A Labor Day by the Lake

Labor Day weekend kicks off the beginning of dove hunting season.  My hubby and his friends excitedly await the arrival, not so much for the hunting part, but the camaraderie and the communing with nature. Someone recently said that my hubby can't sit still long enough to hunt, and this is probably true, but he loves the whole idea of it.  We invited the wives to come down to the lake Sunday evening to meet up with the hunters and share a meal out in the wild.

 We recently added string lights, and an outdoor kitchen to our outdoor setting by the lake.

 Setting a square table has its challenges.  Since I didn't know exactly how many were coming too far in advance, I had to come up with something fairly quick.  So to keep it simple, I just used white plates, gray napkins, and inexpensive crystal and wines.

 The table and chairs have a contemporary flair, so I didn't want to add too many embellishments.

I did bring silver flatware, tied with a ribbon, and embellished with my mom's old costume jewelry.

 Some were earrings, and some were brooches.  

 They were all different.

The men remarked that the table looked quite different than the one from the night before!

 The crystal glasses are Cristal D'arques Longchamp and nice quality as well as reasonably priced.

 Another issue is decorating around an umbrella pole.  Again, not much time to get too creative, so I just used three cylinder vases, with grocery store flowers and solomon's seal from my garden.

 Wine glasses were from the dollar store!!

 Two contemporary-style votive holders, and done.

 It turned out quite nice, considering I had to transport everything from home.

 Mother Nature provides most of the eye candy here!

 Our meal consisted of steak and salmon, caprese salad, sauteed squash and zucchini, fried okra, corn cooked on the grill, and homemade cookies and brownies.

 Of course, cocktails and appetizers were shared at the beginning of the evening.

We had a fun time being together and cooking together outside.  It was a mutual effort!  We left the men, and drove an hour to get back home.  Time seemed to slip away from us, and we had no idea it was so late when we got home at 1:30 am!  I spent the next morning, cleaning up dishes and utensils, and putting everything away.  So the rest of the Labor Day was spent in a chaise lounge by the pool!

Hope your Labor Day was relaxing.  A Labor Day celebration was held in my hometown and the guest speaker paid homage to my father and uncles who served in World War II, as well as other local hometown heroes.  Wish I had known about it in advance.  It was a wonderful tribute to my family and I was honored.

Thank you for visiting!  Come back soon!

--Betsy

Foyer Re-do with Christmas Decor

As usual, I am behind with my blog posts.  I have lots of pictures to share, but just haven't had the time or opportunity to blog.  So, I will start with the foyer.

A while back--actually I think it was maybe a year and a half ago?--I had an accident in the foyer.  My very large crystal chandelier fell from my 18-foot ceiling after 11 years.  For no apparent reason.  It just decided to fall.  

So began a foyer re-do.  We replaced the floor with black granite, had the walls re-painted, and changed the spindles on the banister from black to white.

The foyer before was a gold faux finish with a solid black banister and spindles.  After the accident, we had it painted.  Below are pictures of the foyer with the Christmas decorations.

The paint is now a warm taupe/silver faux finish.  The spindles are painted and decorated with garland, twinkle lights, and gold/silver/white decor.

The new chandelier is very different than the old.

The new floor is absolute black granite.

The floor reflected the lights from the tree and banister.

The tree holds white ornaments hand-made by my mother years ago.

I added silver mesh ribbon and other decor to my garland this year.

The foyer table vignette is pretty much the same, but I changed the candles from gold to glittery white.

A view of the top staircase and tree.  Since both my cameras are broken, I had to use my cell phone to take these photos, so the lighting is not the best!

Tried to catch a few pictures at night--

And, since it is New Year's Eve, a few celebratory tables from a few years back!

Wishing you all a happy, safe, healthy, and prosperous 2015!  Come back soon for my Christmas table settings!!

Happy New Year!!

A Setting for the Fourth

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.--John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961

So, I know I have not tablescaped in a while.  But I put together a little fourth of July 'scape inside--mainly because Arthur is supposed to be paying us a visit later this evening, tonight, and tomorrow morning.  I will move this party outside tomorrow afternoon, but for now, we are getting in the spirit of things, and waiting for our daughter to arrive from New York.  We are having a little cookout tomorrow evening, nothing big, just another couple and the three of us.  So without further ado, here goes!

 

I found this cute little centerpiece bowl and candleholder at an estate sale.  It was in rough shape, so I sanded it a bit, and painted it white.  Love it now!

Plates are Ralph Lauren, and charger is from Tuesday morning.  

Can't remember where I purchased the napkin rings, probably Tuesday morning as well.

Used my bandana glasses and cobalt blue wines.

The 15" candles give the table some heighth and drama--

For the centerpiece arrangement, I used knock-out roses, white carnations, and those little blue flowers out of my yard (don't know their name).  I also used Camellia greenery, which I love using in arrangements because the stems are substantial.

Had to add little pails of fireworks and lots of red, white, and blue votives.

 I added red and blue toothpicks to small vases of white carnations.

America is best described by one word-freedom.--Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 9, 1958

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.--Francis Scott Key

I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.--Patrick Henry

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.--Pledge of Allegiance

One last one, 

May I never wake up from the American dream.--Carrie Latet

Happy Fourth!!

A New Year's Eve Setting for Two

Happy New Year!  We spent a quiet evening at home alone with some music, conversation, great food and wine.  It was a very pleasant evening!

Thought we would dine by the fire, but with a sixty-degree temperature, a fire would have heated things up a bit toooo much!

The roses were on special at Fresh Market, and they were so beautiful and such a great price, I couldn't pass them up.

I've been watching these salad plates (Galaxy by Sahura) for a year at a local antique mall.  When they were finally priced at half off, I couldn't resist!  They are paired with simple white plates with gold rims that were purchased at Pier 1 years ago, and a larger black-rimmed charger plate from a kitchen specialty store.

I found these champagne flutes in a closet still in the box, never used.  I purchased them years ago at Tuesday Morning, they are Vincennes by J. G. Durand.

These beautiful napkin rings were a Christmas gift from a dear friend.

After appetizers of cocktail shrimp, pecan-cheddar spread with strawberry preserves, and smoked salmon (I was full after this) we had a salad of romaine, strawberries, grapes, feta, and toasted walnuts with a blush wine vinaigrette, lobster tails, crab cake, and spinach squares.  Our wine choice was Sebastiani Cherry Bloc.  Too full for dessert!

First light of 2012!

Thanks for stopping by!    I wish much happiness, joy, prosperity, and good health to all in the New Year!

Linking up today with The Tablescaper!