Antiquing: Finding My Niche

Remember when I shared some great and awesome wisdom with you regarding antiquing? Well don’t be too fooled.

What does this post and this picture have in common you ask? Read on!

The epiphany I mentioned earlier came out of a “a-ha-that-makes-too-much-sense” moment at 7:15 a.m. while I was in bed. I realized I loved table settings. Remember my Valentine’s dinner party? Or, how about the above photo? (I spent hours looking for the right glass plates and napkins for my friend’s bridal shower.) I’m intrigued by the fine linens at HomeGoods and would often gaze at them while working at Pier One. For some reason, I’m attracted to place settings. (Weird, I know.) I still can’t figure out why I was woken up to this epiphany but this is what I can piece together so far:

1.       I love color. I am not limited to any colors when it comes to setting the table for parties. It is it’s own entity!

2.       Beautiful table setting requires a touch of problem solving but is quick and easy. You gotta use what you have but make it pleasing to the eye.

3.       It set’s the mood for good eating and priceless fellowship.

4.       Gives fire to my hospitality gene.

Instead of all this blabbin, I’ll show you some inspiration that might knock you socks off. Are you ready?

See more here.

See here.

and here.

The no-fail Martha.

She didn't!

of course she did!

Also, here is one of the first video clips about table centerpieces that reeled me into the amazing vastness of Young House Love.

I think it’s time for another dinner party!

Dinner party? Yes, please!

What do you do on Valentine’s Day? Do you go out to eat (like most of the world), buy a gift, pretend it’s not really happening? Well, we decided to do none of the above.  Instead we decided to have a night in our apartment with some of our lovely friends. A dinner party sounded exquisite and much better then watching awkward dates. It took a little twisting of arms (maybe a secret game and some good food) but they accepted.

As soon as everyone accepted, my brain began churning. I love planning (it’s kind of a weird hobby). All I knew was that I wanted it to be special. (I’m actually old enough to host a dinner party, I thought only Martha Stewart did that.) We threw some food options out to the lovelies and they decided between beef tenderloin and lamb. We knew it would be good!

Then I moved on to what the table would look like. Huh? Colors…not a huge fan of red even though it was Valentine’s Day. I opted for what we had in our lovely cabinet… dark magenta linens (12-pack from a previous HomeGoods purchase of $12.99) with some antique pink linens I found with my mom in an antique shop in Minnesota a few years back. I decided on a white table cloth I had already owned from a friends bridal shower I hosted. Then it moved to centerpieces. I really wanted fresh flowers. Finding myself at Kroger, I chose the cheapest option, alstroemeria. They just happened to have ones that matched my napkins. It was a done deal! For my 3 vases of fresh flowers I spent a whopping 12 bucks. You can’t get cheaper than that! Also, I couldn’t help but think of my gradma and all the dinners she served to my 30 plus family members over the years. I had to honor her in the fact of buying my own table pad at Meijer. I bought it so I could have it forever. (Well at least that is what I told myself.)

After all the thinking, it was time to put it in place. I knew I should set the table the day before so I only had to worry about the food the night of the party. (A special shout out to my husband who knows how to cook!) One word. SUCCESS!

Here is the final product. It turned out to be a late evening but tons of fun. A toast to love and great friends!