Happy Easter!

My children's schedules continue to be as crazy and unpredictable as ever, so this year we celebrated Easter with an early morning breakfast.  The table was set the night before . . .

First thing first:  My husband/sous chef checking e-mails before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast . . .

Some pretty egg-shaped salad plates in soft pastels . . . 

The soft paisley green napkin by Ralph Lauren goes on top . . .

These fun hopping bunny napkin rings appeared in last year's Easter table, too.  Click here to see that post.

I love all the different textures on the table, the homespun squares on the tablecloth . . . the bird's nest chargers . . .

Beautiful tulips . . . Spring is here!!!!!

Then the Easter bunny did his thing and filled the table with candy!

He even brought chocolate umbrellas and hung them from the flower vase . . .

Here are our two “little” boys, who never seem to grow too old for candy . . .

And now, Mama can sit down and have a cup of coffee . . .

And before long, my oldest goes back to college with a batch of cupcakes for his buddies . . .

Happy Easter to my family and friends!  God bless you!  The Lord is Risen!  Alleluia!

Details:

Nest Chargers - Pottery Barn

White dishes, cups and saucers - Traditions by Apilco from Williams-Sonoma

Pastel egg-shaped salad plates - Pottery Barn

White ramekins holding M&Ms - BIA Cordon Bleu, Amazon

Napkins - By Ralph Lauren at HomeGoods

Napkin Rings - Pottery Barn last year

Green water goblets - The Dollar Tree

Tulip-shaped wine glasses - IKEA

Parfait glasses (holding jelly beans) - Bed Bath and Beyond

Flatware - My everyday from Costco

Mini salt and pepper shakers - Crate and Barrel bought eons ago

St. Pat's - Part 2

Two St. Patrick's Day parties this year, and we are not even Irish!  Well, not much anyway . . . It was a lot of fun, but with two meals to cook, one in the middle of the week (after work!) there was no time (or energy) to plan two distinct tablescapes.  Besides all that, I'm a lingerer, and I wasn't done playing with this tablescape.  So I laundered the napkins, and it was déjà vu all over again . . .

I did make a couple of changes from the earlier tablescape, click here to see the first one.  I used my every day dishes, Tradition dinner plates by Apilco, instead of the Mikasa dinner plates. 

When I first saw these salad bowls at Crate and Barrel, I looked at the bottom and they were marked "Cavolo."  I was so excited!  I was thinking Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Leonardo . . .  All great Italian artists whose names ended in "o" . . . Was I holding a future masterpiece in my hands . . . ?  I googled the name the minute I got home . . . Alas . . . cavolo is Italian for cabbage!

And, instead of the Tava chargers from the previous post, I used these woven brown placemats from Bed Bath and Beyond.  It added a lighter feel to the setting to counter the color-saturation of the napkin . . .

Shamrock plants made an easy centerpiece, their lovely green color brightening the table; and afterwards, guests took them home as party favors . . .

A thorough watering really perked them up overnight . . .

We served Irish coffee after dinner . . .  A little advance prep kept this hostess out of the kitchen and enjoying the company of her guests . . .

And a cute little pillow that I couldn't resist . . .

St. Patrick's Day is officially over at our house!

Now I can start thinking about Easter . . . yikes!

Here are the details:

Tablecloth - White, linen, Williams-Sonoma

Placemats - Bed Bath and Beyond

Dinner plates - Tradition by Apilco for Williams-Sonoma

Cabbage "Cavolo" Salad Bowls - Crate and Barrel

Napkins - Raymond Waites at HomeGoods

Napkin Rings - Bed Bath and Beyond

Goblets - The Dollar Tree

Candlesticks and candles - The Dollar Tree

Glass coffee mugs - Bed Bath and Beyond

Silver charger - Pottery Barn

Flatware - Costco

Shamrocks - Dominick's (our local grocery store)

Pillow - Joann's

I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and Cuisine Kathleen for Let's Dish!  I encourage you to stop by to enjoy the creativity of these amazing tablescapers!

Just a pinch of Irish

That's how much Celtic blood runs in this family . . . on my husband's side . . . maybe . . .

When asked, he always says:  “I'm English, Irish, Dutch, Polish, Italian . . . ” 

And he never deviates from that, with the sentence trailing off at the end . . .

But just because our Irish ancestry is extremely diluted, or possibly, non-existent . . .

. . . it doesn't stop us from celebrating St. Patrick's Day . . .

. . . like good ol' Americans . . .

. . . with a corned beef and cabbage dinner . . .

. . . and a modest nod to the green . . .

. . . a pinch of Irish, if you will . . .  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Details:

Placemats:  Classic Linen, white, from Pottery Barn

Chargers:  Tava, Espresso, from Pottery Barn

Dinner plates:  Mikasa French Countryside

Cabbage Salad Bowls:  Cavolo bowls from Crate and Barrel

Napkins:  Hampton Gardens by Raymond Waites at HomeGoods

Napkin Rings:  Bed Bath and Beyond

Green water goblets:  The Dollar Tree

Wine glasses:  The Dollar Tree

Candle sticks:  The Dollar Tree

Candles:  The Dollar Tree

Flatware:  My everyday flatware from Costco

Shamrock Plant:  Dominick's (our local grocery store)

I'm joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch, and Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen for her 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl.  If you have a chance, you should definitely stop by for some tablescaping fun!