A Few Little Snowflakes

When you are a dish collector, albeit a modest one, you live in fear that the dishes that you've fallen in love with will be discontinued if you don't get them right away.  This was the case for me with the Christmas Snowflake plates that are part of the Lenox Federal Platinum collection.

I had been eyeing them for a couple of years, but one thing or another held me back.  However, this was the year when they came home to mama.  The small raised points in the snowflakes, in a process Lenox calls "jewelling" does make them look like little bits of diamond have embedded themselves on the plates.  But don't let it fool you, these plates are very strong and durable.  They are supposed to be dishwasher safe, but honestly, I "need" to wash them by hand, and caress them gently as I dry them.  Why would I want to miss out on this lovely part of the process.  There I go again, waxing lyrical about my dishes . . .

These pretty napkins with the silver embroidery just kept the snowflakes falling.

I brought out my wedding water goblets, Chartres by Atlantis, which have Gothic arches cut into its design and when the light is shining just right, they look like the Rose Window at Chartres . . . or, with a little imagination, big snowflakes.  I said a fervent prayer that no one would accidentally chip one one of these precious goblets.  At the last minute, I decided to pull some back and interjected some of the red goblets because they have such a beautiful, brilliant color, and I wanted more red on the table.

A simple organza bag filled with chocolate kisses was placed by each setting.  This one seems to be a perennial favorite in my family.  On the bottom of the kisses we placed stickers with snowflakes and snowmen — a fun project to keep my granddaughter, Piper, busy.

I had a pretty full house this year, just the way I like it!

Our chandelier was blinged out with a combination of Swarovski snowflakes and magnetic crystals from Ballard Designs.  It sparkled beautifully during the night!

But this is the best decoration . . .

I can't remember the last time, we didn't take this group shot.  The guests have varied a little from year to year, as our children have grown up and started their own lives, but always there has been family around our table.

Our tribe has grown with the marriage of my son, bringing Erica, and this lump of sugar named Piper into our lives . . .

From our home to yours, we hope you have the most wonderful Christmas Day!  Blessings!

Christmas with the Angels

Here are my two Golden Angels, a Christmas present from my husband many, many years ago . . .

One holds a lyre . . . 

The second one holds a violin . . . 

Gold seems to be making a comeback after years left out in the wilderness, and it paired perfectly with the Spode Delamere Brown, which I had wanted to use for a Christmas table, instead of always relegating it to Fall tables (next, I'm going to try it on a Spring table).

A few things to notice about our table this year.  It is in fact, a new table.  After a lifetime of using inherited dining room sets, first, my parent's, later my mother-in-law's, I was ready to finally bring my own style to our dining room.  I will always treasure the memories we made on those tables, but it was time for a change.  When I saw that a local Amish furniture gallery was having a sale, I rushed over there and tortured that poor sales lady for days, until I got the design that I wanted.  

I'll write more about my table in the coming days, but I'll just say that the table had just been delivered a mere week earlier, and I had barely had time to play with it, so this was a very exciting day for me!

Even with the splash of Christmas red, the Delamere Brown always brings nature to mind.  These Leaf Christmas tree ornaments were a serendipitous find at Crate and Barrel.  Not only did it bring a touch of nature to the table, but they were gold besides - and everyone got to take one home!

Here is the Oak Leaf . . .  Do you notice the tiny acorn attached?

The Maple Leaf . . .

And the Birch Leaf.  I also brought out the Delamere Woodland flatware, stamped with forest creatures, like quail, ducks and deer . . . Here's a closeup of the forks.  I didn't take many pictures of the flatware this time because I've featured it in a few other posts.  Check out this post in which I used the flatware for the first time.

I walked by the floral department of my local grocery store and spotted these arrangements, which were made perfect after I added a few white roses.  White roses class up any act!

As for the napkins . . . Not only is it “C” for Christmas, but it's also the initial of our last name.  Aren't they beautiful?  I ordered them from Etsy.

The amber goblets are Mikasa French Countryside.  They have now discontinued this color.  I wish I had gotten more of them.

A tired little angel . . .  Sofia, my nephew's daughter . . .

Here is part of the Cheney-Grimón tribe . . .  My son, David was stationed at the time in South Korea, and couldn't be with us.

And one more picture of my family:  My son, John, nephew Kevin, brother Al, and nephew Colin.

And a cardinal in the Christmas tree!