Summer’s Last Hurrah

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 / Alycia Nichols / 14 Comments

Lawd, have mercy…where’s my funeral home fan??? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m about “summer’d” out!🥵 It has been hotter than a jalapeño‘s armpit with humid, icky conditions here in the Kansas City, MO area all summer…except for the times it was pouring near record buckets of rain. While I’m in no particular hurry for winter’s chill, I am ready for something different. So as the Labor Day weekend approaches, I’m anticipating and celebrating summer’s last hurrah.

Summer’s Last Hurrah – Alycia Nichols, Tablescapes at Table Twenty-One

And if you prefer still shots to video…⬇️

Each place setting is grounded with a one-two punch of a red, white & blue striped placemat topped with an easy, reedy woven brown one.

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with this year’s Dolly Parton line at Hobby Lobby! For a citified country-adjacent gal like me, it’s right on target! Dishes boasting deep red poppies with blue & white accents, these sweet floral napkins…Yes, please! The blue-rimmed chargers and flashy red pedestal bowls are also Hobby Lobby finds.

Poppy napkin rings from Bed Bath & Beyond many moons ago.

Ya ain’t really country unless ya like your Mason jar of tea sweetened with half a pound of sugar. Or at least that’s what my Kentucky born and bred great-Grandmother used to tell me. Hence the “country adjacent” description I’ve assigned myself as I defiantly stir in my Splenda.🤣🤣🤣

Somebody come get Dorothy and Toto out of the poppy field!

I can sit down with a whole pie and a quart of vanilla ice cream and just GO. TO. TOWN!!! (Again, as my great-Grandmother would say!)

All the usual country picnic fixins including peanut oil-fried chicken (seriously…is there any other way?), and the juxtaposition of heavenly biscuits and deviled eggs.

Now y’all KNOW I have to have my “adult beverage” of the Kentucky bourbon variety to help make suburban life bearable!🥃 I love it here in the heartland, but a “little nip” every now and then sure helps me love it even more! A napkin from the Dolly Parton line at Hobby Lobby pairs nicely with a placemat to line my bar cart.

Whatever you do this Labor Day weekend, please be safe! If you would like to see more ideas for picnics, check these out:

Midsummer Shabby Chic Apple Tablescape

June 22, 2014July 8, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 43 Comments

INSPIRATION: The red & white damask side of a reversible quilted throw.

Here in the Midwest it’s hotter than a firecracker already! We’re enduring scorching sun rays and humidity that’s sure to make your hair droop. The winds have been on the high side, too, which makes it very difficult to tablescape outdoors. My solution: create a tablescape using a heavier quilted topper that won’t so easily blow across the prairie. 🙂
(Click on any photo and then click again to enhance/enlarge it.)

This table for 4 on a 48″ round table starts with a 108″ round white tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com. It is topped with a pretty red & white damask quilted throw from Tuesday Morning. The reversible topper is red & white striped on the other side which makes it a great choice for 4th of July and other patriotic tablescapes.

This part table could come into service as a breakfast, brunch, or luncheon setting. The casual nature of the quilted throw and centerpiece items is easily coupled with the more formal china and silver at each place setting. The simplicity of Noritake “Spectrum” china makes it a good choice to work well with the bold design and strong colors of the topper.

Each place setting has a simply folded white cotton hemstitched napkin cinched with a silver-rimmed red metal napkin ring from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

For the fruit compote before the meal or dessert after, this graceful red martini glass from Pier 1 fits the bill. This style was chosen because the ball at the top of the stem mimics that in the water glass and the glass orb in the centerpiece. (Quick story about Pier 1…Ramon & I were in the store closest to our home last week buying a few clearance sale items. The young woman who checked us out asked, “Are you the Alycia Nichols who has the tablescape blog?” You can only imagine that my mouth hit the floor with that, but then she said to Ramon, “And are you Dr. Nichols?” You could have blown us over with a feather! It was nice to be recognized, especially by an employee of a store from which I buy a lot of items to use in my tablescapes! She told us that her Mom turned her onto my blog and that she’s also a Pinterest follower. So a shout out to Nikki at Pier 1 in Lee’s Summit, MO, and her Mom, Jan!)

A simple clear drinking glass complements the setting. Notice the ball in the stem that works so well with the one in the martini glass.

I used flatware with a design that complements that of the topper.

To add to the casual air of the table, the coffee cup, saucer and spoon are pre-set with a little cookie.

Notice how the centerpiece is pushed off to one side of the table. This allows for greater ease in conversation across the smallish table. The galvanized oversized pitcher is whitewashed for a kind of country appeal and filled with apple tree branches. (I used faux here, but by all means if you have the real thing…go for it!!!) A simple white wicker basket is filled with a bounty of apples. (Add a few flags to the table and serve all-American apple pie for dessert, and this instantaneously becomes an overtly patriotic brunch tablescape for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Flag Day!) The clear glass orb atop a white wooden pedestal works because of the coloring, the size and the shape.

Compared to last week’s post, this was a super mini!!! I hope you enjoyed it and that you were perhaps able to collect an idea or two for your next summer tablescape!

Other tablescapes on this site with an off-center centerpiece on this site:
Lemonade From Bill
Planning in Purple

Other tablescapes on this site using a quilted topper or runner:
Tall & Toile, Y’all!
My Sister’s Wedding China
Casual Fall Harvest Dinner
Kaleidoscope Christmas
Love’s Arrow
Rhapsody in Blue

Other tablescapes on this site with a patriotic theme:
All-American Seafood Boil
4th of July Coastal Style
Stars & Stripes
Lauren in the Library
Show Me State Dinner
Red, White & Blueberries
American Royal Tablescape
Peacefully Patriotic

I’ll be joining Christine at Rustic & Refined again on Monday for “Table It!“. I’ll also join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for another edition of “Tablescape Thursday”. If you come along for the parties, you’re sure to find plenty of inspiration and help with planning your next tablescape!

4th of July Coastal Style

June 16, 2014September 6, 2021 / Alycia Nichols / 73 Comments

I’m linking this week to Cuisine Kathleen‘s “Summer Whimsy” tablescape challenge!

What says summer more than the 4th of July? While this is a photo-intensive post, I hope each of you will be able to get at least one idea for your own nautical-inspired or Independence Day, Flag Day, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day or other patriotic celebration.
(Click on any photo, then click again to enlarge/enhance it.) This casual patriotic table for 8 is set on our back deck.

The table begins with a white stretch tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com. If you’re new to this blog, please allow me to introduce you to one of the most fabulous inventions for casual dining ever!!! These babies just slip right over the table top and down to be secured by the legs. Voila! Done! And what’s best of all…I honestly just scrunch these up and stuff them in a drawer for storage. Pull them out and put them on the table with NO IRONING necessary. A true wonder! They come in a variety of colors in 4-, 5-, and 8′ x 30″ sizes at LinenTablecloth.com.

Square white melamine plates from Target are topped with these mix-and-matched nautical-inspired salad plates from Home Goods, one with a massive ship and the other with a compass. Melamine sure has come a long, long way since I was a child!

I found the fun navy stars & stripes plastic tumblers on the clearance shelves at Target a few years ago. The navy & white striped cotton placemats are from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Contrasting against the navy blue is a solid red napkin from LinenTablecloth.com. The white flatware is from T.J. Maxx.

These red, white and blue stretch chair covers from LinenTablecloth.com are one of the most fun and unexpected elements of the tablescape. Like the tablecloths, they just slip right on and are secured beneath the feet in mere seconds. They, too, can be balled up and stored without worry of telltale wrinkles when you’re ready to use them. (Use them with coordinating or contrasting stretch sashes for a different look!)

The centerpiece is a relatively simple one using a trio of potted red geraniums along with a series of clear glass cylinders for candles and votives. The larger cylinders hold a white LED (for safety!) pillar candle surrounded by a Z Gallerie seashell candle ring. The elevated cylinder votive holders are from Pier 1.

The buffet table on one end of the deck is laden with drinks and desserts for after the main feast.

The buffet line begins with a tower of creamy white starfish plates (Tuesday Morning) offset by a bright red striped cloth for making short order of spills. Patriotic paper cocktail napkins bring a little sizzle.

I found this terrific red chicken wire basket at Home Goods earlier this year. Here it holds assorted breads, but it could be used for a variety of purposes. A heavy blue crockery bowl offers up potato chips while cheery red metal colanders are a fun way to serve up juicy strawberries and blueberries.

My good friend, Monica, recently gifted me with 30+ melamine trays. When I saw these 2, I just about went bonkers with glee. I knew they would be perfect for this setting! The captain’s bell is from Home Goods.

Cupcakes with cherries on top (from the tree George Washington allegedly chopped down?) are displayed on a patriotic ceramic cake stand from Hobby Lobby.

The opposite end of the buffet has lots of goodies. This canoe was used just as a prop for my “All-American Seafood Boil” a couple of years ago. Today it is lined, filled with ice, and used to hold fruit and beverages. An old iron boat pulley hangs casually from the side on the end, its hook nestled among a throng of seashells. Wooden mallets and metal seafood crackers from World Market are displayed beneath a “Steamed Crabs” sign from Home Goods.

Another of the wonderful nautical/patriotic melamine trays from Monica is used here to hold lemonade. The red stars & stripes plastic drinkware was purchased at Target and complements the tumblers used on the dining table.

Here’s the kind of food we’d grill up. That lobster looks like he knows what’s comin’, and I think he’s trying to make a run for it! It’s already too late for the crab! 🙂

It’s nice to have a “living room” setting outdoors for guests to enjoy a cocktail before dinner or to linger after. Our wrought iron furniture is decked out in a variety of comfy red, white & blue pillows. A star-trimmed jute rug “connects” the settee and chairs. A patriotic wind sock softly billows from the overhang.

The side table is covered with a 108″ red tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com. A fishnet overlay is a nod to the nautical theme.

The wrought iron baker’s rack in a corner of the deck is laden with fun nautical and patriotic elements, mostly from Hobby Lobby. The metal stars are from Old Time Pottery.

Other tablescapes on this site with a nautical, patriotic, and/or seashell theme:
All-American Seafood Boil
Stars & Stripes
Lauren in the Library
Show Me State Dinner
Flamingos in Paradise
Ocean Blue – Starfish & Seashells
Caribbean Queen
Tropicana
Summer Breeze
Old Navy Seafood Cruise
Peacefully Patriotic
A Coke & A Smile – Summer’s Last Hurrah

You’re bound to find lots of great summertime tablescapes if you join me at the following blog parties:
Christine’s Rustic & Refined “Table It!” (starting Monday)
Cuisine Kathleen‘s “Let’s Dish!” (Wednesday after 5:00 p.m. CDT)
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch‘s “Tablescape Thursday” (Thursday after 9:00 a.m. CDT)

Lauren in the Library

May 20, 2013June 22, 2014 / Alycia Nichols / 71 Comments

If Memorial Day weekend tends to be more about quiet reflection than barbecues and poolside play for you, this red, white & blue tablescape may be right up your alley. My inspiration this week comes not so much from something you can see, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach when I turned on the television this past week to see that we had lost yet another soldier from the Greater Kansas City area. Sgt. 1st Class Trenton L. Rhea, 33, was a member of the 200th Military Police Company in Belton, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City where I lived years ago. He drowned as he attempted to cross a body of water during combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the family and friends of Sgt. Rhea and to all of those left behind to mourn the loss and cherish the memory of loved ones killed while in service to our country.
(Click on any photo to enhance/enlarge it to see details up close.)

This formal patriotic table for five began with a full-length white tablecloth topped with a navy blue square one from LinenTablecloth.com. Doubling (or even tripling!) the table linens renders a more lush look and plays up a multi-color theme.

Each place setting begins with a gold-leafed glass charger. A pristine white dinner plate with a prim gold rim comes next, and then finally a Ralph Lauren “Knockhill” navy blue-rimmed salad plate. While Knockhill is actually the name of a Scottish race car circuit, the red, white and blue coloring of the plate and the very regal crest seemed to work for this patriotic setting.

The simple addition of red and navy blue ribbon adds instant patriotic flair to the white napkins. Notice how the ends of the ribbon are dovetailed to mimic those of the Ralph Lauren banner on the salad plate. Gold flatware complements the charger and dinner plate rim.

Crystal stemware rimmed in gold.

What flower conveys messages of both love and tradition as clearly as red roses? Here, four smaller red rose balls surround a larger centered one, all in white ceramic urns. Stately gold candlesticks with formal white candles stand tall on each side of the centerpiece. (Faux flowers were used for demonstrative purposes here, but I encourage you to use fresh for “real” formal tablescapes.)

The centerpiece is finished off with two pairs of gold mercury glass votive holders for ambient light.

This tablescape would work well for any U.S. patriotic holiday (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Flag Day, Armed Forces Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day), but might perhaps also be appropriate for political dinner events.

Other patriotic tablescapes on this site:
“American Royal Tablescape”
“4th of July Coastal Style”
“Stars and Stripes”
“All-American Seafood Boil”
“Red, White & Blueberries”
“Missouri Show Me State Dinner”

Other posts with red rose balls on this site:
“Derby Day Dining”
“Kentucky Derby Buffet”
“Should Have Put a Ring On It”

I am pleased and proud to join Cuisine Kathleen for “Let’s Dish!” this week. She’s hosting a patriotic tablescape challenge, so you can see what lots of talented bloggers from around the globe are doing in celebration of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. I’ll also be joining Susan for “Tablescape Thursday”. And in support of our military and their families, please join me for The Coconut Head Survival Guide’s “Memorial Day Patriot’s Palooza Party”!!!

May God bless the American soldier and his/her family, all of whom sacrifice so much.

All-American Seafood Boil

June 27, 2012September 6, 2021 / Alycia Nichols / 56 Comments

As hot as it is here in the Kansas City, MO (USA) area I could probably just sit a pot of cold water on the deck and drop the lobsters in to boil after about 5 minutes. It is CRAZY hot here with no relief in sight!!! For those readers like Suzy Q of At the Farmhouse and Carolyn of Desire Empire in Australia who are going into winter right now…please come get me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a serious lapse in good judgment yesterday morning and got out on the deck to set up this 4th of July tablescape that will NOT come back for “real life” next week if this heat keeps up. I’ll spend the 4th eating red, white & blue popsicles while sitting on the AC vent! (It’s getting lonely in the Costco cooler! :-))
(Click on any image to enhance/enlarge it.)

A full-length white cotton tablecloth from LinenTablecloth.com masks the ordinary folding table. We don’t subscribe to the newspaper, so instead of the usual seafood boil newspaper, the tablecloth is topped with a piece of red & white striped vinyl. The vinyl started out with a million folds in it, but 6 minutes in the dryer on the delicate cycle and a little smoothing knocked ’em right out. Using a decorative topper instead of newspaper makes it a little more upscale, and the stripes remind me of those that grace the U.S. flag. It cost just $5 at Home Goods, so I won’t be too upset if it gets damaged. The LinenTablecloth.com linens launder very easily, so no worries there.

Medium-tone rattan chargers from Tuesday Morning bring a natural element to the table. Simple white Corelle dinner plates are topped with fun M Studios salad plates with a bright red lobster motif from TJ Maxx. Nothing says “seaside” like lobster dishes! 🙂

For an Independence Day table, what other flatware are ya gonna use besides a design called “Patriot”? 😉 The dinner & salad forks are accompanied by a lobster pick from World Market to extract every last succulent morsel.

The cotton napkins – which are actually bandannas from Hobby Lobby – are folded in the same manner as a U.S. flag and placed on the diagonal edge of the square charger. My husband who is former Air Force showed me how to make the napkin fold. I got a huge lump in my throat thinking of how many times a flag has been folded in this manner to bestow upon a family whose loved one has perished at war.

Deep blue glass tumblers and clear water goblets from Old Time Pottery find their place at the table.

What’s a seafood boil without the requisite bucket? These red ones from Hobby Lobby are just the right size for individual servings, and a convenient handle makes it easy to carry from the buffet without getting burned.

Individual butter warmers like these from TJ Maxx are great not only for seafood meals but for warming sauces or apple butter for Sunday morning biscuits.

I like to get multiple uses out of things I buy, especially if they cost a lot of money. I used these Z Gallerie white lacquered lanterns for elevated pillar candles HERE. For this display, however, I simply unscrewed the piece that elevates the candle to make room for seashells and flags. Completely different look! Cheery white Gerbera daisies in white ceramic vases from Michael’s visually connect the lanterns.

Fun red, white and blue ceramic star bowls from Pier 1 are perfect for chowder. Cherry bomb red lobster crackers from World Market and crab mallets from Amazon.com will help unleash the delicious meat from the claws.

World Market did a wonderful job this year of providing lots of accessories for seafood dinners including these fun lobster bibs. The Hobby Lobby star-struck ceramic pitchers are ready to take on guests’ thirst.

I bought several of these cool wooden boats from Hobby Lobby several years ago, and they have been a part of many different decorating ventures. Brimming with mollusk shells, they are a really fun addition to the buffet table!

Ahoy, matey! Call guests to dinner with this very cool (and very loud!) Captain’s bell. I bought this one at Home Goods, and I can see it being used for a lot in the future! The string of wooden fish is one of the most fun props in my inventory. I bought it at a place called Premiere Gallery in Kansas City, MO that is now defunct. Boy, oh boy, did they ever have some wild stuff there! I really miss that place!

This tablescape would also be perfect for celebrating Labor Day, Veterans Day, or the homecoming of one of our brave veterans!

I hope it’s cool enough on the 4th to celebrate outside where you are! Whatever you do, please be careful, and have a great time!

Other tablescapes with a patriotic and/or nautical theme on this site:
All-American Seafood Boil
Stars & Stripes
Lauren in the Library
Show Me State Dinner
Red, White & Blueberries
4th of July Coastal Style
American Royal Tablescape
A Coke & A Smile – Summer’s Last Hurrah

Join me again this week for Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday” anytime after 9:00 a.m. CDT. I’m sure my fellow bloggers will have lots of creative decorating ideas for your Independence Day celebration!

You can now find me at BeBetsy.com, too!! And please visit The Coconut Head Survival Guide’s “Memorial Day Patriot’s Palooza Party” in support of our military!