Simple Country Christmas Table (redux) and a NEW Giveaway!

Welcome Friends, please come in and make yourselves at home.

Lots of pictures, and few words this time ~ the page may take a few moments to load. So thank you for your patience.




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~ Giveaway ~


You'll find a link for details about our current giveaway at the bottom of this post, and also you can click the image of the covered casserole at the top right  column on this page.




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This time I've set a simple country table ~ comfortable and not at all fussy.

It didn't feel right to me to overdress the table, knowing there are some who are going without again this year.

I thought this would be a good time to set a comfortable, cozy table ~ a place to draw loved ones near to celebrate what is truly important in life.

For the centerpiece I simply plunked some candy canes in a thin, plain beverage glass [CB2], placed it on a Barley twist pedestal [Southern Living at Home, from some years back.]


I clipped a few fragrant Douglas Fir branches from the property and placed them around, then placed a special vintage-style Christmas card from my dear friend,  Linda and placed a glass cloche over all.

I covered the round walnut table with a tablecloth from Williams-Sonoma, and instead of place mats, I placed a snowy-white vintage German hand worked square linen table topper over the cloth.

In keeping with the theme of simplicity, I gathered just two of my favorite things to place on the table ~

this Limoges hand-painted Christmas ornament box . . . and an old, old brass-framed print I found in an antique store a few years ago.  I love the print; usually it is on my bedroom dresser.

For the place settings (from the tabletop - up) ~  I used round Czech platters for chargers [Nell Hill's several years ago], "Merry Christmas" plates, those were from Home Depot a couple of years ago.

Next, my everyday white salad plates [Apilco-France, Williams-Sonoma].

Poinsettia plates [Williams-Sonoma, last season].

Vintage milk-glass compotes to finish the place settings. 

Flatware ~ Pottery Barn from the Savant Collection.

Napkins ~ Neiman-Marcus/Horchow.

My first set of crystal from my newlywed days, many, many years ago ~ by Rogaska; 'Gallia'

 

To dress the chairs up a bit I draped the extra, matching crochet-trimmed napkins over the tops.

The little cast iron elf candle holders are from CB2, two years ago. 

Raphael's "Madonna of the Chair", c. 1514

A closer look at the brass framed Madonna print ~

as we remember the Reason for the Season.

Thank you so much for stopping by today. 

 To all who celebrate,
I wish you a most cherished and blessed Christmas Season from our home to yours.

We're having another GIVEAWAY ~  

Click HERE for details!!

Please visit Between Naps on the Porch to find a list of all who are participating in Tablescape Thursday this week.

NEW DRAWING!! MammaRo 2 Quart Casserole

2-Quart Covered Casseroleby La Vita Vera™Made in Italy!

Great news!  
The people at Wayfair (formerly CSN Stores) recently asked if I would like to host a giveaway for Once Upon a Plate followers ~
I jumped at the chance ~ I LOVE giveaways!
If you haven't checked out Wayfair's fabulous website, you're in for a treat ~ You'll find over 4.5 million items of merchandise from over 5,000 brands!*
Including Furniture (for both home & office), Kitchen & Dining, Patio & Garden, Things for your Pet, Tools, Exercise & Fitness Equipment, Luggage and Bags, Health & Wellness, Bed and Bath, Baby and Kids and much more . . . 
Speaking of kids ~ do you have an aspiring young kiddie cook/chef in your life?? 
 Well, you might want to consider kid's kitchen playsets.

 And a huge bonus ~ many of their products ship for free. How can you beat that? Hassle-free shopping and free shipping. 
With the holidays right around the corner, I especially LOVE that!From personal experience I know orders are fulfilled quickly and on time.


So ~ On to the Giveaway, sponsored by Wayfair.com 



 2-quart covered casseroleby La Vita Vera™
- Handmade Italian earthenware pottery- Provides steady, even cooking that brings out the natural flavors of food- Made from all natural material- For oven use only, do not use on stovetop

And, if red isn't your color, you can opt for this pretty "Marigold" ~Your choice!

(These retail elsewhere for $70.00) 


*Wayfair recently surpassed Crate and Barrel to become the internet's second largest retailer of home furnishings and housewares in the U.S., based on annual sales. Congratulations Wayfair!


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The Drawing Details

To enter:

1.) Just leave a comment here, and mention if you would rather have the Red or Marigold casserole.

2.)  Extra Chances to Win:

If you are a 

-Google Friend follower

-Face book friend

or

-If you follow OUaP by RSS feed

state so in your post and you'll increase your chances of winning

Sorry, contest is open to continental USA only.

Entries will be accepted until Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 9PM (Pacific Time)

Winner will be announced Monday, December 5th.

Best of luck to all who enter!








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Edited: 12/03/2011


Saturday 9:23 PM  (Pacific time)


Thank you for participating!


Entries now closed.




Our drawing winner will be announced Monday


 12/05/2011

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating on Thursday!


Pictures but not too much verbiage today ~ lots to do in preparation . . .

I never go far from the traditional menu ~ because it only seems right to keep memories of past Thanksgivings alive, and comfort close at this time of year.

My wishes for you . . .

A casual table, with warm fall colors.

Detail of Salad plate.

Detail of Hay Ride Dinner plate

Little individual soup tureens ~

And detail of the dinner and salad plate rims.

The big soup tureen aka The Great Pumpkin!

Have a wonderful celebration ~

and thank you for stopping by.

I'm joining everybody over at Between Naps on the Porch,

click the link and come on over!

Tablescape Thursday ~ An Autumn Gathering & A GIVEAWAY!!

Welcome to an Autumn Gathering on this Thursday before U.S. Thanksgiving 2011.  

(And scroll down for the GIVEAWAY information!!)

The table is set with traditional fall colors ~

Using things gathered from around the house (and garden)

I went for the 'organic' feel this time. Earthy tones and natural textures, they especially remind me of autumn.

The Dogwood trees flower in the spring, but their foliage is beautiful in fall, so before they all fell off the trees I gathered a few to make a casual wreath for the centerpiece. Around an acorn filled pedestal hurricane glass. 

And arranged a few sweet apples here and there among the leaves.

Details of the napkins, napkin rings, charger, dinner and salad plates.

Both sets of salt and peppers are from Arthur Court Designs. I've had them for several years, but many of his pieces become classics so they may still be available.

I love the pear and pomegranate theme of this set, I live in a historic pear growing area here in Oregon, so I collect a lot of 'pear' things.

I love Fall . . . but the winter weather which is right around the corner? 
Not so much . . . so we'll enjoy this while it is here.

The glass leaf plates are from a dear, dear friend.  I admired them in one of her beautiful photos ~ and shortly thereafter she sent me a set!

Thank you sweet friend.  I'm thinking of you. xoxo

The internet can be a cold place at times, but there are some good and true friendships formed here too!  I'm grateful for that.

I'm more of a "green" person, and usually prefer cool colors (unless it's RED!)

So I accented with lots of green in this table setting.

Well, this isn't  the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, but a stylized exotic bird, so let's just pretend. ;)

The other salt and pepper set on the table tonight is also by Arthur Court Designs,

a bird sitting on a grape vine among leaves and grapes.

I think it fits well with the Fall theme.

Of course acorns remind us of Fall, too.

Thank you so much for visiting today!

Please leave a comment if you wish,  I'd love to know you've come by to take a look.  And I would love to come by and visit your blog as well.

And last but not least!

Here is the current  GIVEAWAY  at Once Upon a Plate.

Please come enter . . .

Click HERE for the details!  There are several chances for each entrant to win.


 Contest closes Saturday November 26th. Winner announced on the 27th. 

Click to read my review  of this fabulous little coffee & espresso maker.

If you drink coffee (or know a coffee lover),  you will want to WIN this giveaway! 

Psst... makes a great gift, too.

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Tabletop Information:

Round place mats:  Crate & Barrel (last year)

Woven chargers:  World Market (I still call it Cost Plus, from it's origins in San Francisco years and years ago)

Faux Horn flatware: Neiman Marcus/Horchow

Napkins: April Cornell 

Pedestal Hurricane:  Williams-Sonoma

Dinner Plates and salad plates: Made by Varages ~ France

Green goblets ~ either Target or amazon.com (I've forgotten)

Napkin Rings ~ Pottery Barn (last season)

I'm linking to Tablescape Thursday, please come visit the party there!