Don't Forget the Center

When entertaining for the holidays, or really any time of the year, your table is never fully dressed without a centerpiece.  The Fall and Winter seasons provide plenty of inspiration for table decor that is special but also simple. 

I first turn to the master of all "good things", Ms. Martha Stewart, for inspiration:

For a simple everyday table setting how sweet is table with a collection of small sized baskets with seasonal fruits?  Let the fruit double as part of your dessert and you have a two for one special.

via Martha Stewart

 In a continuation of the fruit theme, I love the stately nature of the pillar candles and baskets filled with plump berries and grapes.  The colors sing fall while not being generic or too obviously themed.

via Martha Stewart

 For a crafty decor idea there is nothing easier than this for the mantle: take candle holders/vases that you already own and wrap with pretty paper and secure with a double stick tape.  An illuminated candle inside gives this idea an ever brighter glow.

via Martha Stewart

 I love, love, love this centerpiece.  It is a true centerpiece and worthy of a special dinner or even a fall wedding.  A bundle of wheat twisted and tied with a beautiful silk ribbon compliments the warmth and heart of the season.

via Martha Stewart

Here are some more great centerpiece ideas that I could not resist:

From pottery barn, this is a simple hurricane candle holder wrapped with dried maze and tied with twine.  It probably take no more than minutes to assemble but makes a very pretty visual impact.

Via Pottery Barn

Or you can always order a vibrant, beautiful bouquet of flowers for your table and for around your home:

via FTD

via 1800Flowers

Whatever you do keep it easy, make it reflect you and your home, and make it special with a little extra sparkle.

Happy Friday and have a beautiful weekend!

Setting the Table for Family and Friends

In my immediate family there are four of us.  Pretty average, nothing anyone would consider "large".  However, my family doesn't do holidays with just the four of us.  Holidays with my family include everyone: all the grandparents (I am blessed to have four healthy, amazing grandparents), all of the cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings and children of all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and of course friends that feel like family.  It is not unusual to gather around the table for Passover or Rosh Hoshanah or be spread throughout the house on Thanksgiving with 40 - 50 people.

Not quite this long, but you get the idea

Let me ask you, how do you set a table for 40 - 50 people?  Most people do not own a set of China for 40-50 people, and rarely does the heaviest stock of paper plates hold up to a good Jewish brisket...  

Necessity being the mother of all invention the table would be set  communally; beautiful China would come from an Aunt here, a cousin there, a sister from nearby.  At the end of the day a beautiful table would be set in creams and gold that was worthy of the best crowd and food.

When we got married I registered for plain, everyday white China from Pottery Barn, but now that we have moved and I have more storage in my kitchen and a proper dining room for entertaining the idea of expanding my collection is not lost on me.  Here are some entertaining must haves, for now:

Dazzle Dinnerware by Crate and Barrel

Wood-Slices Dinnerware by West Elm

Vera Wang for Wedgwood "Gilded Weave"

Growing up I would volunteer for table setting duty at my cousin Deborah's house, and the look and feel of an extra long table, with shining glassware and matching mismatched plates has always stuck with me. The Holidays are special and are meant to be treated with extra care, a little extra sparkle and spent with the most important people.

It doesn't even matter if you eat take out Chinese on your China, just make it special!

Something to Think About

A few months ago BrideTide tweeted on a Saturday morning, "Someone, somewhere is getting married today."  It has stuck with me ever since.  

Obviously someone, somewhere is getting married all hours of the day and everyday of the week (Hello, Vegas!) but generally speaking in the United States wedding day is a Saturday.  Not too long ago I drove past a beautiful old church just as the bride and her bridesmaids got out of the car and began to climb up the steps.  

I was overjoyed. I didn't know that bride, I had never been inside of that church, but I truly felt so excited for her and them.  I mentioned that tweet from many months ago in an effort to get everyone to share my joy.  Mark nodded along, and then my sister pointed out other major life things happen all the time too: people die and babies are born.

That is true.  Check for the little sister.

Here's is how I explained it is different.  Marriage is a birth of a new chapter for two people.  In some ways it is the death of their single lifestyles.  But, more than that, marriage (not the wedding) is an active choice.  It is the moment of "I choose you and I choose to go through life by your side.  Literally, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer - when you look around, that's me, right by your side." 

That moment that I caught that bride in, the excitement with girlfriends before the ceremony, the dress shopping, the registry, the ring, the proposal, that is nothing compared to that moment when you make the choice.  Getting married is not being married.  Being married is all that much better.

Check mate for the big sister.

I Just Want to Wear Sweatpants!

Less than a week ago the temperature was teetering around 75 degrees, I knew, it couldn't last forever. But this morning as I woke up Mark said to me, "you know its 30 degrees this morning," and that was enough to consider Caribbean real estate, or at least an extra sweater.

I have lived in DC for seven years, it is hard to believe time goes by so quickly, and every Fall transition it shocks me how cold it suddenly gets.  I go through the same cycle every year; look for boots, look for Uggs (which I have never purchased), look for a hat (and then resign that I don't really wear hats, although I love them).

This morning when I got dressed all I wanted was to wear my comfortable chunky sweaters and extra soft lounge pants to work, but clearly that wouldn't do - here are some finds for taking cold weather comfort beyond the couch.

More Mossimo...

Keep an eye out for ponte legging and pants; these are the extra thick, double knit pants (sometimes referred to as scuba knit) that not only hold you in, but they also keep you warm, and look more refined than a traditional knit stretch legging.

A sweater dress is a seasonal must have.  The tunic cut, and heavier knits are beyond forgiving for an extra slice of pie, and the accessorizing options are endless: scarves, jewelry, belts, all change the look of a basic sweater dress in an instant.

Pick up a soft, knit blazer.  It's warmer than a regular blazer and will serve double duty for weekend wear.

Looking for new boots?  Try out some of the shoe brands that specialize in comfort footwear, Aerosoles, Merrell, Uggs, and many more.  They have finally wised up and put out shoes that are almost as chic as they are comfortable.

It takes a bit more thought to get dressed in the fall and winter and still look pulled together and feel comfortable, but you have to admit your office isn't going to let you wear a Snuggie anytime soon!

Happy Fashionable Fall!