My New Favorite Thing and a Winner

It's no secret that I love to entertain, it's something I inherited from my mother.  She had enough dishes to open a store, and even more napkins!  She loved to gather her friends and family around, prepare a good meal, and dress a table to the nines!

With lots of renovating going on at our house over the last few years, we haven't done much entertaining , but that is starting to change.  If I would ever get my backsplash installed maybe I wouldn't worry so much about having people over!

Actually I have kind of gotten over that, and we even hosted a neighborhood Christmas party here last year.  I do want to get the darn backsplash installed at some point though!

If you love to entertain, then you'll understand the need...ok want...for lovely dishes, glassware, and wonderful serving pieces.  I have been longing for a beverage dispenser ever since I saw them at my publisher's home a few years ago.  She had them set up with various types of wonderfully colorful drinks and fruit in them, and I just fell in love with the look and the practicality of it all!

Not only is she my publisher, but she is also a dear friend, so when I emailed her recently asking where she had purchased hers, I got a message back a few days later saying that she was standing in BJ's Wholesale Club and that they had some beautiful glass ones for only $25!!!

And as much as I love to entertain, I love a bargain even more!!  So I hurried on over the following day to pick one up!

Today I decided to have a little tea party and try out my pretty new drink dispenser!  Of course you can't have a tea party without a few cookies!

Or lovely plates!  I have a set of these, each with a different flower.  They were a wedding gift from a dear friend's parents, and came from the ever stylish Gumps department store in San Francisco, California.

Any tea party worth its salt should have some lovely flowers, and a few sweets in pastel colors!

And if you have your fine china all packed away and never use it, go get it out of hiding right this minute!  What's the point of owning it if you never get to enjoy using it?!

That goes for your crystal stemware as well...what are you waiting for?!  Holidays aren't the only time to enjoy all of the wonderful things you own.  These glasses were inherited from my maternal grandparents.

This lovely little scarf came from a small shop in the south of France and is the perfect table scarf for an afternoon tea party!

Don't forget to have a some fun with your accessories when you have guests over.  This pudgy metal bee is guarding the napkins just in case a sudden breeze decides to blow through!

So there you have it, my new favorite thing, a lovely glass beverage dispenser for a song, and an afternoon tea as a special treat!  What have you treated yourself to lately?

I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who entered to win Trish's beautiful artwork!  And now for the winner of that gorgeous Zinnia painting from The Old Post Road!  (Thank you Trish!)

It's Stacy from the wonderful blog Red Door Home!  Congratulations Stacy!!

Don't forget to check out my latest Giveaway by clicking HERE!