A Christmas Tablescape...all things old

If you know me well, you know I love this time of year. It's just magical to me and sharing it with my little boys makes it that much more special. I love snowmen and I think I passed this love onto at least one of my boys who screams out snowman in every store and at every glance of the man in white. I won't bombard you with my collection just yet...

I've collected Christmas salad plates for several years. I mostly have 4 of each, so I paired a couple sets with my red glass plates and Italian Countryside dinner plates. I've bought nothing new this year. I love the hunt for 75-90% off after Christmas clearance. Last year I found this tablecloth and the napkins at that cost as in $2.99 and 29 cents  for sets of 2 napkins. I picked up some green ones too.

My mom had this greenery centerpiece in her stash and gave it to me a couple years ago. I added the mosaic hurricanes my husband bought me from World Market a few years ago.

The berry plates are from Target Christmas clearance 2007. I love when the back of the plates are labeled. I bought these the year Adrian was born!  The cream and sugar matches and I think I paid about 29 cents for each of them after searching a couple Targets. 

These napkin rings are from Pier One years ago. 

My hutch is decked out for Christmas in the background!

These swirled paisley plates are from Cracker Barrel last year. My friend Lisa, who gave me the Romanian tablecloth works there and every year they have a friends and family night...45% off sale prices. The plates were 25% off plus her discount! I also bought over sized mugs in this pattern.

I've used all this glassware before...

Libby Gibralter water goblets are from my HEB

Red bubble stems were a Secret Santa gift from a teacher I worked with 6 years ago

Red swirled goblets are from Pier One years ago...still sad I broke one:(

Brown bubble stems are from Target years ago. 

The silverware is everyday stainless Wallace Antique Bead

Next week I'll show you my Advent Trees. It's a great way to share the real meaning of this season with your children. A couple moms from my church came up with some great ideas and passed them along.

I pray this season is filled with hope and happiness and the blessing of Christ's birth in your families!

Happy Holidays from my table to yours!!!
I'm joining Susan from BNOTP for Tablescape Thursdays

Happy Holidays...from our lunchbox to yours!!

Christmas Season Bento lunch....

appropriately filled with

marshmallow snowmen

snowmen cut out colby jack cheese

pb& j Christmas tree sandwich

and a piggy filled with yogurt

Happy Holidays!!

from our lunchbox to yours!!

the piggy and snowmen picks are from Dollar Tree last year.

The red cups are from World Market last year.

The ornament pick is from Target last year.

Jo's Cherry Coke Salad

Jo is a friend of our family and has been joining us for Thanksgiving since before my boys were born. She has a lot of family recipes as always shares her Cherry Coke Salad and home made pumpkin pie with us. This is much like the cranberry pineapple salad I showed a couple weeks ago...really festive and really good!!

 Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

 Jo's Cherry Coke Salad

1 can tart pitted cherries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water (or cherry juice from can)

2 packages cherry jello (3oz each)

1 can chilled Coke

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup pecans

Put cherries and pineapple in saucepan. Add sugar, water (cherry juice) and bring to boil. Pour over jello and stir til dissolved. Let cool and and coke and pecans. Pour into a pretty dish or mold and refrigerate. Stir occasionally til firm.

Here's a link to Taste of Home for an idea of what it looks like, but the ingredients list is a little different. 

Thanksgiving--a gift from my mom

 My mom gifted me with a service for 12 in Mikasa Italian Countryside. My first Mikasa and my first white... I think I'm the last person to finally get a set of white dishes. I love the details and the versatility. I can't wait to showcase these during Christmas! The beautiful floral lined dinner plate makes a perfect stage for a variety of styles in luncheon and salad plates. 

I played with the coffee cups and saucers and without...I used my grandmother's silver coffee spoons.

 I added some greenery (nandina and holly berry) from the garden to my centerpiece.

  The berry salad plates say Oven King Italy on the back. They were also my moms. I used her amber jeweled wine stems, my water goblets, rattan chargers and Wallace Antique Bead stainless with my grandmother's tea spoons. The runner is 3 linen place mats from Romania. The embroidered napkins were from an estate sale and the rings are a wedding gift from Bed Bath and Beyond. 

 We will feast on Turkey and dressing--my mom's oyster dressing

Mashed potatoes and giblet gravy

Sweet potato casserole

Cranberry Sauce

Green Beans

Jo's Cherry Coke Salad
Bama's Salad

Pumpkin Pie

Fantasy Fudge 

 My mom made this quilt top a couple months ago. The silver platter, rather tarnished, I know, is part of a tea set I have from my grandmother. My turkey platter is a clearance item from Target years ago and I think the bowl is from Tuesday Morning, years ago.

I am thankful for so many things...a warm house, healthy beautiful children, a steady job for my husband and my brother, the health of my parents, the relationship they have with their grandsons, a God who loves me unconditionally and guides me as a wife, mommy and daughter. I pray your Thanksgiving is a joyous time of remembering all the blessings you have!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I'll be joining these blogs this week.

BNOTP for Tablescape Thursday

the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays
and Mikasa for the Great Dinner Party

Harvest Bento

I haven't posted a bento lunch in a long time...mainly because I make them and pack them up to leave and forget about the photo! Here is Adrian's lunch last week. Cheese cubes and crackers, Salami skewers and pumpkin marshmallows. The scarecrows are from a local cake supply store. The acorns and leaves are from Party City...all bought last year.

My Papau's china

I can remember these plates from when I was little. 

My great grandfather traveled to NYC and when he liked something, he bought every piece for his beloved Mabel Wallace, my Mimmie. My mom was their favorite. She was the only grand daughter, so she received most of the china. This has been in my mom's china cabinet for as long as I can remember. 

Her formal living room is covered in the most beautiful Persian rug from my great grandfather's shopping tours. He had a great eye for style. They lived in the most beautiful house near the bayous of Monroe, Louisiana. My mom would stay with them and adored her grandparents. She has told me some of the best stories. 

 My great grandparents died when I was in grade school, so I mostly have memories. It's so nice to have some concrete things to make those memories come back. My brother is using my Mimmie's kitchen table and chairs in his house. I have her card table and some of her silver. My mom has many beautiful things that I get the privilege of borrowing often. I'm half a mile a way and she is very generous. 

 I was debating to even layer the plates...The pattern on the ironstone is intriguingly beautiful!

I was testing out dishes for Thanksgiving. We are having some extra guests, so I don't usually have to plan for 12 formal settings around my table and a folding banquet table...so this is one of my options. I realized later, some of the pictures were taken before I put the napkins down.

  The B is for Becker and the W for Wallace. My grandmother was Jane Becker Wallace.

By the way...do you have any idea what the name of this pattern is?

 It is Mason Ironstone. 

That's all we know. That is imprinted on the back, but nothing else. I believe it was bought in the 1920s-1930s but I'll ask my mom for sure.

The salad / luncheon plates are also my mom's Thomas of Bavaria. My mom is graciously letting me use the turkey platter, gravy tureen, covered vegetable dish and more but those are safe (from my boys!) in her china cabinet. 

This week I used...

Linen tablecloth from Romania

Water Goblets from Marshall's

Wine Glasses from Pier One

My grandmother's silver

Napkins and napkin rings from Target 

I'm joining Susan at BNOTP for Tablescape Thursdays