Ringing in the New Year in Stylish Aqua

by Helen Kain | Dec 31, 2021 | Antique glassware, Blue, Christmas, New Year, Recent, Winter Tablescapes

It’s been a year of ups and downs. A bit like a Covid remake of the shower scene from Psycho, on repeat. I’m all for switching off the screen and turning our attention elsewhere. So let’s end on an up note with a stylishly sophisticated table....

Kicking Off the Christmas Season with Penguin Mugs

by Helen Kain | Nov 27, 2021 | Black, Blue, Christmas, Green, Pink and Red, Recent

It’s tree-trimming day—when we haul two artificial trees in their “body bags” along with boxes of lights and ornaments up from the basement (my least favourite part).  Glenn wrestles the real tree into its stand and lies on the floor, awkwardly...

Mason’s Quail Blue with Chinoiserie Pumpkins

by Helen Kain | Sep 25, 2021 | Blue, Brown, Fall Tablescapes, Thanksgiving, Yellow

The beguilingly days of fall are with us, with just a touch of crispness in the air.  I’m not quite ready to go the complete fall Monty, though. I still have a foot in the summery shades of blue and white, but some brown and white transferware helps bridge...

Cobalt Blue for a Summer Outdoor Dinner

by Helen Kain | Aug 19, 2021 | Blue, Cobalt, Summer Tablescapes, White

Our good friends Bill, Maura, Carolyn and Paul, with whom we went on the cruise in 2019 (a lifetime ago, it seems), were visiting recently. Oh, happy days! We took every opportunity during their short stay to get together for a Cape-Cod land-locked reprisal—Maura...

A Cottage Table with a Berry Tart

by Helen Kain | Jul 28, 2021 | Blue, Pink and Red, Summer Tablescapes

Villeroy and Boch are right up there with Gien in terms of high-quality, durable and beautiful tableware.  I was introduced to the Cottage pattern through Sophie Winston, from the Domestic Diva series by Krista Davis. Sophie is one of the two fictional Divas...

Mikasa Botanical Bouquet

by Helen Kain | Jul 23, 2021 | Antique glassware, Blue, Green, Summer Tablescapes

The summer blooms are at their peak, and the hydrangea is just tipping over to the faded papery stage. So it was now or never for this table. Botanical Bouquet by Mikasa features an unusual combination of herbs in improbably vivid shades of cobalt blue; the soft...