Tablescape Times Three: Potpourri

Showing posts with label Potpourri. Show all posts

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Impromptu Easter Buffet

What a great day for sitting on the porch enjoying a light meal! Today reminded me of a ladies' group I was a part of for several years, and I thought that this setting would be perfect for a casual get-together this time of year. Because my tables on the porch are small, I think it is more conducive to set up a buffet in the kitchen. And today, my guests are my children!

I considered a long line of Easter themes: candies like jelly beans and Peeps, bunnies, chicks, lilies, palms, eggs, and baskets. I finally decided that some plates I have were bright enough on their own, and I really didn't want to waste a ton of candy. I would never let my children keep it, and it is not something I really wanted to emphasize to them as my guests. I have other Easter items that I have used with them in the past, such as Lenox Easter votives, cake plates with bunnies, various sculptural items like salt and pepper shakers, bunny flower pots, etc. And I usually choose a more Victorian look. But today was too bright and sunny, and those neat plates were begging to be used.

I found these great plates and glasses on eBay. The water goblets are Independence Crystal in the orange Sculptural pattern. (The mint juleps were a Tuesday Morning find.) The dinner plates are Fitz and Floyd Rondelet orange, and the luncheon plates are by Mesa Home Productions. I have no idea of the pattern name. You know how some people sleepwalk? I saw these plates online and thought they were too much only to find that I had bought them in the middle of the night. The iPhone eBay app makes it tooooo easy. So, I guess I sleepshop now...

Needless to say, green and orange would be the theme of this year's pre-Easter luncheon buffet. I decided to pull all the avocado green items I have, which consisted of: the plates, my place mats, a large fruit-motif ceramic platter, a milk glass mixing bowl with an avocado dip, two large flower vases, and my carnival glass. The carnival glass was quickly discarded in favor of the orange stemware. I separated it between what was going on the porch and what would coordinate in the kitchen on the buffet.

The buffet in the kitchen was simple, dressed in orange and green food:

And the porch was decked out in the bright orange and green.

I made chicken salad sandwiches and cut the bread with a rabbit cookie cutter. I used food coloring to paint eyes and noses.

I painted our initials on boiled eggs and served them in ramekins lined with lettuce and baby carrots.

I made egg-shaped tea cakes and frosted them with orange and green.

I made some lemonade and set it on the porch on a plant stand for a lack of room on the table.

For a centerpiece, I used one of the green vases, surrounding it with potpourri and placing a small topiary inside.

Once the guests (my children) added their plates, it was sufficiently Easter-y for them! And the best part is that I didn't even have to run to the store for anything; I had everything I needed already. And isn't that what Easter is about?

-Andrea

Sharing at:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com
http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/
http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/
http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com
http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

http://www.designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/
http://houseinroses.blogspot.com/
http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://blog.addicted2decorating.com
http://www.thegypsyscorner.com/
http://www.atthepicketfence.com
http://www.504main.com
http://itsablogparty.com
http://iloveprettylittlethings.blogspot.com/

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Rose Chintz and Baseball Season

This morning is a ball park morning. I got up early, made breakfast, running around the kitchen plating one thing at a time as it was ready: pancakes, cheese eggs, grits, bacon, refills of juice and milk. I sent up children to get dressed, brush teeth, and brush hair. I ran up upstairs to find misplaced cleats. I ran back down to help locate hats and ballbags. I rushed everyone out the door with their dad for pre-game practice, only to realize I had never eaten my breakfast!

So I decided to take a little while to enjoy it since the games don't start for another hour! I made a little breakfast tray, adding the potpourri from my earlier post here.

Until recently, I shied away from a lot of pinks and pastels on the table. But, I have fallen in love with the Rose Chintz pattern by Johnson Bros. I found four dinner plates at TJ Maxx for 3$ each. Whoo hoo! (I have 24 snack plates, too. You can see them in my daughter's post here. They are a very unusual shape. To die for!) Here I am using the dinner plate with my Fortecrisa pink swirl glass dinner and salad plates. The glass plates are a little smaller, more like the size of a luncheon and a bread and butter, so it's a perfect fit!

Old Master by Towle.

A sterling goblet.

A sterling sherbert with potourri.

And a rose napkin! I will post a tutorial ASAP, but the ballfields are calling!

All in all, it was really nice to take a breather. Now I have to run to the ball field and cheer on the Cardinals and the Screamers! This is my favorite time of year!

And later that day...

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com/

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com

http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com

http://allthingzrelated.blogspot.com

http://typeadecorating.blogspot.com

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://www.tipjunkie.com

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sweet Thirteen

I am not sure how many times you have visited our blog, but I am the one in middle school, Emma. I have just gotten into tablescaping with my mom and grandmother this year, though I have played in the china since I was little. I have been thinking that I can design my own table for my 13th birthday. Today is the first of many ideas I am considering. I also want to do all of the food if I can, so everything you will see today is something most 12-year-olds can do.

I decided to do a beautiful buffet. Snack plates that I just adore sit at one end next to the silver. My mom's silver is Sir Christopher by Wallace. My silver is Francis the 1st by Reed and Barton, but I don't have 12 salad forks yet. I wanted to use her cocktail forks, but she only has 8 of those I think.

My mother loves snack plate and cup sets. These snack plates are Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz pattern. I like how they have a place for the cup. They have blue, brown, and green in the pattern, too, so they would match different kinds of rooms.

My mom actually bought these plates to go with the punch bowl set. She bought the punch bowl set from a woman in New York off eBay. The 24 cups, the bowl, the stand, and the ladle were less than $40 including shipping, she said. After she bought the set, she wanted 24 plates to go with them. She doesn't have the actual cups in the pattern, but she said she doesn't need them because the punch cups fit. She found 24 of these great plates on Replacements.com. I am only using 12 of everything on this table. I really adore these plates. They look white here, but they are actually cream. I still wanted to use the white tablecloth, though. I think they look fine on white.

For the food, I decided to use anything we had that didn't require cooking.

I used fresh vegetables and ranch dip.

And I had crackers and cheese.

We have bought a lot of Girl Scout cookies lately, so I included those and some of the Valentine's candy we still have.

The grapes were pretty on the table. My mom bought this bowl and the matching chip and dip at an Oneida outlet store many years ago.

I think you can tell from this angle and some of the other pictures, I had peanuts on the table. My little sister and I love peanuts and peanut butter. As a baby, she called it teeny butter, and we still call it that in our house.

We also always have several kinds of juice. This is a punch I made with CranGrape juice. I found the recipe on the internet, and I have copied it at the bottom.

I added potpourri in a crystal basket and rose petals in a crystal bowl. They are the rose petals from my mother's earlier post about making frosted potpourri. Those were just for decoration, not eating, of course! I also had topiaries and a vase of flowers. My grandmother bought the vase in Ireland, and it was a gift to my mother. The pattern is Lismore by Waterford.

The napkins are some my grandmother gave to my mother before I was born.

I like this look for a thirteenth birthday party. I would want to add a meat if it were close to a meal time. The best part about this tablescape is that after my mom helped me take pictures, we ate this for lunch. Not all of it of course, but it was fun to make a buffet for ourselves!

Thank you for visiting me and trying the recipe!

Emma

CranGrape Punch

2 quarts of cranberry-grape juice, chilled

1-6oz can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed

1-32oz bottle of sparkling water, chilled

Mix the juice and lemonade concentrate in a punch bowl. Stir in the sparkling water just before serving.

From: http://www.freecookingrecipes.net/beverages/sparkling-cran-grape-punch

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Mardi Gras Masquerade (Recipe to follow!)

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Mardi Gras is an exciting time of year because I don't usually use purple! The paint job of the former owners of this house doesn't really "go" with purple, but I just went with it this year. I have to say, it was a hit! Even with my son's Cub Scout buddies. Or maybe they just liked the masks! :)

Because I was short on sparkly, purply, glittery, things, I was on a quest. As always, eBay saved the day with some stunning finds: all of the goblets and the wine glass charms.

I found the purple glass centerpiece, potpourri, the glass votives, and the green vases/hurricanes at TJ Maxx. The ribbon was in a bargain bin at Michael's.

The masks and beads were Dollar Tree finds. And the mirror place mats were purchased at Michael's. The china is my Lenox Tuxedo, the silver is Sir Christopher by Wallace, and the chargers and napkins are on loan from my mom. The flowers are from my Camellia bushes which have bloomed in the last few weeks.

A word on the mirror placemats.

Do you see what I have used as a tablecloth?

I purchased this AMAZING little find at TJ Maxx for $29.99, and it's actually an incredibly soft faux fur throw/blanket! It is masquerading as a tablecloth! (I recently saw an embroidered purple velvet tablecloth on eBay for $2,800.00!) I HAD to use this blanket when I found it, but I was worried that plates and goblets would not really work on the uneven surface in real life. I don't want to make tablescapes that only look good in pictures. I want settings that actually make sense and that I can use once the food is on the table. I remembered seeing mirror table decorations in someone's house when I was growing up, so I was on a mission to find some. I was shocked at the online prices. Up to $120 per placemat! I found one site that sold the larger size mirror placemats for $7.99 each, but then there was the shipping. And what about breakage? Luckily, a local Michael's keeps the 12" x 18" inch size in stock for the same price and a ton of other shapes and sizes. Also, in brainstorming what I would do if I couldn't find any mirrors, I had made up my mind to go to Wal-mart and buy some 11" x 17" picture frames and use the glass!

Having found the magical mirrors, I was afraid that they might be over the top. But, I think it works! I am very happy with the look - especially at Mardi Gras!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Bisous!
Andrea

My Fast Gumbo Recipe:

Instant Rice

Gulf shrimp

Kielbasa sausage

Celery

Onions

Tomato sauce

Garlic Salt and any appropriate spices

If I have green peppers or okra, I throw it in, too.

I am sorry about the lack of quantities, but this is one recipe for which I have no measurements! In any random pan or pot, I sauté the celery with whatever I have on hand - butter, olive oil, bacon fat.

I add onions, spices, and sausage, then the the rice and water. Tomato sauce can go in here as well. Doesn't really matter the order. I cover it for five minutes or so until the rice is done.

I add the shrimp last until it is pink. I taste and add spices as necessary - salt, pepper, filé, cayenne...whatever I have on hand.

Quick and easy! Especially if you buy the shrimp prepared.

Bon appétit!