Christmas Table in the Kitchen

Last Friday I shared with you our dining room all set for Christmas eve. (To see my dining room table click here.) Well today I am going to invite you to our kitchen table all ready for a Christmas brunch.

The inspiration for my table came from these pretty reindeer plates and very textured gray runner I found at Home Goods this year.

Since I love the look of green and red mixed in with the classic gray, I tucked a sprig of arborvitae under the each plate and on top of my red and white Pottery Barn napkin.

My rubber all-weather boots serve as vessels for some faux sprigs of pine with berries. This adds a little more color to my kitchen.

The center piece is a plate stand I found years ago...honestly I have forgotten just where I purchased it, but I will tell you is comes in handy when we have large gatherings.

Mason jars serve as our everyday glassware. I love them because they are inexpensive and always replaceable.

Some holly garland is tossed on to the chandelier and voila...table is festive and ready to enjoy during this holiday season! 

Wishing you all a wonderful week and please don't forget to stop by tomorrow evening for another inspiring Share Your Style link party!!!

XO

Turquoise in the Dining Room for Christmas

Each year I really like to switch up my table setting for Christmas eve. This year I was inspired by a photo in the Christmas issue of The Cottage Journal of a dining table featuring surprise pops of turquoise. 

You see I have a pretty set of  Noritake china my mother gave me when my parents downsized last year to move back north. The pattern is called Blue Dawn and, from what I've read, this particular pattern was only produced between the years of 1947 to 1951. A pretty short run for a china pattern. I love the delicate flower print and the pretty squared salad plate. My mom acquired the set from a neighbor's family some years ago when our neighbor passed away.

 For the big window I made a large garland of arborvitae and then draped it over the curtain rod. Next I made a runner for the table of both arborvitae and white pine. Both the garland and runner were treated to help keep them fresh. To see how to make your own no wilt garland of fresh greens, just click here. 

I paired the china salad plate and 2 handles soup bowl with my white dishes. I like the added texture of the white dishes.

I just couldn't resist putting up a coordinating tree in the dining room. More silver trees are lined up on the table.

Turquoise napkins (I was lucky enough to find this time of year at Kohls) in a tulip style fold are tucked into each wine glass.

Is your dining room ready for Christmas? What special touches do you incorporate in to your holiday dining room? Would love for you to share!

And have a wonderful weekend!!!

XO

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A Christmas Eve Surprise

Hi and happy Monday after Christmas to you all. 

Whew weee it was a busy 4 days for us here at 21 Rosemary Lane. We had dinner guests, overnight company, family gatherings and even a basketball tournament over the weekend, so today we are pretty pooped out! But I have to tell you about a little surprise I received on Christmas eve. A brown box delivered by UPS was left on our front porch sometime after 5 pm in the evening. Our dinner guests had already arrived and we were enjoying a lovely start to our Christmas festivities when Mr. Rosemary Lane discovered the unopened brown box with my name on it. He handed it to me and said "You must have forgotten a gift you ordered." I quickly replied that I had only ordered 2 items and I already had them wrapped. So I went ahead and opened up the box. Inside was a copy of Taste of Home Holiday & Celebrations cookbook and a note telling me that a recipe I had submitted some time ago, was featured in the publication and that this is my free contributor's copy.

Surprised and excited I quickly searched for my recipe. There it was on page 118 of the book along with a beautiful picture of my dish.

I was in shock. I must have submitted this recipe about two years ago as part of a contest the TOH people were running. Needless to say it didn't win, but they had contacted me via email sometime later asking if they could have permission to use it in a future publication. I agreed and then had forgotten all about it. That was until Christmas Eve. 

What a wonderfully unexpected Christmas gift this was for me. I have been really busy but as soon as I can catch a few moments for myself I plan to sit down and go through the entire book. Can't wait to try a few new recipes!

How about you...did you receive a fabulously unexpected gift or gifts for Christmas? As always the greatest gift for me is to have my family around at Christmastime, but this surprise was the icing on the cake! 

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday week!

XO

The Dining Room Ready for an Elegant Christmas Eve

The dining room has been decked with bows of greens and reds with touches of blue! This year our dining room is looking somewhat elegant with all of its pretty sparkles of silver along with tons of greenery. I am really loving the idea of creating my own garland and centerpiece with freshly snipped greens. It brings such a wonderfully festive look as well as a fabulous aroma to our dining room.

The dishes I am using for our Christmas Eve dining is the set my parents bought when they were first married 59 years ago. This set has actually been boxed up for the 20 years my parents lived in Florida. So I thought it would be nice to bring them out and use them for this first Christmas with my parents who are now living up here in the northeast.

The table cover is nothing more than a tartan plaid throw with lots of blues and greens.

Candlesticks in globes set on stacked dishes add some interest to the table setting. A strand of silver beads is draped on the top plate.

Miniature sleds bearing three truffles will greet each guest as they sit down for their meal.

Fresh greens everywhere!

The sideboard is filled with silver pieces accented with arbor vitae and boxwood. Doesn't it sparkle?

And I am ready for Christmas company!

So what is on the menu for tonight's dinner you ask???

Feel free to stop on by...we have plenty!

XO 

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Christmas Hutch in the Kitchen

I know you haven't heard much from me over the last 2 weeks but this is because of a very good reason. Mr. Rosemary Lane and myself have been working really diligently on a few long overdue changes to our kitchen before the holidays get here. Last week we finished up some painting and the addition of some bead board. (And I have to tell you how excited I am about how it all came out!) 

Anyhow how last spring I purchased a hutch for our kitchen at ReStore for just $40. Here is what she looked like when I first brought it home in April. (The two front glass doors were removed in order to safely transport her home in my minivan. I decided I liked it open therefore I opted to leave them off.)

She is definitely dated but I love the details of the wood, the wire meshing and her overall look. Plus her size was just perfect for breaking up our rather long kitchen wall.

So after painting the kitchen I finally made the decision on what color to paint my ReStore beauty!

BLACK!

Then I went ahead and dolled her all up for Christmas!

I filled her shelves up using pretty white Ironstone and loads of green and red accents. To add some beautiful and natural holiday touches I cut sprigs of arbor vitae from my next door neighbor's ginormous trees (she did give me permission), and paired it with the gorgeous holly sent from my dear friend Judy over at Gold Country Cottage.

This little guy was in my home when I was a little girl. He must be about 40 years old!

And this is my favorite Clothtique Santa! perfect for the kitchen right???

More sprigs and other natural elements were placed on her top along with a few twinkle lights, holly trees, pretty red poinsettias and a little stone house I picked up at TJMaxx a couple years ago.

I think she looks incredibly sophisticated in her new sleek black finish. And she is soooo pretty standing very regal in our kitchen all decked out for Christmas. 

I am almost ready to reveal the finished kitchen. Unfortunately while shooting my pics today I managed to have a little accident with my Cannon Rebel and now she is not working. Praying for a Christmas miracle and that I don't have to send it out in to be repaired. I'd hate to not have my camera for the holidays. Keeping my fingers crossed Mr. RL can work a little magic and fix her for me.

In the meantime enjoy the beauty of this special time of year as you prepare for the blessed celebration of Jesus's birth. 

Wishing you all Peace Comfort and Joy! 

XO

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