Last Year's Christmas Dinner in Black White and Red

It seems that I'm either late to share our Christmas tablescapes or never get around to it at all. Some bloggers seem to be able to go all out with their designs in advance of Christmas eve or day. I just can't manage that with the need for us to bring in an extra table an borrow extra chairs to accomodate16 people. 

So, here I am sharing last year's tablescapes that we enjoyed on Christmas day 2016.

Black and white gingham and pops of red was the theme of the day.

 An extra table and our kitchen peninsula allowed us to have enough seating for all.

 Layered plates in red, white and black looked simple, yet festive.

 A sprig of berries and a strand of red, satin cord made simple ties for the napkins at each setting.

 I added festive words to each glass with white marker...a last minute touch that I realized would smudge. I didn't have time to do a more permanent job with paint.

 The round table sat six and was positioned right next to the 6 ft. folding table that sat another 6. That way everyone faced eachother and no one had to look at someones back.

I remember being so frustrated with taking last minute pics before everyone arrived and having such trouble with my camera's settings and the bright lights and shadows of the day. I never did get a good pic of the lantern centerpieces that co-ordianted with the window theme!

A few different angles of all of the seatings.

This was the view entering from the front hall. 

 I did manage to get one good pic of one of the lantern centerpieces.

 It was surrounded on both sides by this votive vignette.

  

 Thankfully, our kitchen and dining area is nice and large.

 Each seat had a chalkboard tag with a berry sprig and ribbons. The chair covers are one of my most "pinned" posts of really easy 50 cent covers.

DIY chair covers 

 The chandy's got greens that I cut from the yard...

 and berries, silver bells and a big gingham bow.

  

A Holiday punch on a made up stand to catch any drips and make it easy to pour!

The mirror that I added was nice and flat making the jug nice and stable for serving.

A little hack that I like to do to add more serving or prep space in the kitchen is to add a cutting board to a pulled out drawer!

 This was last year's bay window theme in the kitchen that never made the rounds in sharing...you might like to see it here

I loved the theme of all the lanterns, especially lit at night!

The best part of our feast was the, good old southern, oyster roast that we enjoyed, beforehand, outside in the 70+ degree weather with drinks and the family.

Love, Hugs and Kisses,

JP

and Gucci, too!

Sharing this post at these great parties

adelightsomelife

staceyembracingchange

craftsalamode

lifeonlakeshoredrive

frenchcountrycottage  

onemoretimeevents

Centerpiece Change in the Kitchen and my Pig Takes Center Stage

It was time for a new look for our centerpiece in the kitchen, time for new trim and time to my let my country pig take center stage!

She was a "piggy pink" when my honey bought her for me almost twenty years ago. I painted her to make her fit in with our decor....I don't do pink!

The centerpiece started out like this. Then I made the little changes and swapped the rattan place mat for the pair of green ones to add more green to the vignette

Here I added some fresh cut basil, from our window, to fill the vase some more.

Same exact photo? NOT!

A little secret of mine, that I use a lot is the cloning tool in Pic Monkey. It's the photo editing program that I use for every single pic that I share. 

I hate imperfections and blemishes and since I had no more perfect flowers or basil on hand I just cloned them.

I use it to hide wires and dust and cracks....anything that I didn't notice when taking my shots!

 You can see that I added a checkerboard trim to the lazy susan, to change it up again, and match the stool that I painstakingly painted. I shared it's "how to" in this post.

I shared how I, recently, re-painted it white and added Italian and English words all the way around. It was very apropo for our Italian themed dinner party that we had a few weeks back.

Then came the 4th of July. An American flag band disguised the words and made the perfect patriotic accent.

It's so easy to add any trim...I just stick it on with some "poster putty" which makes it really easy to remove.

"Emma" almost always wears her pearls!

A chicken wire wrapped jar holds some fresh cut summer flowers.....note: petals not cloned...oops!

I think she's happy being center stage, so I'll keep her happy for a while!

And now I'm itching to re-do the bay window, again, with a summer theme. I'm just holding off because I'm still in love with the herb garden look. Nothing beats the handiness of having herbs right at hand in the kitchen!

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

Can you see him? He's playing "peek-a-boo!"

 
 
  Sharing this post at these great parties

confessionsofaplateaddict  

astrollthrulife  

mypinterventures  

finecraftguild


lifeonlakeshoredrive  

craftsalamode  

frenchcountrycottage  

staceyembracingchange  

confessionsofaplateaddict  

ivyandelephants  

savvysouthernstyle  

diybydesign  

dwellings-theheartofyourhome  

ashandcrafts  

thededicatedhouse  

Red, White and Black Tablescape and our Lazy Susan's new do!

Company for dinner can, sometimes, be really casual and then there are those times when I just can't resist the opportunity to set a pretty table!

We invited company over for a good, old fashioned, Italian, Sunday dinner a few weeks ago.
I decided to go with a red, white and black, Italian theme.
It gave me a chance to use our newly, transformed lazy susan...

 and some country roosters for the centerpiece.

 Waiting for our company.


I wanted to paint it white since I recently painted the base of our table pure white. I'm glad that I did...we love it!

  My, woven, market basket made a pretty photo shot.

The lazy susan is perfect for our round table. I painted it with a freehand design, a few years ago, in a neutral color scheme, but just got tired of the look.

 So, I thought that it would be fun to paint it white and add some fun words to the sides in Italian and English.

  I wasn't about to dare to attempt painting all of the words by hand. It would have been far too time consuming to make my own transfer words. Luckily, I had a few packages of these vinyl letters on hand and used some Mod Podge to decoupage them on permanently.

 The hardest part was the spacing in between. Luckily, I managed (with a few repositions) to make it work!

It's perfect for our kitchen, but now if I tire of it or want to hide the words all I have to do is make a cover up. I made one for our 4th of July tablescape and have a few more ready...one in burlap and one in a black and white check.

The trim possibilities for it are endless!

 I went with the black, white and red, Italian, theme because of this woven, tea towel that I framed just for our kitchen...

and our black and white checkered stool that I shared with you a while back.

 

  I used it as an extra place to hold a basket of bread..faux bread... pre-dinner photo shoot! 

Who serves a full loaf with tongs? LOL!!!

 Along with our red stool they made the perfect side servers.

Black and white checkered place mats were a $2, thrift store, score and were perfect for the base of the red and white dishes and flatware layered on top.

Red place mats were the base for the alternating black and white dishes.

 A red, rose napkin sits inside appetizer bowls at each setting.

 It was, absolutely, the easiest fold to do!

(grab a napkin...try it, now!) 

 1- fold napkin in half to form a tri-angle

2- roll (starting at the widest side to the point)

3-roll again (from one end to meet the other) 

4-simply tuck the loose end into any spot underneath to secure it

5- lift the center, gently, to "fluff"

6-VOILA!

 Personalized, cardstock, chalkboard tags, tied to each wine glass, always makes it a "no brainer" where everyone is to sit!

White paint marker looks just like chalk.

 My honey made his, famous, jumbo, shrimp scampi as an appetizer...not a picture perfect shot, but it sure was a "knockout." I can still almost taste it!

For dinner we served chicken parm, with meatballs and sausage, rigatoni and salad with a, gourmet, balsamic vinaigrette and of course some, fresh, Italian bread. Our
 guests were also sweet to bring some fabulous appetizers and dessert to share.

I wish that I had pics of all our food, they looked and tasted amazing...I just have a hard time playing hostess and photographer, too!

 This is another pre-dinner shot with that "fake" bread. ;)

And, as always, "Gucci" is always lurking somewhere near! 

  It was a wonderful gathering that we will need to repeat, again...I've got a new chicken recipe that I recently made and I'm dying to let them try it !!!


 

 Love, Hugs and Kisses,
JP

and Gucci, too!

Can you see him? He's playing "peek-a-boo!"

 
 
  Sharing this post at these great parties

mariaelenasdecor 

frenchcountrycottage  

  lifeonlakeshoredrive

craftsalamode  

astrollthrulife  

adelightsomelife  

kathewithane  

stonegableblog.com

thededicatedhouse  

dwellings-theheartofyourhome  

ashandcrafts