Showing posts with label Set The Table. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Set The Table. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Set The Table: Hanukkah Edition

Hi dolls!  Some of you may or may not know that we are a Jewish household over here, so decorating our house for the holidays is vastly different than decorating for Christmas.  I grew up in a Christian home, and converted to Judaism 3 years after I met my husband.  During those 3 years that Adam & I dated I had fallen in love with not only him, but also with the Jewish way of life.  The first thing people say to me after learning that I converted was, "wow you're just like Charlotte from Sex & the City!"  Charlotte was always my favorite character so I'll take it!  Judaism is such a beautiful religion full of age old traditions and I've felt a special connection to it from the moment that I first started studying with a Rabbi prior to my conversion.  I do have to honestly say, however,  that every year around this time, a small piece of me mourns celebrating Christmas....not for the religious aspect because that was never really my thing, but more along the lines of Christmas trees, festive wrapping paper, Santa Claus, Christmas carols, decking my house out for the holidays, etc. 

The Hanukkah decor peeps really need to step up their game because when I walked into Pottery Barn over the weekend, the entire store was solely Christmas decor with one measly little table set up dedicated to Hanukkah.  Whomp whomp.  I always ask Adam if he felt like he was left out when he was growing up but his response is always the same, "Nope, because 8 days are better than just 1....."  and just to clarify, 8 days of gifting is RAD!!! :)

Since this is only my third year celebrating Hanukkah as an official Jew, I imagine that my little boohoo Christmas pity party will get easier with time.  Until then, I'm trying to fully embrace all of the traditions that come with the Festival of Lights, and that means learning the blessings for the lighting of the menorah, immersing myself in new recipes {helloooo brisket, latkes, and fried doughnuts!?}, and making a beautiful blue + white tablescape to celebrate the holiday!




For this tablescape, I wanted our beautiful silver menorah to be the main centerpiece.  I dressed up the rest of the table with lots of mercury glass candle holders with bright white candles.




I layered two table runners to add a bit more texture to the table.  In front of each place setting, I added a few pieces of "Gelt" which is gold foil wrapped chocolate coins that are typically given to children during Hanukkah.





Each place setting contained a metallic silver charger, our basic white everyday plates, and layered blue & white napkins finished off with a simple napkin ring.




I just love mercury glass.  Most of these are from Pottery Barn or West Elm that I've picked up over the years.  The silver Star of David candle plate & mirrored round candle are new this year from Crate & Barrel.




Our menorah is nature inspired by Michael Aram and was a wedding present that we received last year.




I kept my buffet simple with a beautiful bouquet, more mercury glass candles, and a small glass container featuring more chocolate coins.






Happy Holidays! xx

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Set The Table: Glass + Gold

Hi loves!  Hope your week is off to a good start!  If you follow me over on Instagram {andy_adler}, you may have seen the picture I snapped over the weekend showing my Thanksgiving tablescape progress.  I ended up making a few changes, and am really pleased with how it turned out!  Yesterday, I took a few higher quality photos and am excited to share them with you today.

I'll link everything that is available for purchase online at the bottom of this post if anyone is interested in purchasing the materials I used for my tablescape.

Let's get started.




The theme that I am going for this year is glass + gold.  I've been really inspired this past year with vintage glass, and have been slowly acquiring some beautiful vintage demijohns & various other glass antique pieces.  I wanted to somehow incorporate glass filled jars & cloches and pair them with luxurious gold accents since most of my flatware & dishes from last year have some form of gold on them.    




I recently purchased this large Hungarian mason jar from Restoration Hardware.  It is one of RH's authentic vintage pieces that they occasionally have, and as soon as I laid eyes on it I knew that I had to use it somehow in my tablescape. 

Last Friday, I popped into my local Pottery Barn to see what type of vase fillers they had, and was instantly drawn to the gold pod flowers which sadly are not sold online.  They ended up working beautifully in my large mason jar, and under my small glass cloche.  I also displayed a few faux white pumpkins under another glass cloche.





I picked up the plaid table runner from Pottery Barn a few weeks ago on serious clearance!  It ended up costing $17 - down from $69.  Love a good sale!  I layered it on top of another cream colored runner with tassels to add a bit more texture & visual appeal to my tablescape.




I love candlelight.  Love, love, love candles so finding the right candles for my tablescape was essential.  Both the gold candlesticks + the gold acorn candle plate are from Crate & Barrel.  They were the perfect match for the gold accents that I was looking for and tied everything together nicely.








The chargers, plates, flatware, and glassware were all purchased last year from West Elm, but I believe they still sell all the pieces in stores and online.  They are fairly inexpensive, and instantly dress up any table.  I've ended up using them all throughout the year whenever we have "special occasion" dinners and am really happy with them.  The linen napkins are new {purchased from Pottery Barn} and are currently on sale.  I used 2 different colors on each plate to add a bit of visual interest, and finished them off with basic gold napkin rings {also on sale for $4 each}  from Sur La Table.  




 For my place card settings I got a bit crafty.  I bought a bag of walnuts and painted them with metallic gold acrylic paint from a crafts store.  I attached the place cards with a bit of hot glue and voila!  Easy, peasey place cards that look so luxe!






I'm super excited to have a buffet in my dining room this year to place my Thanksgiving spread on top of.  I decorated it with a simple table runner, matching gold candlesticks, and an antique Italian ceramic vase circa early 1900's.  Do you guys recognize the pumpkin cast-iron cocotte from this post?  It is so festive, and I'm really happy that I bought it.  It's one of those pieces that will last for so many years, and can be handed down if we happen to have any children that share the same passion for cooking that I have :)




And lastly, the bookshelf technically isn't part of my dining room, but it sits directly off of it and I love to fill it with lit glass votives whenever we have guests over for dinner.   I ordered a fresh garland online from Pottery Barn and placed it on top of my bookshelf.  It smells AMAZING!!  It just adds the perfect festive element to the whole area....I love decorating for the holidays! 


I'm so happy with how everything turned out.  Now bring on Thanksgiving :)



Shop These Items:






If I missed anything, or if you have any questions/feedback leave a comment below in the comment section.  I always respond to your comments.  Thanks for reading! xx


Monday, November 3, 2014

November Entertaining Essentials

Hi friends!  Welcome back from the weekend and also welcome to November!  November is one of my favorite months for a couple of reasons: a) I LOVE cooking and obviously Thanksgiving is like the superbowl of all cooking sessions for me, and b) I thoroughly enjoy having house guests + entertaining company, and we have this nice little tradition going of my mom & brother flying down every year and staying with us.

Whether you plan on having company come to stay this month, are just having a few friends over for dinner, or will be guests yourself {all of these items make excellent hostess gifts}, I've rounded up a few entertaining essentials that will make your guests feel comfortable and well taken care of from the moment they walk through your front door.



Shop These Items:

A festive fall wreath instantly dresses up your front door {available here} //  I love the antique looking brass finish on these candles {found here} //  I just ordered this Staub pumpkin cast-iron cocotte yesterday.  Perfect for Thanksgiving, and also for cooking cozy fall soups, stews, pot roasts, and braises {on MAJOR sale here} //  Cute little cocktail napkins {here} //  I LOVE French pressed coffee.  Serve it to your guests in this gorgeous copper press {20% off here} //  Beautiful brass & stainless steel serving set {here} //  This set of condiment bowls is perfect for any dinner party or for everyday use {under $30 here} //  Eye catching gold glassware adds a rich look to your tablescape {found here}





Will you be entertaining guests this month?  Which item is your favorite?

 

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