Merry Christmas Tablescape

Merry Christmas everyone! It's beginning to feel like Christmas even in the deep south. It's cold enough to light a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmallows in the fire pit. We can wear our sweaters and coats today but it may be 70 degrees next week.  But we can get out our Christmas dishes and set a Christmas table. Today, I am using my Spode Christmas china in my kitchen with a table set for four.

I don't know about you but setting my tables with my Christmas china jump starts all my decorating.

I had a vision for the flowers I wanted to use but could not be satisfied with any of my vases. Then I remembered my Christmas card basket and decided that could be my flower container. And... it said just what I wanted to say to you....Merry Christmas!

The rattan basket repeated the rattan on the chargers.

The flour sack runner was purchased this fall at the Country Living Fair in Atlanta. I like the color and texture it adds.

My Christmas tree cookies are a family tradition and the one year I didn't make them I got in trouble. My original thought after putting the cookies on a Fitz and Floyd plate was I needed a candy cane vase but did not have any luck finding one. 

Needlepoint napkin rings with Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths were made by my husband's mother. Plaid napkins show them off I think.

The fragrance from the lilies about to open will be nice in a few days.

I am doing a program at my Garden Club next week on tablescapes. I will also be sharing another Christmas tablescape next Wednesday as I participate in a tablescape blog hop.

Lenox green goblets were found at an estate sale. This is the first time I've used them. 

Honestly, the container I needed for the flowers was right under my nose.... and it repeated the needlepoint theme as well as the rattan pieces. 

I always enjoy using my theme salt and pepper shakers if you remember the pilgrim ones I used at Thanksgiving. The kissing Mr. and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers have been around since our children were small. The grandchildren like them now. 

🎄Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours. 

Joining: Metamorphosis Monday   Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday    Share Your Cup 

  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country Sunday's At Home

Happy Thanksgiving

I am glad you have joined me and a myriad of other talented tablescapers for a Thanksgiving blog hop sponsored by Chloe Crabtree from Celebrate and Decorate. A complete list of posts you will want to visit can be found at the end of this post.

Welcome to our home for a simple, almost plain family Thanksgiving dinner tablescape. The dishes and cutlery I chose all go in the dishwasher for ease and more family time. There are ten of us so that's important and they will be here for several days. I usually fuss with fresh flowers, which I love, but this time a fresh real pumpkin graces our table for a centerpiece with a touch of southern cotton, faux bittersweet and fall leaves with a few smaller pumpkins added in.

This year, I chose to use a simple burlap runner and let the burled grain of my table show. I usually use a tablecloth which does photograph better but decided to change it up this time.  Rattan chargers add an organic feel juxtaposed with the crystal goblets and crystal candle holders that add a touch of glam. The candle holders are special to me as they graced my beloved mother-in-law's table for years. I get emotional just thinking of the many family dinners at her home.

Now, the scripture on this paper napkin sums it all up to me. Thanksgiving is about being thankful to our Creator for all our blessings. 

You can view last year's Thanksgiving blog hop table here. It was more dramatic and also included a family tradition of using a set of Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers.  I forgot them this time. A prior typical Thanksgiving breakfast can be viewed here. I usually do a full breakfast in the kitchen and then a late lunch in the dining room. We are all ready for a long walk after the big meal. 

Here's my casual table for ten and you can see my little nest where I blog in the other room complete with clutter and the lamp on, that I didn't notice until now. 

I couldn't resist including some shots of our food from last year. That is my son, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Now, how did I get that old? Where did the years go?

Well now you know, I have been preparing this tablescape all year for viewing in 2018. This a real Thanksgiving table that was curated and photographed for you in 2017. As you can see we had finished eating when I realized I didn't get a picture of the food. So, I quickly served another plate just for you! (No time for styling!)
Turkey and cornbread dressing with gravy Green beans Roasted Butternut squash Fresh Cranberry sauce Lady Finger Peas Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
It is so much fun to see all the different tablescapes for an occasion like Thanksgiving. Thank you, Chloe, for organizing the blog hops. They can be formal or casual, simple or elaborate but they reflect the personality and mood of the designer on a given day. That's why I like blogging and tablescaping and blog-hopping.  I enjoy the challenge of using what I have in a different way and seeing my other blogging friends doing the same thing with their creations.
Speaking of blogging friends- Do you ever reread your comments from old posts? They grab my heart. Bloggers are so encouraging and kind. I'd like the world to be so kind.
Have a wonderful day. If it is your first time reading Living With Thanksgiving I hope you will come again. Please enjoy reading the other bloggers posts listed below.
Living Thankfully,

Monday

Knock it Off Kim
Home is Where the Boat Is
Everyday Living
Living With Thanksgiving

Tuesday

Panoply
Corner of Plaid and Paisley
Red Cottage Chronicles
Home and Gardening with Liz

Wednesday

Me and My Captain
Bluesky at Home
Life and Linda
Our Crafty Mom

Thursday

The Painted Apron
Debbee's Buzz
Loveland Lodge
Celebrate & Decorate

Friday

The Painted Hinge
Sweet Sensations
Zucchini Sisters
a casa di Bianca
Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Joining: Metamorphosis Monday   Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday    Share Your Cup 

  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country Sunday's At Home

Texas Tea Party

Do you like tea parties? Take a seat and have a cup of virtual tea and tea sandwiches with us. 

I'm two months late posting this special event. Meet Will and Elise my Texas grandchildren. They helped plan the entire party and also helped bake the cookies and make the sandwiches. 

I bought flowers for the party and arranged them in a Portmerion pitcher in anticipation of the tea party. The cookies were baked the day before and a good time was enjoyed by all which included licking the beaters and the bowl!

The day of the event, party sandwiches were made and the table was set.

Everyone was excited as you can see in the pictures. 

I adore my daughter in law's china. Isn't it beautiful?

Being a part of the planning and baking was fun for them.

Elise brought in two vintage fans that were her great grandmothers as part of her contribution to the table decorations.

Their laughter and enjoyment was music to my ears.

My daughter in law, Sarah and their granddaddy or Graddy as they call him joined in the fun too. Granddaddy's Yeti was not a planned part of our decorations. 

This note is a keeper and was so sweet.

See other tea parties over the years below. I hope to have many more! It's not perfection but memories that count.

2014

2017

Alabama tea parties here, here, and here.

I'm already thinking about the tea party I hope we can have for Christmas 2018!

 Sometimes all the grandchildren are together and sometimes we have to have separate parties because they live in different states. 

Living Thankfully,

Joining: Metamorphosis Monday   Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday    Share Your Cup 

  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country Sunday's At Home

Autumn Flowers

There is a slight touch of fall in the air here in south Alabama. Our fall flowers are blooming and my spider lilies are doing well this year. They are slowly multiplying. They have taken a while to get established after being moved to this new location. 

Spider lilies remind me of my childhood and bring back many pleasant memories. My agapanthus has seeded out and have lots of seeds. If all the seeds take root I will need to thin out this bed.

Lycorus radiata, known as red spider lily, red magic lily , or equinox flower, is a plant in the amaryllis family.

As the flowers fade, narrow green leaves with silver stripes emerge, last all winter, and then disappear by spring. They will grow in the sun or shade but the blooms are larger in the sun.

I cut a few of the spider lilies for a small arrangement that you may have seen on Instagram.

My daughter and her family visited us last week.  I did a few fall touches in the house including this pitcher of sunflowers, alstroemeria, and limelights on the kitchen island.

 My daughter put these pictures on her Instagram stories that touched my heart! I wanted to share with my blogging friends how sweet my daughter is.

 One evening this week as I drove home the sunset was so mesmerizing I pulled the car over and took a quick pic with my cell phone. I adore sunrises and sunsets! You can view a post I did with numerous sunrises and sunsets here.

As I turned into my neighborhood I saw the prettiest clouds with the glow from the sunset. Don't you love surprises like this!

 I enjoyed an outing in the country with a friend this week. The farmhouse I visited had beautiful flowers. This cock comb was especially pretty. Last year I was given some cockscomb and I planted seeds in a pot from the dried flowers. They came up and I was rewarded with a plant that now has bloomed.

 Isn't this Gloriosa lily gorgeous?

 This variegated orange canna lily was dazzling.

 Zinnias make me smile.

 My cockscomb looks more like this.

 I don't know the name of this flowering vine but it was stunning against the green grass in the pasture.

I wish I had gotten a picture of the farmhouse and the big red barn.  We also visited a local nursery and I purchased two pots of mums. Maybe we will have pumpkins in our area soon. It has been extremely warm with temperatures of 96 the last few days and we need rain. Wish we could take some of the flooding rain from South Carolina and North Carolina. For those of you in the storm-affected areas, you are constantly in our prayers.
I am joining Pam@Everydayliving for her last Gardens Galore party of the season.  

Joining: Gardens Galore  Metamorphosis Monday   Show and Share  The Scoop  Celebrate and Decorate  Inspire Me Tuesday  Wow Us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday  Share Your Style Party  Share Your Cup Full Plate Thursday

 Feathered Nest Friday  Dishing It & Digging It   Calypso in the Country Sunday's At Home, Thyme for Tea