Thanksgiving by Candlelight

November 9, 2023November 8, 2023 - Julie 13 Comments

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I enjoy creating tablescapes — especially for the holidays.

I have to confess that I haven’t gone the simple route every Thanksgiving, but with each passing year, simplicity seems to be my mantra — go simple or go home!

This year, my “Thanksgiving by Candlelight” table reflects my desire for keeping things easy, yet pleasing to the eye. And, of course, it’s in keeping with my casually elegant style.

I just love the warm and cozy glow of candles burning in the center of the table as dinner time arrives and the sun sinks deeper under the horizon.

Normally, I love the layer plates upon plates, but this time I kept the layering to a minimum, using only a beaded gold charger and my beloved Spode Delamere dinner plates.

I topped it off with a small picture frame used as a place card for each seat and called it done.

I love this idea because you can also give the frame as a little gift to your guests as they leave! How fun is that?!

Although this table is simple, it subtly marries texture and color and gives a feeling of the fall harvest and the warmth of the season.

I always, always try to incorporate candles in to my tables, but have never photographed them lit before.

I guess I was afraid the warm glow wouldn’t come through. But today’s rainy weather provided the perfect opportunity to show you what my table actually looks like when I’m ready for my guests to arrive and dinner is about to be served.

There’s something about candle light that makes you want to linger at the table for conversation and camaraderie, doesn’t it?

You might notice that I didn’t place any napkins at this table. That’s because this year — in keeping with my simpicity mantra — I’m using paper napkins. And, no, I haven’t even bought them yet. When I do, I will place them under the picture frames, or maybe just keep them in the kitchen in the buffet line.

Today’s Thanksgiving table is part of the monthly tablescape series, “It’s All Set.”

I hope you’ll visit the links below to see more beautiful ideas from my friends!

StoneGable

Lilacs & Longhorns

Designthusiasm

The Enchanted Home

Shabbyfufu

Bathroom Progress {One Room Challenge Week 3}

October 20, 2023 - Julie 7 Comments

It’s Week 3 of the One Room Challenge hosted by Calling it Home. I started a week late so this is only my second post, but it is week 3 so we are halfway through the challenge. If you missed last week’s post, you can find it here.

I’d like to be able to tell you that everything is moving right along. The fact is, however, I painted my bathroom this week, and I don’t like it at all.

The beautiful light french gray with blue undertones paint that I chose reads as powder baby blue on my walls.

The wall on the right looks like the color I wanted it to look, but the wall with the door and the rest of the room reads powder blue — particularly when the lights are off — in which case it’s very, very bright light blue.

My daughter thinks the powder blue is pretty. And, if that’s what I was going for, I would agree that it’s a nice color. It’s just not what I wanted. And, my husband hates baby blue so it’s just not going to work. Read more

Farmhouse Spring Tablescape {It’s All Set}

May 11, 2023May 12, 2023 - Julie 16 Comments

Spring is one of my very favorite seasons in Texas. Yes, we do have a lot of storms this time of year, but the mild temperatures, the sunshine and the gorgeous Spring flowers take center stage.

It’s the time of the year when we really enjoy dining outdoors on our back porch because it’s not too hot outside yet.

When it’s just the four of us, we are pretty casual and use whatever plate we want and eat buffet style. We just dish it up indoors and take it outside to enjoy the weather and the pool side view.

But, when friends come over, I fancy it up a bit and try to make it feel a little extra special.

I love the casual and comfortable beauty of farmhouse style dining, so I thought I would put together a farmhouse Spring tablescape. This setting is perfect for a special lunch with friends, don’t you think? Read more

5-Minute Fall Door Decor

September 4, 2015September 3, 2015 - Julie 8 Comments

Simple, simple, simple. That is my decorating motto these days.

Life is just so busy with two kids and all of their activities, that I just don’t have the time I used to have to spend decorating for each season.

This spring, I found a cute metal bucket at Hobby Lobby that I have changed twice already to suit each season. The best part? It only takes me a few minutes and costs just a few dollars to update. You can see my spring version here and my summer version here.

I am in LOVE with this method of decorating my front door.

I re-use the same metal hanging bucket and two bunches of faux boxwood to serve as my base layer, and then I simply add a few bunches of seasonal faux flowers. Read more

Marble Counters: What Everyone Needs to Know {Part 4}

August 14, 2015 - Julie 3 Comments

So when I left you last, I told you about my disastrous marble bar top and the muriatic acid disaster created by Fabricator #2. If you are just joining this series, you can read the complete story of my marble counter top saga by clicking these links: Part One, Part Two, Part Three. Today’s post won’t make much sense until you read the others!

First, let me tell you that Fabricator #2 did not completely destroy the island by using the muriatic acid. Read more