Halloween Tablescape

Halloween is one of those holidays that it can go many different directions. For this weekend's Sunday dinner, I wanted a pretty and cute Halloween table with a little edge but how pretty can black and orange really be. 

So I started with a black damask table cloth. And to add some elegance, white plates. 

Next a touch of orange with fiesta tangerine salad plates. Luckily, we live in Knoxville, TN. So they will always be a wonderful addition to any University of Tennessee table or party in the future. 

Top with black and white polka dot plates and a silver charger. I think I have created an elegant table. 

My Gorham Star wine glasses with some sweet yard sale highballs makes the table look baroque and very elegant. Cut crystal always makes everything look so much prettier.

I love the treble clef flatware, Old World Market, but needed a white place mat for you to be able to see them on the black tablecloth.

Little skull place cards, a great find at Target after Halloween sale. A fun kind of creepy touch.

And some elegant and creepy silver napkin rings, another Target after Halloween find. 

I added my Fitz and Floyd Halloween cookie jar for a centerpiece. It looks so pretty that I love highlighting it.... the sunlight in the background makes it look like it is aglow....

I also placed orange rafia under the house and an owl... but I had to use my flash for the picture. So he really has creepy eyes.

 

Several years ago, I found some silver candlebras at a yard sale that were really terribly marred with some sort of cleanser. They were $10 but the lady thought you might be able to clean them, which I could never get them back. The silver was ruined. So I thought, why not paint them. I have painted them white and now black. They are still beautiful even though they are not silver. I love them on this table.... now that is baroque! I also have spider salt and pepper shakers.

 

They are a little hard to see. I love these dishes and thought about a wonderful late spring table I am going to create.  




The family is going to love our Halloween Sunday dinner.... I know it sounds wierd but at least the table will be pretty. 


Menu

Eggs Benedict with Steak
Bernaise sauce
Cheese Grits
Fruit Salad
Cinnamon Rolls 
 


I am late to Susan's Party but I hope you will enjoy the table. Visit her blog and all the pretty tablescapes.

Halloween Rice Krispie Treats

During Halloween, I am always looking for a treat not only for the Halloween Baskets but for my students. We found a great idea on Pinterest and decided to make them for both.

 

Start with melting your butter and marshmallows in a big bowl. Add some orange food coloring. 

Next stir in your rice krispies. Next, the messy part…. 

Take a handful of Rice Krispies into a ball, until it looks like a pumpkin. Add an unwrapped tootsie roll to make the pumpkin’s stem. Let the pumpkins set for twenty minutes.

Next add green icing leaves and vines to the pumpkins. Now the original idea was to use green fondant but I don't really like fondant. So my genius of a daughter mentioned the green tootsie roll.... 

Oh My, they were perfect. They rolled out just like fondant without the mess.  

Allow to set for another twenty minutes to get the tootsie roll hardened a little. 

Set in a decorator bag. Tie with a pretty ribbon. 

 

All ready for the students and my baskets!!!

Menu Week Ending October 30, 2011

This week is all about Halloween. We have a party today and then I shift gears to Halloween, with all the baking, sewing, decorating and treating. 

We have Halloween baskets to make for the elderly. The dogs are excited not only to wear their costumes but also to deliver their treats. I hope they don’t leave any “smelly treats”! Halloween is such a fun time, we are going to spend it with friends, family and neighbors.

Also the boys will be back in town and we are closing the pool. My garden is getting a good weeding, rototilling and additional compost. All my bays of hale from the fall decorations will be used to provide a winter blanket on the gardens and flower beds.

Monday

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Grilled Gruyere and Tomato Sandwiches

Tuesday

Salmon with Dill Herb Butter

Smashed Potatoes

Grilled Zucchini with Olive Oil

Wednesday

 

Breakfast for dinner

Mushroom Omelets

Blueberry Pancakes

Cheese Grits

Fruit Salad

Thursday

Out

Friday

Chicken Pot Pie

Green Salad with Homemade Ranch

Saturday

Halloween Party:

 

Italian Sausage Rigatoni

Cesar Salad

Garlic Bread

Lots of Goodies

Sunday

Dinner at My Daughter’s House!!!!

Decorating for the Fall

As fall is getting in full swing, the house needed a full overhaul. Here the potting shed all bedecked with corn husks and wreaths.

  
Thankfully, this task is easy with hay bales, mums and pumpkins… I love the fall. 

Mums are so beautiful in the pots.

The front door is decked out too.

 

 I love the witch bucket that holds a gigantic mum.

A pumpkin with a pretty bow really dresses up the display!!

This witch is so cute, add a pumpkin and voila.... she does need her face carved out but that is for a little later. 

This witch landed in my hay bales.

Have you decorated for fall? Better than that… have you taken any pictures of your decorations? If you have, let's share!!!

Birthday Tablescape

Last week, we celebrated my daughter’s birthday with friends and family. Well, under Yvonne’s tutelage, I again tried to make a fancy tablescape. 

 

 My daughter’s favorite time of the year is fall, so I decided to make her birthday table a tribute to a cream and brown fall themes.

Incorporating natural elements, crystal and silver makes it look both fancy and casual. 

  

Potpourri also carries the natural theme to all elements. Do you have a hurricane container. You need one, we use it for pretty candles, candy containers for candy bars, popcorn containers and all kinds of pretty and fun things. 

Back to the table...my trusty Portmeirion Botanical Garden dishes.

Two chargers, the natural one from Pottery Barn and the ivory one from Ikea. 

 The table is not overly fussy but has the relaxed sumptuousness I wanted for her birthday.

Linen tablecloth and napkins complete the natural look.

 It was a fun dinner and everyone enjoyed themselves. I am joining Between Naps on the Porch for her Tablescape Thursday Party

 The Menu:

Iceberg Wedge Salad

Marinated London Broil

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Reese's Peanut Butter Cake

My Halloween Ghost

I love Halloween... but not the scary Halloween. 

However, when I found this picture

 

I thought I could make a cute ball gown out of chicken wire. 

So we started with a roll of chicken wire... I would use heavier chicken wire in the future

My daughter and I shaped the ball gown. I cut the bodice and we sewed it on with leftover wire from the package.

We put a pretty bow on her and she looks pretty in the rose garden..

Now here is the scary part...... the rose bed needs some serious weeding. I am getting to that tomorrow. 

 

But she does look pretty. I am linking to Tip Junkie's Crafty Tuesday

Menu Week Ending October 23, 2011

Oh my, what a busy week. My class is on Fall Break and I will spend my time closing the garden, giving the flower beds one last weed pulls, the potting shed cleaned and the outdoor furniture a good scrub down. 


We are hosting a party for my daughter's one year birthday, so that is exciting and the plans for the Halloween party are in full swing. We have to get the invites out today. 


I have been thinking about Thanksgiving... the weather this week is going to be cool and that always makes me think of the holidays. My sewing machine is really calling me to sew some pretty items for Christmas too.... What is on your list of things to do this week?

Monday

  

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Cesar Salad

Italian Bread

Tuesday
 

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts

Green Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Wednesday

Ham, Gruyere and Pear Panini

Homemade Potato Chips

Thursday

Out

Friday

 

Meatloaf

Wild Rice Corn Casserole

Caramelized Carrots

Saturday

Tailgate Party:

Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs

Fried Green Beans with Wasabi Mayo Dip

Blooming Onion

Crudities

Sunday

Beef Stew

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar Glaze