Christmas Tablescapes... Welcome to the 71st Tablescape Thursday!

(If pics appear to be cut off on the right side, please adjust your screen resolution to the highest setting.)

It's time for Tablescape Thursday and this is our very last TT for the year 2009. Are you looking forward to 2010? I believe 2010 is going to be an awesome year...I just feel it down to my bones. :-)

This past Met Monday, I took you on a Christmas Home Tour through Tricia's lovely, historic, Victorian cottage. During the tour, I teased you with a glimpse of her tablescape and I promised to share it with you for Tablescape Thursday. Were you wondering what the curved white object was...the one just visible in the pic below?


It's her beautiful centerpiece...a lovely Christmas swan. Tricia, if you see this, please leave a comment and tell us more about your swan centerpiece.


Tricia actually had two beautiful tablescapes awaiting her guests. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite...loved them both! I'm crazy about her brown and white transferware!


She cleverly used her beautiful ironstone/creamware collection as a centerpiece. I wish I could have taken some closeups, but on these tours, there just isn't any time for close-ups. (Click on the pic to enlarge for a better view.)


I think I know what we are having for dessert...just look what I found in Tricia's kitchen. :-) Sinful, totally sinful...and I LOVE it! :-) To see more of Tricia's beautiful home, click HERE to view that post.


I took pics whenever I could...but unfortunately, picture taking wasn't allowed in all the homes. Pretty much every home on the tour had a tablescape in the dining room. This beautiful table setting with a "Twelve Days of Christmas" theme, awaited us in another home on the tour.


Love the pear place card holders. Do you see the long mirror used in the centerpiece? It really magnifies the sparkle of the lights.


A view from the end...I think this is probably the "Partridge in a Pear Tree" salad plate...


Similar view as above, but I captured a bit of the wonderfully decorated chandelier...


A tablescape in one of the other homes on the tour...sorry about the blurriness. Since part of the tour was a "candlelight" tour, the homes were often dimly lit...plus, I had to hurry along to avoid holding folks up. Sorry to keep whining, but these blurry pics are killing me. (LOL) Isn't the centerpiece wonderful?


Here's a little close up of the figural napkin rings used in the above tablescape.


A casual breakfast room tablescape in another one of the homes on the tour...cute way to display the flatware.


As we wrap up the Christmas season, I have a few more holiday tablescapes to share. Toni graciously shared a few pics of her beautiful table setting. Love the mugs and the plaid napkins!


Each guest received a Christmas cookie cutter to take home. :-) Darling salad plates!


Close-up of her whimsical centerpiece with a mouse on an acorn sled...adorable! :-)


Toni, thanks so much for sharing your Christmas tablescape!


Bonnie shared several of her beautiful tablescapes from Christmases past...


Cute ornament place card holders...


China is Christmastime by Nikko...


Darling centerpiece...has to be Fitz and Floyd!


Bonnie can do whimsical and she can do elegant! This icey tablescape matches the icey sleet that's falling outside my window right now...


Stunning! Even her flatware has that snowy, icey feel...


Love the silver chargers and the napkin rings...


A whimsical candle holder...don't the candles look like real ornaments?!


Bonnie and I share a love for Lenox, Winter Greetings china. She created two different tablescapes with this pattern...note the centerpiece in this tablesetting with the green damask napkins...


I'm so coveting these plaid chargers...


And here's a completely different look with the same china...


Pretty red napkins and champagne flutes...


Bonnie, thanks for sharing your wonderful tablescapes!




If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click HERE for detailed instructions.

Please copy and paste the Tablescape Thursday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your tablescape post so your visitors will know you are participating.

Please link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find the other wonderful tablescapes posted for this Tablescape Thursday.

Please do not add your link below, until your tablescape post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs have beautiful tablescapes awaiting your visit:

Feeling Nostalgic...

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic these days...holidays have a way of doing that to us, don't they? As I was looking back through some of my older posts, I came across one written around this time last year and couldn't resist sharing it with you guys again. It's a post about a family tradition that I hope you'll enjoy.

But first, I have to share something that had me laughing so hard on Christmas Day, I was literally gasping for air. Have you ever done that...laughed so hard that you couldn't breathe???

I asked BNOTP readers for some hints on how to make my Standing Rib Roast actually edible this year and several folks sent great recipes/hints.  The roast turned out awesome, by the way. Yay! Thank-you so much for your suggestions and recipes.  They were brilliant!

Prior to asking you guys for some help with the roast, I read online that a popular side dish to a rib roast is something called Yorkshire Pudding. Now we've all heard of Yorkshire Pudding...but do you reallllly know what it is? I didn't have a clue, but it sounded easy, so...hey, why not? The recipe described it as a "puffy pop-over like pastry." Ummm, okay.

Fast forward, it's Christmas Day and after a late morning brunch where we stuffed ourselves silly, I got busy preparing our Christmas Dinner. We were getting down to crunch time...you know...that period when you have all the ovens going and everything is just about to be ready. I had both timers set on the double ovens, the timer on the microwave was timing a third dish in one of the ovens and one of the oven timers was really timing two dishes. It was sooo confusing I had written all the times down on a paper, so I'd know what to take out when each timer went off.

Suddenly, a timer went off while I was clear across the kitchen. After checking my trusty scrap of paper which indicated whatever was in the top oven was now ready, I yelled over to my son's sweetie, Nancy, asking her to take care of it. She opened the oven door...and just as quickly, shut it back, saying, "Uh...you might want to come check this." The look on her face was one of stunned disbelief. This got my son's, (Chip's) attention, too. I rushed over thinking something must be burned beyond recognition. As I opened the door, Nancy, Chip, and I all peered inside and what we saw left us completely speechless. Dead silence...then we all three burst out laughing!

The Yorkshire Pudding had grown into this huge, irregular, shaped blob and it was threatening to envelop all of Atlanta! It was truly unlike anything I'd ever seen, and apparently unlike anything Nancy had ever seen, either. It sort of resembled a bunch of popovers all blown up and squished together around the outer 2/3rds of the pan, with the center part kind of nice and squishy flat, even a bit pudding like--imagine that! :)  And, it was the prettiest toasty brown color you've ever seen. In the midst of all the laughing, Chip kept asking, "What IS that? What IS that???" I was laughing so hard I couldn't even answer! The more he asked, the harder I laughed!

I took it out and almost immediately, it deflated, but it still remained nice and puffy.  It was actually pretty yummy! I do think I'll be making it again, but never will it be as good as this first time when I laughed until I couldn't breathe.  Did you have any breathless moments this Christmas?

Hope you enjoy the following post from Christmas past...it's all about family and tradition.

My Father-in-Law, shown below reading to my son when when he was quite young, faithfully served during World War II. One Christmas, after returning home, he and my Mother-in-Law were making a coconut cake and ambrosia, a traditional Christmas dessert for many generations in their families. The war was still going on and many products were either unavailable or being rationed, including metal.



This picture taken in 1942 of movie star, Rita Hayworth, was definitely a sign of the times. (You can read more about rationing during the war at the SITE where I found this picture.)



My Mother and Father-in-law had not been married long, and as most newlyweds, were still accumulating some of the basic things you needed for a kitchen. The family recipe for the coconut cake called for fresh coconut and there were no metal graters to be found. So my Father-in-Law, being the creative and resourceful person he was, decided to just make one himself.

He used the only metal available, a tin can. Though not the fanciest grater in the world, it did an outstanding job of grating coconut extremely fine. The coconut it grated came out feathery light...very different from what you would ever find pre-packaged in stores.



Over the years, everyone in the family became very spoiled and only liked coconut cake if the coconut was grated on this tin can grater. Who could blame them...the coconut was so light and airy, it all but melted in your mouth!

In later years, the job of grating the coconut was passed down to my husband. And with each passing year, it became harder and harder to use the grater as the little teeth became more and more dull. Over all those many years, I'm not sure anyone had ever realized what a true labor of love it was for Grandpa, as he grated the coconut for the coconut cake.



Now each year, when the coconut is grated for the coconut cake and ambrosia, it's mostly done on a grater I purchased at Williams-Sonoma with very, very fine teeth...and a microplane grater I received as a gift from my sister, Glenda. Fortunately, I was blessed with two wonderful assistants this past Christmas...my son, Chip...



and his sweetheart, Nancy. They humored Mom and let me take a pic, despite knowing they just might end up on "The Blog."



They both did an outstanding job of grating the coconut. In memory of Grandpa...and for the sake of tradition, some of the coconut was grated on a little grater made during the era of WWII. I know Grandpa must have been smiling down from heaven seeing his much loved grandson using the grater he had made almost 60 years before.

The cake turned out great! It was moist, light and fluffy, the icing didn't sugar, and the coconut was food for angels.



Today I'm sharing the cake and icing recipe with you. It's an old fashioned, simple, family recipe that's been passed down through the generations. I got it from my Mother-in-law (pictured below.)



1 2 3 4 Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup milk
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter until fluffy.
Add sugar and cream well.
Add eggs one at a time.
Beat well.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
Add milk and flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating the two and ending with flour
Beat on low speed
Add vanilla extract
Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans. (Makes three layers)
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes...test with a toothpick to see if it's done



Seven Minute Icing

Ingredients:

2 unbeaten egg whites
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons Karo syrup
6 Tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coconut, finely grated

In double boiler, mix egg whites, sugar, water and Karo syrup, beating for 30 seconds until mixed. (Do this prior to placing the boiler over the boiling water.)
Cook 5 or 6 minutes in double boiler until the soft peak stage, beating with a hand mixer the whole time.
Add vanilla extract, beating 2 or 3 more minutes to the consistency for spreading.
Spread on cake, sprinkling coconut on each layer as well as patting coconut onto the sides.


Recipe for Yorkshire Pudding...add laughter for extra flavor :-)

A traditional side dish to Prime rib is Yorkshire Pudding, a puffy pop-over like pastry.

½ teaspoon salt
1 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons oil

Mix all ingredients, except the oil, together.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Take an 8x8 square pan and pour the 4 tablespoons of oil into it.
Heat the pan for 2 minutes before pouring in the cold batter.

Cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
Do not open the oven door during cooking.
Serve immediately and enjoy the crispy outer edges and the custard-like inside.

Additional Info. Jackie just left a comment with a link to "popover" pans available at Target...thanks Jackie. Ummm, but would it be as funny?

As this new year approaches, I'm so looking forward to carrying on the old traditions, while perhaps starting a few new ones. Happy New Year, sweet Friends!

NEW GIVEAWAYS! (thats right, more than one!)

okay okay, so i didnt get around to posting my mixtape monday yesterday, but to make up for it, i'm doing TWO GIVEAWAYS THIS WEEK! thats right.. two! and they're not two measly giveaways... no sir! they're fantastic. pretty much think domesticated 50's housewife meets valentine's day 2k10. my love language is to definitely buy people i adore things that i think will make their heart flutter so i LOVE LOVE LOVE to do giveaways! (plus these are very PINK inspired and valentine's day is my FAVORITE holiday, hands down! granted i'm a little early but give me any excuse to buy pink heart shaped things and i'm SO there!) i love to see y'all get excited about them and i love to make people smile. so here you have it! but pay close attention to the rules! they are two separate giveaways with separate ways to enter! onward ye! lets get to the first one!

giveaway #1: domesticated betty!

in the domesticated betty giveaway, you will win:

• 1 white OWL dishtowel
• 1 blue CUPCAKE dishtowel
• 1 small white BIRDIE dishtowel
• 8 heart-shaped measuring cups on a ring (1/4 tsp to 1 cup)
• 1 pink silicone HEART ice cube tray (14 cubes)
• 1 white/silver metallic bow tie
• 1 white/pink gingham bow handmade by me
• 1 glittery snowflake ornament
  
• 1 pink MAILBOX filled with tissue paper & CANDY! (reese's!)
• 1 BURNING LOVE mini-flower pot!

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER THE DOMESTICATED BETTY GIVEAWAY! you can earn multiple entries just like prior contests!

• 1 entry for following my blog! (*note: you do NOT have to have a blogspot to follow me! all you need to have is a google account.. you can click "FOLLOW" in the top nav bar!*)
• 1 entry for tweeting about this giveaway! (*please post the link to the tweet in the comments! if your twitter is private, please post a screenshot!*)
• 1 entry for blogging about this giveaway! (*please post the link to the blog in the comments!*)
• 1 entry for posting my banner to your blog/myspace/livejournal! (*please post the link to the blog in the comments!*)

PLEASE NOTE: PLEASE LEAVE INDIVIDUAL COMMENTS FOR EACH ENTRY YOU HAVE FOR THE DOMESTICATED BETTY CONTEST! (*e.g.: 1 comment for following, 1 separate comment for tweeting, etc*)

giveaway #2: hello 2010! so long 2009!

in the hello 2010! giveaway, you will win:

• 1 pink HELLO KITTY journalism notepad
  
• 1 holographic HELLO KITTY spiral notebook
  
• 2 large/long gem ornaments (earrings if you're feeling frisky!)
  
• 1 lace elastic headband
  
• 1 STRAWBERRY mini-flowering pot (grow your own strawberries!)
  
• Reese's mini-peanut butter cups
  
• 3 LIVE-LAUGH-LOVE ceramic vases
  
• 1 glittery CUPCAKE ornament
  
• 1 vintage SPARROW brooch
  
• 1 round container filled with tissue paper to store it all in!
  

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER THE HELLO 2010! SO LONG 2009! GIVEAWAY! you can only enter ONE time per person for this contest!

• All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with YOUR NEW YEARS RESOLUTION FOR 2010! and YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF 2009! your resolution can be anything. lose 10 pounds, learn a new language, spend more time with your friends, etc etc. please be honest and please be sincere. i will choose a winner at the end of the contest.

BOTH CONTESTS WILL END AT 11 PM CST/12 MIDNIGHT EST ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 3RD! The winner for the DOMESTICATED BETTY contest will be chosen at random using RANDOM.ORG. The more entries you have, the better your chances will be to win! The winner of the HELLO 2010! SO LONG 2009! contest will be chosen by Mike and myself. Winners will be notified via the internet for shipping addresses and packages will be in the mail on MONDAY, JANUARY 4th!

Good Luck to everyone who enters! I had a lot of fun shopping for these giveaways! You can be expecting lots more in the future!

weekend recap! (image heavy!)

so ill start off on wednesday... that night i went to my parents' house back in hohenwald. kicking off the christmas visit and all that jazz. here i am in the bathroom. thrilling, no?

i spent most of the evening just hanging out with baby G, watching tv/movies and things that i dont get to do while i'm at my own house. i especially love You've Got Mail and i watched it from start to finish without looking away. (here's fat baby G just ~chillin on the ottoman with Lacey...) Lacey is mom's shih-tzu... she pretty much hates Georgia haha


i proceeded to take a TON of photos of G while she was sleeping. she slept the entire time basically. well, when she WASN'T sleeping, she was running around like a mad woman. serious polar opposites.



this is her camping out in front of the christmas tree and waiting on santa.


her tongue will NOT stay in her mouth while she sleeps. its quite funny how it just pokes out. it gets all dry and crispy from the air... kind of like my mouth when i sleep with it open. too much info? probably. ha moving on! heres what i wore on christmas with my family.... heyyyy jessica mcclintock! i seriously love this dress. so so so so much.

outfit details:
dress: jessica mcclintock ($140)
cardigan: forever 21 ($30)
headband: same dang headband i wear in EVERY post!

we went out to my nana's house and who would've known... santa showed up! haha the little kids lovedddd it. mom played santa's little helper (sorry for the less-than-flattering photo, mom!) thats my sweet nana in the background.

every grandchild had to sit on santa's lap. it was quite humorous. this is my cousin amy. she's 8 months pregnant. crazy! look how different we are.


mike came over to my grandmother's from his parents' house about an hour away. i introduced him to everyone and he actually already knew one of my aunts and my cousin. i had totally forgotten we had gone out on the boat 3 years ago with them! crazy! we all played dirty santa (i snagged a fantastttttic cranberry candle, and mike got chutes & ladders but gave it to my little cousin kaylie) and then we headed home. my parents' went to robert's family christmas and i stayed home with mike so we could hang out, he had to leave soon anyway. he gave me my present and it was a fantastic ipod/iphone dock/charger/alarm deal. the sound is INCREDIBLE and i've been using it nonstop. after he left i turned my music up on it and i cleaned my parents' entire house. just to show a little gratitude for me staying there (i didnt get out of my pajamas at all on christmas eve so i didnt want to take advantage of their hospiality, etc). i slept and headed back to franklin saturday morning.

and some more candids of Georgia on the drive home. what can i say, i'm a proud mama!

mike met me at the house shortly after and he sat up my new computer screen/tv! look how tiny it makes my 17" macbook pro look! im in love!

after this we ate some yummy vegan spring rolls and lo mein, hung around for a bit, watched Glee and then i went to work. work was okay.. nothing major. i came home and of course mike was up in bed playing xbox haha.

and more sleeping beast...


yesterday we got up and got dressed and took G to the dog park. it was FREEZING. we had slush drinks from Sonic and i didnt even take a coat. luckily Mike had a hoodie in my car. bleh!

my new york city taxicab and my sailboat came in the mail! yay! my charm bracelet is almost full!

we ran errands, got zero some mice to eat (my snake), had a yummy italian lunch at Carrabba's, went to walmart, did all that jazz, then we came home to just kick it for a while. watched silly youtube videos, took a superrrr relaxing bubblebath and afterwards we cooked dinner. actually, mike cooked. i supervised. (read: sat on the cabinets and ate pickle sickles). we had spicy veggie blackbean burgers and some cooked veggies. my plate is on the left, his on the right. hahaha i even left like 3 veggies and he ate them. i'd call him a fat kid if they weren't all vegetables :P but it was definitely good. i'm glad he likes to cook... because i definitely dont.


then we do what we normally do.... get a bowl of dry cereal, crawl in bed and watch a movie. last night we watched the new Harry Potter. I saw it in theaters so i fell asleep after about an hour and 45 minutes. he stayed up for the remaining 45 mins and before i knew it, i woke up at 4am and it was pitch black and i didnt really know what had happened haha


so here it is, a new day, a new week. its 1:30pm and i'm still in my pjs, even though i've been awake for over 4 hours. i've tidied up my room just a little but nothing to write home about. i need to be productive but i got out my Felicity dvds and i'm thinking about watching an episode or two. mike left to go take care of some business and i didnt want to tag along. just waiting on him to get back so we can go to whole foods.

he's decided to go vegan for new years! so excited to have him on board and maybe now it'll be easier. its so hard to be vegan solo because cooking requires so much time, effort, money, etc. i'm stoked for sure :)

happy monday! hope everyone had a lovely weekend! hopefully ill have a mixtape for you tonight!

xo