Romancing Mardi Gras - A table for two

Hello friends and followers!  Do any of you entertain the tradition of Mardi Gras?  I will admit as a southerner from South Carolina we really don't adhere to this tradition much.  About the most you will find of Mardi Gras celebrations here is based more on the religious tradition of Fat Tuesday centered around the observance of Ashe Wednesday.  Even then, it is limited more depending on what church you attend as to whether they give any observation to this at all.

I did not grow up observing Mardi Gras, but I do love anything that is seeped in tradition and that which is especially creative and colorful.  One cannot deny that Mardi Gras is definitely colorful in more ways then one.  So with that in mind, it is what I have set out to embrace with my Mardi Gras tablescape this year.  A colorful setting with a colorful tale!



Tradition holds that Mardi Gras is a time of reveling in ones last evening of indulgence before moving into the season of lent and repentance.  While I find all the partying and extreme food over indulgence quite exciting I also can't deny that I also find Mardi Gras to be a bit romantic as well.



I guess it has to do with the all the mystery that surrounds Mardi Gras with all the masques and costumes.  For some reason, the whole idea of Mardi Gras reminds me quite a bit of those historical romantic novels where masquerade balls and opulence ruled with intrigue among the royalty.



OK, don't laugh y'all, perhaps I do spend too much time in my novels, but you know I'm right don't you?  Sooooo.....it is in this scenario I have created my table for two for Mardi Gras.



Image a house full of guests waltzing in a huge ballroom full of many masked guests where hushed whispers of dinner being served is announced.  A giddy young couple rushes to their seats to find that the table is set but exclusively just for the two of them.  Or imagine an older couple who have seen many years of Mardi Gras celebrations among the masses who cannot wait to escape to find a bit of solitude before retiring for the evening.  Or better yet....imagine a middle aged couple though despite hosting the largest celebration of the ton, sneak off privately to find their own bit of paradise in the mystery that is them.



They adjourn to the dining room where they find the table set in beautiful rich colors of Green, Gold, and Purple representing the royalty that is of their descent and the tradition of Mardi Gras.



A metallic gold medallion style place mat from Bed Bath and Beyond is accompanied by Lenox Butlers Pantry and topped off with a beautiful purple, black and cream toile salad dish from Portebello by Inspire.



Each setting also appropriately shines with Louisiana flatware from Oneida.  Additionally, there are two glasses of stemware for indulging in both water and wine.



The local embroiderer was even commissioned to adorn the table linens with the family symbol of Mardi Gras Royalty.



Only a minimal amount of serving pieces are on hand for condiments as there will be footman readily available for serving dishes.



Tonight is a grand occasion with all the pageantry expected of such an affair.  The table dressing finery is a rich sparkly green runner combined with a beautiful purple satin wrap to drape the one of the centerpieces.  Both are adorned with the familys prized jewels representing justice, faith and power.





There is even a peacock to represent her beauty and integrity in addition to a crown of gold representing his family line of nobility.  No details were spared in this celebration for two where the masks are left behind, because tonight is all about the two of them indulging in each others company.





Oh yes, these two are all set for a romantic dinner for two to indulge not only in each other but in all that they are together.  May they always continue to prosper!



Yeah, I spend way too much time in the books, dreaming of other times and other worlds. I have always enjoyed a good story.  I hope you did too.  I still think reading is as wonderful a pastime as many of our more modern day entertainments and indulgences.  Don't you agree?

Happy Mardi Gras friends, from The Decorative Dreamer!

 

 

Organizing the Bling!

Hello! Hello!  Hello, sweet friends and followers!   I hope you all have had a very happy new year.  January has been all about decluttering and getting organized for me.   I know many of you have also been doing the same. Today I just wanted to pop out here in blogland and share a few tips on organizing jewelry.

Working several years of retail has blessed me with a beautiful collection of jewelry.  If you know me, you know I love my bling!  In fact I love all types of jewelry, both genuine and costume jewelry.  I have accumulated quite an abundance of costume jewelry that is so fun and which I might point out has come a long way baby from back in the day!  I describe wearing jewelry as fun because I like to layer my jewelry when I wear it for maximum bling.  Wearing layers means  having multiples, and multiples of anything needs organization right?

I spent this past weekend decluttering many of the extras I had out on my dresser because it had gotten to be too much.    I like to keep my jewelry out so I can see it and easily choose what I want to wear each day.   I've learned that if I keep it put away in my jewelry box then I tend not to take it out and so it just sits there.  I don't know why that is for me, but it is, so out it goes instead.   Now I would love to have a wonderful place in my closet to store my jewelry so that is out and well displayed but I don't.  I most definitely envy those of you who have those beautiful center islands in your closets.  Oh what a dream that would be!  Instead of dreaming....I decided to work with the space I do have!

I was planning on searching around for some really cute wall organizing racks with hooks and looking for a stylish organizing system.  But then, I was at Walmart and wondered through the closet section where all the hangers are and saw these two items.  At roughly, $5.00 each I gave up the idea that I needed cute racks.  My jewelry is cute enough so I decided the racks really didn't need to be cute too but they definitely needed to be functional.  This may be nothing new to some of you but I think it's worth sharing for anyone who just wants to get organized and doesn't want to spend a lot to do so.

I was super excited when I saw this belt hanger.  I knew immediately I wanted to use it to store my bracelets.  When I saw the hoops it was a dream come true because I knew I could separate my bracelets accordingly.  I grouped mine by silver, gold, stone, mixed media, and bling.  What I love about this is that I can add more hoops if I want.  However, the best part of this set up is that when I'm ready to wear my bracelets they are easy to get to now.  No more having to pull off tons and tons of bracelets just to get to the ones I want.

Using this pant rack hanger to organize my necklaces was perfect for me because I really have very little open wall space in my closet and this did the job perfectly allowing me to still have enough space to hang the bracelets as well.  I even organized the way I hung my necklaces on the different racks by grouping golds to the right, silver to the left and everything else in the middle from top to bottom.  I even hung the longest necklaces on the top bar so that they would not hang so low.  Again that was because my space is so limited.

I love that I can easily unhook the different bars and spread them out if I want to get a better view of what I have.  It really is all about being able to see what you have to get inspired and to see what you can combine to wear together.  I have one more organizing tip to share with you on necklaces below.  I don't know why I never thought of this before for keeping necklaces untangled and easily accessible while on display.  Believe me, I would have saved myself several hours of frustration if I had thought of this sooner when I worked retail and did our jewelry displays.  If you've already figured this trick out please just smile okay.  LOL!  Some of us are a bit slower or maybe just a bit too busy to slow it down sometimes and figure out a better way.  Anyway, for those of you who want to know here it is.

When hanging multiple necklaces on one bar they can easily get tangled and be a real pain sometimes to remove without dislodging all the other necklaces on the bar.  I finally realized that by putting each necklace on looped around the bar it keeps them in place and you can undo one necklace at a time easily.  First take the back end of the chain and drop it over the bar.

Then you pull your necklace through the loop and push the pendant down.  This puts a knot on the bar and holds the necklace in place and keeps it from sliding down the bar if you move it or when unhooking other necklaces.  How simple and how sweet is that?

So there you have friends!  It's certainly not the most adorable way I have seen to organize jewelry but it works and its very functional and that's whats important to me.  I've learned sometimes you really just have to look for simpler solutions rather then waiting for the best all of the time.  Learning to work with what you have, space, resources and money is always wise.  I'm all for dreaming you know, but I'm all for logic as well and this to me was the best combination of the two.   But best of all , it's done and it feels so much cleaner and more accessible.  Now I'll spend less time searching and deciding and more time getting my bling on!

Hope you enjoyed todays post and todays jewelry organizing tips.  You may want to check out a few more inspiring posts @ Metamorphosis Monday.

So glad you stopped by today.  Have a great day!

Hugs and Waves,

Mary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hard Candy Christmas in the Kitchen

Hi sweet friends!  Yes, this is really happening!  I actually decorated the kitchen for Christmas today.  If you follow my FB page you know that I have been struggling with getting in the mood.  Today I was touch by the spirit, and decided it was time.

So without a lot of chit chat because honestly, I'm a bit tired now.  Let's just jump right in and let me share my "Hard Candy" kitchen with you.

I'm calling it a Hard Candy Christmas because my kitchen is always decorated with a candy theme.  I love the candy and gingerbread look for kitchens.  It's just so warm and inviting as all kitchens usually are.

I started with my very thin pencil style Christmas tree and moved right on to the chandelier.  Did I mention I also have a thing for elves in the kitchen?

Next, I worked on my shelves.  They are so fun and I am enjoying changing them out regularly.  I've got it set up pretty good but I've got a bit of tweaking to do.  I need to paint the wood block for the background of my embroidered sign (it's going to be black) and I want to find a cute little mini candy type Christmas tree to replace the plain little tree beside Mr. and Mrs. Claus.  I think they need their own miniature Candy tree as well!

Next I worked on spreading out a few of festive servicing pieces and positioning my baking Santa's around as well.

I had to set up an area to display more dishtowels.  Oh mercy, do I ever have so many embroidered decorative dishtowels!  I don't have my newest ones down from the sewing room yet, but don't worry they will make their  way in the kitchen soon.

My newest addition to the kitchen is the adorable shabby framed chalkboard.  I actually just picked this up recently on clearance at Kirklands and new exactly where I wanted to use it.  I did'nt want to do the chalky scene for Christmas though I really wanted to just use it to hang a wreath on.  I already had this wreath and was quite pleased to see it actually is sized just right.  I was trying to figure out what to do with my adorable measuring spoons to display them when it hit me they would look so cute here on the wreath.  Love it!  I may add a few gingerbreads or other baking items to the wreath, or maybe not, still debating that one.

After it was all done, I vacumed and mopped the floors.  What an enjoyable day to listening to Christmas music on Pandora, smelling my melted candles and now wrapping up the evening with homecooked Chili from the hubby.  Whew!  I'm tired, but my kitchen is all decorated now and it's all clean too.  Now that's not really the true meaning of a hard candy Christmas is it?  I know, so maybe I'll rename it my Sweets for my Sweets Christmas kitchen.  LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and wishing you the spirit of Christmas soon!

Hugs and Waves!

Mary

Halloween Tablescape 2016

Hallo Everyone!  It's that time of year when strange things begin to lurk around!   It's a little bit spooky, but a little bit fun here at The Decorative Dreamers house.  Once again I find myself under the spell of a very adorable and decorative tablescape.

How about you?  Do you enjoy decorating for Halloween?  I used to do a lot more then I do now.  With my sons being older and out of the house and no trick or treaters anymore, I find myself still wanting to join in on the fun.  So instead of focusing on outside decor I focused on creating an indoor treat for us instead.

This years tablescape began with my napkins.  I've had these checked fringe napkins for quite awhile now and since I have a boatload of them I figured I could spare a few.  I decided they would be the perfect background to showcase my carved pumpkin initial applique.  Isn't this just the cutest thing? After these turned out so well I wanted to keep stitching.  I love doing appliques and I especially love when I can make items for my own decor to showcase my work.

Next came the new addition of my table runner.  I found the orange and black buffalo check runner on sale at Ross.  I was thrilled to see that not only was it marked down but that is was a blank canvas that I could customize myself.

I started with adding this Witch hat initial font to each end of the runner.  This was a freebie font from one my sources.  I love how it looks though I do wish the hat was up a little higher.  Our last name begins with a "K" and this looks like an "R" to me.  Oh well!  It is what it is, right, and it was free so I'm good!  Happy, happy!

I then decided to center this Boo applique in the middle of the runner.  I love this one! Looks adorable next to my witch boot salt and peppers doesn't it?

 

After adding designs to the ends and the center of my runner I then decided to add two more Jack o lantern appliques in between at an angle.  I also flipped these two designs so this runner would be a great look from all angles of the table.   It was a little more challenging centering and angling both of them equally the same but I got it.  Whoohoo!

After I finished the tablerunner it was time to set the table.  I chose to keep my setting a little more simple to keep the focus on my beautiful runner and napkins.  I decided to use only orange chargers and black plates with the napkins.  The chargers I picked up a few years ago, can't remember where, but the black plates are new this year from the dollar tree.  I was pretty happy to see them because I've wanted some black plates for awhile now.

My hand blown purple goblets were just the right color for this setting and kept with the color theme.  One thing I was very focused on when I made the table runner was keeping all the appliques coordinating with each other.  I can't tell you how many times I looked at other pieces of fabric I had and thought, Oh this would be so cute with that.  Especially on  the candy jack o lantern or the hair bow on the other jack.  I resisted the urge to mix it all up with multiple fabric choices though, and chose to use only four colors; orange, black, purple and green.  I stayed true to keeping it coordinated and now I'm so glad I did!

The little ghosties were a fun and whimsical choice for my candle holders, though I did manage to add a few votives for a nice glow.  The orangish colored votives were a summer clearance from the $1.00 bins at Michaels.  I love those bargains bins, don't you?

After I finished my tablescape I couldn't help but notice how my shelves on the side table that were decorated for Fall just didn't quite match.  So even though I wasn't planning on doing any last minute Halloween decorating I just couldn't stop myself.

I'm so glad I pulled out my Halloween box.  It's always so enjoyable when you see some of your decor you have forgotten you had.  I knew I wanted to use my witch, aka Miss Abigail, I bought one year while working at SteinMart.  She was a must. I had totally forgotten all about the wreath I made too. I was so excited to see it and even more pleased that it was a smaller size.  I made this wreath smaller one year to sit inside of a simple larger fall wreath of berries so you could easily pull it out when Halloween was over.  That was a great idea, even if the berry wreath didn't last.  LOL!

 Doesn't Miss Abigail look so cute next to the broom parking sign, bad blood and poison wine mixes?  The witches sign and more ceramic ghosts I've also had for awhile now .  I just love how this side table turned out. So fun!  I had a straw broom propped up here, but had to move it because it was freaking the dog out.  LOL!  Ooops!

Funny, I just noticed I have a rooster sitting here that didn't get moved.  It must have blended in and i didn't see it until the picture.  Oh Lord, I must be loosing my touch!

Well, that's it y'all!  I hope you enjoyed your visit and I hope you have a whimsically wonderful and fun holiday celebration.

Happy Halloween!

Hugs and Waves,

Mary