A Perfect Setting's Wearing of the Green

A little blast from the past, my take on St. Patrick's Day!!

With St. Patrick's Day fast approaching, I have been thinking of tablesettings.  To be perfectly honest, I am not the least bit Irish, but I am all about a great celebration, for whatever reason I can come up with.  That being said, I do not have anything at all relating to St. Patrick's Day.  When I was a child, I did not even have any green clothing, and I would have great anxieties of being pinched for not wearing green.  So my mother would dig through her costume jewelry, and come up with something green that I could wear so I wouldn't be pinched. 

We do have a huge celebration in our neighborhood, as one of my neighbors is Irish.  He will rent a huge tent, hire a band, and the street will be partitioned off.  Hopefully I can dig through my jewelry box and find something that will show my support!

So today, my table is green, sort of, so I won't be "pinched". 

Come on in, and we'll take a closer look.

I found this great ivory lace drapery panel at an outlet store, greatly reduced, and layered it over a white tablecloth.

I tried several different chargers, and decided on these mirrored ones recently purchased at Tuesday Morning.

China is Greenwich by Minton.

Napkins are ivory and are held with a crystal ring.  The design reminded me a little of a clover? maybe? The little butter patty dishes were my Mom's.

I wish I knew the pattern for these wine stems.  I inherited these as well from my Mom's collection. I love the etched design.  The iced beverages were acquired recently from Craigslist!

I remember these candelabras were always on my Mother's sideboard when I was growing up.  They were my maternal grandmother's.

After reading Bill's last post at Affordable Accoutrements on silver overlay, I looked through my china cabinet and found this sugar and creamer.  It looks similar to what he was referring to, but there were no markings, so I'm not sure it's actually silver or an imitation.  I think they are pretty cool regardless...

I added this little vintage clover dish just for fun!

Originally I had planned to use just yellow, white, and green in my centerpiece.  But I saw this bouquet in the store for $9.99, added greenery from my yard and assembled this with a hurricane globe and candle in a silver tray.  The claret-colored alstroemeria blended in with the colors in my dining room.

I recently found this great Maitland-Smith metal urn at an antique mall and just couldn't pass it up!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting with me today!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Spring, Wherefore Art Thou?

Waiting for spring is really trying my patience.  I am tired of the cold.  I'm sure everyone else is tired of the cold.  If spring doesn't arrive soon, I am going to scream.  Loud.  So I pulled out some spring flowers, dishes with happy colors, and put together a little simple table for four--dreaming that soon flowers will be blooming and the sun's warmth will bring the world alive again.

Using materials I found in my stash, I put together three spring florals.

I pulled a spring runner from the closet and used greenery down the center.

A nest of eggs is the focal point in each arrangement.

White tapers fill in the spots between each of the florals.

A dainty porcelain napkin ring holds each sage green dinner napkin.

Candleholders are vintage with a delicate silver overlay.

Dishes are sage green and  pink.  I believe they came from HomeGoods or TJ Maxx.

Silver flatware is simple as well, nothing too fancy here.

The fleur-de-lis glasses match the pink plates, and the pattern on the stems reminds me of dogwood.

The runner has a basket of spring flowers at each end, you've probably seen these in the stores.

Bird's eye view!!

At least it's a sunny day, even though you can't hardly open the door because of the frigid temperatures.  This does not feel a bit like Virginia weather.

I think this has cheered me up a bit.  Stay warm, my friends, and let's hope spring arrives soon!!

Thanks for visiting!  

~Betsy

Small Apartment Decorating--Washington Heights

Moving in a blizzard is quite the experience.  That is how we spent last weekend--moving our daughter from the financial district in New York to Washington Heights.  I know what you are thinking, but the rent is much cheaper, and they actually have a slightly bigger apartment.

Parking was a nightmare--especially since the forecast was snow.  We were driving a SUV, which made it worse, but we somehow managed, even though the pocketbook was a lot lighter when we got home.

Thought I would share some of pictures of her apartment.  We had fun decorating, and enjoyed being together.

We just threw everything in because of the snow and cold, and it was difficult to get around.  But we were on a mission to get everything put away and organized.  Luckily, work and activities were cancelled, so we just stayed in and got it all done!

After, the apartment turned out pretty cute.  Using most of the furniture that was in her old apartment, we made it work.  The floors were really pretty!

Using her Marilyn Monroe pictures, we did a collage on the side wall on a diagonal.  The window wall was painted a dark charcoal gray and was a great accent to the room.  The door you see leads to her bedroom. If you are wondering why there are no candles in the sconces, it is because the one on the other side was over a radiator and it kept melting.  I am sending battery operated plastic taper candles for these!

We again used her bar table, club chairs, and media center from the old apartment.  To see the decor from apartment one, click here.

TV, side chair, and coat rack.  Unfortunately, this was the only place we could find to put the coat rack, but it was really ok.

We brought them this recliner from home.  The Marilyn, Bacall, and Bogart picture is above the recliner.

We found a spot for a small bistro table and two chairs in the kitchen.

I found this set at my local Tuesday Morning.  Love that store!

Since there isn't a lot of counter space, we put her cute little red table in the kitchen, and turned it into a coffee bar.

All set up to grab a cup of joe on busy mornings.

Kitchen was nice, except there was no drawer.  So we purchased a flatware caddy and set it on the counter with the toaster oven and the all-important Nutri-bullet.  

We painted the bedroom a soft gray, Benjamin Moore Smoke Embers.  It looked great with the soft pinks, ivorys, blacks, and whites we used in the room.

Comfy bed!

The space in the bedroom was tight, as you can see, but it is functional, and looks nice.

From another angle--she uses this old sewing machine table as a vanity/desk.

We hung the "South" sign above the dresser, as a reminder!

This is what you see when you first enter the apartment.  To the immediate right, is the roommate's bedroom.  Down the hall is the bathroom, and two closets, then the kitchen, living room, and the back bedroom.  Not a bad setup!

Thanks for stopping by!  To read more on our moving adventure, visit www.seeingstarsinmyeyes.blogspot.com!