Bellini Birthday Brunch

July 28, 2017July 31, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 4 Comments

BELLINI BIRTHDAY BRUNCH
(a re-post from August 2009)

In 2009 we celebrated my stepdaughter’s birthday with an open house brunch. As a hint of what was to come, guests were greeted by our jolly old English butler, Geoffrey, offering coffee and a donut on the front porch.

Upon entering the foyer, guests were offered peach Bellinis served in cut crystal Mikasa flutes displayed on a beautiful silver tray.

The dining room was set for six with fun coffee motif placemats from Bed Bath & Beyond.

I like to use edible centerpieces on tablescapes whenever possible. This one includes lots of fresh fruit stacked on glass cake plateaus, accented by aromatic roasted coffee beans and simple bouquets of colorful alstroemeria.

Set up on the buffet behind the table is a scrumptious coffee bar with variety sugars and liqueurs. The silver Victorian sugar scuttle and rock candy sticks are fun details that help it all special. The faux mother-of-pearl handled flatware from Target is set end-to-end for visual impact. I created the fun coffee bar sign using an inexpensive miniature chalkboard from Hobby Lobby. Displaying it on the gold easel makes it look a little bit fancier despite the unfinished wood frame.

Fun touches like this chalkboard cow from J’Adore in Kansas City, MO, make the buffet service area a little more fun. The kitchen pigs presiding over the chafers and condiments are from Stein Mart.

A juice bar was set up near the buffet, with each serving vessel accented with corresponding fresh fruit slices. Name tags are displayed on card holders resembling miniature coffee pots.

Other breakfast/brunch tablescapes on this site include:
“Black & White Barnyard Breakfast“
“Mother’s Day Brunch“
“Building A Better Brunch Buffet“
“Most Egg-cellent Fall Breakfast“
“Midsummer Shabby Chic Apple Tablescape“
“Christmas Coffee“
“Easter Brunch“
“Barton’s Easter Brunch“
“The Bluebird Special“
“Breakfast At Tiffany’s“
“Winter Brunch“
“Spring Green”
“Rhapsody In Blue“

Brilliant Italian (a re-post from July 2010)

July 26, 2017April 26, 2018 / Alycia Nichols / 5 Comments

Summer has become one of my favorite seasons. Sure, it’s hot and often sticky here in the Midwest. That’s to be expected. But there are just so many opportunities for outdoor entertaining that just can’t be taken for granted! My husband and I hosted a little dinner party that involved wine tasting (one of my favorite activities!) to forget about the heat for awhile. Neighbors came over to feast on tasty homemade Italian dishes while sampling red wines from the Adam Puchta Winery in Hermann, Mo.

First things first….gather up all the necessary items and create a menu board. The chalkboard is from Kirkland’s, and it really works out well for casual events!

I let the wine breathe a bit before the guests wandered out onto the deck.

Juicy black grapes to munch on before dinner sit alongside the night’s chalkboard menu.

The pasta dish gets a chance to “rest” for about 15 minutes after pulling it from the oven.

This little table was set up near the dining table so that guests could nibble on homemade bruschetta and antipasto while sipping a glass of wine before dinner.

The 6-ft. oblong table is set for six.

This occasion provided a wonderful opportunity for me to pull out colorful Italian-inspired dishes in brilliant, cheerful reds, blues and yellows. “Yellow Talavera” dishes by Maxcera (TJ Maxx) set atop sunny yellow placemats from Bed Bath & Beyond were the foundation of the color scheme. Bright cobalt blue water glasses (Pier One) juxtaposed clear wine stems. A mix of red roses and playful yellow Gerbera daisies in cobalt blue vessels completed the look. Corks of wine parties past displayed each place card. (Square appetizer plates and red dipping oil bowls from Crate & Barrel.)

You simply can’t go wrong with brilliant colors when serving Italian food!
Mangia, y’all!

Black & White Barnyard Breakfast

June 21, 2017August 7, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 10 Comments

One day into official summer, and already I’m melting…melting. While I’m poised to sit on top of the cooling vents in the house for the next 3 months, there are still those of you brave enough to venture outdoors to entertain. Hats off to you!!! This short 4-minute “Better Kansas City” segment I did in recent months features tips on outdoor entertaining. The clip is followed by an actual breakfast/brunch tablescape out on the deck that I hope you enjoy.

Got that? Don’t try to burn the house down like me! Now…on to breakfast!

The guest table at this bucolic breakfast setting for four is dominated by the ultimate foundation piece: a full-length black & white checkered tablecloth! If all you have is an ugly folding table like I do, a full-length linen works magic!

I found the most beautiful kitchen dishes this past Christmas season at Home Goods! Our kitchen motif is a mix of black & white checks and toile, so these Ciroa “Buffalo Check” dishes are my new favorite. They made an easy transition out to the deck! The napkins, purchased at Tuesday Morning, are actually kitchen towels that I like to use as napkins. The barnyard motif of a steer, lamb, pig, and rooster make them perfect for this country-/farm-inspired tablescape.

I love these miniature milk bottles with the embossed word “dairy” and a cow (most visible in the photo of the empty bottle) for serving milk! I picked these up at Hobby Lobby a few years ago, and they’ve served me (and guests!) well.

If your breakfast guests are a little bit special – like a bridal or baby shower – consider a small favor like this little green woven box simply tied up in a black and white checkered ribbon. The contrasting color of the box makes it really stand out!

It’s important that food is beautifully presented and that guest tables are enjoyable. A mix of everyday and “fancy” pieces round out this table. While the croissants are served in a silver bowl, a loosely gathered mix of flowers and greenery in a whitewashed aluminum pitcher serves as the off-center centerpiece. A bovine menu chalkboard adds a little more of the theme to the table’s centerpiece.

Off to the side is a miniature buffet table has a plain white tablecloth as its foundation.

A generously-proportioned white vase from Home Goods holds a mix of yellow tulips and bright, feathery greenery. A simple off-center centerpiece like this adds something to the buffet table without getting in the way of food service. Notice how the yellow tulips, a significant and pretty contrast to the black & white, complement the yellow flowers on the guest table.

One of my fun kitchen pigs is another piece of the barnyard buffet theme. I helped him to blend into the works with a bowtie fashioned from black & white checkered ribbon.

The black and white buffalo check dishes make another appearance on the buffet table . Hungry yet?

Crazy for buffalo check and/or gingham? “Check” out additional posts on this site using them!:
Black, White, and Red All Over Christmas
Life Is Just a Chair of Bowlies
Checkered Christmas

Looking for more brunch/breakfast ideas? Take a peek at these:
Building a Better Brunch Buffet
Midsummer Shabby Chic Apple Tablescape
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Most Egg-cellent Fall Breakfast
September Harvest Breakfast Tablescape
Peachy Keen Breakfast Tablescape
Christmas Coffee
Winter Brunch
Easter Brunch
Barton’s Easter Brunch
Purple for Spring
Carousel Colors
The Bluebird Special
Bellini Birthday Brunch
Mother’s Day Brunch

Other posts on this site using towels as napkins include:
“Popsicle Party”
“Black & White Barnyard Breakfast“
“Most Egg-cellent Fall Breakfast“
“Grill It Up!“
“Italian Honeysuckle”
“Picnic Ants“

Most Egg-cellent Fall Breakfast

October 20, 2014August 7, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 57 Comments

INSPIRATION: This beautiful wooden wheelbarrow in our neighbors’ back yard.

Right around this time every year I wax nostalgic about childhood visits to our paternal grandparents’ farm in Sabetha, Kansas where my Dad grew up. Little things all around me draw my mind back to that simpler time, and with Daddy’s passing last year it seems there are more and more triggers. My inspiration for this farm style al fresco breakfast was a rustic flower-filled wheelbarrow nestled in a grove of trees in our neighbors’ back yard. It reminded me of wheelbarrow rides, walks along the dusty roads, playing tag in the endless rows of corn, and lazily swaying in an old tire swing in Mom & Dad Wilson’s back yard.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enlarge/enhance it.)

We don’t own one of those big, hefty farm tables like the one at the farm, but boy, do I wish we did! Instead, for this casual breakfast tablescape I draped a standard 6-ft. folding table with a 90″ x 132″ ivory tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com. The creamy color allows the bolder colors in the dishes and accessories to stand out.

I wanted to create a tablescape where farm style rustic and suburban refined could easily coexist. Scroll & floral placemats in nutmeg, mocha and olive-green from Pier 1 anchor each place setting. The design mimics that of the background on the tea towel napkins from Dollar Tree. The rooster and chicken wire motifs on the napkin definitely fall into in that farm style rustic category! Pumpkin-colored dishes (purchased for just $1 each at the grocery store 2 years ago) work beautifully with the colors found in the napkin’s rooster. Simple Hampton Silversmiths “Patriot” flatware rounds out the setting.

A hearty serving of breakfast juice or fresh milk is served from these Mason jar mugs with a rooster design to complement the design element on the napkin and in the centerpiece. The mugs are from Dollar Tree.

To further enhance the bucolic feel of the environment, I brought out wicker chairs (last seen HERE in an arbor setting) softened by Pier 1 toss pillows in colors corresponding with those in the placemats and napkins.

For breakfast, the centerpiece is simple but reflective of the overall theme. Small sheaves of blackbeard wheat are placed in clear glass milk bottles that are corralled in a chicken wire basket from Michael’s. To extend the wheat theme to the outer reaches of the tablescape, a single stem is casually placed across the plate at the base of each bowl. Between the larger wheat arrangements is a colorful resin rooster from Hobby Lobby.

The buffet table is dressed in a chocolate brown full-length cloth and ivory topper from LinenTablecloth.com. Adding the brown layer sets the buffet table apart from the dining area. An assortment of pastries and other breakfast goods are served up on galvanized iron trays (Pottery Barn) lined with warm woolen cozies made by my sister. The galvanized trays are a great match for the French bucket filled with blackbeard wheat to tie in with the dining table decor. Another tiny bundle of wheat appears alongside the toast. Cereal can be scooped from clear glass apothecary canisters from Function Junction, and morning staples – fresh milk and fresh-squeezed orange juice – are served from clear glass carafes. Colorful Pier 1 mugs in ivory, pumpkin and olive-green neatly line up on the table’s edge awaiting a splash of morning coffee. Beneath the umbrella of the wheat arrangement are a vintage wire egg basket and an old wooden sign rescued from a thrift store.

At the base of the buffet table is a handmade chalkboard sign on a 2-sided sandwich menu board from Kirkland’s. A chicken wire and chipwood basket holds a bundle of sunflowers.

More fall tables on this site include:
“Italian Honeysuckle”
“Casual Fall Harvest Dinner“
“September Harvest Breakfast”
“Quick & Casual Plaid & Paisley Fall Dinner”
“Pumpkins & Peacocks“
“Wondrous Wheat“
“Pheasants & Peacocks“
“Best Laid Plans“
“Serape High Style“
“Sunflower Simple“
“Raining Orchids“
“September Wine“
“Autumn Blues”
“Autumn White Wedding”
“Copper Zen”

I’m going to TRY to get back here with a new Halloween tablescape next week, but I can’t guarantee it. I’m focusing on designing a number of tables (4 fantasy tables, 1 V.I.P. table, 24 guest tables!) for a Christmas-themed fundraiser that is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, Halloween tablescapes from years past:
“Serpents & Skullduggery”
“Ravenous Raven Graveyard Feast”
“Hollywood Fright Night”

Blog parties I’m linking up with this week:
Rustic & Refined‘s “Table It!”
Between Naps On the Porch‘s “Tablescape Thursday”

Go K.C. Royals! Go K.C. Chiefs!!!

All A’Bloom in Pink for Spring

April 1, 2014July 31, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 71 Comments

INSPIRATION: Crunchy, ugly, brown grass that just teases us with sprigs of green. 😦

It’s April 1 and still dipping below freezing each night. Would somebody PLEASE text Mother Nature and let her know she’s tardy for the party??!??!!!
(Click on any photo, and then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

If Mother Nature wants to play it that way and hold Spring back a while longer, I figured I’d just have to bring my own version of the season alive in the dining room!

Each place setting starts with a pink, green, buttery yellow and white Pier 1 cotton placemat upon the bare wood table. The placemats are turned vertically to create a slight drop off the side of the table. A deep pink Bormioli Rocca “Inca” glass charger is topped with Mikasa “Daylight” china, chosen for its graceful, leafy branches.

A brilliant pink carnation peeks over the rim of a white egg cup from Crate & Barrel. It is covered by a clear glass cloche bell jar from Hobby Lobby. (A brightly colored egg would make a nice substitute to create an Easter brunch setting.) A soft pink napkin from LinenTablecloth.com is simply folded and laid alongside the dishes with Hampton Forge stainless steel “Bamboo Mirror” flatware. The simple glassware is from Old Time Pottery. (Other posts on this site using cloche bell jars include “Pleasant Under Glass”, “Spring Has Sprung”, and “Apple Green Luncheon”.)

The centerpiece runs the length of the table so that each guest has a little eye candy in front of them. It is a melange of deep pink carnations in white ceramic teapots, white ceramic cylinders filled with small manzanita cherry blossom branches with carnations tucked around the lower perimeter, and white ceramic baskets of pale pink, yellow and white meringues. Notice how the colors of the centerpiece items reflect those in the placemats.

The buffet behind the dining table is partially covered with a the same placemats as used at each place setting to sweep the color and pattern across the room. On top of the placemats is an American Atelier white ironstone tray topped with various white ceramic teapots. Mikasa “Daylight” teacups and saucers stand at the ready nearby along with a few sweet treats. The floral vessels are taller, broader versions of those used on the dining table and also contain manzanita branches. Among the branches are stems of pink magnolias and more cherry blossoms. Notice how the cloche theme from the dining table is reiterated here.

The vintage tea cart in the corner holds a few more sweets beneath cloches, a pot of bright pink cosmos, and a stack of Pier 1 doily dessert plates. A fun chalkboard sign wishing guests a “Happy Spring” leans casually against the base of a yellow candlestick lamp. (For more candle lamps on this site, see “Raining Orchids“, “All A’Bloom In Pink for Spring“, “Should Have Put a Ring On It“, “It’s All About Me!“, and “Just Us Girls“.)

This easy-to-create table setting would work nicely for any Springtime celebration including a ladies’ luncheon or tea, birthday, baby shower, bridal shower, retirement, or to help rejoice in the good news of a breast cancer survivor.

Other posts on this site featuring Spring tablescapes:
“Spring Has Sprung”
“The Bluebird Special”
“Daffodilyicious”
“Purple for Spring”
“Zen Garden”
“Mum’s the Word”
“Rolling Fields of Green”
“Taste of Wine Buffet”
“Goin’ Green for Spring”
“Springtime in Paris Mother’s Day Buffet”
“Peony Power”
“Moss & Manzanitas”
“Daisy Crazy”
“French Poodle”
and the “Spring” tab above for a couple of fun Springtime tablescapes

Thank you for stopping by! I’m headed over to Susan’s at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and to How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. I hope you’ll come with! And don’t forget to join me next week for Cuisine Kathleen‘s Spring Tablescape Challenge featuring entries from tablescapers all over the world!!!