¡Sip, Sip, Olé!

May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 / Alycia Nichols / 20 Comments

¡Bienvenidos!

I don’t know about you, but I always look forward to celebrating Cinco de Mayo. For us it is a time to gather with family and friends. And however we decide to celebrate, it’s ALWAYS colorful with a plentiful buffet! It’s time to sip, sip, olé!

Our whole dining room comes to life with an explosion of color to celebrate.🎉🎊💃🏽

The table setting starts with a colorful striped cotton runner and placemats.

Each place setting is outfitted with a turquoise blue Bormioli Rocco glass charger topped with 2 dinner service plates: one red and the other a bright pink rimmed with juicy orange.

Cambridge “Aspen” flatware is a nice natural *and* neutral flatware for the setting.

I found these vividly patterned acrylic taco holders at Home Goods early this Spring. I later discovered that one side is this marvelous design that holds 2 tacos, and the reverse side is plain red and ready for 3!

The generously proportioned fiesta napkins are actually tea towels from Hobby Lobby. There are just so many tea towels out there that seem to me better suited as napkins! (No worries that they’re white and that salsa stains. A little Oxi gets it right out!)

I found this wonderful red “Jane” round tray on clearance at Kirkland’s this Spring. I have BIG decorating plans for it for every season! Here it holds a variety of tequila shots, punctuated with succulents and plumeria blooms, for guests to take at will throughout the meal.

The curvy Z Gallerie vase holds a bouquet of bright pink (faux) plumeria (also known as frangipani) and trailing succulents. I chose these as they are both native to Mexico. Although quite beautiful, plumeria/frangipani is poisonous, so faux seemed the better choice near food. It is placed at the end of the table as part of the extended centerpiece.

Across the room a trio of brightly colored glass vases with faux ranunculus which was the closest I could get to ranunculus californicus which is also native to Mexico.

The vitrine serves as bar and salsa tasting station. This is a perfect time to test the mettle of guests on the Scoville scale.🥵🌶

A variety of pepper- and onion-shaped bowls from Pier 1 Imports are elevated above a cherry red Waechtersbach chip bowl by a versatile acacia wood riser from Home Goods.

Florals from the table decor are extended to the vitrine.

I found this fun little sign on clearance at Hobby Lobby. What a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo: ¡Sip, Sip, Olé!

I hope you’ve been able to find some ideas for your Cinco de Mayo or perhaps even a Día de Muertos tablescape. For more ideas on this site, take a look at these previous posts:

For more tablescapes using plumeria/frangipani:

Cinco de Mayo On the Cul-de-Sac

May 6, 2021 / Alycia Nichols / 10 Comments

Our annual Cinco de Mayo cul-de-sac celebration was another fun success last night with beautiful weather, great food, FABULOUS margaritas, and terrific music…all shared by the best neighbors ever! I was able to snap a few pics with my phone that I hope you will enjoy and keep in mind for your next South of the Border-inspired celebration!

I set up a table for 6 in front of our house for us who are fully vaccinated. We all routinely socialize, so it was nice to be able to sit together after a full year of separation! Inspiration for the tablescape came from the fancy hand painted rooster glasses I recently purchased at a friend’s yard sale. Eight of them for just $10!!! Add orange Dollar Tree plates, Cambridge “Esben Beachwood” flatware, a couple of colorful crisscrossed runners, and a rooster to the table’s center flanked by succulents and (faux) Gerbera daisies…and voila!

I made and individually packaged up snickerdoodles and copycat Sara Lee pound cake (SO good!) for everyone as a take home favor. I don’t think any of it actually made it home with anyone. It was all really tasty, and I hit the kitchen early this morning to fill orders for more!🤣🤣🤣

That was our Cinco de Mayo! How was yours?

To see additional Cinco de Mayo/South of the Border-inspired tablescapes on the site:

Autumn In Cactus Country

October 8, 2017October 11, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 27 Comments

My good friend (since 6th grade!), Monica, was recently swept away from the Kansas City area to Arizona. Arizona??!?!??!? We’re Midwestern girls! We don’t know anything about ARIZONA!!! We’re used to perceptible changes of seasons, with autumn (next to Christmas, of course) being at the top of our decorating list! We know that spring means pastels, summer means ice cream colors, winter means Chiefs red, and fall means russet, burgundy, deep greens and orange. Lots and lots of orange! What in heaven’s name is a Missouri transplant to do for fall in Arizona??!???!

Asked and answered on a recent “Better Kansas City” segment! This 2-1/2 minute clip includes four different autumn tablescaping palettes I think you’ll enjoy!

One way to bring the season to your table in climes where warm colors can overpower and autumn leaves simply don’t exist is to use white and pastel pumpkins along with lots of succulents.

While the palette is predominantly white, it’s the accompanying elements that lend to the fall feeling. Notice the use of translucent stemware and votive holders that keep the table light. The Home Essentials Antique White dishes, faux mother of pearl flatware, napkins…all in the white family but not the exact tone to add subtle variety.

Tucked among the varied sizes of white pumpkins are chicks & hens, jelly bean plants, echeveria, agave and seeded eucalyptus. The greens and burgundy in the succulents are a deliberate nod to the season and keep the tablescape from becoming too austere.

While standard votives would look perfectly fine with this vignette, I chose these cylindrical ones from Pier 1 to add just a teensy bit of height. It’s already hot in Arizona, so just a few for ambience!

The dining table is loaded with decor, so I elected to keep the buffet behind it sparse. The clay pots I chose for these flowing succulents remind me of a weathered adobe home with its pinkish tones.

The elements used in this tablescape could be applied all around the house for light, airy, fresh fall decorating in southwestern U.S. states like Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Oklahoma, and in parts of California, Utah, Texas, and Colorado as well as in Mexico.

Without question this was one of the most fun challenges ever! Monica, I hope this helps! Michael, I still don’t forgive you for taking Monica away! 😉

Other tablescapes on this site from this
“Better Kansas City” show clip:
Autumn Chinoiserie
(others soon to come!)

Other tablescapes on this site
using white pumpkins for fall:
Thanksgiving 2010
Autumn White Wedding
Finally Fall
Over the River and Through the Woods

Another tablescape suitable for fall
using succulents (and sunflowers!):
Cinco de Mayo Simply Done

I’m linking up this week for the first time to “Dishing It & Digging It” and the “Share Your Style” blog party where you can see all kinds of talent in the blog world!

Cinco de Mayo Simply Done

May 3, 2017May 4, 2017 / Alycia Nichols / 5 Comments

Cinco de Mayo (not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day) is just a couple of short days away. I’m not feeling 100% by any stretch, but here’s how we’ll be celebrating the commemoration of the Mexican victory over French forces at The Battle of Puebla: with delicious food, a little tequila, and a prayer that wars and conflicts of all manner can be abolished in the future! (Fat chance, I know, but a girl can hope!)

The table is set for 6 in our small dining room. I aimed for a rustic look, opting to leave the wood of the table exposed. Square rattan chargers from Tuesday Morning are topped with brilliant Maxcera “Terra Cotta Sunflower” square plates. (I used these plates for another tablescape, Sunflower Simple, back in 2011.) The napkin fold is one of those 10-second jobs that I use so often. The versatile contemporary flatware is J.A. Henckels “Bellaserra”, and the substantially weighted goldenrod bubble stemware is from TJ Maxx.

This old wood planter box is still a favorite for me. For this centerpiece, it is filled with a couple of sago palms and all kinds of succulents. VERY simple!

I used miniature terra cotta pots as candle holders on each end of the wood box to complete the simple centerpiece.

The side buffet is lightly adorned with an oversized rustic wood bowl flanked by green ceramic candlesticks. On the opposite end with the tortillas is another sago palm with a sunflower in a glazed terra cotta vase. Another palm is seen in the mirror sitting on the china cabinet.