Last week’s post was the exuberant, quite colorful, more casual styling for celebrating the Kentucky Derby. Today, with only days to spare before the big race, I offer a more formal version that despite the gilding and crystal is still somewhat relaxed in its overall style.
An overhead shot of the centerpiece focuses on the sumptuous assembly of red roses and the gold-tone candle holders from Very Violet Boutique in downtown Lee’s Summit, MO. (Just a side note to those of you in shopping distance: Very Violet has now closed and sent all inventory next door to sister store Ivy & Sparrow.)
It is the run for the roses, so adding a few here and there (or a lot everywhere!) is quite appropriate . For demonstration purposes these are from my faux collection, but I urge you to incorporate fresh if at all possible.🌹 🌹 🌹
I found this fabulous horse head at The Painted Sofa in downtown Kansas City, MO.🐴 If you plan a visit to the KC area, The Painted Sofa is an exciting, expansive, must-see shopping destination! Three full floors of fabulous furniture and furnishings!
From the bottom up: “raggedy edge” gold glass charger and Ciroa black & white buffalo check from Home Goods intermingled with regal red & gold Royal Scotland pieces.
My sister (her given name is Berishia, but I’ve always lovingly called her Barf!) gifted me with several yards of Derby-themed fabric a few years back, but life got in the way and I never had anything done with it. This year my exceedingly talented and thoughtful neighbor, Barbara, fashioned these gorgeous napkins from some of it. See how she even thought to use red thread on the hem? Gorgeous detail!!! Thank you, Barbara!!!!!!!!
Need a little take-home gift for guests? Gold-painted horseshoes make a wonderful paperweight! I dressed these up with a simple mix of simply tied ribbons tucked into very fancy black card sleeves. (The sleeves are leftovers from my 60th birthday party invitations.)
Gold-rimmed iced beverage glasses from Nell Hill’s in Kansas City, MO paired with Cristal D’Arques -Durand “Ashville Gold” champagne flutes.
After dinner you simply must have a sliver of Derby Pie and/or Bourbon Butter cake! A generous host or hostess will wrap up an extra slice of each for you to enjoy with coffee next morning.😉
There is no Derby celebration complete without the requisite mint juleps served in traditional silver cups. Create an extra special ambience by transferring good bourbon into a fancy crystal decanter.
On the side I created a fun arrangement in a white Nell Hill’s chinoiserie pot with an ivy topiary, luscious red roses, and another gold horseshoe. The 2 miniature horse heads from Hobby Lobby complete the side table decor.
So that’s it for this year’s Kentucky Derby! These ideas can be easily used for any equestrian event with just a few tweaks.
Here are a few other Derby tablescapes on this site you might enjoy:
Can I just start with this?: BOURBON ROCKS🥃!!! Neat, up, or on the rocks…it ROCKS!!! Now on to our regularly scheduled program.
🏇Kentucky Derby 2021, No. 147 in the famed race history, is just a couple of short days away🏇!!! I’m putting my (fake!) money on Bourbonic because anything with the the word bourbon in it is a favorite of mine!
I’ve posted several Derby tablescapes over the years, but this one is a little less…mmmm, shall we say…over the top! No towering show horses in the middle of the table this time! Nonetheless, I hope you will enjoy and garner some ideas from this year’s installation. (And, yes, those are my long-awaited new chairs and area rug. Thank you for asking!)
The tablescape was built around a runner I found at Nell Hills that resembles a gentleman’s seersucker or pinstripe suit one might see at the Derby. I added Kate Spade for Lenox “Rutherford Circle Navy” dishes on gleaming nickelplate chargers along with the contemporary J.A. Henckels “Bellaserra” stainless flatware. Stemware from Pier 1 Imports (gosh, I miss their physical stores!!!) and the obligatory silver mint julep cup along with a hemstitch cotton napkin cinched with a Pier 1 napkin ring rounds out the place setting. I like these napkin rings in this setting because they mirror the mix of silver and aluminum elements on the table.
I’ve amassed a few of these wonderful aluminum “trophy” vessels over the year and find them great for decorating all around the house. Here they spill over with red roses and whatever these cool wispy, green, furry branches are that I found at The Painted Sofa and Very Violet Boutique. I have a collection of horse-related decor because I live in Longview Farm, a subdivision where a famed horse farm once stood. These probably came from Home Goods some years ago. Tall metal case candles in staggered heights (am I the only one besides the church that still uses these?) tower above.
Dessert – a very Southern red velvet layer cake – and a whiskey sour station using miniature julep cups are set up on the vitrine behind the dining table. I’ve “had to” taste a lot of bourbon these past couple of weeks to decide which would be best for the mint juleps (Knob Creek 9 Year Single Barrel won in this category) and which for the sours (Old Forester Kentucky Straight by a nose over Elijah Craig Small Batch!).
If you’d like to check out other Kentucky Derby posts on this site (or posts that would be suitable for it if you just make a few tweaks), click on the link below!
This is a 2-minute compilation video of the birthday celebration.
See still photos below.
My Mom very recently celebrated her 88th birthday. Here’s the thing, though: In no way does this woman personify the “typical” 88-year-old. Although she retired from the Missouri Senate about 6 years ago to care for my ailing Dad, she never really retired. She still has a seat on several boards, is active in her church and community, shops like a demon, and continues to pick up various civic awards. In fact, I had to postpone her annual birthday luncheon by 5 days so that she could attend an awards luncheon on her actual birthday! The Starr Women’s Hall of Fame Induction & Award Luncheon had an impressive guest list of about 1,000 and featured keynote speaker actor/activist/author Ashley Judd (so nice, so pretty, and a powerful speaker). It was a different but fun way to celebrate.
Mom entering the stage as she is introduced.
Mom with her medal
Proud moment for my husband and me to be there with my Mom!
L to R: my cousin Dee, me, my Mom, Ashley Judd, my Aunt Vivienne, my niece Yvonne, and my sister Berishia
How on earth could I possibly follow something as cool as that??!?!??!!? Answer: Don’t even try to compete! Just do what you do, or as the kids say, “Just do you.”
The invitations were the inspiration for the tablescape. My Mom has always loved piano music (she endured me tickling the ivories for years!), and so I came up with the idea to pair the 88 keys of the piano with the celebration of her 88 years. I bought 3-part invitations at Hobby Lobby, but decided to create the actual invitation insert myself on plain white cardstock. You’ll see what I did with the other part later.
We moved the keyboard upstairs from the basement level to the library for our featured pianist, 10-year-old music student Gabriella Howell, to regale the ladies as they arrived for cocktail hour. (This is Gabriella with her mother, my friend, Angelynn Howell.)
Each guest stopped in the foyer to greet Mom and have an individual photo taken with her. Guests included longtime friends and family. I asked guests to please wear black, white, or a combination of the two for the event so that Mom would stand out in her brilliant red outfit.
The dining table was, as almost always during inclement weather, set up in the living room. In keeping with our 88 Keys theme, I chose black & white striped stretch chair covers from LinenTablecloth.com. I’ve used these same chair covers in other diverse tablescapes including Hometown Pride: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos and Blurred Lines With Shades of Pink. The invitation and menu had beautiful black & white damask, so I represented that in the table runner, also from LinenTablecloth.com.
The tablecloth used on each of the two 6-ft. tables is simply a white washable 90″ x 132″ poly from LinenTablecloth.com. I loosely tie the ends to keep guests from tripping over the generously proportioned cloth.
Nothing pops on black and white quite like red does, so I put together five arrangements of deep red regular size and spray roses along with fluffy, fragrant carnations in cut crystal rose bowls. Simple, but elegant.
Each place setting began with a black charger in a contemporary cut topped with a simple square cut B. Smith plate. Black “San Remo” flatware is paired with a cut crystal-handled luncheon knife. “Longchamps” stemware completes the setting.
Here is where I used the intended invitation insert…for the menu! I couldn’t get them to go through my computer, so I MacGyver’ed it and printed the menu onto plain white cardstock which was then cut to size and clipped to the backdrop with a tiny black clothespin from Michaels. The red grosgrain ribbon and rhinestone buckle were included with the invitations, so I used them to add a dash of color to the menu. The menus were placed atop a plain black napkin set on the luncheon plates.
After-luncheon coffee and dessert service was set up on the breakfast bar. Our kitchen is mercifully decorated in black & white, so everything worked well together through the semi-open space.
I found painted white wood numbers in the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby.
The dollar store now has cool black & white striped paper napkins!!!
I made vanilla cupcakes with light buttercream frosting sprinkled with red & black sugar confetti. They are displayed on white Ralph Lauren “Pavillion” cake stands.
No one leaves our home after an event without some sort of favor in hand! I baked sugar cookies, some in musical note shapes and some stamped with musical notes using black gel dye. The black & white striped cardboard favor boxes from Michaels each got a splatter of notes, too. I stuffed them with black & white crinkled & shredded paper.
Happy 88th Birthday, Mom! You know I so enjoy being able to host you and your friends each year. Here’s wishing you many, many more!
♥♥♥All the single ladies! All the single ladies!♥♥♥
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean romance is in the air for everyone. There are those among us who are on an earnest quest to find Mr. Right but haven’t yet found out where he’s hiding. There are those who thought they had Mr. Right but had to kick him to the curb because he was oh, so wrong. There are those whose “boo” must be away for that special day (through no fault of his own). And then there are those who just don’t want to share the remote, compromise on what to have for dinner, or worry about falling into the toilet because the seat was left up. For all of you single ladies – whatever your reason – this is a blinged out Valentine tablescape that celebrates you as the carefree diva you are! (Click on any photo to enlarge/enhance it.)
Valentine’s Day can be a day to raise your glass and just enjoy the platonic company of girlfriends. Like Cyndi Lauper said: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”!!! This would also be a great table for celebrating with other couples on Valentine’s Day (probably something just us old married folks do, but it can be fun!) or a Christmastime rehearsal dinner, engagement party, or wedding reception. With a few minor tweaks, it would also make a fabulous Kentucky Derby tablescape!!! (Change the white to cream, and it’s also perfect for a Delta Sigma Theta sorority gathering! My Mom made me say that! :-))
Red is the color of strength, power, and determination as well as love. Start with a bold red full-length table linen (LinenTablecloth.com) to get the energy flowing in the room. Each glamorous place setting includes a rhinestone-studded charger topped with a second charger in sleek silver for added depth. The delicate design of Noritake “Whitebrook” china conveys sophisticated sweetness and light.
A menu card helps to answer the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” and makes a really nice souvenir. The background of deep red roses works in concert with the centerpiece florals.
I used these fun “diamond” napkin rings I found at Tuesday Morning because they go so well with the “Should Have Put a Ring On It” theme!
Use your most beautiful pieces to make everyone feel like royalty! Stemware here is Godinger “Chelsea” which isn’t my best, but it sure is one of my favorites!
Clockwise from upper left corner: (1) Silver Revere candlestick; (2) candlestick topped with peg votive; (3) LED votive glows safely, and; (4) white silk lampshade made for fitting over peg votives
Lots of ambient light makes everyone look fabulous! These bistro lamps are powered by LEDs for safety. These same shades were used to create a completely different look on a silver epergne HERE. (For more candle lamps on this site, see “All A’Bloom for Spring“, “Raining Orchids“, “It’s All About Me!“, and “Just Us Girls“.)
Fun and flirty “Ocean Diamond Dazzle” rhinestone ribbon creates a jazzy runner to visually connect all the centerpiece elements. The frosted white votive holders (Hobby Lobby) have a thin coordinating strip.
Lots and lots of red rose kissing balls bring color and texture at two levels. Each rose ball is finished off with rhinestone stick pins for added flair. Faux flowers are used here for demonstration purposes, but by all means go fresh if your budget allows! Fresh flowers bring a dimension to your decorating that nothing else can!!!
Indeed, “if [he] liked it, then [he] should have put a ring on it”. If he didn’t, though, consider a glamour-filled evening for friends who share your single status!
If you’ve never seen the SNL parody of “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” with Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg, Bobby Moynihan and Miss Thang Herself, Beyoncé Knowles, click HEREand get ready to laugh until you cry!!!
I’m joining Cuisine Kathleen’s “Let’s Dish!” (anytime after 6:00 p.m. CST on Wednesday) and Susan’s “Tablescape Thursday” (anytime after 9:00 a.m. CST on Thursday). I’m sure a lot of love will be in the air, so join me, won’t you?
Tablescapes at Table /Twenty-One 