on the backs of the chairs that go with my antique tablescaping table. Perfection! They brought all of the wines and oranges and golds together.

Friend Connie and I trade favors all the time. I'd made her Thanksgiving stuffing and Tootsie Roll Turkey cups (see Kids Thanksgiving table). Connie made hand-dipped chocolates and caramels, in trade. I think that I got the better end of this deal, for sure!

The leaf garland down the center pulled the fact that I was using two wreathes together. The candles in the center of each wreathe were purchased at Pier One in January a few years ago for $1.50 each when they were 90% off! They've been so versatile! Wait till I share what I'm doing with them for Christmas this year!

The little tags, just paper tags from Staples, were stamped with a little fall leaf and then chalked in to match the berries. (I did them while watching the weather. Literally ten minutes.)

Then, I wrote "We're thankful for" and filled in the names with a Zig Marker. A table favor and name card all in one!

The table was simple, yet elegant! We served Thanksgiving dinner buffet-style. So, the table remained lovely all afternoon! Gathered together with family, we had much to be thankful for!

Fall Dinner

A family Home Evening decision a few months ago led to our Fall dinner with nine senior single women, aging in their seventies to mid-nineties.
I've never served on a paper plate in my life! However, at the frequent recommendation from one of my favorite entertainers, "pretty paper plates" are just as fun as the real thing!
When I woke up two days earlier with a back that didn't want to co-operate with me pulling out the dishes I'd been planning on, a trip to Hobby Lobby and some humble pie (from saying, "I'd never!) brought me to these beautiful paper plates! And bonus! They were on sale for 50% off!

Browns, rusts and oranges were the perfect matching candle colors.

Connie, my partner in crime, made handdipped chocolates and caramels for our party favors! How do we rate!?

My favorite goblets, a gift from friend Vikki! Thanks again, Vikki!

The menu:Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole (real comfort food!)Spinach and Craisin SaladHomemade Rolls (served right out of the oven)Pumpkin Bars (Connie's the queen of desserts!)

A few random silk fall leaves scattered on the table and a beautiful white pepperberry garland running the length of the table tied it all together. And besides all that, chargers make any table look fabulous!

Dinner was wonderful. The ambiance was great. The company the best!