table settings & table stylings

It’s Christmas Eve and we are finally here! Kids are snuggling down in their beds, presents are wrapped and under the tree. Family friendly holiday movies have been playing on repeat for weeks along with the predictable but still-fun Hallmark movies, too…

A Christmas wish…

As we arrive on the night before Christmas, we light this fifth candle along with the others ~ the Christ Candle ~ which is also part of Week #4, the week of Love…

God loved us so very much that he sent his only begotten Son to save us ~ a grand gesture of ultimate Love. A tiny newborn babe lying in a manger, the Savior of the world…

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, so the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
Luke 2:15-20, NKJV

Throughout this Advent series, I have pulled quotes from Christianity.com and other articles. I like what this section says about the fifth candle, the candle of love, the Christ Candle: (and really, I can’t say it any better!)

Heavenly Father, the whole meaning of Christmas can be explained in one little four-letter word…LOVE. You sent your gift of pure love to us that first Christmas. Love descended from heaven to be born of a virgin. Love lay in the scratchy hay of a manger in a meager barn in Bethlehem. All of your love, God, was robed in the delicate skin of a baby and wrapped in swaddling clothes. This final week of Advent helps us to reflect on the magnitude of love that was made manifest in Jesus.”
Hope Bolinger

Jesus was a sweet precious baby come down to earth to save us all from sin. This thought makes me realize that each time a new baby is born on this earth, it is a reflection and a reminder of Christ Jesus and his birth.

We are given a gift to celebrate when each new life is born and to love that child as He has loved us!

Love the amazed look on Milo’s face! Milo is looking at me in my son’s camera/FaceTime call.

One of my favorite photographs of our grandson! Love how happy he is!!

Our fifth candle reminds us to “love one another as Christ has loved us.” (My paraphrase of part of John 13:34.) Traditionally the center candle is all white signifying Jesus’ holiness and purity. I have white candles but this one with holly and a few pine needles melted inside and surrounding the candle reminds me of the manger wrapped around and cradling Baby Jesus…

Our table is set with my best china pieces today, the Old Country Roses by Royal Albert pottery in England. My husband bought eight place settings for me from the Royal Albert outlet we had in Lake Elsinore, California about twenty years ago now. It became the china pattern I used for many teas I hosted and for many family Christmas dinners. We will use it again this Christmas and when our daughter drives up from Austin for New Year’s.

Again the little turned “Noel” signs are used in this tablescape ~ I like this table’s welcoming plaid and simplicity. Many Christmases and teas I would set one extra place setting for Jesus, honoring Him as a welcome guest.

I love it that in the Bible there were so many meal times with the apostles but also with Mary and Martha, the two sisters, and with many other people! Meals are such special times to reconnect with family and share intimate thoughts and secrets and hopes… Wouldn’t you like Jesus to come over and eat dinner at your home? 🙂

This tablecloth would have made a lovely swaddling cloth, don’t you think?

Our Holiday Home Tour

From the dining room we get a little view into the living room. Since Thanksgiving, I have been pulling off the slipcovers and giving everything a fresh wash, vacuuming and polishing.

This holiday season I went for a family Christmas with red plaid and a reindeer themed ribbons twining down the Christmas tree. Red continues in the few Santas sprinkled throughout the room and the main one on the coffee table.

Winters in the living room are filled with clear and bright light! This home is so light-filled this time of year making it really cheery. The pillows I found this fall are reversible so I’ve flipped them around to the checked sides for wintertime…

Mr. Ethereal and I are working on two projects these two weeks: putting down some new insulation in the attic and hanging the French iron fencing outside in the new garden area.

I picked up a 9′ x 6′ drop cloth at Home Depot this morning to make a new slipcover for the wing chair this week. I should be able to get it done before Amy comes up this next week. Eventually the chair will go to her new home when she finds one she loves. She really loves this chair to sit in and read in it. I have to say, you do get nice and warm snuggling in it and the wings are perfect for keeping your head from flopping when you fall asleep… We bought it and its ottoman from a neighbor at his garage sale when we lived in our first home.

With all the uncertainty of this year and being ill twice with the COVID virus, I went for a simple look this year in our decor. Just some plaid on the tree and here on the coffee table.

Simple seemed the way to go this year… I’ve heard sooo many friends saying they craved simplicity this year instead of over-the-top Christmas looks! Here are all the Advent posts if you missed any of them…

The greatest gift of all came that first Christmas. It wasn’t wrapped in a beautiful package and set under a decorated tree. The greatest gift came wrapped in the flesh of baby Jesus and laid in the rough wood of a manger. Our perfect gift would later be rewrapped in the scars of our sin and nailed to the rugged wood of a cross on Calvary, all because of love.
Hope Bolinger

Our presents are few and unwrapped. A box from our son and his family (maybe a family portrait?? We shall see tomorror. 😉 )… Presents and Christmas ornaments which were our daughters growing up to go home with her for her future trees… A new spice rack for the kitchen in need of real organizing! A new tea kettle from Mr. Coffee to replace the one which died over Thanksgiving…

It’s all good! I made two Gothic arched windows from the leftover styrofoam from the winterizing Hubby did on the garage doors this late summer/early fall. They are really rough but it was to save $70… The ones at Hobby Lobby are on sale and I may still grab them after Christmas. ;)’

And here is the storage box I made which should have been part of a Pinterest Challenge this fall but didn’t happen in time as I was just over being ill, so I made it after the fact. This was the beginning of the plaid theme…

Silent night! holy night!
All is calm all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace!

Silent night! holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia
Christ the Saviour is born!

Silent night! holy night!
Son of God love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Silent Night was written and composed by Franz Xaver Gruber (music) and Joseph Mohr (words), a Christmas song of Austrian origin (as per Wikipedia.org). It is a perfect song for a perfect night, a perfect time of year.

The most perfect day in all the year…

‘Silent Night’ is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by many singers across many music genres. The version sung by Bing Crosby in 1935 is the fourth best-selling single of all-time.”
Wikipedia.org

Grace and peace to you this Christmas,

Barb

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Share Your Style #277

October 14, 2020 French Ethereal

Happy fall, y’all! Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #277! This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post too and join my small but loyal band of friends.

I appreciate you! As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜 This fall post is a bit of a mish-mash as there are soooo many interesting posts!!! I’ve picked some autumn post for you, some DIY, and more. Hope you enjoy visiting all of this week’s featured friends!

My sites: French Ethereal Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you! 💜

Here’s what I shared this past week at

French Ethereal…

A Fall Roses and Pumpkin Tablescape Redux… You know how for our monthly Pinterest Challenge we take inspiration from a photograph and recreate a scene in our own style? Well, this time I am taking insp. from one of my own…

And here are this week’s

featured posts…

Rita from Panopoly shares a really fun colorful fall tablescape with a view out at their cityline… October Skyline Table for Two. There is a part of me that wants to live in a city for a bit! How about you? Sooo beautiful…

Fabulous Fall Decorating, Interior Decor and Styling

Amber of Follow the Yellow Brick Home is back with a wooly warm tablescape in this fun post ~ Happy Plaidurday! Plaid Fall Decor Inspiration. Love the plaid!!!

Smith Mountain Lake, VA home with shoreline in need of new riprap

Paula of Sweet Pea discusses how to add rocks to your home on the water with this post ~ Smith Mountain Lake Riprap for Shoreline Protection. Good to know!

Newcomer LG Bernhard of Der Amateur Photograph (The Amateur Photographer; his byline says his blog is all about optics and photography ~ Water Lily Pond in Wilhelma. My kinda place and I’m sure yours, too! Since we all need good photography tips! LG shares his amazing garden photos from Stuttgart, Germany… Eine hertzlich Willkommen auf Herr Bernhard!!!

Looking for a cute fall craft idea and a great recipe? Look now further than Lisa of Fresh Vintage by Lisa’s post Easy Pumpkin Apple Butter and Pumpkin Spoon. Adorable and totally worth making!!!

Our second newcomer to SYS, Mary of Pots and Planes: A Collection of Recipes and Adventures brings us this delicious recipe for Apples Pie Scones… Welcome Mary and serious YUM!!!

Rachelle of My Hubbard Home brings us a little bit of spooky in this fun Who Dun It? post ~ Miss Habersham Regrets… Do stop by to see what happens next!!!

A big Thank You to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to y’all for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you have been featured here at Share Your Style…

Here is a button to copy to your site and to share.

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there.

***Please excuse where my name ended up… Has something to do where I entered the party and I don’t want to mess that up. 😉 Will work on fixing next time! Thx!!!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Enjoy the party!

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A Fall Roses and Pumpkins Tablescape Redux

October 13, 2020 French Ethereal

Several years ago when my blog was still brand new, I wrote a post called Playing with Light ~ A Fall Placesetting. The light was beautiful coming in the western-facing front window, spilling into the living and dining rooms. We had an 8′ sliding door with a long rectangular transom window above that in the dining area so the whole room was filled with light. It was the perfect place to be at dinner time…

I miss the play of light we had in that house but I am slowly falling in love with this new home. So, in honor of French Ethereal’s 6th anniversary (which really was in July), I thought I’d recreate this pretty placesetting since Mr. Ethereal sent us red and white roses for our anniversary this past weekend.

Of course it is not quite the same tablescape but a fun interpretation of it! The red and white roses are tea roses from a nursery and the roses in the original inspiration photo were English roses from our own backyard bushes, but none the less lovely.

I used the same white dinner plates that came from Marshalls (I think) and pulled out similar teacups. I thought it would be nice to bring out the pretty pheasant and bear transferware salad/dessert plates I found a couple of years ago at Cracker Barrel restaurant here in Denton, Texas.

I used the same blue Bell jars and wrapped them with jute twine just like in the original photograph. I also found the soft velvet brown pumpkin and brought it back along with some real Baby Boo pumpkins.

I used to have a square Shabby Chic tablecloth with ruffles but either I loaned it to one of the ladies in our tea group or perhaps it wasn’t mine and one left it at my home. I may have shot the original using her tablecloth and then given it back. 💝

So I pulled out the one I still have meant for several leaves in the table and canted it across the table similar to what I had done then. I love the draping effect! How about you?

I haven’t really decorated the buffet for fall yet but you can see the beginnings of that behind the table. I might toss up some artwork on the main wall, too, since I found the old farmhouse painting I’d bought back when we were first married and Mr. Ethereal was Captain Chapman.

I love the light coming in through the French door and window!

It’s amazing how the light changes so quickly this time of year in the span of just a few minutes… I had to really lighten up some of these photographs since my eye was seeing everything lighter than the camera was picking up.

So the lighting may not be exactly this anymore…

But it is just as beautiful in its own Texas way…

How are you enjoying your fall this year? Hopefully you are enjoying it immensely!

Big Texas hugs,

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Share Your Style #273

September 16, 2020 French Ethereal

Welcome to this week’s Share Your Style #273! This link party is for home decor, DIY, crafts, recipes and the like, but you are more than welcome to share your family-friendly posts with us all. Please feel free to share this post and join my small but loyal band of followers.

I appreciate you! As always, I am glad that you are here… 💜

With fall beginning to show its lovely seasonal colors across the country, I’ve picked a smattering of fun and inspirational fall-style posts for you this week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have picking them! 🍎 😊

My sites: French Ethereal Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube

I am Barbara Chapman and I’d love it if you’d follow me here on my blog and on any of my other social media sites, too. Thank you! 💜

Here’s what I shared this past week at

French Ethereal…

This past week I did manage to get one quick new post up for you sharing my mother-in-law’s collection of Rebekah Tableware while concentrating on all the things we are learning to do for teaching school this year.

Gini presented me with one place setting of this specially-made china for my Noble Grand leadership role within our Rebekah lodge (part of the International Order of Odd Fellows [IOOF], a philanthropic organization like the Masons and other groups). Normally she would have presented this as I leave the position, but… since I was home in June it was a good time to send this lovely china home! Thanks, Mom!! 💝

And here are this week’s

featured posts…

Penny of Penny’s Treasures brings us a pretty post sharing the corner shelving unit her husband made her ~ Fall Farmhouse Kitchen Shelving. Love the soft fall colors and look at those velvet pumkins!!

Liz from the blog Howling at the Moon shares her sweet kitty James in this lovely post about making this Hydrangea Wreath. Just a short post but she also shares her pretty naked cake! Do stop over to check out both…

Debbee of Debbee’s Buzz shares her wreath in this step-by-step guide on making a Wine Cork Wreath DIY Tutorial. Great idea for repurposing all those leftover corks many of us collect!

Rita over at Panoply shares her incredibly beautiful tableware in this bright and cheerful post ~ Celebrating a Fruitful Fall with St. Clement Faience Tablescape. And check out the quilted tablerunner and matching placemats!!! Rita, nice sewing!

Debbie of Debbie-Dabble Blog shared her fall cleaning and clearing out in this post ~ One Project Off My To Do List. Great title and I am sure we are all there with you, Debbie! Time for the big fall clean sweep around our homes!!

Shelbee on the Edge brings us her fun fashion of the week: Band T-Shirts and #SpreadtheKindness Link Up in this great post talking about ways we can support local entertainers during this pandemic time. Loving the shirt and great idea, Shelbee!!!

Well, that’s all the features for this week, folks. Do take some time as you link up today to visit a few of the other party-goers and enjoy their posts! Thank you, sweet friends! 💖

Thank you also to everyone who linked up this past week. A special thank you to y’all for always promoting Share Your Style on your blog and on your social media channels! I do see it when I stop by and I appreciate the love. 💜

If you have been featured here at Share Your Style…

Here is a button to copy to your site and to share…

If you’d like to follow my Share Your Style board on Pinterest I’d sure appreciate it, thank you! I do post all of the featured posts from each week’s SYS there.

Happy almost fall, y’all!

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A Special Table Setting with Rebekah china…

September 15, 2020 French Ethereal

Friendship, Love and Truth are special words with sentimental meaning for members of the International Order of Odd Fellows Rebekahs, traditionally the women’s side of the IOOF. This year I am in the head position and my mother-in-law wanted to congratulate me for running our local Rebekah lodge. She found a set of Rebekah china online, or at the local Rebekah thrift shop, and presented it to me while I was out visiting in June. Since I’ve just returned from a second visit there, this seems an appropriate time to share this special tableware…

The Rebekahs and its big brother fraternal organization, the Odd Fellows, are philanthropic organizations but also are a place for gathering and visiting with fellow members. In past years, more potlucks and special events were held than there are today, so a special china was created for Rebekah members to use at these local and state meetings.

This set of dishes probably was made in the 1940s or 1950s and includes a 10″ dinner plate, 7″ salad plate, a cup and saucer. My mother-in-love has other serving pieces including this coffee set, below.

Often a piece or sometimes a complete set would be given to an outgoing president at the end of her state term. Moreoften, this china was kept in the local lodge and state assembly kitchen cupboards and pulled out when needed for serving at big events.

Trivets, small trinket boxes and other novelty china pieces are fairly easy to find while out “thrifting.”

I love how the teacups sit a bit wonky!

Naturally, I had to set up a little table setting with this lovely simply decorated tableware! Here is a close-up of the Rebekah place setting my mother-in-law gave me. It is simply decorated with two thin gold bands around the outer edge then an inch or so inside that. A logo of the IOOF three linked rings and a “R” sit inside the top of each plate in its own small gilded circle.

Here I paired a napkin with similar tan banding and a French flourish in its center. Both are perfect together for celebrating upcoming fall events!

And now you know a little about Rebekah china pieces! Please let me know if you have ever seen any pieces in your estate sale or thrift shop wanderings. I am enjoying having a little piece of Rebekah history to add to my tableware collection. 💝

Blessings to you,

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10 Fall Decorating Ideas Under $10 ~ 10 on the 10th

September 10, 2020 French Ethereal

Welcome to this month’s 10 on the 10th where a group of friends gets together and shares their decorating and craft ideas for under $10. Our theme this month is all about fall and I am sharing some fall decorating ideas from past posts today. Let’s jump in, shall we?…

I’d like to thank our hosts Ann of Apple Street Cottage and Terrie of Decorate and More With Tip for gathering all of us together for this fun event! There are some great fall ideas linked up. Those posts are linked for you below.

1. Set a pretty fall tablescape with velvet pumpkins and faux candied fruits. These cuties were bargain finds at 60-70% clearance after fall and the jeweled fruits were a gift from a friend ~ well under $10.

Blue and white plates always looks nice with any decorating theme but go surprisingly well with fall decor. Here I’ve used jewel tones with blue and white for a warm romantic look.

2. Add a pumpkin bouquet carved out of a styrofoam pumpkin or a real pumpkin to your fall table ~ perfect for any fall birthdays, weddings and harvest parties! Styrofoam pumpkin ~ $7.00.

I made a video if you’d like to check it out, too.

3. Make some pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins mixed with chocolate chips ~ Yum!!! Serve with hot tea out on the patio on a warm fall afternoon… Enjoy those last warm days of autumn whiling away the hours with friends…

4. Visit an apple orchard and pumpkin farm for some good old fashioned fun harvesting savory fruits to stock your pantry for fall. Many orchards also grow pumpkins and host hayrides and many sell crafts and food. Call ahead to see what your local apple orchards are providing this year.

5. Plant fall color to your gardens bringing in some much needed color after summer’s flowers are spent. Mums and other fall favorites come in a variety of glorious colors ~ perfect for tucking into pots and flower beds here in there in the garden.

6. Make soft sculpture pumpkins out of velvet and other fabrics to decorate your home. This tutorial shares the scoop on making these cuties. One yard of stretchy velveteen costs about $3.99.

7. Add ethereal candlelight to your mantel for an early warm fall look. Sometimes we aren’t quite ready for all the oranges of fall so why not go with soft pinks and greens of roses and hydrangea blooms? A hint of those warmer fall colors can be tucked into a few tealights instead.

8. Decorate outdoor and indoor statues for fall by making head wreaths out of nature’s bounty and craft store faux blooms. Easy to create with a little hot glue and wire, wreaths add panache to garden statues!

9. Host a fall tea for family and friends and bring out your prettiest teacups and tableware decorated with seasonal yellows, pale tangerines and soft pinks. Add in Baby Boo pumpkins and a bouquet of roses from the garden or market to complete your table.

10. Rake leaves and jump in! Remember that the changing seasons should always be a source of renewal for us. And what could be more fun than reliving our childhood than by jumping in a big pile of leaves?!

Total cost?? Free!!! Happiness… priceless!

🌻

Thanks for stopping by today and check out the links below to see everyone’s fall ideas.

Ann ~ Apple Street Cottage

Patti ~ Pandora’s Box

Terrie ~ Decorate and More With Tip

Tammy ~ Patina and Paint

Cindy ~ Cloches and Lavender

Barbara ~ French Ethereal

Also sharing with

Thursday Favorite Things ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Enjoy the tour,

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Magical Summer Evening Entertaining Out-of-Doors in the Garden…

August 22, 2020 French Ethereal

Entertaining out-of-doors in summer is one of the best things about summertime! Here in the DFW area of Texas, nights cool off into the 80’s and are perfect for having friends and family over for cookouts, pizza pies baked in outdoor ovens, and for toasting marshmallows over campfires. On this night, our library table was brought from inside and set with dining ease in mind…

You may recall that earlier this summer I shared this post about easy party ideas as part of a Pinterest Challenge. This tablescape was fun to photograph as I went for simplicity with just a few snacks, just a few items on the dining table, and a simple pot of flowers plopped on the table, straight from the nursery.

Simple chargers made of painted tin add their elegance underneath festive paper plates. And those plates cost $2.99 for a pack of 24, I think. Perfect for outdoor entertaining with kids or adults! Cloth napkins and real water glasses were the only “upgrades” here.

Lighting is simple with the addition of Edison lights strung together and zip-tied to tree limbs, a couple of tealights on the table and a few candles in metal holders in the garden flowerbed nearby…

*Special note: make sure to square knot each connection from one light string to the next. I didn’t do that at first, and the long swag from tree to tree came undone… I had to replace six lightbulbs and it was good that each of the sets came with extras!

Sorry about the soft blur in some of these photographs… My camera is just a basic DSLR and not really meant for low light. I hope to upgrade one of these days.

I like how these pics came out anyhow. The candlelight in these outdoor stands is magical… 💝

Soft and romantic, the addition of a couple of indoor chairs combined with the French café chairs makes for a nice combination.

A nice contrast ~ wide -vs- narrow view

We had just had a hard summer rain so the limestone bricks are in their usual muddy state but this just adds to the casual garden scene. Our plans include putting in artificial turf back here where grass doesn’t grow well below the shade provided by these two oak trees with pavers staggered between the real and artificial grasses.

Framing the view

The central bed of boxwood and holly balls are filling in nicely with the addition of this spring’s transplanted iris. I plan to add in more annuals for color next spring.

I love looking back on the house and it looks particularly pretty at night! I think when all the pavers are set for potted areas and more plants are brought in, and the sprinklers are converted from tall park-style sprayers for watering grass to lines of drip irrigation for garden beds, this will be especially nice for entertaining… and it will be easier and mean less hand-watering.

This year our visits have been just a few friends stopping by to switch-out borrowed books or for me to sign a check for our philanthropic group (IOOF). Next year as vaccines become available we hope to have friends over a lot more often.

My favorite photograph… Still love the Martha Stewart pale yellow linen drapery fabric used to create these chair cushions. These cushions are reversible with a deep red paisley on the other side. I made them with summer and winter in mind.

Tonight’s virtual visit will have to do for now… 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your summer! I felt the first kiss of fall this week with a 66 degree morning…

Happy summer evenings, friends!

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An Easy Peasy Lemony Table Styling

July 28, 2020 French Ethereal

Welcome to this month’s Pinterest Challenge where Cindy of County Road 407 selects a photo each month from Pinterest for a group of friends to take and create something of our own. This month it’s all about Lemons!!!

Our inspiration photograph this month is from the wonderful writer Mary of Home Is Where the Boat Is. All lemony goodness! If you haven’t ever been by to visit Mary’s blog, the garden behind her houseboat is beautiful plus she and her husband recently built a greenhouse that sets just perfectly into her yard overlooking the water. She also has the sweetest poodle pups… but I digress! 💛😊

If you are just coming over from Carol at Bluesky at Home, welcome! I am so glad you are here. And a hearty welcome to all my friends who’ve hopped over today as well! Wasn’t Carol’s citrusy centerpiece beautiful!

Well, friends, for me summer is all about decorating and entertaining in a way that’s easy and quick, and this post shares just that. A table that is easy to put together and a centerpiece that just says summertime.

Our inspiration piece standouts

lemon slices in a vase (of course!)
beautiful glassware for a hidden inner and an outer vase
lemon-decorated plates for serving
fun coordinating napkins
a bouquet of flowers with lemon picks poking out here and there
lots of yellow and natural decor including seagrass placemats

I began my table with a quick trip over to HomeGoods (not sponsored) where I found these larger botanical lemon teacups with saucers and also these fun lemon-covered paper napkins.

There were many lemon choices available

There were a ton of lemon decorated pieces in this season’s summer tableware: melamine plates, ceramic salad bowls, and more. I chose these large teacups to bring in the lemon theme because tea and tea parties are my thing.

Problems I encountered

1. Our weather has been super hot these past two weeks so please forgive these poor flowers… They are trying their hardest to look pretty for you!

2. Floating lemons is a trick I have never done before. You need way more lemon slices than you think you would. I had two lemons on hand and that’s what are sandwiched between an inner glass holding the flowers and the outer vase. So I will probably reshoot some photos for you… 🍋

3. The second photo shoot worked way better! Seven lemons and really packing them in is the trick, folks!

2nd photo shoot

First photoshoot ~ definitely needed more lemons! This sweet bee hive teapot came from my husband’s aunt’s collection of tableware. I inherited it after Aunt Doris passed away ~ a lovely gift! 🐝

My table’s takeaway

A country checked placemat with “together at home” written on it.
pretty florals with lemons floating in a vase within a vase
tableware with pale lemon yellows as my main color
lemon macaroons served for a light dessert
tea served from a beehive teapot decorated with a couple of friendly bumble bees

And you get a double lemony post with two table stylings! I like them both but the second really shows off the centerpiece, which speaks to today’s challenge… How could we take the inspiration photograph and make it ours?

Just like this: a bit of tropical florals and lemons… Amazing how just a weekend being in cool indoors and a recutting of stems perks up a bouquet of simple grocery store flowers…

Thank you for visiting today!

Next up on our lemony centerpiece tour is Michelle at Thistle Key Lane. I know you will love what she has for you!! If you are visiting everyone in order, all the links are here. Easy peasy, we try to make it easy!

Sharing with

Beverly at Eclectic Red Barn ~ Wonderful Wednesdays

Enjoy,

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A Rosy Valentine’s Tea…

February 14, 2020 French Ethereal

Valentine’s Day is one day away and with last month’s illness I have been behind in sharing with you, but today we catch up a bit with our dining room table set for a Valentine’s tea…

Valentine’s Day is my second favorite holiday after Christmas and I thought I’d begin this tea with a look at our hutch. I just love decorating our white china hutch with tea sets, favorite romantic cards, and various plates and platters.

This year I have the pinkish-red transferware I found down in Frisco, Texas set throughout the hutch. The pretty florals and farm scene of each transferware piece really sets off the white of the hutch. I love how it sets off everything else around it, too!

Over the weekend I baked some scones to take to the Napoleon and Josephine Regency tea at friend Laura’s home. These few were leftover and Mr. Ethereal and I have been munching on them throughout the week.

Our tender plants come indoors when the temperature dips to 32 degrees and below, and this Valentines week has been COLD! Northern winds have swept into North Texas but inside it is nice and toasty.

This weather is perfect for wearing warm pink and red sweaters for a “Valentinesy” feel and for enjoying visits with friends. Welcome! Please come sit down…

Our local Winco grocery store had these lovely roses on sale so I brought home a bunch, trimmed them to fit this Old Country Roses pitcher and added some green fronds from the mini palm tree we have. A little floppy and loose I love the dark and light pinks of these tea roses!

Teatime is always a staple here at Chapman Manor and for this tea I’ve taken out the two leaves I usually have in our antique oak dining room table. For my birthday years ago, my father-in-law made two more 11″ leaves so this table can seat 10 – 12 comfortably and grows to 102″. In its 55″ square configuration, it is the perfect size for intimate conversation among friends. Perfect for our rosy virtual tea!

Vintage French Limoge, Austrian and German tableware grace this table along with modern and vintage teacups and saucers. The blue plate underneath the scones is French and very old. I found it while thrift-shopping a year ago or so for $4.00 ~ it is a lovely flow blue.

The tablecloth is the same one I used in a story my first Valentine’s Day blogging. In that post I had our two little Staffordshire dogs up in the hutch. I love the bright white California light we had there at that home! (This reminds me I should change out the lights in the chandelier here as these have a yellow cast. Amazing the difference…)

Love this card I found years ago mounted in this frame! The

hand-painted bowl above was a gift from a friend; her mother

painted it back in the early 1900’s.

On my agenda for this year is repainting the dining room and kitchen a pale grey or a white. What color do you think I should paint in here? This tan color is just not me…

I thought about painting these walls a pale aqua or pale blue, really a tinted white hue. I think that would be very pretty and would help brighten up this space. Maybe a white above the chair rail and an aqua below?

🙂

Getting back to our tea… Looking back over to the china hutch, a pair of love birds nestle inside the framed door cubby. British royalty commemorative teacups sit on a Wedgwood Sarah’s Garden platter below. The wheat-backed scroll piece is part of the hutch and came with it ~ part of what I loved about this cabinet when I saw it in a shop in Temecula, California, called Enchanted Home.

Here is a better view of the whole china hutch. The transferware really stands out and complements this year’s Valentine’s Day tea table. I’ve also used the checkered napkins I sewed for last year’s table when we were still living in our trailer.

These napkins are a good size and are perfect for picnics in summer, for use around Valentines (and in posts, of course!) and for Christmas time, even, with their red and white checks. I bought a yard+ and made eight 12″ napkins and they have been used a lot. They are the perfect size for luncheons and tea time!

A couple last looks at this Valentine’s table set for our tea… I realized late that I had teacups set out but no teapot. A small faux pas! Here is the fix with a pretty sugar bowl, too.

Much better!

😉

Let’s enjoy our teatime together ~ lemon curd is always on the menu and perfect spooned onto our scones…

Sharing with

Thursday Favorite Things ~ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Friday at the Fire Station ~ A Fireman’s Wife

Happy Valentine’s Day to you,

dear friends,

Uncategorized

A Little Fall Decor Past and Present…

November 18, 2019 French Ethereal

Fall is really my absolute favorite time of the year with its brilliant colors inspired by nature itself. Over the years I have added to my fall decor some soft velvet pumpkins, sewed a few French toile red and aqua pumpkins for friends and one for myself, and this year I added a few black and white buffalo checked ones.

Let’s reminisce, shall we and see how we can reuse some of this older decor?…

Two years ago while we were still in our Prairie Home we had real and faux Cinderella pumpkins in pale tangerine, blush and celery to decorate our RV’s main dining area window. I love our new home but I do miss this window as it was perfect for its small vignettes!

Outdoor dining was fun at the RV park too with pansies and pumpkins and fun mismatched china.

At our Big House Wedgwood’s Sarah’s Garden tea set made its debut in the fall of 2014 where I shared a visit to meet the current Duchess of York.

A recent Pinterest Challenge celebrated dining outdoors and my first set of china by Villeroy and Boch came outside to grace our new patio.

Oddly enough I have been really missing the trailer lately! I stopped by and checked on it this past week since I was up in Sanger, TX picking up more stones for the backyard garden.

A man was there winterizing another trailer for a client and asked if we might need ours done. Knowing that yes it did need to have all its hoses and the refrigerator filter drained he charged a nominal fee and took care of that for me. I stopped by Friday afternoon and locked the trailer back up and folded up the steps and called it good!

This little bouquet believe it or not holds the last mums from a bouquet my husband picked up for our anniversary last month. I cannot believe these flowers have lasted so long! I just plucked out the bright green mums and recut them once again and put them in a fresh container. Mr. Ethereal certainly got his money’s worth with this fall bouquet!

The living room looks much as it has all fall but I am just beginning to make some changes for Christmas…

Decorating central with elves in force will be happening this week with our daughter coming up for a Thanksgiving visit! (Always a little chaotic and mixed up living the blogger’s life, as many of you know.)

😉

Enjoy this little visit,

Tag: table settings & table stylings

The Final Candle of Advent ~ The Christ Candle

Share Your Style #277

Here’s what I shared this past week at

A Fall Roses and Pumpkins Tablescape Redux

A Special Table Setting with Rebekah china…

10 Fall Decorating Ideas Under $10 ~ 10 on the 10th

Magical Summer Evening Entertaining Out-of-Doors in the Garden…

Framing the view

An Easy Peasy Lemony Table Styling

Our inspiration piece standouts

There were many lemon choices available

Problems I encountered

My table’s takeaway

Thank you for visiting today!

A Rosy Valentine’s Tea…

A Little Fall Decor Past and Present…