Luck of the Irish Tablescape

Once again it's Tablescape Thursday sponsored by Susan at BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH!



Thanks Susan for hosting Tablescape Thursday every week!

Although neither my husband nor myself are Irish, we love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. For this year's table I chose the colors of the Irish flag - orange, white and green.



I used my Gibson "Gollum" dishes and green stemware that I got when I was married (can't remember the name or maker!). I used two napkins - one in orange and one in green. The napkin rings are part of the Gibson set and then I tucked mini flags in the napkin ring.



For my centerpiece, I used an ornament tree with Dept 56 glass ornaments in the shape of shamrocks and leprechauns. I placed this on a brass tray and scattered gold and green coins and green acrylic jewels.



I put green pillar candles on golden candleholders and used wreaths from Michael's in green with a dash of orange.



I used a few shamrock themed serving dishes on the table.



This is my favorite - from TJ Maxx a few years ago.



On my mantle, I used my silver wine cooler with the golden bead stems (remember Mardi Gras?) and draped them with green St. Patrick's Day beads and tucked in two Irish flags.





I haven't decided on the menu this year - maybe Shepherd's Pie??? At least the table is already set!!!!

A funny story - I noticed this morning that it was so easy to photograph the table. It hit me as I was uploading these pictures that all the chairs have been pushed from the table because we had a reception for a local civic group. Oh well, all the better to see the table, right????

Celebrity Goat Farm Open House

It's time for Outdoor Wednesday hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. Be sure and visit her to see all the wonderful posts!


Last Saturday, I went to my cousin's goat dairy in Siler City for their Open House. It was such a nice day and everything at Celebrity Goat Dairy was such fun! There were baby goats, chickens, roosters, llamas and even a peacock. We often have our family Thanksgiving here. Click on the website to find out about the Inn and Sunday Dinners.

I had a nice bowl of chili and bought some crab apple jelly and took lots of pictures of goats. They have the most expressive faces!



Some of the many chickens



A two week old goat



Some young goats sunning themselves



A small herd of goats



Not even a week old goats!!!





Rooster



Love the goatee!



So cute!



Now visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer!

Tea Time Treats Re-Post

I am reposting this for Tea Time Tuesday at Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor. Be sure and visit her blog for other tea time treats!



It's Foodie Friday hosted by Gollum at Designs by Gollum.


I have been participating in an event for the Cooking Forum at Recipezaar called Afternoon Tea and Light Suppers: The BIG Tea-Party. I have made and photographed 2 of the tea time treats I signed up for. I will do the third one this weekend.

First I made Sweet and Spicy Texas Pecans. Click for the recipe.

These were delicious! As you can see by my review, I made them a little spicier than the recipe called for.





The tea set shown in the back is one I got years ago from the Ross Simons catalog.

The next treat I tried was Hawaiian Tea Sandwiches Filling. Click for recipe. I used pecans for the nuts and served this filling on Pepperidge Farm Very Thin whole wheat bread.
So good!





I used a Churchill Blue Willow tea pot, creamer and sugar dish with Spode Blue Italian salad plate in this picture.

Both my tea time treats were wonderful! I hope you enjoy them also.

Shrimp Creole for Foodie Friday

In celebration of Mardi Gras this past Tuesday, I am sharing my recipe for Shrimp Creole for Foodie Friday hosted by Gollum at Designs by Gollum.


My Shrimp Creole recipe is adapted from the "Time Life Cooking of Creole and Acadia".

Shrimp Creole
Serves 2-4

1 28 ounce canned crushed or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds uncooked medium sized shrimp
Olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup water
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground red cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed in 1/4 cup cold water

4 cups cooked white rice

Shell and devein the shrimp. Rinse and dry.

In a heavy pan, heat enough olive oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the onion are translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, water, bay leaves, paprika, red pepper, Creole seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes until the sauce has thickened enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

Add the shrimp and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and firm. Don't over cook or the shrimp will get tough.

Stir the cornstarch and cold water to recombine and add to the mixture. Stir thoroughly and simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately over rice.

Enjoy! Mardi Gras decorations optional!!!

Mardi Gras at My House!

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all!





Using the Mardi Gras colors of Green, Purple and Gold, I started with a gold tablecloth and green napkins with metallic gold napkin rings. I used plain white Gibson china on metallic gold chargers and Grand Baroque silverplate. For stemware I used green goblets from Target, purple Fostoria glasses given to me by my grandmother years ago and saucer champagnes from my wedding crystal by Lennox with a gold rim.



My centerpiece is a silver wine cooler with metallic gold bead stem in it "wearing" Mardi Gras masks that I have saved through the years. I scattered a few beads and doubloons and Voila! Mardi Gras!









What's on the menu? Shrimp Creole, but I don't have any pictures yet. Here is a picture of Jambalaya from last year though!





Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll!

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!




Once again it's Tablescape Thursday sponsored by Susan at BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH!



Thanks Susan for hosting Tablescape Thursday every week!

For my Chinese New Year table, I started with a red tablecloth and gold napkins. I used two blue candlesicks with red pillar candles in the center with 2 little Chinese dog figurines from the Target $ section and a red and gold Chinese food take-out box I found at our local party store. I put a red and gold fan on one side and scattered some gold glitter ornaments around.



For dinnerware, I used some blue melamine from Target. Solid blue on the bottom, topped with a white salad plate with a blue chrysanthemum design and a solid blue chrysanthemum bread and butter plate on top of that. I used chopsicks and an etched patterned glass.



Then I remembered I had these glasses. Can't decide which I like better so I took pictures of each.



With a gold charger



Here are more view of the table.


















Happy Year of the Tiger to all!