Birthday Tablescape…Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

Susan, our gracious hostess at Between Naps on the Porch has invited us once again. As someone else pointed out: I don’t really think she naps :)! I know everyone is neck deep in Thanksgiving plans…cleaning, cooking, or a lucky few packing. But we are have a double celebration before the big holiday. First Born and our new son in law (hereafter known as Shug and pronounced like the first half of sugar :) are both celebrating birthdays! First Born is celebrating a milestone one and it is Shug’s first as a member of our family. He proposed to Sunshine on his birthday last year. It calls for a celebration—and a manly one!

This antelope started it all. A friend had it left over from a garage sale. He was originally an ash blonde color. The tablescape wheels starting turning in my head and with a can of gold spray paint he became my centerpiece.

We are usually an informal family more prone to barbecue on the deck than formal sit down meals—but this one is special and required a special table setting.

Glenda at A Dab of This and That tipped me off on these large faux acorns at Cracker Barrel. Perfect and 40% off to boot—thanks Glenda!

It’s hard for me to set a table without flowers no matter how manly it is. Since I had a gold theme going, I spray painted these Dollar Tree candle holders with the same gold spray paint. The roses (always from Kroger) are yellowish with burnt orange tips to pull out the colors in the china.

I used my grandmother’s Lancaster by Haviland—a great pattern for autumn. One of the things that I love most about this china is what it represents to me. This china was not a wedding gift to my grandparents. My grandmother, a career woman, bought every single piece on layaway—that thing people used before credit cards. She had a great appreciation for beautiful things and was willing to work for them. I found these great gold napkin rings at Old Time Pottery recently for $1 each. The sterling is Burgundy by Reed and Barton.

I dressed up the Lismore by Waterford with wired gold ribbon. Each person will have their own little crystal salt and pepper set.

No one but my grandmother would have ever dared to wash this covered dish…we were all afraid we’d break it :)

I am serving Rett’s (from The Gazebo House) individual beef Wellingtons and the gravy boat will be perfect for a horseradish sauce or bearnaise

Butter pats for the rolls will hide inside here. I usually use this china for Thanksgiving, but this year we will be eating with my daughter—my first time to be a guest in over twenty five years. The Thanksgiving torch passed directly from my paternal grandmother to me…so I had to get out her china….I hope you’ll enjoy sharing it with me.

Click on the TT button on the sidebar for more tablescape with Susan! Don’t forget Deck the Halls will be on Tuesdays beginning December 1. I hope you’ll join in the fun and grab a button! For details click here

Tablescape Thursday…She Said the Magic Words !

Once again, our gracious hostess Susan at Between Naps on the Porch has invited us to her place to play with the dishes. Thanks so much Susan! If you are a regular visitor, you may know that our daughter got married last summer. So with engagements comes the bridal registry, and then gifts, and then finally MORE NEW CHINA! We spent a two days together last weekend painting two bedrooms and she finally got around to saying the magic words I’ve been longing to hear……not, “we’re having a baby” but “will you help me set my table?”. Yippee! This is music to my ears! I have been wanting to get my hands on this since June. Sunshine is a smart girl who knew what she wanted. She has loved Herend since she was a teenager when she received a small decorative heart. So, when she started making decisions for her bridal registry she chose this as her dinner plate.

This is the Gwendolyn pattern by Herend with 24 karat slightly scalloped edges. She thought one day it might mix nicely with either of these

This is Lancaster by Haviland and belonged to my grandmother. It is the pattern I always use for Thanksgiving and in the fall. The leaves and colors make it perfect for the season. It too is white with a very slight scallop and thin gold edging.

This is my formal china-Rosalinde also by Haviland. The very center of this plate is white (like the Herend plate), the outer rim is bone. Once again, it has a slight scallop and a gold edge. Do you think this might be genetic—three generations of gold scallops? :) We both thought this would be a good salad plate on top of her Gwendolyn. But for her salad plate, Sunshine mixed patterns. Brides seem to do that more now. She chose this

This is Chinese Bouquet by Herend. It is was of Herend’s oldest patterns inspired by an even older Chinese pattern. This particular pattern was commissioned by Count Albert Apponyi a distinguished nobleman and statesman of Hungary. Chinese Bouquet comes in blue, rust, or green. Sunshine chose green, but I was rooting for the blue. Look at all those serving pieces available!

Herend has been made in the small village of Herend near Budapest since 1826. Started by Vince Stingl, it quickly changed hands after a bankruptcy. The creditor Mor Fishcher took over and developed the artistry. It was a favorite of European nobility. In 1853 a Herend pattern, entered in the New York Exhibition of Industrial Arts, won an award. From that point on, it became an American favorite as well.

Many of the patterns were created and named for specific families or people. This pattern with flowers and butterflies is Queen Victoria.

You bird watchers and fans will love this pattern. Susan you would love this one! It was created in 185o for the Rothschild family of Europe. Twelve different motifs depict a nineteenth century tale about Baroness Rothschild who lost a pearl necklace in her garden in Vienna. Several days later the necklace was found by a gardener who spotted birds playing with it in a tree.

Not only does Herend produce china, they also create beautiful collectibles and figurines. This elephant is from the Safari Collection and is the popular fishnet pattern.

I personally aspire to fishnet bunnies—in several shapes, sizes, and positions :)

Here is a starfish in the green and white fishnet pattern.

The starfish and this sea urchin are from their newest collection.

I do own one small piece—the rose in the secretary was a gift. Mine is pink, but they come in several beautiful colors.

I can hardly wait to help Sunshine set her table for Thanksgiving! This will be the first time in over 25 years that the Thanksgiving holiday meal has not been at our house. The next generation is at least temporarily borrowing the torch…and I am thankful :)

Please visit our gracious hostess Susan and a lots of others for more table fun! You can click on the TT button and be there in a flash! Thanks for stopping by!