A Perfect Setting for Today

My blog is called A Perfect Setting.  I feel that it's a bit ironic, because there is nothing perfect about me.  I have been blessed with a great family, good health, a lovely home, and wonderful friends.  Perfection?  No.  I could list all the imperfections, but I'm afraid that even my loyal readers would be scared off at the length of that blog.  So for a few hours a week, I concentrate on what I enjoy and hope others like it, but, if not, it's ok.  I recently read something that asked, "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?"  That got me thinking of the quote by Dr. Seuss, "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

It's been a busy weekend.  It was my son's Homecoming, and he helped coach the senior girls for the Powderpuff football game.  The senior girls won, and he warned us that the juniors might come toilet paper our home.  We kept vigil a good part of the night, and we did hear them, and we were able to scare them away.  We thought we were home free.  Saturday night was the Homecoming Dance, and we helped serve a group dinner.  We came home and went to bed around 11 pm, woke up Sunday morning and this is what we saw!

I bet you can guess what my son did Sunday afternoon!

On to tablescapes, it's been hectic, so this week's 'scape is simple and calming, a tone-on-tone look, not a shade of orange or brown anywhere!

I used my mercury-glass look pumpkin on a silver tray, with white berries as a centerpiece.

The plates and salad bowls are Mikasa English Countryside.

Silverplate is Rondevu by Towle.

Charger plates were purchased at TJ Maxx.

Napkins were my Mom's.

Salt cellars were my Mom's.

 Wine glasses are etched with a pretty floral pattern.

Lighting the candles...

That's it for today, thanks for stopping by, let me hear from you!!  I am striving for A PERFECT SETTING!!

 

A Perfect Setting for October

The temperatures have been soaring in the past few days.  We may have even broken a few records for this time of year.  Summer's winding down, but if you'd stepped outside in the last few days, you'd never know it.  Let's do a casual dinner outside!  By evening, the temperatures will be mild, there's no humidity, and before we know it, we'll be stuck inside going stir-crazy!  This was on my mind as I set the table in the backyard.

The table is set early, but the pictures had to wait until the sun was just right--so many shadows!

Napkins are old, and were my Mom's.  Sun napkin rings were purchased at Stein Mart many years ago. 

Large square sunflower plates were on sale at TJ Maxx.

The green "leaf" plates, as I call them, were purchased at Marshall's.  I found four, wish I could find more!

I love these pumpkin soup tureens, and I have been searching for them for weeks.  Had to go to several TJ Maxx stores in two different cities to find eight of them!

I found these metal pumpkin candle holders at Big Lots.  I used ivy and rosehips from the yard to decorate them, along with a round votive.

Flatware was also my Mom's stainless pattern.  Little votive candleholders came from the Dollar Store many years ago.

Glasses are a bit "glitzy" for this setting, but the gold leaves are so 'fall-ish'.  They were also my Mom's.

Little birds adorn the tabletop, and were purchased at Michaels.

Cut glass vase for centerpiece was also my Mom's.

Just getting ready to go inside to prepare dinner, when the trainer at my son's school called.  He had injured his hand at football practice, so off we went to the emergency room.  Luckily, no broken bones, just a bad contusion.  So much for dinner... By the time we got back home, it was dark.  Very dark.  Dinner was Chinese take-out, but the candles were lit and photographs were taken anyway!

Goodnight!!  Thanks for visiting, and any tidbits you'd like to leave would be appreciated, as I strive to attain A PERFECT SETTING!

A Perfect Setting for Kitchen Fun

No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best.  Everyone's heard this little tidbit, and it is so true.  My kitchen has always been the hub of family activity, whether it's a school project or Thanksgiving dinner.  So it seemed appropriate a few years ago that we re-do the most important room in our home according to our taste rather than the original homeowner.  When we first moved in the house in 1998, people would say, "oh, you moved in the so and so house".  Now everyone knows it as our house, and we have made it into a home, a place that our children will always remember as, hopefully, a happy, loving, safe haven. 

We used a two-tone look, cherry for the island and mantle, and painted maple everywhere else.  The cabinets were painted cream with a chocolate glaze.

We used a black granite on the kitchen countertops.

The cabinets along this wall house our pantry, dishes, refrigerator, and other serving and decorative items.

Enkeboll molding, with a grape theme~

Microwave and oven, wish I'd gotten a warming drawer, but instead I use the drawer under the oven for storage of trays.

I enjoy decorating the island...

Backsplash behind cooktop.

This was a desk, but was always cluttered, so we changed it to a wet bar with more storage!!

Thanks for stopping by, come by anytime and we'll hang out in the kitchen!  Have a great day, and leave a note as I strive for a PERFECT SETTING!  Don't forget to visit all the beautiful kitchens at Note Songs!

A Perfect Setting for Halloween

Halloween is not for everyone.  Some prefer to celebrate the harvest season, with the rich autumn hues that come with the change in seasons.  I have always loved Halloween, probably because it comes with so many opportunities to be over the top, to be silly, to be scary, or just to pretend to be someone or something you are not.  I loved making my kids' halloween costumes, and I enjoy, even now, the decorations and even the costumes.  The key word for me is pretend, like little girls playing dress up. 

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit a bed and breakfast as well as our symphony's designer showhouse.  I could imagine myself living on a plantation back in the day, and even now, those old southern homes exude so much charm.  The views as well as the architecture were quite stunning.  Maybe I should be Scarlett this Halloween.  Anyway, on to the tablescape.

I just had a little fun this week playing with all the Halloween decorations

A spider web runner was placed over a simple black tablecloth and served as the perfect backdrop for this tablescape.

I used a black trophy urn with sticks from the yard and sprayed them black.  Spiders adorn the tree limbs, and a skull is found in the base.  Did it fall from the tree?

A simple bust sits atop an early edition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

The place setting consists of napkins from Home Goods and napkin rings from TJ Maxx.  The black polka dot flatware also came from Home Goods.

These plates are Raymond Waites Batik, and I found four of them at TJ Maxx.  They are really not Halloween plates, but the colors and style are perfect for a Halloween tablescape, I think.

These adorable black plates are Pier I, but I found them for a steal at Goodwill.

The bowls are from TJ Maxx.

The skull glasses were purchased at Kroger and the black stems are from Macy's.  Mercury glass votive holders bring out the silver in the runner.

A black "poison" jug tips over, spilling out more spiders, and a giant metal black widow holds a votive.

Mummies hold more votives.

Silver skull S&P shakers came from TJ Maxx.

Is it the bewitching hour?

A depression glass candelabra holds two fingers.  The nails are nicely manicured.

Hope you've enjoyed my Halloween table.  It's been frightfully fun!!  Thanks for visiting, and please leave a comment, as I strive for a Perfect Setting!!