Centerpiece Wednesday a little late
By The Style Sisters - Wednesday, November 07, 2012
Posted with BlogsyBefore I show you all the pictures of my daughters graduation party I wanted to share with you some of the delicious meals we had out in the backyard while many family members visited us here for Emily's graduation. We had 13 guests come for the graduation and we had a ball!! It was like a gigantic sleepover.... everyone slept at our house for the whole week. Sleeping bags, blow up mattresses, sofas all had someone sleeping on them. We cooked most meals at the house as well.
This was our salad night
We made a delicious bow-tie pasta salad with grapes and chicken that my daughter Madeline had found a few years ago on the Cooking light website.A beautiful fruit salad with cantelope, strawberries, raspberries bananas and apples.
Madeline cut some flowers from my garden and stuck them into a watering can I had outside my back door and voila!! Instant centerpiece.
We also made the amazing panzenalla salad from Ina Garten's parties cookbook. 
We cut up some watermelon and served yummy bread. Notice the small white cups..Madeline cut some rosemary from my garden and placed it in the cups and it just added to the table and the smell is incredible! She got the idea from Matthew Meads book Entertaining Simple. He teaches how to make good use of things that you may already have and using them for different things.
We even tried to make it festive for the all the little boys by using my colorful plastic dishes and setting them on the footstool for their dining pleasures.
The mosquitoes started to come out and my mom had heard that if you use dryer sheets and rub them on your skin it will protect you from them.
We decided to wear them on our heads too! Ha ha...it did work! Then we played a great card game called Nertz!! We just laughed and laughed and had such a great time.
Madeline cut some flowers from my garden and stuck them into a watering can I had outside my back door and voila!! Instant centerpiece.
We also made the amazing panzenalla salad from Ina Garten's parties cookbook. 
We cut up some watermelon and served yummy bread. Notice the small white cups..Madeline cut some rosemary from my garden and placed it in the cups and it just added to the table and the smell is incredible! She got the idea from Matthew Meads book Entertaining Simple. He teaches how to make good use of things that you may already have and using them for different things. We even tried to make it festive for the all the little boys by using my colorful plastic dishes and setting them on the footstool for their dining pleasures.
The mosquitoes started to come out and my mom had heard that if you use dryer sheets and rub them on your skin it will protect you from them.We decided to wear them on our heads too! Ha ha...it did work! Then we played a great card game called Nertz!! We just laughed and laughed and had such a great time. Simple and yet beautiful fun ideas for dining in your backyard.
As I mentioned in my post yesterday that I found this really cool shop in New Mexico called "Jackalope"
and it is filled with tons of mexican pottery 
Tableware, glasses and beautiful linens
Cool Mexican furniture
Tons and tons of rugs!
Folk art and
beautiful silk flowers
And tons more cool things!
This part of the post is for Tablescape Thursday over at between Naps on the Porch. I bought myself this tablecloth and matching napkins in a fun orange colored pattern. The large table cloth was only $21.oo and the napkins were $1.60 each!!
Then I couldn't resist the orange glasses!! I think they were priced at $2.89 each.... but they were Buy one get one free!! So I could not pass them up...I only wish I would have bought more!! 
I knew it would add so much to our backyard table.
Yummy grilled chicken, grilled yams and grilled asparagus!!
Oh and I did ask them if they had a website..they do..... but they don't sell anything online. :(
Then I couldn't resist the orange glasses!! I think they were priced at $2.89 each.... but they were Buy one get one free!! So I could not pass them up...I only wish I would have bought more!! 
I knew it would add so much to our backyard table.Yummy grilled chicken, grilled yams and grilled asparagus!!
Oh and I did ask them if they had a website..they do..... but they don't sell anything online. :( They said they are a "touchy feely" store and they want their customers to have a shopping experience. Bummer...I want more glasses and I don't know when I will get back that direction. I wonder if I call them if they would ship me some? :)
Start off with a simple placesetting: I used a cute beachy plastic dessert/salad plate (from Big Lots 4 for $4.99) stacked on top of a square white plate placed on an angle and then stacked on top of a large yellow plate used as a charger plate. It's o.k..... but it is just not popping for me so on to the next photo so you can see what I continue to add to make this really look great.
I have added a punch of color by using a plastic hot pink goblet with a little paper umbrella in it and we have taken the plain white napkin and put a silk flower around it for a napkin ring. I cut the flower off the long stem but left about 5 or 6 inches so I could bend it into a circle to wrap around the napkin.
More color!! I found some amazing blue tissue paper laying around the house and I decided to make a table runner from it!! I also set the other placesetting across from it and used an orange colored plastic goblet for fun. Just by adding a few simple colorful accessories, the table top now pops and it looks like a celebration is just about to happen. Have fun, be creative, try new things to make your dinner table come alive.
I have added a punch of color by using a plastic hot pink goblet with a little paper umbrella in it and we have taken the plain white napkin and put a silk flower around it for a napkin ring. I cut the flower off the long stem but left about 5 or 6 inches so I could bend it into a circle to wrap around the napkin.More color!! I found some amazing blue tissue paper laying around the house and I decided to make a table runner from it!! I also set the other placesetting across from it and used an orange colored plastic goblet for fun. Just by adding a few simple colorful accessories, the table top now pops and it looks like a celebration is just about to happen. Have fun, be creative, try new things to make your dinner table come alive.
Christmas Decorating With Ball Ornaments
By The Style Sisters - Wednesday, December 03, 2008
I found all these photos from BHG website and loved them all. Such simple ideas using round glass ornaments. It is all in how they are displayed.
Enjoy the eye candy!
Use a glass dome to house the orbs and sit it all on a silver plate or
Use a taller glass candy dish and put silver or white ball ornaments piled in a mound
Love this idea of using a goblet or martini glass and putting small round ornaments on display
Double Decker cake plate (which I think is just two footed glass dishes) stacked one on top of the other filled with ornaments and voitive candles. Cheap cheap but looks so fantastic!
LOVE the gigantic glass balls sitting in a terra cotta flower pot painted with white gloss paint and then adding a touch of fresh greens.
Use a glass dome to house the orbs and sit it all on a silver plate or
Use a taller glass candy dish and put silver or white ball ornaments piled in a mound
Love this idea of using a goblet or martini glass and putting small round ornaments on display
Double Decker cake plate (which I think is just two footed glass dishes) stacked one on top of the other filled with ornaments and voitive candles. Cheap cheap but looks so fantastic!
LOVE the gigantic glass balls sitting in a terra cotta flower pot painted with white gloss paint and then adding a touch of fresh greens. Hope all these pics motivate you.
I know I needed some motivation. I just can't seem to get moving with my decorations....I am being a slug right now.
