Super Bowl Setting

Super Bowl 2015 is this Sunday and while most are preparing for Valentine's Day, I know that the way to my man's heart is sports.  So we will have a few couples over for the big game, a few beers, and probably a lot of food.

Last year, we kept it low key, and just did a pretend Super Bowl party with just the two of us.  Here are a few pictures, to get us in the mood.  Whoever you are cheering for (wait, who's playing?) let's gooooo team!!!!

Kitchen island served as the refreshment center.

What's Super Bowl without a beer in a cold glass?

 Runner was cut from that Astroturf stuff and thin white ribbon marked the yard lines.

I think last year's colors were orange and green, this year I think they are red, blue, white, and silver for Patriots and green, gray and navy blue for the Seahawks.

Bowls are ready for chili at halftime.

Found these football toothpicks at a party store and used them for the little smokies.  Gotta have something healthy on the table, so celery, carrots, and peppers it is!

We all love Buffalo Chicken Dip.

I also lined the field with football string lights and a teddy bear cheerleader.

We are ready for game time!

Chili is the traditional Super Bowl food, at our house, anyway.

Lastly, we have Coconut Cake every year, because it is also my husband's birthday, and it's his favorite.  Enjoy the game, and hope your team wins!!

A Christmas Eve Tablescape

Christmas has come and gone.  Everything has been packed up and stored for another year.  Before we move on to the next big thing, I thought I'd post the rest of the Christmas photos.  There was no party this year, but we had some of my children's friends over at different times, accompanied by their parents, who are our friends.  I enjoy the Christmas decorating, even though it is a ton of work, and I'm hoping that down the road my children will have good memories of the beauty and joy of the season.  And maybe even of their mother, haha!  I know they appreciate our efforts as they get older, and I think they even enjoy being with us.  We, of course, love having them home, and I always get sad when they have to leave.  So one last glimpse of Christmas! 

While shopping at Tuesday Morning, I ran across this reindeer.  He was so regal and beautiful, I knew that he had found a home.  Since I am a regular shopper at this store, the kind ladies are always looking out for me.  This reindeer had a mate that came in on the next truck, and they kept it in the back for two weeks, waiting to see if I would want it. Unfortunately, I didn't come back in for awhile, and they sold it as soon as it was put out. A lesson learned, check back frequently, you  never know what's on the very next truck!

I decorated this fella up using poinsettias and a bow.  He sits on top of a field of decorated greenery.

The poinsettias I used are also in the arrangement on the sideboard.  The colors used here were that silvery gold, not the bright gold or dark gold often used at Christmas, but I decided to use gold accoutrements instead of the red that I usually use at Christmas.

I used mercury glass votives and finials that I used last year on my table, and I also added some silver and glass ball ornaments.

We ate our Christmas Eve dinner in the dining room, and my husband's brother joined us.  Normally, I have 7 or 8 for Christmas Eve, but this year it was just the five of us.

I used my battenburg tablecloth again, because I can change the look by using an under-cloth, and it fits my table well with all the leaves.  Since Rudolph was so big, I kept the leaves in the table for the entire season.

I also used my antique silver candlelabras with silvery candles.  I special-ordered them in October, and they are nice and tall!  

My gold-rimmed antique stems were used for dinner as well.  For dinner we had our usual--beef tenderloin, potato casserole, broccoli casserole, romaine salad with fruit and blush wine vinaigrette, spinach squares, and hot rolls.  We had drinks and appetizers in the kitchen before, which were pecan cheddar spread, shrimp cocktail, and hot crab dip.  For dessert, I had a tray of goodies I had been preparing all week.  No one left hungry.  We did start in the afternoon, and we just kept eating and socializing into the evening!

I put up my small Christmas tree in the corner of the dining room again this year.

My husband likes to hunt.  Let me re-phrase that--he likes the whole idea of hunting.  He likes being outside and looking at the game and beautiful surroundings.  He gets impatient, and doesn't necessarily like killing the animals.  He enjoys watching them, but often just lets them go.  We do have a problem with the deer population, though, and they can cause a lot of harm.

I enjoy decorating with deer at Christmas, and I use them all around the house.

I also used my Lunt flatware, and gold dinner napkins, and my Christmas china.  I again used my silver chargers I lucked out and found at the local Goodwill store.

While shopping at Pottery Barn, I ran across a beautiful red velvet spread that I thought would look great on my bed at Christmas.  After looking at the price tag, I thought it was a big extravagant, but I loved the look. Again, I found something similar at my local Tuesday Morning store.  This coverlet is just a great red color, and I thought it went well with the gold in my bedroom.  But they did not have the pillow shams.  Lucky for me, the kind ladies called around until they located two for me at another store!  Love those girls!!

I also did a bit of work in my son's room before he came home.  We had his room painted (revere pewter, by Benjamin Moore, I think) and I did purchase this new comforter and shams at Pottery Barn.  

We are headed to New York at the end of the month to help my daughter move (just to a new apartment, not home).  I started a new blog--totally unrelated to tablescapes--but if you get a chance, take a peek.  It's concerning helping my grown-up children with the next phase in their life while trying to help myself!  It's called Seeing Stars In My Eyes.

My photography isn't the greatest, sorry about that, I have two very nice cameras and neither one of them is working.  All the photos above were taken with my cell phone.  Some aren't too bad, and it is convenient, but I will try to get the cameras repaired in the near future. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Stay warm and carry on!  --Betsy

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Christmas Breakfast Setting

Now that Christmas has come and gone, I have more time to play.  Lots of time.  More time than I want or need.  The kids have gone, the hubby's hunting, and I'm hanging out with my little buddy, Scout.  But enough of the January blues, I'll have plenty of time for that, let's get these Christmas pictures out before Easter gets here.

We did not host a Christmas party this year.  I have to say, I felt a lot less stress, even though I enjoy seeing my friends and it's my little way of saying Merry Christmas to them.  Instead we had a few people over at different times and that way, I was able to spend more time visiting with them individually.  We did have Christmas Eve dinner with my brother-in-law and the kids, Christmas breakfast which included my brother and niece, and a family get-together Christmas night, with about 30 of my cousins.  It was an enjoyable time, especially the one-on-one times I had with my kids.  Since I don't get to see them as much now, I like to be able to focus on them when they do get home.

Below are pictures of the Christmas breakfast table in the kitchen.

Last year I used antler candelabras from Pottery Barn, but I found these silver ones at Tuesday Morning and had to bring them home.

I used woodland themed plates that most people use at Thanksgiving, paired with a paisley runner and napkins from Pottery Barn.

Down the center of the table, I used greenery decorated with bittersweet, feathers, and iced stick thingeys.

Grapes, pinecones and gilded fruit were also used here and there, as well as small clear ornament balls.

I hung greenery, icicles, and glass ornaments from my chandelier.

In the center, I used my bowl which is on a silver stem and has silver arms which hold candles.  I hung greenery from it and placed a large glass red ornament in the bowl.

Lots of red tapers were used.

I like using this set of glasses for breakfast because they feel substantial and they are just the right size for juice and water or milk.  We had coffee earlier in the morning.

This sherbet is the perfect size for yogurt parfait.

A close-up of the centerpiece and the red tapers.

We eat pretty unhealthy Christmas morning, but hey it's just once a year.  Our menu consisted of fried oysters, sausage, bacon, monkey bread, biscuits, Breakfast Before Casserole and yogurt parfait.  I actually didn't feel so great after eating all that!

The red chargers with a little bling worked well with the red votive holders.

I try to put something on the small table outside, because the sliding door is right in view from the table.

My little buddy, Scout, before he got his Christmas haircut.

Hope your Christmas was special!  Thanks for visiting me today, look forward to seeing what you've been up to!--Betsy