When Flatware Flattens...

Hosted by "Between Naps on the Porch"
Thank you Susan for hosting another great Met Monday!

Have you ever been plagued with inferior flatware? I have!!! In less than one year, I went through two patterns! So this is a good Met Monday post for me to do today because I am absolutely beside myself about all of these unfortunate events over flatware! Yikes!

First, back in October 2008, just before Halloween, I was fortunate enough to find in Ross, Gibson's "Chrome Bamboo" for $38 for a service for 8. It is a very similar style to Hampton's "Bamboo Mirror" from Target that I just couldn't afford at almost $70 for a service for 8 with serving pieces. But in a month's time...

Several pieces, started to rust!!!

Then, while I waited to have these pieces reviewed and hopefully replaced by Gibson USA, I decided to take on the Cambridge pattern called "High Rise Sand" that we found from Kroger for $44 for two 20-piece boxes. Beautiful pattern isn't it? But wait, this one is also not meant to be! Why, because after three washes, yes, you are reading it right, three washes in the dishwasher, the chrome plating came off and stuck out like a thistle! Aaarrggghhh!!!


Well, after we returned the flatware back to Kroger, the lady at the Customer Service said, "you know, you may as well fork up a little more and grab the style and name you really want." We wanted some Oneida, but found no style we really agreed on, so... After a fruitless trek to the mall, we found ourselves back to Walmart, placing two boxes of 40 piece set of Hampton's "Lace" pattern in our cart.
I hope the quote, "three's a charm" work for us this time because dh and I both love this pattern and for the same price we paid for the other two patterns, we can now entertain up to sixteen (16) people! Yay, we average about that on any given month, so it all works out.

I love the graceful crisscross pattern... Just beautiful!


Ok, everyone, chant with me... "No rusting, no chipping. No rusting, no chipping..."

Happy Met Monday everybody!

Should be one of the 8 Wonders of the World...

Hosted by "A Southern Daydreamer"

Humble Valentine...

Hosted by "Between Naps on the Porch"
I know it's already March, but I thought that this would be a great last Valentine entry for Metamorphosis Monday; graciously hosted by Susan on "Between Naps on the Porch".

This is about the beautiful transformation of the humble $1 tulip plant that my dh got me last year. Remember, 2007 was quite tight, so early 2008, we didn't do much in the way of celebrating to save more pennies to hide in the couch. :-D

This is how it looked when we brought it home from Wal-Mart, February 14, 2008 ...

One week later, a bud emerged...

Then another bud after a few days...

Two days later, I transferred it to the dining table because we were getting a lot of afternoon sun and it was helping with the blossoms...

Here's the next day later in front of the same afternoon sun from a high window...

And look how it turned out!

Another day and the blooms completely opened but for some odd reason, the bulb just never recovered. I'm glad I took pictures...

TABLESCAPING IDEAS: (I just figured my Easter centerpiece! "Brain" would be so proud...) If you have tulip or iris bulbs growing in different stages in different pots, gather them into a big shallow pot. Arrange them in such a way where you can tell the different stages and hide the soil with with either spanish moss or green mossy rocks. This should help focus the conversation on the flowers you're growing. In a mesh bag, place a bulb or two and use them as place cards with each guests' name, as well as to be their take-home favor after dinner. Make sure to tell them or take a picture of the color of the bloom to make it more special. Or, find an inexpensive tall fancy lidded jar with mossy faux rocks inside and surround it with the tulip pots for an elegant look. Surround the centerpiece with white votives or place in between glass taper holders and light the tapers 10 minutes before each guests arrive. For a crisp look, use coordinating tablecloth and dinnerware with minimal pattern to draw the eye towards the gorgeous centerpiece! And there you have it, another great tip from yours truly! (With "Brain's" help, of course!)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Had to do this post now, because I'll be off to Walmart grabbing some more tulip pots!

Just Throw Them All In!

It's Thursday again, and that means... Tablescape Thursday and Thrifty Thursday are here again! Susan and Leigh are so cool to host these two fun and creative things that get my idea juices flowing for my next table! Make sure to check out who else are participating because I'm sure they are all just gorgeous!

Hosted by "Between Naps on the Porch"
For today's Tablescape Thursday, I went through my pictures and quickly realized that I love doing buffet tablescapes as well as traditional ones. Of course, since my children are little still, with my oldest only a teenager, elaborate ones are not quite in order yet.

So here are the ones I've done over the past years:

Mesa, Arizona- In the Philippines, it is traditional
to some households,like mine with Chinese heritage,
to saturate a table with practically every food item we have on the table with hopes for a prosperous and happy New Year. The picture below was New Year's Eve 2007.

This was one of my better 4th of July buffet tables. Everything you see was deliberate; my chidren love to sneak food off the table, so before they did that, I created a focal point using all the food we bought.

I didn't do a tablescape that year, but I did have to make sure that I took a picture of our "impromptu" dessert table, my husband's new toolbox, a tall and wide Craftsman!

And here's my Thrifty Thursday...

Hosted by "Tales from Bloggeritaville"

I found these all in one week!

Like always, thanks for peeking! Now go peek at other beautiful tablescapes and thrifty finds...

Oh, and did you notice, there are now 20 awesome and fabulous ladies following this blog. I feel so loved!
Thank you , thank you, thank you!!! You all rock even for just visiting!

Looking at my Stash

I didn't realize how much TABLE GOODIES I have already! And I've acquired all of them at a great price or they were given to me.

Sa-weet! Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do! These are just some... On the sidebar, you'll see a little bit more. Also, those you've seen from my other posts. I even amazed myself!

("Brain", remind me to give my hubby a big kiss tomorrow for letting me have this much fun with our tables!)

I guess eleven years of collecting + 4 years of storing dating crystal will give you a sizeable stash. Yay, me!!!

75% off retail- Ross. These two square Tuscan platters were Ross finds. I needed them for a church function and when I got them, they were slashed down to half off the Ross price tag. So my total savings from retail was 75% off! It's actually greener up close...

50% off- Target. These are Target's Holiday '08 line called "Snowfall Splendor" in gold. It also came in platinum. I waited after Christmas and snagged 8 for the price of 4!

FREE- It was gifted to me before we left California. This is from Montgomery Ward, I think it's called "Autumn Foliage", I'm not sure. The dinnerware set that came with this, all had heat cracks and I had to give them to a friend of mine who loved them despite the crack. I handwash this every time I use it. I don't want to damage it in anyway.

66% off- Tuesday Morning. I found these Gorham "Flowering Meadow" flutes (I got water goblets, too) at Tuesday Morning that just opened up near us this month. $5 a piece instead of $15.

50% off- Ross. These are my Blossom china. I don't know what they are called. The dinner plate (behind pitcher) are so big that they could pass for chargers, but they only had two, so I only grabbed one because I wanted at least one of all the different pieces. I just recently found others they made and they are just as beautiful, but Ross acquired them in small quantities and "lookie-loos" managed to crack and ding them.

80% off- Target. I found these originally at $2.50, but since I was the only one who was lucky enough to find the only 12 good ones, the manager sold it to me for 50 cents each!
FREE- 1st wedding anniversary- Costco, 1997. My second Noritake dinnerware after my wedding china; I forgot the series name, but this also comes in blue floral.

FREE- A gift before we left California. These are called "White Christmas" done exclusively for Montgomery Ward; and the glasses were gifts from my MIL the following year. Not of the same line, but very complimentary (ha, complimentary design for a complimentary (aka FREE) set of glasses! I made a joke!)

90% off- Fry's Grocery store. These were called "Swirls" and I found them during a clearance stumble. I paid 50 cents each.

50% off retail- Sears. Oneida "Katrina"- These were promotional silverware. San Jose, CA 1995

FREE- This is a gift from my husband, while we were dating. It is a bud vase crystal from a local florist in San Jose, CA 1993

FREE- Gift. My mother-in-law (MIL) gave me these as part of my Christmas service silverware back in San Jose, California.

50% off- LNT. Just for the serving pieces. These were from LNT during a special clearance closeout to make room for the Christmas dinnerware stock; Gilbert, AZ

75% off- Kitchen, Etc. I found these in an outlet mall in Mesa, AZ. They only had 9, I was going to take them all, but the last one had a noticeable crack and damage on the rim.

FREE-My wedding china. Noritake "Halls of Ivy" (darkened so you can see the embossed ivy leaves) My boss back in 1996 got us two place settings for our wedding reception.

I am so glad that I have them! But I'm more glad that I got them for a great price or FREE!

I love every piece I own, and I can't stand that many of them are in storage, far from our home!

Fall Gal

It would seem that I remember to take more pictures of my Thanksgiving tables than any other holiday. I wonder why that is? Did I have more time? Nah! Did my kids remind me? Nah! Did I subconsciously ensured some pictures? Maybe...
Well, whatever it was, my Fall tables had had more exposure to the public eye. I think they're gorgeous, what do you think? (Humor me, would ya?)

THANKSGIVING
2004/2006/2007/2008

THEME:
"Grateful for a Penny"

MY INSPIRATION:
Picture of Jesus Christ

Back in February 2004, my DH moved us to ASU Williamsfield Campus Housing while he was a full time Aviation Mechanics student. We were so grateful for so many things despite the lack of infusion of cash that just finding most of our stuff intact was enough to celebrate! (Wouldn't you?) I put together all that we owned, as nicely as I could on this table. Our son Ian was only 2, so of course his placemat would be different so he knew where he'd sit!
The theme was because at the end of all of my preparation, my cute, cute son decided to inspect his saucer plate and dropped it on the linoleum floor that's covering cement! (good thing it only broke into three big pieces! I was beside myself for a while, but you know what? It was fine, my son did not have a scratch on him! I saw the video of it recently and it was so cute to see Ian's reaction of using the utensils to cover his ears from the noise it made! LOL) I knew I would have to scrape more pennies just to replace this $35 saucer plate. Five years later, I finally have the $35, but now I can't remember the name of this Nikko beaut! Down with "stuff" prisons! Lol)
(LDS married students + young kids? Always = Flat Broke!)


THEME:
"Glamorous Fall"

MY INSPIRATION:
Embossed Off-white Ceramic Dinner Plate

In 2006, less than two weeks into Thanksgiving, Linens & Things decided to slash this set 50-75% off. Before that, when we first saw it, even the dh was impressed with the embossed design (lucky for me, he didn't see the enormous slobber puddle happening between me and these beauts; it would have been embarrassing- again!)
Anyway, when we came back and saw the clearance tags, I just started my third semester of my own Elem Ed degree, and we had some moolah to play with (can you believe it? I didn't either, but we did!)
So I took the plunge and grabbed these- the plates were 50% off while the service items were 75% off! Love that!
The tablecloth, $2- from the Albertson's grocery stores GOOB closeout; green napkins, candles and placemats- all 2005 finds for 75-90% clearance; napkin rings were really candleholder decor, Michael's- 90% off (2005); goblets, my Luigi Bormioli's and Target find. Those two pink goblets were a gift from my lovely sis from CA. The runner was $1 from RS activity and the leaves in hurricanes, from an AD activity that I did a month before; placecards- simple scrapbook paper, Michael's- 20 cents.

THEME:
"Simply Grateful"

MY INSPIRATION:
Beautiful Scented Candles

By November 2007, while still recovering from our summer AZ to TX move, we quickly realized that dh's Apprentice salary wasn't cutting the mustard (I hate mustard; thought I'd just throw that in for purely FYI reasons). It called for some serious belt tightening.
Lucky for us (I really mean ME), we were able to find these heavenly scented candles for $2.50 each at Ross, the candelabra was from a Costco trip back in 2002- gift from dh, and the tablecloth, $3 at Walmart. We waited a week before "Thanks Day" to decide on a tablecloth because the bills got in the way (again!) and were pleasantly surprised (ok, ok, more like "made sure to cross my fingers behind my back" hoping) that they've already marked most of the items down (see, it pays off to be patient).
The plates were my "Mocha Swirl" Easter ones from 2006- 50 cents each at Fry's in Mesa, AZ; the glasses- a Target steal at 1.99 for a box of 4! The dessert table were all from our kitchen in Gilbert, AZ- the plate stacker was an anniv gift from dh (he surprised me...). The bowl from Great Indoors- 60% off, the linen (we found on Thanks day evening inside one of the boxes)- 50% off.




And last but not least... Actually it's the best!

THEME:
"Autumn Romance"

MY INSPIRATION:
Texas Autumn at Dusk

2008 was a great year for us; we approached it with a very "Penny Pincher" attitude and it was reflected on this abundant table.
This is by far my crowning achievement for my Thanksgiving line of tablescapes. I wanted to bring a casual tone to an otherwise formal affair, hence the placesetting. I think Sandra would approve and Martha would label it, "it's a really, really good thing." (How about you?)
I was inspired by the beauty of Texas autumn so the theme reflected that. I used the same plates as last year (so now, my mocha swirl plates, is now for Easter and Thanksgiving, sa-weeet!) Though they matched, the "Autumn Leaves (or is it Fall Foliage?)" runner, placemats and dessert table linen from holiday leftovers of different stores (Ross, LNT & Kohls)- for really cheap.
Garden ridge on the day of Thanksgiving, slashed most of the leaf-shaped candles and ceramic trays 50 & 75% off, so those were great last minute additions. I made my own floral arrangements (dh chose the blooms from TT- great choice, honey!). The tablecloth for the dinner table, Walmart-$7; chargers, LNT GOOB closeout-$9/12; glasses, Walmart- $9/16; napkins, Party City- 60% off. The mugs on the dessert table, Kroger (2007)- 75 cents each.
I made the cookies, cupcakes and the filling for the puff pastry shells. The curnocopia, Walmart- $3 and the ceramic gourds, Garden Ridge- $2 each.


Do you agree? Isn't this a gorgeous table?

This last picture is of the dinner table. I really loved this one; my rooster is the star of the show! (I took the shot at dusk, creating a romantic glow) The rooster, hubby's late b-day gift, and the Asian vases in the background? Ross- $3.99 each! How talented are my kiddos? They made those place cards; Jasmine got the idea from school and we sized it down for our table! Cool huh?



Alright, you know the drill, let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from all of you. Thanks!

Channeling Your Inner Martha Stewart

I believe that all ladies are crafty, beutiful beings (Well, don't you agree? You should!). Martha just happened to have cornered the market first and very well at that (except for that whole insider trading fiasco, of course!)
With that said, here's some more helpful hints that can make your tables more special (or any flat surface leading to your table for that matter. Oh yeah, ceiling is just an upside down flat surface- *wink, wink!*). So this post is dedicated to bringing out our own crafty side without the guilt of perfection and I guarantee you that this is a "very, very good thing."

So here's a quote from her to boost your confidence (it did mine!):

"I'm not a sponge exactly, but I find that something I look at is a great opportunity for ideas." ~Martha Stewart; Domestic Diva

1. If you can't find the arrangement you exactly want, pick your own flowers and make your own arrangements.

Go low and fan out; it's quick to make and you won't have to worry about visual distractions across the table. If you're going for height, but can only use three sides of the table, create a focal point on that side by putting all the decor on it, no distractions, but a big wow factor!

(2008, Texas- Thanksgiving floral arrangement; vase and base were mine, 99-cents & gift, respectively. Flowers chosen by dh, ribbons, Hobby Lobby find- $1 each)

2. If you love those hotel entryways, you know, the fancy-shmancy ones with side buffets and mirrors, why don't you make your own grand entrance using silk flowers and wall lamps?

(oh, yeah, you'll need a mirror, too!) You want it all year, then use a neutral sturdy vase and just swap out your silk florals and pictures or "kanick-knacks"!

(2006, Arizona- Thanksgiving entryway; most can be found at Michael's. Vase at Big Lots, Lamps at Walmart and mirror, Great Indoors-back in 2001. I got the idea from dh working for The Phoenician 5-star resort in Scottsdale for two years.)

3. Tired of floral arrangements? Then create your own centerpiece using ornaments and hurricane vases!

Candles make a romantic alternative whatever the occasion. You can also just "pepper" your table with floral petals or leaves for other fun effects. Statues or books make an interesting base for petit fours for those Book Club or Swaps you enjoy with your friends. Find some cheap ones at your local library and "voila!" you have a tablescape!

(2005, Arizona- Christmas Eve dinner centerpiece; clear glass ornaments with swirled in paints and glitter surrounding two hurricane vases with white or gold candles)
4. Living in an area that doesn't snow? Why don't you make your own falling snow?

Combine plastic snowflakes of different sizes with glittered or matte gold ribbons and you have your very own twinkling White Christmas! Especially good if you'll have small children at the party. You'd rather have them looking up than grabbing off the table you just spent hours on, right? Target and Michael's seem to have them every year for very little dough!

(2005, Arizona- Lisa's 2nd Annual White Elephant Party; iridescent glittered snowflakes- 3 sizes, clear thread, twisted wired ribbons; hang at different lengths. Michael's. When I did this for my teen, her friends literally didn't want to leave the table, though they didn't want to touch the decor either; they were too fascinated that I did all of that for her. Does that fall under "buying her affection?" :-D)
5. Tired of pastels for Easter? Why don't you brighten things up your way?

Use brighter pastel tones or start introducing summer shades to liven things up by either using fruits and flowers that have a more summer tone. Easter is a way to remember the ultimate sacrifice, so reverence is in the details of your presentation. If it looks too loud to you, most likely it is! Don't like fruits, use organic edible flowers that you or a good friend (anybody you know you would do) grew like narcissus or violets.

(2007, Arizona- Easter Sunday lunch; I made my own cupcake frosting shades in pastel but it was too pale against the flowers and the suckers, so I cut some of my strawberries in the fridge, fanned them out and topped each one. The cupcakes looked and tasted that much better)

I hope these pictures and tips, can help you confidently tackle your next gathering. If you haven't entertained or just for very little before, the present is the best time to start learning something new! Remember, the best advice for anything worth doing is HAVE FUN while doing it!

Learn a new skill + saving time and money = Falling in love with your own table!

Isn't that what Valentine's Day is for? To show our loved ones how much we love them? If you make things yourself, they will know it (even if their mouths end up full of both their stinky feet for saying the wrong things like "the colors are off, or you made that?" with a bad surprise look on their face. At least you know they noticed and deep, maybe deeper, in their hearts, they loved the effort and execution!)