Baseball Santa Tablescape

Not tablescaping stuff: If you haven't heard, we experienced a "severe" 6.4 earthquake this morning at around 2:00AM. Needless to say, it was quite an "awakening." So while I have power (it came back on at 6:00PM this evening but has been flickering. Aftershocks have been in the 4.2-4 range,) I decided to take a break from cleaning up to write up this week's blog post. Pat suffered extensive structural damage to her house in addition lots of damage inside. She and her husband are without power, natural gas, and water for an indefinite time. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Baseball is probably the last sport one thinks about at Christmas time but here in Northern California, the old guys (the senior leagues) still get together and bat balls around. That's why we had to buy Baseball Santa this year when we saw him at TJMaxx. 

Plastic popcorn containers hold candy and a gift.

Although we used this flatware last week, the red color is perfect for a baseball theme table, too.

The baseball accent plate is "Game Plan" by Pottery Barn

Dinnerware and matching Bread/Butter plate is "Scarlett" Fiesta(ware) by Homer Laughlin

Always a favorite, the charger is "Edme" by Wedgwood

The handmade checked napkins are held by the handle of a beer mug shot glass

Simple glass works for the table

I found the small baseball bat and plastic ball ornaments at Amazon

One last look (I didn't have the heart to take a picture of the table this morning. It looked quite different after the quake since a lot of it was on the floor.)

Where it came from:

Chargers - "Edme" by Wedgwood from eBay and Replacements,Ltd.

Red Dinnerware - "Scarlett" Fiesta(ware) by Homer Laughlin from Macy's and Replacements,Ltd.

Baseball Accent Plates - "Game Plan" by Pottery Barn from eBay

Flatware - "Cameo Burgundy" by Cambridge from Pier 1 years ago

Glass Tumblers - "Our Table" from Bed, Bath, and Beyond this year

Beer Mugs - from the Dollar Tree

Plastic Popcorn Containers - from the Dollar Tree

Small Beer Mug Napkin Rings - "Home Essentials" from TJMaxx five or six years ago

Checked Napkins - Handmade by Pat

Small Centerpiece Tree and Red Ornaments - from Michael's

Baseball Bat and Baseball Ornaments - from Amazon this year

Santa - from TJMaxx this year

Black Candle Holders - from Pier 1 six or seven years ago

This week, we will be joining "Tablescape Thursday" at Between Naps on the Porch:  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ 

Christmas Chef Santa Tablescape

Pat set another fun table this week using "Chef Santa" which brought back lots of family memories of great Holiday times. (Our Dad was a Chef by profession so it was fun to see a table that reminded us of our childhood. In addition, Pat added the very old copper family polenta pot as part of the centerpiece that our beloved Italian Grandmother used to cook with in her wood cookstove to make Sunday polenta dinner. (She wouldn't get rid of the old stove because the pan fit perfectly into the hole when when the cast iron cover was removed!)

Pat used an assortment of Fiesta(ware) - Black, White and Scarlet - taking the color theme from Santa

Red flatware is by Cambridge

Extra large glassware is from the Dollar Tree

The polenta pan holds packages spilling out

From the other end of the table

Where it came from:

Tablecloth and White Napkins - from Linentablecloth.com (a really neat site of low cost wedding and table supplies)

Dinnerware - "Fiesta(ware)" by Homer Laughlin from Macy's, Kohl's, and Replacements, Ltd.

Flatware - "Cameo Burgundy" by Cambridge from Pier 1 years ago

Red Checked Napkins - Handmade by Pat

Spoon/Fork Napkin Rings - from Pier 1 several years ago

Glassware - from the Dollar Tree (always available)

Santa - from our collection

Christmas Tree, Candles and Ornaments - from Michael's

Black Wooden Candle Holders - from Pier 1 six or seven years ago

This week, we will be joining "Tablescape Thursday" at Between Naps on the Porch:  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ 

Schumann China Christmas Tablescape

Christmas! My favorite holiday and favorite time of the year. I love all of the traditions associated with Christmas and especially getting together with family and enjoying a meal. So what could be better than that? Using my all-time favorite dishes on the table, that's what. Pat set this week's table using Schumann's "Wild Rose" dinnerware to set a formal tone (and to make me very, very happy.)

Purchased mainly in the early 70's, "Wild Rose" was my formal dish pattern (remember the time when every young woman chose a formal and everyday dish pattern when they got married???) - a tad too bold and "over-stated" for today's generation but I loved it then and I still love it.

Flatware is frosted "Kyoto Gold" by Holister

Pat found these extraordinary metallic pink chargers at a thrift store for 25 cents each. They are perfect for the place setting

Glassware is "Sensa" by Schott Zwiesel 

From the other end of the table

Where it came from:

Pink Metallic Chargers - from a local thrift store recently

Dinnerware - "Wild Rose" by Schumann from Walsh's (a local wedding and gift store long out of business,) Replacements,Ltd (a God-send when it comes to finding that odd piece or treasure you never thought you could replace, eBay, and antique stores wherever I am.

Frosted Gold Flatware - "Kyoto Gold" by Holister from Wayfair years ago

Glassware - "Sensa" by Schott Zwiesel from Pier 1 three years ago

Napkins - Handmade by Pat to coordinate with the dinnerware

Napkin Rings - from Bed, Bath, and Beyond years ago

Centerpiece Gold Trees, Gold Balls and small packages - from Pier 1 four or five years ago

Santa, Snow, and Reindeer - from Michael's

This week, we will be joining "Tablescape Thursday" at Between Naps on the Porch:  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ 

Farmer's Tractor Parade Christmas Tablescape

Time for the 30th annual Tractor Parade in one of our most quaint local communities - the Victorian village of Ferndale. (Yes, it is probably true that each town in our county tries to "outdo" the others with unique - and sometimes bazar - Christmas events but it is pure pleasure to see what they come up with each year.) Farmers and ranchers all over the Valley decorate tractors and horse-drawn carts and floats in local themes to ride down Main Street. It is quite a sight!

So it was obvious that Pat would use the Tractor Parade as the inspiration to this week's Christmas table....

Pat's husband was born and raised on a dairy ranch in Ferndale and our Mother was raised in Ferndale {there was a large migration of Italians and Portuguese immigrants to Ferndale in the first half of the 20th century attracted by the fertile land and possible job opportunities) so we have many ties to the community. It seems only fitting that we would have "cow" dinnerware in our collection.

The large charger is red "Fun Factory" by Waechtersbach

Flatware is very sturdy "Classic Bead" by Reed & Barton

One of our first purchases from Pier 1 when it opened years ago in our community - sadly, the glasses lasted longer than the store....

Farmer Santa holds a Holstein cow

From the other end of the table

Where it came from:

Denim Place Mats - Handmade by Pat

Red Charger Plates - "Fun Factory" by Waechtersbach from Replacements,Ltd.

Dinnerware - "Spotted Cow" by Tienshan from eBay and Replacements,Ltd.

Bread and Butter Plate - Black "Fiesta(ware)" by Homer Laughlin from Replacements,Ltd.

Flatware - "Classic Bead" by Reed & Barton from Tuesday Morning seven years ago

Glassware - from Pier 1 ten or eleven years ago

Checked Napkins - Handmade by Pat

Cow Napkin Rings - from a local boutique (of course, located in Ferndale) years ago

Black Candle Holders - from Pier 1 years ago

Santa, Hay bale, Red Candles, Tree, etc. - from Michael's over the years

This week, we will be joining "Tablescape Thursday" at Between Naps on the Porch:  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/