Easter Brunch

March 7, 2012July 28, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 68 Comments

I taught my first class last night!!! It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating all at once! I’m pretty good at doing some things, but teaching those things to others doesn’t come easy for me. I tend to get a little tongue-tied and talk with my hands…a lot!!! Anyhooooo…nobody cried, died, or wound up on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List, so it must have gone okay! 😉 The ladies in this class are super sharp and eager to share as well as learn…the perfect combination!
(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

This first series of classes focuses on buffet tables specifically geared toward springtime events. The college granted permission for me to hold the classes in our home (which makes it so much easier and so much more comfortable for everyone!), and I constructed several tables throughout the main floor and lower level. I’ll share one in this post and the others in the coming weeks. This first one is a casual Easter buffet brunch that could be easily augmented depending on the number of guests you have to serve. If you’re lucky enough to have great weather around Easter time, consider setting something like this up outdoors!

I chose a floor-length ivory tablecloth topped with a gorgeous pastel-on-champagne silk topper that I made myself. Easter egg-colored floral vines wind their way up and down the fabric, lending a whimsical feel to what might otherwise be perceived as a bit staid. Paper lanterns in fuchsia, aqua and lime green – hung with homemade wire hooks on a length of fishing line – dance frivolously overhead, lending height, color and movement to the vignette.

Green cabbage leaf plates by Bordallo Pinheiro are tilted on end in a casual wire & chipwood basket for a fun presentation.

Hot pink flatware from TJ Maxx is displayed in a lime green floral container. Lime green cotton napkins from Bed Bath & Beyond are neatly stacked.

The morning sunlight casts shadows across rows of polka-dotted Easter eggs displayed in pastel egg cups from Crate & Barrel.

Serve scrambled egg dishes, oatmeal, or whatever you like from this soft yellow Pottery Barn soup tureen.

Dessert is served up on a vine-covered ceramic cake plateau from Hobby Lobby.

A variety of breakfast breads are presented in a linen napkin-lined wicker basket.

Another wicker basket lined with ceramic tiles serves up glasses of champagne. The pots of bright green grass on the table give us hope that our lawns will soon change from the crispy, drab brown they have been for so many months.

Getting your 5 daily servings of fresh fruits & veggies as recommended by the FDA is easy when they are displayed in pretty shabby chic wrought iron baskets like these. A vase of pouty pink hyacinth peeks out from behind.

Nattily dressed and at your service, Barton the Bunny lords over this brightly colored Easter brunch tablescape. (Click HERE to see a sit-down Easter brunch tablescape with Barton the Bunny front & center!)

More polka-dotted eggs fill Barton’s bowl while a trio of pink African violets surround his big bunny feet. Green cabbage bowls from Tuesday Morning are ready to serve up sauces or garnishes.

Yes, I know: it’s a class not a coffee klatch. But I still wanted to serve my students a little something-something to nosh on. A tiny buffet of real food including a homemade 7-layer dip, snack chips, lemon zest cupcakes, and icy cold beverages is set up on the breakfast bar.

So that’s Table #1 from Session #1 of “The Art of Tablescaping – Buffet Styling”. There were 3 other buffets set up around the house that you’ll see soon. Meanwhile, leave a comment below to weigh in on this one! 🙂

More Easter tables on this site:
“Barton’s Easter Brunch“
“Pinky Peter Cottontail“

Don’t forget to join me as I visit other tablescapers from around this great planet of ours on Tablescape Thursday! And this week, I’m also hooking up with the Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday!
And a special note to my wonderful students:
Welcome aboard the Crazy Train, y’all!!! 😉

Happy Mother’s Day, Senator Mom (Ret.)

May 6, 2011July 30, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 22 Comments

As some of you may know, my Mom recently retired from the Missouri Senate. After serving five years in the Missouri House of Representatives, she was elected to the Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. She served her district well, but decided late last year to step away from her career to spend more time with my Dad – her husband of 59 years – and our family.

Mom’s retirement was marked with a number of special events and honors, not to mention extensive media coverage. One “big ta-do” in her honor was held on March 25 at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center & State Museum in Kansas City, Mo. I was delighted to add the decorative flourishes to the event in celebration of her long and distinguished service to the Kansas City community and her birthday as she turned a tender 82. (She’s still so young…I don’t think this whole “retirement” thing will last but a hot second! 🙂 )

So, my dear blogger friends, if you will indulge me…as we celebrate Mother’s Day, I’d like to share with you a few photos from Mom’s retirement party.
Congratulations, Senator Mom!

A celebration in honor of Senator Yvonne S. Wilson.

Despite not feeling well at all (101 temp!), this is me clowning around in comfy Mary Janes and anklet socks. 🙂 I reluctantly changed into snazzy heels as guests began to arrive.

I wanted to have a single focal point in the room that would be visible from the entryway. Two of my cousins helped me get up on the buffet table to build this 8-ft. tall floral arrangement before the caterer arrived to add this fabulous food display. As the room grew darker, the hanging votives (LEDs for safety!) throughout the arrangement made a stunning statement.

Assorted bright green butterflies fluttered among the profusion of willow branches, eriostemon and dendrobium orchids.

I created arrangements in faux silver julep cups for the guest tables, surrounded by a trio of votives. (We went with faux silver cups so the volunteer hostesses could take them home later as a token of appreciation.) Smaller similar arrangements were created for the two guest book tables. I love these vintage-looking pink roses with the curly green edges!!! Sprigs of seeded eucalyptus and hypericum berries complete the look.

Our sweet friend, Patrick Snuffer, created the beautiful cakes for the event. Not only does he make deliciously moist cakes, but he is also an accomplished floral designer. The fresh rose and orchid arrangements on the five cakes are his designs.

I iced down bottles of sparkling wine for the toast in two of these oversized silver pedestal bowls. Adding a few orchid blooms to the mix makes it look extra special.

My sister who loves to do crafty projects came up with the idea to have guests sign pieces of photo fabric (something I never heard of!) that she will use to make a commemorative quilt.

Almost showtime! The Three Amigas check the list one last time. L to R: My cousin Virginia Dee Evans who worked patiently and tirelessly to coordinate the event, friend Karen Boyd who selflessly pitched in to help in any and every area possible, and me.

Local celebrity, “Tall” Paul Alexander surprised my Mom when he showed up to greet arriving guests. Tall Paul – a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters – is a doorman who has greeted everyone from presidents to movie stars to rock legends, has been a fixture at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City for 37 years. In the background is famed jazz musician Luqman Hamza (jazz enthusiasts may remember his 1950s hit “When You Surrender”) who wowed guests with his musical stylings throughout the evening. That handsome young fellow on the other side of my Mom is my Daddy, Jim.

Patrick created a beautiful corsage or orchids and seeded eucalyptus for my Mom.

For the piano, I created a compact arrangement of pink and green roses that sat atop one of my 31″H silver candelabra.

Family photo time! L to R: Nicole Wankel (nephew’s longtime girlfriend), nephew Justin Chamberlain-Dupree, Daddy Jim Wilson, Mom, niece Yvonne Chamberlain, Mom’s senatorial successor Kiki Curls, sister Berishia Wilson-Chamberlain, and me.

My feet are killing me and I am so sick I’m pretty sure I’m going to barf at any moment, but that perpetual public smile is still plastered on my face! My parents taught me well! 🙂

Missouri Governor Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon was among the 300+ guests who showed up to wish Mom well in her retirement and sign the commemorative quilt.

Newly elected Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Sylvester “Sly” James toasts my Mom. (Mayor James hails from both my high school and college alma maters!)

Once a politician, always a politician :-)…and always a gracious one! Mom thanks the crowd for their years of support. Not too shabby lookin’ for 82 years young!

The fun “thank you for your support” fortune cookie favor was another of my sister’s creations!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!!!

All photos by Sheri L. Grant

Autumn Orchids

November 19, 2010July 27, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 6 Comments

I recently created a few buffet and centerpiece floral arrangements for my friend, Angelynn, who is a caterer here in the Kansas City area. She wanted something with autumnal colors but appropriate for a business occasion at the KCPL Building in Kansas City’s Power & Light District.

All arrangements were created in clear glass cylinders of varying sizes. On the guest sign-in table, this asymmetrical arrangement of fresh mums, leucadendron, and a few curly willow tips was just right. Votive candles and smooth black river rock help to extend the circumference of the arrangement.

There were several areas of soft seating around the room. This is the arrangement as guests entered the reception space using a 39″H clear glass cylinder. Six-foot fresh curly willow is paired with tall stalks of leucadendron and dendrobium orchid stems anchored by greyish-white smooth river rock. The river rock is further extended onto the table, peppered with votives and orchid blossoms.

Another soft seating area on the other side of the room got a variation on the theme of the entry piece. This cylinder is created by submerging stalks of leucadendron and orchid stems, once again anchored with river rock and surrounded by votives. Tip: Both orchids and leucadendron can survive without water for several hours, so if you don’t want the burden of drying out tall floral vessels, feel free to skip the wet stuff!

High boy tables along the window areas have a simple fall mum in a clear glass globe with a few river rocks for added interest and texture. These definitely must have a bit of water to survive!

The buffet arrangements are comprised of tall glass cylinders with lots of 6-ft. fresh curly willow, a few stalks of leucadendron, and two 6-ft. faux orchid stems anchored with river rock for counterbalance and visual interest.

On the guest tables, two different but complementary centerpieces using the clear floral vessels, orchids, mums, leucadendron and river rock with a couple of votives. I did add a couple of quarts of water to these arrangements after getting everything else on the table to reflect the votives dancing nearby.