Dining Room Sneak Peek

 

Thanks everyone for your comments on my last post.  I am struggling to keep up with work demands, so I'm way behind on replying to emails and comments, I apologize for that.

Normally I like to wait and show you a room once it is all finished, but I just couldn't wait this time.  I'm in love with a piece of furniture I just got, and I think I might need a 12 step program for it!  Sorry for the quick and dirty pictures, but I wanted to show it off right away.  See that bolt in the photo above?  It had me at hello, and it was one of the reasons I bought this piece, sight unseen from my friend Caroline.

I met Caroline, and her husband Jon-Paul, when I did a photo shoot for Romantic Country Magazine at one of their amazing barn sales in 2010.  Through their business, Eskter Antiques, they import wonderful things from around the world and then sell them at their gorgeous property outside of Leesburg, Virginia during the barn sales they host several times a year.

Caroline is a native of the Netherlands, and her taste is beyond compare.  The home she and her husband share with their two beautiful daughters has been photographed for magazines, and has appeared in Fifi's wonderful book Romantic Prairie Style, and will also be in Fifi's new cookbook!

So I know that when Caroline posts photos of an upcoming sale, I will always find something to fall in love with.  Usually I just drool at her photos because I don't have room for some of her pieces, or I'm just not in the market for something new, but in December I lucked out!  Not only was I in the market for a new dining room cabinet to hold all of my china and crystal, but there, staring out from her website, was the cabinet that had been living inside my head, the one I'd been waiting for.  I knew right then and there that it was time to sell my grandparent's dark furniture and get what my heart was longing for.

So I sent Caroline an email, and then we had a few phone conversations, and I decided to just buy the cabinet without driving the 2 1/2 hours to see it.  It had cremone bolts for heaven's sake, how could it not be beautiful, I thought!  And it was nearly twice as wide and way taller than my old china cabinet, so that meant that the special stemware and dishes that had been living in boxes for 4 years would now finally have a home.  If I ever move or add on, I will make sure that every inch of space is devoted to storage, because this house is lacking in it, well at least for a plate addict like me!
 

My only hold back about the cabinet was that it looked a little too white in the photos, and in my head my ideal cabinet looked like an old piece of driftwood.  Then last Saturday, when Jon-Paul delivered the cabinet, my jaw just about hit the floor.  When I walked outside to see it in the back of his truck, it was not white, but a beautiful driftwood color, woohoo, luck be a lady tonight!  I was thrilled that it wasn't white, even though I would have been perfectly happy with something more white.  

Because Caroline imports much of what she sells, she often only gets one or two of any particular item and she may or may not be able to get more.  When I first contacted her about this cabinet there were 3 other people clamoring to own it, but one by one they couldn't take it.  So my first bit of luck was in being the one who got to buy it, and then when it was the color I wanted, had the right dimensions, and was in my price range, well I was over the moon happy!

The other good news is that I've sold my grandparent's table and chairs, which you see pictured, to a lovely young couple who contacted me through Craigslist.  Yay for no one killing us when they came to look at it!  They will be picking it up on Saturday, and I feel certain it will have a happy home.  When the guy came to look at it last night we ended up chatting for almost 2 hours, gotta love it when you like the people who buy your stuff!

So there will be some more rearranging around this place over the weekend.  I'll be in full on fluff mode until everything is the way I've been envisioning it in my head since we moved in here over 4 years ago.  I just love it when a plan comes together, and apparently patience really is a virtue!

I'll will be posting much better pictures of the finished room, when it is actually finished, and showing you another special item I got from Caroline and Jon-Paul.  And in case you are in love with this cabinet too, I happen to know that Caroline will be getting at least one more, most likely sometime in January, so if you are interested, you can contact her by clicking HERE.  You can tell her you want the special Kat Kabinet...I'm kidding people! ;-)

And I will be linking to Furniture Feature Friday with Miss Mustard Seed, because for the first time in a really long time, I have a new piece of furniture....YAY!

The Shortest Day

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Today will be the shortest day of the year, at least here in the northern hemisphere.

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A day when we will all want to have some extra lights on hand, preferably twinkle lights.

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A day when Santa and his reindeer will be gearing up for their big trip around the world in just a few days.

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No matter where you live, I hope today will be a day full of joy and happiness, and that you'll find your own bit of sparkle!

Up On the Rooftop

Santa and his faithful reindeer paid me a visit today, along with some bokeh courtesy of Shadowhouse Creations.

You can't always have the real thing, so adding a bokeh texture is the next best thing to being there! ;-)

The reindeer approve, they are all about the bling!

And who doesn't love a little sparkle this time of year?!

Santa certainly seems happy, though he does look a little like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz, just sayin'!

Thank you to those of you who commented on my last post.  When you have lost loved ones, the holidays can sometimes be a little sad.  And to Tybee Dreaming, I'm sorry for your loss, I couldn't send you an email because your email isn't enabled in your profile.

And to the lovely Maya from Completely Coastal, my sand and sea soul sister, thank you for featuring my blog today!!!

The Golden Hour

A few days ago my neighbor called me to say that it really wasn't fair to the other trees in the neighborhood the way my maple was showing off this year.

I hadn't given it much thought, but she is right, it is a bit of a show off, and one both she and I greatly appreciate for being so boastful.

The leaves have not been as colorful or vibrant as they have in years past, but that's ok, everyone needs a little break every now and then, right?

Photographers often refer to the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset as the "golden" hour, but this time of year that golden glow seems to extend just a bit longer and I find it to be one of the prettiest times of year in terms of light.

It's been a crazy week, filled with ups and downs, frustration and jubilation, and a little bit of feeling yucky just for good measure.  But tonight, after having to cancel a lunch date with a friend who I've tried to hook up with since summer, and not making dinner for my friend "J" who is undergoing chemo (for fear I might give her something), I decided to just go outside with the dogs and enjoy that beautiful golden glow.

This time of year there really isn't a need for Photoshop or increased saturation, Mother Nature has taken care of all that for us.  So you can just point and shoot, knowing that whatever you capture will make you feel warm inside when you look at it later...though adding a cup of tea to the mix while you are resizing pictures never hurts either.


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Even the inside of my house was aglow this evening, and you have to love it when your crystal decanters, some of which are antiques, and your mercury glass leaf ornaments look like works of art.

I will be gone for a few days, the Midwest has requested I make a visit.  Ok, that's not really true, parts of the country can't actually request your presence, but if they could then I would have been sent a pretty embossed invitation asking me to come for the next few days, so off I'll go.

I hope each of you has a wonderful weekend, and that you find a way to bask in your own special glow.  Oh, and I will be back tomorrow to announce the winners of my latest giveaway, I wouldn't leave you hanging, even if the Midwest does request the pleasure of my company!

Silver and Gold

 I haven't replied to emails...

I haven't visited other blogs...much...

I haven't wrapped a single present...

I haven't baked any cookies...

I haven't mopped my floors...

Or finished pulling together the guest room for the visit from my in-laws...

I haven't been able to keep my son Bugs from trying to find every present hidden in the house...

I haven't finished all the laundry that's been piling up...

I haven't sent out a single Christmas card...

I haven't put a few bins away...and on occasion I haven't been able to breath...but... 

I DID finally get my house all decorated for Christmas...both inside and out!!!

I went with a silver, gold and white theme in the dining room this year and I love it's simplicity and sparkliness (hmm, is that even a word...sparkliness?!).  

I used a cheap mirror from Target that was supposed to go in my son's dorm room and put it on my white tablecloth which has silver and gold threads running through it.  Added a crystal tree garland to hide the fact that it was in fact a cheap mirror.  I would have gotten a real tabletop mirror if Ikea wasn't so darn far from me, and if I actually planned anything out longer than 2 hours ahead of time...yup my mind works in mysterious ways...especially at midnight!

Then I added some beautiful crystal trees I bought years ago, and 2 I inherited from my parents, some creamy white tree candles I bought on clearance a few years ago from Pottery Barn, a crystal sleigh (that came with nuts in it from the drug store eons ago!), and a crystal Santa my parents gave us when we were first married.  I also added some crystal look alike reindeer I purchased last year which are actually acrylic, and I LOVE them! 

Sprinkle some instant mashed potato flakes for some white snow, throw a few crystal and sparkly ornaments on the chandelier...and voila...instant winter wonderland!

I hope to be able to photograph more of both the interior and exterior of my house, and I apologize for not getting back to each of you or commenting on all of your beautiful decor, but the clock is ticking my friends...and this year I'm like the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland...LATE, LATE, LATE!

Endless Love

When I went to my senior prom it was 1981 and the song to dance to was Endless Love sung by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie!

Saturday night was my son's senior prom, and although I have no clue as to what the "it" slow song of the night may have been, I do know that very little has changed since my prom so many years ago. 

Girls still look beautiful in their flowing gowns, guys still wear tuxes and look ever so handsome, and the night is still a magical one that marks the end of one phase of your life and signals the beginning of another.

Mr. Tide and I made dinner for my son and his lovely date, and three more of his friends for a total of 5 teenagers at our house before the dance.  It was fun seeing these 3 young men dressed to the nines in their elegant tuxedos looking so grown up! I'm so used to seeing them in casual clothes or board shorts ready to head out on the water, hang out and play video games, or watch a movie. 

And both of the girls were visions of loveliness in satin and tulle, hair and make-up perfectly done without being overdone, and looking like models instead of high schoolers!

As the mother of a son, you often don't get to even see the girls since your son normally picks them up at their house, heads to dinner and the dance, and then drops their date off without ever heading back home, so I was really happy when my son agreed to let me fix dinner for everyone!  I had made dinner for my daughter for both her junior and senior proms, and I loved doing it!

So I thought I would share a few pictures of the table, the flowers, and even the corsage.  I decided not to include any of the kid's pictures, because I'm not really sure how comfortable I would be if someone else put my son's face up on the internet without asking first, so I'll just stick with pictures without people in them!

I used my Wedgwood china, I still love this pattern after all of these years!  And of course you can't use china without also using silver!

Crystal always makes any drink taste nicer, and I bought sparkling cider to serve in the wine glasses!

Since their high school colors are blue and white, I went with white table linens.

And then used a simple arrangement of blue delphinium with white fuji mums to complete the blue and white theme!

They had a yummy meal of filet mignon, petite yukon gold potatoes, fresh string beans, and dinner rolls.  And for dessert we had a choice of homemade brownies topped with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries then drizzled with my mother's yummy homemade fudge sauce, a parfait of sherbet, or delicious Hershey pie which three of the kids brought as a gift.  I don't think anyone went away hungry!

And I just had to show you the corsage my dear friend Mrs. M made for my son's date.  Even the box for the corsage was pretty!

His date wore a gorgeous yellow and lavender gown and so Mrs. M ordered roses in the perfect shade of lavender for the corsage!

I can still remember both of my proms, and I have fond memories of those evenings spent dining, dancing, and laughing with my friends.  I hope that in almost 30 years my son and his friends will have those same wonderful memories about their senior prom!

What do you remember about your prom?!