Positively Pumpkin!

I love fall and I love pumpkins! Here is a pumpkin tablescape to celebrate both!

I started with my dark green tablecloth and added a pumpkin runner I found at Big Lots.

 My centerpiece is a glass cake stand with a ceramic pumpkin on it and acrylic leaves and acorns scattered all around. The cake stand is on a beaded placemat from TJ Maxx.

 I added pumpkin salt and pepper shakers (Walmart) and white and orange pumpkin place card holders (Target).

 I used copper chargers, a Spode Woodland plate and a pumpkin salad plate. I also used pumkin napkin rings.

My mantle is decorated in coppery, gold and silver tones.

I love this runner!

 On one of my sideboards I have another TJ Maxx beaded placement with a leaf pattern and my fall leaf server on top of it - so not everything is pumpkins!!!

But I do have a variety of pumpkins on my front porch steps!
I will be sharing this on Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

When will Autumn Leaves begin to Fall?

"Since you went away the days grow long
And soon I'll hear old winter's song
But I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall"  Autumn Leaves, lyric by Johnny Mercer

Well I hope you have missed me! There have been many reasons for my blogging break - some good (trips, vacation) and some not so good (a parent's broken hip, my broken rib), but I am back! 

Fall is my very favorite time of year and always has been. Pumpkins, turkeys, the county fair, (usually) cooler weather and lower humidity, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the anticipation of Christmas - I just love it all!

Here are some selected scenes of fall around my house:

Walk on up the front steps but watch out for the various mums and pumpkins!

If you come around the side of the porch, I have a little fall flag to greet you!

I call my parlor mantle "The Pumpkin Patch" in the fall!

 And over at the tea table, I have tea for two ready!

I love how the morning light comes through the glass pumpkins!

Turkey and Pumpkins in metallic shades decorate the dining room mantle.

In the Billiards Room I am going for a Pheasant theme!

That's all I have to share today. If you noticed I didn't show you my dining room table. That's because there has been a delay renovating my sewing and craft room and right now the dining room table is covered with fabric!

My younger daughter Emily graduated from college last May and she and I have been sewing up a storm for our Etsy store, The Chapeau Chateau.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheChapeauChateau

We have added lots of items other than hats and fascinators and we have teamed up with Darwin's Screen Printing to do monogrammed pocket T-shirts. (Another thing that has kept me from blogging!) Please check out our store!

I will be linking to Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

At the Beach...in my mind!

Summertime and the living is busy! But I did manage to whip up a summery, beachy tablescape! I was actually at the beach last weekend and hated to leave, so it's always fun to have a little beach at home!

I started with a white tablecloth and added light blue ruffled place mats. Then I used turquoise metallic chargers topped with white Gibson Claremont plates and finally turquoise capiz shell bread and butter plates.I also used Colonial Shell flatware and ruffled seersucker napkins with white napkin rings.

My centerpiece is a sparkly, beaded placemat topped with a large melamine shell bowl from Target (years ago) filled with blue marbles, shells and a cute crab!

My fish salt and pepper shakers and seashell place card holders complete the table.

Even my tea cart gets a beachy makeover!

It's a little hard to see but the mantle is done very simply with a light blue vase full of bubbly looking silvery pearl stems and silver mercury glass candle holders and light blue candles.

I will be sharing this with Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Flag Day and the Fourth!

Here is a patriotic table to carry our family from Flag Day to the Fourth of July!

I love these place mats and napkins, which were a gift!

I just bought these salt and peppers from Sur La Table. I have had the glasses and goblets and Colonial Shell flatware for years.

My centerpiece is on a glass cake plate with lots of stars scattered about.

My dining room tea cart is decked out in red, white and blue...

and so is my tea table in the parlor!

I will be joining Let's Dish with Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Happy Graduation Emily!

In late May, my younger daughter Emily graduated from Salem College.We are so proud of her! At the end of the graduation ceremony, everyone throws confetti.

The night before, after the Baccalaureate service at historic Home Moravian Church, there was a reception in the backyard of the President's house in Old Salem. Here are some pictures of the fabulous floral arrangements.

Salem's official flower is the daisy, so as gifts for her friends, Emily and I quilled daisies for a wreath.

Here is the graduate in front of Main Hall with her hand-painted mortarboard and daisy dress!

The next weekend, we had a party at our home to celebrate. The epergne in our foyer contained daisies (of course) and hydrangea and yellow yarrow.

On the mantle in our billiards room, I had my gold ornament tree with graduation ornaments and surrounded by a daisy garland.

Here is a picture of my dining room table, which was covered with a yellow cloth with paper daisies and graduation confetti all over it. The centerpiece arrived a day ahead as a very thoughtful gift from one of our neighbors!
I used yellow and blue plastic ware for the party.

The porch is always a popular gathering spot at parties.....

...especially when the gardenias are in bloom!

One more thing! Here is an edited copy of our Graduation Party invitations. The bottom has my address and phone number so I cropped it out, but it was beautifully hand lettered by a very talented friend with a stationery business! Please visit her site at http://www.saintfolly.com/

And if any of this looks familiar, you may be remembering this POST, from when my older daughter graduated from Salem College three years ago!

I will be joining Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen and Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.

Are You Going to Buttercup Faire?

When my daughter Emily was still in High School, we were at T J Maxx and saw lots of Spode Buttercup Faire china on clearance. She loved it, so we bought all they had. THEN we found out it was being discontinued. :-( We kept a lookout on Ebay and Replacements and she has quite a nice collection now. So last time she was home from college, she asked if she could do a tablescape for my blog. Here it is:

One of the fun things about this pattern is that there are several sub-patterns so you can mix and match. The two tables above vary because we changed the salad plate.

Emily used a yellow tablecloth, green straw place mats, white napkins, green glassware and put either a mug or a teacup and saucer at each place setting.

For the centerpiece, she used a yellow vase with zinnias and flanked that with golden candlesticks with a green and orange candle ring and white candle.

I love both looks!

I will be sharing with Let's Dish at Cuisine Kathleen

and

Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.