Thanksgiving at the Junction

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The 2011 Christmas Luncheon

The most magical time of the year is Christmas. It brings out the child in all of us, and for most of us the best.
Busy as I am with the preparations, my favorite thing is of course the table setting. This year I decided to go for the traditional colors of the season with an emphasis on the RED.

I hope you like it.

I decided not to go with my usual matching of my
Christmas color scheme with the room decor
and celebrate with as much red as I could possibly stand


I even changed out the shades on the chandelier!


The centerpiece was a $10.00 find at a rummage sale.
It is filled with cranberry wooden beads
 topped with silk evergreens and red poinsettia


The red tapers, six in all are in crystal candleholders
atop a mirrored runner to reflect the sparkle


My Christmas china looks new when dressed with the red accents


The china pattern is repeated in the Lenox tablecloth and napkins
the red of the chargers brings out the little berriesin the pattern


The salad plate is new this year
A red and gold filagree pattern
sets an elegant tone
Adding to the color riot are matching poppers
very necessary for those funny pictures of everyone in paper crowns!


Red wine goblets on crystal stems were  the perfect choice


On the side table crystal water service


The mirror is dressed with a bountiful pepperberry wreath



The server is prepared and waiting for the dessert course.
Here I did take a break from the red and enlisted the help of
the yellow nutcracker to guard the goodies!


One last look

Thank you for coming by my little blog
Thank you for sharing your homes and creative ideas with me
I wish you a very very Merry Christmas
and all the very best in 2012

This week I will be joining
Tablescape Thursdays
and
Seasonal Sundays

Please click on the links to the right
to see other beautiful
tablescapes











Sunday, November 20, 2011

The 2011 Thanksgiving at the Junction

Thanksgiving marks my one year blogger-versary!
When I began this creative journey I was so happy to have found a community of those who find joy in collecting and creating beautiful settings for all the special occasions we are so blessed to celebrate. I quickly found that it was more then a solitary documentation of my events when I began to make a circle of sweet, supportive 'cyber-friends'. Thank you all for you kind comments, the funny stories you share on your blogs and for your continued support of my creative endeavors.
Welcome my cyber-friends to the second annual
Thanksgiving at the Junction!



A more monochromatic color scheme this year
was inspired by the WS individual transferware
soup tureens purchased at the end of season last year


I added the solid brown salad plate atop the
Queens Myot Thanksgiving 
dinner plate framed by my favorite white chargers

A closeup of the pattern play



Each place setting rests on
 a burlap textured tablecloth
and simple brown placement




The textural theme was accented by these overscale
basket weave pumpkins found at Target



Keeping in mind the large scale centerpiece
 I accentuated its size by adding
 lamp shades to the battery candles



This tablescape did not lend itself to crystal
glassware, but these brown hued wine glasses found at the dollar store were perfect!



Target also had the perfect napkin rings for this
natural theme -
they look as if they were carved from wood!



Every year it seems as though Williams-Sonoma
has a piece I just can't live without.
This year was no exception.
My DH bought this as a surprise for me!
Yes, he's a keeper!




Extra plates on the server are complimented
by another 'floral'
with neutral and natural accents



Another service area in the dining room
holds the WS soup tureen
draped with seasonal florals



Thanks for taking time to drop by today.
To all of my 'cyber-friends'
All of my Fabulous Followers
Everyone of my super supporters
and the hosts of the blog parties I post to
Thank You!

I'm sure there are many others out there sharing their beautiful
ideas on decorating for the season
Click on the link to the right to see what they're up to -

This week I am joining
Seasonal Sundays
and
Tablescape Thursday

Wishing you many blessings of Thanksgiving







Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Halloween at the Junction

Halloween is almost as much fun for children as adults... ooops. Did I get that backwards? LOL
Well, here in The Junction the town is all a buzz with preparations for the 'holiday'.  The store front owners seem to decorate as much for fright night as they do for Christmas!
I am no exception ... I think it's contagious. I have my table set for the Halloween dinner, and the foyer is all set to welcome my visiting goblins.
Stop by for visit and I'll give you a preview.



On the foyer table
 a little Halloween village greets you



This little witch is one of my favorite pieces
Notice she's smiling!



Another smiling ghost rounds out
the other half of the setting


The dining room buffet is set to welcome you
Hey wait a minute?!!?
 There were M&M's in the little bowl!



The Tablescape is a fun setting with festive bats,
spider webs and witches booties
(AKA salt and pepper shakers)



Topping a round orange dinner plate
is a black rectangular plate
with a haunted salad plate



The little 'Boo Bowls" were a find in Target this year
The Bat Chip and Dip
 was a steal at a Rummage sale
$1.00!



Whats Halloween without a black cat?



Happy Haunting!

This week I will be linking to
Tablescape Thursdays
and
Seasonal Sundays
Click on the links to the right to see other
beautiful tablescapes


Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Tropical Luncheon

Warm balmy breezes continue to blow in the Junction which was the inspiration for this tablescape.
 Much to my surprise, Wegmans (my local grocery store) was in the same frame of mind. When I stopped in to pick up a few items for the weekend, I walked right into a display of tropical flora that stopped me dead in my tracks. I was smiling from ear to ear as I loaded them into the cart - I knew immediately just which dishes to use!

Welcome to .... The Tropical Luncheon


I could hardly wait to get these beautiful flowers home!
I knew just the colors I wanted to use.


I accented the live tropical blooms
with silk palm fronds as placemats


The dinner plate is a solid soft green that allows
the bold colors of the salad plate to
take center stage


The white handle flatware gives some relief
to the riot of color that is also seen
here in the ice tea glass to the right


The patterned napkin is Vera Bradley from Macys
 the orange solid napkin from HomeGoods
and those colorful striped napkin rings
are from Kohls


The Ice Tea Pitcher can be found in Target...
Thought it was a good match to the other patterns
The little green bowl was last season there as well


As an accent I used my Pier One tropical dinner plate
as a serving piece, which rests on the striped runner


Thought I would give the salad plate a close up
The colors are so festive!


What would the tropics be without a beautiful parrot?
When I saw this in HomeGoods in the dead of winter
I had to have it ... guess I was dreaming of warmer days!


I think I just may make this one my screen saver!


One last look....


From the parrots-eye view

Hope you are enjoying
these beautiful sunny days as much as I am!

This week I will be joining
Seasonal Sundays
Tabletop Tuesday
and
Tablescape Thursday

Grab a tall glass of something cold
 click on the links
to the right, and enjoy!







Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Seaside Luncheon

Seaside Luncheon? Well one can dream. I am homebound this weekend so there will be no trips to the famous, (or depending on which T.V shows you watch)  'infamous' Jersey Shore for me.
The next best thing was to create the atmosphere of the shore, and enjoy it on my own back porch.
I know, I know it's 4th of  July weekend, and everything should be red, white and blue, but I did just do that for memorial Day, and my heart is aching for the beach!
So here is a tribute to all the beach lovers out there, especially my older daughter who loves 'Beach Themed" decor.
Welcome to the Seaside Luncheon

This tablescape is a departure from the anchors away
look of Red, White and Blue I originally planned
for this weekend, but the weather has been absolutely balmy here
so mind just went to more spa like colors


Turquoise blue waters and pristine sand beaches
that's what I had in mind


Local stores helped set the mood.
Mikasa basket weave dinner plate
Cindy Crawford salad plate
kohls seashell soup bowl.
Flatware from CTS


This small serving platter is from Ross Stores
the sea urchin salt and pepper shakers are
from Williams Sonoma.
The pale turquoise tablecloth
is topped with a fishnet throw
from Michaels.


Napkins are Waverly


 The color is just perfection!
The contemporary pattern keeps it fresh.


The flatware is from CTS.
 At first thought the color was odd,
but here it reminds me of sand.
Speaking of sand, I added a little as a 'runner'.
The ocean colored stems are from HomeGoods.


Wouldn't you just love to be at the beach
 sitting in this little chair
watching the sailboats drift by?
Sigh!



Or, you could just have lunch here on the porch.


We could watch for sea turtles.....


There seem to be a few around...


Or, we could just imagine the lighthouse
guiding sailors safely to shore...


Better yet, we could just avoid the traffic and stay home,
here on the porch.

I hope that whatever your plans this weekend
that you are safe and happy!
I will be joining
Tablescape Thursday
Seasonal Sundays
and
Tabletop Tuesday
Click on the links to the right to see how others are celebating the holiday.

Thanks for dropping by!