Pretty Tablescape: Waverly Dishes Pop with Green Accent Pieces

We can finally entertain! Friends were coming for dinner and as I was setting the table, I came up with this new combination of dishes and glasses that I want to show you.

I decided to use a pattern by Waverly called Norfolk Rose that I bought years ago from a catalog in a 20-piece set. The plates are a soft shell/khaki color with reddish rose accents. Once I knew the color of the dishes, I bought 5 red-orange primulas ($.99 each!) to be the floral focus. They complimented the plates and added a very important touch of green with their leaves.

I had never considered mixing my bright modern green Marta glasses from CB2 (Crate & Barrel's answer to IKEA) with this rather traditional set of dishes, but as I was auditioning different combinations place mats and glasses, this one looked great!

I had some bright green paper napkins from IKEA and they matched the thin green glass perfectly. I pulled out my set of bamboo silverware and the table was set. 

It might seem silly to take this much time choosing the tablescape, but this is what I love and I haven't been able to do it in a long time. The moving boxes are unpacked and all of my treasures are finally within reach. 

In fact, as I create more pretty combinations I'll be sure to show you.

#entertaining #waverly #cb2 

Grocery Store Flowers Are Just As Pretty

We hosted a birthday party last weekend at my house and in addition to all of the traditional birthday elements (balloons, cake, candles), I wanted to add a few touches around the house to make it look pretty.

Little flower arrangements make me happy and I lucked out when I found a bundle of Snow White Cremon (a Dutch version of a Football Mum) in the grocery store floral department, marked down to $2 for the bunch!  Aren't they perfect?

I hung them on the knob of the open china cabinet in my family room, in a clear glass vase.  The vase is neat because it has a small hole in the glass near the top that you can thread a ribbon through and hang it.  You can see a similar vase here.  I own this type of vase in several styles (test tube, tear drop) and I love how they allow me to hang flowers on the wall or furniture. I highly recommend getting one for yourself - they are less than $5 and make quite a statement.

Beauty on a budget - another type of delight!

Washington, DC: Shopping at CB2

I absolutely love the housewares designed for CB2 (a Crate and Barrel company).  Thin glass serving pieces, interesting appetizer plates, teardrop hanging vases.  To me, the mood is a little Japanese, a little Scandinavian and a lot cool.  I haven't been to Chicago in ages (the only place I've seen their stores), so I've had to rely on the catalog to keep me current.

But then there I was, walking in Georgetown and I came upon a CB2!  I wandered the store and admired all the pieces that I had flagged in the catalog. I carried a clear glass milk creamer, a hanging vase and 3 candlesticks around the store until I could come to grips with the fact that they wouldn't fit in my luggage.  It made more sense to order them out of the catalog, like I had been doing all along.  Somehow that isn't as much fun as buying them on a trip.

I took this photo of the store's entertaining section to show you the pretty clear glasses, colorful appetizer plates and accessories that make hosting a party easy.

You'll be happy to know that the items look every bit as good in person as they do in the catalog and I've never been disappointed with anything that I've ordered.  This is my favorite item, a glass chemistry beaker with a hole to hang it with a bit of ribbon.

Day Breaker Rose in Beaker Vase

There is nothing like a small bouquet in an unexpected place to brighten a room.

In this photo, my newest rose, Day Breaker, is in a glass test tube vase from CB2 (a modern store in Chicago that is owned by Crate & Barrel).

The neat part is that it can hang from the lock on the armoire in my family room. I simply threaded some coordinating ribbon through the hole in the glass test tube, added water, roses and hung it from the key.
When they glance around the room, my guests can't believe that the flowers are real!