Thanksgiving Entertaining: Setting the Table

When entertaining, I always set the table before I do any prep work or cooking.  Because food preparation can be exhausting, I've learned that waiting to set the table until just before dinner is served means my overlooking minor details and rushing the job.  The table setting should set the mood for the dinner you will enjoy.  My thoughts on the table scape is that is should reflect the work you've put into cooking your meal.  My New Year's resolution this year was to use my formal china more often, and so because of that, I've decided to set a formal table, minus the excess of silverware and multiple stemware per person at the table.  

So the first thing you will want to do is decide for yourself what kind of table you'll set.  We've found some inspirational table settings online to help guide your choice:

A harvest themed table with casual china and flatware, and occasional stemware, Pinterest

A casual table setting, hgtv.com

A formal table setting, Pinterest

Here is what I like to have at my table, regardless of whether it's casually or formally set:

• fresh flowers
• placemats
• charger plates (find the ones I've used below, $12/set of 4, here)
• dinner plates
• salad plates
• iced beverage glasses
• wine glasses
• silverware

This year, wishing to incorporate my formal china and monogrammed wedding napkins, I decided to go with a platinum and gold table theme.  

Our Thanksgiving table setting

Fresh flowers will be added come Tuesday!

Cheers!

Ana

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, Good Grapes!  We hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We will spend ours preparing for fall parties and Thanksgiving.  It's always been our favorite holiday!  Come back next week for table setting ideas, recipes, wine recommendations and more!

A regular ceramic pot becomes a pilgrim's hat centerpiece.  Via Woman's Day Magazine

Cheers!

Ana

{Thrifty Thursday} Cheapest Candelabra Ever

I wasn't looking for this one, but when I saw it for $3 at my favorite thrift store, I figured it was worth taking home and I could worry later about where to place it.  I couldn't distinguish the metal.  Whatever it was, it was old and rusty.  Nothing a fresh coat of spray paint couldn't fix.  Next, I added crystal accents that I had on my chandelier two homes ago.  I finished the look with a tassle (also left over from my old home's decor) and taper candles from a box that I already had.  $3.00 ended up doing a lot for our newest piece of furniture!

Before: a rusty base and cheap metal

After a glossy coat of spray paint and accessories

The candelabra adds height and elegance to this vignette

Cheers!

Ana

Wine Wednesday!

Hello grape lovers!  I wanted to write about a wine I tried for the first time and adored.  The bottle is 3 Girls (appropriate, no?) and the winemaker is Oak Ridge.  I bought this because it was on sale recently and because I am one of 3 girls in our family.  Get it?  Okay.  The wine was so delicious and perfect for the pinot lover who wants to get acquainted with fuller bodied reds.  It's a very light cabernet, easy on the palette.  I enjoyed this wine with homemade pizza.  Available at World Market for around $10 a bottle. 

Cheers!

Ana

Seasoned Pork Loin and Vegetables

Fall is officially here and I am packing on the pounds with hearty meals.  This week we enjoyed a delicious pork loin with roasted vegetables.  This is a great dish for entertaining, as it's simple to prepare and serves six.  I kept it easy this time, adding only a bag of organic carrots and onions, but usually I include green and yellow squash with the vegetables.  You can really serve just about any vegetable you enjoy with this pork and seasoning!  

Easy vegetable prep: fresh cut veggies, olive oil, and seasoning

Ingredients:

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp creole seasoning

2-3 tbsp olive oil
3-4 pounds pork loin

fresh cut vegetables of preference (pictured are a bag of organic carrots and a large yellow onion)

Preparation:

1.  Combine first three ingredients in a small bowl. 

2.  In a medium bowl, combine cut vegetables.  Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp of seasoning mix from step 1 over vegetables.  Mix.

3.  Rub 1-2 tbsp olive oil over loin.  Rub remaining seasoning onto loin.  Place in baking dish.  Arrange vegetables next to loin.  

4.  Cook in pre-heated oven at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until done. 

Loin and veggies before being placed in the oven

Recipe, served with a side of lemon orzo pasta with mushrooms

Cheers!

Ana

Underrated: The Carnation

At the start of this year, a good friend had a brilliant resolution: to keep fresh flowers on display in her home weekly.  She's done a fabulous job at keeping up and prepping bouquets for the season but recently she asked advice on how to keep her resolution without having to pay so much each week for fresh flowers.  The solution?  A bouquet of carnations.  I have always thought this flower is underrated and I think it's just perfect for buying to display in the home.  Available in a variety of colors and usually for around $3 a bunch, you don't have to worry about the color matching the season.  I'm thinking about adopting this resolution for 2012! 

via google.com images

Tablescape via Pinterest

step-by-step to achieving the look in picture #2

pinterest

Cheers!

Ana

We're Flattered!

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends.  Ours struck the perfect balance of productivity with elements of fun, travel, rest and socializing.  I love those kinds of weekends.  Anyway, as I mentioned last week, we received a major compliment in the form of a Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you for the love, Carol, The Design Pages is one of our faves!

In following with the requirements, we are here to share 7 things about ourselves. Here we go!

1.   I really cannot drink soft drinks.  I'll think I crave a diet coke or something bubbly and I will take two sips and once again determine they are not for me.  - Ana

2.  I love getting dressed up.  Whatever the occasion, if there is an excuse to wear a dress, get my nails, hair and makeup done, I look to forward it.  I wear minimal makeup and boring clothes to work and otherwise live in leggings and tees, so I love any excuse for an all-out 'transformation.'  -Ana

Getting hair and later makeup done at Safar, Miami Beach

3.  My all-time favorite food is a mouth-watering burger.  I've searched my city high and low for the perfect burger.  The two best burgers I've ever had are at Good Stuff Eatery in Washington, D.C. and at Love Shack, in Ft. Worth, TX. -Ana

Perfection.  Love Shack's 'love burger' with fried onions and jalapeno slices.

4. I love travel and have a special place in my heart for Italy.  I cook Italian better than I cook my own Mexican food (we are half Cuban and half Mexican), I pick up the language easily and, and I can even toss a pizza dough.  My mom swears I was Italian in another life.  -Ana

Wine tasting in the Chianti Region, Tuscany, Italy, January 20

5. I also have a deep love of traveling. Maybe it runs in our blood? I've always been an adventure seeker and make sure to turn every trip into an adventure. I've been (almost) everywhere on my bucket list and I'm only 25. The coolest thing I've ever done while on a trip was when I went skydiving in Interlaken, Switzerland with one of my best friends. It was absolutely amazing! - Cristi 

Photo: Skydiving in Switzerland

6. I am obsessed with journaling and photography. I have been through dozens and dozens of journals throughout my life and I constantly have a camera on hand—whether it be my iPhone, my Canon Powershot SD, my Nikon D3100 or (my favorite) Canon FTh that I inherited from my father. I truly believe a picture speaks 1000 words and love capturing special moments and manipulating images to create a truly artistic piece. And when a picture won’t do (although that is rare…) I journal. -Cristi

Photo: My Canon FTh (and my favorite Hemingway novel) on my desk

7.  I make a killer guacamole. I don’t know when it started but I guess I did it for family dinner one time. Our dad is always doing big carne asadas or “cookouts” and fajitas are a staple in every one of them. So naturally, you need guacamole to go on your fajita tacos. Ever since my first batch I’ve been designated the guacamole maker in the family and everyone always comments on how good it is. The trick? Keep it simple. I only add fresh lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sometimes paprika to the avocados. -Cristi

Photo: Kalyn's Kitchen c/o Google

And now, without further wait, a few versatile blogs we're happy to share our love with:

1. Emerald Cidade 
2. Sadie and Stella 
3. Mint Love Social Club 
4. Boubon and Bleu 
5. Name 5 Things

Cheers!

Ana and Cristi