tablescape

KID’S EASTER TABLESCAPE | UNDER $20

Hey guys! Happy Friday! We are ending the week with a suuuuuuper simple kids’ table setting for Easter brunch. It is usually a gloomy day on Easter, and the lighting for this table shoot is no different. ha! It has been raining here in Nashville, and that beautiful natural lighting is hiding out.
We got most everything you see here at…. wait for it…. Target!! Surprise, right? Honestly, when I came across these UUUUHMAAAZING paper plates that Design Love Fest did for Cheeky Home, I knew I had to do something with them. We scored in the dollar section, which is always so great for projects like this. Kids tend to destroy things, so you want the table to look great, but don’t want to break the bank. Of course we had to add in some of our custom tattoos (here in our Etsy shop) because they are just so fun! My daughter wanted to put all of these on, and didn’t understand that we needed them for the table as well. She is a huge supporter of the biz! 😉
What are your Easter plans? We always do our church service then head to brunch as a family. It is truly one of my MOST favorite holidays. I love getting the family dressed up, eating good food and just enjoying such a happy day.

xo!

A B&W PLAID AND GREEN THANKSGIVING

Is it really Thanksgiving week you guys? Just like every holiday, it feels like this one really snuck up on us. I just wanted to share a couple of “unbloggy” (that is my new word  for non photoshopped and under styled) photos of my tablescape. To give you all the low down, Thanksgiving is at my wonderful MIL’s home. She recently broke her ankle and is recovering from surgery and 85% of my kitchen is packed up for our move, so we will be ordering in for the most part. I love doing a table every year, but this year had to be super simple and inexpensive. Between the dollar section at Target (holla!!) and what I had on hand, I was able to do something a little different. I knew I wanted plaid in there somewhere. I ended up going with a b&w plaid + green theme. Luckily, I found these uuuhmaaaazing placemats and water glasses in the dollar section. Literally, everything else is stuff that I have used years in the past. 
As for the centerpiece…. ha! Green apples and artichokes just seemed like the answer. No flowers over here this year. Super casual and perfect for us!
I took time to add a “thankful” tattoo to a black place card. I wrote to each guest letting them know what about them I was thankful for. It really is the better option for me because I am a crier, so I never make it when we go around the table to actually share what we are thankful for. Ha! Hope they like it! 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! There is NO doubt we are incredibly thankful for you all! 
Be sure and take advantage of our 30% shop discount here for the month to show our gratitude.
xo!
-J

SETTING A SIMPLE TABLE

We put our house on the market Sunday and it’s already under contract… keep your fingers crossed! When we were getting ready for pictures, our real estate agent suggested to set the table in the dining room. I wanted to share a super simple table setting with you. 
This would be perfect for a mother’s day brunch! Scroll down for the how-to. 
Here’s my dining room! Best room in the house. I’ll be sad to leave all this light. Though not sad to leave that green… I’m think I’m going gray or white in the next home… what do you think?
1. Ombre flowers: These are the cheapos you can find at any grocery store. I got these in pinks from dark to light to create an ombre effect. It would look awesome to get 4-5 different types of flowers but all in the same color scheme. I put these in different shape/size milk glass vases found at antique shops. Oh and add candles. Everyone looks better in candle light. They should make an iPhone candle light app and I’d just walk around with it projected on my face all day. 
2. Table setting: charger, dinner plate, napkin, silverware, and glass. That’s really all you need! Napkins and wine glasses from Anthropologie that I’m freaking obsessed with- a birthday gift- thanks, Lauren
3. Name cards: if you want to go one extra step for a sweet personalized touch, tie the silverware with twine and a simple name tag. I cut a rectangle out of kraft paper and used a silver Sharpie. 
4. Become the effortless hostess with the mostess. 
-L

R&R… VILLA STYLE

Last week, my husband and I had the amazing opportunity to go on a vacation with some of our favorite people at Rivendell Villa in Jamaica. For amazing photos of this place, click here. It was truly a time of rest, relaxation and pure restoration. I have never experienced anything like it. I had an incredible amount of anxiety ( over flying and leaving my daughter) before leaving, and it felt insanely good to feel that weight lift off of me as soon as I pulled into the gates of heaven. Yep, I like to call it heaven on earth. 
^^ Welcome goodies are always a good sign, right? ^^
^^ We spent many of the evenings playing croquet at sunset ( fancy, right?) as we sipped tea and ate pastries…. like a lot of pastries…..well, maybe that was just me. ^^
^^ I am actually quite scared of the ocean and everything underneath the surface, but this trip managed to host a lot of “firsts” for me. It helps to have friends cheering you on shoving you into the water. I had been snorkeling once before, but it had been so long that this might as well have been my first time. ^^ 
^^ A couple of our guy friends went about 12 miles out into the ocean with this fisherman and his wife, and caught some amazing tuna ( SO proud of them) that we were later served during a game of croquet while sipping wine…. I know….not real life. ^^
 ^^ There was truly nothing more peaceful on this trip than paddling out into the ocean and just sitting.^^
^^ We went on a Black River Safari where we saw crocs, devoured fresh crab and white wine at a REAL crab shack, jumped off of a bridge into a “croc free” part of the river ( I was skeptical and felt the urge to throw up several times as I don’t like heights or the possibility of rubbing elbows with a crocodile), and listened to Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” more than once. The tour guide seemed to like that song.
^^ An amazing tablescape for our last night’s dinner.^^
This house was staffed, and I felt like I was leaving family by the end of the trip. They were SO serving, humble, gracious and amazing at their jobs. I am so grateful to them for taking this experience to the ultimate level for us. I must admit…it was a wake up call for me on my first morning back home. No fresh fruit for breakfast, anyone to make my bed, a toddler tugging at my pant leg…. oh how quickly we adjust to luxury, huh?  
What is your dream vacation that you had the chance to go on or still dream of going on?
-Jenni

MODERN THANKSGIVING TABLESCAPE

One day until our Thanksgiving feast, and my table is already set! I may be a little excited. Creating a tablescape is my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving ( well, second favorite to devouring all of the delicious food).
This year, I tried to use things that I mostly had on hand. I couple of Thanksgivings ago, my mom purchased some beautiful linen napkins from Pottery Barn. They weren’t cheap, but I just HAD to have them. Therefore, I owe them several appearances on my table. I absolutely love the dark teal color, and really wanted to create a table around that color with hints of gold. 
I spray painted pumpkins with a metallic gold spray paint, which has to be the easiest project ever. It makes such an impact too! I purchased some brass candlesticks a couple of years ago at a thrift store, and this is my first time using them! Sometimes you just have to wait for the perfect time to pull things out, ya know? I also had a gold dotted burlap runner from a previous event I hosted. I purchased a set of salt and pepper shakers and a Threshold runner from Target. I put the final touches on the table with some greenery, roses and pheasant feathers. Now we are ready to stuff our faces!

I hand painted a small “say grace” print with water color. I think it may be a permanent framer for my dining room.

My favorite part of my Thanksgiving decor is the floating branch above the table. I found it on the side of the road while on a walk with my daughter. I strung it up with fishing line and commando hooks. I am really considering leaving it up and stringing “snow” from it for winter, so this may not be the last you see of it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
-J