Christmas Decor and New Year's Eve Setting

Rain, rain go away!!  It's been raining here for four straight days, snow expected tomorrow!  I am ready for some sunshine!! 

Thought I would finally post a few pictures of Christmas and a couple from a New Year's Eve vignette I sort of threw together at the last minute.  Since we ate out, there are no dishes, just a few decorative type things. 

Can't believe I didn't get a picture of the entire front entrance, but the skates were off to the side of the door.

Family room tree was again decorated with golds and bronzes.  

Tree top

Mantle was similar to last year, but I added a vase with greens, bronze pine stems, and pine cones, which have mini lights. In this picture they are unlit.

Mantle with pine stems lit...

Angels on top of bookcase were purchased at an estate sale woohoo!!  Only problem was when I wanted the candles lit (they were battery operated), I had to climb on a ladder.

 Coffee table vignette--reindeer was purchased this year at Tuesday Morning and candle holder came from an estate sale.

 In the dining room on the sideboard, my epergne was arranged with silver and glitzy fruit.

Another estate sale find, this pitcher held silver and crystal decorations.

DR tree was decorated with silver and mercury glass.

Outside arrangement

 

All set for New Year's Eve!

I liked these lighted branches this year, can you tell?

Happy New Year--better late than never--thanks for visiting with me, come again soon.

A Christmas Party Setting

Today is December 26th.  I have jokingly said all Christmas that today is my favorite day of the year.  Shopping is over.  Presents have been wrapped and unwrapped, cooking is completed, and dishes are washed and put away.  Time for much-deserved rest. 
I am so blessed to have had my family and friends here at my home again this Christmas.  We had so much fun and it was well worth the effort.  So come on in, and take a peek!

Some of our dearest friends came over for a little party on the 21st.  

I again used my silver reindeer as a centerpiece with fresh greenery, and silver accents.

Most of my silver pieces came from estate sales.  My candlelabra were won at an auction.  I love using them at Christmas time.  I have been polishing silver since early December.  

 I had originally planned to use glass plates, but with the number of people attending and the proximity to Christmas, I changed my mind, put them all away, and went with faux glass (plastic)!

I decorated my epergne with silver and gold fruit and accents.  A small tree decorated with mercury glass ornaments sits in a fishbowl in the corner of the dining room.

The menu consisted of shrimp, bacon-wrapped scallops, beef with horseradish and rolls, crab dip, mini crab cakes, buffalo chicken bites, mini beef wellingtons, caprese skewers, veggies and dip, fruit, various cheese appetizers, and a beef/sausage appetizer dip on party bread. 

 I opened up the server for desserts.

The kitchen island served as the beverage center.  This is a cranberry-pomegranate martini punch.  We also served homemade eggnog, whiskey sours, beer and wine.

The kitchen table also served snacks and cookies.

It's always fun to catch up with my daughter's friends and their parents!

Lovely young women!!

My next function was Christmas Eve dinner with family.

Luckily, I was able to use the same centerpiece, with just a few tweaks.

My Christmas china is Holly Holiday.  

A touch of red with goblets, napkins and flowers added a festive touch.

Yall come back soon, I will be posting more of Christmas!!  Hope you all had a happy holiday!  Thanks for visiting with me!!

Merry Christmas!!

Thanks to Susan at betweennapsontheporch.net for hosting!

A Poolside Setting

It's been a busy week.  My baby starts his journey in 16 days!  We've been (or should I say I've been) buying sheets, towels, space savers, everything you can imagine to outfit his room.  Then we get the room assignment--he is in a high rise, no AC, the smallest dorm room imaginable, and he has not one, but two roommates!  Ouch!  They must share 2 desks, 1 dresser, and 1 closet.  Should be interesting...  Luckily, boys don't have half the stuff that girls do!  And the university is in the western part of the state, where it is much cooler.

We have also been looking at places for my daughter to live in town.  We are just checking out her options, I think she will be here until around the first of the year, saving money hopefully!!  After that, watch out, I'll be free as a bird! 

My tablescape today is outside.  I know what you are thinking.  It's hotter than the hinges of well, you know.  But today is actually cooler, in the 90s, a little bit less humidity, and around January or February, I'll be wishing for these sunny days.  So I braved the heat, and took my table outside by the pool.

I started with this blue tablecloth that I purchased a few weeks ago at HomeGoods on sale.  I love blue, it seems that you can use blue with every other color.  And I think that is true with this tablecloth, so I paired it with a burnt orange color that was also in the salad plates.

The tablecloth is 'Le Telerie Toscane', made in Italy (I have no idea what that means--something Tuscany?)  Anyway, it is linen and cotton and a beautiful design and color.

The dinner plates are Ralph Lauren, I used these same plates in the tablescape you can see here.

The salad plates are Pegasus (for obvious reasons) by Mikasa.  I have an entire set of this that I purchased from a friend.  The colors in this plate were my inspiration for this table.

I used burnt orange napkins, seems they changed color a bit in my photos.  I found these cute little napkin rings on sale (99 cents) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond while I was supposed to be buying dorm room stuff lol!

I wouldn't mind having a bracelet like that!  Jewelry for the table!!

I liked the design of this piece I purchased last year at auction.  I had been searching for epergnes and I finally found several, which I immediately bid on and won.  Read about my other epergne here.

I wanted to fill the side cups with fruit, but ran out of time, so I used some ivy, a white pillar candle, and some burnt orange grapes I found at TJ Maxx.

The center vase is filled with glads and baby's breath.

I also used two silver candleholders with bobeches,

Crystal is Crown Point by Gorham.

Sterling is by Lunt.

Yes, I'm trying to hide the basketball hoop with a fern.

Thanks for stopping by!  If, by chance I get some candlelight shots, I will put them in a new post.  I'm off to see 'The Help' tonight--can't wait!!  In case you didn't notice, I totally forgot to put chairs around the table.  Oh well, one for the blooper file!!  I always appreciate your kind comments!!