Pining for Silver Pine

Christmas morning is layed back and relaxing at our house since there are no small children.  As the day goes on, I get very busy with all the meal prep.

Luckily, like many of the other tablescapers, my table was ready early.  

It started with the Kent Silver Pine dishes I found in Oct at an antique mall.  It was love at fist sight, but I didn't buy them right any b/c I thought they only had the platters and serving pieces that were displayed. 

Later that day when I went back to take additional photos of the platters and my friend said, "Did you see this tag that says, EIGHT FULL PLACE SETTINGS!".  No, I didn't see it and I was so glad she pointed it out to me.  Within minutes, I was all over these dishes.  

The pattern is Kent Silver Pine made in Japan.  There are a few salad plates by Narumi, also called Silver Pine.  I was unable to find any information on either manufacturer, but the plates are identical. 

I fell in love with the elegant, simple lines, muted color pallet, and the tablescaping wheels started turning.

I wanted to use fresh greenery and The Hunter brought home some to try, but unfortunately, he brought it home in Nov and with all the warm weather, by Christmas, it was way past it's prime.  

I was fortunate to find beautiful artificial greenery that I loved.  The candles were a last minute addition from Pottery Barn purchased at 7:00 AM on Dec 23.  Crazy to be at the mall on Dec 23, right? Crazy like a fox!  Marked down twice!   You may notice in the following photos that as they burned, the light started glowing through the bark.  

Place mats from Tuesday Morning, Ralph Lauren napkins from Home Goods.  The chargers have a wood pattern and were ordered from Save-on-Crafts.com.   I wasn't sure if silver and brown would work together, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the combination.  

The pine cones of all sizes belonged to my MIL and when she decided to clean out 40 years of accumulated collecting, I became the lucky new owner.  I struggled to get the largest pine cones to stand upright, but as you will see, I finally won that battle!

I discovered that the little aluminum bottom from a votive candle fit perfectly on the bottom of the pine cone allowing it to stand upright.  Candlestick from Tuesday Morning and the globe is Shannon Crystal.  I love how the pattern echos the pine cones.  

My newest flatware:  Sheraton by Oneida. 

Mercury glass votives tucked into the greenery.  

My daughter Melissa brought one of my Granddogs, Murphy, to visit for Christmas dinner.  

I hope your Christmas was filled with family love like mine was.  I will be joining the following parties:
Let's Dish!
Tablescape Thursday
Seasonal Sunday

Natural Touches

Every year our dear friends, the Scotts, have a Christmas Dinner and gift swap for a group of eight friends.  Suzanne always prepares a delicious meal and Thom, the dessert King, always has an amazing sweet treat at the end of the meal.  This year was no exception.  

We were greeted on the porch by a lovely chandelier decked with greenery and magnolia on the front door. 

We all look forward to the meal, but what the women look forward to the most, is what Suzanne has done with her table.  We are always amazed and this year was no exception.

All the beautiful white and gold in the chargers, plates, nativity and even the painted magnolia had a gold center and sparkles on the leaves.

Our antiquing buddy, CeCe made the burlap stars for name cards. You can see her incredible Destin condo HERE.  Believe me, if you haven't seen it you need to take a look.  The beautiful antique napkins were found last year at Round Top.  

Love the wreaths on the shutters! 

The kitchen island covered with a beautiful topper and the lacy metal pieces from IKEA.  

We both love our Cabin in the Snow dishes by Tienshan.  The placemats are from OTP.  The table was Thom's grandfather's. 

Crab Artichoke Dip and Smoke Salmon with Dill Cream. 

Oh what treasures do these hold?  Homemade fudge, peanut brittle and pasta bowls from Portugal.

So much fun to share a lovely meal with dear friends and my in-laws who I am lucky to have as friends.  

We love these people!  Friends from work; craft buddy (Janie), fishing budding (Kevin) on the end and my in-laws Ned and Eileen closest to the camera. You can see Eileen's amazing Christmas decor HERE. 

We were not allowed to see the dessert until it was served, so this is after the meal.  We were surprised by Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Whipped Cream.  Yea Thom!  We first tasted this incredible dessert at Woodfire Grille in Atlanta and it has become a favorite.  A perfect ending to a perfect meal. 
Another wonderful evening with dearest friends and family.  It is the one Christmas event, that none of us would miss!
Don't miss all the festivities at the following parties:
Seasonal Sunday
Let's Dish
Tablescape Thursday