Count-Down

Christmas is only two weeks away! I love Yuletide. And I love having an excuse to use Dickensian words. Including "Dickensian."

I am cooking a Christmas Eve dinner with a Victorian theme, like Devonshire Crab Soup with brandy. Yum.

Thanksgiving Decor - Golden!

This year, I decorated the Thanksgiving table around an heirloom: the stunning gold-plated flatware that my father inherited this year from my great-grandmother Doris Stillman Frazier, rest in peace. She survived the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II, and the deaths of her son and husband, the latter who was a veteran of the Pacific Theater. She gave my father some of his fondest memories of holidays, with her always welcoming, loving, and stable home. To honor her, I wanted to design a Thanksgiving table that highlighted these prized heirlooms.

To make the flatware's hue stand out, I chose a dark brown table cloth from Target and black napkins from Bed Bath and Beyond. I added gold chargers from Michaels under my mother's beautiful Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village" dinnerware. My favorite glasses, amber Helianthus goblets from Anthropologie, continued the gold theme.

Right before dinner, I lit taper, pillar, and floating candles on the sideboard and on the dining room table, which bathed the room in an amber glow.

So much fun - and so affordable to do, considering that most of the items were things I already owned. The beautiful goblet-style votive holders were my one splurge, and they came from Country Crafters in historic Ellicott City.

My mother made delicious pumpkin and acorn squash soup totally from scratch - and yep, that means baking the squash and scooping it all out, kudos to her! She also spoiled us with chicken breasts with traditional stuffing and, for dessert, pumpkin creme brulee. All of which, coincidentally, went perfectly with the golden hue of our Thanksgiving.

My family and I would like to incorporate this heirloom flatware in our holiday celebrations from now on, and since I am loving the idea of a Victorian / Dickensian Christmas, Grandma's gold flatware would be a gorgeous touch. Nothing like decor to transport you to whatever country or era you want. Or, in this case, to keep the spirit of someone we love near us.

Featured Quote: The Horse

“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; 

the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.” 

Henry V (circa 1599)
William Shakespeare

Knight's steed at the 36th Annual Maryland Renaissance Festival
Joust staged by "The Freelancers" :)

Brainstorm of a Wanna-Be Event Planner

This year, I began watching David Tutera's My Fair Wedding. Incredible, so fun to watch, and the man's a genius, with the receptions he creates looking more like dreams, paintings, or theatrical spectaculars than predictable wedding decor. Plus, he gives each bride a wedding that suites who she is. So, that got me thinking... how awesome would it be to be an event planner! 

So, what aura would I want to create, if I could plan whatever I wanted and no one cared (like that could really happen with all those bridezillas!)? But every event planner needs a trademark look regardless of theme, right? Hint of a garden theme perhaps, since I love Winterthur and Longwood Gardens? Fairy tale because I'm a Disney buff? Old Hollywood due to my classic film love? A nod to Celtic style, since I love Irish music and culture and take pride in my Scottish heritage? Heck, if I go down the heritage route, I could just as easily pick Central American, Portuguese, the list goes on and on. Gah! 

And then everything started clicking. I don't know why it didn't click before. See, when I entertain, I am obsessed with using candlelight, whether it's blush-colored tapers in cranberry glass holders for a Southern-themed Thanksgiving, or those dramatic red tapers in my antique silver candelabra when I hosted a classic film night, or just a few glass votive holders on the stairs.

Soft candlelight for Thankgiving,
inspired by SouthernLiving.com

I love Mt. Vernon by Candlelight, Annapolis by Candlelight, Bruce Munro's "Light" installation at Longwood Gardens. 

"Field of Light" by Bruce Munro

I pretty much jump for joy when I see fireflies (nature's candleight!) or attend a midnight church service that has everyone holding candles. Dear me, have I discovered a hidden obsession? Whoa. Anyhoo, apparently candlelight's my thing. Hmmm....

Mount Vernon by Candlelight

And I love theater, opera, ballet, Broadway shows, you name it - and when I saw the 2004 film adaption of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, I was mesmerized. But, it's not the opera house that I'd want to base my wedding reception on. Again, it's candlelight. After all, when I looked up some reception decor based simply on opera, or even Phantom of the Opera, I was surprised to find that I wasn't feeling all the red velvet. Love red velvet, but more as a hint than an overwhelming sea of it! But the beauty, mystery, and romance of the fabulous, candlelit Phantom's lair - with more emphasis on candlelight than lair, of course - would be a gorgeous ceremony and reception theme. Back to candlelight again! And the gigantic chandelier. I have always been in love with chandeliers, starting with the one my grandmother had hanging over her dining room table, and I have loved that aura of fire and crystal ever since. So, I've got candlelight and chandeliers in my head as a theme, and loving it. 

It would also let the bride wear a gorgeous formal gown, which is always cool. As long as there actually are not any references to Phantom of the Opera. Much as I love it, that would just be corny.

Here are a few fun idea pictures that I found on ProjectWedding.com: